Chapter 10: Hundred-Flower Antidote
"What?"
Everyone was surprised by Chu Liang's words.
In such a forest where demons ran rampant, they couldn't easily replenish their true essence, and they didn't know what dangers they would encounter. This meant that the more cultivation energy they conserved, the better their chances of escaping would be if they were to fall into peril.
They were all aware of this, so there was no way any of them would want to use up all of their foundational qi on clearing a path for the group. That was why Fang Ting had proposed having a three-person rotation to split the load fairly.
So, when Chu Liang said he had a different idea, they had thought that he would suggest something that would allow him to get out of being part of the rotation or that he'd drag Fang Ting and Xu Ziqing into it too.
However, completely contrary to their expectations, the young man who was smiling warmly before them voluntarily suggested that he should take on the task of clearing the path by himself.
He was only in the beginning stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm, so his willingness to shoulder such a great burden was truly unexpected.
"Brother Chu, this isn't the time to joke around." Lin Bei was the first to try to persuade Chu Liang. "Moreover, this route could take many hours to traverse. If you were to exhaust your foundational qi during this time, it would make our subsequent mission of gathering the Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower more challenging. Let's just take turns to clear the path."
Chu Liang replied with a smile, "It's all right. I'm confident I can do this. But if I'm about to run out of foundational qi, I'll step down and let someone else take over. My cultivation level is low, so there aren't many things I can help with. Just let me make my contribution by doing this."
His earnest words and sincere expression touched the hearts of everyone present.
"Since you're determined to do this, you can clear the path first. It's getting late. We need to enter the mountain as soon as possible," Fang Ting said as he turned around. He paused before adding, "Just remember that once your foundational qi drops below half, immediately switch with someone. It would be too late if you wait until your foundational qi has been fully depleted."
"I understand," Chu Liang said with a nod.
The young lady, Xu Ziqing, looked at him and pouted her lips.
Xu Ziqing's spirit pet, the white bird, hadn't been given to her by her elder brother but by her teacher, Wang Xuanling. Wang Xuanling had always doted on her, so she developed a deep attachment to him. This meant that she had a poor impression of Silver Sword Peak because of its peak master, who was at odds with Wang Xuanling.
Xu Ziqing had been secretly treating Chu Liang as an enemy ever since she found out that he was the disciple of Silver Sword Peak's peak master, Di Nufeng. She had felt rather angry about letting him ride her spirit pet, so she had deliberately sat at the front to isolate him.
However, the young lady was soft-hearted. She realized that Chu Liang's willingness to take on more of the group's burden was because he wanted to build better relationships with everyone. Thinking this, she suddenly felt that it hadn't been very nice of her to isolate him earlier.
Moreover, Senior Brother Chu Liang… was taciturn and rather handsome. He even had a charming smile... She could tell at one glance that he was a good person.
Xu Ziqing straightened her clothes and ran a few steps to catch up with Chu Liang. She stopped in front of him and took out a small bottle.
"Senior Brother Chu, there are three Qi-Gathering Pills in here. Keep them, and use them if you need to," Xu Ziqing said.
Qi-Gathering Pills allowed for the swift recovery of foundational qi, so they were very useful at such times when it was difficult to replenish one's foundational qi. However, their primary use was a cultivation booster. They were normally taken before a cultivation session, but at present, they weren't in a situation where they could just sit around and cultivate. It seemed like a bit of a waste to use them only for replenishing foundational qi.
"Junior Sister Xu, this…"
Chu Liang was about to politely decline, but he saw the young lady look at him with large, teary eyes filled with guilt. It seemed like she would cry if he didn't accept the pills.
This left him quite puzzled, so he just accepted the pills in the end.
"All right, thank you very much," Chu Liang said.
"Hehe, it's nothing. I have plenty more," Xu Ziqing replied, breaking into a sweet smile.
Chu Liang transformed his flying sword bracelet into a wieldable form and grasped it in his hand. He didn't have time to think deeply about what the disciples from Jade Sword Peak felt about him.
He volunteered to clear the path for a very simple reason. The person clearing the path could fight the demons.
…
"Hiss…"
The dense forests in the expansive and lush mountain area were filled with ancient trees that were several zhang high. Vines coiled through the treetops and filled the gaps, hiding the sky and covering the earth—so much so that not even a sliver of sunlight could get through.
