An Unexpected Windfall at Soul-Lost Mountain (3)
The inner core of a spirit creature, obtained by chance while we were out gathering poisons.
It feels awkward to even call it a spirit creature, and calling this thing an inner core seems just as imprecise.
That snake certainly lived a long time.
I don’t know the exact reason, but growing to that size meant it had lived far longer than a few years.
Besides, this was less an inner core and more a condensation of pure poison qi.
People from the Tang family would probably rejoice, but for ordinary martial artists, this was something that could never be consumed.
It was hard enough to touch with bare hands—what business did anyone have trying to eat it?
Unless they were looking for a brand-new suicide method.
“So-hye.”
“Yes, Great Hero.”
“Do you think you can ingest this? No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem easy.”
“Hmm… It will need to be neutralized first. Even the venom of an ordinary Seven-Colored Five-Mystic Snake is handled with extreme care back at the family. Something like an inner core from a creature this toxic…”
“I figured. Is there a method?”
“We’ll have to take it back and examine it properly.”
“Is there anything we can store it in? Carrying it around like this feels wrong.”
Since I had wrapped it in qi and burned away every trace of blood on my hands, there was no lingering metallic stench.
Still, we couldn’t just keep carrying it openly. At the very least, we needed some kind of container.
“Just a moment… But I don’t think we have anything large enough to hold something this big…”
Because we had never expected to obtain anything like this, So-hye rummaged through her own pack as well, but nothing suitable turned up.
“Then there’s no helping it. We’ll just have to carry it until we reach Yizhou.”
Yizhou wasn’t that far anyway. Once we arrived, we could surely find at least one suitable container.
Having decided that, we followed the marks on the ground and headed out. As we neared the cave entrance, a single strand of energy came racing toward us from the distance at terrifying speed.
A very familiar energy. Almost identical to the snake we had just dealt with moments ago.
“Ha. This is absurd.”
“What? What’s wrong, Great Hero!?”
“Looks like there wasn’t just one. Let’s get outside first. We should be able to exit before it arrives.”
Stepping out into the open, we saw a massive serpent charging toward us from far off with ferocious momentum.
It probably hadn’t been aiming for us originally—its goal had been the cave itself.
And the end of that path was exactly where the previous snake had made its lair.
Kieeeeeek!
That might have been the case, but the moment it spotted us emerging from the cave, its eyes rolled back in pure fury and it lunged.
It must have realized what we had done.
This one looked even larger than the snake we had caught earlier. So the first had been female and this one male?
Whatever the case, its courage in charging straight at us was commendable. But that was as far as it went.
The Dark Shadow Sword flicked lightly once more, and once again the serpent’s head parted cleanly from its body, tumbling to the ground.
“Ugh…”
“Stay back. It’s poisonous.”
Even as I spoke, I sliced the severed head open a second time.
Another inner core revealed itself. Suddenly we had gone from one to two.
Well now. What a ridiculous stroke of luck.
I retrieved the inner core. This one had a noticeably different hue, and the energy it gave off was different as well.
The one from inside the cave had carried a reddish glow. This new one shimmered with a distinct blue tint.
For now, since leaving it exposed would be hard on So-hye, I wrapped the inner core in protective qi.
Good. That took care of that.
After dealing with the cores, I glanced at the ground where the dead snake lay. The earth where its blood had spilled was turning pitch black, and the surrounding grass was visibly withering.
“There’s more blood.”
“Yes, Great Hero.”
While So-hye collected the blood, I burned away the remaining traces on my hands and examined the two inner cores I now carried.
So their colors differed by gender. How fascinating.
Once So-hye had gathered every drop of the serpent’s blood, we left the area and made our way to a nearby valley where clear water trickled gently between the rocks.
The moment we put some distance behind us, So-hye’s attention locked onto the inner cores in my hands.
“These… There might actually be a way.”
“Hm?”
“Venomous creatures whose males and females possess opposing colors like this often have poisons that neutralize each other. The Blue-Red Twin Horn Serpent is one example, as is the Blue-Red Golden Horn Viper. There’s also the Black-White Four-Legged Spider, the Black-White Snake Four-Limbed Lord, the Blue-Yellow Mystic Fish…”
“I understand. No need for more examples. So… this follows a similar principle to Wuji. They can be mixed?”
As I stared at the cores, So-hye’s eyes suddenly widened and she tried to stop me.
“Great Hero! Even so, this could be dangerous! It’s poison. Poison!”
“If it doesn’t work, I can just spit it back out. Wait here. Keep watch around us.”
With those words, I sat down in lotus position on a broad flat rock, then swallowed the two inner cores one after the other.
So-hye watched with a hand over her mouth, eyes full of anxiety.
I flashed her a reassuring grin, closed my eyes, and turned my focus inward.
The two inner cores now inside my body—the distilled essence of poison, wrapped in qi.
First, I crushed them.
Using my qi to press them until nothing but pure energy remained, I then carefully separated tiny portions from each of the two energies.
It would be a shame to ruin them by mixing everything at once. Better to run a small clinical trial first.
Two minuscule clumps of energy. I fused them together.
The exact same method used to create Wuji.
And just like before, they merged smoothly without resistance, as though the yin-yang balance was perfectly aligned.
