The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 80 - 69: A Career with a Promising Financial Future_2

Chapter 80: Chapter 69: A Career with a Promising Financial Future_2

It makes sense, the profits from finished medicines are indeed so exorbitant they’re hair-raising! Just think about it, since the new millennium, Huaxia Shenzhou’s pharmaceutical factories have been sprouting up everywhere like bamboo shoots after rain, both legitimate and illegitimate, those that can produce and those that can’t, all of them swarming into the industry. If the profits weren’t so eye-wateringly high, who would be so desperate to engage in this business?

Having absolutely no resistance to the temptation of "money," Ning, like a simpleton, asked: "Is alchemy really that profitable?"

"Of course." This girl, most of the time, was very naive and easy to coax, "I had a Daoist friend who concocted a medicine called the Nine-Turned Rebirth Lotus. An Immortal offered an entire Cave Heaven Blessed Land in exchange for it. Can you imagine the value of that?"

Wow, a Cave Heaven Blessed Land, that sounds very grand! She couldn’t help but have silver light spark in her eyes, the silver of Silver Taels. It seems alchemy really does offer a bright financial future!

He turned down the corners of his mouth, striving hard to suppress a laugh. Sometimes what leads to success can also lead to downfall; that Daoist friend was ultimately captured and thrown into the God Demon Prison precisely because his alchemy skills were too great. Of course, this bit he couldn’t mention to her.

Just as Ning Xiaoxian had finished concocting a batch of Quhuang Powder, Changtian, who was reading, looked up with a slight concentration and suddenly said: "There’s trouble in the camp, you’d better go check it out."

Another demon attack? Her expression became grave as she quickly left the God Demon Prison. Today’s Bear Demon had given her a more direct understanding of the strength of the Demon Clan. It made sense, really; if they encountered demons of the Bat Demon’s cannon fodder level all along their journey, the journey would be far too easy.

When she jumped out of the carriage, the camp was in an uproar, but not because of an attack by the Demon Clan.

He Xiaojiu, there’s trouble!

He Xiaojiu is a man, of course, and not someone’s Xiao Jiu; he just ranked ninth among his siblings. When Ning Xiaoxian heard that he had eight older brothers and sisters, she almost fainted—his mother was indeed a True Ability to give birth! This young man was only in his twenties but was already seven feet tall with a sturdy build, a face full of stubble, and if he forgot to shave one day, by the next day, he would grow a full beard, making him seem very aged. Everyone called him "Xiao Jiu" mainly because this nickname matched his appearance with an absolutely jarring effect.

Now he was lying there, flat on his back next to the fire pit, quietly turning purple and vomiting black foam. His face was originally round, but now his skin had swelled into a deep purple, almost as wide as the bottom of a pot. Even stranger was that his skin had also swollen, especially his fingers, which were like waterlogged radishes—a poke seemed all it would take to break them.

Deng Hao also hurried over upon hearing the commotion, asking sternly, "What happened?" The crowd automatically parted to make way for him as he approached.

The sentry stationed high up said, "From what I saw, Xiao Jiu seemed to sneak over to where the bear was buried earlier. He only came back to the camp after half an hour. After he came back, he turned out like this."

He went to dig up the bear’s corpse? Everyone exchanged glances, instantly understanding what had happened, and inwardly cursed, "Damn it!"

He Xiaojiu was diligent and not petty; he rarely got angry when joked with, and was a very popular little buddy. But he had one flaw: gluttony! Every two months, when merchant teams issued their salary, he would spend seven or eight parts of his Silver Coins on food and drink. After all, he wasn’t planning on getting married yet and was a happy bachelor who lived well enough to eat his fill. Usually, as soon as he finished his work at any stop with the merchant team, he would slip out to treat his stomach, which had endured several months of Liu Yimian’s mistreatment.

For merchant teams traveling through deep mountain forests like these, it was common for companions to catch some game to whet their appetites at night. But Deng Hao had heard that the recent path had not been very peaceful, so he had already ordered his subordinates not to go out at night. He Xiaojiu had not even smelled the faintest scent of meat for over twenty days and was thoroughly frustrated. And today, Liu Yi had even thrown a few slices of salty meat into the soup!

He would have been fine if he hadn’t put those slices of meat in, but that single action completely aroused He Xiaojiu’s gluttony. He suddenly remembered that there was a bear carcass two hundred yards away, with two to three thousand catties of fresh meat on it! Boss Deng had forbidden them from going out hunting, but he didn’t say they couldn’t go out to light a fire and roast the meat. So he cheerfully slipped over to where the bear was buried and started digging stealthily.

How could his actions escape the tree-top sentry? But given that they knew each other and the sentry was aware of his habits, he simply turned a blind eye.

After He Xiaojiu finished cutting, he hurriedly reburied the bear. He didn’t dare to blatantly bring the meat back to the camp, so he quietly went off to start a fire and prepare the barbecue. Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten that the bear had been poisoned, and he meticulously washed the meat chunks in the stream - a hundred times, indeed, a hundred times - before finally putting them on the fire to roast.

Little did he know that not long after returning to the camp, others saw him convulsing, foaming at the mouth, and before long, he collapsed.

After listening to the account, Deng Hao glared angrily at the sentry and said, "We’ll settle the score later." He then hurried to check on the fallen He Xiaojiu.

With his experience, how could he not know that this young man had been poisoned? He took out the Hundred Solutions Spirit Pill he carried with him and stuffed it into He Xiaojiu’s mouth. The Hundred Solutions Spirit Pill was a commonly stocked medicine in the merchant team, very effective in treating poison injuries and insect bites.

However, it seemed ineffective this time because He Xiaojiu’s symptoms not only did not improve, but his complexion became even worse within a few breaths.

"Everyone come over and help induce vomiting," Deng Hao thought for a moment and then waved for people to come and help. Inducing vomiting was simple, just press the root of the tongue with chopsticks and most often, vomiting could be successfully prompted.

Even though He Xiaojiu was unconscious from the poisoning, his instincts kicked in, and he suddenly vomited all over the ground. The sour and stinky smell drifted with the wind, and two merchants who were watching the commotion from the outside, upon catching the scent, nearly threw up themselves.

Deng Hao then had people bring clean water for He Xiaojiu to drink, and then induced vomiting again. After repeating this two or three times, He Xiaojiu was only vomiting clear water, and the purplish hue on his face had also faded somewhat.