Chapter 301: So Frugal
Qin Mu's gluttonous bag always stored various medicinal herbs, prepared for emergencies so that he could treat his own injuries if wounded. Of course, as a generation's divine physician, it was also common to keep some poisons in the gluttonous bag.
Moreover, even without poisons, he could create highly toxic substances using only medicinal herbs.
The two white bats stood upright, and Qin Mu stepped forward to examine their injuries, frowning slightly. The physical wounds on the two white bats were not particularly severe, but their souls had been heavily damaged by the Witch King.
The great witches of the Loulan Golden Palace cultivated using the souls of other living beings, including humans. Although their techniques and divine abilities encompassed everything, their mastery of soul techniques was the strongest, while their combat techniques were somewhat inferior.
When Banguo Cuo fought Qin Mu, he did not use his most proficient soul techniques. Instead, he employed techniques and divine abilities from sacred grounds like the Dao Sword and Little Jade Capital to duel Qin Mu, losing the initiative and being driven into a miserable state.
If he had used soul-type techniques, the outcome would have been uncertain. Qin Mu could not be sure whether the Creation Demon Heavenly Art could withstand his soul techniques.
The Loulan Golden Palace's soul techniques were called Witch Method Techniques, and their cultivation of witch methods had reached the pinnacle, earning it the title of a sacred ground on the grasslands.
The two white bats had been struck several times by the Witch King's witch methods. The Witch King's cultivation realm was at least at the Heavenly Man realm, yet several witch method attacks had not killed the two white bats, showing that the descendants of gods were indeed extraordinary.
"So strong, I need to use strong medicine..." Qin Mu mused.
The two white bats immediately became alert: "What did you say?"
"I mean your injuries are severe and require strong medicine. How should I address you two fellow cultivators?"
To deal with Banguo Cuo and the Loulan Golden Palace's witch methods, Qin Mu studied pharmacology and nourished his soul. The pharmacology passed down by the Medicine Master contained little about soul-type witch poisons and was not very detailed. Although the Medicine Master was the Poison King, he usually operated in the Central Plains and rarely went to the grasslands, so he had limited knowledge of witch poisons and soul injuries.
However, after dealing extensively with the Loulan Golden Palace, Qin Mu gradually developed his own ideas.
Combining the Seven Chapters of Creation from the Great Cultivation Demon Scripture, he researched treatment methods that combined techniques and medicine.
"I am Fu Yuqiu, and this is my elder brother, Fu Yuchun," said the white bat with longer ears.
The two white bats watched him refine pills without using a furnace, only using hand techniques and primal energy to extract the medicinal power of the herbs, completing the processes of sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy, as well as the interactions of pharmacology, purely through hand techniques. They were amazed: "Ox-head doctor is truly remarkable; you dazzle us."
Soon, Qin Mu refined the first batch of spiritual pills.
Fu Yuchun, with shorter ears, did not immediately take the pill but said alertly, "Ox Medicine Master, you taste one first!"
Qin Mu laughed and said, "You two brothers are indeed cautious. My surname is not Ox; it is Qin, given name Mu." With that, he picked up a pill and ate it.
Only then did the two white bats relax and eat the pills. Qin Mu then used the Creation Ghost God Technique and the Creation Earth Origin Technique to pat and tap the two white bats, catalyzing the medicinal power and stabilizing their souls. Both white bats felt much more comfortable, and their injuries indeed lessened.
Qin Mu refined another batch of pills, and Fu Yuchun again made him eat one first. This white bat was much more cautious than his younger brother, Fu Yuqiu.
Qin Mu complied and ate the pill, and only then did the two white bats eat theirs, their injuries improving further.
Just then, several great witches tracked them down and, without a word, attacked directly. The two white bats were still heavily injured, with their external wounds not yet healed. Qin Mu pointed a finger, and a sword shot out—the Carefree Sword—stabbing toward the great witches.
Seeing an opportunity, the great witches laughed heartily: "The Heavenly Demon Sect's Sect Leader Qin is so frugal! At the Six Harmonies realm and still only having one spiritual sword! This will be an easy achievement for us brothers!"
Before they finished speaking, a dazzling array of swords appeared behind Qin Mu—eight thousand swords in total—rising from the gluttonous bag into the sky, then turning and rushing down, swishing as they engulfed the great witches.
Qin Mu raised his index finger, and the Carefree Sword flew back into its sheath. The other seven thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine swords also swiftly returned to the gluttonous bag.
Where the swords had pierced the ground, no intact bodies could be seen.
The two white bats stared wide-eyed, speechless.
Although the soldiers of the Man Di Kingdom activating their blade pills and sending countless curved blades flying across the sky to strike enemies was spectacular, this Ox-head doctor alone was like an army of a hundred men. Thousands of swords flew over, and each of those great witches was hit by who knows how many swords, dying most unjustly.
"These great witches tracked us here, which means the Witch King will likely arrive soon. We can't stay long!"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he said to the two white bats, "Fellow cultivators, let's move quickly."
The two white bats followed him, exchanging glances. Fu Yuqiu laughed and said, "Those people just now called you the Heavenly Demon Sect's Sect Leader Qin?"
Qin Mu sat on the Dragon Qilin's back, still refining pills, and said nonchalantly, "Yes. But we call ourselves the Heavenly Saint Sect."
