Chapter 584: The Ordinary and Warm Little Medicine Shop

Mu Daozi's eyes widened, a look of bewilderment appearing in them. He stood there, stunned, staring blankly at the person who was spraying blood, feeling as if this were all unreal.

In his heart, the other party was supposed to be incomparably powerful.

"This... what is going on..."

Mu Daozi trembled, his breathing becoming extremely rapid in an instant. He felt the world spinning, his body turning weak and sore. He could not imagine why everything had turned out like this, nor could he comprehend what kind of cultivation base could reduce Master Master Heitong Shangren to this state with a single glance.

Even more, he did not understand why such a person had come looking for him; he had not offended any experts.

Amidst his complete stupefaction, Li Youfei sighed.

Although the other party had betrayed his sect, he had, after all, once been his disciple. Thus, he stepped forward, grabbed Mu Daozi, stepped before Xu Qing, lifted him up, and began to slap him in the air.

Slap after slap, he beat Mu Daozi until he was unrecognizable. Li Youfei then spoke to Xu Qing with a respectful expression.

"Master, should I kill him or not?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Mu Daozi instantly woke up from his dazed state. The sensation of pain surfaced throughout his body, yet he dared not wail, instead speaking in a trembling voice.

"Master, is there some misunderstanding? I... I... I haven't offended anyone."

"The Tucheng medicine shop—was it destroyed by your people?" Li Youfei glared at his disciple, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Medicine shop?" Mu Daozi's whole body shook, his eyes filled with confusion. The next instant, he recalled that Tucheng medicine shop. His eyes suddenly widened, and his mind roared instantly.

He remembered now; there was indeed a medicine shop in Tucheng, and Chen Fanzhuo had warned him not to touch it.

But he hadn't listened.

"How could it be like this? What kind of medicine shop is that? How could it be like this..." Mu Daozi felt endless regret in his heart, mixed with fear and despair. At this moment, his emotions fluctuated violently, and coupled with the heavy beating from Li Youfei, he passed out directly.

Li Youfei looked at Mu Daozi's expression and recalled the time he had spent teaching him. He sighed in his heart and looked at Xu Qing with pleading eyes; he knew that the life and death of this former disciple of his depended entirely on a single thought from the other party.

Xu Qing saw Li Youfei's plea, his gaze sweeping over the unconscious Mu Daozi, and he spoke calmly.

"One hour. Restore it to its original state."

Li Youfei let out a long breath, bowed gratefully to Xu Qing, slapped the lucky-to-be-alive Mu Daozi awake, and grabbed him to leave at high speed.

One hour later, amidst the horror of Mu Daozi, who had learned part of the truth, and under the frantic roaring and commanding of all the people in his faction, Xu Qing's little medicine shop was restored.

It was not just the medicine shop; every building in the entire Tucheng was restored to its original appearance.

From this speed, it was evident that everyone had given their all, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.

Especially to ensure the interior of the medicine shop was also as it had been, Li Youfei had even found Chen Fanzhuo. After all, the other party had entered the medicine shop and knew what it looked like inside. Thus, under Chen Fanzhuo's guidance, the medicine shop was basically restored to its original state, even the plaque was repaired, and the leave-of-absence wooden board that Xu Qing had hung on the door the day he left was also exactly the same.

As for the residents... at Li Youfei's request, those people under Mu Daozi's command trembled as they dressed up as residents.

Mu Daozi was among them as well.

And so, with everyone's careful accompaniment, the Qingling Hall reappeared in Tucheng.

Standing outside the little medicine shop at this moment, Xu Qing looked at the familiar environment before him, his mood relaxing, and he bowed to the Mingnan Shizi beside him.

"Many thanks, Elder. Please, you first."

Linger, beside him, was also satisfied and spoke coquettishly to the Mingnan Shizi.

"Thank you, Elder, for helping Brother Xu Qing and me rebuild the medicine shop."

The Mingnan Shizi smiled, his gaze landing on the medicine shop, and he walked in with his hands behind his back.

Xu Qing followed behind.

Xiang Ningyan and Wu Jianwu glanced at Li Youfei, who was still sweating on his forehead, patted his shoulder, and walked in.

