Chapter 195: Chapter 195: New Method of Taking Elixirs Chapter 195: Chapter 195: New Method of Taking Elixirs Lu Xiu’s mind raced, and he quickly responded, “Misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding! I brought him here to apologize to Young Master Shi.”
He pointed at Zhong Huan.
Zhong Huan was stunned, apologize?
My arms are broken, and I still have to apologize, is there no justice in this world, no law of the land?
But since Lu Xiu said so, could he afford to cock his head in defiance?
The glory he enjoyed today was all because of Lu Xiu, so even if Lu Xiu asked him to kneel down and call him grandpa, he had no choice but to obediently comply.
“Scoundrel, aren’t you going to apologize right away!” Lu Xiu’s survival instinct was strong, and he immediately kicked the still-hesitant Zhong Huan, making Zhong Huan suddenly shrink and kneel towards Shi Hao.
For a moment, Zhong Huan truly wanted to fight Shi Hao to the death, but as soon as this thought arose, his courage dissipated like smoke.
He did not wish to die.
Thus, he didn’t get up but instead said in an extremely humiliating tone, “I’m sorry, I was wrong!”
“Oh, where did you go wrong?” Shi Hao asked with a smile.
Where did I go wrong!
I’m the victim with my hands broken by you!
Zhong Huan couldn’t express just how awkward he felt but had no choice but to say, “I didn’t properly discipline my subordinates, please forgive my offense!”
Lu Jiayi looked at Shi Hao and asked, “Young Master Shi, what’s going on here?”
“Oh, didn’t I open a pharmacy? They wanted to collect a protection fee,” Shi Hao replied nonchalantly.
Lu Jiayi’s face immediately turned angry. Her business acumen was extremely strong, and she especially detested the practice of collecting protection fees, which greatly disrupts normal commercial activities.
Moreover, the Lu Family was already the hegemon, did they really need to extort money from the town’s merchants?
Her pretty face instantly turned as cold as frost, and she cast Lu Xiu a glance, “You’re really something!”
Lu Xiu, on the verge of tears, wished he could just kick Zhong Huan to death. Even something as simple as collecting a protection fee had resulted in him being scolded by Lu Jiayi.
He dared not talk back, only nodding submissively, “Yes, yes, cousin sister, your lesson is well received, I will certainly make amends!”
“Get lost, reflect on this at home, you’re forbidden from stepping outside for a month!” Lu Jiayi rebuked.
“Yes!” Lu Xiu immediately slunk away.
Zhong Huan quickly followed, and the two left the private room but did not leave the restaurant; instead, they returned to their own room.
If they were going to be grounded, they might as well finish this meal first.
“Damn it!” Lu Xiu angrily smashed his wine cup, finally venting all his frustrations.
At this time, Zhong Huan didn’t dare to go over and ask for trouble, keeping as silent as a cicada in winter.
“Damn woman, relying on the fact that the old ancestor favors her! Damn it, eventually, she’ll still have to marry an outsider!” Lu Xiu cursed non-stop, thinking about being confined for a whole month without the joys of wine and pleasures, which made him even more irritable.
“No, I can’t swallow this indignity!” He calmed down and started to use his wits.
He wasn’t cut out for martial arts, nor did he possess the talent for management, but when it came to conspiracies and schemes, he was second to none.
“Ceng Song has always been fond of that damned woman. If he knew she had a private meeting with a man in the restaurant, hehe, he would definitely go after that guy to settle the score.”
He slapped his thigh, having thought of a sly trick.
“Brother-in-law, you’re truly brilliant!” Zhong Huan said, holding back his disgust, “Ceng Song is one of the top three geniuses in the city, not only is his strength exceptional, but he’s also known for his unusually heavy hand. He once severely injured a clansman during a sparring and was punished to cultivate in the Cold Water Pool for half a year.”
“If he makes a move against Shi Hao, that kid is definitely in for big trouble.”
Lu Xiu was smug, “Even if Shi Hao’s luck defies the heavens, and he ends up injuring Ceng Song instead, hehe, the Ceng Family is one of the two major subsidiary families under our Lu Family. They will be furious and will send their strong family members to capture that kid.”
“So, no matter what, Shi Hao is definitely doomed.” Zhong Huan raised his thumb, “Brother-in-law, you’re really clever!”
“Of course, I am!” Lu Xiu was exceedingly proud, “That pretty boy looks so good, that damned woman must have fallen for him. Otherwise, why would she protect him like that and keep calling him Young Master Shi, pah!”
Thinking of this, he lost his appetite and immediately got up to leave.
He had never suffered such a loss and couldn’t swallow this insult.
After finishing his meal, Shi Hao went back to his place with Xiao Hei.
On the way back, he bought some medicinal herbs to use in combination with the Mysterious Spirit Ginseng.
He began the alchemy, and this time, it was different from before.
During the refinement, he had to pull in the Power of Heaven and Earth several times to harmonize the potency of the elixir, consuming a lot of Soul Force. Although he successfully refined a batch of elixirs, it left him extremely fatigued.
This was only a two-star elixir, and the higher the grade, the greater the requirement for Soul Force. Thus, although Shi Hao theoretically could refine up to Nine Stars elixirs, in reality, he was limited by his Soul Force, making it impossible to succeed.
He looked at the twelve Spirit Ginseng Elixirs in the Pill Furnace, very satisfied.
Yuan Chengmie had only dabbled in the Alchemy Dao and had not devoted much effort to it. However, Shi Hao was truly interested in Alchemy Dao and had put much thought into it. Standing on the shoulders of a giant naturally took him to the next level.
It could be said that if Yuan Chengmie were to come back to life and refine elixirs with Shi Hao, Shi Hao would undoubtedly do it better.
But, as all medicines carry a degree of poison, it is the same with elixirs. One should only take a Spirit Ginseng Elixir once every three days, and even then, after four or five, the effect would drastically diminish, becoming ineffective.
An idea struck Shi Hao. The Nine Revolutions Sky-Plundering Scripture could extract the Power of Heaven and Earth, even forcibly Plundering it. Could it extract the potency of elixirs, too?
If feasible, he would no longer be affected by the poison in the elixirs.
Once his Soul Force had recovered, he could give it a try.
Shi Hao rested well, as alchemy had drained a lot of his Soul Force. The next morning, his recovery wasn’t complete, and he uncharacteristically skipped his cultivation practice. Instead, he waited until near evening when his spiritual power was at its peak. Then, he took out a Spirit Ginseng Elixir and started running the Nine Revolutions Sky-Plundering Scripture.
A hum resonated as his Soul Force spread out like tentacles, enveloping the Spirit Ginseng Elixir under Shi Hao’s deliberate control, and he turned the technique.
Suddenly, a torrent of astonishing energy was extracted into his body, instantly permeating and nourishing his body and soul.
Shi Hao nearly moaned out loud. He continued turning the technique—second rotation, third rotation… By the seventh rotation, the elixir’s potency had been completely extracted, leaving behind a pile of light gray powder.
It didn’t matter, as he continued to extract the energy of Heaven and Earth, though its effect was negligible compared to the extracted elixir’s potency.
Shi Hao remained seated, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help curving upwards, clearly very happy.
The Nine Revolutions Sky-Plundering Scripture perfectly bypassed the poison, directly extracting pure energy from the elixir. Moreover, the absorption efficiency exceeded that of consuming it directly, judging by the powdered residue, not a trace was wasted.