Zombie Bodyguard
Chapter 606 - 603: Seven-star Medicine Tripod

Chapter 606: Chapter 603: Seven-star Medicine Tripod

"Carbon essence? What kind of tree does that come from?" Lin Tian asked curiously.

"Carbon essence is a thing from several geological eras ago. The name of the tree it came from is no longer important. Currently, the hardest tree in the world is the iron birch; it’s three times harder than oak and twice as hard as regular steel, making it suitable for ball bearings and shafts. But the ancient tree that formed carbon essence was, according to scientific estimates, twice as hard as the iron birch. It was such trees that, after geological changes, formed carbon essence." The Heavenly Master Girl imparted in a similarly ethereal voice.

Lin Tian looked at her curiously; hearing the word "science" from the mouth of a Demon Exorcist seemed odd.

In the eyes of many, demon exorcism skills are considered superstitions because science can’t explain them, so it’s naturally awkward for exorcists to talk about science.

Of course, ever since Lin Tian became a zombie, his perception of superstition and science had blurred, lacking clear boundaries.

Lin Tian realized something. To phrase it in a more pretentious way, there are myriad cosmic truths and paths—the Tao, Ancient Martial, or science—all these are merely routes to seeking cosmic truths.

Western countries talk about cosmic truths, while Huaxia speaks of the Tao—it’s essentially the same principle.

Many great scientists in history turned to theology in the end. They were those who understood science best. Perhaps, in their quest for truth, they discovered another viable path that their successors simply couldn’t comprehend.

Seeing Lin Tian deep in thought, the Heavenly Master Girl thought he was pondering over the problem of carbon essence.

She spoke again, "You think carbon essence is a high-level fuel, but it really isn’t. Even a casual talisman of mine can release Hellfire, which is far superior. No matter how pure carbon essence’s flame appears, it is still a mortal fire. Our ancient Huaxia magicians—healers and alchemists—their alchemical fires were much more advanced than carbon essence."

"Then what is a high-level flame? Is it Samadhi Fire?" Lin Tianqi asked.

"Samadhi Fire? Do you think you’re an immortal? Ancient Martial Artists burning their True Qi is already a formidable type of flame, comparable to that of the Tao." The Heavenly Master Girl said.

You can burn True Qi? If that’s true, wouldn’t that be a suicidal act? Lin Tianqi looked at Ning Luoxi with surprise.

Ning Luoxi seemed to guess what he was thinking. She glanced at Lord Gu, who was fully engaged in concocting medicines, unaware of their conversation, and then nodded slightly.

"Fire is a form of energy, and True Qi is also a form of energy; it is just a transformation. True Qi, rapidly circulated and agitated by an Ancient Martial Artist, can burn. However, only those above the Innate Realm can burn their own True Qi because regular Ancient Martial Artists simply can’t bring their True Qi to the ultimate level," she explained.

"Of course, this type of burning is irreversible, so it causes a lot of damage to the Ancient Martial Artist. It’s considered a self-harming act," Ning Luoxi concluded.

"Aren’t you an Ancient Martial Artist? Don’t you even understand this?" The Heavenly Master Girl looked at Lin Tian in confusion, asking in surprise.

"Er, this..." Lin Tian, who was not actually an Ancient Martial Artist, of course did not understand. He was about to use his non-existent master as an excuse again.

However, the Heavenly Master Girl answered her own question, "Seeing that your Ancient Martial level is not low, it’s odd you don’t know this. Is your master deceiving you?"

"Yes, that old guy, my master, is just a big deceiver. I can only practice whatever he tells me to," Lin Tian quickly agreed, since the matter of his apprenticeship was something that no one could verify anyway.

"You can’t say that about your master; he might have had his reasons for doing things this way. Some knowledge gained too early can become a mental barrier, a Heart Demon. He did it for your good." Ning Luoxi didn’t agree with Lin Tian’s words and seriously defended Lin Tian’s "master."

Lin Tian touched his nose, smiling somewhat embarrassingly, "Hehe, maybe you’re right."

During their secret conversation, Lord Gu’s process of concocting medicine had entered its latter stages. The medicine he was making didn’t seem to be of a particularly high grade, and the entire process went smoothly.

The fire from the burning charcoal heated the entire medicine tripod, with a fine steam emerging from the lid. Lin Tian only now realized that although the lid appeared to be tightly sealed, it had very tiny holes that one wouldn’t notice without close inspection.

The steam spraying out from the lid came in seven streams. Lin Tian took a careful look and, to his surprise, found the seven streams of steam were arranged according to the Big Dipper formation. In other words, the seven small holes on the lid were in the shape of the Big Dipper.

The Seven Stars of the Big Dipper belong to the Twenty-eight Constellations and comprise Tianshu, Megrez, Tianji, Megrez, Alioth, Kaiyang, and Shaking Light. They are said to hold mysterious powers.

In ancient Huaxia, there was a famous sword named Seven Stars Dragon Abyss, also known as the Seven Stars Sword, forged by Ou Yezi. Ou Yezi and Gan Jiang, to forge the Seven Stars Dragon Abyss, chiseled open Ci Mountain, released stream water, and led it to seven pools arranged in a Big Dipper formation by the sword furnace.

It seemed that this medicine tripod shared the same ingenious design, but of course, whether the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper held any mysterious powers was something Lin Tian couldn’t understand, nor could anyone explain clearly. Perhaps it was more of a commemorative significance.

"This is a Seven-star Medicine Tripod, a pity it’s a replica," the Angel Girl whispered with a sigh. However, to Lin Tian, it seemed this Heavenly Master Girl knew quite a lot.

Just as Lin Tian was about to ask what a Seven-star Medicine Tripod was, Lord Gu had already completed the alchemy and ordered the removal of the fire basin.

At this moment, the entire medicine tripod was extremely hot, with the seven streams of steam continuously rising from the lid, resembling seven dragons spiraling around, a magnificent sight. The man in sunglasses, ignoring the searing heat, actually grasped the lid’s handle with his bare hands and directly removed the scorching lid.

Damn, wouldn’t his hands get roasted like bear paws? Lin Tian was astonished; as a zombie, he could ignore this level of heat, but a mere mortal daring to touch it directly seemed masochistic.

After the man in sunglasses set down the lid, Lin Tian specially observed his hands. To his surprise, the man’s hands were completely unscathed, not even a burn mark!

No way, could it be that the man in sunglasses was an extremely powerful Ancient Martial Artist? Lin Tian thought in surprise.

Ning Luoxi and the Heavenly Master Girl also noticed this and exchanged glances. If this man in sunglasses was a formidable Ancient Martial Artist, things were getting complicated. With one Ancient Martial Artist present, could there be a second one?

Don’t forget, the entire arrangement of this shrine followed the principles of the Yin-Yang Dao of Japan. It was possible that an Onmyoji was concealed somewhere within the shrine.

An Onmyoji, like a Demon Exorcist, could use spells, release Demon Exorcism Skills, and command mysterious Shishen — it goes without saying that they were naturally formidable.

Ancient Martial Artist, Onmyoji, Gu Cultivator — this was gearing up to be an explosive battle of strength, Lin Tian thought of the worst possibilities.

Meanwhile, Lord Gu had already brought tools over, ready to retrieve the concocted medicine from the inside.