Chapter 208: Dead End

Xu Chen did not know how long he had slept; when he finally woke up naturally, he felt his entire body much more relaxed.

Outside the door, Feng Xing and Feng Zhao stood like two statues, each holding a Giant Fork in their hands, one on the left and one on the right, seemingly having never moved at all.

Seemingly sensing that Xu Chen had awakened, Feng Zhao leaned toward the doorway and used Divine Sense Transmission to say: "The Elder says if you are awake, whatever food or items you need, we can help you prepare."

Xu Chen thought for a moment and asked Feng Zhao to invite the Elder over.

Soon, the Elder arrived in a hurry. After the two exchanged a few brief words, the Elder hurried away again. Before long, a steady stream of Feng tribespeople arrived, delivering various products unique to Minghuang: bones, animal hides, teeth, crystals, Soul Beads, food, Divine Blood Paste, Ghost Soul Water, and even the Wangchuan Flower and Other Shore Flower that Xu Chen had sent.

There were twenty or thirty types of these miscellaneous items in total. Each had a different aura, but most were either for eating and drinking or for crafting weapons and leather armor; very few were for treating illnesses.

As for the items meant for crafting weapons and food, Xu Chen took a rough look and gave up on them; his main focus remained on items that could enhance cultivation and heal injuries.

Unfortunately, species in the Underworld were extremely scarce, and there were only eight types of medicinal materials in total, including the four he already had: Divine Blood Paste, Ghost Soul Water, Wangchuan Flower, and Other Shore Flower. He had never heard of the remaining four, so the Elder and the Clan Leader came personally to help him explain how to use these medicines.

After listening, Xu Chen could not help but twitch his face.

These people had been in Minghuang for too long, and the vast majority of their knowledge had been lost. The various skills left behind now had little to do with the ancient human race; they were an entirely new system of knowledge that had slowly formed within Minghuang itself.

At present, the only pharmacological knowledge remaining to the Feng tribe that still had some connection to ancient times was the method of tapping meridians and acupoints used when waking up dormant tribespeople.

Additionally, there was a simple method for making medicinal pills: crushing several common medicinal substances, mixing them with Ghost Soul Water into a paste, and rolling them into pills.

This type of pill was almost the only medicine used by the Feng tribe in their daily lives; it could stimulate the Soul, suppress Blood Poison, and strengthen the physique. In short, it was a panacea: take one for a headache or fever, take one for lacerations, take one for a coma, take one for infertility, and take one for erectile dysfunction.

In any case, with one pill in hand, the world was his; beyond that, life and death were determined by fate, and wealth was in the hands of heaven. If one could endure, one lived; if one could not, one dragged it out; if one could not drag it out, one died.

This was the cruel way of survival faced by all the Nether Human Race in Minghuang.

Fortunately, what remained were the essentials.

The Nether Human Race had already become as strong as Nether Beasts and could survive tenaciously without needing many resources.

However, as time passed, tribes that severely lacked knowledge inheritance and the protection of strong individuals would find their living conditions and environment becoming increasingly dire.

If things continued to develop as they were now, it was estimated that it would not be long before the Feng tribe perished.

And Xu Chen, having suddenly descended as if from the heavens, brought new hope to this dying tribe.

By this time, the news that Xu Chen had discovered Divine Patterns on the dormant tribespeople had already spread throughout the entire tribe.

Although everyone had been strictly ordered by the Clan Leader and the Elder not to disturb Xu Chen, this news had already stimulated all the warriors of the tribe to howl with excitement, reaching a level of feverish, blood-pumping intensity as they gathered in the great hall to shout and fiercely discuss the legendary and powerful Divine Pattern Battle Techniques.

As for the phantom of the mountain that Xu Chen had released in the stone chamber just moments ago, people had already found clues in many of the surviving ancient stone carvings and animal hide records; it was a defensive battle technique called Mountain Palm. It was said that when cultivated to the extreme, it could suppress mountains and seas, and even the most powerful Nether Beasts could not break through it.

Of course, these legends had long since become unrecognizable after millions of years of transmission, and the authenticity of the data and records was still open to question.

But regardless, the news that Xu Chen had discovered Divine Pattern Battle Techniques had activated the entire ancient tribe, causing them to radiate great excitement and enthusiasm.

Of course, everyone was also nervously waiting for Xu Chen's next move; saving one person in deep dormancy might truly unlock the secret of the Divine Patterns.

In a natural stone cave near the Ancestral Temple, two Wangchuan Flowers, looking like ice sculptures, were planted in two water pools, each several feet square.

The surroundings of the pools were built with dark green stones, upon which various lines and some ancient Ancient Runes were crisscrossed.

In the air, wisps of black mist were guided by an Array into the Black Water of the pools.

Feng Yi and more than a dozen warriors who had been awakened with Xu Chen's help not long ago were all sitting in a circle around the two Wangchuan Flowers, eyes closed in meditation, breathing in the cold mist released by the flowers.

The vivid and clear Blood Poison Patterns on their faces and bodies, which had been present during their deep sleep, had faded significantly, and their dark skin was beginning to approach the color of normal tribespeople. Although they all looked very thin and gaunt, most resembling skeletons, their Soul auras were exceptionally robust, and many possessed strength no less than that of an Elder.

While meditating, a look of anger appeared on Feng Yi's face as he slowly opened his eyes, turned to look at a tribesman guarding the cave entrance, and said: "What is all the noise about? How are we supposed to recover in peace?"