Fu Yuqiu said, "We have encountered people who called themselves the Heavenly Saint Sect before, who also entered this place. Another group of golden, shining people called them the Heavenly Saint Sect. You are the sect leader of humans—are you not from the Spark Star family?"
Qin Mu dispelled his Spark Star Lord form, returning to his true appearance, and laughed, "Yes. I am originally human, but I used the Heavenly Saint Sect's divine transformation state to take on the Spark Star form."
The two white bats drooled heavily, thinking in unison: "Once our injuries heal, we'll eat him!"
"Roast him to one-tenth done!"
...
Qin Mu finished refining the pills but did not give them to the two white bats. Instead, he ate them himself, and after eating, he did not hand over the remaining two pills. Fu Yuchun asked puzzledly, "Sect Leader Qin, why aren't you giving us the pills?"
Qin Mu laughed and said, "This batch of pills is for detoxification, not for you two."
"Detoxification?"
Fu Yuchun shuddered and stammered, "Detoxify what?"
Qin Mu said matter-of-factly, "Naturally, the poison from the two batches of pills you two just took."
The two white bats' faces instantly darkened. Just as they were about to pounce on him, their souls suddenly went numb, their bodies spasmed in pain, and they fell to the ground with a thud, twitching uncontrollably.
The Dragon Qilin chuckled and said, "Two fools actually dared to eat the sect leader's pills. Truly reckless."
The two white bats were furious and shouted in unison from the ground, "Fatty, you're the fool!"
"Dragon Fatty, not everything with wings is a bird. They are not birds."
Qin Mu grabbed the two white bats and placed them on the Dragon Qilin's back, laughing, "Fellow cultivators..."
"Pah!" The two white bats were very defiant.
"My poison has only infiltrated your souls. It is a newly developed soul poison of mine. This is only the first outbreak. After ten outbreaks, your souls will tear apart in excruciating pain!"
Qin Mu said with a smile, "Soul poison is unique; it reproduces within the soul, and each outbreak increases the toxicity by one-tenth. I have the antidote here, giving you one-tenth of the dose each time, just enough to cancel out the extra one-tenth of toxicity."
He took out the two pills he had just refined, cut off a small piece from each, and stuffed them into the mouths of the two white bats. Then, with a casual slap, he crushed the remaining pills into powder.
Not keeping the antidote on him was to prevent the two white bats from suddenly killing him and stealing the cure. He would refine the antidote before the next soul poison outbreak to maintain control over them.
The soul poison in the two white bats was suppressed by the antidote, and the intense pain disappeared. They stood up, their faces shifting between uncertainty.
After a moment, Fu Yuchun sighed and said, "We admit defeat. But we will only protect you within the Nether Valley. Once you leave the Nether Valley, we go our separate ways!"
"Deal!"
Qin Mu agreed readily, then refined another batch of pills, tossed them to the two white bats, and also threw them a bottle of dragon saliva for treating their external injuries, saying, "Apply the dragon saliva externally and take the pills orally. Your injuries should be mostly healed."
The two white bats took the pills and applied the dragon saliva to their wounds. Indeed, their injuries were almost fully healed.
"Be careful! There are some soul insects underground! Fatty, don't step on the ground!" Fu Yuqiu's ears twitched as he warned.
The Dragon Qilin quickly summoned clouds of fire beneath his feet, lifting himself off the ground. Qin Mu looked down and saw some white tendrils emerging from the earth, gently waving.
This strange creature was eerie. Suddenly, twisted faces appeared on the white tendrils, opening their mouths to emit piercing screams that attacked their souls.
The two white bats let out a simultaneous screech, sending silent sound waves toward the ground. The earth beneath them shook violently, and suddenly the ground split open, revealing a large insect covered in tentacles, half its body above ground and half below. It was killed by the sound waves of the two white bats.
The insect quickly dissolved, soon turning into a puddle of water absorbed by the soil. As it dissolved, many small figures emerged from its body, their faces twisted as they ran around, soon turning into wisps of green smoke and dissipating.
Qin Mu was stunned. What kind of bizarre life form was this?
"The Nether Valley has an ancient origin. I heard from my ancestors that this place once bordered the Nether Realm. Ancient gods opened a passage to another world—the Nether Realm."
Fu Yuchun said, "As a result, some things from the Nether Realm got in. They went through great hardships to seal this place, and later our White Bat God clan was ordered to guard it, preventing Nether Realm beings from breaking through the world barrier and entering here. But by this generation, only we two brothers remain in the White Bat God clan."
The two white bats exchanged glances, both showing bitter expressions, their faces wrinkling like two dried oranges.
Both of them were male, so how to reproduce had become their biggest problem.
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment, then said after a while, "I didn't expect you two fellow cultivators to be the guardians of this world. But since you are brothers and both male, who will guard the Nether Valley after you die of old age..."
"Don't say anymore!" the two white bats said in unison.
"Alright."
Qin Mu dropped the subject and asked, "Do you remember what happened sixteen years ago? Did a streak of fire fall from beyond the sky and land here?"
"Yes, that happened. It blasted a hole through the seal left by our White Bat God ancestors."
Fu Yuqiu said, "We went to look. It was very dangerous there. Then some people came. We ate a few, but some others managed to get in, and only a few came out alive."
Qin Mu's spirits lifted, and he quickly asked, "What exactly fell from the sky?"
"A ship, half embedded in the Nether Realm, half left underground."