Chapter 625
Fu Shaoping stared at the young man on the sickbed - there seemed to be a living thing crawling under the man's skin, which bulged an inch every three breaths, like a poisonous snake moving through his blood vessels.
"Heart-eating poison." He extinguished his pipe, sparks splashing on the bluestone slab, "It needs to be boiled for three days with 'Blood Ganoderma' and 'Seven Star Vine'."
The golden thread in Nangong Wanguan's sleeve fell silently and wrapped around the young man's wrist: "The poison has entered the heart vein. If you don't take the medicine before the hour of Mao tomorrow, you will die."
Lin Xiaoqi searched through the medicine cabinet and said in a trembling voice: "The last blood ganoderma lucidum...was used up by the owner of Baicao Hall last month."
Fu Shaoping suddenly kicked over the stool.
Faint roars of beasts came from the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains. The night fog filled the window lattices, casting a strange shadow on the young man's pale face.
The night in the Shiwanda Mountains is as thick as if it were splashed with ink.
The shadows of the trees twisted into ghosts in the fog, and the vines hanging from the branches swayed in the wind like ropes for hanged ghosts. Fu Shaoping stepped on the ground covered with rotten leaves, and every step he took sank into the mud half a foot deep, making a muffled sound.
"Further ahead is the 'Erosion Bone Marsh'." Nangong Wan flicked his sleeves lightly, and the golden thread from his fingertips silently stretched out, weaving a fine net in the mist, "The miasma is poisonous, hold your breath."
Fu Shaoping did not respond, but took out a Xuanming Order from his waist. With a flash of cold light, the mist was split open. He strode in, crushing several fist-sized poisonous toads with his boots. The smelly liquid splashed on his trouser legs, instantly corroding several charred holes.
Deep in the swamp, a faint bubbling sound could be heard, as if something was breathing under the mud.
-
"Whoosh-!"
Three bone arrows flew through the air, and the bronze bells tied to the tails of the arrows vibrated wildly. The piercing sound of the bells instantly tore through the silence.
Fu Shaoping dodged sideways, and the Xuanming Order slashed horizontally. The bone arrow broke with a sound, and a smelly green mist burst out of the arrow body!
"Poisonous smoke!" Nangong Wan's sleeves fluttered, and the golden thread circled like a dragon, dispersing the poisonous fog.
Deep in the swamp, thirty-six Wu Nuo priests dressed in animal skins stepped out of the water. Each of them wore a half-rotten bark mask on their face. Their eye sockets were empty, but it seemed as if countless pairs of eyes were peering at them in the dark.
The leader raised a human bone staff, and the baby skull hanging on the end of the staff suddenly spoke, with a hoarse voice like sandpaper rubbing against each other: "The mountain master has ordered that those who steal the Ganoderma lucidum... sacrifice to the abyss!"
Before he finished speaking, the swamp suddenly boiled!
Dozens of rotten corpses broke out of the water, covered with maggots, and their rotten claws grabbed at the two of them!
Fu Shaoping sneered, the cold light of the Xuanming Order became brighter, and he rushed out like a ghost. Wherever the blade passed, the heads of rotten corpses rolled down, and the smelly black blood splattered like rain!
Nangong Wan's sleeves fluttered, and the golden thread was like a net that forced the Wu Nu to retreat. With a flick of her fingertips, the golden thread suddenly tightened, and a Wu Nu's head was strangled with a "crack"!
"boom--!"
The center of the swamp suddenly exploded, and a thousand-year-old corpse wearing armor broke out of the water. A blood Ganoderma lucidum suddenly bloomed in its chest, and the flesh of the fungus squirmed like a living thing, spewing out pink and purple poisonous spores!
“Retreat!” Nangong Wan wove a net with golden thread and stopped the spores several feet away.
Fu Shaoping rushed forward, and the Xuanming Order pierced the ancient corpse's throat! The cold air poured in through the gaps in the armor, and the ancient corpse's movements suddenly froze.
Just when his fingertips were about to touch the blood ganoderma—
"Zheng!"
A black shadow attacked from the side, Fu Shaoping dodged sideways, but saw that the Wu Nuo leader used the bone staff as a blade and stabbed him in the heart!
