Chapter 109
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Chapter 109: Growing Dragon Horns
After spending six hours, Li Hui, Chef Zhao, and Huo Qiniang ventured through dozens of caves, passing through hundreds of tunnels and skirting several blood energy forbidden zones, collecting enough food to fill over thirty bags of treasures.
Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang felt very fortunate, as the three of them, led by Li Hui and the nine heads, always managed to accurately target and rescue the bags of treasures.
However, the latest corpse they dragged out from the blood energy zone was already unrecognizable. As Li Hui opened the bag of treasures, a rotten stench immediately struck his face. Aside from some aged herbs that were still edible, the other food was putrid.
“Let’s go! We need to find a place to rest.” Li Hui turned and walked away. In this place, they were constantly tested for survival. If the two burdens could not keep up, they would have to fend for themselves.
Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang were quite self-aware and ran on despite their hunger. They felt a bit relieved when they finally caught up with Li Hui, panting.
“Boss, don’t abandon me! I can prepare medicinal dishes with the food and herbs, but we’ll need to use more water when cooking. You have to know that herbs also correspond to the five elements, and with the right combinations, we can save food.”
Huo Qiniang widened her eyes at the chubby man, thinking, “What’s with this fatso acting all loyal? Besides making men happy and searching their bodies for things, I have no other skills! What should I do? What can I do? This young master doesn’t think much of me. I can’t repay him with my body, so if I want to stay by his side, I…”
Li Hui looked at the fat man with newfound appreciation. This kid seemed to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. He had shown some cultivation while gathering food and had already opened the fifth Spirit Motion mark. If he didn’t consider the quality of the marks, their cultivation levels were quite comparable. Interestingly, Huo Qiniang also had the fifth Spirit Motion mark. Could it be that cultivators with similar levels ended up together?
At this moment, Huo Qiniang’s eyes brightened as she looked at the Yin-Yang Nine Heads and shouted, “I’ll take care of these big-headed ghosts and ensure they are comfortable. Look at their hair, all messy and unkempt! And their ears are filthy!”
Alright! Thinking back, that seemed to be her only talent!
Li Hui glanced at the nine heads. To be honest, they had long since lost their status as mere heads, resembling nine monsters instead. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone manage them; after all, he couldn’t let them tarnish Li Yingjun’s image.
“Fine, as long as it’s useful. You don’t need to worry about water for cooking medicinal dishes. I can draw Water Gathering Talismans.”
“That’s great! You’re Li Hui from the Jade Symbol Sect, right? My Qiniang and I know your name well,” Chef Zhao said, overjoyed. If they had spent the whole time collecting food without any awareness of their environment, then they’d be as foolish as pigs.
“Yep, I’m Li Hui from the Jade Symbol Sect!” Li Hui emphasized. “I’m also the outer disciple representing good looks. You two need to pay attention to your image while following me.”
“Yes, yes!” The two nodded their heads like chicks pecking at grains.
Huo Qiniang was even more perceptive than the fat man, and she felt much brighter inside. It was good to have some personality preferences; what scared her were those emotionless cultivators who’d kill you for a few wrong words. Or those who only care about cultivation and think it’s impressive to be heartless.
Li Hui picked a remote cave and tidied up some miscellaneous items from his bag of treasures, tossing everything to Huo Qiniang. He then focused on integrating the relevant texts in his mind.
Outside, many cultivators were almost at each other’s throats; Chef Zhao was fanning a small fire, simmering petite snow frogs. After adding some ginseng slices and preparing the dish carefully, he hurried to serve it to his boss. Li Hui felt content after tasting the broth.
Meanwhile, a path was opened outside. When food transported into the maze arrived, fierce battles broke out, with many disciples from the Three Sects and Four Sects even turning against each other. At that moment, Huo Qiniang was combing the hair of the nine big heads, cleaning their ears and braiding their hair to make them look fresh and tidy.
Ten days later, when Li Hui snapped out of his long contemplation, he saw that Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang were neatly dressed. Their clothes weren’t luxurious but were clean, and especially after Huo Qiniang removed that dreadful layer of makeup from her face, she looked not only not ugly but quite delicate. Once he looked at the Yin-Yang Nine Heads floating around, it was simply a complete overturn of perception.
“Not bad! Raising a burden hasn’t been in vain.”
The nine heads now looked like the heads of bronze statues in a temple, with a hint of a jade-like quality, making them appear lively. They exuded a non-threatening aura; if they could smile with their mouths, it would feel very friendly.
Li Hui asked, “How much food do we have left?”
Chef Zhao, who had been waiting nearby, answered nervously, “We have enough for ten more days. Qiniang and I have tried to save as much as we could, but we must eat every two hours, and we can’t eat less than that.”
Li Hui nodded, taking out ten bags of treasures and instructing, “Do not open them for the next ten days. They contain some food, though there are also many miscellaneous items. You two can allocate them as you see fit.”
“At your command!” Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang were overjoyed. Since the boss didn’t care about these useless items, they would be quite useful for the two of them. If they were still in Linggui City, it would have been enough to get by for years.
With the Four Yin Four Yang Flying Head Burial Array protecting them, Li Hui went back to studying like mad. He delved into formations and talisman methods, array patterns and focal points, while also researching human acupuncture points and the capacity of meridians.
As he researched, the questions did not decrease but rather increased! It was like a spring that continued to swell; the outpouring of knowledge couldn’t be stopped. These ten days equated to ten years of hard learning for others, but it was far worse than being trapped in a maze. It felt as if he had dropped from the sky into the ocean, forever unable to reach the end.
Li Hui was completely oblivious to what he had eaten these days. Many times, he wouldn’t eat until his hunger reached a peak, and even when he did eat, he would be thinking. Each time he identified an error in a passage, he would either alter it with a flow of consciousness or toss it into the dark corners of his mind to fade away on its own.
Huo Qiniang noticed a pair of velvet antlers growing on Li Hui’s forehead. They had been emitting golden light continuously over the past few days, and today, they suddenly broke free from his forehead, sprouting outward, still tender and lovely yet exuding a mesmerizing aura.
Chef Zhao was dumbfounded and shouted, “How could this happen? Why are the Spirit Marks growing outside the body? Is this still a Spirit Mark? Boss, how strange! Could it be that he’s been eating too many medicinal dishes these days?”
“Shut up and mind your own mouth!” Huo Qiniang pinched the fat man’s ear and turned him around, saying, “How much food do we have left? I’m keeping an eye on you! No sneaking food.”
“Hey, sis! Look how much weight I’ve lost these days! My belt is ten notches looser; those chefs probably wouldn’t even recognize me!”
“Hmph! Those fatty cooks are probably all dead by now. You’re lucky to be alive.” Huo Qiniang looked delicate but had a fiery personality.
“Yes, yes! I’m lucky, and Qiniang is lucky too! But the food is running low; we can last at most five more days!” Zhao the Fatty glanced hopefully at Li Hui, wishing the young master would conjure up some more bags of treasures.
While they were whispering, Li Hui exhaled a sigh of murky qi and stood up, an uncommon occurrence for him.
When he opened his eyes, a flash of lightning struck the cave. The pair of glowing, tender horns on his forehead began to grow, gradually curling upwards.
Huo Qiniang and Chef Zhao stared in shock, instantly having the same thought: these horns were definitely not regular deer horns since deer horns don’t have such noble, tightly spiraled textures.
