C508 The Medicine Slave in My Previous Life
Beneath a locust tree sat a hunchbacked elder, his clothes a riot of colors, his hair sparse and thin. His scalp was nearly bare, with only a few loose strands of hair hanging listlessly. Even seated, his back arched dramatically, the hump pronounced.
At that moment, he glowered at Yu Yuan and Yuan Lianyao with a dark expression. Despite their advanced cultivation levels, neither Yu Yuan nor Yuan Lianyao had detected any life force or sensed a soul's presence on their approach. It wasn't until he spoke that they abruptly realized someone was there.
Yu Yuan was taken aback, puzzled as to why anyone would be on this unnamed isle, lingering in the woods. "Why concern yourself with our arrival?" Yuan Lianyao asked, eyeing him with an instinctive revulsion, sensing an unease about him. "And who might you be?"
"Heh!" The old man's grin was a grimace of ferocity and malice. As he laughed, revealing a gap where his front teeth should be, the sound was oddly wheezy, his mirth unsettling.
Yu Yuan, however, felt a jolt of realization. Observing the old man's sparse hair and the teeth revealed by his laughter, Yu Yuan's expression subtly shifted as he focused on the pronounced hump. With a flicker of his consciousness, he activated a sophisticated soul technique, "Open the Eye of Insight!"
Upon closer inspection, he saw the old man's seated form continuously emitting a five-colored mist that seeped into the ground. The elder's fingernails were a dark, purplish black and unusually long—hallmarks of a Voodoo Cult disciple accustomed to handling toxins, careful not to let them touch their skin, using their nails to manipulate poison powders.
A scent of decay wafted from the old man, and Yu Yuan sensed that within the hump lay a complex blend of hundreds of settled poisons, meticulously refined from within his skeletal and visceral structures.
In the damp forest, beneath the locust trees, lay a hidden layer of stark white bones...
The five-colored mist emanating from the old man was connected to the skeletal remains beneath the soil, drawing in the poison from the corpses and infusing it into his own flesh and blood as part of his dark cultivation practice.
The hunchbacked elder possessed only the Heavenly and Human Souls within him; his Earth Soul was mysteriously absent.
Through his 'Wisdom Eye,' Yu Yuan perceived a multitude of bizarre occurrences.
He swiftly took hold of Yuan Lianyao's delicate white jade hand before the hunchbacked elder's temper could flare, and with a respectful bow, he said, "Forgive the interruption of your tranquil meditation, Senior."
With Yuan Lianyao in tow, Yu Yuan made a swift departure.
Yuan Lianyao stumbled along, her mind swirling with questions.
The hunchbacked elder, seemingly reluctant to stir from his spot among the locust trees, had harbored a deadly intent. Yet before he could act, Yu Yuan and Yuan Lianyao had already made their quick escape.
"You're fortunate this time!" he muttered, as the malicious gleam in his eyes slowly dissipated.
Leaving the damp woods behind, Yu Yuan led Yuan Lianyao to a secluded spot before plunging back into the sea.
Once submerged, he called forth the Evil Cauldron and they both slipped inside.
"The Chaos Roc's eye will periodically scour for my presence," Yu Yuan explained with a relieved exhale once inside the cauldron. "Only in this refuge can we evade its fiery gaze. Let's take a moment to regroup; I'll devise a plan to send that creature packing."
"The hunchbacked elder?" Yuan Lianyao inquired, still confused.
"Have you heard of Wei Feng?" Yu Yuan abruptly questioned.
Yuan Lianyao nodded, "Yes, the Tusk Troops' girl with the Demon Phoenix lineage. Tragically, her potential as a remarkable prodigy was sabotaged by her own commander."
"The sorcery Wei Feng acquired from the Voodoo Cult, I suspect, originated from that very man." Yu Yuan's thoughts churned with emotion. "He goes by the name Du Jing. During my interrogation of Wei Feng, I uncovered much. Du Jing's offer to teach her secret techniques was a ruse; his true aim was to extract the Demon Phoenix's vital blood from her."
"Ah!" Yuan Lianyao gasped in astonishment.
"Du Jing and Shen Feiqing likely share a deep connection," Yu Yuan mused. "Once part of the Voodoo Cult, Du Jing was cast out for reasons unknown. After his expulsion, he ventured to the Profound Sky Continent and concealed himself within the Desolate Swamp of the Divine Might Empire."
Shen Feiqing sought refuge in the Desolate Swamp after her schemes against the Silvermoon Queen in the Absence Relic failed.
She and Du Jing must have been acquainted for quite some time, maintaining a close relationship.
Yu Yuan paused before adding, "Du Jing is a walking toxin. The Voodoo Cult's practices neglect physical conditioning in favor of cultivating their poisonous arts, which are horrifically self-destructive. His body has been ravaged by these arts, leaving it in shambles. He's infused his hunchback with numerous deadly toxins that can be lethal to others, but one misstep could end his own life."
"Still, he's prepared a contingency. He's likely advanced to the Yin God Stage at the very least."
"His Yin God is probably in the Desolate Swamp, under the protection of the Desolate God."
