"Sir, what would you like to do with these two python eyes?"
the clerk asked anxiously, gazing at Zhou Shu expectantly.
He wanted to make the deal, but was afraid Zhou Shu would overpay. With the shopkeeper away, he didn't have the authority to mobilize too many spirit stones.
Zhou Shu smiled faintly. "Since I'm here, and have met a master like Master Gao, of course I'll leave them to your shop. However, I don't intend to sell them. I'd like to exchange them for other materials and demon pills."
The clerk's heart relaxed, and he agreed. "Of course, of course, what do you need, sir?"
Zhou Shu pondered for a moment, then rattled off a list of ingredients: Flame Bird Feather, Bitter Marsh Saliva, Earth Dragon Claw, Black Wind Leopard Demon Pill...
These ingredients were naturally needed to complement the Golden Ring Kui Python Demon Pill, but Zhou Shu had deliberately mentioned a few more that weren't needed to confuse the audience and prevent anyone from guessing.
The waiter's eyebrows trembled as he listened, having never imagined there were so many varieties. He was afraid he'd lose business if he missed any of them. But once Zhou Shu finished, his expression brightened. "Sir, we have all the ingredients you mentioned!"
"Oh, they're common, not hard to find."
His answer was exactly
what Zhou Shu expected. If they didn't have these common ingredients, there would be no need to open a materials store. The waiter took out a pen and paper. "Please tell me exactly how much you need, so I can prepare it."
"I'll go with you." Zhou Shu wouldn't give out specific amounts; letting people guess at the recipe wasn't a good idea.
"Master Gao, goodbye." Zhou Shu said goodbye to Gao Chen and turned to leave.
Gao Chen nodded, remaining silent, and continued to work, acting like a master.
According to Zhou Shu's request, the waiter traded the ingredients, plus three mid-grade spirit stones, for a python eye. Everyone was happy.
"Come back next time, sir."
While the python eye was nice, it wasn't of much value to Zhou Shu right now; selling it was more profitable.
With his work done, Zhou Shu returned to his residence, content.
The rewards he had received from his first training trip were more than enough.
Sensing Zhou Shu's arrival, a beetle eagerly rolled over and latched onto his trouser leg.
"Little Gun, I know you want spirit stones. We don't have any low-grade ones, but do you dare eat a mid-grade one?"
The black beetle seemed to have eaten too much; its belly and shell had become swollen and it could barely crawl, hence Zhou Shu's nickname.
He plucked it off and flung it onto the mat, tossing a mid-grade spirit stone onto it.
Little Gun's eyes lit up, and he hurried over, hugging the stone tightly and refusing to move.
"You dare to eat it..."
Zhou Shu's face was filled with astonishment. The spiritual energy contained in a mid-grade spirit stone was over ten times greater than that of a low-grade one, and it was much purer and harder to transform. Even a Qi Refining cultivator like him couldn't absorb it directly; it required a spirit gathering array.
And yet this little bug was trying to absorb it directly—truly audacious.
"You're courting death! It's okay if you're not afraid of death. Don't blame me if you eat too much and die."
Zhou Shu cursed inwardly, and ignored it, going straight to his own business.
What he was going to do was actually very dangerous, but it was also necessary.
Zhou Shu wanted to use the demon pill of the Golden Ring Kui Python to prepare a rare medicinal liquid to improve his physique and cultivation. This is his biggest shackle now, and it's time to move forward.
The formula of the medicinal liquid comes from the collection of the Wuwang Sect, the former peak master of Tianyun Peak, Bai Han, a cultivator in the Condensation Vein Realm who entered the Tao with a sword and a fiery temperament.
The demon pill is the essence of a demon beast. It has rich medicinal properties and violent spiritual power. Cultivators cannot use it directly.
After most cultivators get the demon pill, they will use various auxiliary medicinal materials with warm properties to neutralize it, and refine it into a pill that is easy for cultivators to accept. This is the right way for cultivators. But
Bai Han is not like that.
After obtaining the demon pill, Bai Han not only failed to neutralize the medicinal properties, but instead combined them with demonic beast materials of similar medicinal properties, like adding fuel to a raging fire, intensifying the potency. Using the demon pill in this way was extremely harmful and dangerous, making it unacceptable to many, yet he embraced it with relish.
According to historical records, this practice rapidly advanced Bai Han's cultivation: "At the age of twenty-one, he achieved the state of condensed meridians and the manifestation of his sword intent, a true prodigy rarely seen in a century." However, it also brought grave consequences. Despite having hopes of advancing to the Golden Core realm, he died young at the age of twenty-five. Records state, "During a sword duel with Zhang Xinde of the Xingyi Sect, Bai Han's meridians suddenly shattered, thunder erupted from the ground, his body tore into pieces, and blood gushed out like a fountain. The scene was horrific."
The consequences of Bai Han's death deeply lamented the Wuwang Sect, and his formula was sealed away, accessible only to a select few.
Zhou Shu stumbled upon it in the Sutra Library on Tianyun Peak but dismissed it as a matter of course. As a direct disciple, he would not resort to such extreme means to elevate himself.
But now, he decided to give this method a try, though he wasn't seeking his own destruction.
Bai Han's early death was due to his constant use of this method to improve himself. The walls of his Qi channels, subjected to the constant surge of violent spiritual energy, had become brittle. During a full-scale battle, the walls reached a critical point and fractured, causing the spiritual energy to surge unchecked. Unable to withstand the surge, his body exploded and died.
Zhou Shu, on the other hand, had no such concerns, as his Qi channels were already fractured.
The most serious consequences had already occurred, so what else was there to worry about?
Having experienced a surge of spiritual energy before, he wouldn't make the same mistake again. Last time, he practiced the Listening to the Waves Sutra without calculating his body's endurance. This time, he would calculate it perfectly, ensuring it could withstand it, before officially beginning.
The calculations weren't difficult; he already knew his body intimately. All he needed to figure out was how to control the absorption of the medicinal liquid, how much to take each time, and so on.
As for the medicinal liquid itself, there was no need to calculate, and it was impossible to do so.
He didn't understand the properties of the various ingredients, nor did he understand medical principles or the art of alchemy. He simply trusted in the wisdom of his predecessors.
However, as his cultivation level increases, his spiritual awareness will also strengthen, and his calculations and deductions will become more and more persistent and powerful. At that time, he will be able to gradually calculate and deduce the properties of various materials in the world of immortal cultivation, and then compile them into his memory bank, making everything easier. For example, refining pills and refining equipment will be like a duck in water.
But that was in the future, and it was obviously impossible to do it now.
He took out the demon pill and materials, and began to prepare the liquid medicine step by step according to the requirements of the formula.
Four days later, there was an extra large vat in the room, and green gas kept coming out. The green liquid medicine was shaking slightly in the vat, and from time to time it flashed a few green rays, which was magical and unusual.
The whole room was filled with a strong smell, and Xiao Gun also felt it, but it only took a sip and hurriedly rolled away, hiding in the corner with the spirit stone, not daring to show its head at all.
Compared with the mid-grade spirit stone, this vat of unknown liquid full of spiritual energy was not only unattractive, but also made it fear it like a tiger.
Dangerous, very dangerous, extremely dangerous.
"You said I was asking for death, but you are asking for death even more than me."