Chapter 2 Infant Blood Pill_1

"What's the matter?"

Xu Mu quickly got up and rushed into the bedroom.

Ye Yingying pointed at a corner of the ceiling, her small face pale and trembling.

Xu Mu held her in his arms and followed her pointing finger, looking up.

The next moment, his pupils shrank slightly.

A moldy severed hand was lodged in the corner of the ceiling!

Fortunately, the hand wasn't moving!

"Huff!"

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Xu Mu found a stick and poked the hand down.

The severed hand was covered in dark green mold, shriveled like cured meat, and it was impossible to tell if it used to belong to a man or a woman.

Fighting his disgust, Xu Mu wrapped the hand in a piece of cloth.

He left the house,

and threw it into the sewer at the end of the alley.

Ye Yingying grew up protected by her father, innocent with little exposure to the world. The sudden encounter with such a thing scared her witless. Xu Mu had to comfort her for a while before she regained her composure.

"Beloved, am I too useless?"

Ye Yingying looked at Xu Mu with reddened eyes as she shrank into his arms.

Xu Mu ruffled her hair and laughed, "You're just not used to it yet, you'll adjust with time."

This was not the peaceful world of his past life, but the Cultivation Realm where the law of the jungle prevailed, and life was worth less than straw. Even though Xu Mu loved his wife deeply, he could only toughen her bit by bit.

However, she was just eighteen, and her present composure was impressive enough.

At least, she'd never complained about their hardship or blamed Xu Mu for his inability.

Although it was just an ordinary-looking severed hand, a shadow seemed to fall over Xu Mu's heart.

To be on the safe side, Xu Mu purchased a Talisman of Repelling Evil from the marketplace for Ye Yingying to keep on her person.

Their already meagre savings were dwindling even further.

Fortunately, as long as he could continue practicing Alchemy, they could gradually accumulate more wealth.

In the following days, apart from caring for his wife's daily needs, Xu Mu spent most of his time making Fasting Pills.

Once he had a certain amount of pills, he would take them to the shops in the marketplace to sell.

Having been an alchemist for many years, he had regular partners to deal with, so he didn't have to worry about finding buyers.

However, the store's price was quite a bit lower than when he had his own stall.

But with Ye Yingying soon to give birth, he couldn't afford to be away for long. To avoid accidents, he had to sell at a low price.

Apart from crafting pills, Xu Mu also squeezed some time to practice the Fire-controlling Skill.

Whether it was the warning from the Tooth People, that moldy severed hand, or the strange neighbors, all gave him a profound sense of insecurity.

To deal with potential accidents, he had to seize every moment to enhance his strength as much as possible.

Even if the improvement was insignificant.

In the room, a palm-sized orange-red bird of flame flew out of Xu Mu's hand and clashed against a stone on the ground.

Bang!

The collision between the firebird and the stone let out a clear sound, as if someone had taken a hammer and slammed it hard.

The stone slightly shook, leaving a black shallow pit with burn marks, while the firebird scattered into sparks after the impact, reforming in the air.

"Pity, it's still not as powerful as the Fireball Skill!"

Xu Mu said with slight regret.

The Fire-controlling Skill is not purely a combat skill. Although he had reached Proficiency in it, the power was still weaker than skills like the Fireball or Wind Blade.

But the real advantage of the Fire-controlling Skill is not its attack power, but its ability for sustained combat and flexibility.

For example,

The firebird in the air, under Xu Mu's control, suddenly transformed into a fire snake, wrapping around a stone weighing tens of kilograms, and cautiously lifted it from the ground.

Perhaps because the stone slab was too heavy, the fire snake dissipated with a pop when it lifted half a meter high. Sparks filled the sky, and the stone fell to the ground with a thud.

The sparks regrouped, this time not transforming into a firebird or a fire snake, but a burning orb.

The fireball continuously rotated and condensed, changing from its original orange-red color to blood-red, then dark red, before falling onto the stone, abruptly exploding and shattering the stone.

Xu Mu let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.

This was a powerful technique he developed based on his previous life's knowledge of physics, creating a powerful blast through flame compression.

Its power surpassed that of the Fireball Skill!

The only downside was that the compression took time, and after using it, he needed to release the flame anew.

Xu Mu rested for a moment, recovering some of his Spiritual Power, then snapped his fingers. With a puff, a flame ignited on his fingertip.

This was the Ignition Skill, which didn't even count as a tier one skill. Almost every cultivator knew it, and as long as one infused Spiritual Power into it, the flame could be magnified indefinitely.

It was excellent for cooperating with the execution of the Fire-controlling Skill.

The flame gathered in the air, forming a new fire snake that flew towards the stone.

Time flew by during these days, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. The date of Ye Yingying's delivery was drawing near.

...

In the evening,

After Ye Yingying had dinner, she felt a bit uncomfortable, so Xu Mu asked her to go back to the room to rest while he cleaned up.

Looking at Ye Yingying's clean bowl, a pang of heartache once again hit Xu Mu.

