Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 325 - 304 Shen Gui Spirit Pill

Chapter 325: 304 Shen Gui Spirit Pill

Seeing my suggestive look, Water Navy Xuanwu said without hesitation, "You’re talking about the token I once gave to the Zhu family. One token corresponds to one promise, allowing me to craft a Spirit Pill... Of course, I couldn’t possibly forget.

Zhu Ba has already told me everything; in your care is a young girl whose soul suffers the same torment from Impermanence’s cursed flames as Ming Zhuo, unable to fully return to a state of wholeness, as if cursed.

You can rest assured, I won’t betray my promise just because I have to fight with you. The promised elixir will definitely be provided. Even if you die at my hands, I’ll make sure it’s delivered to the Zhu family mansion afterwards.

However, you must be mentally prepared. After all, it is the fire of Impermanence, and even though my alchemical skills are outstanding, I cannot guarantee a complete cure. But I assure you, I will heal her to a state as close to full recovery as possible."

He seemed completely confident, which put me at ease, but then I was plagued by doubts once again.

"I’m relieved you haven’t forgotten, but doctors need to assess their patients through observation and inquiry. You haven’t even seen this ’patient’; can you really prescribe the right remedy?" I asked.

"It’s not a problem. My Shen Gui Spirit Pill can counteract all types of flame-induced injuries, whether they are physical burns or spiritual. And speaking of treating the cursed flames of Impermanence, this is the only pill I have. If even this doesn’t work, I have no other potentially effective pills at my disposal," he said, "Although I don’t have a finished product at hand, if you are worried, I can refine it for you right now.

Don’t worry, it won’t be a lengthy process. If I intend to, I can quickly refine it for you to see. However, you must be aware that the pill has a very limited shelf life and must be taken within one hour of being made..."

While speaking, he actually raised his right hand, emitting very distinct mana fluctuations.

I could faintly sense his soul. Although he stood before me in human form, his soul was like a giant whale roaming the abyss of the ocean.

At first glance, the whale seemed majestic, but a closer examination revealed that it was covered in wounds, its body scarred and bleeding from burns caused by flames, and from those wounds occasionally burst forth sparks, as if underwater volcanoes grew upon the whale’s body.

His mana fluctuations gave me an impression of something somber and wet. It was befitting of his name Fatian Xiangdi and matched the moniker he had given himself. Within the Four Symbols, Xuanwu represents the Divine Beast of Water. I even felt a sense of crisis as if facing a natural predator, as though his power could strongly check mine.

If I were truly a Liangyi Inheritor, then my Power Seed attribute would undoubtedly be "fire," and his would be "water."

No matter his past talents, eventually, they would be eclipsed by this "water." On this basis, his renowned alchemy skills seemed quite peculiar. How could he possess a talent for Alchemy?

It seems that his claim of having partially decoded the mechanisms of the Shan Liangyi ceremony was no false statement; this kind of unbound performance was likely evidence of deciphering the mechanisms.

But now, I was even more concerned about something else.

"Wait, just wait..." I stopped him, "Don’t refine the pill for me just yet. Let’s discuss this matter later."

Especially since the pill would expire after an hour of being made, it was even more reason not to let him refine it right now.

"Oh? Why is that?" He paused, confused by my interruption.

"It’s for some personal reasons. Rather than that... Can your pill really treat the burns caused by the Xuanming Fire?" I doubted, "You seem to be gravely injured yourself, from a past assassination attempt on Xuanming and the burns it caused, right?

"If your so-called Shen Gui Spirit Pill is so powerful, and it can be refined just like that, without worry about materials or procedures, why haven’t you healed yourself?"

"It’s simple. The ingredient for the Shen Gui Spirit Pill is a fragment of my own soul. Using it on myself would be akin to robbing Peter to pay Paul—it wouldn’t help my condition. But it’s different when used on someone else," he said nonchalantly, "As you’ve also noticed, my soul attribute is now water, naturally countering fire. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to escape from Xuanming. So you needn’t worry about the pill’s efficacy; I assure you it will be effective."

Listening to this, I also remembered that Mazao once mentioned that the Great Demon "Xuanwu" of the Doomsday Era, its bodily tissue could apparently heal wounds left by the flames of the Catastrophe Demon...

The Water Navy Xuanwu before me had not yet reached the realm of Impermanence and was naturally not on the same level as the Great Demon Xuanwu. What the latter might achieve just by sacrificing some body tissue, the former had to pay with a part of his soul.