"Looking for death!" Fu Shaoping shouted angrily, and swung the Xuanming Order horizontally. The bone staff broke with a sound, but there was a blood Gu hidden in the staff, which instantly drilled into his arm!
Fu Shaoping groaned in pain, veins in his arms bulged, and his blood vessels turned black at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Nangong Wan's eyes turned cold, and the golden thread pierced into Fu Shaoping's wrist like lightning, extracting the poison!
"Don't be distracted!" she said coldly, and at the same time, she waved her wide sleeves, and golden threads shot towards the Wu Nuo leader like a rainstorm!
-
The two of them fought their way to the Corpse Burial Abyss.
There were piles of bones at the bottom of the abyss, and countless corpses with rotten flesh hanging on them were wriggling in the darkness, making "crunching" sounds of gnawing.
The ancient corpse was suspended in mid-air, with an iron chain piercing its heart, and the blood Ganoderma lucidum was beating in its chest like a living heart.
"Break the formation!" Fu Shaoping shouted in a low voice, and the cold light of the Xuanming Order surged and hit the iron chain directly!
Nangong Wan's golden thread was like a dragon, wrapping around the ancient corpse's limbs and pulling them off alive!
At the moment when the blood ganoderma separated from the ancient corpse, the whole cave suddenly trembled! Blood oozed from the rock wall, floating in the air and condensed into a huge "blood feeding and possession array"!
"boom--!"
The ancient corpse's eyes suddenly opened, and the blood Ganoderma lucidum split into countless red threads, shooting out like a rain of arrows!
Fu Shaoping swung his sword to cut off most of it, but there was still a red thread that pierced into the shoulder and instantly penetrated into the flesh!
Nangong Wan's eyes flashed fiercely, and the golden thread pierced into Fu Shaoping's body like lightning, forcibly pulling out the red thread!
"Let's go!" She grabbed Fu Shaoping and jumped out of the abyss!
Behind him, the sound of Wu Nuo's chanting came like a tide, and the Corpse Burial Abyss collapsed!
When Fu Shaoping rushed out of the valley carrying the unconscious Nangong Wan, there was a brocade bag in his arms containing half a blood Ganoderma lucidum - half of the finger bone was still attached to the broken part of the mushroom cap.
The Seven Star Vine Soup prepared by Lin Xiaoqi was already boiling in the medicine cauldron. The young man stared at his master's ragged clothes and Nangong Wan's pale face, and suddenly found something glowing between their interlocked fingers.
That was Nangong Wan's golden thread, which was deeply inserted into Fu Shaoping's wrist vein, continuously guiding the cold air in his body into his meridians.
"What are you standing there for?" Fu Shaoping smashed the blood ganoderma into the medicine cauldron. The splashing blood foam condensed into four small words "Life and Death Together" on the surface of the soup and disappeared in a flash.
The black jade wind chimes under the eaves move automatically even without wind.
The skin of the young man on the sickbed suddenly cracked, and a three-inch-long golden insect broke out of his body and was about to fly away -
"Snapped!"
Fu Shaoping used his pipe to crush the poisonous insect to death. Amid the curling green smoke, Nangong Wan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and an almost invisible curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.
-
Mao Shi · Pharmacy
In the dim morning light, last night's dew still hung on the eaves of the medicine hall.
The boy - now able to get out of bed and walk, his face still pale, but the dead air in his eyes has dissipated. He stood in front of the medicine cabinet, his fingertips gently stroking the medicine jars covered with red paper, as if he was counting his own heartbeats.
"Master." He suddenly spoke, his voice still a little hoarse, "I want to stay."
Fu Shaoping was smoking a pipe, and he raised his eyelids when he heard this: "Where to leave it?"
"Pharmacy." The young man turned around and bowed deeply, "You and Miss Nangong saved my life, I... can't repay you."
Nangong Wan was sitting by the window, with the golden thread wrapped around her fingers, and her fingertips paused slightly when she heard the words.
Fu Shaoping exhaled a puff of smoke, and in the mist, his expression could not be seen clearly: "What's your name?"
"Lu Zhao." The young man answered straightforwardly, "I live in Qingzhou. My parents died early, leaving me with only a younger sister... Some time ago, my enemy put a curse on me. If it weren't for the two of you..."
He said nothing more, but bowed deeply again.
