"Well... if you wish to, honored guest, then naturally there is no problem. It's just... we haven't prepared that much, and I fear the results won't be very good if we gather the ingredients at the last minute."
The old patriarch did not know why someone as powerful as Di Yi, who could fight a Primordial Remnant, still wanted to experience a medicinal bath. Many thoughts crossed his mind, but he did not refuse.
In his view, the strong might have their own reasons; he simply could not understand the deeper meaning behind them.
"It's fine. Aren't there plenty of ingredients right here? Besides, I only want to try it. I'm not too concerned about the effects." Di Yi explained what he meant and indicated that he would not take the experience for free: he could offer the essence of a vicious beast as payment.
"In that case... please wait a moment, honored guest. This old man will have everyone make the preparations." The old patriarch had never intended to refuse Di Yi's request to try it, and upon hearing that he could receive the essence of a vicious beast as payment, he was even less likely to refuse.
Before long, another cauldron appeared in the open area at the entrance to the village. This one had been prepared for Di Yi.
"This cauldron..." Di Yi studied the large cauldron prepared for him. Although it was black, just like the others, it faintly exuded the vast, ancient aura of passing ages.
A closer look revealed images of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers carved upon it, as well as birds, beasts, fish, and insects. There were even old depictions of ancient forebears performing sacrifices, lending it a distinctly mysterious air.
"This was handed down by our ancestors. We rarely use it, so you needn't worry about it being unclean, honored guest." The old patriarch felt it would be inappropriate to have Di Yi use one of the large cauldrons the mischievous children had used. To avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, he had simply brought this one out.
"Handed down by your ancestors..." Di Yi approached the large black cauldron and looked at one particular spot. There was a carving there, resembling a map of the grand contours of some mountainous landscape, mysterious and unfathomable.
To his eyes, this large black cauldron was extraordinary. Merely observing it made him feel as though he had ventured deep into those mountains and rivers, sensed their grand momentum, and beheld their boundless immensity in its entirety.
"Is something wrong, honored guest?" Seeing Di Yi standing motionless before the cauldron, the old patriarch stepped forward to ask.
"This large cauldron gives me a very unusual feeling. How should I put it? It's different from those others. It doesn't seem like an ordinary object." Di Yi concealed nothing and described what he felt.
"It is indeed extraordinary, though our understanding of it is shallow. We only know that it greatly aids medicinal baths and cleansing rites. If it pleases you, honored guest, then that is wonderful." Naturally, the old patriarch also knew that the large black cauldron was extraordinary. After all, it had been handed down by their ancestors.
However, his knowledge of its extraordinary nature extended only to the word itself. As for precisely what made it extraordinary, he was not very clear on that.
"You're letting me use something like this? If it was handed down by your ancestors, shouldn't it be an Ancestral Artifact?" Di Yi asked.
"Ah, you're worrying too much, honored guest. Although it was handed down by our ancestors, it is ultimately a vessel meant to be used. Everyone in the village used it to some extent as a child. There are no taboos against it." The old patriarch shook his head with a smile. "Besides, you are qualified to use it. To us in Stone Village, you are no outsider."
His words were sincere. Di Yi had willingly given them those mountain-high piles of "treasure" without asking anything in return. How could he be stingy?
Moreover, the large black cauldron was meant to be used in the first place. Whoever used it, it still served its purpose-provided, of course, that they were accepted by Stone Village, and Di Yi met every condition.
"Then it would be discourteous of me to refuse." Di Yi did not decline any further. The old patriarch had said so much and did not regard him as an outsider. Asking him to bring out another vessel instead would only be inappropriate.
"Not at all, honored guest." After exchanging a few pleasantries, the old patriarch asked Di Yi to wait a moment. The ingredients and other preparations would soon be ready.
Sure enough, before long, people arrived carrying all manner of prepared supplies: aged medicinal herbs, spring water, and earthenware jars containing unknown liquids.
For Stone Village, conducting a medicinal bath
required considerable preparation. Fortunately, Di Yi had brought back so much that the most important ingredients were available for the taking. Thus, they were able to prepare everything in such a short time.
After all, the bulk of the ingredients could be obtained on the spot. As for the supplementary ingredients, those posed no problem. The village had ample reserves. With the Great Wilderness at their doorstep, the things they lacked least were well-aged medicinal herbs and mountain spring water as sweet as nectar.
"Add the herbs!" Once the spring water inside the large black cauldron was nearly at a full boil, the old patriarch signaled several young, able-bodied men to add the prepared ingredients.
Hearing his instructions, the young men all grew solemn and began their work, putting in the ingredients for the medicinal bath.
Some were lotus seeds the size of goose eggs, glossy black and exuding a rich, refreshing fragrance.
Some were fist-sized pink fruits that looked as though they had been carved from red jade, giving off a fresh, fruity scent.
Some were unusual grasses with four leaves, sparkling and translucent.
There were many ingredients, too numerous to list.
Next, they opened several earthenware jars containing the essence blood of giant beasts, strange small beasts, and beast limbs that seemed to have been air-dried using a special method.
"Dismember the vicious beasts and prepare to pour their precious blood into the cauldron!" the old patriarch called out again.
At his instructions, the young men rubbed their hands eagerly. Using the sharp blades they held, they worked on numerous vicious beast carcasses taken from the two "mountains," guiding out the blood and extracting the precious blood.
Ordinarily, vicious beast carcasses remained exceptionally tough even after death. Ordinary iron axes could not cut through them at all. Even someone whose swings carried five or six thousand jin of force would hack away until drenched in sweat.
Fortunately, all the vicious beast carcasses Di Yi had brought back looked as though some terrifying destructive force had ravaged them. By peeling them open along the cracks, the men could break apart the wounds sealed by congealed blood and draw out the precious blood.
Of course, these vicious beasts were dead, after all. Even if their special nature allowed their blood to remain congealed without solidifying after death, it could never flow like living blood. Processing it was no easy task either.
Besides these young men, others were busy with different tasks, cleaving vicious beasts with powerful blows. They swung unusual large blades, producing ringing clangs and showers of sparks as though they were forging iron.
The two "mountains" held a wealth of treasures, including quite a few relatively well-preserved vicious beasts. Following the old patriarch's instructions, they were extracting the essence of their five internal organs to strengthen the medicinal effects.
"Patriarch, please come extract the essence of their five internal organs." After a considerable stretch of time, the men called out to the old patriarch, indicating that they were ready for the final step.
"Good!" The old patriarch nodded and went over to do it himself. Wielding a jade blade covered in runes, as though it had been blessed with limitless divine strength, he swiftly extracted the essence of the vicious beasts' five internal organs.
"They're still active?" Di Yi watched the organ essences the old patriarch had extracted. Once removed from the bodies, they actually scattered sheets of luminous rain, as though they contained incomparably powerful divinity.
"Vicious beasts are immensely powerful. Even in death, they do not lose all vitality. This is where the essence of their entire bodies resides, so naturally, some divinity that has yet to dissipate completely remains for a certain period." After explaining, the old patriarch hurried toward the large black cauldron, not daring to delay for fear of wasting that remaining divine power.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
As all the ingredients were added one after another, the contents of the large cauldron burst into a riot of colors. It shone as brilliantly as a source of light, while wafts of exceptionally rich fragrance slowly drifted out.
"Bring it to a boil and brew it into a potent medicine!" As he gave the order, the old patriarch walked toward Di Yi. "Honored guest, it will soon be time to enter the cauldron. Would you like to bathe first, so you can enter with your body as clean as possible?"
Before you continue