Chapter 199: 199. Chapter 196: Netherworld Spirit Cat Zhu Zhuqing

199. Chapter 196: Netherworld Spirit Cat Zhu Zhuqing

Li Xuan and Bang Chui spent a night camping in Soul Master Town; early the next morning, after loading the carriage into the space of the Sky‑grasping Bottle, they walked into Soul Master Town.

The two had just entered Soul Master Town when they heard a chorus of hawkers' cries.

Although it was morning, Soul Master Town was still bustling.

Centennial soul beast Black Spirit Fox bone, drives away spirits and wards evil, boosts luck, guarantees that on your first day in the forest you'll find a suitable Soul Ring, even a soul bone isn't impossible!

Food‑type Soul Master's Reviving Steamed Bun for one Silver Soul Coin restores thirty percent of soul power! Safeguarding your endurance!

Explosively spicy fried squid! Fresh, spicy, crisp—delicious and cheap!

Soul Master Squad: for those below the Third Soul Ring we can hunt soul beasts for you! Discounted price!

……

Looking at the bustling Soul Master Town before them, Li Xuan's eyes lit up, and Bang Chui's gaze was full of joy and excitement.

"Brother, it's so lively here." Bang Chui said to Li Xuan with a delighted face; Bang Chui had never seen such a bustling place, and was thrilled.

"Yeah, bustling indeed, which means we should be able to do good business here." Li Xuan smiled and nodded, looking at the crowd; Li Xuan was very satisfied, thinking even a year of selling porridge here could make a fortune!

So Li Xuan was very fond of this prosperity.

"Let's go, the two of us will first see if any shop is for sale; if there is, we'll have a place to settle." Li Xuan said to Bang Chui with a smile.

"Let's go, let's go!" Bang Chui exclaimed excitedly to Li Xuan, then hopped around happily.

The two walked side by side into Soul Master Town and began strolling around.

Because it was morning, not the peak bustle of Soul Master Town, the streets had people but were not crowded.

Li Xuan and Bang Chui walked deeper into Soul Master Town while buying various foods and specialties along the way.

Li Xuan's attention was on these food‑type Soul Masters; indeed there were many useful items, but they were relatively expensive and had extremely short shelf lives, rarely lasting more than two days.

Nevertheless, the goods produced by food‑type Soul Masters were very pricey; some noble families possessed methods to extend the shelf life of such foods, though the cost remained high.

In that case, the affordable Alchemy Pill, with its long shelf life, stood out, yet convincing people to accept Alchemy Pills was still difficult, since they were a novel item.

Soul Master Town was indeed prosperous, so shops for sale were essentially none; after all, with such foot traffic, any business could make money.

After half a day, Li Xuan and Bang Chui sat down in a restaurant in Soul Master Town.

"Brother, there are no shops for sale here at all, what should we do?" Bang Chui asked Li Xuan, looking a bit dejected.

"Since there are no shops, let's set up a street stall first! Whatever we do, we must spread our name!" Li Xuan laughed brightly and said to Bang Chui.

"A stall? Right! We can set up a stall!" Bang Chui cheered upon hearing Li Xuan's words.

Bang Chui, though a hundred‑thousand‑year soul beast in Transformation Form, has the mind of a human child of the same age after transforming, which makes him seem somewhat immature; as he grows older, his intellect and behavior will gradually normalize.

"Young masters, your dishes are ready, please enjoy!" the waiter brought out the final hot dish and smiled at Li Xuan.

"Let's eat first." Li Xuan took out chopsticks, beckoned Bang Chui, and began eating.

……

Half an hour later, after drinking and eating their fill, Li Xuan and Bang Chui went to the street, found an empty spot, spread a cloth on the ground, and took out two bottles—one containing a Fasting Pill, the other a Detox Pill.

"Don't miss it, passing by! Food‑type Soul Masters produce these themselves: one pill lets you go a whole day without eating, and a detox pill that removes basic toxins. Special price—one Gold Soul Coin per pill, fair to all ages!" Li Xuan, unconcerned with face, stood at the stall and shouted loudly.