-
Chenshi · Medicine Hall Backyard
Lu Zhao moved quickly, moving the bamboo plates for drying medicine one by one and spreading the newly picked herbs on them. Although he didn't understand pharmacology, he was diligent and even arranged the gold thread that Nangong Wan hung under the eaves neatly.
Lin Xiaoqi squatted beside the medicine stove and fanned the fire, looking at him secretly: "Do you really want to stay?"
Lu Zhao nodded: "The favor is too great, I have to repay it." Lin Xiaoqi curled his lips: "Master doesn't need odd jobs."
"What's missing?"
Lin Xiaoqi rolled his eyes and said, "We need someone to test the medicine."
Lu Zhao smiled: "Okay."
His answer was so straightforward that Lin Xiaoqi was choked.
-
Noon time drug testing
Fu Shaoping came out from the inner room, holding a bowl of black medicine in his hand, and put it on the table: "Drink it."
Lu Zhao drank it without saying anything.
The bitterness of the medicine went down his throat, but he didn't say a word.
Fu Shaoping stared at him for a long while, then suddenly smiled: "You have guts."
Nangong Wan's golden thread silently reached out and wrapped around Lu Zhao's wrist. After a moment, he whispered, "The meridians are fine."
Fu Shaoping said "hmm", turned around and walked into the inner room, saying, "Get up early tomorrow and follow me into the mountains to collect herbs."
Lu Zhao was startled, then his eyes lit up: "Yes!"
-
Weishi·Under the eaves of the medicine hall
Nangong Wan sat in the corridor and brewed tea, the pot hanging with golden thread and steam rising up.
Lu Zhao hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and bowed deeply: "Miss Nangong, thank you very much."
Nangong Wan raised her eyes, surrounded by the aroma of tea, her eyebrows and eyes were like a painting: "What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you... for saving me."
The golden thread trembled slightly, and the tea in the pot just filled a cup. Nangong Wan pushed the teacup over: "No need to thank me."
Lu Zhao took it with both hands. The tea was warm and soothed his palms.
The wind chimes on the eaves rang softly, and in the distance came the voice of Fu Shaoping scolding Lin Xiaoqi, mixed with the gurgling sound of the medicine grinder, which was lively and bustling.
Lu Zhao suddenly felt that this medicine hall might be where he should stay for the rest of his life.
-
The night before the auction in the market, the inner room of the medicine hall
The candlelight cast two figures on the blue brick wall. Nangong Wan's golden thread was hanging in the air and weaving into a fine spiritual net. The net contained thirty-two medium-grade spiritual stones, each of which was pierced by the golden thread and exuded light blue spiritual mist.
"We still need 780 low-grade spirit stones." She raised her fingertips, and the spirit mist condensed into beads and fell into the pottery jar. "If we go by the market price, that Nine-Leaf Phoenix Ginseng is worth at least 2,000."
Fu Shaoping held his pipe in silence. What was burning in the pipe was not tobacco, but a piece of "burning spirit wood" - with every puff, tiny sparks splashed on the animal skin on the table, burning out charred marks of talismans.
"Wow!"
He suddenly lifted the floor tiles and pulled out a rusty iron box from the secret compartment. The moment the box was opened, a chill filled the air, and five frozen "Xuan Yin Pearls" were glowing faintly.
Nangong Wan frowned: "You actually kept the stolen goods from the ghost market?"
"I found this on the body of 'Old Taoist Jackdaw' ten years ago." Fu Shaoping flicked away the ash, and the sparks burned the bead with a hissing sound of white smoke. "The 'Skinning Liu' on the black market specializes in buying these. One bead is worth three hundred spirit stones."
The stinking alley was filled with ghost paper, and human skin lanterns were hung on the stalls on both sides. Fu Shaoping kicked open a worm-eaten wooden door, and hung from the lintel was a string of dried hand bones with copper bells tied to the knuckles.
"What a rare guest." The sound of sharpening a knife came from the shadows. The one-eyed old man licked the dagger and looked up. "Master Fu, are you going to sell the stolen goods?"
Five black Yin beads fell on the chopping board, and ice chips flew. As soon as the old man touched the beads, he suddenly screamed and retracted his hand - Nangong Wan's golden thread had wrapped around his wrist, and the thread head had penetrated three inches into his skin.
