The Fox Finally Showed Its Tail

"Pfft..."

Time slipped quietly by, until a low, muffled sound suddenly came from the Medicine Cauldron.

Su Tian hurriedly turned his gaze toward the Myriad-Beast Heaven-Earth Cauldron. The spirit-gathering fruit, which had still been fighting a desperate last stand, had now been fully refined by Qing Mu into a pool of deep-red pulp suspended inside the Medicine Cauldron.

Beneath the pulp, scorching flames rose continuously as though holding it aloft, maintaining the temperature it needed.

"Rejuvenation vine!"

Looking at the pool of refined pulp inside the Medicine Cauldron, Qing Mu nodded in satisfaction. Then his right hand moved sharply, and he spoke softly.

In an instant, an emerald-green vine flew out of the pile of medicinal ingredients.

Under Qing Mu's control, it landed precisely inside the Medicine Cauldron in the blink of an eye. The next moment, the searing flames pounced on it.

As for the pool of deep-red pulp, Qing Mu separated out a small cluster of alchemical flame to continue nurturing it.

Whoom...

Watching the flames instantly engulf the rejuvenation vine, Qing Mu's expression remained unchanged. He simply controlled the flames' temperature, stopping only once he had adjusted it to the level most suitable for the vine.

Compared to the spirit-gathering fruit, the rejuvenation vine was clearly more resistant to fire.

Qing Mu glanced at Su Tian, who was watching his pill refinement with complete concentration, and a kindly smile appeared on his aged face. "Well? Have you learned anything?"

"Watching your pill-refining techniques has truly taught me a great deal, Senior Qing Mu."

Su Tian hurriedly cupped his fists and spoke respectfully.

This was no attempt at flattery. Qing Mu's experience in Alchemy was far beyond anything Su Tian could match.

Being able to watch Qing Mu refine a pill at such close quarters had indeed taught Su Tian many finer points, and this experience was precisely what he lacked.

It was also what allowed Su Tian to recognize the mistakes and problems in his own pill refinement.

Although Qing Mu might currently harbor ill intentions toward him, that did not stop Su Tian from seizing this opportunity to study Alchemy in greater depth.

"Before this, I thought I had more or less mastered controlling the flames' temperature during pill refinement. But after watching you, I realized that my control is still too shallow and far from practiced enough."

Su Tian pondered carefully for a moment before speaking.

Hearing his answer, Qing Mu smiled faintly. "You're already doing quite well. However, remember this: to control the flames, you must first become proficient in controlling your own soul power."

"I'll remember your teachings, Senior Qing Mu!"

Su Tian hurriedly nodded obediently, his expression that of an attentive student.

After all, Qing Mu's experience in Alchemy was an immensely precious treasure to Su Tian.

"All right, keep watching. This is a rare chance for you to learn."

Qing Mu turned his gaze back toward the Medicine Cauldron and spoke to Su Tian with a faint smile.

"Spirit-raising grass..."

Whoosh!

"Hidden spirit flower..."

Whoosh!

"Qi-star leaf..."

Whoosh!

"..."

As Qing Mu continued speaking, precious medicinal ingredients were swiftly tossed into the Medicine Cauldron one after another under his control.

The scorching flames immediately surged forward, extracting the special substances needed from each ingredient.

Time passed second by second, and Su Tian gradually became absorbed in Qing Mu's pill refinement. Sometimes realization flashed in his eyes; at other times, thoughtfulness surfaced...

Clearly, Su Tian was learning a great deal about Alchemy from watching Qing Mu work.

Whoom...

Suddenly, a low, muffled sound came from the Medicine Cauldron. Su Tian immediately perked up, intense anticipation appearing in his eyes.

At that moment, Qing Mu slowly opened his eyes as well and looked at the Myriad-Beast Heaven-Earth Cauldron before him.

"The Profound Spirit Soul-Recovery Pill is complete!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Qing Mu's aged face, and he nodded as he spoke.

Inside the Myriad-Beast Heaven-Earth Cauldron, a smooth, round, black-and-red pill spun briskly. A faint, refreshing fragrance immediately spread from the Medicine Cauldron.

