Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 110 Ruthless Woman Who Cuts Open Her Abdomen to Obtain Medicine, Seeking Survival Amidst Death (4.4k)

Those who are born with secret writing.

It refers to the secret patterns that are naturally formed in the world, without the embellishment of immortals or alchemists.

Its appearance varies greatly, including cloud patterns, thunder patterns, fire patterns, water patterns, and many other different forms.

These secret texts are no different in use from those painstakingly researched by alchemists. In fact, they are often less refined than the secret texts of immortals, and contain a lot of repetitive and confusing meanings.

However, these kinds of secret texts, because they are naturally formed, possess a natural beauty and are not man-made.

Observing these cryptic characters can inspire alchemists to comprehend the universe and nature, and even to capture the legendary rules of the Great Dao.

Fang Shu stared intently at the pattern inside Xiao Lili's body. After confirming it several times, he was certain that he had not seen it wrong. He had indeed seen a naturally formed secret script today!
This filled him with joy.

This opportunity to observe the innate esoteric texts was undoubtedly a great boost to his study of them.

In particular, Xiao Lili's cultivation level is only at the Refining Essence Immortal level. The secret texts that can appear in the other party's body, the magic power and mysteries they carry also correspond to her cultivation level, which is only at the Refining Essence level.

This was just right for Fang Shu, a cultivator specializing in refining essence.

Because if the level of the cryptic text is too high, he will feel like he is "looking up at the ocean and sighing", and find it difficult to comprehend.

So he examined the secret inscription from various angles, and after the Daoist talisman had fully absorbed it, he immediately became immersed in comprehending it.

Gradually, Fang Shu began to understand from this secret text a sense of the mysteries of life and death, and the feeling of parasitic struggle.

The reason why this secret text appeared in Xiao Lili's body was that, under the long-term torment of illness, her body had a desire to live, and the medicinal ginseng in her body also had a desire to grow.

The two conflicted and became entangled, resulting in Xiao Lili's current ghostly appearance.

Fang Shu had an insight: "Perhaps we can improve that method of ginseng treatment based on this secret text."

This could refine the technique, make it more corrosive, or allow it to coexist more effectively with the host…

Numerous brilliant ideas suddenly popped into his mind.

He also realized that Xiao Lili's current situation was due to the presence of innate secret runes on her body.

Once it encounters someone who knows its value, they will surely consider it a rare and precious artifact, and its selling price will likely far exceed that of a medicinal ginseng.

Fang Shu pondered, his thoughts drifting, and he even thought of the buyer for a moment.

He thought to himself, "If I were to seal this woman's body in amber and make it into a specimen, it would definitely be a fine collectible. The Spirit Tree Lord of the Demon Market would surely be willing to collect it..."

However, Xiao Lili, who was in the bathtub, trembled and made some movements, which immediately woke Fang Shu from his reverie.

The woman stood motionless for a long time, and with Fang Shu's qi and blood surging back and forth, she finally couldn't bear it any longer, and her whole body started to itch and tremble.

After shivering for a moment, Xiao Lili forced herself to speak softly, "I'm sorry to bother Fellow Daoist Fang."

She suppressed her discomfort, pressed herself against the inner wall of the bathtub, tensed her body, and remained still.

Fang Shu hesitated for a moment, then looked at the restless woman in front of him and chose to withdraw the blood and energy he had transferred to her so that she could catch her breath.

The next moment, without the interference of external blood and qi, Xiao Li's body felt much less hot and tingling, allowing her to catch her breath for a moment.

After resting for a moment, the woman was about to say something, but Fang Shu calmly said:
“I have thoroughly examined the condition of the ginseng in your body. As Master said, this ginseng has taken deep root in your body and has eroded your internal organs, bone marrow, and brain.”

Once you peel this ginseng, your chances of survival are slim. Are you truly certain you need my help to remove it?

His voice was calm and he spoke very slowly, as if he was deliberately giving Xiao Lili time to think.

But when Xiao Lili heard this, a moment of hesitation flashed across her thin, pale face, before she gritted her teeth and nodded.

"I'm certain! I beg Fellow Daoist Fang for your help. Whether I live or die, it's Li Li's fate, and I'll have no complaints!"

The woman's voice was weak, but her words were resolute, without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing this, Fang Shu's gaze flickered, and he whispered:
"Yes, people help those who help themselves, so I'll help you!"

He only took one last look at the innate secret script within Xiao Lili's body before suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind.

The Daoist talisman has already recorded this secret text, which he can study later. It is not that he really intends to make Xiao Lili into a collectible.

Instead, he personally helped the other party retrieve the medicine. On the one hand, this would destroy the naturally formed secret text, and on the other hand, he would gain a deeper understanding of the object as the text was destroyed.