"Five hundred per piece." Fu Shaoping tapped the chopping board with his pipe. "One penny less, and I'll tear down your skinning shop."
Yinshi · Medicine Hall Backyard
Lin Xiaoqi was squatting by the well, washing a basket of smelly "blood toad clothes" when he was suddenly hit on the back of his head by a cloth bag thrown at him.
"Go to Wanbaolou and exchange them for spirit stones." The hem of Fu Shaoping's black robe was still dripping with corpse oil unique to the black market. "If you dare to hide even half a piece, I'll put you in the medicine furnace and make you into a pill."
Nangong Wan was using gold thread to sew a piece of soft silver armor - it was a remnant bought from a pawn shop. At this moment, the gaps in the armor were filled with "fire-proof scales", and each scale was glowing with a crimson glow.
"The 'Heart Burning Furnace' at the auction requires capital verification." She bit off the golden thread and threw the soft armor to Fu Shaoping, "Put on this, and you can at least pretend to be a foundation-building cultivator."
Mao Hour·Fangshi Entrance
Thunder rolled over the bluestone road, and thirty-six "soul-guiding lamps" were suspended in the air, illuminating people's faces. As soon as Fu Shaoping showed the invitation, the gatekeeper's spirit-testing mirror suddenly burst into a dazzling red light - the mirror surface reflected the undried blood on his waist's Xuanming Order.
"Did you just kill someone, fellow Daoist?" The monk narrowed his eyes.
Nangong Wan flicked his sleeves lightly, and the golden thread silently wrapped around the monk's ankle, with the end of the thread against his vital point: "Are the spirit stones used to kill people not considered spirit stones?"
The spirit-testing mirror went out with a snap.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the bluestone square in front of Tianbao Pavilion was already crowded with people.
Thirty-six black banners embroidered with gold patterns fluttered in the wind. Under the banners stood two rows of black-robed monks, with tokens with the word "forbidden" hanging from their waists. Their eyes swept over the people entering the venue like knives. Whenever someone approached, a wisp of black air would come out of their sleeves, circling around the person three times like a living snake, and only let them go after confirming that there was no fraud.
"Have you heard? The finale this time is a 'Dragon Blood Nirvana Pill', which can extend life for three hundred years!"
"Oh, your news is outdated. Wanbaolou spread the rumor last night that there is another 'Xuanyin Corpse Puppet'..."
Amid the noise, a gilded chariot rolled over the bluestone, pulled by four "green-eyed, green-maned beasts", with flames under their hooves, and the stone slabs were charred wherever they stepped. The curtain of the chariot was slightly lifted, revealing a pale finger, with a purple gold invitation card pinched between its fingertips. When the gatekeeper saw it, he immediately bowed and stepped back three feet.
"It's the 'Old Monster of Yinshan'! This old ghost is here too..." someone whispered.
Before he finished speaking, a clear cry was heard from the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a "Snow-Feathered Black Crane" with a wingspan of ten feet breaking through the clouds and descending. Standing on the back of the crane were three female cultivators in white. There were clouds flying between their sleeves, and when they landed, there was no dust on them.
"People from Yuxiao Palace have also arrived!" The crowd was in an uproar, and many people secretly tightened their storage bags - once these famous sects arrived, the hope of independent cultivators became slim.
Inside the Tianbao Pavilion, there was a hundred-foot-long red silk corridor lined with glazed cabinets on both sides. The treasures in the cabinets floated in the air and rotated, emitting dazzling light.
Fu Shaoping squatted in front of a bronze tripod and knocked on the ears of the tripod with his pipe. Suddenly, a smelly black smoke rose from the tripod.
"It's fake." He sneered, "The real 'Nine-aperture Demon Refining Cauldron' should have a bloody backlash, but this thing can't even fart."
Nangong Wan's golden thread was wrapped around the "Millennium Blood Ganoderma" in the cabinet on the other side. The thread tip penetrated three inches into the fungus and suddenly trembled: "There are Gu eggs in the mycelium. This Ganoderma has been tampered with by the 'Witch Gu Sect'."
Not far away, a wealthy businessman was holding a "Ten Thousand Years Spiritual Ginseng" in ecstasy, but he didn't notice that the ginseng's hair was quietly wrapping around his wrist, and his skin was already turning purple... (End of this chapter)