Chapter 589: Public Son, Make a Price

A soft, alluring voice, like strands of silk, drifted all around, falling into the ears and seeping into the soul, stirring a primal ripple of emotion within.

Xu Qing frowned and looked at Li Youfei.

Li Youfei was startled and quickly shook his head, blurting out, "I'm not... I haven't been for a long time. It was gone when I condensed my Qi."

The Mud Fox gave Li Youfei a disdainful glance and spoke indifferently, "Where did this filthy thing come from!"

After speaking, she continued to gaze at Xu Qing, a hint of allure in her eyes. Seemingly seeing through Xu Qing's disguise, she spoke softly, "You're actually so handsome; you make my heart flutter."

As she spoke, the Mud Fox stood up. As she stepped down from the shrine, her body swayed enticingly, transforming into a captivating young woman.

Her voluptuous breasts created waves as she walked, and her gourd-like waistline was incredibly slender. Paired with her shapely hips, it made Li Youfei gasp, his heart racing instinctively as he secretly called her a monster.

Especially the semi-transparent red gauze she wore, which seemed as if it could slip off at any moment.

Her glistening skin and curvaceous figure, swaying alluringly, exuded a charm that made one yearn to get closer, as if it could be planted in another's heart, taking root and sprouting.

Xu Qing's gaze was cold. He saw that this monster's cultivation was also at the Nascent Soul stage, and at this moment, his shadow had already spread out beneath him. Just then, the woman stepping down from the shrine paused and lightly tapped the ground.

The shadow immediately trembled and recoiled. Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.

The woman licked her lips and spoke with a smile, "My dear, though we are both Nascent Soul cultivators, you don't understand my background or origins. I also don't want to bully you with power, and I certainly don't want to force such a lovable little darling like you. That would ruin the mood entirely."

"So, we can discuss everything amicably."

"Name your price."

Xu Qing remained silent. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. Meanwhile, Ling'er had already poked her head out from his collar, puffed up with anger, her eyes filled with ferocity, and her scales bristling as she glared intently at the woman.

The woman ignored Ling'er, her gaze sweeping down Xu Qing's face, all the way to his feet. Then she looked up, met Xu Qing's eyes, and couldn't help but lick her lips.

"Big sister won't treat you unfairly."

As she spoke, she took out a gourd and shook it before speaking, "Here are nine Difficulty Dispelling Pills. There were originally ten, but someone bought one last time with twenty Red Skyfire Crystals. Still, I can give you all of them. What do you think?"

Xu Qing was taken aback.

Seeing Xu Qing's expression, the woman's heart warmed even more. She waved her hand, took out a piece of silver bone, and spoke with a smile, "This is a bone elixir from a powerful Ancient Spirit clan member. It's very beneficial for your little snake. Do you want it?"

Ling'er was also startled, then she gritted her teeth and continued to glare, resisting the urge to look at the bone.

The woman chuckled. After a moment's thought, she took out another item. This was clearly a golden human organ, crescent-shaped, looking like a kidney.

"This is a treasure. A madman once bit Red Mother, and his body was dismembered. Someone gave this kidney to me. My dear, if you agree to stay with me for a few days, you can eat it afterward to replenish your vitality."

Xu Qing looked at the kidney and was once again taken aback.

Ling'er became nervous.

Li Youfei was bewildered; he suddenly felt very envious of Xu Qing.

Seeing that Xu Qing did not respond, the woman sighed.

"Young and foolish, not knowing big sister's worth, mistaking a little snake for a treasure."

"Oh well, my dear, keep your primal yang safe. If you change your mind later, you can always come here to find me. Our deal will always stand."

As the woman spoke, she turned and swayed her hips, displaying her alluring back to its fullest. She walked to the shrine and transformed back into the Mud Fox. Meanwhile, the surrounding mud figures, expressionless throughout, now carried the shrine and continued forward.

A series of cold winds blew as they passed through the valley and disappeared into the distance.

The valley was silent.

Xu Qing looked up, gazing at where the Mud Fox had departed, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

Ling'er looked at Xu Qing anxiously. Li Youfei stood by, unsure what to say, his heart filled with complex emotions. He felt that ever since leaving the Qing Sha Desert, every day had been full of unbelievable events.

"Brother Xu Qing..." Ling'er spoke softly.

"She has no curse on her," Xu Qing said calmly.

As soon as he spoke, Ling'er let out a sigh of relief, and Li Youfei's mind was shaken upon hearing it.

"Master, do you mean... she's from an outer domain?"

