"Xue Hui! There you are. I've been looking for you."
Xue Hui had just come out of the herb storage, carrying a basket full of medicinal herbs, when he heard his name being called. Looking to his side, he saw Xiao Ning'er jogging toward him.
As she stopped before him, her gaze landed on the things in Xue Hui's hands. She looked at them with puzzlement before her expression lit up as realization dawned on her.
"Those are herbs, right? Are you going to concoct an elixir, Xue Hui?"
"Yes, I need to make some pills for our trip tomorrow."
His answer caused excitement to rise in her heart. She smiled brightly as a look of anticipation emerged on her face.
Xue Hui chuckled upon seeing her excitement. Looking at her charming face, he couldn't help but lower his gaze to check the rest of her body.
Quickly, he noticed that Xiao Ning'er was wearing a rather cute outfit.
She was wearing a cloth dress adorned with floral and cloud patterns, highlighted with gold and silver accents.
Its tight fit hugged her figure perfectly, making her look both cute and alluring to look at.
Xiao Ning'er's gorgeous appearance was simply a feast for Xue Hui's eyes.
Noticing his burning gaze, a faint blush colored her cheeks. Her lips stretched into a wobbly smile as she suppressed the urge to turn and run.
"Xue Hui, you're staring."
She giggled when her words made Xue Hui avert his gaze as he scratched his cheek, looking awkward.
Receiving that kind of reaction from him, Xiao Ning'er mentally thanked Ye Ziyun for helping her choose her outfit.
Being caught staring made him feel embarrassed. To save himself from further embarrassment, he cleared his throat and quickly returned to the topic at hand.
"Like I said, I'm going to concoct an elixir that has a better effect at repelling extreme Yin energy. The detoxifying pill is simply too lacking. It would be dangerous to rely on it alone."
Last night's trip with Goddess Yu Yan had made him aware of how enormous the amount of extreme Yin energy emanating from that huge tree was.
Prolonged exposure to it would cause their constitutions to mutate, changing their bodies into those of people with extreme Yin physiques.
And such physiques were too troublesome to train. The reason was that an extreme Yin physique could only be cultivated in places rich in Yin energy.
"Can I come with you, Xue Hui? I kinda wanna watch you make elixirs," Xiao Ning'er asked expectantly.
She had deliberately chosen not to join Chen Linlin and the others on their hunting trip so she could spend some alone time with Xue Hui.
Her face lit up when Xue Hui nodded and gestured for her to follow.
As they walked, Xue Hui taught Xiao Ning'er about the herbs he had gathered.
"Is this fine? You took quite a lot of them, Xue Hui."
"Don't worry. I got the clan chief's permission. If anyone has a problem with me taking this much, they can go and complain to him."
Although Xue Hui said that, he was actually surprised that Moi Bailu had told him he could simply take all the materials he needed from the clan's storage hut.
After all, the materials he required could fetch an exorbitant price on the market back home. To give them away so freely, is way too rich, the Toxic Forest truly was a place of both opportunity and danger.
As they headed toward a location that Moi Bailu dubbed the Shaman's Circle, they were greeted by the sight of more than twenty people running around while preparing large batches of medicine.
The air was filled with a rich medicinal aroma. Ten enormous ancient-looking cauldrons, each large enough to fit a person, were placed over roaring flames, causing the formulas inside to boil.
The entire atmosphere felt intense.
Holding Xiao Ning'er's hand, they entered the busy area, swiftly dodging the shamans who were frantically concocting medicine.
Xue Hui's eyes scanned the area in search of a place where he could work.
Finding one, he pulled Xiao Ning'er along as they made a beeline for a less crowded corner.
They sat cross-legged on the hardened clay ground. Xue Hui placed the basket beside him while Xiao Ning'er's curious gaze wandered across the surroundings.
"Everyone is so busy. They keep throwing herbs into those giant cauldrons. Do you know what they're making, Xue Hui?" Xiao Ning'er asked with a look of awe.
Xue Hui gave her a quick glance and nodded.
"They are making a medicine similar to a detoxifying pill. They are probably aware of what excessive Yin energy can do to their bodies, so they came up with a medicine to protect themselves."
Hearing him, Xiao Ning'er displayed an astonished expression.
She couldn't help but be impressed by the resilience of the Ancient Furnace Clan. Despite their situation, they had managed to adapt and thrive in such a harmful environment as the Toxic Forest.
Xue Hui took out all the ingredients and arranged them neatly on the ground. Many of the ingredients were the same as those used by the shamans around them, though Xue Hui had added several herbs of his own.
After all, what they needed was a detoxifying pill capable of withstanding the bombardment of immense amounts of extreme Yin energy.
Xiao Ning'er watched his every movement.
She was excited. She had never seen Xue Hui concoct an elixir before.
All she knew, based on Chen Linlin's constant boasting, was that Xue Hui's alchemy skills surpassed even those of a senior alchemy master.
"Ning'er, although the flame I'm going to use doesn't seem to give off much heat, it's a spiritual flame capable of melting even iron. Don't try to get near it, and help me keep anyone from approaching while I work."
