Chapter 337: Soul‑Restoring Pill

When the two arrived at the dwelling, Yan Buji closed the door, began carving the game meat, and prepared to refine Grain‑Avoiding Pills.

Wang Man sat aside and said, "I'd like you to help me forge a Soul‑Restoring Pill."

Yan Buji was startled for a moment, but his hands kept moving, and asked, "Soul‑Restoring Pill? Is your spirit injured?"

Wang Man nodded. "You've probably heard my story: moving from the Foundation Establishment stage into the Golden Core stage requires a breakthrough in the spirit, turning a simple soul into a refined soul‑spirit so that magical power can condense into a Golden Core. If the soul is wounded, a minor injury drops you a realm, a severe one kills you on the spot. I was lucky; back then my Accumulation Beast Armament hadn't yet merged with my soul, otherwise when it shattered I would have died."

Yan Buji nodded; he was no longer a raw rookie just entering the cultivation world.

He also had some understanding of the practices of the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages.

For example, Accumulation Beast Armament is a masterful use of Accumulation Devices, combining them into a powerful three‑in‑one offensive, defensive, and speed armament, which enables a leap in strength at the Golden Core stage.

There are many concepts involved, and they couldn't be covered in a short time.

However, for Yan Buji to reach that level would be as hard as scaling the heavens.

He currently lacks offensive Accumulation Devices and those that boost speed. Even a first‑turn Accumulation Armor must be retrained for promotion, so truly speaking Yan Buji doesn't have much time for side matters; but because the Dragon People are short on resources, he must first resolve the problems here.

"I can forge a Soul‑Restoring Pill for you, but I'm not sure how severe your soul injury is; if it's a first‑ or second‑turn Soul‑Restoring Pill, it might not be very effective."

"Anyway, we have to try."

Yan Buji squinted at him and said, "If I can forge a third‑turn Soul‑Restoring Pill, will your wound heal?"

"Third‑turn Soul‑Restoring Pill… if I have a few more, it should work," Wang Man said, eyes wide with excitement as he stared at Yan Buji.

"Very well, but I need you to do something for me."

"You… what do you want to do?"

"Aren't you on good terms with those lazy Dragon People? Then…" Yan Buji whispered his plan.

Wang Man listened, then asked puzzled, "Huh? What do you want them to do? There are plenty of such Dragon People here, and even if I tell them repeatedly, they won't…"

"Do as much as you can pull. Remember, you may let Wang Chao know you did it, but you must not involve me." Yan Buji said calmly.

"It's just a gamble of a couple of bets, nothing serious; the Dragon People's situation is already like this. But I don't get the point of your move. Even if it's a gamble, we're only betting a ration of food…" Wang Man said, then stared at Yan Buji.

Grain‑Avoiding Pill?

Is there some connection here?

"First let me see how far you can go," Yan Buji said coolly.

Wang Man inhaled deeply, "If you can truly forge a third‑turn Soul‑Restoring Pill…"

"Within half a year, I'll give you a reliable promise. If you have another way, why come to me? Trust me this time and do me a favor first, how about that?"

"Fine!" Wang Man gritted his teeth; he truly had no other choice.

The resources in the Boundless Abyssal Trench are pitifully scarce, and those who know how to use them are even rarer.

After all, no one wants to try the priest's life‑or‑death broth.

Watching Wang Man leave, Yan Buji, after slicing the beast meat, began refining Grain‑Avoiding Pills.

This low‑difficulty pill can be fully refined by Yan Buji in at most a day; his earlier words to Wang Chao were merely because he also needed a little time to tinker.

The finished Grain‑Avoiding Pills were neatly arranged by Yan Buji on the table, a large basket holding several hundred pills. After setting aside those needed for Wang Chao and others, he could keep two hundred pills for himself.

The pills are of little practical use, yet they are of great significance to the Dragon People and Yan Buji's future plans.

"The Dragon People's order has collapsed, and the whole social structure is a mess. No one even wants to step up to lead them in surviving and developing within this Boundless Abyssal Trench. Even that Dragon Priest cares nothing about their lives."

Yan Buji didn't know what caused this situation, but the Dragon People have rotted to the core; no one wants to manage them, and those who try can't. It's like Wang Chao.

Wang Chao is unquestionably a righteous cultivator; in the few days Yan Buji has dealt with him, he can sense that the man truly, not pretentiously, cares about improving the Dragon People's plight.

Unfortunately, even with a few squad members around, his lone strength is still insufficient.

This Dragon People, like a pool of rotten mud, must be injected with a strong drug to revive them first.

Yan Buji squinted, dropped each Grain‑Avoiding Pill into a basin of water for three seconds, then quickly retrieved them to inspect their condition.

"Not diluted enough? This medicine is too strong."

In the basin, Yan Buji had dissolved the powder he previously refined, a powder with an intensely rich meaty aroma that a carnivore could not resist.

Of course, the powder's main purpose is to improve the Grain‑Avoiding Pill's taste, not to poison them.

However, the powder has a latent side effect: the more you eat, the less you tire of it, and the stronger the craving, making other foods feel tasteless.

Appetite is a creature's natural instinct; sweet or salty flavors are the body's most direct needs.

If these Grain‑Avoiding Pills are made tasty, wouldn't they eat them?

They certainly will.

They're so lazy they won't go out hunting, preferring to starve rather than leave home, which shows they haven't reached a certain level of hunger.

When starving to madness they'd eat anything, yet it may also be that the tide of laziness suppresses appetite.

Thus Yan Buji refines this powder to stimulate their appetite, achieving a degree of resistance to the laziness tide through hunger.

As for the ensuing addiction, that ties into Yan Buji's first step in gaining control over the Dragon People.

Yan Buji let out a cold chuckle, then recalled something.

"No, I need to go ask."

Yan Buji left the room and entered the palace where the Dragon Priest resides.

"Yan Buji has seen the priest."

The Dragon Priest was still stirring a large cauldron, ignoring Yan Buji.

Yan Buji said calmly, "I will make the Dragon People my sharp blade."

"Is that so? Are you joking?" the Dragon Priest turned his head, looking at Yan Buji oddly.

"The current Dragon People would rather die than live; since the priest won't care, I'll step in. I have only one question coming here."

"You speak."

"You, what exactly is your attitude toward the Dragon People?"

The Dragon Priest thought for a moment, then came down smiling, "Sit, let's talk slowly."