Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Poisonous Elixir Trial
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The next morning.
Bubble bubble—
Jeokgeom and Seollan, who had pulled an all-nighter, tilted their heads as they stared at the unidentified liquid bubbling in the cauldron.
"This is the elixir...?"
"Martial Uncle, is this really an elixir?"
Both harbored deep suspicions.
And rightly so, as nearly all the water that had filled the cauldron had evaporated away.
In its place remained a greenish liquid.
"That's weird."
Cheonhwi stared piercingly at the liquid.
'I followed the exact method for making the Mad Demon Rebirth Pill...'
Cheonhwi rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
'Is it because I replaced the demonic qi with poison qi?'
The Mad Demon Rebirth Pill offered immense inner power enhancement upon consumption, but the demonic qi that seeped into one's marrow made it a double-edged sword.
A single misstep could lead to qi deviation and madness—an elixir and poison in one.
But Cheonhwi had twisted it.
Poison qi instead of demonic qi.
And a formulation that neutralized it before it could fully penetrate the marrow.
'No idea. Let's just try it.'
Growing curious, Cheonhwi dipped his finger into the liquid and popped it into his mouth.
'Hm. Seems properly made.'
As soon as it touched his tongue, his sinuses cleared, and a small surge of energy entered his body.
But.
"It's just not as impressive as I'd hoped."
He wasn't fully satisfied.
"It'll be different once it's finished."
Cheonhwi gathered his inner power into his hands.
With both palms, he rapidly kneaded the viscous liquid.
Moments later, the greenish liquid compressed smaller and smaller until it formed a pill the size of a child's fist.
Cheonhwi examined the pill.
The perfectly round pill was no longer greenish but a pure, verdant green.
"How did it turn into that...?"
"It looks like an elixir now, but..."
Jeokgeom and Seollan gawked at the finished product, peering at it from every angle.
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi scrutinized the pill.
'It turned out as planned, but I can't tell if it's any good. Eating it myself won't show much effect anyway...'
His inner power was already ample after absorbing Dan Mokrin's yin energy just days ago.
He turned to Jeokgeom and Seollan.
'Feeding it to them will tell me.'
Cheonhwi looked at them and asked,
"Want to try it?"
"The elixir, you mean?"
"Is it safe?"
Jeokgeom and Seollan felt uneasy.
Their years with Cheonhwi were flashing warning lights.
"What are you waiting for? Not gonna eat? It's a chance to boost your inner power."
Tempted by Cheonhwi's relentless coaxing, they wavered slightly.
"I'll eat it."
Seollan caved first.
"Here."
Cheonhwi immediately handed her half the pill.
Seollan hesitated, then squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed it down.
"Junior Sister, you okay?"
Seollan slowly opened her eyes.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."
"Really?"
"Then you eat too."
Seizing the moment of Jeokgeom's distraction, Cheonhwi shoved the remaining half into his mouth.
"Ack! M-Martial Uncle!"
Jeokgeom yelped in panic.
But despite his struggles, the pill melted away the instant it hit his tongue.
Jeokgeom squeezed his eyes shut.
Time passed with no reaction, and he let out a relieved breath.
"Phew, at least it's a safe elixir..."
"Urgh!"
Suddenly, Seollan groaned.
Her face had turned deathly pale as she collapsed to her knees, clutching her stomach.
"J-Junior Sister! You okay...? Urk!"
A sharp pain stabbed through Jeokgeom's head.
Agony wracked his skull.
His vision blurred, and he unwittingly dropped to his knees.
My head hurts!
I knew it! Shouldn't have trusted that elixir...!
Clutching his head, he looked up.
Two shadowy figures stood before him.
No—the afterimage from his dizziness had split one into two.
"Some poison qi lingered after all?"
Amid the throbbing pain, Cheonhwi's clear voice rang out, filling Jeokgeom with rage.
'Why would an elixir have poison qi!'
Indignation surged.
Who could imagine poison in an elixir?
Then.
"Snap out of it." Through the pounding headache, the telepathic message pierced directly into his mind, distorting Jeokgeom's dizzy face.
"Circulate your qi now." Gritting his teeth, Jeokgeom painfully assumed a meditative posture.
Suddenly, he jolted alert.
'Huh? Could this be the elixir's energy?'
An unfamiliar energy stirred within him.
Not much, but pure and pristine enough to make his mouth water.
'This is the elixir's power? Ack, if I don't circulate it now, it'll dissipate!'
Still dizzy from the pain, Jeokgeom mustered his strength and began circulating the Plum Blossom Qi Art.
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi watched the two, their faces pale as they meditated.
"Did I mess up the formula?"
He wasn't pleased.
Fortunately, he'd expelled most of the poison qi, so it wouldn't kill them despite the poisoning.
But the real issue was elsewhere.
"The accumulated inner power is too low."
No matter the ingredients, the energy was far too meager for an elixir.
"Guess I'll try a different method."
As Cheonhwi recalled another recipe from the elixir manual,
"Hah, hah."
Jeokgeom finished meditating, gasping as he forced his eyes open.
"S-Senior Brother."
He turned to see Seollan, equally ashen-faced.
No words passed between them.
But that shared misery drew solemn nods.
A shadow fell over them.
They looked up to see Cheonhwi gazing down.
"How was it?"
"It has an effect."
Seollan replied wearily, and Jeokgeom urgently added,
"But the poison is too strong."
"So?"
Cheonhwi shrugged as if to say, what of it?
