Chapter 300: Accelerating Potion Absorption

The clouds hung low in the sky, like a leaden sheet poised to crash down at any moment. On the rooftop of a towering, dilapidated building, Qing Ji sat at the edge, gazing thoughtfully at the sky. After a while, he withdrew his gaze with a silent sigh.

He knew well that as a lingering psychic energy fluctuation, his existence had persisted for too long. There was a risk he might unknowingly transform into a haunting, so he needed to complete his mission swiftly.

He wasn’t afraid of death, but he was attached to this world, which made his emotions somewhat conflicted.

To be or not to be, as Qing Ji pondered this question seriously, a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts from behind.

“Ancestors, Ancestors, I’m here!”

Upon hearing Lu Yibei’s voice, Qing Ji jolted and turned around abruptly, surprised to see Lu Yibei waving at him. “Why are you here at this hour?” he asked in disbelief.

It was just past 5 PM, and this girl coming so early today seemed like she was out to exhaust him, Qing Ji thought to himself.

“Well…” Lu Yibei said awkwardly, “I have some things I want to ask you about.”

She couldn’t possibly tell the Ancestors that she had recklessly taken potions, got high, and passed out, right? Even if she had to say it, she needed to be a bit more roundabout. Lu Yibei thought to herself.

Earlier, Lu Yibei had been at home, feeling uneasy about the potion she had painstakingly crafted. Eventually, she couldn’t resist the urge to take a risk.

Having finally crafted the potion, not drinking it would be like sitting on a mountain of gold and silver with no way to spend it, or holding a beautiful girl and just staring at her without doing anything.

So, following the consumption instructions on the potion formula, she rummaged through all the porcelain bowls at home and conducted “a flick” twenty times, resulting in twenty bowls of varying potion doses.

For those twenty bowls, she used the Fortune Deity Coin to divine “Will drinking this kill me?”, “Will drinking this leave permanent disabilities?”, “Will drinking this result in insufficient potency?” and other questions.

Finally, she selected five bowls from the twenty, which seemed reliable in terms of potency, risk, and disability rate.

To be safe, she chose the bowl with the least dosage from the five, divided it into nine portions according to the maximum consumption frequency stated in the instructions, and picked the least conspicuous portion to drink in one go.

At this point, the Fortune Deity Coin’s divination was no longer useful. Each small portion of the potion was identical in composition, quality, and quantity, so the continued selection was mainly for psychological comfort.

As for why she chose the least conspicuous one…

Lu Yibei felt that she was already cursed with bad luck, so if she chose the most appealing one, something would surely go wrong. If she chose the least appealing one, it might already have problems.

She admitted that her approach involved some gambling and wasn’t very rigorous, but compared to the “a flick” dosage in the instructions, it was much more reliable.

Thus.

The potion, already cooled, entered her mouth and was swallowed, instantly transforming into scorching molten iron, traveling down her throat with countless high-temperature bubbles.

Her ears echoed with four descriptions from within her, two pointing to Nu Ba, one to the Witch, and one to Eifrit. These four descriptions symbolized three forces, colliding within her, vying for the potion’s power.

The intense collision of forces blossomed into “fireworks” within her, exploding violently, causing her bones to tremble as if being forged, and her flesh and every pore to scream in agony.

This process lasted for about ten seconds before the three forces gradually settled.

As the saying goes, when the first and second fight, the third dies first.

Eifrit’s Spirit Pattern was the first to quiet down, followed by a prolonged struggle between Nu Ba and the Witch, ending with the Witch’s defeat and Nu Ba, most compatible with the Completion Potion, emerging victorious.

Of course, Eifrit’s Spirit Pattern was also highly compatible, but it couldn’t compete.

Thus, the familiar description grew stronger and clearer in her mind.

“A place with zhong mountain, a woman clad in green… A place with zhong mountain, a woman clad in green… A place with zhong mountain…”

At that moment, Lu Yibei felt a fervent flame ignite within her deepest core, erupting from within, consuming her, as her body convulsed violently, emitting uncontrollable low growls.