Su Tian was not far from the cauldron. His nostrils twitched as he caught the unusual fragrance, and he immediately felt refreshed in both mind and spirit. Even his body seemed a little lighter.

"Senior Qing Mu, this pill..."

"This is a Profound Spirit Soul-Recovery Pill, a fourth-rank pill. Not only can it heal the injuries inside your body, it can also repair the damage caused within your head by excessive consumption of soul power."

Qing Mu moved his right hand, and the Medicine Cauldron's lid immediately flew up. The pill inside flew out as well, landing securely in his hand.

After briefly explaining the pill, Qing Mu handed it to Su Tian, who sat cross-legged beside him.

Taking the Profound Spirit Soul-Recovery Pill, Su Tian carefully examined it in his palm.

As expected of a fourth-rank pill. It's so much better than the pill the Great Elder gave me back then.

Su Tian brought the pill to his nose and gently sniffed it. That unusual fragrance immediately entered his nose and flowed into his body.

A faint warmth immediately spread through Su Tian's body.

It doesn't seem to have any problems.

Holding the pill between his fingers, Su Tian examined it carefully and found nothing unusual. Yet the wariness in his heart did not lessen in the slightest.

"All right. Now that the Profound Spirit Soul-Recovery Pill is ready, there's no time to lose. Take it right away."

Qing Mu watched Su Tian calmly, though a strange gleam flashed deep in his eyes. Then he smiled faintly and urged him on.

Hearing Qing Mu's words, a sharp light appeared in Su Tian's lowered eyes. Looking at the pill in his palm, he hesitated briefly, then gritted his teeth and tossed it into his mouth.

Since beginning his studies in Alchemy, Su Tian had learned quite a bit about medicinal ingredients and their properties.

While Qing Mu refined the pill, Su Tian had secretly observed the ingredients he used and found nothing amiss.

On the contrary, those ingredients were quite helpful for healing injuries and restoring soul power.

This caused a flicker of doubt in Su Tian's heart.

Could it be that he never intended to harm me?

Just then, Qing Mu suddenly spoke, barking at Su Tian, "Why are you still sitting there in a daze? Hurry and begin cultivating! Now is the best time to absorb the pill's medicinal power!"

Hearing Qing Mu's sharp command, Su Tian hurriedly gathered his wandering thoughts and took a deep breath. His hands formed a strange seal, and he closed his eyes, entering a state of cultivation while seated cross-legged.

The plan is about to begin.

Seeing Su Tian enter a state of cultivation, a greedy gleam immediately flashed in Qing Mu's eyes. A strange smile curved across his face as he spoke silently to himself.

The instant the Profound Spirit Soul-Recovery Pill entered Su Tian's body, it dissolved into two vast streams of medicinal power. One immediately spread through every inch of his flesh, steadily healing the injuries within.

The other stream of medicinal power rushed straight toward Su Tian's mind the moment he swallowed the pill.

Buzzz...

At that moment, a series of low humming sounds seemed to echo inside Su Tian's mind, as though it yearned for the energy formed from that medicinal power to arrive.

Su Tian hesitated only briefly before letting it through, allowing that pure, immense energy to rush straight into his mind.

Boom...

A muffled explosion seemed to sound within Su Tian's mind, leaving him briefly dazed.

Su Tian felt as though his soul had lost control of his physical body.

It was as if he had become a bystander, watching the changes taking place within himself.

Outside, Qing Mu seemed to sense this change within Su Tian. Delight immediately appeared on his aged face, and a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.

"Now!"

Qing Mu moved his right hand, and a blood-red pill immediately appeared. He swallowed it in one gulp.

The next moment, Qing Mu slowly closed his eyes, and a translucent soul form floated out through the crown of his head.

It was none other than Qing Mu's soul form!

"I've waited so long for this moment. Little fellow, your body belongs to me now!"

Qing Mu's soul form gazed at Su Tian, who was cultivating and had lost control of his body, with excitement flickering in his eyes.

Qing Mu had not secretly tampered with the Profound Spirit Soul-Recovery Pill.

However, its effects were not quite as he had described. It also had a side effect: after taking it, a person would briefly lose control of their physical body.