"It's not lethal."
"......"
"......"
Speechless, Jeokgeom and Seollan squeezed their eyes shut.
They'd forgotten who they were dealing with—Cheonhwi.
The one who'd tossed them into beasts at midnight for insane training.
How many brushes with death had there been?
As they resigned themselves,
"Then Jeokgeom, stoke the fire again. Seollan, fetch more water for the cauldron."
Their eyes widened in horror.
"What are you doing? We have to make more."
At Cheonhwi's words, they were dumbfounded.
Make that again?
"That poison—er, elixir?"
"You're making more of those?"
"Obviously. Why ask?"
Cheonhwi looked at them like they were idiots.
"We need to make better ones, right?"
Jeokgeom and Seollan itched to retort.
What nonsense is that?
But they clamped their mouths shut.
They could already picture the consequences.
In the end, they chose,
"B-But the poisoning..."
"The stomachache and headache still..."
It was practically begging.
But Cheonhwi was merciless.
"That's bearable."
And it was, just barely.
But bearable pain was still pain.
"Feels like we're dying."
"Just a short break..."
"Make you move somehow?"
Jeokgeom and Seollan shot up in terror.
Cheonhwi seemed fully capable of it.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up."
Under his urging, they endured the pain and moved.
As Cheonhwi prepared to refine more elixirs,
Thud—thud—
Figures approached.
It was the Divine Healer and Little Sovereign Sohee's group.
The Divine Healer leading glared back at Little Sovereign Sohee's entourage trailing behind.
"Why are you lot following me?"
He scowled, but
"We're here to see Young Hero Cheonhwi."
Little Sovereign Sohee replied calmly.
The Divine Healer shot her a glare before turning away sharply.
"Getting close will take time."
Sohee murmured softly.
"Will it be alright?"
Shim Wijin asked worriedly.
"No choice."
"Even the Divine Healer would come if we said the Imperial Palace summoned him..."
"You mean that seriously?"
Sohee glared at Shim Wijin.
"The Divine Healer is a free spirit. No matter what you say about His Majesty's summons, you can't order him around."
He was the man who'd ignored the Emperor's physician offer and left.
Would such a man obey an imperial decree?
She shook her head.
"Besides, we can't take the Divine Healer now anyway."
Sohee's eyes turned cold as she stared at his back.
"Assassins are waiting for us to leave Mount Hua Sect. Until we find the traitor, we stay here."
Sohee bit her lip.
Her escape from Qinghai Province had been top secret.
Yet it leaked in mere days.
'...The traitor is close.'
After a moment's thought, Sohee stopped.
Suspecting further was dangerous.
Each was an imperial close aide.
A wrong accusation could be catastrophic.
'Don't suspect.'
She shook her head.
Digging deeper was risky.
'Just do my part.'
Her goal was simple.
Get close to the Divine Healer so they could leave anytime once the traitor was exposed.
'If I lure that Daoist Cheonhwi he shows interest in, it'll work.'
Cheonhwi was the only way to draw in the Divine Healer now.
'But how to get close?'
Sohee's brow furrowed.
She'd visited Cheonhwi multiple times.
Only to receive cold shoulders and indifference bordering on dismissal.
"Any way to befriend him?"
As she whispered, head lowered,
Suddenly.
The Divine Healer halted abruptly.
"Elder, what's wrong?"
Sohee, about to speak, froze upon seeing what blocked them.
"What is this...?"
It was a scene from hell.
Foul smoke hung thick around the cauldron, and beside it stood a haggard young man and woman.
"P-Please, stop now..."
"W-We’re gonna die."
Seollan stirred the cauldron while Jeokgeom fanned the flames relentlessly.
They pleaded desperately up at Cheonhwi, perched on a rock, begging for mercy.
"You won't die from that much."
Cheonhwi replied coldly.
"You're here."
He glanced over.
His emotionless eyes took in the Divine Healer and Sohee's group.
The usual gaze.
Yet the scene made Sohee's back crawl.
The Divine Healer frowned and rushed forward.
He approached Jeokgeom and Seollan, checking their conditions.
"You two alright?"
Spotting the Divine Healer late, Jeokgeom and Seollan teared up.
"Elder..."
"Divine Healer."
At their hoarse voices, the Divine Healer scowled at Cheonhwi.
"What are you doing?"
"Making elixirs."
"Elixirs...?"
The Divine Healer's brows shot up in fury.
"With these kids?"
"Yes."
"They're poisoned right now."
His voice rose.
"I know."
Cheonhwi remained nonchalant.
He hopped down from the rock and tasted the now orange-tinted liquid in the cauldron.
"Better than before."
He kneaded the liquid.
With godlike handiwork tracing a taiji pattern, Cheonhwi soon produced a small pill and split it neatly in half.
"Here."
As Jeokgeom and Seollan caught the tossed halves with resigned expressions and moved to swallow,
"Stop."
The Divine Healer blocked them.
He snatched the pill and said,
"You're feeding them this now?"
Cheonhwi narrowed his eyes.
Great, just when time was short.
He was annoyed by the Divine Healer interfering with his elixir rush.
"Yes."
"Why feed them poison pills?"
"They're elixirs."
"What kind of elixir is th—huh?"
The Divine Healer, glaring at the pill, faltered.
Elusive spiritual energy emanated from the poison-laden pill.
"Why is there spiritual energy from a poison pill?"
"What poison pill?"
Cheonhwi scowled.
"I told you, it's an elixir."