Chapter 40: Pill Fragrance Sacred Body

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Pill Fragrance Sacred Body

Following the arrows’ guidance, Fang Xu wove through a dense forest and soon discovered numerous traces of a battle nearby!

Some smaller trees had been cleanly severed by sharp blades, while the larger ones were covered in fresh gashes. Continuing forward, he eventually spotted Wu Ningxue not far away. Dressed in a purple robe, she lay motionless on the ground.

Fang Xu hurried over and cautiously approached Wu Ningxue’s body. Seeing that she was indeed devoid of life, he finally reached out and turned her corpse over.

[Touched Wu Ningxue’s corpse. Gained 80 Strength Attribute points!]

An incredibly rich and warm energy surged into Fang Xu’s body through the palm he had resting on Wu Ningxue’s shoulder!

In an instant, he could clearly feel every cell in his body undergoing subtle changes. The sensation was extremely comforting, as if he were sitting in a warm sauna. The muscles all over his body grew slightly hot.

He gently clenched his fists. Feeling the noticeably enhanced power, he rejoiced inwardly.

Such a distinct change proved that these 80 Strength Attribute points provided a massive boost. As a First Realm Martial Disciple, he wasn’t even sure what his base strength was.

However, one thing was certain: the greater his strength, the more powerful his attacks would be. Given his current physical condition, if he were to face those three black-clothed Martial Artists from last night again, Fang Xu felt he could simply overpower and kill them with brute force alone.

With the windfall secured, Fang Xu was just about to leave when his gaze caught the corner of a book peeking out from Wu Ningxue’s clothes.

After a brief hesitation, he pulled the book out and leafed through it, a hint of disappointment washing over his face.

It was an account book. It recorded how many Elixirs and medicinal herbs Qinxiang House took from the family each time, how much money they sold for, and how many herbs they purchased.

This item was completely useless to him.

Turning to the latest entry, Fang Xu was about to toss the ledger away when he suddenly noticed a stark record on the final page: last night, Wu Ningxue had taken eighty Qi Blood Pills from the family!

He wondered if Wu Ningxue had taken the Qi Blood Pills from her home and been attacked on her way back to Qinxiang House.

If that was the case, those eighty Qi Blood Pills were highly likely still on her body!

At this thought, Fang Xu immediately crouched down. Looking at Wu Ningxue’s wide, unblinking dead eyes, he gave a slight bow with his hands and said, "Ms. Wu, please excuse my offense."

Reaching out to close her lifeless eyes, Fang Xu began to search her body.

After a thorough check, he shook his head in disappointment.

It seemed that such easy windfalls didn’t happen every time. There were no Qi Blood Pills on Wu Ningxue; it was very likely they had been taken by the killers who ambushed her.

After all, Qi Blood Pills were useful to every Martial Artist.

Rising slowly, he cast a glance over her corpse. He had no intention of burying her right then and there.

The Wu Family still had people stationed in Qinghe County. With the family suffering such a massive calamity, the Wu Clan Members in Qinghe County would inevitably rush over to handle the aftermath. If he buried Wu Ningxue himself, he would undoubtedly bring trouble upon himself.

Turning away from the dense forest, Fang Xu hurried toward Fenglin Town. After advancing several hundred meters, he suddenly discovered a scarlet Elixir lying by his feet!

A Qi Blood Pill?!

Picking up the Elixir, he was surprised to find that it was indeed a Qi Blood Pill!

He immediately looked around and, sure enough, found two more Qi Blood Pills scattered in the grass a short distance to his left!

He speculated whether the Qi Blood Pills Wu Ningxue brought from the Wu Family Manor hadn’t been taken by the murderers, but were instead scattered across this grassy field during the chase and ensuing struggle.

With this theory in mind, Fang Xu began to carefully inspect the grass in front of him like a treasure hunter.

One... two... three... ten... twenty...

In just a short hour, he actually managed to find over fifty Qi Blood Pills!

To his surprise, three of them were visibly much brighter in color than the regular Qi Blood Pills!

He wondered if these were the Grade Two Qi Blood Pills mentioned in the system notification.

Holding one of the lustrous, perfectly round Qi Blood Pills between his fingers, he pondered the possibility.

He decided to keep looking!

Stuffing these Qi Blood Pills into his robes, Fang Xu resumed his meticulous search. Another hour passed. As 7:00 AM approached, he found twelve more Grade Two Qi Blood Pills and nine more regular ones.

That was just about all of them!

