Chapter 558: Half-Moon Tiger Lord

"It's Long Qilin! And Senior Brother Tiger! They've come for me!"

Qin Mu rushed over, refining an antidote as he ran. From a distance, he saw Long Qilin swaying, suddenly foaming at the mouth, his body stiffening, and all four legs pointing skyward as he fell onto his back, motionless.

Qin Mu sped towards them. When he was still a hundred zhang away from Long Qilin and Black Tiger God, the antidote was already complete. Qin Mu flicked his fingers repeatedly, and his vital qi furnace burst, sending individual antidote pellets flying into Long Qilin's mouth.

Qin Mu swooped in, his techniques ever-changing. In the blink of an eye, countless seals appeared, as if he had hundreds of arms. He quickly moved around the prostrate, corpulent creature, tapping and patting him to rapidly dissolve the medicine and prevent injury to his physical body.

"He seems to have gotten fatter again..."

Qin Mu's hand rested on Long Qilin, feeling the resilience of his fat, which made it difficult for him to effectively distribute the medicine. He wondered, "I didn't leave him that many pills. How did he get so fat? Did I misjudge him? Is he really the type who gains weight even from drinking water?"

Sang Hua, Ling Yuxiu, Si Yunxiang, and Hu Ling'er were also nearby. They were initially startled to see Qin Mu rushing towards them and prepared to defend themselves, but their hearts filled with joy when they recognized him. They then quietly waited for him to detoxify Long Qilin.

Qin Mu's vital qi steamed as he patted and struck, finally dissolving the antidote's power and spreading it throughout Long Qilin's body. He then sighed in relief and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Fortunately, the poison I refined this time wasn't particularly potent..."

Long Qilin, who was lying by his feet, stared at him with wide, resentful eyes, an expression of utter despair. Qin Mu smiled, comforting him, "It's alright, it's alright, nothing serious. You'll be able to stand up in a little while. Your senses of smell and taste will be temporarily affected, but they'll return to normal in a day or two. Box, don't eat him, he's not dead yet... he's really not dead! Even if he were dead, you still wouldn't be allowed to eat him, spit him out... How did you all get here?"

Box reluctantly spat out the stiff Long Qilin.

Hu Ling'er controlled a whirlwind, sending Qin Mu's two smelly shoes far away. She then hopped onto the prostrate Long Qilin's head and giggled, "After you went missing, Axe Master informed the Imperial Preceptor. The Imperial Preceptor said you weren't in serious danger and wouldn't die easily, but he still ordered someone to notify the Heavenly Saint Sect. So, Saintess Xiang brought us here."

The girl mispronounced "Axe" for "Tiger," slurring her words.

Black Tiger God examined Qin Mu, even prying open his eyelids to look inside. Seeing that he was fine, he finally relaxed and said, "We infiltrated the demon territory. The Princess and the Saintess kept trying to sense your spirit, but we never got a response from you. Fearing we might disturb you, we didn't continue using the Three Spirits Gathering Art to contact you. We searched and scouted all the way, originally intending to go to the Ominous Land. However, before we arrived, we encountered many demons heading east, who said you had gone there. So we tracked them. Long Qilin is quite familiar with you and could sniff out your scent, which allowed us to track you here. We finally found you."

Qin Mu pondered, "When you tried to contact me, I must have been in the Ominous Land. It's a very strange place, which is why I didn't detect the spirit senses of the Saintess and Sister Xiu. Did you encounter any dangers while deep in the demon territory?"

Ling Yuxiu picked up Long Qilin and placed him on Box, saying, "Sister Sang Hua is very capable. Thanks to her, we managed to avoid the major demon strongholds this time. Moreover, those demons were all tracking you. There were also rumors that you severely injured Furizhe, and many demon gods gathered there, guarding Furizhe to prevent anyone from taking advantage of his weakness and killing him."

Qin Mu laughed, "These demon rumors describe me as too terrifying, don't they? Furizhe was actually injured by a curse; it had nothing to do with me. He was indeed injured, but should be fine now."

Sang Hua looked around, seeing many demons rushing towards them. She quickly said, "Tiger Master just went on a killing spree. I'm afraid it will attract demon gods. It's not advisable to stay here long. Let's talk more when we've left this place! Tiger Master, you're large, so you'll attract the attention of the demon gods. We'll have to trouble you a bit."

Hearing this, Black Tiger God quickly shrunk his body, turning into a small tiger about a foot tall.

The girls exchanged glances and each patted him, feeling very pleased, while Black Tiger God remained completely oblivious.

Qin Mu thought to himself, "So this is how Senior Brother Tiger managed to infiltrate deep into the demon territory?"

They headed east, and Box immediately extended its legs and followed them.

Black Tiger God caught up to Qin Mu, looking up at him curiously. "What's this about Furizhe being injured by a curse? This rumor can't be false. That fellow is a true demon, an overlord among demons. How could he be injured by a curse?"

Qin Mu said, "It's the jade pendant on my chest. It contains a curse. I don't know the specifics. Saint Teacher Woodcutter knows something, but he hasn't told me."

After a while, Long Qilin was finally able to move, but his limbs were still weak, and he couldn't get up. He complained pitifully, "Cult Master, I'm hungry..."

Qin Mu quickly replied, "If you eat spirit pills now, it will irritate your stomach and intestines, and you'll likely vomit them out."

Long Qilin fell silent. After a moment, he said again, "Cult Master, I risked my life entering the demon territory to find you, only for you to poison me..."

Qin Mu blinked and said nothing more.