The energy that resulted felt familiar.
However, unlike the Wuji formed from the Great Return Pill and the Demonic Spirit Pill, this still contained a heavy residue of poison qi.
Time to test it, then.
I withdrew the qi that had been containing the mixed energy.
The poison qi instantly invaded my body and spread at frightening speed.
The amusing part was that while the deadly sensation had lessened considerably, the tingling had grown far more intense.
It numbed my insides. A feeling almost like being anesthetized.
I gathered the energy back into a single point, and on impulse fused all the remaining portions together as well.
“Huu…”
When I exhaled deeply and opened my eyes, So-hye was staring at me with intense worry.
“Are you all right!? Great Hero?”
“I combined them into one.”
“Yes.”
“The poison qi was alleviated somewhat, but the sensation changed. Would you like to feel it yourself? So you know what I mean?”
“Yes. That would make it easier to analyze.”
“Good. Come here, then. Sit down.”
So-hye settled into lotus position beside me. I placed my hand against her back, separated a small portion of the fused poison essence, and transferred it to her.
Since this wasn’t about guiding her qi, I released it immediately. The moment the poison spread through her body, beads of sweat began pouring down her skin.
I considered using my own qi to gather the poison again, but it didn’t seem necessary.
So-hye had already begun using her own internal energy to pull the spreading toxin back into a single point.
Her internal energy had grown considerably by now, and her qi manipulation had become much more refined.
She quickly drew everything together and let out a long breath.
“Huu. I understand the feeling now. At this level, I believe I can accept it.”
“Really? Has it truly been neutralized?”
“Yes. Normally, poisoning from a Seven-Colored Five-Mystic Snake causes instant paralysis followed by rapid death. Right now the paralysis effect has become incredibly strong, but it isn’t lethal.”
“That matches what I felt. I experienced the same thing.”
“Then this is truly the perfect poison. Toxins that kill too quickly are surprisingly useless in practice.”
“That’s true. Besides, since you specialize in hidden weapons, this might actually suit you even better.”
Paralysis, huh.
Crowd control was welcome anywhere, anytime.
At this level of poison qi, most opponents would probably freeze up from the smell alone.
In a split-second exchange of lethal moves, that kind of stiffness was as good as death.
And the one who could decide when that moment arrived was the one holding the poison.
It meant having absolute dominance.
“Shall I transfer the rest to you now?”
“Yes. I’d appreciate it.”
I nodded and passed every last bit of the fused poison essence to So-hye.
She immediately wrapped it all in her own qi.
She was skilled at this. Had she grown accustomed through absorbing so many of the Tang family’s spiritual medicines?
It was clear that, compared to Seolha and Yeon-ha—who had both experienced gaps in their training—So-hye’s martial foundation ran deeper. More polished.
“Huu…”
“You’re not going to suddenly go numb all over if you push too hard, are you?”
“I’ll be careful not to let that happen.”
“It won’t be easy. You already carry a huge amount of energy inside you that could be considered poisonous. If you really overdo it, it could be dangerous.”
“It’s all right. Because you’re here beside me, Great Hero.”
So-hye gave me a sweet, lovely smile as she said it.
We rose from our seats and gathered our belongings.
“Our business here is finished, right? We came looking for snake venom and ended up with an unexpected bonus.”
“Yes. To think we’d encounter such a fortuitous opportunity. It’s amazing. Ah! Still, my greatest fortuitous encounter will always be you, Great Hero.”
Ah. This wouldn’t do. Looked like I’d have to get So-hye drinking again tonight.
When a girl said such adorable things, she deserved plenty of rewards, didn’t she?
Or maybe this reward was for me.
“In that case, let’s stop by the Changyeong Inn again today and stay one more night.”
“Huh? If we set out now, we should still be able to reach Chang’an before dark.”
“You want to head back that early? After we’ve already come all the way out here?”
So-hye rolled her eyes once, then answered with a soft laugh.
“You’re right. It’s not as if anyone is rushing us to return.”
And so we left the mountain and made our way toward Yizhou.
The Changyeong Inn welcomed us once again.
Thanks to the money we had given him yesterday, the innkeeper stubbornly refused to accept any payment today no matter how much we insisted.
So I let him have his way. When a man spoke that firmly, there was no need to argue.
That evening a different liquor from the night before was brought out. When So-hye saw the bottle, she gave me a quick sideways glance.
“Just so you know in advance. I’m going to make you drink again tonight.”
“Euu…”
Her face was already turning red, as if yesterday’s memories had come flooding back.
I filled her cup and handed it over. So-hye took a deep breath, accepted the cup, squeezed her eyes shut, and swallowed it in one gulp.
And just like the previous night, she was completely drunk before half a shichen had passed.
“Great Herooo. Yesterday So-hye was so embarrassed… But today I drank again!? This is all your fault, Great Herooo.”
She complained cutely, then clung to me and pressed her lips against mine. Exactly the sight I had been hoping for.
I held her happily, and So-hye—far more enthusiastic than usual—climaxed several times over.
Ah. This was truly entertaining. I’d have to try it with Seolha and Yeon-ha sometime.
I was genuinely curious how they would change.