Free Web NovelChapter 142: Chapter 141: Great Success, Pharmacist Buddha!
"Y-yes."
Compared to their last meeting, Gu Shouyu’s complexion had clearly improved.
Color had returned to his face, and he’d filled out a little, but his hair was still disheveled and his beard unkempt.
He clutched his treasured Oil Paper Umbrella and old satchel, looking like he had a bellyful of words to say, but Fu Juemin raised a hand to stop him.
"We’ll talk when we get there. Let’s walk and talk."
Fu Juemin immediately ordered a car and, with Gu Shouyu in tow, headed straight for Eight-Row Alleyway.
Once they arrived, they entered the sewer at the usual spot.
Since the "Tai Sui Project" had begun, this area had been specially cleaned. Nearby residents were forbidden from dumping trash and sewage here, and with the colder weather, the smell was much more bearable than before.
About a dozen Qinglian Gang men were waiting by the drainage channel. Seeing Fu Juemin, they expertly fitted him with a cotton mask and protective clothing, sprinkled a layer of deodorizing tea powder, and tucked a scented slip into his mask. After the whole procedure, the foul odor was almost unnoticeable.
Fu Juemin led Gu Shouyu inside, followed by four or five Qinglian Gang men who were there to assist.
In the light of the gas lamps, wood shavings and sawdust littered the path underfoot. In the filthy river beside them, large, jelly-like globs of something occasionally floated silently by—they were all discarded fragments of the Tai Sui.
"What was it you wanted to tell me earlier?"
Fu Juemin asked Gu Shouyu casually as they walked.
Gu Shouyu, who had been holding it in the whole way, finally had a chance to speak, his words tumbling out quickly. "The Westerners... they’ve set their sights on this Tai Sui again.
They’ve sent people over. They’re on the other end, making a racket all day, tinkering with who knows what.
I was worried that delays would bring trouble, so I timed my visit to find you..."
"Why the sudden activity from the Westerners?"
Fu Juemin frowned. Gu Shouyu had mentioned before that the Westerners hadn’t paid any attention to this area for over half a year.
"This humble one... did hear a rumor."
One of the Qinglian Gang men walking behind them interjected cautiously.
"Oh?"
Fu Juemin stopped and turned to him. "Let’s hear it."
The Qinglian Gang man hurriedly replied, "Director Gu gave the order, so I went to check on the Westerners.
I happened to overhear their men chatting. They said... the Westerners want to use these cut-up pieces of Tai Sui meat for fishing."
Fishing...
When the man mentioned fishing, the others gave him an indescribably odd look. They stared at him strangely, assuming he was just making up nonsense to show off.
Fu Juemin’s eyes, however, flashed with understanding.
’Fishing?’
’Are they fishing for the very same Fish Demon I saw in the Su River this morning?’
’Of course. The gentleman in white, who even a Toad Palace Gratitude Realm master couldn’t kill, was clearly working for the Westerners. They must have tracked down the Fish Demon long ago. They’re desperate to get that Gold, so coming up with a plan to lure the Fish Demon with Tai Sui meat is perfectly logical.’
"Go to the guild hall and collect a reward of fifty silver coins when you get back."
Fu Juemin said calmly. The man who had spoken was overjoyed and hastily said, "Thank you for the reward, Young Master!"
They soon reached the place Fu Juemin had first visited. The area had now been cleared. The wall of Tai Sui flesh that had blocked the path was propped open by tightly packed wooden planks, creating an inward-leading tunnel.
After walking down the tunnel for about five more minutes, they finally saw the men in charge of "cutting the meat."
Four or five burly laborers were busy at work, some holding wood saws, others carrying baskets of shavings.
Seeing Fu Juemin’s group, the men quickly stopped and called out to Gu Shouyu, "Director Gu!"
Gu Shouyu hurried over to speak with them.
"Did you break through the last layer?"
"We did. It’s just inside. We were thinking of cleaning up the sides as well..."
Fu Juemin didn’t wait for them to finish. Following the throbbing aura from the Great Demon Soul Seeds within him, he found a small, half-man-high hole in the side of the cavity carved out of the Tai Sui’s body. He ducked and slowly entered.
A single opening separated two different worlds.
The moment he stepped into the cavity, Fu Juemin paused.
The space inside was far, far larger than he had anticipated.
The entire space was a single, cohesive whole, formed from a jelly-like, translucent substance. It was shaped like a rough hemisphere. Within this "jelly," countless star-like specks and silky crystalline powders drifted slowly, twinkling on and off, as if the serene depths of the ocean and the vast, starry cosmos had been brought together in this one place.
The air wasn’t the least bit damp or stuffy; on the contrary, it was exceptionally fresh and clear.
