Chapter 44: The Huangque Pharmacist

“Opened?” The duo’s brows knit tight.

“It has been so long since anyone entered; so long!” A raspy, ancient voice echoed from within. It sounded abnormal, bordering on madness. “Come in, come in! Hurry, please come in!”

The voice suddenly stabilized and returned to a normal register. “Anyone who can reach my Medicine King Secret Realm is a distinguished guest!”

Lu Jin and Long Xiwei exchanged a glance. Since this was their objective, there was no point in hesitation. They would enter and act according to the situation as it developed.

Buzz!

The moment they stepped through the portal of the secret realm, it snapped shut. Before them, a landscape emerged that was the complete opposite of the desolate ruins outside. This place was filled with lush forests, elegant bamboo, and the sound of gurgling streams. The spiritual Qi in the air was incredibly dense; a single deep breath was enough to refresh the soul and clear the mind.

As they looked further, they saw fields of spiritual herbs and grasses. Patch after patch of rare flora extended all the way to the horizon.

“As expected of the Medicine King Secret Realm: this place is practically made of spiritual medicine!” Lu Jin exclaimed in surprise.

Long Xiwei nodded and looked ahead. At the edge of a massive medicinal field was a dense bamboo grove. Beneath the stalks stood a stone pavilion. Inside, a white-haired old man in gray robes sat at a stone table, pouring tea for himself as the fragrance of the leaves filled the air. Seeing the two newcomers, the old man turned his head and suddenly bared his teeth in a grin.

“You two, come here and talk!”

Lu Jin frowned. He sensed the old man’s aura fluctuations but found nothing particularly intimidating. On the contrary, he seemed plain and unremarkable, lacking any obvious aura of danger.

“Is Senior the Huangque Pharmacist?” Lu Jin asked, cutting straight to the point.

“Are you also here to beg something of me?” The old man did not deny his identity and asked a question in return.

“So you truly are the Huangque Pharmacist? We have come seeking the master’s help in refining an antidote for the Primal Chaos Poison!” Lu Jin did not attempt to be subtle; he spoke his request directly.

The pharmacist’s brow twitched. His expression darkened instantly. “You are quite blunt. Yet you do not even ask if this pharmacist is willing to help you.”

“I understand that point naturally,” Lu Jin replied. “Whatever compensation you require, simply speak it. If it is within my power, I will do my utmost to provide it!”

Hearing this, Huangque turned his gaze fully toward them. His eyes swept over Lu Jin, lingered on Long Xiwei, and then returned to Lu Jin. He shook his head slightly, a look of disappointment surfacing in his eyes. “With your Spirit Pearl cultivation, you likely cannot satisfy my requirements. So, drink this cup of tea and go back where you came from.”

Lu Jin’s gaze sharpened at the dismissal. “Is the Pharmacist unwilling to help? Or do you simply not believe I can fulfill your demands?” He had noticed something specific in the old man’s eyes.

“Correct. You are clever.” Huangque stared directly into Lu Jin’s eyes. “Firstly, your cultivation is too shallow: you cannot help me kill. Secondly, the Primal Chaos Poison is unique; it must have been administered by my disciple, correct? Tell me: if you didn’t get the antidote from him, what happened to him?”

Lu Jin could find a way to solve the first problem, but the second question was a difficult one. The Sect Master had killed the man’s disciple, and now he was asking the master to refine medicine for the killer. It was a problematic request. However, he had considered this possibility before arriving.

“Since I have come, I have the confidence to meet your requirements,” Lu Jin said. “As for the matter of killing: please speak the details.”

Huangque raised an eyebrow. “Help me kill the Beast Tamers outside. Break the Grand Formation and take me out of here. Do you know how many years I have been trapped here? How many years! Only the heavens know how I survived! Argh! No! You cannot kill that young man! Kill everyone else but him!”

His emotions suddenly spiked into agitation again. Lu Jin and Long Xiwei frowned as they watched, but they remained quiet. The old man was clearly unstable. After a moment, Huangque calmed down and added, “If you can do that, you don’t have to answer the second question.”

Lu Jin smiled. “The people outside want to kill you, and you want to kill them. This is quite interesting. But with your methods, surely you are a match for them?”

The pharmacist could no longer restrain his temper. “I am an alchemist! How much combat strength can an alchemist have? It is a miracle I have lived this long! In a direct clash of spiritual Qi, how much of a chance would I have? Against my mental power attacks, what chance would you have!”

Buzz!

Before his voice faded, a surge of mental energy erupted and enveloped Lu Jin. Lu Jin’s face paled slightly, but he gave a faint smile. The Dragon Runes beneath his skin activated silently, yet he made no move to counter-attack.

The mental power transformed into vines, dragging Lu Jin into the air. Suddenly, the pharmacist’s brow furrowed in a look of agony. “My attack power is gone! I have lost all combat strength! I am just a useless waste who can only refine medicine! Argh!“

His voice turned into a roar. It was so abnormal that Long Xiwei almost attacked him out of concern for Lu Jin. Lu Jin signaled for her to stop. This man was strange; if they didn’t understand him, they would leave empty-handed today.

“I can only refine medicine! In that case, I will turn you into medicine as well! They were all my ingredients! Look! Hahaha!”

Buzz!

With a wave of the pharmacist’s hand, a familiar scene appeared. Just like the mountain of skeletons they had seen outside the formation, there was a massive pile here as well! The quantity was staggering; it appeared to be even larger than the one outside.

“You have killed so many people!” Long Xiwei’s heart sank. She prepared to strike again.

“They couldn’t help me kill the people outside, so why keep them? Better to refine them into pills and use their flesh and blood to irrigate my spiritual herbs! Hahaha! I will refine you into a Yang Pill, and then turn that girl into a Yin Pill!”

Boom!

As he spoke, he flipped his palm. A pill furnace flew out from his spatial ring. The furnace was covered in ancient, crisscrossing patterns and carvings of rare, savage beasts. Their expressions were hideous, and they inspired a deep sense of dread.

“Boy, didn’t you want the antidote for the Primal Chaos Poison? Speak! What is the current situation of my disciple, the Five-Poison Blood Venerable! If he isn’t dead, why would you come to me for the cure?”

The pharmacist seemed to have fallen into a state of frenzy. Yet the question he asked left Lu Jin and Long Xiwei shaken. He appeared mad, but he was sharper than anyone.

Long Xiwei looked at Lu Jin. Lu Jin’s eyes darkened, but he did not lie or prevaricate. He spoke the truth directly.

“The Five-Poison Blood Venerable is dead. Before he died, he afflicted his opponent with that poison. I have come to find the cure for that opponent.”

Long Xiwei became incredibly tense. She hadn’t expected Lu Jin to be so honest. What surprised her even more was that the pharmacist did not explode in rage. Instead, a trace of admiration appeared on his mercurial face.

“You have some grit, brat. To dare speak the truth… are you not afraid I will kill you?”