Yu Yuan disclosed Du Jing's peculiar origins and characteristics, but he kept Du Jing's true identity to himself.
In his past life, Du Jing had been his Medicine Slave...
Du Jing's role was to assist in the preparation of medicines, swiftly and accurately gathering herbs and adding them to the pill furnace as instructed, regulating the intensity of the flames when necessary.
Du Jing was merely a Medicine Slave, not a disciple.
Even as a child, missing his front teeth, Du Jing had a malevolent and ruthless nature, but he was kept in check and remained ostensibly loyal.
After Yu Yuan's reincarnation was deemed a failure and his soul scattered, Du Jing, realizing he had no future with the Medicine God Sect, defected to the Voodoo Cult.
He lay low for a long time, and the Voodoo Cult, which had once viewed him with dread, eventually cast him out.
Somehow, Du Jing managed to gain a foothold in the Desolate Swamp, aligning himself with Shen Feiqing. He assisted her in training Wei Feng, keeping the Demon Phoenix blood at bay until the opportune moment for Shen Feiqing to consume and refine it, bolstering her own life force and propelling her ascent.
Du Jing had always been akin to a ravenous wolf that could never be tamed.
Yu Yuan was unaware of how Du Jing had learned of the secret haven he had left behind on an unnamed island. Without the key, however, Du Jing should have been unable to gain entry.
Unable to gain entry, Du Jing resolved to stand guard, awaiting the arrival of someone with the key.
Beneath the locust tree lay numerous skeletons, likely victims of Du Jing's silent slaughter as they stumbled upon the area.
Yu Yuan understood Du Jing all too well. Revealing the key and claiming an inheritance from the Jade Peak would not spare him from Du Jing's blade.
Releasing the Evil Cauldron and countering with the sword sheath might allow him to dodge disaster, but the resulting uproar would surely draw the attention of the Chaos Roc.
Then there were the Crack Archipelago, the Bright Sect, and the multitude of others with malevolent designs against him.
In such a scenario, even if the secret haven remained concealed, stealthy entry would be out of the question.
"The Voodoo Cult's instructor of Wei Feng's Spiritual Spell! He, along with Shen Feiqing and the Desolate God, share a deep connection!" Upon learning the full story, Yuan Lianyao regained her composure. "The place you're seeking, it's in that damp locust grove?"
"Yes," Yu Yuan confirmed with a nod. "I must devise a strategy to make Du Jing depart."
Without Du Jing's departure, Yu Yuan couldn't use the key, retrieved from Old Monster Zu, to access the hidden location of the pill furnace.
"Is there no way to refine the Sun Essence Fire within you?" Yuan Lianyao inquired, her concern palpable. "Carrying the Sun Essence Fire is a tremendous risk."
"I'm aware," Yu Yuan replied with a wry smile. "I was ensnared by the Chaos Roc while harvesting Sun Essence Fire at the bottom of the Ember Waters, oblivious at the time. The Sun Essence Fire likely bears a deeply concealed mark of the Chaos Roc, a mark beyond my current power to erase."
"Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we reach that secret place, where the pill furnace might just be able to erase the latent traces left by the Chaos Roc's brand." Yu Yuan admitted, feeling the weight of the dilemma. "If all else fails, I'll consider enlisting Old Cash's help. If he agrees to intervene, Du Jing, devoid of the Yin God, could be taken outside."
"Alternatively, we could reach out to the Red Devil Sect and the Babel Chamber of Commerce," Yuan Lianyao proposed. "With Pei Zhen gone, the sect is bound to be incensed. They'll surely send more formidable practitioners to swiftly mend the breach at Red Devil Island."
She was convinced that the Red Devil Sect's newcomer would surely be stronger than Pei Zhen.
"No," Yu Yuan decisively vetoed the idea.
The secret realm on the island was of great significance, and Du Jing's identity was no ordinary matter.
Typically, the Red Devil Sect and the Babel Chamber of Commerce wouldn't concern themselves with that island or Du Jing.
But if they were to involve the Red Devil Sect and the Babel Chamber of Commerce, these two powerful factions might uncover Du Jing's origins. Worse, they could potentially trace their way back to the secret location Yu Yuan had been concealing.
That would complicate matters even further.
"Eh!"
Yu Yuan, concealed within the cauldron, suddenly shifted his expression and announced, "We have company!"
"Ah!" Yuan Lianyao exclaimed in surprise.
The Evil Cauldron was an Artifact, lying forgotten in the ocean's depths, its presence undetectable to most.
Not even cultivators at the Yang God Stage or the Unrestrained Stage could detect an Artifact so deliberately hidden on the ocean floor!
Who could possibly sense the Evil Cauldron and seek it out?
"Devil Palace, Mo Yan!"
Moments later, Yu Yuan's face twisted in alarm as he let out a sharp cry.
Mo Yan, wielding the Kyara Demon Blade, was there in the murky ocean depths, standing atop the blade and peering at the Evil Cauldron with an odd intensity. His voice echoed through the water, "Yu Yuan, come out for a chat. I mean no harm."
