"Let me out! You bunch of beasts! Kill, kill, kill! I'm going to slaughter you all!"

A Suppressing Talisman had been affixed, suppressing his limbs and torso. The wolf-headed, human-bodied demon howled crazily. His eyes were blood-red, veins bulging, and his gums gruesomely exposed—a terrifying sight.

He lay tied up on an iron bed.

Two people stood on either side of him.

The light from above cast their faces into deep, obscure shadows.

"Begin," the woman on the left spoke first. The man beside her nodded slightly, picking up an iron bucket from a nearby wooden rack.

The bucket's lid was opened, revealing a bright red substance, boiling continuously, constantly transitioning between liquid and gas—a bizarre material.

"What are you doing! Let me go!"

Seeing the man lift the iron bucket to pour its contents onto him, the Wolf Demon's voice trembled with alarm, instinctively trying to struggle.

But his limbs and body were firmly suppressed by the talisman.

Aside from his head, his whole body was like a stone, utterly unable to move.

As the glaringly red, bizarre material left the bucket, it instantly transformed into a very faint mist. This mist twisted and slithered through the air, quickly spreading to fill the entire room.

However, eerily enough, the red mist seemed entirely uninterested in the four people next to the Wolf Demon; instead, it gradually drew closer to the demon.

With each breath he took, the mist seeped little by little into his body.

"First stage, successful," a middle-aged man with a scholarly air meticulously recorded the process of the red mist's remarkable effects in a ledger. He noted in red ink: "No reaction observed in Human Race bodies."

"You bunch of beasts, even if I die... COUGH, COUGH... I won't let you off!"

After inhaling the red mist, the Wolf Demon suddenly began to cough. His blood-red eyes noticeably clouded, his gums shrank back, and his spirit flagged.

"It's working. This Wolf Demon is at the Initiate Realm, and it can be infected. This means the plague is effective against Demons."

Seeing symptoms of infection in the Wolf Demon, Qi Xiu and his group's expressions slightly relaxed.

At least for now, their long efforts had not been in vain.

"Next, we will just observe for a period. When this Wolf Demon's symptoms peak, we'll introduce other Demons, and then we can get an approximate idea of the contagion's actual effect."

Stepping out of the tent, Qi Xiu looked up at the glaring sunlight in the sky, squinting involuntarily.

To test the specific effects of the plague, he and Han Yun, Sun He, and Zhang Zhizhong had toiled for nearly a month and a half in this tent to finally confirm the finished product of the plague and successfully carried out the first live test on a Demon.

But fortunately, as things appeared at the moment, the plague was quite effective.

If it could be spread on a large scale, it would be an absolute disaster for the Demonic Evil Cultivators.

"Hey, I've reported that thing you mentioned last time. Elder Zhao is very interested in your idea and has already sent masters from the Nature Banner to seize the source of the evil fruits. It's just that we don't know yet if the source of the evil fruits has been brought back."

While walking, Han Yun nudged Qi Xiu's shoulder and updated him on the latest situation.

This was Elder Zhao, the leader of the Nature Banner. He was the Primordial Spirit Boss, Zhao Gengyun, who had met with the Crown Prince at the White Jade High-rise.

Hearing Qi Xiu's idea, he personally ordered the masters of the Nature Banner to seize the source of the evil fruits, showing his genuine interest in the idea.

"Really? That's great. If this can truly be accomplished, it would deal a heavy blow to those Demonic Evil Cultivators!"

Hearing that a Primordial Spirit Boss had taken notice, Qi Xiu nodded as well.

Crafting the plague had indeed been exhausting.

After all, creating medicine is different from usual cultivation. The repeated failures could lead to an uncontrollable sense of frustration and irritation.

Luckily, he possessed the Divine Marvel.

Even in failure, insights and experiences would emerge in his mind. Furthermore, he secretly used the Hunyuan All-Encompassing Luminance to boost his thinking speed.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to complete the plague in just over a month.

And as a result, the lead on this plague had shifted from Han Yun to him.

He had become the leader of this medicinal group.

"Right, have you thought about that thing I mentioned?"

Qi Xiu and Han Yun walked side by side. Sun He and Zhang Zhizhong, after exchanging glances and smiles, had slipped away early on without a trace.

"What thing?"

His mind still preoccupied with details of the plague, Qi Xiu subconsciously asked back.

"Us becoming Dao companions."

Stepping in front of Qi Xiu, Han Yun crossed her arms, her clear, bright eyes fixated on the man before her.

"A month ago, you said you'd consider it once things settled down. Now's the time, so give me an answer. I'm not bad looking, right, and I have a decent figure. More importantly, we share common interests; we're practically a match made in heaven."

Her forthright and unrestrained character left her with no hint of shyness or hesitation, boldly expressing her thoughts to Qi Xiu.

Her beautiful eyes stared intently at Qi Xiu, waiting for his response.

"You're talking about that, huh? HEH, HEH. I'm not really thinking about that right now."

Apologizing with a smile, Qi Xiu made a gesture with his hands, intending to walk away.

He had too many secrets.

He had never considered looking for a Dao companion.