Xu Qing shook his head. The Mud Fox had appeared so suddenly that he couldn't quite discern whether she was genuinely passing by or had come specifically for them.

Especially the items she produced; each was extraordinary. Her mention of the bought Difficulty Dispelling Pill made Xu Qing hesitate, wondering if it was the one he had exchanged for in the Reverse Moon Temple.

And that kidney...

Xu Qing hesitated, but regardless, this was no longer a place to linger. So he turned and swiftly dashed in the opposite direction. Li Youfei quickly followed behind him, and soon they left the valley.

Time flowed, and half a month soon passed.

During this half month, Xu Qing had been continuously traveling, guided by the parrot. However, every day he would set aside some time to study Li Youfei. After gaining inspiration for refining elixirs from him, he began to modify the Difficulty Dispelling Pill.

Li Youfei was very nervous at first, but as the days passed, he gradually became indifferent.

Swallowing several Difficulty Dispelling Pills every day made him feel that even if he sold himself countless times, it wouldn't be enough to buy them back.

Since that was the case, he accepted it.

Xu Qing had also inquired about the reason for his departure from the Bitter Life Mountain Range during this half month, learning that he had offended an ancestor of the Bitter Life Mountain Range.

"That Ancestor Mogui, whose cultivation was at the Returning to Void stage, was the strongest loose cultivator in the Bitter Life Mountain Range. He played both sides between the Divine Temple and the Reverse Moon Temple, living a rather comfortable life."

"To complete the Reverse Moon Temple's assessment, I reluctantly killed his disciple..."

Remembering this, Li Youfei secretly glanced at Xu Qing and sighed. He felt he had suffered a great loss; although he killed the person, he didn't get the body back.

The reason he secretly glanced at Xu Qing was because in the past half month, he had seen Divine Slave corpses with Xu Qing, which were precisely the two cultivators who had pursued him in the white wind.

These two corpses were also subjects of Xu Qing's research. Occasionally, after studying Li Youfei, when he encountered a mental block, he would take them out and begin dissecting them.

As time passed, his dissection methods became increasingly sharp. Sometimes he would dig out internal organs, meticulously cutting them open to examine them. Other times, he would smash bones to inspect the marrow.

Each time, he would be covered in dark bloodstains.

Xu Qing also discovered a characteristic of Divine Slave cultivators: their internal organs were invaded to varying degrees. Although the curses on their bodies had become faith, it was clearly not complete.

"I wonder about Divine Servants at the Spirit Treasury stage?"

Xu Qing mused.

Whenever this happened, Li Youfei would tremble. Although no screams came from the corpses Xu Qing dissected, Li Youfei witnessed it firsthand every time, and the tension in his heart would involuntarily intensify once more.

He felt that he himself was a cruel person, but compared to the Master, he was simply insignificant. What frightened him most was the worry that the Master might one day have the idea of studying *his* corpse.

Amidst this trepidation, they drew closer to the Offering Yin River in the west. Meanwhile, Xu Qing's Difficulty Dispelling Pill also had its last flaw perfected, becoming complete.

At this moment, on a mountaintop about a month's journey from the Offering Yin River, Li Youfei lay there, unconscious.

Xu Qing, who had just finished his research, glanced at the unconscious Li Youfei. Noticing his vital signs were normal, he didn't pay much attention. Instead, he looked at the elixir he had refined in his hand, a satisfied expression on his face.

This elixir was refined by Xu Qing, utilizing the peculiarities of Li Youfei's body. Combined with thorough research on the two Divine Slave corpses, it was finally improved.

Its appearance was not much different from ordinary Difficulty Dispelling Pills; it was also colorful, but upon closer inspection, one would faintly notice that white was incorporated into its hues, making the overall color slightly lighter.

However, its medicinal effects had undergone earth-shattering changes.

It was no longer limited to alleviating the torment of curse outbreaks but could actually reduce curses!

If the amount of curse in a person's body was quantified as ten thousand, then after swallowing this Difficulty Dispelling Pill, the curse would become nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.

Although the reduction was minimal and hard to detect, this was an unprecedented groundbreaking breakthrough.

Because the reduced curse was permanent!

Its fundamental principle was primarily antibody-like, providing a permanent reduction; its secondary effect was alleviating the pain of curse outbreaks.

However, side effects still existed; it would consume some vitality. But compared to ordinary Difficulty Dispelling Pills, the consumption was much less, and the alleviating power greatly increased.

"But unfortunately, the curse only reduces when the pill is taken for the first time. Subsequent doses can only alleviate pain, as curses are living entities and will adapt."

