Chapter 40: Elixir Fragrance Sacred Body

Following the arrow's guidance, Fang Xu weaved through a dense forest, soon noticing many battle traces around him!

Some smaller trees were cut by sharp blades, while larger trees were covered with fresh wounds; continuing onward, not far away he finally saw a figure in purple robes—Wu Ningxue—lying motionless on the ground.

Fang Xu quickly stepped forward, cautiously approaching Wu Ningxue's body; seeing that she truly had no sign of life, he then turned her corpse over.

【Touching Wu Ningxue's corpse, gained 80 points of Strength attribute!】

A surge of extremely rich warm energy flowed from the hand Fang Xu placed on Wu Ningxue's shoulder into his body!

In an instant, Fang Xu could clearly feel every cell in his body undergoing subtle changes; the sensation was very comfortable, as if he were inside a warm sauna, with his muscles all slightly heating up.

He lightly clenched his fist, feeling a noticeable increase in strength, and Fang Xu secretly rejoiced.

Such an obvious change was enough to prove that these 80 points of Strength attribute greatly boosted his power; as a Martial Apprentice at the first stage, he didn't even know his base strength.

But one thing is certain: the stronger the strength, the greater the attack power; given his current condition, facing again those three black-clad martial artists from last night, Fang Xu felt he could simply overpower and kill them with sheer strength.

With the inheritance in hand, Fang Xu was about to leave when his gaze suddenly caught a corner of a book peeking from Wu Ningxue's bosom.

He hesitated a moment, then still pulled the book out, flipped through it briefly, and a hint of disappointment appeared on his face.

This was a ledger, recording how many pills and herbs Fragrant Herb Studio took from the clan each time, how much money it made, and how much herbs it purchased, etc.

This thing was useless to him.

Turning to the latest page, Fang Xu was about to toss the ledger when he suddenly discovered that the last page clearly recorded Wu Ningxue taking 80 Blood Qi Pills from the clan last night!

Could it be that Wu Ningxue took the Blood Qi Pills from home and was ambushed on her way back to Fragrant Herb Studio?

In that case, those 80 Blood Qi Pills are very likely still on Wu Ningxue's person!

Thinking this, Fang Xu immediately crouched, looking at Wu Ningxue's grim expression, and slightly bowed his hands, saying, "Aunt Wu, I offend you."

He reached out to close Wu Ningxue's lifeless eyes, then began to search her body.

After a thorough check, he shook his head in disappointment.

It seems such a windfall isn't always available; Wu Ningxue had no Blood Qi Pills on her, likely taken by those who ambushed and killed her.

After all, Blood Qi Pills are useful to every martial artist.

He slowly rose, glanced at Wu Ningxue's corpse, and had no intention of burying her on the spot.

The Wu family still has someone overseeing Qinghe County; having suffered this major disaster, the Wu clan members in Qinghe County will surely come to handle it, and if I buried Wu Ningxue, I would inevitably invite trouble.

Turning and leaving the forest, Fang Xu headed toward Maple Forest Town; after going a few hundred meters, he suddenly spotted a crimson pill at his feet.

Blood Qi Pill!?

Picking up the pill before him, Fang Xu was somewhat surprised to discover that it was actually a Blood Qi Pill!

He immediately scanned his surroundings and indeed found two more Blood Qi Pills scattered in the grass not far to the left.

Could it be that the Blood Qi Pills Wu Ningxue brought out of the Wu Family Manor were not taken by the killers, but instead scattered across this grassland during the chase and fight!?

Having formed a hypothesis, Fang Xu, like a treasure hunter, began to carefully examine the grass before him.

One… two… three… ten… twenty…

In just half an hour, he actually found over fifty Blood Qi Pills!

Among them, three were noticeably more vivid in color than ordinary Blood Qi Pills!

Could these be the second-grade Blood Qi Pills mentioned in the system prompt?

Pinching one of those round, lustrous Blood Qi Pills, Fang Xu speculated.

Keep searching!

After stuffing these Blood Qi Pills into his bosom, Fang Xu searched again; another half hour passed, and as the Si hour approached, he found twelve second-grade Blood Qi Pills and nine ordinary Blood Qi Pills once more.

That's about enough!