"...Does your attribute have a relation to your preference for hunting down fire-attributed Liangyi Inheritors as prey?" I began to speculate.

"Just to indulge your final clarity before death, let me tell you. You’re right. From Liangyi comes the Four Symbols, and there are four inheritors poisoned by Shan Liangyi. Just like water is invariably one of them, there must also be fire. And following the principle of mutual generation and mutual overcoming, I must begin by devouring the power seed with the attribute of flame."

He answered cheerfully first and then said, "Are you really not going to let me concoct an elixir for you now? Although I don’t know what you are trying to avoid, you could pretend to let me prepare the elixir first. I’m about to kill you next, so you might as well use the opportunity to weaken my soul."

"There’s no need. I want to fight with you at your peak—even though I wish I could say that, you’re already so injured... So, are you serious?" I felt genuinely sorry, "If you keep slicing and refining your own soul, not to mention whether you can kill me or not, even fighting me will become difficult."

"Keeping promises is most important, I hate those who cannot fulfill their promises the most," he said seriously, "Moreover, even with injuries, it won’t affect my fighting ability. If you think I’ll become weak due to serious injuries, you’d better not be so naive."

"Is that so. Then I am relieved." I took his word for now.

"Then let’s talk about delivering the Shen Gui Spirit Pill another time. After I kill you, I’ll naturally hand over the elixir..."

He didn’t finish his sentence before I interrupted, "And what if I end up killing you?"

"Although that’s impossible, but if it does happen, I will find a way to deliver the elixir to you," he said coldly.

"Alright," I nodded, "Then we’ve said about all there is to say, shall we begin now?"

I was already impatient.

But he shook his head, "No... What on earth are you thinking? This is inside a town. I don’t plan on battling you here; that would involve too many innocent bystanders. Besides, Gua Tianshi wouldn’t allow us to cause destruction here.

"If we must fight, let’s go to Moon Concealing Mountain. There won’t be anyone there now, and the place is open. I suppose with your skill in controlling flames, you won’t accidentally start a wildfire. I also happen to have some things to do there that require preparation."

Wildfire... Hearing this word, a light flashed in my mind. So that’s how it is... No wonder Gua Tianshi appeared before in such a bizarre bird form.

As the conversation turned this way, I took the opportunity to ask another question, "Your purpose for coming to Moon Concealing Mountain Town, aside from encountering me, there must be others. Are you here for Yinyue?"

Water Navy Xuanwu briefly said, "I owe Ying Lingyun a favor and need to capture Yinyue for him."

"Yinyue should be in the deepest part of the mist, how do you plan to find her?" I asked, "Is the preparation you speak of related to this?"

"If it had something to do with Shan Liangyi, then never mind, I don’t need to answer even this part of your question. You already know enough, after I kill you, you won’t die clueless, you should be content," he said unapologetically, "I’ll be waiting for you on Moon Concealing Mountain tonight. If you still want the elixir, you’ll have to come and find me yourself.

"You could also choose to hide in the crowd like a cowardly prawn. That way I really cannot do anything to you for the time being, but never think you can hide forever.

"Your life is mine."

After leaving these harsh words, his body disintegrated on the spot, turning into a puddle of water splashed on the ground.

He was gone.

No other people were watching in the viewing garden, this unbelievable scene was not witnessed by any outsiders. I took a brief look at the water stain on the ground and found it was just ordinary water. Could Water Navy Xuanwu also perform Elementalization? It didn’t seem so. According to what Zhu Shi had told me before, some spells could somewhat mimic the effects of Elementalization, but it would come with conditions and costs. Perhaps Water Navy Xuanwu had done something similar.

He kept saying he was going to kill me, but he ended up leaving first. However, the problem might be on my end. Water Navy Xuanwu’s original plan probably was to tidy up other affairs first, then come looking for me to provoke a fight. He didn’t expect to be preemptively caught by me, which might have also thrown off his rhythm.

Then, I activated Flame Transmission to move myself back to the inn, and I explained to Mazao what I had just encountered and my plans going forward.

Later, I would engage in a life-or-death battle with Water Navy Xuanwu, so naturally, I could only let Mazao stay behind in Moon Concealing Mountain Town. Although she regretted not being able to help, she obediently stayed in the inn.