As soon as they entered, Linger enthusiastically introduced her medicine shop to the Mingnan Shizi.

"Elder, this is the back room. Brother Xu Qing used to refine elixirs in here, and I used to keep the accounts at the counter. Business was very good!"

As Linger spoke, she took out the little grass seedling and placed it back in its original spot.

"And this, its name is Little Seedling. It's very cute; usually, when it's happy, it dances."

The parrot stared over instantly.

The little grass seedling trembled, trying hard to sway.

While Linger was introducing it, the Captain looked left and right, checking this and that, and spoke to Xu Qing in a low voice.

"Little Ah Qing, this shop is a bit small. Can it fit so many people?"

Li Youfei, hearing this from behind, hurriedly took out a jade slip to summon manpower. Soon, the surrounding residents arrived and opened up the rooms on both sides of the medicine shop, causing the scale of the medicine shop to expand several times over.

By the time they finished, it was already dusk. As Tucheng outside quieted down, lamps were lit inside the little medicine shop, casting a sense of warmth within.

Under the lamplight, everyone sat around the table in the medicine shop, looking at one another.

The Mingnan Shizi was there teasing the parrot. Although Xiang Ningyan and Wu Jianwu tried hard to get used to the existence of an Essence-Nurturing Elder beside them, the tension in their hearts could not dissipate in a short time. Sitting like this now, they felt a sense of awkwardness, like young brides.

Xu Qing and Linger were fine; the former was already used to it, and the latter was naturally good at pleasing elders.

As for the Captain, he blinked. He had seen it clearly along the way: this Sovereign Mingnan Shizi had been in the Kusheng Mountain Range for two months. One reason was unknown, but the second was definitely related to Xu Qing.

He had set his sights on Xu Qing's Purple Moon power to forge him, so that Little Ah Qing could grow rapidly. Was it to borrow Little Ah Qing's ability to unseal his brothers and sisters?

"This matter is not that simple. The Red Moon Temple must have extremely high defensive measures."

The Captain was thoughtful, recalling the other party's behavior along the way, and saw that this Sovereign Mingnan Shizi enjoyed the fireworks of the human world and had no resistance to staying in this little medicine shop.

"That makes sense. After all, he is a widowed old man; he should prefer the warm scene of descendants gathering together." Thinking of this, the Captain immediately looked at Xiang Ningyan and the others.

"You few, who knows how to cook? Why aren't you going to cook a meal for the Elder?"

Xiang Ningyan was bewildered, and Wu Jianwu scratched his head. Li Youfei hesitated, while Linger's eyes lit up, eager to try.

Back in Duanmu Cang's Firefly City, she had learned many cooking skills from those sisters and aunts, and Brother Xu Qing always loved eating them, so she was just about to speak.

Xu Qing, seeing this from the side, preempted Linger and spoke.

"But there are no ingredients." When the Captain heard Xu Qing was going to cook, he was also curious, so he hurriedly asked the others. Finally, under Wu Jianwu's gaze, the parrot reluctantly shook its body, dropping a pile of big fish.

It loved eating fish. When it went to find Xu Qing before, it had caught quite a few on the way. Usually, every time it went out secretly, it would go catch fish to eat.

Its father naturally knew this.

"You few, why aren't you working? Don't you see it's all messy here? Go clean it up quickly!"

The Captain smiled. Xiang Ningyan's gaze was deep, and Wu Jianwu pretended not to see, but he knew Chen Erniu's plan should be unfolding soon.

Just like that, everyone started working. Some cleaned the floor, some wiped the tables and counters, and some arranged the elixirs. Even at the parrot's request, they all changed into coarse linen robes, looking like they had no sense of being cultivators.

As for the Captain, seeing there was too much work to do and the Mingnan Shizi seemed to be missing a maid, he thought of You Jing and simply released her from the world fragment.

The moment she appeared in the medicine shop, You Jing's aura erupted, and the sound of gnashing teeth echoed.

"Chen Erniu, you thousand-slashing..." When You Jing appeared, Xiang Ningyan and Wu Jianwu didn't care, not even glancing at her, continuing to work. But as soon as she spoke, the Captain's eyes widened, and he interrupted proudly.