Even though Han Yun had a clear background, his own energy was limited, and what he lacked most was time. Matters of love and whispering sweet nothings would have to wait.

This guy...

Watching Qi Xiu leave in a hurry, Han Yun shrugged helplessly.

She really fancied this guy.

But when it comes to matters of the heart, the last thing you want is to force it.

A melon plucked too early never tastes sweet...

...

Having returned from Grass Valley to the Shenxiao Sect's Secret Post, Qi Xiu immediately shut himself in his room. Three days went by in a flash.

In the small room, thousands of sheets of paper littered the floor, each densely written with fine print.

These pages recorded the details of his insights on plague Alchemy and some key data. It was the culmination of Qi Xiu's efforts over the past three-plus months.

To the outside world, it seemed only three days had passed.

But in reality, with the augmentation of the Hunyuan Palace, Qi Xiu had spent an entire month meticulously recording every last detail without omission.

Setting down his ink brush, Qi Xiu let out a long sigh. PHEW. With this, I can finally relax and let go. He slowly rotated his somewhat sore wrist.

The initiation of the plague research had gotten off to a good start.

Following the procedural records he had written, laying out the steps methodically would yield results.

He had been involved with this matter for nearly three months, and it was time to withdraw.

He was not a full-time alchemist.

Compared to Alchemy, there were many other things waiting for him to do. He couldn't possibly direct all his energy to this one endeavor.

In Grass Valley, there were countless alchemists more capable than him, with skills that surpassed his own.

With the notes of experience he left behind, the research on the plague wouldn't be delayed.

After all, a Primordial Spirit Boss was already paying attention to this matter.

Subsequently, many more seasoned alchemists would join in, so his departure would not have an impact.

However, these three months have indeed raised my Alchemy level by one, Qi Xiu remarked to himself, glancing at his proficiency panel.

The Divine Marvel of his Alchemy Skill had always been remarkably stable, each upgrade increasing the number of exemptions for medicinal materials.

But this time, when Alchemy reached the Fifth Realm, he keenly sensed that the next time he upgraded his Alchemy, there might be a substantial transformation.

Much like Calligraphy's Void Drawing Talisman.

However, what exact effect this transformation might yield was yet to be known.

Temporarily setting aside the practice of his Alchemy Skill, Qi Xiu flipped his hand and took out the Yellow Official Document.

Although he had dedicated the past three months to researching the plague, he had not neglected the cultivation of this technique. Now that he had achieved initial mastery, the name of this Dharma Gate could be seen on his proficiency panel.

Stroking the slightly rough cover of the Yellow Official Document, Qi Xiu waved his wide sleeve. With a SWISH, the three-meter-high Pill Furnace vanished from the room.

As Qi Xiu's thoughts moved, a grey and dimly lit space, directionless and unknowable, suddenly appeared before him, with the Pill Furnace quietly standing there.

This space is not big, just about fifty to sixty feet in diameter. 'Universe in the Sleeve' embodies the notion of holding the world within one's palm, and this 'universe'... 'Qian' is heaven, 'Kun' is earth. 'Qiankun' thus means heaven and earth. 'Universe in the Sleeve' thus implies holding heaven and earth within one's palm. Since I created this Universe in the Sleeve... does that mean I am the master of this sliver of heaven and earth?

Continuous insights and experiences, buoyed by the Divine Marvel of his proficiency, slowly broadened Qi Xiu's thinking.

If the true meaning of Universe in the Sleeve is as I suspect, then the concept behind the art of Universe in the Sleeve might be no less profound than that of the Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery. One creates its own heaven and earth; the other grasps the Ten Thousand Laws.

I am the master of this heaven and earth... What if I want it to be like this...? Qi Xiu mused.

With a single thought from Qi Xiu, the fifty-to-sixty-foot space within the Universe in the Sleeve suddenly experienced a hundredfold increase in gravity. The Pill Furnace placed within was instantly flattened into a paper-thin sheet of metal.

In that very instant, Qi Xiu felt his vision blur as his Divine Soul fell into a state of extreme emptiness.

His entire being felt ethereal, as if his Divine Soul might detach from his body and dissipate entirely.

Quickly bracing himself on the table's edge to avoid collapsing, Qi Xiu mentally drew over ten calming and mind-settling medicinal talismans. He then began to Refine and Assimilate the last portion of Fierce Ghosts into Divine Soul Force.

Only then did his paper-pale complexion improve slightly.

The direction is correct, but this Dharma Gate is too demanding to wield. A hundredfold gravity nearly drained my Divine Soul. If I were to try to recreate Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire within it, I'd probably have my soul scattered on the spot.

With a rueful smile, Qi Xiu moved to sit in a chair, feeling his depleted Divine Soul Force slowly recovering as he gently rotated the Golden Cry Jade Beads.

His Divine Soul had now become the greatest constraint on his use of many powerful techniques.

However, since he had already cultivated the Divine Soul True Spirit, expecting another major breakthrough in a short time was unrealistic.

Therefore, I need to focus on the recovery speed of my Divine Soul. If I can't increase the blue bar's maximum, I'll just increase its regeneration speed. Taking an unconventional path, finding another way, might be a solution after all.

...

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