Randeng Speaks

The Daoist Ran Deng's ritual in the first month of the lunar calendar failed, and Zhang Xuezhou never expected to encounter him again a month later.

This chance encounter left Zhang Xuezhou somewhat incredulous.

But when the Daoist Ran Deng mentioned that he had been searching for medicinal herbs all over the place and had relied on the blood catalyst to find Tathagata, he understood why they had met.

The search for medicine everywhere inevitably slowed down the journey, and indeed, Brother Tathagata had fought on this road leading to Shouchun City, being chased all the way by the cultivators of the King of Huainan's Household.

"So the Daoist priest is ill, no wonder he needs to search for medicinal herbs everywhere," Zhang Xuezhou said. "The Daoist priest is a talented man, why not serve the Great Han Dynasty? That way, obtaining some good medicinal herbs would be no problem!"

"Ha ha!"

The Daoist Ran Deng chuckled twice and took the grilled fish that Zhang Xuezhou handed him.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others were better at foraging in the wild than he was, so Daoist Ran Deng was spared the trouble of doing it himself.

He occasionally replied to Zhang Xuezhou's words, and sometimes responded with a dry laugh.

Having just lost face in front of the Empress Dowager, he had no reason to go back and ask her for rare and precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Besides, she was already so ill that she was probably even more in need of powerful medicines.

Ordinary medicinal herbs are of little use to a cultivator of the level of Ran Deng Dao Ren.

He simply went out to find the great medicine himself.

In the era when the Daoist Ran Deng was cultivating, going out to search for medicine in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent without touching two ginseng spirits was considered returning empty-handed.

As time went by, he found it difficult to find even two hundred-year-old medicinal herbs.

He stumbled and struggled along the way, searching everywhere and collecting some minor medicinal herbs, but the Daoist Ran Deng never obtained any major medicines.

He possesses the skill to find spirit medicine, but without spirit medicine find, even his dragon-slaying prowess is difficult to utilize.

"Young brother, have you acquired any rare and precious medicines recently?" Daoist Ran Deng asked. "If you can bear to part with what you have, I am willing to exchange it for something else, and I guarantee you will be satisfied!"

"Daoist Master, you probably caught a faint scent of medicine on me," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile. "Half a month ago, I accompanied His Majesty to pay homage to our ancestors, and on the way, the Marquis of Pingyang bestowed upon me a medicinal pill to cure my illness!"

The Life-Creating Pill had been taken for half a month, and its effects had almost completely worn off, but Sima Tan could still smell a trace of Zhang Xuezhou's aura when he got close.

Compared to Sima Tan, the Daoist Ran Deng had a stronger ability to sense auras, and the other party even tracked him down by following his aura.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart.

Sima Tan had difficulty discerning the nature of the breath, while Zhang Xuezhou knew that the root cause of his illness was the gourd pill.

Daoist Ran Deng, on the other hand, seemed familiar with this kind of aura, indicating that his knowledge was clearly broader.

"It seems the Daoist priest recognizes this fine medicine," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

"It would be a pity to have consumed it," said Daoist Ran Deng regretfully.

The healing pills bestowed half a month ago could not be saved for half a month later. If Zhang Xuezhou had swallowed them only a moment ago, he could have extracted them from the other party's stomach. But now, it was clear that nothing could be obtained.

This was a pity for the Daoist Ran Deng.

He had no idea who the Marquis of Pingyang was, nor did he know where the other party was, whether he possessed more powerful medicines, or whether he could reliably obtain the powerful medicines the other party possessed.

With all these factors combined, Daoist Ran Deng could only sigh repeatedly.

"That Marquis of Pingyang is a generous man," said Daoist Ran Deng. "For the medicinal aura to still linger after half a month, his pill must have used at least some medicinal essence as a raw material, and this medicinal essence must be a rare commodity, probably over a thousand years old!"

"There are actually medicinal essences in this world that can live for thousands of years?"

"Some medicines with chaotic Spirit Root also possess this aura, but the former are cultivated through the refinement of the essence of the sun and moon, while the latter are naturally nurtured by the earth," said Daoist Ran Deng. "Both the former and the latter are extremely rare and hard to find. This old Daoist can only envy your good fortune!"

"Master, my cousin had some bad luck. He took the elixir bestowed upon him by the Marquis of Pingyang, and that very day he expelled an enormous amount of foul air, even knocking people unconscious!"

Zhang Xuezhou winked at Rong Tianding Rong Tianding, who couldn't help but chime in.