"Little Youyou, you are being presumptuous. Don't you see who is here!"

The Captain was smug in his heart, raising his finger to point behind You Jing.

You Jing was stunned. She felt something was wrong and instinctively turned to look.

Just one glance, and a moment later, there was an extra maid in the medicine shop.

Just like that, time flowed on. The sky outside was dim, and the wind was howling.

The coldness of the night began to invade from all directions. There were not many lamps in Tucheng, and every household was trembling. Only in this little medicine shop, as Xu Qing cooked, bursts of fragrance gradually drifted out.

The scent of fireworks turned into the warmth of the human world, permeating the medicine shop.

One hour later, Xu Qing brought some dishes and placed them on the table.

The fragrance was overflowing; it was a table full of fish dishes.

There were fish balls, grilled fish skin, fried fish segments, and braised fish. Seeing this feast, the Captain was also very surprised.

Linger saw it, and her mouth was watering. She sat there quickly, picked up her chopsticks, and looked longingly at the Mingnan Shizi Elder.

The Mingnan Shizi smiled, picked up a piece, put it in his mouth, chewed slowly, and nodded slightly.

"You all don't need to be too restrained. Try it together."

The Captain was curious and carefully picked up a piece. After eating it, he praised it, but in his heart, he pondered that this stuff wasn't as delicious as god meat.

Xiang Ningyan also took a bite and similarly showed a moved expression, but inwardly he thought it was just average.

Wu Jianwu drank a mouthful of soup and sighed. Having not eaten mortal food for a long time, he had the urge to recite a poem to complain, but after glancing at Xu Qing, he held it back.

As for You Jing, as a maid, she was also qualified to eat a few bites, but after just one bite, she didn't want to eat anymore. In her memory, human flesh was the most fragrant. If she could eat Erniu, it would be even more fragrant.

Only Linger and Li Youfei ate the most. The latter kept flattering, while the former had light in her eyes.

"Brother Xu Qing, it turns out your cooking is so delicious." Linger blinked, feeling that her own cooking was probably better, so she pondered showing off her skills in a few days.

Just as she was thinking this, the Mingnan Shizi drank a mouthful of fish soup.

"Xu Qing, your cooking method should come from the south. The taste of this soup is a bit special. Originally, it should have been snake soup, right? Replacing it with fish as an ingredient makes the freshness a bit lacking."

Linger's body paused.

"And this fish skin, it should also be snake skin, and the meat as well. This is using the method of cooking snake to make a fish feast."

After tasting it, the Mingnan Shizi looked at Xu Qing and Linger jokingly.

Xu Qing looked at the Mingnan Shizi and was silent.

Linger gasped, a look of horror appearing in her eyes. She instinctively moved closer to Xu Qing and hurriedly spoke, "Brother Xu Qing, snake is not delicious, we can't eat it."

Xu Qing nodded.

The Mingnan Shizi laughed upon hearing this. At this moment, he no longer had the majesty of a Mingnan Shizi; his appearance as an Elder was very kind and benevolent.

Everyone continued to eat, and as the first meal since arriving here ended, everyone's hearts gradually adapted to life with an Essence-Nurturing expert.

You Jing washed the dishes, and the night passed in silence.

The next day, early morning.

This medicine shop, which had been closed for half a year, finally reopened. In the past, it was Linger who opened the door, but today was different; it was Wu Jianwu who opened the door.

Wearing a coarse linen robe, after tidying up the wooden board, Wu Jianwu didn't go back but stood at the door, his expression changing several times before he finally gritted his teeth and spoke loudly.

"Half a year passes in a flash, the sun and moon are new; one Bai Dan for one coin, welcoming guests!"

The voice echoed, spreading in all directions.

This was the Captain's suggestion. He felt that their medicine shop was missing a greeter, and Wu Jianwu was naturally the most suitable.

At this moment, following Wu Jianwu's words, the surrounding residents walked out trembling, looking toward Wu Jianwu. They also saw a little fatty inside the medicine shop acting like a shop assistant, constantly mopping the floor.

This assistant was very strange; his belly was very large, as if he had something wrapped inside his clothes.

