Chapter 21 — Spirit Elixirs Quicken the Body, Strength Uproots Mountains
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
The Alchemist spoke unhurriedly: "Every spirit medicine in this batch of mine is of the very finest.
Though they are the lowest grade of Primal-Condensing Elixir, a single pill surpasses a hundred of another alchemist's.
You may take only one or two at a time, no more.
"
Shen Mu was doubtful. In the past the Alchemist had also fed him strange and wondrous medicines, each time a brimming bowlful, and now only one pill? Could its potency truly be so great?
The Blind Elder was skeptical too. "Charlatans in the jianghu all say one pill is worth a hundred.
Is your medicine really that strong? Though it does smell rather fine.
"
The Alchemist smiled grimly.
"Would you like to eat this whole vat and find out?
"
"Shen-er, grab a handful and try?
" the Blind Elder urged temptingly. Shen Mu was not about to be tempted. He pinched up a single pill and put it in his mouth. The moment the elixir went down, he felt something was wrong. It was as though hundreds upon hundreds of fire dragons, water dragons, metal dragons, and wood dragons were churning the seas inside his belly, making his body now tall, now short, now fat, now thin; one moment a layer of ice formed on his skin, the next even his clothes gave off green smoke; one moment his clothes sprouted, the fur on his animal hides growing wild, the next his clothes were stained with a metallic sheen, and even his skin turned hard and stiff, as though his whole body had been cast from metal! More terrifying still, sometimes all these symptoms erupted at once, and Shen Mu's suffering was beyond words. He gave a muffled grunt and at once drove the "Mystic Body Three Elixirs Art," using his primal energy to dissolve the medicine's power!
The Blind Elder's face changed drastically.
"Alchemist, this Primal-Condensing Elixir of yours doesn't seem to be an ordinary one!
"
"Correct.
Ordinary Primal-Condensing Elixirs come in four kinds: the Fire Primal Elixir, the Water Primal Elixir, the Metal Primal Elixir, and the Wood Primal Elixir.
"
The Alchemist smiled grimly. "Primal-Condensing Elixirs are made for the four primal-energy attributes of the four great spirit bodies, to nourish and strengthen a spirit body's primal energy. But Shen-er's Overlord Body primal energy has no attribute at all, so I took a middle path: I refined spirit medicines of all four attributes into this single Primal-Condensing Elixir, containing all four attributes within. Perhaps it can draw out the might of his Overlord Body primal energy. Only Shen-er's Overlord Body primal energy can absorb and dissolve such an elixir. If you had eaten that whole vat just now, heh heh. .
. "
The Blind Elder shuddered. With the four attributes' primal energies in conflict, if he had eaten them, he feared two or three tenths of his cultivation would have been dissolved away.
Of course, that was the consequence of eating the entire vat; a single pill would do him no great harm.
"Alchemist, is what you've refined a tonic or a poison?
" the Blind Elder muttered.
Suddenly Shen Mu gave a great shout, broke into a run, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
The Blind Elder could not help worrying. "With the four attributes clashing, will Shen-er be all right? "
"He is digesting the medicine's power. There is no need to worry.
"
Though the Alchemist said so, he too was uneasy at heart.
After all, it was the first time he had improved upon a Primal-Condensing Elixir, the first time he had refined an improved one, the first time he had given it to someone to take. How great its potency was, whether it had side effects, whether it might kill a man, of these he could not be certain.
Naturally he could not say such things aloud, or Granny Zhu would surely come after his life. From the distant forest came Shen Mu's roar, and then tree after tree toppled with thunderous crashes.
The Alchemist's eyelid twitched.
"He will be fine, rest assured. Listen, he is full of dragon vigor and tiger ferocity. "
The Blind Elder sighed.