Chapter 24

After the spring rain, the air is always fresh, making one feel refreshed and at ease. Even the hidden cave is no exception...

Through the cracks in the cave ceiling, the originally musty cave was replaced by a stream of fresh air. Inside the cave, Bai Shi had already started a fire and placed the ancient tripod on a wooden stand. Beside it, the mysterious creature he had brought back, with its wet fur now dried, was half-closed its eyes, enjoying the warmth of the fire.

Bai Shi, sitting cross-legged beside the fire, carefully observed the changes in the ancient tripod.

At one moment, he suddenly frowned slightly, as if puzzled, and muttered, "This ancient tripod is truly a heat-resistant object. After being scorched by such intense flames for so long, the bottom of the tripod shows no sign of turning red at all..."

As he muttered, Bai Shi slowly extended his hand and touched the tripod lid. The chill from the lid made him withdraw his fingers again. He recalled, "To refine the Hehe Powder... after the ancient tripod has a slight warmth, place the colorful tiger gallbladder inside. When the bottom of the tripod turns red, fill it with water. When the water evaporates to half an inch, add the Chaos Flower stamen and the Purple Twilight Herb... Finally, wait for the water to completely evaporate, take it out, and compress it with spiritual energy for an hour. Moreover, the red heat must be used appropriately; if one step is wrong, all previous efforts will be in vain..."

While pondering, Bai Shi slowly stood up. In that instant, his excitement about breaking through to a higher level turned into anxious waiting.

Since someone who knew how to refine medicines had visited this cave before, it was not difficult to find some refining tools inside.

Bai Shi found a stone bowl, washed it, and then carefully picked out the Chaos Flower, placing the stamen into the stone bowl. He then took out the Purple Twilight Herb, removed its branches and leaves, washed the root clean, and placed it in the stone bowl as well.

Bai Shi had a good memory, so he did not need to verify the refining steps that appeared in the illusion. He clearly remembered that before placing the Purple Twilight Herb and the Chaos Flower stamen into the ancient tripod, they must be crushed and mixed.

Thus, he found a small stone rod, which was not natural but man-made. From its appearance, it had been used many times by the deceased person, but it was still sufficient for crushing herbs.

These two herbs were not hard, so after Bai Shi crushed them a few times, they turned into powder. Strangely, when these two herbs were crushed into powder, two faint wisps of mist slowly rose from the stone bowl. One wisp was light blue, and the other was light yellow.

Inhaling these two wisps of mist, Bai Shi felt comfortable, and a powerful force flashed through his muscles.

"What a unique effect... The Chaos Flower stamen and the Purple Twilight Herb are indeed as described in the books." Although he knew these herbs had such effects beforehand, he still felt a bit amazed when he truly experienced them.

"The Chaos Flower stamen is yin in nature, and the Purple Twilight Herb is yang. This yin-yang mixture perfectly resolves the side effects of these two herbs." As he pondered, Bai Shi sighed and continued to mutter, "The person who left the medicinal diagram must have had extraordinary skills in refining medicines... I wonder who they were."

As he muttered, Bai Shi placed the crushed herbs aside and walked to the campfire, then slowly closed his eyes and began to rest.

Now, the only thing he needed to do was to wait patiently...

Time passed minute by minute. The dry wood in the campfire continued to burn with a crackling sound, and the firelight made Bai Shi's face glow red. In such a secluded cave, Bai Shi did not need to worry too much about other things discovering him.

Thus, he sat cross-legged, and two hours passed quietly.

After two hours, Bai Shi's closed eyes suddenly opened wide, as if he had thought of something. At the moment he opened his eyes, he looked somewhat dazed, and his gaze was fixed on the still crackling wood!

"This... What kind of wood is this? It has been burning for so long without any sign of extinguishing!" As if suddenly enlightened, Bai Shi pondered and instinctively picked up a piece of wood, examining it carefully.

Perhaps due to its dryness, the surface of the wood was very rough, but the bark was thin, and there were stripes running from the bottom to the top.