Beside him was Li Youfei. Status determined position, and his status was the lowest, so he could only serve as a handyman for the medicine shop.

On the other side was the Captain.

The position he arranged for himself was that of a guard!

"Our medicine shop is opened in this dangerous Kusheng Mountain Range, and for those vicious cultivators, we must have a guard to protect the peace of our little shop." This was the Captain's job declaration.

As for the Mingnan Shizi Elder, he was naturally the old shopkeeper. He held a bead in his hand, smiling as he watched the medicine shop. Inside that bead was sealed a person, whose face would occasionally flash within it; it was none other than Master Master Heitong Shangren.

Xu Qing remained the elixir master, and Linger continued to keep accounts; she liked doing this.

Besides this, in this reopened medicine shop, there was an extra big maid specifically to serve the old shopkeeper; she was You Jing.

And business was even hotter than before. On the first day of opening, more than two hundred people came with spirit coins to respectfully purchase White Pills, which meant Linger needed to spend more time calculating accounts.

Just like that, several days passed.

Every day, besides cultivation, Xu Qing studied curses, and Wu Jianwu also adapted to his position.

Standing outside reciting poems every day, he lived quite freely. Xiang Ningyan, occasionally tired, sat on the door frame, listening to Wu Jianwu's poems, enjoying the peace here while, unknowingly, he found that he could actually understand many of them.

This discovery caused some panic to rise in his heart.

And Li Youfei was the most miserable among them. While doing odd jobs, he also had to order Mu Daozi outside not to make it look so fake. The disciples who came were all so scared their legs were weak; it was too unsightly.

Then there was the Captain, who stood there every day with his arms crossed, holding a long sword, looking coldly at all the guests, with the appearance of a master.

As for You Jing... because the Elder liked to drink tea and usually liked to tease the bird, her job was to make tea and pour water, and incidentally serve the parrot.

These scenes were the daily life in this ordinary little medicine shop.

Until seven days passed.

While everything in the medicine shop was developing in a good direction, Xu Qing, whose injuries from the tribulation had completely recovered, welcomed the life of continuing to be forged.

"Xu Qing, since your injuries have recovered, come with me. The power within you needs to be well excavated."

The Mingnan Shizi's voice echoed in Xu Qing's ears. Xu Qing took a deep breath, stood up, and in a flash, left the medicine shop with the Mingnan Shizi.

When they appeared, the two were in mid-air.

The two traveled all the way, walking in the sky of the Kusheng Mountain Range. Along the way, they encountered many cultivators; some were flying in the sky, others were fighting in the mountains, but in their eyes, Xu Qing and the Mingnan Shizi seemed not to exist.

Even if they met face-to-face, these cultivators of the Kusheng Mountain Range had no sight of the two in their eyes, continuing to do whatever they were doing.

Xu Qing was not surprised by this; he knew the Sovereign Mingnan Shizi's ability.

As for the place they were going, Xu Qing glanced at the direction and had a guess in his heart; this was the road to the Red Moon Temple of the Kusheng Mountain Range.

The facts were indeed so. Several hours later, the Mingnan Shizi brought Xu Qing to the sky above the Red Moon Temple.

The Red Moon Temple of the Kusheng Mountain Range was located on the highest peak of this mountain range, with a noble status. Inside, the divine envoys were terrifying, and their invisible might suppressed the entire desert.

But in the Mingnan Shizi's eyes, it was clearly not like this. He brought Xu Qing and walked into the Red Moon Temple on the mountaintop in such a swaggering manner.

Standing in the square, the Mingnan Shizi's gaze swept across the surroundings, his right hand raised, and he crooked his finger toward a middle-aged man in the Yangdao stage who was about to leave.

That middle-aged cultivator in the Yangdao stage instantly turned his body, changed direction, and rushed straight toward Xu Qing. In an instant, he stepped onto the square, looked at Xu Qing, and stood motionless.

Watching this eerie scene, Xu Qing remained silent, looking at the Mingnan Shizi.

"One hundred breaths of time. Xu Qing, erupt with all your cultivation base and go all out to have a life-and-death battle with him."