"Still hungry," Long Qilin said.

Qin Mu, resigned, had to take out some spirit herbs to prepare Fire Element Divine Yuan Pills. Long Qilin said, "I like Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills; I don't like the taste of Fire Element Divine Yuan Pills."

Qin Mu raised an eyebrow, suppressing his anger. He put the prepared herbs aside and then prepared the ingredients for Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills.

After he finished refining the Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills, Long Qilin opened his mouth, waiting for Qin Mu to feed him.

Veins throbbed on Qin Mu's forehead. He tossed two pills into Long Qilin's mouth. Long Qilin chewed them, then wondered, "The taste is a bit off, not very good..."

Qin Mu explained, "The poison damaged the nerves that control your taste and smell, so the flavor will be a bit different from before."

"Cult Master, just give me the pills. I'll eat them after my taste returns to normal."

Qin Mu handed him the refined Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills. Long Qilin hid them in Box and said weakly, "I'm still hungry. I want to try the Fire Element Divine Yuan Pills. Maybe they won't be so hard to swallow now."

Qin Mu took out the previously prepared herbs and refined another batch of Fire Element Divine Yuan Pills. Long Qilin tasted two pills and wondered, "The taste seems to have improved a bit; it's not as unpleasant. Cult Master, could you refine two more batches?"

Qin Mu finally exploded in anger, "Eat so much and you'll burst! Look how fat you are now; Box can barely carry you!"

Long Qilin, looking utterly miserable, said listlessly, "I'm poisoned. I don't know if I'll ever taste Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills again. It's a pity my mother left early, and Grandmaster is gone too..."

Qin Mu couldn't bear it and refined two more batches for him. Only then did Long Qilin stop grumbling.

Qin Mu glanced sideways and saw that the rascal hadn't eaten many pills. He quietly opened a slit in Box and stuffed the extra pills inside for storage.

"What has this Fat Dragon been through while I was away?" Qin Mu wondered.

Long Qilin quieted down again, quietly lying on Box. He took out a book, licked a pen, held it with his paw, and carefully wrote something.

Qin Mu leaned in to look, but Long Qilin quickly covered it. Qin Mu smiled with satisfaction, "Fat Dragon has learned to study hard. Ling'er, you should also learn from Fat Dragon."

Hu Ling'er was cradling her tail and licking her fur with her tongue sticking out. Hearing this, she said earnestly, "I've been studying and writing with Grandpa Deaf these past few days. Grandpa Deaf even praised me for significantly improving my studies."

Black Tiger God jumped onto Box and leaned in to watch Long Qilin write.

Long Qilin didn't dare to neglect him, letting him sit between his front paws. Black Tiger God gazed intently, then chuckled, "This is useful too?"

"Of course it's useful!"

Long Qilin said seriously, "I've now basically mastered the art of... well, governing others. This cultivation method of mine will definitely shine in the future!"

Black Tiger God shook his head, "You use too many petty tricks; they're not put to proper use. For example, there's absolutely no need to eat these Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills or Fire Element Divine Yuan Pills. Cultivating your own techniques and refining divine abilities is more useful than anything!"

"Brother Tiger, have you ever eaten spirit pills?" Long Qilin asked.

Black Tiger God shook his head, "My master says that cultivation gained through one's own efforts is true cultivation. He's never given me any spirit pills."

Long Qilin took out a Fire Element Divine Yuan Pill. "Try this."

Black Tiger God ate it, surprised. "It tastes so good? Much better than regular food!"

Long Qilin sneered, "Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills taste even better! Try a Scarlet Fire Spirit Pill now!"

Black Tiger God ate a Scarlet Fire Spirit Pill, his body and mind trembled, and tears involuntarily streamed from his eyes.

Long Qilin sneered, "See the benefits now? You just haven't learned my cultivation method. That's why your master is too lazy. What is this 'cultivation gained through one's own efforts is true cultivation'? That's just you not pushing yourself hard enough, not being spurred on! He subdued you, you didn't subdue him. Only by learning my Human Taming Scripture can you eat well."

Black Tiger God looked at Qin Mu, smiling sheepishly, "Junior Brother, these Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills don't taste bad. Could you also refine a few batches for me?"

Qin Mu was surprised, "Senior Brother, you're already a demon god. Do you still need to eat these?"

"The taste is indeed not bad, quite refreshing!"

Qin Mu frowned deeply and patiently inquired, "What is the attribute of Senior Brother's demon vital qi?"

"Metal and Water attributes."

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then wrote down a pill formula. "This formula of mine is for Metal-Water Mixed Origin Pills. They contain Metal and Water vital qi, which can enhance your Metal and Water vital qi. Moreover, I've used the principle of medicinal interaction to enhance their fragrance and taste. Senior Brother, me refining pills for you isn't the solution. You're a deity; it's better if you refine them yourself. I'll just teach you how."

Black Tiger God was overjoyed and chuckled, "It's better to rely on oneself than on others. If I learn to refine pills myself, I certainly won't have to bother you!"

Qin Mu taught him how to refine Metal-Water Mixed Origin Pills and gave him some herbs. Black Tiger God was incredibly intelligent; he quickly learned and refined them proficiently.

Not long after, Black Tiger God came to him again, asking for more herbs. Qin Mu gave him some more.

By the next day, Qin Mu vaguely felt that his demon god senior brother seemed to have gained some weight. He wondered if it was just his misconception.

However, with the small black tiger lying next to Long Qilin, he didn't look fat at all. It must have been his misconception.