Chapter 21: The Medicine's Power Drives One Wild
The medicinal herb garden outside the village was very large, filled with the spiritual herbs that the Apothecary had gathered from the Great Wastes over the years. The villagers had long coveted them, but the Apothecary had raised many dangerous little insects in the garden, deterring anyone from daring to steal the herbs.
The Great Wastes were sparsely populated, with an abundance of spiritual herbs and many rare treasures. Over the years, the Apothecary had gathered countless exotic plants and transplanted them into his garden. He rarely used these spiritual herbs, but now he had finally decided to use them on Qin Mu!
One must understand that the Apothecary had high standards; the spiritual herbs he gathered were all treasures. Any single one taken out could cause a sensation. So the Apothecary was definitely sparing no expense!
The bonfire gradually died down, and the villagers returned to their homes to rest. Qin Mu also went back to his room and slept in the outer chamber. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep. Granny Si pulled the blanket up for him, looked at the boy's sleeping face, and showed a loving smile.
"My Mu'er... Whether you are an Overlord Body or not, you are the child I raised. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you!"
She was still sharp-witted. From the expressions of the Village Chief and the Apothecary during the bonfire celebration, she had discerned many things, but she didn't say anything.
She tiptoed on her bound feet into the inner room to sleep.
The next day, Blind Man, carrying his bamboo staff, barged excitedly into the house, shouting, "Mu'er, get up quickly! It's dawn. The Apothecary..."
"I haven't gotten up yet, Blind Man! How dare you peek!"
With a loud crash, Qin Mu opened his bleary eyes and saw Blind Man flying out of Granny Si's room, tracing an arc through the air, flying out of the village, landing who knows where.
"Grandpa Blind is truly amazing!" Qin Mu exclaimed in awe.
Blind Man, still in mid-air, was holding his bamboo staff, sitting cross-legged with an innocent look on his face, having been kicked out like that.
Qin Mu got up, dressed, washed his face, made breakfast, and ate with Granny Si. After washing the dishes and pots, he saw Blind Man excitedly running back from outside the village, shouting, "You old hag, that kick was so vicious, I almost couldn't find my way back! Mu'er, come quickly! The Apothecary has made you some medicine!"
Granny Si's expression turned unpleasant. She glared fiercely at Blind Man, then got up and hobbled away, saying, "I'm going to the Inlaid Dragon City for business. Blind Man, I'm entrusting Mu'er to you for these few days. If he loses even a single hair when I return, I'll hold you responsible! Master Ma, Master Ma, is the ox cart ready? Cripple, has the bamboo raft been tied?"
Qin Mu quickly followed Blind Man to the Apothecary's shop. Before he even entered, he smelled a strong medicinal fragrance. Then he saw a large vat suspended in the air, with several vermilion birds flying around it. Flames blazed between their feathers, turning the outside of the vat red-hot. A gurgling sound came from inside.
"Mu'er, this is your medicine."
Seeing Qin Mu arrive, the Apothecary took out the last ingredient, a green leaf, and threw it into the vat. As soon as the green leaf fell into the medicinal liquid, the boiling liquid instantly became extremely viscous.
The Apothecary casually stirred, and the large vat spun rapidly. Then, a clinking sound came from inside. The entire vat of medicine had turned into half a vat of white pills, rolling around. The pills collided with each other, making a metallic, crisp sound.
The Apothecary waved his hand, and the few vermilion birds flew out through the window lattice and disappeared.
The large vat landed on the ground. Qin Mu was stunned. "Grandpa Apothecary, do I have to eat so many pills today?"
"If you ate them all, you would die."
The Apothecary said unhurriedly, "This batch of medicine I brewed uses the finest spiritual herbs. Although they are the lowest grade Foundation Consolidation Pills, one of mine is worth a hundred of other apothecaries' pills. You can only eat one or two at a time, no more."
Qin Mu was skeptical. In the past, the Apothecary had given him some strange medicines, always a full large bowl. Now, eating just one pill—could the medicinal power really be that strong?
Blind Man was also a bit doubtful. "All charlatans say one pill is worth a hundred of the past. Is your medicine really that strong? But the pills do smell quite fragrant."
The Apothecary gave a sinister smile. "How about you try eating this whole vat of pills?"
"Mu'er, grab a handful and try it?" Blind Man tempted him.
Qin Mu was not tempted at all. He just picked up one pill and put it in his mouth.
As soon as this spiritual pill entered his stomach, he immediately felt something was wrong. It was as if hundreds or thousands of fire dragons, water dragons, metal dragons, and wood dragons were churning inside him, causing his body to alternately grow tall, short, fat, and thin. Sometimes a layer of ice formed on his skin, sometimes smoke rose from his clothes, sometimes his clothes sprouted and the fur on the animal hide grew wildly, sometimes his clothes were stained with a metallic color, and even his skin became hard and stiff, as if his whole body were cast from metal!
What was even more terrifying was that sometimes all these different symptoms erupted at once, causing Qin Mu unbearable pain.
He grunted and immediately activated the "Overlord Body Three Dan Technique," using his primordial qi to dissolve the medicinal power!
Blind Man's face changed drastically. He exclaimed, "Apothecary, your Foundation Consolidation Pills don't seem to be ordinary Foundation Consolidation Pills!"
