Chapter 382
Chapter 382
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 382
>Chapter Title: Refining Artifacts
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Shopkeeper Li, has the cinnabar I ordered arrived?”
The apothecary owner, who had been tallying up on his abacus, looked up and immediately spotted that odd man in the red Daoist robes.
His face instantly broke into a fawning smile—this was a big customer. “Heh heh, sir, we’ve been waiting just for you. Thirty whole jin, all right here. Hey, Little Tiger, go help the gentleman carry it home.”
“No need, I’ll take it myself.” After paying the balance, Li Huowang hefted the sack with one hand and turned to walk out of the shop.
The shop hand Little Tiger looked puzzled as he asked his boss, “Shopkeeper, what’s this guy gonna do with thirty jin of cinnabar? Normal folks, even for medicine, buy it just a few taels at a time.”
With a sharp flick, the shopkeeper bent his middle finger and delivered a solid knuckle-rap to the boy’s forehead. “Does it hurt? Good! Remember the lesson well! You’re just a shop hand—mind your own business. Even if he takes it home to mix with his rice, it’s got nothing to do with us!”
“Thud.” The hefty sack of cinnabar landed on the carriage. Li Huowang climbed right on, gave a whistle, and Mantou came trotting over, tail wagging furiously.
“Giddyup! Giddyup!” Li Huowang glanced at the sack beside him, snapped the reins, and urged the carriage toward the west gate.
Just last night, Li Huowang had suddenly realized that his past self had been stuck in a dead end. If others could use heart essence to forge ritual artifacts, why couldn’t he?
His body healed at an extraordinary rate, too. Aside from the pain, it had almost no side effects.
Most importantly, ritual artifacts made from organs infused with heart essence had exceptional abilities—they could greatly boost his strength. That would surely help a lot in the upcoming clash with North Wind.
“Clop clop clop.” As the horseshoes struck the stone pavement, Li Huowang gradually headed out of the city.
Li Huowang avoided the main roads crowded with people, deliberately seeking out remote trails and mountain paths.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, he finally found a suitable spot: a flat clearing in front of a few graves.
The moment Mantou arrived, it grew alert, crouching low and trembling as it bared its teeth at the graves in warning.
“I humbly borrow the space in front of your tombs for one night—please don’t take offense.” Li Huowang cupped his hands toward the graves, then turned to fetch things from the carriage.
Mantou suddenly pounced, flushing out a few rats that scurried everywhere.
Li Huowang first took down the small alchemy furnace he’d gotten from the man-demon, then loaded cinnabar into it and placed top-grade snowflake charcoal underneath.
As a former pill cultivator, refining some cinnabar was child’s play. An hour later, Li Huowang opened the furnace to reveal silvery liquid laced with dregs.
Danyangzi had taught him about this back at Clear Wind Temple: the silver liquid refined from cinnabar was called virgin mercury. In the world Li Huowang had once known, it was called mercury.
He quickly sieved out the residue and poured the virgin mercury into a bowl. But this wasn’t enough—he needed more.
After some more refining, Li Huowang looked at the large bowl of shimmering silver liquid before him with a trace of satisfaction on his face.
“This should be about enough.”
Li Huowang turned, grabbed the shovel he’d prepared earlier, and started digging a pit, deeper and deeper. When it was deep enough to stand a man in, he stopped.
He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then reached into the sheepskin pouch of torture tools at his waist and pulled out a broken dagger glinting with cold light.
“Daoist, are you sure you don’t want to rethink this? It really doesn’t have to be like this.” The monk rushed over, his face full of reluctance as he tried to dissuade him.
In stark contrast was Red, perched on Peng Longteng’s shoulder, looking eager for the show.
No matter what the hallucinations around him said, nothing could shake Li Huowang’s resolve. He raised the dagger high and slowly drew it down the center of his scalp. Soon, his scalp parted, revealing the bloody flesh and coiled vessels beneath.
Next, Li Huowang stripped off his clothes and stood naked in the pit he’d dug, then began covering himself with dirt from the head down.
Burying himself was tricky, but luckily he had Li Sui to help.
As Li Sui’s tentacles whipped the earth relentlessly, the soil around Li Huowang was packed down tight.
“Li Sui, be good—help me with one more thing.”
At Li Huowang’s command, two tentacles emerged from his neck, slowly curling up the bowl full of virgin mercury from the ground and bringing it toward the wound on his head.
Li Huowang swallowed hard with difficulty and spoke slowly. “Spread it open wider before pouring—don’t spill any.”
Li Sui obeyed at once, stretching the tentacles as wide as possible.
As the bowl tilted, a silver stream glittered beautifully under the moonlight.
“Mmph... ah!!”
The process was excruciating, but Li Huowang didn’t dare move a muscle, for fear of spilling the mercury.
At first it was just pain, which he could endure. But gradually, the pain turned to itchiness—and it grew worse and worse, spreading across his entire body.
When the unbearable itch reached its peak, Li Huowang, buried in the soil, thrashed desperately. He felt like ants were gnawing every inch of him, driving him nearly mad.
As he writhed nonstop, his body snaked upward. After much struggle, he finally squeezed himself out.
“Haha...” Li Huowang shuddered all over. By now, he couldn’t tell which hurt more. He’d thought himself inured to pain long ago.
But when the December chill winds sliced like knives across his skinless body, Li Huowang still hurt so badly he nearly blacked out.
Trembling, Li Huowang pulled out the *True Scripture of the Fiery Coat* and shakily began chanting the incantation.
Fiery centipedes crawled over him. Soon, his entire body was covered in charred, yellowish burn scars.
It might have hurt even more now, but at least with the scars covering him, Li Huowang could put on clothes.
Once dressed, he glanced at the skin on the ground. With that one breath finally released, he collapsed onto the carriage, curled into a ball with arms wrapped around himself, and passed out cold.
(End of chapter)