Xu Qing felt some regret in his heart, but he also understood that such things were difficult to achieve overnight. This elixir still required continuous improvement, and he also needed more information about curses.

"Additionally, if I could study a Divine Servant at the Spirit Treasury stage..."

Xu Qing was thoughtful. He felt that Divine Servant cultivators at the Spirit Treasury stage must possess other mysteries within their bodies.

"Also, there are too few herbs in this Sacrifice Moon Great Domain. I remember some herbs from forbidden zones have rich anomalous substances. If their medicinal properties were integrated, perhaps they could provide better ideas for my improved Difficulty Dispelling Pill."

Xu Qing thought for a moment. After controlling his shadow to cover the unconscious Li Youfei, making him sleep even deeper, he checked the surroundings to ensure there was no danger. Then he took out his mirror, his body flickered, and he stepped into the Reverse Moon Temple.

He hadn't been here for a long time. This time, appearing on the temple's altar, Xu Qing felt slightly unaccustomed. It took him a while to step down. The moment he pushed open the temple doors, the blue sky and bright light made him squint slightly, and he instinctively looked into the distance.

That place... was the location of the temple where he had exchanged Skyfire Crystals for the Difficulty Dispelling Pill.

Thinking of the Mud Fox, Xu Qing felt vigilant. Whether it was a coincidence or not, he felt that his previous judgment of the Reverse Moon Temple was correct.

The people in the Reverse Moon Temple were indeed not simple.

So he did not leave his temple. After sensing the surroundings, he raised his hand and waved. A swath of light spread out from within the temple, gathering before him, forming a ball of light just like those in other temples.

After checking it over, Xu Qing took out his improved Difficulty Dispelling Pill and placed it inside the light orb.

Then he published the items he needed within it.

"One hundred drops of blood from a Divine Servant at the Spirit Treasury stage."

Xu Qing did not set an exorbitant price. For him, refining this Difficulty Dispelling Pill was very easy, as Li Youfei had already taken nearly two hundred pills.

What he wanted was to improve his elixir as quickly as possible.

According to his understanding from a while ago, once published, if someone completed the request, they could exchange it themselves, and when he returned, he would be able to retrieve the requested items.

"Hope it's quick."

Xu Qing murmured inwardly. After publishing, he returned to the altar and left the place.

After reappearing on the mountaintop, he roused Li Youfei and continued on their journey.

Just like that, a day passed.

The next day, inside the Reverse Moon Temple, the burly man who was Xu Qing's neighbor pushed open his temple door and walked out.

His bare-chested appearance, the stone ribbons around him, and his naturally awe-inspiring expression made him look magnificent under the sunlight.

"It's finally quiet now."

He, who loved coming to the Reverse Moon Temple every day, greatly enjoyed its sunlight. He felt truly alive here and often didn't want to return to so-called reality.

After all, the gloom and suffering of reality constantly reminded him of his own tragic fate.

Many like him preferred to stay here.

However, the Reverse Moon Temple had rules regarding this, so even unwillingly, he had to return to reality every few days.

This was also why he found Xu Qing's temple noisy and had glared at him multiple times.

His already limited moments of enjoyment, if constantly disturbed by continuous rumbling, would irritate anyone.

After stepping out now, feeling the rare tranquility, the burly man stretched, about to go for a stroll. But his peripheral vision caught Xu Qing's temple next door, noticing a shimmering light orb, and his eyebrows raised slightly.

"That annoying fellow who likes to act mysterious, has he started selling things?"

The burly man wasn't too surprised; he sneered, a look of disdain in his eyes.

The owner of that temple, in his memory, always appeared mysterious and almost never interacted with others.

He had glared at him multiple times, but the other party would always dodge and quickly leave upon seeing him, like a startled rabbit.

"Oh well, let's see what this rabbit is selling, and by doing so, see what kind of person this is."

The burly man had been dissatisfied with Xu Qing as a neighbor for a long time. So he swayed his body and arrived directly outside Xu Qing's temple. He glanced at the mottled bronze tripod, which had no incense sticks, sneered, and swaggered into Xu Qing's temple.

After stepping in, he disdainfully glanced at the motionless statue on the altar. Then he swept his gaze over the only light orb floating in mid-air, casually raised his hand, and reached for the light orb.

"Let's see what kind of garbage this guy is selling for the first time."

But the moment his hand touched the light orb, the burly man's originally calm expression instantly changed.

His eyes widened instantly. His entire being seemed to be struck by massive heavenly lightning. His mind churned instantly, and his body abruptly froze in place.