"Correct. Ordinary Foundation Consolidation Pills are divided into four types: Fire Yuan Pills, Water Yuan Pills, Metal Yuan Pills, and Wood Yuan Pills."
The Apothecary gave a sinister smile. "Foundation Consolidation Pills target the four types of primordial qi attributes of the four spiritual bodies, nourishing and replenishing the spiritual body's primordial qi. But Mu'er's Overlord Body primordial qi has no attribute. So I adopted a compromise method, refining spiritual herbs of the four attributes into this single Foundation Consolidation Pill. It contains all four attributes, and might be able to stimulate the power of the Overlord Body's primordial qi. This kind of spiritual pill can only be absorbed and dissolved by Mu'er's Overlord Body primordial qi. If you had eaten this whole vat of Foundation Consolidation Pills just now, heh heh..."
Blind Man shuddered. The primordial qi of the four attributes would conflict with each other. If he had eaten them, his cultivation would probably be reduced by twenty or thirty percent. Of course, that was the consequence of eating the whole vat. Just one pill wouldn't be a big problem for him.
"Apothecary, did you brew a tonic or a poison?" Blind Man muttered.
Suddenly, Qin Mu let out a loud shout, turned around, and ran wildly, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Blind Man couldn't help but worry. "The four attributes conflict with each other. Will Mu'er be alright?"
"He is digesting the medicinal power. No need to worry."
Although the Apothecary said this, he was also a bit uneasy inside. After all, it was his first time improving the Foundation Consolidation Pill, his first time refining the improved version, and his first time having someone take it. He wasn't sure about the exact potency, whether there were side effects, or if it could kill someone.
Of course, he couldn't say this out loud, or Granny Si would definitely come after him.
From the distant forest came Qin Mu's roar, followed by the crashing sound of trees falling.
The Apothecary's eyelids twitched. "He'll be fine, don't worry. Listen, he's full of vigor and vitality now!"
Blind Man sighed. "Young people are so energetic."
In the mountain forest, Qin Mu was running and dashing through the woods, his fists and feet moving like lightning. He madly punched and kicked at large trees. A tree that two people could barely wrap their arms around could only withstand three or four of his blows before being snapped in two!
Uncomfortable.
Too uncomfortable!
The medicinal power of the Apothecary's Foundation Consolidation Pill was too strong. Even while running and activating the "Overlord Body Three Dan Technique," he couldn't dissolve it. He felt his body was being stretched as if it were about to explode. He could only frantically unleash the martial arts that Cripple and Master Ma had taught him to vent the excess medicinal power!
In his spiritual embryo divine repository, the small humanoid spiritual embryo was also madly breathing, absorbing the surging primordial qi and purifying it. This little Qin Mu was also exhausted and out of breath.
"Little thing, die!"
Suddenly, the mountain forest shook. An enraged demon ape stood up from among the trees, roaring furiously. Its fist, the size of a small hill, smashed fiercely at Qin Mu, who was destroying the forest!
It turned out that Qin Mu, driven mad by the medicinal power, had unknowingly entered the demon ape's territory again. Seeing that the intruder was once again this little thing, the demon ape's eyes turned red with hatred. Without a word, it attacked Qin Mu!
Qin Mu's eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly looked up, the medicinal power inside him erupting wildly, making his entire primordial qi feel like it was about to explode. He leaped up and punched towards the demon ape's fist!
Bang—
A dull, heavy sound rang out. Qin Mu's body flew backward, crashing through several large trees in succession. The demon ape excitedly leaped after him, sweeping its leg like a whip towards Qin Mu, who had just landed. Its thick leg was like a huge, dark pillar rolling over!
Qin Mu roared in anger. In an instant, he kicked out countless times, continuously striking the connection points between the muscles and tendons of the demon ape's massive leg. The demon ape immediately felt the strength drain from its leg. Without hesitation, it punched down from above.
Qin Mu raised his arms to block, but was once again sent staggering backward.
The demon ape closed in, its fists and legs cutting through the air with whooshing sounds, kicking up gusts of wind as it attacked Qin Mu. Qin Mu also seemed to have gone mad, meeting the strange beast head-on with brute force, showing no fear even when at a disadvantage.
The demon ape grew even more enraged and also went berserk, punching and kicking Qin Mu, each blow heavier than the last.
Man and ape, one big and one small, left a trail of fallen trees and flying rubble wherever they passed.
Suddenly, Qin Mu leaped and ran nimbly, dashing up the demon ape's arm. In the next moment, he was right in front of the demon ape's face.
Thousand-Hand Buddha!
His two arms seemed to turn into a hundred or more, leaving afterimages in the air. Hundreds of fists continuously hammered the demon ape's soft, flat nose.
The demon ape cried out in pain, tears streaming from its eyes. It fell backward, but swung its huge palm viciously, slapping Qin Mu and sending him flying!
The demon ape turned over and got up, its nose bleeding profusely. It swept its gaze around and saw that Qin Mu had been slapped into a large "Da" shape against a cliff, as if embedded in the rock face. It was quite satisfied. "Little thing, die."
That little thing embedded in the cliff suddenly moved. Then, it pushed itself out of the "Da"-shaped imprint and charged madly towards it again.
The demon ape was startled. It beat its chest with both fists, leaped and roared, charging towards Qin Mu. "Little thing! Die!"