Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Newly Created Medicine
Tang Xue pushed her Talent Ability to its limits, but her face quickly grew pale as her strength gave out. Min Wu’s condition, however, remained completely unchanged. Drained of energy, Tang Xue collapsed to the ground and wept sorrowfully.
"I’m sorry, Little Five. I’m just useless," Tang Xue said, grief-stricken. She had exhausted her power, but Min Wu’s Spiritual Sea remained dark and murky. It was as if some impenetrable barrier was preventing her Purifying Light from getting through.
Min Wu opened his eyes and struggled to shake his head, his gaze seeming to say, ’It’s not your fault.’
"Contractor, once the Mutated Degree surpasses fifty percent, it’s irreversible. You’ve already done your best," Zhou Yi said, consoling her from the side. He had already anticipated this outcome.
"Why don’t you let me take a look?" Ning Xuan offered. In truth, she had rarely seen a high-risk individual who had not yet fully mutated, and she was a little curious.
’Although, it’s not like I’ve never seen one. That strange man back at the entrance, the one who sprouted wings before being killed by an arrow, his mind was still clear. He must have been in a similar state of incomplete mutation.’
"Oh, right! Hey, what did you do to immobilize Little Five just now? Can you release him so I can try again? Maybe it will work this time!" Tang Xue had been so focused on saving him that she had completely forgotten about it.
Ning Xuan reached out, and thirteen Golden Needles flew from various acupoints on Min Wu’s body back into her hand. A faint black aura coated them. Ning Xuan channeled her energy, and a flame ignited in her palm. As the Golden Needles were tempered in the fire, they quickly regained their brilliant golden color.
Tang Xue immediately pressed her forehead against Min Wu’s again. After half a minute, she discovered that the black, murky substance within his Spiritual Sea was actually increasing.
"He can’t hold on much longer! Please, I’m begging you to take a look at him," Tang Xue pleaded with Ning Xuan, clutching at straws in her desperation.
Zhou Yi clearly disapproved, but since Tang Xue had already spoken, he didn’t dare object. Instead, he kept a vigilant watch on Min Wu, terrified he might suddenly lose his senses and harm Tang Xue.
Ning Xuan handed a bottle of medicine to Tang Xue and had her feed it to Min Wu. She then directed Zhou Yi to slice open the long, deep wound on Min Wu’s back and pour another bottle of medicine onto it. With a TSSSSSS, a cloud of black bubbles erupted from the wound, shimmering with a faint blue luster in the sunlight. Ning Xuan flicked her wrist, and three exceptionally thick, long silver needles sank into the Dazhui acupoint at the base of Min Wu’s neck.
The black bubbles roiling in the wound suddenly began to boil, gushing out as if fighting to escape.
"Hold him down." Before the words were even out of Ning Xuan’s mouth, Min Wu shrieked in agony and tried to get up and flee. Zhou Yi threw his entire body onto him, pinning him down. Although Min Wu appeared to be in immense pain, Zhou Yi could sense that his condition was already improving.
Seeing Min Wu in such pain, Tang Xue clamped a hand over her mouth, not daring to cry out. She watched Ning Xuan’s every move, not taking her eyes off her until she heard Ning Xuan say, "Alright, you can try again."
Only then did Tang Xue excitedly repeat the action, pressing her forehead to Min Wu’s.
This time, Tang Xue managed to hold on for a full fifteen minutes before stopping, her face deathly pale. The purification was remarkably effective. Min Wu’s mutated body reverted to its normal form, leaving only a pair of wolf ears and a furry wolf tail that he couldn’t yet retract.
Tang Xue playfully fiddled with his wolf ears and kissed his face again and again, causing Min Wu to blush a deep red and lower his head, too shy to look up.
Meanwhile, with Leng Yue and the others joining in, the battle ended swiftly. Chen Nan neatly stored all seven Golden Scale Beasts in his Space Button.
The other man who had been covering the rear with Min Wu, though covered in blood, calmly pulled a bottle of medicine from his clothes and drank it down. He was merely a guard Zhou Yi had hired at a high price; Zhou Yi was his employer.
By now, Ning Xuan and Tang Xue had exchanged names. Tang Xue looked at Ning Xuan with immense admiration. "Miss Ning, thank goodness we ran into you. If we hadn’t, Little Five would have been a goner for sure."
"It was a fortunate encounter. You could call it fate." Ning Xuan was contemplating the medicine’s reaction. ’I combined the effects of the Soul Calming Potion and the Dragon Saliva Clearing Miasma Potion to create this new formula. It can draw out toxins, clear miasma, and reduce the level of spiritual power contamination. What should I call it?’
’I’ve got it. I’ll call it the Life-taking Soul-chasing Potion.’
’After all, this medicine snatched Min Wu’s life back from the brink and chased his soul back to his body. The first clinical trial of the new medicine... is a success.’
"Miss Ning, your Golden Needle Technique is incredible! Where did you learn it? Is your master still accepting students?" Tang Xue asked with a smile, her arm around Min Wu.
Ning Xuan smiled faintly. "My master isn’t in this world, so they can’t take on any students."
Tang Xue assumed Ning Xuan meant her master was dead and didn’t press the matter. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Um, Miss Ning, that medicine you gave Little Five... did you concoct it yourself? You must be one of the Alchemists who made it to the finals of the unrestricted division," Tang Xue stated with conviction.
"I am. And Miss Tang, don’t forget what you said earlier about a generous reward," Ning Xuan reminded her.
"Of course not! It’s just that entering the Secret Realm, we mostly brought daily necessities and specialized weapons. Once we’re out of the Secret Realm, I promise I’ll give Miss Ning a satisfactory settlement." Tang Xue apologized, cupping her fists in a respectful gesture.
"Um... I know that medicine of yours must be incredibly precious. I’m willing to pay one hundred thousand Star Gold to buy two more vials. Would that be possible?" Most Star-grade Medicines sold for about fifty thousand Star Gold. Even though this medicine had a unique effect, it wasn’t technically a Star-rank medicine, so fifty thousand a vial wasn’t a low price at all.
"I don’t have any more," Ning Xuan said with a shrug.
"Do you think the offer is too low, Miss Ning? The price is negotiable, as long as you’re willing to part with them," Tang Xue said hurriedly, assuming Ning Xuan was haggling.
"I really don’t have any more. Miss Tang, the danger here has been dealt with, so let’s part ways now." Ning Xuan gave a slight nod, turned, and prepared to leave.
’The Spiritual Power Threads I sent out have detected something good. I need to hurry over and check it out.’
"Miss Ning..." Tang Xue opened her mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing as she watched Ning Xuan’s retreating figure.
Following the guidance of her Spiritual Power Threads, Ning Xuan arrived at a remote valley. The valley was only a few hundred meters away from the clearing as the crow flies, but it was hidden by a dense forest. To reach it by going around the woods would have required a much longer walk.
Fortunately, with a clear target guiding her, Ning Xuan didn’t have to take the long way around. She cut straight through the forest and quickly arrived at her destination.
She looked at the golden valley before her. Chunks of golden rock emitted a dazzling glow. In the center of the valley were seven caves, and inside them lay pieces of golden Scale Armor. This appeared to be the den of the seven Golden Scale Beasts.
