Chapter 85: Tianji Powder

Arriving before the Spirit Tree Forest, the scents of various spirit beasts entered Junior Brother Bai Ming's nostrils.

The spirit trees were towering with thick trunks; each tree required a person to wrap their arms around it with all their might to barely encircle it.

Looking up, he could still see several yellow pupils, filled with cruelty, flickering in the dark night.

Without the slightest hesitation, Junior Brother Bai Ming revealed the cyan scale in his hand and glared at the gazes in the darkness.

A creaking sound came from the branches above his head, and within a few breaths, there were no longer any spirit beast auras in the forest.

"The aura of a Golden Core spirit beast is truly useful." Junior Brother Bai Ming gripped the scale tightly.

Weaving through the overlapping tree shadows, Junior Brother Bai Ming went to some trouble to walk out of the forest.

He pushed aside the branches on both sides, and the view before him suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious plain.

The plain was covered in spirit herbs, with green leaves and stems over a meter high, standing proudly upon the ground.

Controlling the spiritual wind, Junior Brother Bai Ming descended from above, overlooking the grassland.

The night wind howled, and the spirit herbs swayed with the wind, leaning to one side, revealing the fur of spirit beasts within.

The auras were high and low, a dense, continuous string, and among them were several that made him feel a sense of danger.

Perceiving various gazes, Junior Brother Bai Ming paused slightly and revealed his right palm.

As soon as the Giant Lizard's aura was released, the spirit beasts that had been hiding beneath him scurried away, not daring to harbor any more thoughts.

The spirit beasts that were already far away hid even further, as if afraid of being affected.

With the help of the Giant Lizard's might, Junior Brother Bai Ming proceeded without obstruction, arriving at the edge of the grassland.

Normally, there would be nowhere to hide in this area, and since he was flying in the air, he should have been subjected to all-out attacks from these crazed spirit beasts.

But now, it was actually convenient for travel.

Spirit beasts might go mad at night, but madness and ferocity do not mean they have a death wish.

If you are a Foundation Establishment spirit beast, would you dare to provoke a Golden Core spirit beast even if you were mad?

That would just be offering yourself up as a snack.

Things were progressing smoothly; after exploring the grassland, Junior Brother Bai Ming decided to head back first.

Just as he turned around, he thought of something, flew downward, and carefully picked a few spirit flowers that were both colorful and fragrant.

The moonlight was cold, and the young man returned by the moonlight.

Elsewhere in the moonlight, outside the small wooden hut, the place the young man intended to return to, there was a rapid knocking on the door.

Bang— The wooden door was kicked open.

"Oh, interesting, he is actually not here." The young girl smiled cunningly.

…

The sunlight was warm, and the air carried a hint of coolness.

Inside the cave.

Elder Xuancao's expression was cold as he carefully sorted the medicinal materials. "You may leave."

Gently wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Junior Brother Bai Ming staggered up, bowed, and departed quickly.

Compared to today's poisonous pill, there was another matter that concerned him more.

When he returned last night, there were traces of the wooden door having been opened.

The methods were crude and undisguised.

He didn't need to think to know who it was.

But what concerned him was how much she actually knew.

With a heavy mind, Junior Brother Bai Ming didn't even pay attention to the medicinal poison in his body for a moment.

He clutched his chest, pulled open the wooden door, and immediately sat cross-legged on the ground.

After performing a series of hand seals, he temporarily stabilized the injuries in his body; he couldn't remove the medicinal poison, but he could stop it from circulating within his body.

In the past few days, he had made some ominous discoveries: inside his body, his spiritual root had actually been contaminated with some medicinal poison.

If it weren't for Senior Brother Wei Yu helping to purify it, this pill poison would remain in his body and pollute his spiritual root.

"It's a pity I can't go seek Senior Brother Wei Yu's help tonight." Junior Brother Bai Ming opened his eyes and sighed.

The sunset's afterglow dissipated, and the golden evening was no more; in its place was boundless darkness, thick as ink.

Bang— The young girl kicked out, and the wooden door was easily kicked open.

Slowly opening his eyes, Junior Brother Bai Ming had already expected this and was not too surprised.

Senior Sister Tao Yu smiled wickedly, "Junior Brother knew I would come."