Frowning slightly, Bai Shi sighed, "Now that I examine it carefully, I realize I have never seen this kind of wood before."

As he sighed, Bai Shi placed the piece of wood back into the campfire, and it immediately began to crackle.

The burning wood made Bai Shi even more puzzled. He fixed his gaze on the burning dry wood, and although the wood was crackling, there were no signs of charring.

"Strange, strange..." Seeing this, Bai Shi could not help but sigh again.

But this was just a momentary sigh. Next, when Bai Shi touched the ancient tripod, he finally felt a slight, almost imperceptible warmth. This warmth made Bai Shi leap up, and with a smile on his face, he placed the prepared tiger gallbladder into the ancient tripod.

After covering the tripod, Bai Shi looked at the white animal still sleeping beside him and shook his head helplessly, saying, "This strange creature, I wonder what it is... It shows no guard against me at all."

As he muttered, Bai Shi stretched lazily and looked through the cracks in the cave ceiling at the sky outside. The sky was beginning to darken, and the scorching sun had disappeared, leaving behind a few carefree clouds drifting across the sky.

Lying on the wooden grass, after a day of hard work, Bai Shi suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness.

Resting his head on his crossed arms, Bai Shi's eyes remained open for a long time. As he gazed at the sky, he vaguely saw a familiar face smiling at him.

This face made Bai Shi's restless heart calm down instantly, and his open eyes gradually closed, carrying the smiling face with them.

...

...

"Drip, drip!"

Due to the spring rain, some leftover rainwater on the mountain was now dripping from the cave walls, creating a rhythmic sound.

It was now deep into the night, and the sky was dotted with countless stars, like shining pearls.

The strange creature, which had been sleeping, was now awake, standing beside Bai Shi with its deep blue eyes wide open, not making a sound, as if not wanting to disturb the sleeping Bai Shi.

Bai Shi's face still had a faint smile, peaceful and serene.

At this moment, Bai Shi was immersed in a dream. In the dream, Bai Shi looked up at the sky, where a cloud of auspiciousness appeared, and on that cloud stood a woman, smiling and waving at Bai Shi.

This woman was Bai Shi's mother.

What was different was that in the dream, Bai Shi saw his mother wearing a long emerald green robe, adorned with various jade pieces. Her long hair was neatly arranged on top of her head, with a golden hairpin, on which a butterfly was fluttering its wings.

As the butterfly's wings fluttered, more colorful butterflies gathered around the woman, flying around her. Gradually, even the cloud under her feet turned into fluttering butterflies!

The woman waved at Bai Shi, her face showing a warm smile, her eyes filled with tender affection.

Bai Shi stretched out his hands, which trembled slightly. He wanted to grab the hand in the sky, but at the moment he extended his hands, the woman in the sky suddenly turned into a butterfly and flew away...

"Mom!"

Bai Shi shouted and suddenly sat up from the pile of wooden grass, finding that his forehead was covered in sweat.

"It was just a dream!" He sighed, took a deep breath, and regained his composure. He then noticed that the strange creature was staring at him intently and had even made two soft howls.

Bai Shi smiled and stroked the white fur of the creature, asking with concern, "Are you hungry? I've been sleeping for so long, and I'm feeling hungry too."

The white creature, as if understanding Bai Shi's words, nodded its head!

This nod made Bai Shi's body tremble, amazed by the creature's intelligence. He then stood up, stretched, and the 'cracking' sound of his bones made him feel a sense of comfort throughout his body. He then looked at the white creature and said, "Since I don't know what kind of creature you are, and you look very much like a fox, I'll call you White Fox. How does that sound?"

The white creature nodded again upon hearing Bai Shi's words.

Bai Shi smiled, walked to the campfire, and saw that the fire was still crackling, but the bottom of the ancient tripod still showed no sign of turning red. He then walked to the cave entrance, looking through the gaps in the weeds at the outside world, which, even at night, was still recognizable. He knew that this was the time when fierce creatures came out to hunt.

"Even if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire... in the face of such hunger, I must go out and take a risk."

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