CHAPTER 113: CHAPTER 99: ATTRACTIVE DELIGHT

The Flower Fox Mink returned.

"Huh, a Treasure Herb!"

Chen Ku first looked at the Treasure Herb the Flower Fox Mink had brought back and excitedly stood up.

"You’ve only been out for a day and you’ve brought back such a Treasure Herb! How did you do it..."

As he spoke, he noticed the Flower Fox Mink’s coat had become even glossier. At the same time, the Flower Fox Mink showed Chen Ku its Blood Claws, extending them to an astonishing one foot in length!

Chen Ku instantly understood. "It looks like you also had a good feast."

He recalled the Flower Fox Mink. Reviewing its experiences, he saw memories of it fighting a pack of wild wolves near a cave in the mountains of Yuan Country—wolves on the verge of becoming demonic. Although the wolves had mutated and were beginning to produce Demonic Qi, the Flower Fox Mink had defeated them, one claw and one bite at a time, devouring them completely. Finally, it had dug out this Treasure Herb from that cave.

Wait a minute...

Chen Ku looked at the appearance of this Treasure Herb. It had nine leaves and seven fruits. The fruits were seven-colored, each the size of a pearl...

Chen Ku searched his memory for records of Treasure Herbs from the Medicine King Hall. Since he wasn’t in the Hundred Herbs Courtyard, his knowledge wasn’t extensive, but he eventually recalled a vague memory of this type of Treasure Herb.

Looking at it, it seems a bit like the high-quality Treasure Herb called ’Seven Colors Pearl.’ Each fruit is equivalent to a natural Pill. But it’s best to test it with a bait mouse...

Chen Ku walked out of the courtyard and took out a bait mouse from one of his small huts. He scraped a tiny piece from one of the Seven Colors Pearl’s fruits with his fingernail and gently offered it to the bait mouse.

The bait mouse initially hopped around its cage. But when Chen Ku presented the fruit scraping, the little creature sniffed the air wildly, its eyes widening, before fixing its gaze on the tiny crumb on Chen Ku’s fingernail.

ZOOM!

The bait mouse pushed off with its hind legs, leaped up, clasped Chen Ku’s hand, and began to suck at his fingernail.

WHOOSH.

Chen Ku watched as the tiny fruit crumb entered the bait mouse’s transparent belly. It instantly transformed into a remarkably potent stream of Qi that spread through the little creature’s internal organs and limbs.

Then, with a CLACK, the small creature slid from Chen Ku’s hand, landed in the cage on its back with its limbs in the air, and lay motionless.

Hmm? Is it poisonous?

Chen Ku was alarmed.

But before he could look at the seven-colored fruit in fear, WHOOSH! The bait mouse let out a loud snort from its nostrils, expelling two plumes of white air. It flipped over, landed on all fours, and began to race back and forth in the cage so fast it almost left afterimages.

Hmm? It doesn’t seem poisonous... if anything, it looks more like it’s been over-nourished?

Chen Ku felt slightly reassured by the bait mouse’s condition.

Since the bait mouse was fine after eating it, and he possessed the Flower Fox Mink’s physique, which had inherited the bait mouse’s traits, he knew it wouldn’t harm him even if it were poisonous.

Immediately, he looked at one of the red fruits on the Seven Colors Pearl, gently plucked it, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

GULP.

It felt like swallowing a potent Pill. Chen Ku clearly felt the fruit instantly transform into an overwhelming surge of Vital Energy in his stomach, which then exploded outward, coursing through his internal organs and limbs.

"Such powerful medicinal effects!"

Chen Ku was shocked; one single fruit contained the equivalent Vital Energy of two or three Ordinary Treasure Grass he normally consumed.

Suddenly, he felt the medicinal power merge with his Blood Qi. A flush of Blood Qi rushed to his face, and he felt as if the fragile blood vessels in his nostrils were about to burst and cause a nosebleed.

Not good. I can’t let myself get a nosebleed from being over-nourished!

Chen Ku immediately sat cross-legged. He activated the Ling Transformation, enhanced it with his spiritual power, and began circulating his Inner Qi using the Internal Qi Transportation Technique from the Everlasting Youth Classic.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH.

He could sense his blood, infused with the medicinal power, rushing through his body like a raging river. The more turbulent his blood became, the easier it was to circulate his Inner Qi. Within his unseen blood vessels, threads of Inner Qi began to generate from his blood.

Two hours later, Chen Ku had finally digested seventy percent of the fruit’s medicinal power. He abruptly opened his eyes. A glint flashed in his eyes—a sign of overflowing Vital Energy.

One fruit is equivalent to seven times the Qi Power I normally accumulate from Ordinary Treasure Grass...

Chen Ku looked at the remaining six fruits with delight.

It seems that if I consume one such fruit every day, after seven days, I might be able to reach the ’Robust Qi’ level of the late Inner Qi stage.

The Flower Fox Mink beside him also looked at the Seven Colors Pearl in amazement.

Chen Ku carefully transplanted this Seven-Colored Pearl into a pot and then turned to the Flower Fox Mink, saying, "It seems that sending you to challenge demons was the right choice. It’s common knowledge among Herbalists: the more precious the Treasure Herb, the more likely wild beasts, Strange Beasts, or demons will be found guarding it nearby."

After saying that, he mused, Unfortunately, it seems the Transformation Diagram only produces Evil Qi because it exists solely in my mind and targets my true self with malice. Otherwise, if I could let you loose in the mountains to slaughter at will, I could just stay home and Evil Qi would still accrue.

Looking at the Flower Fox Mink, an intriguing thought occurred to him.

I wonder if there might be such changes and abilities as I achieve more Transformation Diagrams through cultivation.

After pondering, he allowed the Flower Fox Mink to return to his body to recover its strength. After all, traversing the border between two countries and enduring a fierce battle was taxing. Next, he planned to send the Flower Fox Mink to the even more distant Fire Beak Mountain in Yuan Country’s Ximu Mansion. This location wasn’t nearby like Two Realms Mountain; it was as far as a Qiu Dragon Mansion, beyond Two Realms Mountain.