The system had previously shown that Wu Ningxue carried a total of twenty second-grade Blood Qi Pills and eighty ordinary Blood Qi Pills; now I have found over sixty ordinary ones and fifteen second-grade ones, with not many left.

This place is not far from the Wu Family Manor; I cannot linger long, lest I invite trouble.

Carrying a large quantity of Blood Qi Pills, Fang Xu hurried home, only to find that the three corpses in the courtyard had been moved away at some point by enthusiastic neighbors, and even the door had been shut.

He hurriedly pushed the door open and returned to his room; seeing no signs of a search inside, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After hiding all the Blood Qi Pills, Fang Xu went to the Hall of Distant Aspirations.

At noon, Li Yunshan was clearing the courtyard of Qiang mosquito corpses and campfire ash, while Lu Qingluo was in the inner courtyard peeling an orange for Chu Mu.

Seeing Fang Xu approach, Chu Mu softly called, "Brother Fang Xu."

Lu Qingluo gave him a fierce glare, obviously still remembering the day Fang Xu pinched her.

"Senior Sister." Fang Xu gave an embarrassed smile and slightly bowed his hands.

Lu Qingluo, unwilling to bother with him, shoved the peeled orange into Chu Mu's hand and whispered, "Little Sister Mu, this guy is trouble—be careful."

Having said that, she turned and went back to her room.

Fang Xu rubbed his nose resentfully, then walked over to Chu Mu, squatted down, and asked, "How's your rest?"

Chu Mu gave a forced smile, merely nodded, and said nothing.

From the sorrow on her face, it was clear that Chu Li's death had dealt her a heavy blow.

"Alas!"

He let out a sigh, gently took Chu Mu's little hand, applied slight pressure, and said, "It will pass; someday I will be your real older brother."

Chu Mu blinked slightly, her sorrow deepening, tears welling in her eyes as she burst into tears again.

"Brother Fang Xu… snivel…"

Fang Xu gently stepped forward, letting Chu Mu lean against his shoulder to fully vent her grief.

After a long while—

"Mu, what is that scent on you?"

Seeing Chu Mu cried out and now stopped, Fang Xu questioned doubtfully.

"Mu doesn't know; I heard Grandfather say it seems to be something innate from birth." Chu Mu replied softly.

"Fang Xu." Just as he was preparing to speak again, Lu Zhiyuan's voice suddenly came from behind him.

Fang Xu rose and slightly bowed his hands toward Lu Zhiyuan: "Master."

Lu Zhiyuan nodded, gave Chu Mu a deep look, then said to Fang Xu: "You, come follow me."

He patted Chu Mu's head, then Fang Xu followed Lu Zhiyuan to the outer courtyard training ground.

"Fang Xu, this girl is the Elixir Fragrant Sacred Body."

Lu Zhiyuan got straight to the point.

"Elixir Fragrant Sacred Body?"

Fang Xu blinked slightly, thinking, "Could this be Chu Mu's special constitution?"

"Master, what is the Elixir Fragrant Sacred Body?" Fang Xu asked.

Lu Zhiyuan's expression grew somewhat complex as he said: "The so-called Elixir Fragrant Sacred Body is one of many special constitutions; those who possess it are born with an innate elixir fragrance and are naturally gifted at alchemy."

"A genius at alchemy!?"

Fang Xu glanced at Chu Mu from afar, suppressing his excitement, and said: "Master, do you mean Mu can become an alchemist?"

Lu Zhiyuan, however, shook his head.

"Although this girl possesses the Elixir Fragrant Sacred Body, her leg meridians are congenitally impaired; she cannot cultivate martial arts."

"An alchemist refining pills needs to control fire with their own qi and blood; some high-level alchemists even need to cultivate fire-attribute techniques, using their martial fire to nurture the elixirs."

"She... at most can only grind medicinal powders..."

"This..."

Upon hearing Lu Zhiyuan's words, Fang Xu's originally excited mood instantly cooled halfway; as he turned his head to look at Chu Mu, he happened to meet her gaze.

In the sunlight, the girl's eyes held a hint of longing, her slender lashes glittering with tears, her slightly thin face revealing a pitiful delicacy.

"If she can't become an alchemist, then she can't; this sister has resolved herself to that."

"More updates, more updates! Seeking monthly tickets, seeking readers!"

"(End of chapter)"