"That is not the case; it is just that Master's pill poison has not yet dissipated, and my consciousness is blurred, so I didn't have time to react." Junior Brother Bai Ming sat cross-legged in the center of the room, not looking at Senior Sister Tao Yu.

Senior Sister Tao Yu narrowed her eyes, observing him carefully, "Tianji Powder, the taste is not pleasant, is it?"

Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes lit up, then quickly dimmed; he didn't want Senior Sister Tao Yu to see what he was seeking.

"You are truly miserable, actually becoming that Alchemy Apprentice." Senior Sister Tao Yu walked to the bed and lay down casually.

"Could it be that Senior Sister has also done it?" Junior Brother Bai Ming asked in return.

"I haven't; why would I do that?" Senior Sister Tao Yu said in a relaxed tone, "Isn't the purpose of an Alchemy Apprentice to test medicine, so as to refine higher-quality pills?"

She raised an eyebrow, "I don't need to go through such trouble; the Foundation Establishment pills that Master refines are not as good as mine, so why should I take them?"

What?

Senior Sister Tao Yu's attainments in Foundation Establishment pills were actually stronger than Elder Xuancao's.

After contemplating for a moment, Junior Brother Bai Ming's brows twitched; he actually felt there was some possibility, at least it showed that Senior Sister Tao Yu's pill refining skills were superb.

Otherwise, why would she say such a thing?

"You don't need to beat around the bush with me." Senior Sister Tao Yu's eyes narrowed, "You went out last night, didn't you?"

"I went out to gather a few medicinal herbs." Junior Brother Bai Ming remained calm.

"Don't try to lie to me." Senior Sister Tao Yu stood up and walked behind Junior Brother Bai Ming, "You want to escape from here, don't you?"

Having his intentions exposed, Junior Brother Bai Ming was not overly panicked.

In this godforsaken place, who wouldn't want to escape?

You try living here for a long time and see; you'd go crazy sooner or later.

"What does Senior Sister mean by this?" Junior Brother Bai Ming said softly.

Senior Sister Tao Yu clasped her hands behind her back and paced back and forth, "I'm saying, you wouldn't be thinking of slowly finding a way out, would you?"

"Although I don't know how you handled those crazed spirit beasts, let me remind you: the distribution of Golden Core spirit beasts is not concentrated in one place."

She glanced sideways at the young man's back, "The distribution of Golden Core spirit beasts is scattered, which means they could appear anywhere."

"Furthermore, they still need to hunt and fight over territory."

Senior Sister Tao Yu paused her steps and placed her small hand on Junior Brother Bai Ming's shoulder, "Do you think you can manage not to run into a single one, or are you planning to beg a Golden Core spirit beast for mercy when the time comes?"

His shoulder was gently gripped, and Junior Brother Bai Ming held his breath, even being able to feel the young girl's body temperature.

"You want to get out, don't you? You're missing a map, right?" Senior Sister Tao Yu leaned in lightly, her beautiful head slightly tilted, looking at Junior Brother Bai Ming's side profile.

"I have the map, and what's more, I can take you out."

Senior Sister has a map, and she even knows the way out.

His heart pounded, and Junior Brother Bai Ming could no longer remain calm.

He had originally thought that by advancing to Foundation Establishment, he could escape Senior Sister Tao Yu's control.

Relying on the Yanqing Spiritual Root, he feared no one at the Foundation Establishment level.

But her words were clearly a noose, meant to tighten around him once again.

Moreover, she had also discovered his intention to escape; if she were to just mention it to Elder Xuancao, what might follow would be a seal on his cultivation.

He would never be able to escape Medicine Peak for all eternity.

What a display of both kindness and severity.

Weighing the pros and cons, Junior Brother Bai Ming sighed and made a decision in his heart.

He didn't really care about a bit of face, but he hated this feeling of being controlled by others, like having shackles placed on his body.

"What are Senior Sister's instructions?" Junior Brother Bai Ming glanced sideways.

"Junior Brother is sensible after all." Senior Sister Tao Yu smiled and lightly patted Junior Brother Bai Ming's back.

"However, don't be in a rush; in your current state of being terminally ill, how could you do things well for me?" Senior Sister Tao Yu took out a storage bag and held a pill with her small hand.

"This is the antidote to the Tianji Powder; take it first."