Chapter 48

The light leaf boat had been flying in the air for seven days. Apart from one day when they passed by a small city and the three of them stayed at an inn for a night, the rest of the time they spent camping in the wild.

Although Bai Zhen often went out, cultivators were always used to sleeping under the sky with the earth as their bed. Even if he had the Sleeve Technique, he wouldn't carry many unnecessary items, as he was accustomed to sleeping under the stars in the wild.

However, Lu Yaoxiang was different. She had never traveled far before. Although she knew she shouldn't carry too many items with the Sleeve Technique, she still had Lu Xiaodun, a human snail, whose large cauldron could hold many things.

Every sunset, she would find a place with a nice view in the air and ask Bai Zhen to stop. Then she would take out fur mats and other items from Lu Xiaodun's cauldron. Sometimes she would set up a tent to protect them from the wind and rain, or she would instruct Bai Zhen to dig a small cave in the stone wall.

A fire was always lit every night, and Lu Xiaodun's mysterious spirit grass soup was always drunk. The taste was so bad that Bai Zhen, after trying it a few years ago, refused to drink it again. He still maintained his habit of eating meat, and when there was nothing to do, he would take out the demon beast meat stored in his Sleeve Technique and roast it. At first glance, it seemed as if they were just on a leisurely trip.

Today, they flew into a desolate desert. The scorching sun was overhead, and the ground was covered with broken rocks and barren soil. They didn't even encounter a single demon beast worth looking at.

Lu Xiaodun held a branch scorched by the sun, blocking the direct sunlight, and looked at the distance with a pained expression, saying, "How could anyone live in such a place? Even without the evil cultivators coming, the people living here would have been scorched to death long ago."

"Almost there. If we fly for another half a day, we'll reach a small lake. There, with water and trees, it won't be so hot," Lu Yaoxiang slowly exhaled a breath of true qi and said.

"Our sect's territory is really vast. Even such a place is included. There should be a small village by the lake where people can rest," Lu Xiaodun speculated based on the travel experience she had learned over the past few days. She was facing away from Lu Yaoxiang and Bai Zhen, unaware that the two exchanged a glance, a hint of killing intent flashing in their eyes.

After half a day, they didn't stop to rest but continued flying until they reached the small lake mentioned. Lu Xiaodun, who was already a bit drowsy, leaned on the side of the boat, barely keeping her eyes open. She saw a small hill by the lake, and at the foot of the hill, there was a small town. In the darkness, only a few lights could be seen, making it hard to see clearly.

"Finally, I can sleep in a soft bed and take a bath," she sat up, raising her hands and shouting. The environment of the desert was truly terrible, and just a day and a half of flying had covered her body in dust.

Bai Zhen was also very stingy, refusing to use a wind-blocking spell, insisting that they should conserve spirit power when traveling outside and not waste it.

"Xiaodun, something seems off over there. Let's have Senior Brother Bai go and check first before we enter the town," Lu Yaoxiang, sitting beside her, suddenly said.

Lu Xiaodun paused for a moment and nodded. Before they left, her senior sister had warned her to listen to Lu Yaoxiang, or else she would be in trouble.

Bai Zhen stopped the light leaf boat behind a pile of rocks in the desert, put away the boat, and quietly approached. Lu Xiaodun guarded the cauldron, feeling that her cauldron was too conspicuous, especially at night, where it could easily be mistaken for a stone.

After a while, Bai Zhen returned unharmed and directly used a secret message to tell Lu Yaoxiang about the situation. Lu Xiaodun understood this behavior; if there were evil cultivators, speaking openly could be dangerous.

After their conversation, Lu Yaoxiang frowned and fell silent. After a moment, she said to Lu Xiaodun, "Xiaodun, lend me some of your pills."

"Senior Sister, which pills do you need?" She had so many pills that she needed to know which ones Lu Yaoxiang wanted.

"Let's do this. I'll tell you, and you decide which pills would be best," Lu Yaoxiang hesitated for a moment and then explained, "There are now over three hundred controlled mortals in that village, twenty-three at the Qi Condensation stage, and two at the Foundation Establishment stage. What kind of pill can make them lose their ability to resist?"

Lu Xiaodun was surprised, "There are so many evil cultivators, and we are only three people. No, it should be just the two of you. We need to quickly break the map token and call for reinforcements from the sect." As she spoke, she hurriedly reached into her chest to find the map token, intending to smash it.

Lu Yaoxiang grabbed her hand and said, "Don't panic. Do you remember how we hunted demon beasts? You should have many pills that can affect cultivators. As long as we incapacitate the Qi Condensation cultivators, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators can be dealt with by me and Bai Zhen."

"I'll think about it. It's easier to deal with mortals, but it's more troublesome to incapacitate the Qi Condensation cultivators," Lu Xiaodun understood and nodded, carefully taking out items from the cauldron and searching through them.