The Mingnan Shizi spoke indifferently.

"Go and kill him, swallow his Red Moon faith. If after one hundred breaths you have not succeeded, everyone in this Red Moon Temple will discover your presence, and I will not help you. If you can do it, you can; if not... then it depends on your fate."

As the Mingnan Shizi spoke, his body rose into the air, standing between heaven and earth, closing his eyes to wait.

And the moment he closed his eyes, the motionless Yangdao cultivator's eyes were replaced by a crimson red, glaring at Xu Qing as if he had seen his lifelong enemy. A low roar came from his mouth, and his cultivation base erupted instantly.

Vortexes formed instantly from within his body, nine in total, like nine stars, outlining an illusory secret storehouse.

Inside this secret storehouse, there seemed to be a volcano erupting vigorously, forming a rumbling sound. While spreading in all directions, blood-colored light also pierced through the middle-aged cultivator's physical body, reflecting outside, merging with heaven and earth, forming a tall figure of several hundred zhang.

This figure was a tree-man, with a thick body, brown branches, and black flowers blooming. The earth trembled violently at this moment, and roots cracked the ground and rose up, floating all around. In the blink of an eye, the entire square was filled with countless branches.

As the ground shattered, countless blood-colored grasses grew wildly from within, turning the surrounding earth into a red grassland.

Looking from afar, the huge tree-man in the grassland seemed to have the momentum to swallow mountains and rivers. The fierce light in his eyes and the terrifying pressure emanating from his whole body gathered into bolts of lightning that appeared out of thin air, falling toward all directions with a rumble.

This scene was incomparably astonishing, and it was also Xu Qing's first time facing the Yangdao stage head-on!

In an instant, the countless red grasses growing on the ground and those countless branches rushed straight toward Xu Qing. Their speed was so fast that they formed countless afterimages, exceeding the limit of the Nascent Soul, not giving Xu Qing the slightest chance to react, approaching in an instant.

Xu Qing's pupils contracted. The crisis from all directions formed a strong sense of life and death. He knew his combat power was not as good as the other party's, and his speed was also a bit lacking, so he couldn't avoid it.

At this moment, his body swayed, and his god physical body erupted, directly reaching five zhang in height. The toxins in his body and the Purple Moon power spread, colliding with the incoming branches and red grasses.

A roar echoed. Although Xu Qing was extraordinary, there was still a gap compared to the Yangdao stage. In the blink of an eye, countless red grasses like sharp blades and countless branches like tentacles shrouded him within.

Even with the Purple Moon suppression and toxin corrosion, there were too many red grasses and branches around, constantly dissipating and constantly reappearing. In the blink of an eye, they piled up around Xu Qing.

They formed a mountain of vegetation, rising continuously, and in an instant, it reached a height of a hundred zhang, the top spreading out like an umbrella, actually forming a huge palm.

It fell fiercely toward Xu Qing, who was buried beneath the vegetation.

Amidst the roar, as the palm fell, the vegetation shattered, and a terrifyingly powerful suppression force erupted suddenly. It looked like it was about to crush the place where Xu Qing was directly into powder.

But just at this moment, a huge figure appeared from the earth—it was the Ghost Emperor Mountain!

At this critical moment, all of Xu Qing's cultivation base poured into the Ghost Emperor Mountain, forming the Ghost Emperor's shadow. The moment it appeared, its hands were raised, striking with all its might toward the falling palm.

The roaring sound was deafening, rising to the sky. The palm made of vegetation collapsed inch by inch, and in the blink of an eye, it fell apart, completely disintegrating. As it rained down in all directions, cracks appeared on Xu Qing's Ghost Emperor body, and finally, it also collapsed, revealing Xu Qing's figure.

Xu Qing spat out blood, his face pale. The pressure from the Yangdao stage made his internal organs tremble. At this moment, his breathing was rapid, but his eyes were exceptionally calm.

He did not hesitate at all, his speed erupted instantly, and he rushed straight toward the Yangdao cultivator who was waving his hands to unleash countless lightning bolts.

At the same time, the Mingnan Shizi in the sky spoke indifferently.

"Eighty breaths remaining." ===== CHAPTER 585 =====