The growls gradually transitioned from deep to soft, finally becoming childlike, as the upstairs neighbor, red-faced and envious, nearly called the police.

Public indecency, what a disgrace. He had long disliked the couple downstairs, but before calling the police, he decided to wait a while.

And then…

Nothing happened. Her vision darkened, and she lost consciousness, leaving the eavesdropping neighbor without evidence and unable to report.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a Dream.

After appearing on the rooftop in the Dream, she nervously found a piece of reflective metal to confirm that she hadn’t undergone any abnormal changes in appearance due to the potion, ensuring she wouldn’t be expelled, and then sought out Qing Ji.

After listening to Lu Yibei’s brief account of events, Qing Ji stroked his chin, pondering for a few seconds before saying, “So, you took the potion, uh, according to your terms, the Completion Potion, and came here early?”

“Yes, yes,” Lu Yibei nodded in agreement.

“You want to ask me if passing out after taking the potion will leave any aftereffects, right?” Qing Ji continued.

“More or less…” Lu Yibei hesitated.

Mainly, she wanted to know if the physical changes caused by the Completion Potion were irreversible. Lu Yibei thought to herself.

She clearly remembered that before passing out, her body had undergone haunting transformation, which was a serious issue.

Before this, apart from the time she was threatened by external psychic energy fluctuations while interacting with Professor Ma’s bamboo slips and drawing Spirit Patterns, causing her to undergo haunting transformation during the day as a self-protective instinct.

If the potion’s effects were irreversible, who could bear it?

Even more frightening was that she wasn’t sure to what extent she had transformed. If she had only partially transformed and couldn’t revert…

A device with two systems, how could that work? Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine!

“Well…” Qing Ji pondered for a moment, then said seriously, “It seems there’s no problem for now. You’re still alive, aren’t you? Being alive proves there’s no problem.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

As long as you’re alive, there’s no problem? Ancestors, your standards are a bit…

Life shouldn’t just be about surviving the present; it should be about pursuing tomorrow’s survival, the day after tomorrow’s survival, and survival in the distant future!

Thinking this, Lu Yibei asked Qing Ji, “Ancestors, didn’t you say you had taken many potions before? Have you summarized any reliable consumption methods?”

After all, the Great Serpent God’s knowledge had significant gaps in potion consumption. Since its inception, it had a body far stronger than humans.

Following its experience in taking potions might lead to an unknown death!

Lu Yibei even suspected that “a flick,” such an irregular and uncommon dosage unit, was summarized by the Great Serpent God based on its own consumption standards.

And Lu Yibei knew that Qing Ji had taken various strange potions before. If she could gain some useful insights from his experiences, that would be great.

“Well… I really can’t answer that question,” Qing Ji said seriously. “I always took them all at once.”

“What?”

All at once?

You didn’t explode or get scrapped?

Lu Yibei was stunned, about to say something, when Qing Ji waved his hand.

“I know you want to say that taking potions without considering dosage is dangerous,” Qing Ji explained.

“But back then, I didn’t think much about it, and no one told me what to do. I had a big appetite as a child, and I ate whatever Shifu gave me without any problems.”

“…” Lu Yibei pondered for two seconds and asked seriously, “Are you sure your Shifu didn’t dislike you and want to expel you, so they deliberately didn’t tell you?”

“Not at all,” Qing Ji said with a smile. “After all, they hadn’t taken those potions either, and even…”

“Even what?” Lu Yibei asked curiously.

Qing Ji rubbed his brow, his voice slightly smaller, embarrassed, “Even some potions were half-baked concoctions they made up after reading incomplete ancient texts.”

“…” Lu Yibei was stunned for a while before coming to her senses, patting Qing Ji’s shoulder in consolation, “Sounds like you had a tough childhood too.”

“Ah-!” Qing Ji sighed deeply, “Who says otherwise?”

