Atop the bell tower, Yun Rou leaned against the railing, watching Mo Fan leave below. She murmured softly, “Xiao Qi, what’s so special about him that Father pays him such attention?”
“I don’t know, but since Senior Saint King is interested in him, he must be exceptional in some way,” Bing Qi replied, standing behind Yun Rou with a smile.
If Mo Fan were here, he’d be surprised to see this usually stoic figure show such a side.
“You’re wrong. He’s not human, he’s a demon,” Yun Rou corrected, withdrawing her gaze with a cold snort. “I don’t see anything particularly outstanding about him, but he’s certainly bold, daring to come to me to buy a pill furnace!”
“Yet he got what he wanted, didn’t he?” Bing Qi said, blinking.
“That’s because I pitied him, and I wanted to see how far Father’s chosen one could go,” Yun Rou said, pursing her lips. Then, thinking of something, she turned to Bing Qi. “By the way, Xiao Qi, are you interested in cultivating the Myriad Poison Spirit Body?”
Bing Qi shuddered at the mention. The image of Mo Fan and Bing Liu poisoned earlier still lingered in her mind. How could she dare agree?
“Miss, I’ll pass. Maybe ask Sixth Brother or Old Ninth?” she suggested.
“Hmm, I’ll ask them later. But I hear cultivating the Myriad Poison Spirit Body is extremely painful, requiring one to endure the agony of ten thousand poisons devouring the body. Not everyone can handle it.”
…
Back at the inn, as soon as Mo Fan returned, Bai Yaoyao followed him into the room, looking at him curiously. “You went to see Yun Rou?”
“Yes,” Mo Fan nodded, unsurprised that Bai Yaoyao knew her.
“What did you want with that woman?”
“She’s an arrogant one. You’d best keep your distance,” Bai Yaoyao said with a cold snort.
“You seem to have a big grudge against Senior Yun Rou,” Mo Fan said, looking at her with curiosity.
“No grudge, just pure irritation at women like her. She’s a nobody, yet she insists on chasing grand ambitions beyond her reach. She’s overestimating herself,” Bai Yaoyao said, pursing her lips.
“What ambitions?”
“Nothing. You still haven’t told me why you went to her.”
“I’m your master!”
“Does being my master give you the right to pry into my privacy?”
“…”
Looking at Bai Yaoyao’s innocent expression, Mo Fan was at a loss for words. Knowing this snake demon was unreasonable, he gave up arguing and said helplessly, “I went to borrow a pill furnace.”
“What? I didn’t mishear, did I?”
“You borrowed a pill furnace from her?!” Bai Yaoyao’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What’s wrong with that?” Mo Fan frowned.
“Nothing, just that she’s so arrogant, she probably wouldn’t lend it to you. You picked the wrong person,” Bai Yaoyao said, shaking her head.
“No, she lent it to me.”
Mo Fan opened his mouth, and out came a pill furnace, shocking Bai Yaoyao again.
But when he explained he’d traded a piece of human skin for it, she relaxed.
“That’s more like her. I bet if Senior White Tiger Saint King didn’t value you, she wouldn’t even glance at you,” Bai Yaoyao snorted.
“If Senior White Tiger Saint King didn’t value me, would you give me a second look?” Mo Fan asked quietly, leaving Bai Yaoyao speechless.
“Alright, stop being so resentful. Time’s short. I need to start the final two medicinal baths, and you’ll control the fire,” Mo Fan said.
“Fine, but not here. The poison is too strong. If you do the bath here, you’ll probably kill every living thing in the inn,” Bai Yaoyao warned.
“…”
Mo Fan was speechless again but realised she had a point.
As the number of baths increased, the poison dosage grew, and the mix of toxins became terrifying. Without the foundation from the previous baths, Mo Fan wouldn’t dare attempt the final two.
“I know a good place,” he said, thinking of the testing room in the Hundred Weapons Pavilion, which had strong defences and no disturbances.
Soon, he and Bai Yaoyao headed to the Hundred Weapons Pavilion.
“Well, well, our esteemed guest is back so soon?” The fox demon shopkeeper greeted them with a beaming smile, seeing Mo Fan as a big customer.
Mo Fan didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “I’m here for Bing Jiu.”
The fox demon’s smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. She nodded. “Looking for Lord circLord Bing Jiu? Please wait a moment.”
After a brief message via a communication talisman, Bing Jiu appeared in Mo Fan’s line of sight.
Mo Fan got straight to the point, stating his request. Bing Jiu didn’t object and readily agreed, leading the two demons upstairs to the testing room.
Bing Jiu didn’t linger, exchanging a few polite words before leaving the room to Mo Fan and Bai Yaoyao.
“Let’s begin,” Mo Fan said, taking out the pill furnace and infusing it with demonic energy. The palm-sized furnace rapidly grew into a massive one, several feet tall.
He then added venom and spring water to the furnace, stripped off his clothes, and jumped in for the medicinal bath.
Once everything was ready, Bai Yaoyao began controlling the fire with her fire technique.
The cultivation lasted several days.
During this time, Mo Fan endured immense pain. Even Bai Yaoyao was affected once by the escaping toxic fumes, making it quite perilous.
When Mo Fan emerged from the furnace, he was noticeably thinner, but his eyes shone brighter, and the poison pearl in his body gleamed darkly with a faint glow.
After days of torturous endurance, he had finally achieved the Myriad Poison Spirit Body!
Glancing around, he noticed the runes in the testing room were nearly corroded away, and the metal walls and floor were pitted with damage.
If the room’s metal barriers weren’t so thick, he’d worry the toxic fumes could erode the entire room and escape, causing disaster.
Fortunately, nothing too catastrophic happened, or he’d struggle to explain to Bing Jiu.
“Done?” Bai Yaoyao asked, retracting her fire technique and approaching Mo Fan, looking exhausted.
“Yes, done,” Mo Fan nodded, smiling. “Thanks for your help these past few days.”
“No need for thanks. Just remember to avenge me in the future,” she said, blinking.
“Haha, that’s a given,” Mo Fan laughed, then asked, “How many days have passed?”
“Eight full days.”
“Eight days, huh… Time to leave, then.”
Mo Fan took a deep breath, a ripple of menace stirring in his calm gaze.
Leaving the testing room, he saw Bing Jiu polishing various magical weapons.
“You’re out?” Bing Jiu set down a flying sword, smiling at the two demons. “How was the room? Satisfactory?”
“The room was great, but you’ll probably need to tidy it up later. We won’t stay longer, so we’ll take our leave,” Mo Fan said, slightly guilty, cupping his hands in farewell before hurrying out of the Hundred Weapons Pavilion with Bai Yaoyao.
Soon after, Bing Jiu’s furious roar echoed from the pavilion.
“You bastard, pay for my testing room!”
After leaving, Mo Fan headed to the bell tower to return the pill furnace.
When the bell tolled, he and Bai Yaoyao left the market together.