Although the surrounding people also shouted, Li Xuan's youthful voice still attracted quite a few.

But the people around only glanced at Li Xuan and then looked away.

Li Xuan's age is too young, so his soul power level cannot be high, which means the food‑martial soul products he produces are low‑level and their effects not obvious; thus these people disregard Li Xuan's wares.

After shouting for a while, seeing no one approach, Li Xuan grew tired, found a spot to sit down; despite many onlookers, not a single buyer—truly disheartening.

"Being hurt by my age, too tender—just like the saying, 'no hair on the mouth, deeds are unreliable.'" Li Xuan said helplessly.

When Li Xuan's shouting ceased, the surrounding people no longer cared about his stall and went about buying what they needed.

"Brother, shall we poison someone and then detox on the spot? That way they'll see how good our Alchemy Pill is." Bang Chui suddenly suggested to Li Xuan.

I must admit, the young mind is agile, coming up with such a self‑serving scheme.

Li Xuan liked it! "That's a method, but the poisons I have are too potent; a First Grade Detox Pill can't handle them, so this won't work." Li Xuan first nodded, then shook his head regretfully.

Most of the herbs in Li Xuan's hand come from the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan; aside from other things, eighty percent of its herbs are toxic, each with exceptionally fierce toxicity, so a First Grade Detox Pill can't handle them—at least a Fourth or Fifth Grade Detox Pill is needed to counter those deadly Heavenly Material Earth Treasures.

Additionally, the venom sacs of the mutated ghost viper and the Ten‑Headed Blazing Sun Snake are even more domineering, with strong corrosiveness; before the Detox Pill takes effect, a person would already turn to water.

Besides these, Li Xuan truly has no other poison.

As for the herbs normally used to forge Alchemy Pills, they are generally mild and not highly toxic; Li Xuan isn't adept at making poisons, so he has none worth using.

"Let's wait; what if that unlucky guy gets poisoned and needs medicine?" Li Xuan chuckled lightly and said.

"Oh…" Bang Chui, dejected, nodded, then turned back to a nearby small horse stall to quietly watch the passing pedestrians.

But just as Bang Chui sat down, he suddenly stared wide‑eyed at the distance. "Brother… brother… brother! Look! Look quickly! That person's arm, he's poisoned!" Bang Chui exclaimed, pointing far away at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan was startled by the words, wondering when his mouth became so sharp—blessed? Saying someone's poisoned makes someone poisoned! Following Bang Chui's finger, Li Xuan indeed saw two people: a middle‑aged strong man with a little girl.

The middle‑aged man was tall and robust, his body full of thick tendon flesh, exuding strength; however, his most striking feature now was one arm, entirely turned purple‑black, unmistakably poisoned and deeply so.

Beside him was a little girl in purple clothing, delicate and cute like a carved jade doll, yet expressionless, her eyes cold, seeming far older than her age.

Li Xuan withdrew his gaze, rose quickly, and took a Detox Pill from his pocket.

"Friend there! Could you come over for a moment!" Li Xuan, smiling, shouted loudly at the middle‑aged man and waved.

The man's gaze met Li Xuan's, and he showed a puzzled expression.

"Me?" the man stammered, then pointed at himself, asking confusedly, unable to understand why this little brat was calling him.

"Exactly, you my friend. Today's new… new stall opening, you're a lucky customer; I'll detox you for free!" Li Xuan channeled his soul power, his voice resonant, and said.

His voice carried far, drowning out others' chatter.

The man was stunned by Li Xuan's words, unable to grasp what Li Xuan meant.

Seeing the man frozen, Li Xuan hurried forward, produced an Alchemy Pill, leapt at extreme speed, and shoved it into the man's mouth.

When the pill entered, as the middle‑aged man realized it, he opened his mouth quickly to spit it out.

But the Alchemy Pill dissolves as soon as it enters the mouth, turning into liquid that merges into the body.