These words, spoken by Zhang Xuezhou, were not as effective, but being relayed by others undoubtedly serves as proof.

"Only after expelling the turbid qi can the great medicine be effective," the Daoist Ran Deng corrected. "This is expelling the five poisons from the intestines and stomach. The medicinal qi of this kind can make people dizzy. If you hadn't taken the medicine, the root of your internal organs would probably be quite deep!"

"Is it that serious?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in astonishment.

"That's quite serious," Daoist Ran Deng nodded. "It seems you've taken a highly poisonous pill, which has caused this serious illness!"

"I was cursed and treated by the imperial physician for two months, but I did not take any poisonous pills," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"A curse... a curse is possible. It seems I guessed wrong. I thought you had bitten into the flesh of some poisonous plant or monster, or perhaps eaten something with Spirit Root!"

"Has the Daoist priest ever encountered poisonous plants, spirits, or Spirit Root?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I've encountered them, but I didn't get any," Daoist Ran Deng recalled. "These kinds of spirits are often excellent materials for making weapons, and they're usually taken away early on, especially Spirit Root items."

"I see! Could you tell us more about it, Daoist Master, so we can all learn something?" Zhang Xuezhou said enthusiastically, "This is amazing! We've never heard of anything like it before!"

"Saying a few words is no problem!"

Zhang Xuezhou and the others were very enthusiastic. Looking at the grilled fish in his hand, Daoist Ran Deng finally decided that it wouldn't be a problem to talk to the young people about his past experiences.

"The most famous poisonous plant spirit in this Eastern Land should be the Heaven-Shaking Arrow," said Daoist Ran Deng. "This arrow is extremely powerful in killing. Its arrowhead is made of Kun steel, and its fletching is taken from the phoenix. However, its body is made of a poisonous plant spirit called 'Arrow.' This Arrow Grass Spirit is extremely tough, and it can increase the speed of the arrow when it is launched. It is said that when the Arrow Grass Spirit is angry, it can fly three thousand miles. Whether it is escaping or killing, its ability is extremely strong!"

"Good heavens, if it flies three thousand miles, wouldn't it kill tens of thousands of people along the way?" Rong Tianding exclaimed in amazement.

"Back then, the population was sparse, so it didn't kill tens of thousands of people. It was precisely because it was a demon that harmed the innocent that its species was wiped out. Even its demonic body was made into divine weapons. Otherwise, if it had cultivated to the extreme, I'm afraid few could have stopped it," said Daoist Ran Deng, nodding.

"Besides the Heaven-Shaking Arrow, are there any other notorious poisonous plant spirits?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"In our West Ox Hezhou, there is a monk named Brahma, who possesses a snake staff that can suddenly transform into a venomous snake to bite people," said the Daoist Ran Deng. "Ordinary people would die from just one bite. This wicked monk has recently acquired this treasure and is also using the snake staff to bite people everywhere. Everyone is terrified of him now!"

"With your level of cultivation, you're afraid of his snake staff?" Zhang Xuezhou asked incredulously.

When the Daoist Ran Deng recounted the story, he used the term "evil monk" to describe Brahma, but Zhang Xuezhou knew that Brahma belonged to the Buddhist sect of the Western Sect.

Thinking that Wu Chao had been recruited by Tathagata to fight against Brahma and others, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the risk of Wu Chao was quite high.

"Being bitten twice is never pleasant," said Daoist Ran Deng helplessly. "These kinds of Spirit Root creatures are inherently poisonous and lack a normal antidote. It's best to avoid being bitten altogether."

"It seems the Staff of the Serpent is indeed powerful," Zhang Xuezhou nodded and said, "If even you can't handle it, then there are probably very few people in the world who can withstand it!"

"That's not the case. I taught the Tathagata to open 108,000 acupoints in his physical body, so that he could defend himself, be brave and fierce, ward off poison, and possess great power. He would surely be able to subdue that evil monk who was wielding the snake staff," said the Daoist Ran Deng.

"Are 108,000 acupoints really that powerful?" Rong Tianding exclaimed in amazement. "How can one cultivate with that?"

"A mysterious technique must have a mysterious aspect!"

The Daoist Ran Deng nodded.

Zhang Xuezhou wanted to ask about the gourd pill, while Rong Tianding was given a look by Zhang Xuezhou and pressed for details about the 108,000 acupoints.

However, with one constantly asking questions and the other trying to find out more, the Daoist Ran Deng's narration took a completely different turn, and he also did some evasive and perfunctory responses.