I Have Medicine

Chapter 612 - (Pills Paving the Way) Ancient Cultivation Site

After a brief moment of dizziness, Gu Zuo’s feet landed firmly on solid ground. With his powerful strength, he immediately regained his composure and looked up to take in the scene before him.

Directly ahead lay a narrow, deep, and eerie canyon.

How narrow was it? It could only accommodate a few people walking abreast. And how deep and eerie? Looking into it was like staring into pitch-black darkness where the end was nowhere in sight.

Given the eyesight of the five of them, the fact that they couldn’t see the end only meant one thing—there was definitely something wrong with this canyon.

Gu Zuo couldn’t help but turn to Lei Pengfei and the others. “Senior brothers and sister, is this the place?”

Lei Pengfei looked ahead, his expression complicated and tinged with a lingering fear. “This is the place, no doubt about it.”

Because Lei Pengfei and his group had been here before, they had already explained the details to Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng during their earlier discussions. Gu Zuo knew the entrance was a canyon and that it contained something strange, but hearing about it was nothing compared to seeing it with his own eyes. After witnessing it, he realized just how bizarre it truly was; it was no wonder Lei Pengfei’s group had been defeated and forced to return the first time.

The group then began to walk inside.

As soon as Gu Zuo stepped in, he felt something very soft beneath his feet. It felt like a pile of rotting grass, yet also like some sort of quivering flesh… It made his scalp tingle. He almost immediately curled his fingers, producing pinches of emerald-green powder, and blew them out in one breath, letting them scatter wildly into the air.

According to Lei Pengfei and the others, there is a trial the moment you enter the canyon. If you fail, you will be swallowed whole.

Last time, the group had attacked a single point simultaneously to break the shackles of the illusion and avoid being eaten by the “gatekeeper” monster. This time, Gu Zuo asserted his presence—he crushed a lethal poison pill into powder and made his move!

After the emerald-green powder drifted out, a shrill, agonizing scream suddenly erupted within the canyon. Amidst this scream, streams of black fluid gushed out, converging into a small river that threatened to submerge everyone’s feet.

The group reacted swiftly. The moment the fluid flowed toward them, they leaped into the air to dodge it. Wherever the fluid passed, the earth began to rot; its toxicity was truly extreme.

Fortunately, at that moment, the pitch-black canyon ahead seemed as if a curtain had been lifted. The canyon was still a canyon and remained very narrow, but it was no longer a bottomless pit of darkness.

In the canyon, there stood a peculiar, jet-black flower. It grew only about a foot high—quite short compared to most plants—but its roots ran incredibly deep. On the floor and the surrounding rock walls of the canyon, beard-like patterns had vaguely appeared, dense and fine; tracing their paths, they all connected back to the base of the peculiar flower. It had no leaves; upon its bare stem grew a bud the size of a bowl’s mouth, emitting wisps of a strange fragrance. It seemed that as this fragrance spread, it would trigger bizarre illusions, causing anyone who inhaled it to become dazed and unable to extricate themselves.

Now, this peculiar flower was covered in emerald-green powder. Wherever the powder touched, drops of jet-black fluid oozed out. The black “stream” from before had likely been formed by the accumulation of this fluid. From the center of the bowl-sized bud, even more viscous black droplets were being spat out. They looked like thick blood, making one immediately feel that the flower was severely injured.

The entire flower now appeared quite wretched.

It was meant to be a powerful, illusion-weaving entity with great offensive capabilities, but now it looked like a bullied, frail girl—bruised and battered, truly a pitiable sight.

Seeing the flower, Gu Zuo blurted out, “Qian Shen Flower!”

Duan Yunbeng asked curiously, “Junior Brother Gu recognizes it?”

Gu Zuo nodded. “After hearing your descriptions earlier, I had a suspicion, so I refined the poison pill I used just now specifically to counter the Qian Shen Flower. Seeing it now, my guess was indeed correct.”

It turned out that when Lei Pengfei first explained that after breaking the illusion, they saw a plain black flower amidst many weeds and a normal-looking canyon, Gu Zuo already had some ideas. Lei Pengfei and the others had assumed the illusions here were set up through restrictions or runes—since their tests showed the black flower was just an ordinary plant—but Gu Zuo immediately thought of several “black flowers” and finally confirmed its true identity by asking about small details.

Since he had guessed the identity, it was in Gu Zuo’s nature to prepare the corresponding medicine. Lo and behold, upon encountering it, Gu Zuo’s theory was proven right. The moment they hit the illusion, the poison pill powder exploded forth, smoothly and easily solving the problem of the Qian Shen Flower.