Just as the middle‑aged strong man was about to erupt, he was amazed to see the purple on his arm receding point by point at a visible speed; a few seconds later the purple vanished entirely, his arm returned to normal flesh color, with no trace of toxin left.

"What… what is this thing whose effect is so good?" the middle‑aged man said, his face full of shock.

Just now, several ways to kill Li Xuan flashed through the middle‑aged man's mind.

But before he could act, the toxins in his body were completely cleared.

"Little brother, what did you just give me to eat?" the middle‑aged man asked Li Xuan.

"I am a food‑type soul master; this is my martial soul creation! It is called a Detox Pill. It normally costs one Soul Coin, but you are a lucky customer, so the Soul Coin is waived; you just need to spread the word for me." Li Xuan said with a smile, introducing his Alchemy Pill.

"Your food has little taste, but carries a faint herbal fragrance, and can even neutralize the toxin of a hundred‑three‑thousand‑year‑old Purple Ying Scorpion; its effect is indeed impressive." The middle‑aged man nodded at Li Xuan, speaking earnestly.

"A three‑thousand‑year‑old Purple Ying Scorpion! Its poison is truly formidable! This Alchemy Pill can resolve it so easily!"

"Stop kidding, that little brat is only at a ten‑something cultivation level; how could his food possibly neutralize such a potent toxin? He's just a fraud."

"No, that's the toxin of the Purple Ying Scorpion; I was once poisoned by it." said a certain one‑armed elder.

……

For a moment the surroundings became lively, with chattering discussions breaking out.

After feeling the Alchemy Pill's effect, the middle‑aged man changed his view of Li Xuan.

He no longer treated Li Xuan as a child.

"Thank you, little brother, for the detox favor!" the middle‑aged strong man said, clasping his fists toward Li Xuan.

"You're welcome, you're welcome. One Detox Pill for one Soul Coin, it can be stored for three years—good quality, cheap price! Interested in stocking up?" Li Xuan took out a porcelain bottle, smiling as he asked the middle‑aged man.

"Three years? What are you joking about? No food‑type soul master's product can last three months, let alone three years. You're a kid—boasting isn't a good habit." the middle‑aged man said, a bit disappointed, not expecting the kid to be a bragger.

"Three years?" Li Xuan scoffed, thinking that if he claimed the Alchemy Pill remained unchanged for ten years, still effective after a hundred, well preserved, it would work even after several hundred years.

"Even without a three‑year shelf life, my Alchemy Pill is worth at least one Soul Coin, right?" Li Xuan said with a calm smile, unconcerned.

Hearing Li Xuan, the middle‑aged man was momentarily stunned, but then thought it made sense: the pill indeed removed his toxin at lightning speed, and for that single function it was worth one Soul Coin.

The others' words offered little substance, but the middle‑aged strong man clearly knew what toxin he had and how hard it was to neutralize, so he understood the true value of this Alchemy Pill.

Even if its shelf life were only a few hours, the price of this Alchemy Pill would far exceed a Soul Coin.

Although a Soul Coin has high purchasing power for ordinary people, for soul masters it is merely a basic currency; one Soul Coin can't do much, let alone buy such a life‑saving Alchemy Pill.

"Han Shu, he's right; that's ten Soul Coins, give me ten Alchemy Pills." The little girl took a small pouch from her Soul Guide Device and handed it to Li Xuan.

"Here, keep the ten Detox Pills! By the way, I'm gifting you a Fasting Pill; after eating it you can go a day without food." Li Xuan pulled a porcelain bottle from his chest, which held ten Detox Pills, then added a Fasting Pill into the bottle before handing it to the little girl.

"I'm Xiao Yan, what's your name?" Li Xuan said with a bright smile to the little girl, then extended his hand.

"Miss Second… " Han Shu grabbed the little girl and whispered.

"Hello, Xiao Yan, I'm Zhu Zhuqing!" the little girl stepped forward, extended her hand, and gently shook hands with Li Xuan.

"Zhu Zhuqing?" Li Xuan felt the soft touch in his palm and froze on the spot.

(End of Chapter)