After all, this secret text is alive; it is the product of the conflict and entanglement between the roots of the medicinal ginseng and Xiao Lili's flesh and blood.

To personally peel away this object is akin to dissecting flesh and bones, allowing one to uncover its mysteries.

Whoohoo!
The next moment, Fang Shu gathered all his qi and blood, which swirled around the bathtub like a jar, encasing both of them inside.

Xiao Lili immediately felt an even more powerful heat surging around her, as if it were about to overwhelm her body at any moment.

Fang Shu was now mustering all his strength to help the woman extract the ginseng from her body.

Besides mobilizing all his vital energy, his mind was racing, and lines of text were flowing through the Taoist talisman.

He focused all his attention on Xiao Lili's body, single-mindedly calculating how to proceed and how to preserve the body's vitality as much as possible.

Fang Shu's actions showed that he not only tried his best, but also devoted himself wholeheartedly.

He did this because he wanted to explore the cryptic script and also to repay the reward for studying it.

In the scorching heat, Xiao Lili felt Fang Shu's seriousness.

She tensed her body, trying her best to suppress the discomfort throughout her body, and kept herself still so as not to disturb Fang Shu.

Finally, Fang Shu made his move.

Instead of using the prepared golden knife and silver scissors, he slightly opened his mouth and spat out his long tongue, sliding it across Xiao Lili's back.

A feeling of unease suddenly arose on Xiao Lili's body, leaving her in a daze.

Feeling the movement of the tongue sword, the woman felt something was amiss.

But Fang Shu didn't pay attention to her expression; he was focused on controlling the flow of Qi and blood within Xiao Lili's body.

The reason for using the tongue sword is that the tongue sword is integrated with his qi and blood, just like his limbs, and is most able to sense qi and blood.

The next moment, he wiped his mouth with his hand and removed the tongue sword.

Holding a long-tongued sword, he swiftly slashed Xiao Lili's wrists, ankles, and neck, severing multiple meridians in her body.

With a slurping sound, Xiao Lili's eyes widened.

She not only felt her limbs and whole body become weak, but also felt something like hemp rope binding her body, making her arch her back and forcing her to expose her chest and abdomen.

This is precisely why Fang Shu extended the tongue sword, binding Xiao Lili like a crab, making it easier for him to wield the knife.

However, Fang Shu still did not rush to make a move.

He first took out copper needles, explored the acupoints, and then inserted all the copper needles, which were longer than fingers, into Xiao Lili's body.

This action was to seal off her life force, so that if they were to take action later, the woman's life force would be cut off before the ginseng could be removed.

He took out a charcoal pencil and sketched on Xiao Lili's body, first outlining the steps for obtaining the medicine... During this tedious process, Xiao Lili could only move her eyes. She vaguely sensed that she was now like a piece of meat on a chopping board, being arbitrarily processed.

However, this did not instill fear in her.

Compared to the pain she had endured for years, Fang Shu's meticulous and painstaking actions made her feel his care and gave her a sense of being valued.

After all this, Fang Shu finally took out a knife and cut open Xiao Lili's skin.

However, instead of aiming directly for the opponent's abdomen, he made an incision under the opponent's armpit.

With a whoosh, Fang Shu reached his right hand into Xiao Lili's chest and abdomen, groping inside until he finally found something bouncing around.

He closed his eyes slightly, slowed his breathing, and calmed his mind to sense the rhythm of the object, carefully channeling his own energy into it.

At this moment, Xiao Lili's entire being was completely under Fang Shu's control.

Boom boom boom!
The concentrated blood and qi, as thick as lead and mercury, flowed into the woman's body, quickly making her pale skin rosy, and even her withered muscles began to become fuller.

The medicinal ginseng hidden inside her body sensed the continuous flow of qi and blood, and immediately became active, beginning to devour the qi and blood voraciously.

In this situation, Fang Shu was feeding his own blood and qi to Xiao Lili and the medicinal ginseng in her body, urging the medicinal ginseng to mature.

This activation lasted for three hours.

Over this long period of time, Xiao Lili's aura grew stronger, her breathing became more powerful, and her eyes shone with light, as if she had been reborn.

What she found even more amazing was that she felt completely cared for by Fang Shu.

This wonderful feeling captivated her, making her unable and unwilling to extricate herself, as if she had become one with Fang Shu.

This was not her imagination.

Fang Shu's qi and blood had unilaterally invaded her body, leaving indelible marks on her body and mind.

It was precisely because of this that Fang Shu's vital energy was able to revitalize her, support her physical body, and even help her to revitalize and refine her own weak vital energy.

Just as Xiao Lili was immersed in this dazed feeling, a sudden sharp pain shot through her chest and abdomen, followed by a tearing pain, as if her whole body was being ripped apart, causing her to groan inwardly.