"Hmph, leave it to me."
Hearing her response, Xue Hui nodded and began igniting his alchemy flames.
Closing his eyes, Xue Hui performed a series of breathing techniques, using his body like a furnace while fanning the flame within his soul realm.
Inhale, exhale.
After two breaths, a spark lit up between Xue Hui's palms.
Inhale, exhale.
After five breaths, the single spark multiplied, creating crackling sounds similar to flint igniting a fire.
Inhale, exhale.
Woosh!
Twelve-colored flames burst forth from Xue Hui's palms, rapidly increasing in size the more deeply he breathed.
Xiao Ning'er's beautiful eyes fluttered. She looked mesmerized as she watched the twelve-colored flames dancing before her.
The flames stretched and expanded as though they had just awakened from a long nap. At one point, they even tried to escape Xue Hui's grasp, only to be swiftly subdued.
Just as Xue Hui had said, the twelve-colored flames emitted no noticeable heat.
If not for the crackling noises coming from them, Xiao Ning'er would have thought the flames were merely an illusion.
With a huff, Xue Hui waved his arm, guiding the twelve-colored flames as though they were an extension of his limbs.
They wriggled like snakes before pouncing upon the first ingredient laid out before him. The flames carried the herb into their blazing bodies and swallowed it whole.
Suspended within the twelve-colored flames, the herb began to break apart, separating into two portions: a nail-sized droplet of medicinal essence and a residue of ash.
The residue gradually vanished, turning into black smoke and drifting away with the wind.
Despite being enveloped by the twelve-colored flames, the liquid essence showed no signs of drying out.
After successfully extracting the medicinal essence from the first herb, Xue Hui did not stop and repeated the process with the remaining ingredients.
Woosh.
The twelve-colored flames danced as they picked up the ingredients one after another.
It did not take long before all sixteen medicinal essences swirled within the flames.
Seeing this, Xue Hui's expression became serious. Forming hand seals, he began mixing them together.
He carefully observed which medicinal essence should be added first. After the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, all sixteen medicinal essences merged into a single sphere of medicinal liquid.
Xue Hui let out a shaky breath.
With the easiest part complete, he now had to devote his full concentration to slowly removing the impurities within it.
At the same time, he had to ensure that he did not lose even a strand of medicinal aura from the sixteen ingredients. Otherwise, the concoction would fail.
With that thought, he furrowed his brows and carefully controlled the flames to burn away the impurities within the medicinal mixture.
He sat there like a mountain, perfectly still and unmoving.
Seeing that Xue Hui had entered a focused state, Xiao Ning'er rose from her seat and stood in front of him protectively.
She bit her lip when she noticed quite a few people staring at Xue Hui.
One of them was Moi Ca.
The little girl stood not far away, her eyes as round as saucers and her mouth hanging open. She looked completely stunned as she stared at Xue Hui in shock.
Xiao Ning'er's eyes narrowed as her keen gaze swept across Moi Ca's body.
She wanted to check whether the little girl was still breathing.
The slight movement of Moi Ca's modest chest made Xiao Ning'er let out a sigh of relief. For a moment, she had honestly thought the girl had forgotten how to breathe.
Three hours later,
The twelve-colored flames released a deafening boom as three dark-green pills gradually formed from the swirling medicinal mixture. The outer layers of the pills hardened, sealing all of their medicinal efficacy within nail-sized spheres.
Seeing this, Xue Hui moved with lightning speed. He took out three pill bottles and quickly stored the pills inside them.
"Success! High-Grade Meridian Detoxifying Pills! This is great! With these, we won't have to worry about being affected by extreme Yin energy for quite some time," Xue Hui exclaimed joyfully.
Furthermore, the High-Grade Meridian Detoxifying Pills would allow them to withstand the dense extreme Yin energy emanating from the giant tree.
With them, they could finally enter the tree, search for its treasures, and use them to increase the girls' strength.
As for Xue Hui, his goal was to locate the tree's Life Core and devour it. Only then would his own strength increase.
"That's three done. I need to make more for everyone. Then we'll be ready to continue with our goal."
After saying that, Xue Hui took another batch of ingredients from the basket and arranged them neatly as before.
Woosh.
As the twelve-colored flames danced once more, Xiao Ning'er continued her mission of guarding him.
At one point, while Xue Hui was in the middle of concocting more elixirs, a large number of people from the Ancient Furnace Clan gathered to watch him work.
Medicine-making played a major role in the Ancient Furnace Clan's way of life.
So it was no surprise that they found Xue Hui's methods fascinating.
Even Moi Bailu came to watch. Beside him stood his daughter, Moi Ca. Her eyes sparkled with wonder. As someone pursuing the Dao of Medicine, Xue Hui's alchemy abilities had completely captured her interest.
"I-I want him to be my master," she whispered under her breath.
A look of determination appeared on her face as she set her heart on becoming Xue Hui's disciple.
End of Chapter 85
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