Since they had agreed beforehand, Gu Zuo quickly applied a layer of paste to his hands. He then stepped forward and gently stroked the Qian Shen Flower—from the bud to the stem and the roots visible above ground. Under Gu Zuo’s touch, the flower’s slight struggle vanished. Then, with a bit of force, Gu Zuo yanked it upward!

In an instant, the entire Qian Shen Flower was pulled up. As it left the earth, many fine, dense roots gathered together like countless strands of hair, all falling into Gu Zuo’s hand.

Gu Zuo’s psyche power swept over the roots once, and he smiled with satisfaction.

A Qian Shen Flower grows one rootlet every year. This specimen had hundreds of thousands of rootlets, showing that its lifespan was several hundred thousand years old. This ancient cultivation site… was at least several hundred thousand years old.

In a place like this, deeper inside, many things might have vanished with the passage of time, but there would also be many ancient items well worth collecting.

Next, Gu Zuo shared his analysis with Lei Pengfei’s group. He added, “In ancient times, the Qian Shen Flower was something that only those with sufficiently strong will could find a way to break through. It is difficult to capture and serves perfectly as a gatekeeper. But many years later, a poison pill was developed to counter it. I used that just now to capture it.”

This peculiar flower was actually considered a relatively docile plant in the ancient era; it only guarded the gate and rarely went out of its way to harm people.

Lei Pengfei and the others had never heard of the Qian Shen Flower. Listening to Gu Zuo’s explanation, they felt they had gained much knowledge. They all said, “So that’s how it is. This time, we truly owe it to Junior Brother Gu.”

Gu Zuo said, “I have collected it, so let us continue forward.”

No one had any objections. With a thought, Gu Zuo sent the captured Qian Shen Flower directly into his storage “black hole.”

Immediately, the group strode forward toward the depths of the canyon. After a few steps, Gu Zuo remembered something and tossed a bottle to each person. “Detoxification pills that can neutralize most poisons. Ten per bottle. If you need them, take one immediately to prevent being harmed by sudden situations you can’t dodge.”

The group naturally had immense faith in Gu Zuo’s pharmacy. Upon receiving the pills, they immediately took one. They felt a cool stream flow down their throats; not only were their internal organs and every inch of their meridians wrapped in a clear aura, but a thin layer of cool energy also seemed to drape over their bodies, isolating all harmful substances from the outside.

‘Could this be the effect of a flawless, profound-level detoxification pill?’

Lei Pengfei and the others gained even more confidence in this trip.

In the next moment, they hesitated no longer and stepped into the canyon. Worried about sudden changes, Lei Pengfei’s group walked side-by-side despite having been here before. Fortunately, the canyon could accommodate five people abreast at most, so they could just barely enter in a line without encountering any special issues.

Gu Zuo was naturally in the center, with Gongyi Tianheng on his left and Duan Yunbeng on his right. The more powerful Lei Pengfei and Feng Xueqin guarded the outer flanks, all being extremely cautious.

Before long, they reached the end of the several-dozen-yard canyon. Gu Zuo felt as if he had entered another world; a blast of incredibly scorching fire energy rushed at him, carrying dense fire poison like a whirlwind of reddish-black air, surrounding everyone!

Lei Pengfei shouted urgently, “Careful!”

Indeed, a crisis met them here immediately. Last time, they had to exert every ounce of strength and use their trump card techniques to make it through.

However, in the next moment, Lei Pengfei realized he had overthought it. Although the reddish-black whirlwind had coiled around them, it was blocked and even neutralized by the cool stream on his body the moment it drew near. He could feel the cool stream being constantly consumed as it neutralized the fire poison, but the poison only surged for a moment. Being able to withstand that instant allowed him to pull away without having to expend his own internal energy or trump card methods to resist!

Similarly, the others rushed out from the whirlwind. They had consumed the medicinal power of the detoxification pills, but other than having their hair messed up by the wind, they truly didn’t encounter any greater danger.

Everyone… was completely unharmed.

Duan Yunbeng couldn’t help but praise, “We didn’t expend a single bit of strength this time. It truly is thanks to Junior Brother Gu.”

Gu Zuo naturally replied, “You flatter me.”

The group continued walking. They were now in a vast area of reddish earth, almost entirely covered in fine red dust. It was extremely dry and scorching. Every step felt like being surrounded by raging flames; one had to use their internal energy for defense.

Gu Zuo flicked his hand and tossed a few more bottles to the group. “Swallow these quickly.”

The group didn’t hesitate and immediately took an ice-blue pill. In that instant, a wave of cold energy enveloped them inside and out. That flame-like heat was actually blocked out, and they no longer had to expend a single bit of their internal energy!