Then, he changed the subject, “Although I can’t help you with dosage, I can offer some insights on digesting potions, like…”

“Wait!” Lu Yibei’s eyes narrowed as if she sensed something important, interrupting, “Does this ‘like’ cost money?”

No, shouldn’t I first ask what method can accelerate absorption and then ask this question? Lu Yibei thought.

Qing Ji thought for a moment and said seriously, “It can be free, or it might cost a lot, depending on the situation.”

Free or costly, meaning it can be done without spending? Sounds good! Lu Yibei thought, puzzled, “Under what circumstances can it be free?”

“Running fast and not getting caught,” Qing Ji said seriously.

Lu Yibei, “???”

Then, as Lu Yibei was stunned, Qing Ji explained in detail how, when the potion took effect and his internal forces ran wild, he was first taken by Shifu to the female disciples’ changing room and the male disciples’ bathhouse at the Great Pure Palace, where he received a beating.

And later, how he was thrown into the cave where the divine beasts were kept in the forbidden area of the Great Pure Palace’s back mountain, to vent his forces and promote absorption.

“What was in the cave?” Lu Yibei asked curiously.

“Two Qilin1 offspring, uh, according to your terms, hauntings with partial Qilin power.”

“Those guys were formidable. I’ve traveled far and wide, and rarely encountered such powerful opponents, always getting beaten half to death.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

Qilin power?

Sounds impressive.

That kind of thing probably can’t be solved with a few evasive maneuvers, right?

“At first, Shifu would come to get me, but over time, they stopped, leaving me to find my way out, and then I…”

“Wait!” Lu Yibei interrupted, feeling increasingly uneasy, “Are you sure your Shifu didn’t think you ate too much and couldn’t afford to keep you, so they devised ways to expel you?”

“…”

Qing Ji was silent, pondering for a moment before nodding, “Probably not, since I trained my son Yuebo the same way, out of fatherly love. Shifu must have felt the same.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

The Lu Family surviving to my generation is quite a feat.

But come to think of it, if they didn’t truly care for this disciple, why would they send him to the female disciples’ changing room?

As for the male disciples’ bathhouse… perhaps they considered that the disciple might not like female disciples, so they encouraged comprehensive personal interest development?

Thinking this, she seemed to understand Qing Ji’s meaning and asked, “So you’re saying I should go to the Great Pure Palace and cause trouble after taking potions? Endure a beating?”

This must be like properly supplementing nutrition before exercising for the best effect, right?

Meaning, as long as I absorb quickly enough, the raging forces won’t have time to damage my body.

But I’m a haunting! If I can’t escape, won’t I be beaten to death? Lu Yibei thought.

“No,” Qing Ji shook his head, “I mean, after taking the potion, you should find a deserted place to freely unleash spell formations and vent your forces.”

“Find a deserted place to vent forces…” Lu Yibei repeated Qing Ji’s words, turning around to look around, seeing only empty city ruins.

Perhaps, maybe, possibly…

Qing Ji noticed Lu Yibei’s sneaky glances around, her eyes becoming increasingly strange, and his heart tightened. “You can’t do it here!” he quickly said.

Just practicing swordsmanship had already exhausted him. If he had to help her absorb potions too, wouldn’t he be completely worn out?

Moreover, this place was uncertain whether it was reality or illusion. Venting forces here might not be effective, Qing Ji thought.

Lu Yibei frowned, “If not here, then where should I go?”

“I told you, find a deserted place,” Qing Ji said, pursing his lips. “Actually, anywhere will do. The key is venting and not getting caught.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

That’s what I’m worried about-getting caught!

Casting spells that harm people would bring The Midnight Watchers Society knocking, and burning mountains would spell doom for Lu Yibei!

Looks like I’ll have to carefully search the haunting incident directory to find a place where I can freely unleash and not easily be targeted.

Footnote:

1. Qilin(麒麟): A mythical Chinese hybrid creature with dragon-like features, often symbolizing prosperity and divine power.