Bai Zhen looked at Lu Yaoxiang with surprise. It seemed that the reason she brought Lu Xiaodun here was for this.

"I found them. There are five types of pills here. Senior Sister, which one do you think is best?" Lu Xiaodun took out three bottles and two jade boxes, placing them on the ground and pointing to them, "The red bottle contains the venom of the Wind Gold Horn Snake. Senior Brother Bai should remember its effects. I added other ingredients and refined it into the current Wind Madness Liquid. Once consumed, it can triple a cultivator's combat power."

Lu Yaoxiang coughed lightly, "I don't need that kind of thing. It would be better to use it on ourselves."

"Senior Sister, I haven't finished. Although the combat power triples, the person will lose consciousness and enter a frenzied state, attacking everything around them. Moreover, the effect lasts only a short while, and they will die from spitting blood when the time is up," Lu Xiaodun said softly, shaking the red bottle.

"Indeed, it's a good thing, but it's too troublesome to make them consume it. Since there are so many people, it would be better if they could inhale it. Is there something with a similar effect that doesn't require consumption?" Lu Yaoxiang was satisfied with the effect but disliked the method of administration. Cultivators don't eat much, so poisoning them would be a big problem.

Lu Xiaodun smiled, "I knew you would say that, so I brought this." She pointed to an inconspicuous jade box on the ground, "The Illusion Destruction Pill. When thrown, it explodes and turns into powder like peach blossoms. No need to inhale it; just touching a little bit will make them enter an illusion. It's especially good to use at night, as the powder is black and hard to detect."

"Entering an illusion is also good. I'll take this one. What about the other three? Are there any that can kill with one hit?" Lu Yaoxiang chose the Illusion Destruction Pill and then asked casually.

Lu Xiaodun shook her head, "Senior Sister, the Illusion Destruction Pill is already a one-hit kill. I added phosphorus insect powder, so once they touch it, their flesh will rot in the pleasant illusion. By the time they struggle out of the illusion, a lot of their flesh will have rotted. If they don't want to die, they need to take the antidote and apply my Pearl Jade Healing Ointment, which can be sold in two doses."

"Give me the antidote," Lu Yaoxiang almost instinctively reached out for the antidote. Such a terrifying poison could be disastrous if it blew onto her.

"I already prepared it for you, here," Lu Xiaodun took out a small jade bottle from her chest and handed it to her. Seeing that her hand holding the jade box was tense, she explained, "Senior Sister, Foundation Establishment cultivators are already very powerful. Even if they touch the Illusion Destruction Pill powder, they can easily break free from the illusion. They just need to cut off the rotting flesh and seal the wound with spirit power."

Lu Yaoxiang opened the antidote and swallowed a pill, then threw one to Bai Zhen, saying, "You make it sound easy. By the time we deal with all this, we would have been killed by the enemies."

Bai Zhen, who had been listening with chills, hesitated for a moment after seeing Lu Yaoxiang swallow the antidote, and then also took a pill, asking, "How long does the antidote last? We don't want it to lose its effect when we need it."

"It won't. To avoid affecting Senior Sister, I usually refine two types of antidotes. One is a permanent antidote, and the other is a one-time antidote. Senior Sister has been taking the permanent type. Of course, Senior Brother Bai is taking the same now," Lu Xiaodun explained quickly, then smiled, "Senior Sister has taken over a hundred antidotes by now. I think she is already immune to all poisons."

Lu Yaoxiang paused, realizing she had taken so many antidotes without noticing. She could only say speechlessly, "All these antidotes mixed together might become poison."

"It won't, Senior Sister, don't worry," Lu Xiaodun waved her hand and pointed to the other three items, "Do you want to take these as well? I can introduce them to you, and I have the antidotes for them too."

Seeing that she was about to introduce more, Bai Zhen quickly stopped her, "No need, this one is enough. Taking too many antidotes isn't good."

"Xiaodun, can you refine a universal antidote? That way, we won't need so many different ones," Lu Yaoxiang put away the Illusion Destruction Pill and couldn't help but suggest.

Lu Xiaodun smiled, "Senior Sister, how do I know what I will refine in the future? Even if there is only one antidote, it can only counteract the poisons I currently have. It won't work for future ones."

"Never mind..." Lu Yaoxiang closed her mouth, deciding to focus on the task at hand. She whispered, "Stay hidden here, or better yet, in the cauldron. No matter what happens, don't make a sound or run around. Be careful if someone escapes and hurts you."

"Okay, I'll hide well. Senior Sister and Senior Brother Bai, be careful. Don't die," Lu Xiaodun knew she wouldn't be involved in the action. Her task was to come here and play, so she waited contentedly.

Lu Yaoxiang and Bai Zhen stood up, exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and then dashed out, disappearing into the night.