Fang Ting held a lantern-like enchanted tool in his hand. It emitted a soft light that shrouded the whole group and illuminated their path.
Meanwhile, Chu Liang was walking at the front of the group, with his divine sense extended several zhang ahead. Every step he took was taken with caution and vigilance.
Just as his divine sense picked up a trace of demonic qi, a strange sound rang out from up ahead.
One of the many vines coiled around a wide ancient tree suddenly sprung up like a giant green and spotted python. At the tip of the vine was a flower the size of a fist. It was colored in stunning and alluring hues of red.
This was a flower demon!
Right when the vine charged toward them, its red flower opened up abruptly with a hiss and revealed a ravenous mouth filled with sharp fangs.
The thing that had been concealed behind those beautiful petals was actually a man-eating mouth!
"Be careful," Chu Liang warned the others softly.
Simultaneously, he stepped forward, keeping his back straight. A powerful three-chi[1]-long sword aura surged from his sword as he thrust it into the flower's center.
Pssssht.
Once the long sword pierced through the soft heart of the flower demon, Chu Liang immediately pulled his sword out, accompanied by a few splashes of plant liquid that carried an unpleasant odor.
The flower was left with a gaping hole. Its red and delicate petals went limp, no longer able to close back up ever again.
In just half an hour, Chu Liang defeated a total of four flower demons. As they'd expected, Southern Bastion Mountain was teeming with demons. Even in this remote forest on the fringe of the territory, danger lurked around every corner. The flower demons that Chu Liang had fought had been indistinguishable from normal vines and flowers. If they weren't practitioners who had already awakened their divine senses through the Spiritual Awareness Realm, they would have been completely consumed, bones and all, after taking just a few steps.
"Let's take a break," Fang Ting said from behind.
Chu Liang was the only one clearing the path ahead, but everyone else behind him had activated their divine senses as well, keeping vigilant of their surroundings. With Chu Liang doing the fighting, the rest of the group members were able to conserve their foundational qi and keep their bodies in optimum condition, but leaving their divine senses activated for an extended period was mentally exhausting.
For cultivators, they couldn't lack even one of the three energies—vitality, qi, and spirit.
"Withdraw your divine senses and rest for a bit. I'll stand guard for now," Fang Ting told the others.
While the rest of the group sat down, Fang Ting took on his role as the only person in the group who had reached the Golden Core Realm. He guarded them alone, keeping a watchful eye over their surroundings.
Lin Bei moved toward the front of the group and asked, "Are you all right, Brother Chu?"
"I'm still in a pretty good condition," Chu Liang answered with a nod.
He was telling the truth. His foundational qi was still at full capacity thanks to Xu Ziqing's Qi-Gathering Pills. He had no intention of conserving the pills. After all, he could easily get a Qi-Gathering Pill just by fighting a single lantern monster.
As long as Chu Liang could keep obtaining rewards from the White Pagoda, fighting demons would always be profitable for him.
While thinking of that, he closed his eyes in meditation and entered the White Pagoda with anticipation.
Four of the White Pagoda's iron cells were occupied, each one with a golden phantom of a flower. Chu Liang approached one of the cells and pressed the word "Refine."
Boom—!
There was a flash of red, and Chu Liang reached out his hand to catch the ball of light that drifted out of the cell. On his palm was something wrapped in greased paper. It seemed to be medicinal powder.
Then a message appeared in his mind.
[Hundred-Flower Antidote: This is an antidote made from the essence of a hundred flowers. Half of it should be consumed orally, and the other half applied externally. It is capable of neutralizing a hundred types of poison. Whoever uses this powder will have a lingering floral fragrance with top notes of jasmine, middle notes of rose, and base notes of photinia[2]. It is a strong and long-lasting scent.]
1. Chi = approximately 0.3 meters ☜
2. Full name: Photinia serratifolia. Also known as Taiwanese photinia, Chinese photinia. Fun fact I found while looking up the flower name, this flower is known to have a strong scent similar to that of human semen… ☜
GLTD Alternate Universe's ThoughtsTranslator: LD
Don't you just love it when doing what you want makes you seem altruistic?
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