The system had previously indicated that Wu Ningxue was carrying twenty Grade Two Qi Blood Pills and eighty regular Qi Blood Pills in total. Since he had already found over sixty of the regular ones and fifteen of the Grade Two ones, there weren’t many left.

This place was not far from the Wu Family Manor. He couldn’t afford to stay long, lest he invite unnecessary trouble.

Pocketing the large haul of Qi Blood Pills, Fang Xu hurried back home. He discovered that the three corpses in the courtyard had been moved away by helpful neighbors at some point, and even the doors had been shut tight.

He hastily pushed the door open and returned to his room. Seeing no signs of the place being ransacked, he let out a secret sigh of relief.

After hiding all the Qi Blood Pills, Fang Xu made his way to Zhiyuan Hall.

By noon, Li Yushan was sweeping the courtyard full of Qiang Mosquito corpses and campfire ashes, while Lu Qingluo was in the inner courtyard peeling oranges for Chu Muyun.

Seeing Fang Xu arrive, Chu Muyun called out softly, "Fang Xu."

Lu Qingluo glared fiercely at him, evidently having not forgotten about Fang Xu pinching her the other day.

"Senior Sister," Fang Xu smiled awkwardly and gave a slight bow.

Lu Qingluo couldn’t be bothered to respond to him. Shoving the peeled orange into Chu Muyun’s hands, she whispered, "Mu Yun, this guy is a bad apple. You’d better be careful."

With that said, she turned and went back to her room.

Fang Xu rubbed his nose sheepishly. He walked slowly over to Chu Muyun, squatted down, and asked, "How are you resting?"

Chu Muyun forced a faint smile and merely nodded without saying a word.

Judging from the sorrowful expression on her face, Chu Li’s death had hit her far too hard.

"SIGH!" Fang Xu let out a heavy breath and gently grasped Chu Muyun’s small hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "Everything will pass. From now on, I’ll be like a real brother to you."

Chu Muyun stared blankly for a moment. Her sorrow only deepened, and with tears welling up in her eyes, she began to weep bitterly once again.

"Fang Xu... SOB..."

Fang Xu gently moved closer, letting Chu Muyun lean on his shoulder to completely vent the grief in her heart.

A long time passed.

"Mu Yun, what is that scent on you?"

Seeing that Chu Muyun had cried herself out and stopped weeping, Fang Xu voiced his curiosity.

"I don’t know. According to my grandfather, it seems I was born with it," Chu Muyun replied softly.

"Fang Xu." Just as he was about to speak again, Lu Zhiyuan’s voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Fang Xu stood up and bowed slightly toward Lu Zhiyuan. "Master."

Lu Zhiyuan nodded, taking a deep look at Chu Muyun before addressing Fang Xu, "Come with me."

After patting Chu Muyun’s head, Fang Xu followed Lu Zhiyuan to the outer courtyard’s Martial Arts Arena.

"Fang Xu, this girl possesses the Pill Fragrance Sacred Body," Lu Zhiyuan got straight to the point.

The Pill Fragrance Sacred Body?

Fang Xu froze for a second. He wondered if this was Chu Muyun’s special constitution.

"Master, what is the Pill Fragrance Sacred Body?" Fang Xu asked.

Lu Zhiyuan’s expression grew somewhat complicated. "The so-called Pill Fragrance Sacred Body is one of many special constitutions. A person born with the Pill Fragrance Sacred Body naturally carries a medicinal scent from birth, and they are innate geniuses in Alchemy."

A genius in Alchemy?!

Fang Xu cast a distant look at Chu Muyun. Holding back his inner excitement, he asked, "Does Master mean that Mu Yun can become a Pill Master?"

However, Lu Zhiyuan shook his head.

"Although this girl possesses the Pill Fragrance Sacred Body, the meridians in her legs are crippled by birth. She cannot cultivate the Martial Dao.

"When a Pill Master performs Alchemy, they must use their own blood vitality to control the flames. Some high-level Alchemists even need to practice Fire Attribute Techniques, nurturing the Elixir with the fire of their own Martial Dao.

"She... at best, can only refine some Medicinal Powder."

This...

Upon hearing Lu Zhiyuan’s words, the excitement in Fang Xu’s heart instantly chilled by half. When he turned his head to look back at Chu Muyun, he happened to meet her gaze.

Under the sunlight, the young girl’s eyes held a trace of dependence. Faint glimmers of tears sparkled on her long eyelashes, and her slightly gaunt face looked incredibly delicate and pitiful.

He concluded that if she couldn’t become a Pill Master, then so be it. He had already accepted her as his sister.