This was not her imagination either.

Fang Shu held her heart with one hand and a knife in the other, already slicing open her chest and abdomen, revealing the nearly mature ginseng.

The bright red ginseng, resembling a delicate coral, with its fibrous roots spreading out, was displayed before the two of them.

Upon seeing this object, Fang Shu became even more cautious, but also bolder, slicing the ginseng roots that were firmly embedded in Xiao Lili's body with steady, accurate, and ruthless movements.

As he made his move, fine lines appeared on his forehead. He used the abilities of his natal insect embryo to clearly observe the flow of Qi and blood in Xiao Lili's body, as well as the changes in the roots of the medicinal ginseng.

All of this was as if Fang Shu were carving flowers on tofu, his skill was exquisite, his movements were precise and decisive.

If the master of the pavilion were present and witnessed his behavior, he would likely have sighed. Even with divine sense as an aid, what he could achieve might not be superior to Fang Shu's.

Another three or four hours passed.

A ginseng with fine, dense roots, resembling a human figure, was finally extracted from Xiao Lili's abdomen.

Only one main root remained, still embedded in Xiao Lili's heart, and had not yet been cut open.

At this point, Fang Shu had done all he could to help.

With a hiss, he released the long tongue sword, allowing Xiao Lili to move freely and nimbly leap out of the bathtub to put on her clothes.

Inside the bathtub, only the ginseng remained, floating on the blood-red medicinal liquid, keeping Xiao Lili company.

Xiao Lili was still in a state of shock and couldn't come to her senses for a long time.

Until Fang Shu spoke wearily:

"The ginseng has been retrieved for you. The journey is halfway over. The rest of the way is up to you."

He told Xiao Lili that once she was mentally prepared, she should use silver scissors to cut off the last root and then take medicine to refine it.

This step is no longer within human control; it's a choice between life and death, a true matter of life and death.

After giving his instructions, Fang Shu slowly spoke again:
"You have three hours to choose. If you change your mind, I can still help you put the ginseng back into your body. But if you wait more than three hours, your internal energy and blood will decline, and then it will be difficult..."

Before he could finish speaking, a muffled groan came from inside the bathtub.

It was Xiao Lili who, without using scissors, directly bit off the root of the ginseng, which was indistinguishable from the root of her meridians, with her teeth.

Xiao Lili stared blankly, her hands trembling as she held the ginseng, murmuring:

"This is the thing that ate my flesh and drank my blood, and harmed my father... It looks... really ugly."

Fang Shu stood aside, staring intently at the woman with a puzzled expression.

According to the owner of the ginseng shop, and based on what he learned through trial and error, the ginseng should launch a full-scale counterattack when the last root system is cut off.

Moreover, this root is embedded in Xiao Lili's heart, connected to her bone marrow and brain. Once severed, it will affect all the nerves in her body, causing pain far greater than broken bones and damaged organs.

"Could it be that my master and I have both misjudged the situation?" he wondered to himself.

But with his sharp eyes, he quickly noticed.

Xiao Lili's pupils trembled, and the blood and qi in her body were churning. Clearly, she was just putting on a brave face, but in reality, she was experiencing excruciating pain from her splitting soul.

This made Fang Shu secretly admire her: "What a ruthless woman."

The next moment, the ginseng also reacted.

With a splash, water splattered all over the bathtub.

The roots of the ginseng plant grew wildly, and it finally realized that it had broken away from its host. It began to extend its roots frantically, wanting to return to its host.

In a flurry, he grabbed Xiao Lili's arm and pounced on her face, clinging to her tightly like an insect.

Faced with such a strange change, Xiao Lili showed no fear. Instead, she opened her mouth and took the opportunity to grab the ginseng and stuff it into her mouth.

A series of wriggling and chewing sounds suddenly echoed in the bathtub.

A scene even more horrifying than retrieving the medicine appeared before Fang Shu's eyes, making his face turn pale.

Inside the blood bucket, on one side, a fleshy ginseng, clinging to life like a worm, is frantically burrowing into human bodies, greedily extracting flesh and blood; on the other side, a woman, emaciated as a ghost, is opening her mouth wide, gnawing on the fleshy ginseng.

The two devoured each other.

"Cuckoo..."

Even with her flesh torn open and her eye sockets drilled raw, Xiao Lili continued to laugh, making strange noises.

Half an hour later, the woman, her flesh mangled and bloody, finally collapsed in the bathtub. Many roots were still wriggling on her body, making her resemble both a human and a ginseng root.

At the same time, a different kind of vitality also sprouted and rose in the bathtub!
As the steam rose, spiritual energy even surged from the barrel, forming an even more intricate and complex pattern, which astonished Fang Shu.

(End of this chapter)