The guard at the door hurriedly explained that Xu Chen had found and successfully activated a Divine Pattern.

"What?" Feng Yi exclaimed and jumped up. Then, regardless of the fact that he had just awakened from dormancy, he transformed into a gust of wind and rushed out of the cave, heading straight for the great hall.

"Feng Yi, why have you come out?" Everyone in the great hall was immediately very surprised to see Feng Yi.

"Where is Xu Chen? I want to see him!" Feng Yi roared.

"Brother, you cannot see him. He is currently trying to find a way to save the remaining dormant ones. If he succeeds, he might be able to wake up the Old Witch Master!" Feng Feiyi hurriedly stepped forward to block Feng Yi.

"No, I must see him immediately. The Divine Patterns are too important. Before I went into dormancy, I had almost succeeded in activating one!" Feng Yi pushed Feng Feiyi aside and roared excitedly.

"What?" This time it was the turn of all the men, women, and children in the stone hall to exclaim.

A middle-aged man stepped forward, grabbed Feng Yi, and asked: "Why have you never mentioned this before?"

Feng Yi rudely brushed the middle-aged man's hand away and said: "What good would it do to say it? If I didn't succeed, what was the point? If Xu Chen can really activate a Divine Pattern, I must be able to succeed too. I want to see him, take me to him quickly!"

Xu Chen was in his room, holding several simple Minghuang medicinal materials and deep in thought.

Although it seemed that he had a clear idea of how to save the remaining dormant ones, the actual implementation was very troublesome, and he could find absolutely no methods to draw upon.

If this were in the Mortal World or the Immortal World, once a cultivator had opened their Meridians and dantian, even if they fell into a coma, after being fed a Spirit Pill, their body would actively absorb and refine it under the stimulation of Spirit Qi. If supplemented with some decoctions, any injury or illness would slowly improve.

But the difference between these Nether Human Race and Mortal World cultivators was too great; they grew wild without any cultivation techniques. The theories of Mortal World alchemy were almost impossible to apply in the Underworld. Xu Chen had countless knowledge of alchemy, but he found that he could not use a single bit of it.

And the seven or eight simple medicinal materials of Minghuang had no system to speak of, let alone any theory or method for incorporating them into pills.

Therefore, the plan he had initially thought of—using medicinal pills to assist in the subsequent awakening and treatment—seemed to have hit a dead end right from the start.

However, he was never a person who gave up easily.

Although the Nether Human Race and the Mortal World human race were already very different, their body structure and Soul were the same; it was just that one body was rich in Yuan Qi and Spirit Qi, while the other was rich in Underworld Qi and the Blood Poison left behind by Divine Blood Paste.

To refine a medicine that dormant individuals could actively absorb and that would assist in strengthening the Soul and rebuilding flesh and blood, he ultimately had to find a way using these few medicinal materials from the Underworld.

First, what definitely helped the Soul grow and rebuilt flesh and blood was the white Qi.

Second, what suppressed and resisted Underworld Qi was the Divine Blood Paste.

Additionally, to suppress Blood Poison, one had to use Ghost Soul Water or the Wangchuan Flower.

The remaining few medicinal materials also had some effect in repairing physical trauma and stimulating the Soul, but they were not considered important.

But apart from the white Qi, no matter what the medicinal material was, it did not have the clear Five Elements attributes of Mortal World Spirit Medicine, so trying to refine it with a Pill Furnace was completely baffling.

After all, in everything in the Minghuang Di Jie, one could barely feel any Spirit Qi fluctuations.

Logically speaking, Spirit Qi was the foundation of all life.

A place without any Spirit Qi or Yuan Qi would only be dead silence.

Although Minghuang was dark, cold, and pitch-black, the fact that it could give birth to these strange plants and Nether Beasts meant that Spirit Qi must exist.

However, the appearance of Soul Beasts seemed to break the framework of this life form.

There was only one Soul Bead inside the body, and even the body itself was condensed from Black Mist; it had life but no Spirit Qi, which completely contradicted the knowledge structure Xu Chen had understood since stepping onto the path of immortality.

Could it be that the Underworld and the Mortal World are two completely different sets of life rules?

Xu Chen frowned in thought.

If that were truly the case, then how should one go about solving this difficult problem?

If there is really no other way, he would only be able to spend a great deal of energy and time helping the Feng Clan awaken all the remaining sleepers.

But what about the most terrifying old Witch Master?

Facing that old bag of bones who had been sleeping for who knows how many years, Xu Chen absolutely did not want to guard his coffin every day to help him channel Qi for treatment; perhaps with one moment of negligence, this old corpse would spring back to life and kill him with a single slap.

Although he had no real leads, after carefully categorizing and summarizing, Xu Chen still had a few slight ideas.

That is, this medicine must use Ghost Soul Water as the main ingredient, so that it can suppress the Blood Poison, weaken the Blood Poison's corrosion of flesh and blood, and allow the body to slowly recover its vitality.

Additionally, on the basis of Ghost Soul Water, use white Qi to forcibly neutralize and expel the Underworld Qi within the sleepers' bodies, stabilize the Soul, and recast the physical body, ultimately reaching a state of complete awakening.

What needs to be solved right now is how to allow the sleepers to absorb and refine the medicine themselves after it enters their bodies.

Just as Xu Chen was deep in thought, a commotion suddenly broke out outside, and soon the scolding voices of the Clan Leader and the Elder rang out.

(End of this chapter)