As Fu Juemin’s gaze shifted downward, he naturally saw the destination of the countless streams of light—a strange... "Lingzhi"!
Fu Juemin walked slowly over to the "Lingzhi".
Tai Sui was commonly known as "Meat Lingzhi" in folklore, and its core essence was indeed just that.
—It resembled flesh but wasn’t. It looked like a large block of bean jelly or aspic, but a closer look revealed its surface was covered in fine, crack-like patterns.
Its interior had a sponge-like texture, its color shifting subtly between coral red, lard white, and a dark, golden purple. The whole thing was as translucent as Profound ice.
Fu Juemin reached out and gently touched it. Perhaps stimulated by the faint Demon Soul aura he emitted, the Meat Lingzhi before him trembled slightly, as if it were alive.
"You have to use a Wooden Blade to cut it."
Just then, Gu Shouyu came up from behind and handed Fu Juemin a short blade carved from hardwood.
Fu Juemin took the Wooden Blade, his eyes falling on a root-like section at the base of the Meat Lingzhi.
He was silent for a moment, then his hand rose and fell. With a single, clean strike, he sliced it off.
The process was incredibly smooth. As soon as the root was severed, Gu Shouyu, who was standing by, steadily caught the entire Tai Sui in a specially prepared wooden box.
The instant the Tai Sui was detached from its root, the beautiful spectacle of light within the fleshy chamber dimmed rapidly, as if someone had suddenly cut the power to an undersea galaxy.
The air instantly grew murky.
Fu Juemin had no intention of lingering. Having obtained the Tai Sui, he immediately turned and walked out.
"Let’s go."
Once out of the cavity, Fu Juemin picked up his pace, walking so fast that Gu Shouyu and the others behind him almost couldn’t keep up.
After they were completely out of the sewer, Fu Juemin ripped off all the cumbersome protective gear, took the wooden box containing the Tai Sui, and got straight into the car.
"You did well this time. I’ve prepared a suite for you in the French Concession... Later, I’ll have someone come meet you."
With that, the car window rolled up.
Gu Shouyu was still in a daze as the black sedan carrying Fu Juemin sped off, leaving a trail of dust.
...
「Ink Garden」
Inside the training room, Fu Juemin sat alone beneath the light from the domed skylight.
He opened the wooden box and gazed at the Tai Sui’s core lying quietly inside, an indescribable sense of joy and satisfaction surging in his chest.
’A double blessing!’
’I took care of two Demon Species in a single day!’
’How long has it been since my last "haul"?’
’I can hardly remember. I only know it’s been a long time since I’ve had such a "sumptuous meal."’
He curled his fingers slightly, and five Black Moons emerged silently from beneath his fingernails.
Fu Juemin reached for the Tai Sui in the box. This time, it didn’t feel like touching jelly or aspic, but more like a hot knife sinking into butter.
With a soft SQUELCH, his five fingers sank effortlessly into the Tai Sui’s body. Immediately after, the entire Tai Sui deflated like a punctured balloon, visibly shriveling and withering.
An invisible torrent surged up his arm and poured violently into his body.
His character panel was open, and Fu Juemin watched as the Golden Energy in the Skill Slot overflowed once.
Twice.
Finally, when it stopped completely, it was just a hair’s breadth away from overflowing for a third time!
Two Skill Points!
Adding the one point from hunting the Iron-Maned Demon Boar, that made a grand total of three!
And on the Talent Bar, which had just recently refreshed, two small, bright white words had appeared—[Meat Mountain].
In a trance, Fu Juemin seemed to "see" a flesh-colored Lingzhi swaying quietly within the void occupied by the Four Souls of the pig, snake, rat, and ghost.
Looking at his cultivation techniques, the "+" sign next to each one was now lit up.
"Huh?"
When he only had one Skill Point, Fu Juemin hadn’t noticed, but now he saw that his Eight Extremes Bone Forging Skill, which had already reached the Great Success realm, was showing that it could be upgraded further.
’So... there’s a realm beyond Great Success?’
Fu Juemin pondered this for a moment, then set it aside and focused his attention on the Small Success Pharmacist Skill.
SHWAAA—
The golden "+" flashed, and the word "Mastery" after [Pharmacist Buddha’s Glazed Body] instantly changed to "Great Success."
Immediately after, a torrent of memories, so vast it was unimaginable, slammed into Fu Juemin’s body.
In an instant, countless flashes of light, countless memory fragments, and the sound of countless Buddhist hymns and Sanskrit chants... flashed before his eyes and echoed in his ears.
As if by sudden inspiration, Fu Juemin formed a hand seal and sat cross-legged.
In the unseen world, it was as if a Dharma Form of the "Pharmacist Buddha," its body a pure azure blue, radiating an infinite, seven-colored, glazed light, was clearly manifesting deep within his Consciousness....