And this was the very moment Qing Mu had been waiting for.

Just as Qing Mu had told Su Tian earlier, there really was a seal placed by Queen Medusa inside his body.

Although this seal would not take Qing Mu's life, it prevented him from traveling too far from Temple City.

Once Qing Mu went beyond a certain distance, the poison would take effect and kill him instantly.

But before Queen Medusa sealed him, Qing Mu had encountered a magical beast as powerful as himself while searching for medicinal ingredients.

After a bitter battle, Qing Mu managed to kill the magical beast, but its dying counterattack also grievously wounded him, leaving a Netherworld Poison Seal inside his body.

Even as a Fifth-Rank Alchemist, Qing Mu could do nothing about this Netherworld Poison Seal.

As time passed, the Netherworld Poison Seal would irreversibly corrode Qing Mu's flesh, until he finally dissolved into a foul-smelling puddle of corpse fluid.

Without a physical body, he could survive only as a soul form, and his strength would be greatly diminished.

After all, Qing Mu was no Yao Lao. Not only was Yao Lao immensely powerful, his soul power was also beyond anything Qing Mu could match. Later on, Xiao Yan even used three kinds of heavenly flames in conjunction with a special method to refine a new body for Yao Lao.

But Qing Mu could never receive such treatment. Besides, he knew nothing of any of this.

Naturally, Qing Mu was unwilling to accept losing his body like this. After searching relentlessly, he finally discovered a bizarre secret art.

It involved finding a new body and merging his soul with that body's soul, thereby escaping the corrosion of the Netherworld Poison Seal.

The requirements for this body were extremely demanding. Neither its physical strength nor its soul power could be too weak.

Otherwise, the instant Qing Mu's soul form entered it, the body would shatter, unable to withstand that powerful invading soul power.

Only by meeting these requirements could Qing Mu escape the corrosion of the Netherworld Poison Seal and continue living through this unconventional method.

With a new body, Qing Mu would still be able to cultivate Dou Qi normally.

He would not be like a pure soul form, unable to cultivate Dou Qi and forced to rely solely on soul power in battle, with even the slightest carelessness threatening to reduce him to ashes and scatter him into oblivion.

However, a body that met these conditions was not easy to find.

Only Su Tian's arrival had given Qing Mu a glimmer of hope for success.

Yet this secret art had an unavoidable side effect.

Because it merged two souls, their memories could become confused during the process. It might even put him at risk of developing a split personality in the future.

But as far as Qing Mu was concerned, he could accept that price as long as he survived.

If Su Tian had not appeared, Qing Mu would have reached the end of his life in less than half a year.

Originally, Qing Mu had intended to make more thorough preparations before making his move against Su Tian.

By then, Su Tian's soul power would have grown considerably stronger, further increasing Qing Mu's chances of success.

However, the Great Elder had suddenly announced that Su Tian and Queen Medusa would marry the day after tomorrow, leaving Qing Mu unable to wait any longer.

Thus, Qing Mu had been forced to act ahead of schedule, leading to everything happening now.

"Little fellow, don't blame me. Everything I've done was merely to stay alive."

Qing Mu gave Su Tian a long look, and his soul form let out a quiet sigh. Then, without further hesitation, he surged forward and slipped into Su Tian's body through the crown of his head.

Although Su Tian had lost control of his physical body, he could see everything happening outside with perfect clarity.

This old fellow really did have ill intentions toward me. Has he finally lost patience and made his move?

The eyes of Su Tian's soul, suspended within his body, narrowed slightly. A chill spread from him as he calmly watched Qing Mu's soul form enter his flesh.

If Qing Mu had attacked Su Tian through some other means, Su Tian might have found himself with quite a headache.

But looking at Qing Mu's soul form, a meaningful smile curved across Su Tian's lips. "Since you've delivered yourself right to my door, don't blame me for casting aside our past ties."

Qing Mu's soul form abruptly appeared before Su Tian, gazing at him with undisguised greed.

Qing Mu knew nothing of the fate awaiting him. He was still imagining his own bright future. This little fellow's talent is truly extraordinary. Perhaps, with this body, I'll reach even greater heights someday!