“Of course you cannot.” Wu Yan (Inner) floated in front of Wu Yan, making a face.
“I am the only one who has a way to completely eliminate the violent thunder and fire energy within this Thunder-Struck Wood~”
“Actually, it would be fine if she became a cripple. It would save her the trouble of looking for me later. Yan, don’t meddle. Let her eat it. If she eats herself to death, it’s for the best.”
Wu Yan (Inner) lay down lazily, playing with a non-existent strand of hair. Her tone was filled with mockery and disdain.
Wu Yan glared at her coldly. “If she is ruined, don’t even think about using the Soul-Nourishing Jade for the rest of your life.”
Wu Yan (Inner) choked on her words, and her eyes rolled. “That’s true. This old woman can’t die yet. She is a top-quality… supple… oh no, she’s a combat asset.”
She licked her lips, a strange red light flickering in her eyes as she continued, “In the future, if I take back the body and want to break through to the Soul Transformation Stage, I still need to suck dry her pure Spirit Chi. If I let her become a cripple now, wouldn’t that be a waste of my reserve rations? No, no, I can’t let this be a losing trade.”
Although Wu Yan did not like Wu Yan (Inner) calling Xia Lingshuang reserve rations.
At the very least, she understood one thing: Wu Yan (Inner) was someone who hated suffering a loss.
Therefore, given the current situation, she would not let anything happen to Xia Lingshuang.
Thinking of this, Wu Yan no longer hesitated.
At the moment the brocade box was about to be handed to Xia Lingshuang, she suddenly took a step forward, blocking the space between Xia Lingshuang and Yu Qingyao.
Wu Yan’s movement was sudden, and it very unfortunately interrupted the originally harmonious atmosphere in the hall.
Xia Lingshuang’s hand stopped in mid-air, and Yu Qingyao’s movements froze as well.
The two turned their heads simultaneously, their gazes falling squarely on Wu Yan.
“Senior Sister, what is the meaning of this?”
Yu Qingyao spoke first, wearing an expression of “I am very aggrieved but I dare not say it.”
“Senior Sister, this is Thousand-Year Lightning-Struck Wood. Its medicinal effect is excellent. Qingyao spent all her savings to buy it… Could it be that Senior Sister feels this medicine is not good?”
There were words within words, extremely malicious.
Xia Lingshuang withdrew her hand. Her eyes, cold as frost, scrutinized Wu Yan chillingly. The corner of her mouth hooked into a sarcastic arc:
“Wu Yan, what tricks are you trying to play again? Are you annoyed because you weren’t the one who found this medicine, making you lose face?”
Facing the questions from both of them, Wu Yan remained expressionless. Those obsidian eyes stared intently at the brocade box in Yu Qingyao’s hand.
“The medicine is good medicine, but it cannot be used directly.”
“This wood was unearthed less than half a month ago. Although it contains life force, the thunder and fire energy is too violent. Moreover, without long-term nourishment and refinement, the accumulated dry heat inside hasn’t been removed. If it is put directly into medicine, the moment that thunder and fire energy enters the body, it will be like a prairie fire, burning Master’s damaged meridians.”
Wu Yan paused, her voice lowering slightly:
“Master’s old injuries have not yet healed, and her meridians are extremely fragile. If you directly refine and consume it as a pill, I fear the loss will outweigh the gain, and there is even a risk of becoming a cripple.”
Hearing this, Xia Lingshuang’s gaze changed slightly.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand pharmacology; it was just that her desire for healing was urgent, and coupled with her trust in Yu Qingyao, she had overlooked the details.
Now, hearing Wu Yan speak, she carefully sensed that piece of Thunder-Struck Wood.
Sure enough, masked under the thick medicinal fragrance, there was a trace of extremely hard-to-detect yet exceptionally violent heat surging at the core.
Xia Lingshuang was startled, and following that was deep suspicion.
This wicked disciple… when did she become so proficient in pharmacology?
In her previous life, besides killing people and seizing treasures, she had always held the path of alchemy in disdain.
Could it be that in this life, she has truly changed? Or… does she have other motives?
Xia Lingshuang’s gaze swept back and forth over Wu Yan, trying to see through her disguise.
“Tell her,”
In the Sea of Consciousness, Wu Yan (Inner)’s voice sounded again, carrying a trace of undetectable craftiness and guidance,
“Tell her you know a unique Blood Refinement Method that can use Earth Fire to perfectly remove the dry heat and lock in the medicinal properties so they don’t dissipate. Have her hand it over to you to handle.”
Wu Yan knew that Wu Yan (Inner) must have another motive for this move, but for now, she could only do as she said.
“Master,” Wu Yan bowed with her hands clasped, her posture humble yet neither servile nor overbearing.
“Disciple once saw a refinement method in an ancient book. Refining it with this method can remove the dry heat, preserve the medicinal properties, and make the medicinal power ten times gentler. If Master can trust me, you can leave it to the disciple to handle.”
“And the price?” Xia Lingshuang asked coldly.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
“The price is, I hope Master can honestly take her medicine at night in the future.”
“……”
“In that case.”
Xia Lingshuang took the brocade box from Yu Qingyao’s hand and then placed it into Wu Yan’s hand. Her tone remained cold, as if issuing a heartless command:
“The Thunder-Struck Wood is now in your hands. If you ruin this item, I will hold you solely responsible.”
She wanted to see exactly what kind of schemes this fellow was playing at.