"I've saved up some Spirit Stones recently. Tomorrow, I'll go to the marketplace and buy some Spirit Rice for Ying Ying. The food for her postpartum care needs to be prepared as well!"

With furrowed brows, Xu Mu pondered on how to stretch his limited Spirit Stones to their utmost usefulness.

However, despite much thought, he still found himself stretched thin.

The most affordable Spirit Rice in the market cost one lower-grade Spirit Stone for just five kilograms, while spirit-infused meat was even more expensive — one could usually only get two or three kilograms with a lower-grade Spirit Stone.

Prices have been on a constant rise recently because of the war.

Sigh!

Indeed, it's tough when a couple is poor!

Just as Xu Mu finished his chores and was preparing to go back to his room to care for his wife, a frantic knock came from outside.

"Who could it be at this late hour?"

With a sense of apprehension, Xu Mu took out several talismans, held them in the palm of his hand, and went to answer the door.

Although there had been no abnormalities in the vicinity recently, he had heard all sorts of horrifying rumours about the slum area and dared not take it lightly.

"Who's there?"

Xu Mu called out.

"Friend Xu, it's me!"

An aged voice came from outside.

Xu Mu's eyebrows twitched slightly. From the voice, he deduced that it was the old alchemist who lived at the front of the alley.

The old alchemist was named Sun Daocheng. He was over eighty years old and frequently dropped by these days under the pretext of discussing alchemy with Xu Mu.

Being new in the neighborhood, Xu Mu didn't want to offend the man. Furthermore, he wanted to learn more about the surrounding situation from him, so he would always grant his request for these visits.

However, it was the first time for the man to visit at night.

After making sure through a door gap that it was only Sun Daocheng outside, Xu Mu opened the door but did not invite him in.

Outside, Sun Daocheng wore a robe greased with oil. His skin was blotched with black and grey spots, his eyes were filled with visible blood vessels and surrounded with sleep debris, as if he hadn't rested in days.

"Friend Sun, what brings you here at this late hour?"

Looking at Sun Daocheng, who seemed even shabbier than usual, Xu Mu asked with a hint of suspicion.

"There is indeed something I need."

On Sun Daocheng's wrinkled old face, a smile bloomed like a chrysanthemum.

First, he glanced into the house, then said in a low voice, "Friend Xu, do you know when your wife is due to give birth?"

"..."

Xu Mu narrowed his eyes, showing a wary expression.

"Friend Sun, why do you ask this?"

"Heh Heh!"

Sun Daocheng laughed, rubbing his hands together, his eyes filled with a sense of frenzy.

"I have a formula for refining the Infant Blood Pill. If you are willing..."

"Get out!"

Xu Mu's face turned white during an instant, his eyes cold as ice.

The young couple next door had once told him that this old man was up to no good. Initially, he was unaware and thus interacted with him.

Who could have thought that the old man had such an idea!

Xu Mu suspected that the old man's recent warmth was not for him, but targeted at the child in his wife's belly.

"Calm down first! Okay, I will provide the other herbs for the process. Once the pill is refined, we split it fifty-fifty!"

Xu Mu slammed the door before Sun Daocheng could finish his suggestion.

"Ai! Friend Xu, don't be so hasty! We can still negotiate! How about a sixty-forty split? Or even thirty-seventy?"

Outside the door, Sun Daocheng called out a few more times reluctantly.

Xu Mu had already returned to his bedroom with a gloomy face.

Seeing that there was no response from Xu Mu, Sun Daocheng was somewhat frustrated.

"They can barely feed themselves, and still want to have a child! Are they insane?"

His visits to Xu Mu's house these few days were specifically to understand their circumstances.

Upon learning about their hardship, he was confident enough to make such a suggestion, only to be surprised by Xu Mu's lack of insight to reject his "kind offer".

"Raising a child is nothing but an unprofitable business. Once a girl grows up, she is married off. For a boy, you need to subsidize his cultivation. If handed over to me, it would instantly yield a considerable number of Spirit Stones, and one could spend the rest of their days merrily, gambling or visiting brothels. What a fool!"

Sun Daocheng flicked his sleeve, cursing and murmuring as he turned to return to his home at the end of the alley.

Just midway down the alley, a door beside him creaked open.

A strong smell of blood wafted out.

"Friend Sun, since he is unwilling, why don't the three of us team up instead?"

Behind the door stood a pair of pale-faced twin brothers, cold smiles curling on their lip corners.

"This..."

Looking at the two, Sun Daocheng was somewhat wary.

Having lived in this alley for many years, he wasn't unfamiliar with these two individuals — one named Li Wen and the other Li Wu, both known for engaging in illicit dealings as robbers. It was said their cultivation methods were rather peculiar, requiring the ingestion of blood from time to time.

However, he was no pushover himself. Although he dreaded them, he wasn't excessively afraid.

Fingering the emptiness of his pocket, and considering the huge debt he had accrued at the gambling house, Sun Daocheng finally gritted his teeth and entered their abode.

In this slum, refusing permission was not an option.