—
That afternoon.
The Earth Fire Chamber was located deep beneath the Main Peak of the Piaomiao Sect, drawing from the lava fires flowing within the earth veins.
It was high temperature here year-round, and the air was filled with the thick smell of sulfur and the scent of scorched minerals.
The walls were built from black basalt, carved with array runes that isolated the heat.
Wu Yan entered a small refinement cubicle alone.
“Boom—”
As the stone door fell, this place became an isolated secret room.
Wu Yan walked to the refinement platform in the center of the room and opened the brocade box. That piece of Thunder-Struck Wood lay quietly on the soft cloth.
She was not in a hurry to start. Instead, she skillfully set up multiple isolation arrays around the area to prevent outsiders from peeking and to prevent the medicinal power from leaking.
The firelight reflected on her face, turning her fair complexion red. Sweat slid down from her temples, evaporating from the high temperature before it could even hit the ground.
“Listen well, what comes next is the key. Don’t drop the chain for me.”
Wu Yan (Inner) spun excitedly around Wu Yan, her voice carrying an irrepressible agitation.
“First, you must use Spirit Chi to guide the Earth Fire and burn away the impurities on the outer layer of the Thunder-Struck Wood. Then, and this is the most critical step, use your essence blood as a lead to draw a Spirit-Locking Seal on the wood.”
Wu Yan’s brow furrowed.
Although she didn’t understand profound arrays, drawing a talisman with essence blood looked like the path of evil arts no matter how one viewed it.
“Spirit-Locking Seal? Why is my essence blood needed? Won’t ordinary Spirit Chi locking work?”
“Of course not! What do you know!”
Wu Yan (Inner)’s tone was hurried, her voice full of that “I am the expert” arrogance:
“This Thunder-Struck Wood was struck by heavenly lightning and contains a trace of the Heavenly Dao’s will. Ordinary Spirit Chi simply cannot suppress its dry heat! Only by using your own essence blood can you form a perfect restraint, neutralizing the thunder energy with blood energy, making it completely submissive and locking the medicinal properties firmly inside.”
Seeing that Wu Yan was still hesitating, Wu Yan (Inner) sneered and brought out her trump card:
“This is to save her! Yan, weren’t you quite the talker back in the hall? What, now that you have to shed a few drops of blood, you’re backing down? This is the only way to save that old woman! If you don’t use essence blood, the medicine produced will be poison. Do you want to personally poison that old woman to death?”
These words undoubtedly hit Wu Yan’s weakness.
She took a deep breath, and her gaze became resolute.
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
Wu Yan no longer hesitated. She circulated her Spirit Chi and suddenly bit her fingertip.
A drop of essence blood containing thick Spirit Chi hovered in the air.
Her face instantly turned deathly pale. her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed directly to the ground.
“Quick! Draw the talisman! Follow my divine sense!”
Under Wu Yan (Inner)’s command, Wu Yan endured the weakness and used her finger stained with essence blood to quickly sketch in the air.
It was a complex and eerie blood-colored rune.
“Go!”
Wu Yan pointed out with a finger.
That blood-colored rune instantly transformed into a red light, sinking into the Thunder-Struck Wood and vanishing.
In an instant, the originally violent Thunder-Struck Wood, which had sparks jumping across its surface from time to time, miraculously became submissive.
The scorched blackness on its surface faded, revealing a layer of faint, crystal-clear purple light.
Compared to before, the medicinal properties had not dissipated; instead, they became more internal and mellow.
“It’s done…”
Looking at the perfect piece of Thunder-Struck Wood, Wu Yan let out a long sigh of relief and revealed a gratified smile.
However, she could not hear the frantic voice deep within her Sea of Consciousness.
“Hahahaha! It worked! It really worked!”
Wu Yan (Inner) laughed wildly in the Sea of Consciousness, laughing so hard she bent over. Her excitement was almost tangible.
The Spirit-Locking Seal she taught Wu Yan was naturally not fake; it could not only tame the thunder and fire energy within the wood but also make its effects quite a bit stronger.
But the problem lay in the fact that this Spirit-Locking Seal used Wu Yan’s essence blood as a lead.
When the Thunder-Struck Wood was refined into a pill, this Spirit-Locking Seal would be able to use the medicinal power to be planted deep within Xia Lingshuang’s meridians without anyone knowing.
When the time came, as long as she regained control of the body, she would only need a simple thought, and that damned old woman’s entire body’s Spirit Chi would freeze in an instant. She wouldn’t be able to move and would be at her mercy!
When that time comes… hahahahaha!
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing!”
Oops, she had gotten a bit too carried away.
Wu Yan wiped the sweat from her forehead and carefully placed the Thunder-Struck Wood back into the brocade box, cradling it in her arms like a rare treasure.
When she walked out of the Earth Fire Chamber, it was already late at night.
Several Inner Disciples passing by saw her come out and immediately huddled together to whisper:
“Out already? I thought she would refine for three days and three nights.”
“Shh, keep your voice down, don’t let that Female Devil hear you…”
Wu Yan heard them.
But she did not pay them any mind, nor did she explain.
She knew that before she took actual action, all explanations were hollow.
“These damned things. Once I take back the body, I must tear their mouths apart and let them know the consequences of speaking recklessly.”
Wu Yan (Inner) followed closely behind Wu Yan, unconsciously biting her thumb nail as she spoke viciously.
She was, as always, prone to anger.