45. My mind was wavering.
The next morning, Tang Xi was awakened by a damp, fishy smell, and when she opened her eyes, the room was filled with bright blue light.
Starfish, crabs, jellyfish, and other little creatures crawled around in mid-air, entering her field of vision with their leisurely postures, giving Tang Xihe a dreamlike illusion. With a "smack," a glass jellyfish bumped into Tang Xihe's cheek.
Tangxi was jolted awake by the cold and became fully conscious. The little jellyfish realized that the human had woken up and panicked, "swam" away and squeezed towards the ceiling. In a few breaths, the monsters that were floating and swaying in mid-air were disrupted and began to accelerate and crash around in a chaotic manner.
Tang Xi left the guest room, yawning as she went downstairs, and found that Jiu Tou Zhang was already busy in the open kitchen.
Four tentacles wielded spatulas on stoves heated to different temperatures, occasionally tossing the ladle, and even pounding juice from a spirit fruit picked from who-knows-where. Seemingly busy, each tentacle operated in perfect order, wiping the stove after each toss of the ladle. Amidst this busyness, the Nine-Headed Octopus didn't forget to give itself a nice face mask, gently patting the dark, sticky mud-like substance on its surface with two tentacles.
Tangxi looked down at her hands in a daze, unconsciously thinking of Gui Fang Wu Di's poisonous silk.
From a certain perspective, Gui Fang's ethereal, condensed energy is somewhat similar to the tentacles of the Nine-Headed Chapter. However, before leaving the Golden Labyrinth, Gui Fang absorbed a large amount of gold elements from the Labyrinth Mountain to enhance its extension capabilities.
I wonder if the tentacles of the Nine-Headed Octopus can extend indefinitely?
Nine-Headed Octopus, wearing a mud mask and carrying four sets of plates, emerged from the kitchen. Suddenly, he noticed a figure silently appearing in the lobby, standing there without saying a word, staring blankly at him as if in a daze. Nine-Headed Octopus was so startled that he almost dropped the plates.
Upon closer inspection, the man was the one whom Lord Xuanwu had specifically instructed.
Nine-Headed Octopus felt a chill run down its spine. Enraged, it raised the price on the spot, stretching out one of its tentacles and shoving a plate in front of Tang Xi's face: "Why do you walk so quietly? You scared me to death! I'll charge you fifty immortal coins!"
The sea anemones on the plate stretched out their heads and opened their mouths, their wrinkled chrysanthemum-like faces pointing at Tangxi as a threat.
Tangxi and Mengdong snapped out of their daze, said "Oh," and subconsciously reached for the storage ring on their thumbs.
The unfamiliar feel left Tangxi and Weiwei in a daze.
The storage ring that Lang Yuehua once gave her, bearing the emblem of the Moon Wolf Clan, had long since shattered and disappeared. The storage ring she held now was a gift from Jin Chan Lao, filled with gold beans.
Tangxi took out a handful of small golden beans, and the sea anemones smiled broadly, eagerly opening their mouths to swallow the small golden beans.
The nine-headed octopus cautiously took a half step back, its tentacles pressing the sea anemone into the plate. With a few plop sounds, several golden beans that it had just swallowed were sprayed out, and the seafood on the plate almost spilled out.
"There's more than fifty cents here. What are you trying to do? Try to bribe me? Never mind, I won't take your money. We agreed it would be free. Take it back."
"I want to ask you something, here's a tip."
Tang Xi took the plate and fed the little golden beans one by one to the anemone monster in the corner of the plate. "Do you have any friends who are good at medicine?"
Nine-Headed Octopus snatched the plates away and placed them on the coral table. He paused for half a second upon hearing this, then gave a short laugh.
What kind of question is this? It's like asking a doctor, "Do you know medicine?"
Nine-Headed Chapter immediately understood what the other party was thinking, "You want to help the sugarcane man?"
The tentacles reached into the kitchen, picked up a conch-shaped cup, and handed it to Tang Xihe.
"drink."
The conch shell cup was filled with a dark, sticky liquid.
Tangxi glanced at the Nine-Headed Chapter with suspicion.
"It's not a face mask! It's a beauty serum!"
Nine-Headed Chapter spoke sharply, his expression obscured by his face covered in black mud, "You must drink this every day! It's for concealing your presence!"
"Zhaoxinshui? This name doesn't sound like a medicine that conceals its aura."
Tang Xi took the conch cup, brought it close to her nose and sniffed it. Although the color was strange, it had no smell. For a moment, she couldn't tell the difference between the mud on the Nine-Headed Octopus's face and the suspicious substance in the cup.
Nine-Headed Zhang stared at Tang Xihe, giving off an air of "we have nothing to talk about if you don't drink": "Drink."
Tangxi and Wufa raised their cups, tilted their heads back, and drank them all in one gulp.
She thought it would just be a strange-tasting liquid, but the moment she swallowed it, Tang Xi almost screamed in pain. She nearly dropped the conch cup in her hand and hurriedly grabbed her throat with her other hand.
Even though he could smell nothing, the moment he swallowed it felt as if a thousand knives and needles were piercing his throat and stomach, causing him excruciating pain. Through the darkness before his eyes, Tang Xi felt as if he could glimpse his past life. However, this overwhelming and terrifying pain only lasted for a moment, and once he swallowed the juice, the pain disappeared.
Tang Xi, still shaken, held the conch cup with suspicion and gently sniffed it.
The thick, black liquid had no smell. After swallowing it, a lingering aftertaste remained in the mouth, with a faint, tingling fishy and alcoholic smell that sent chills down one's spine.
Nine-Headed Chapter took in Tang Xi's pained and contorted face.
Tang Xi looked distressed. "What is this?"
"It's what I like."
Nine-Headed Octopus feigned surprise and said, "I didn't give you the wrong one, did I? Did you look at what was in the cup when you were drinking it just now?"
You're kidding me!
Tang Xi sulked, "This cup is full of dark, sticky stuff! Drinking it feels like knives cutting my throat!"
Nine-Headed Chapter seemed to be deep in thought.
Of all the demons, ghosts, monsters, and humans who have drunk the Heart-Revealing Water, almost none have ever tasted the "dark and sticky" Heart-Revealing Water.
It seems Lord Xuanwu was right; this kid is dangerous.
"...Hey, that's right, it's the one I like, hahaha, hahahaha!"
The nine-headed octopus rubbed its tentacles. "You scared me to death! I thought I gave you the wrong cup. This is incredibly nutritious! As for the recipe, it's best you don't know. You humans don't seem to like things like nail polish snakes, dragon bone oysters, or bedbugs."
Tang Xi touched her throat, "I almost thought you put a knife in the water bottle! It hurts..."
Nine-Headed Chapter felt a chill run down his spine, not expecting the kid to react so strongly to the compliment.
He casually changed the subject, "You'll be fine after drinking it, let's continue tomorrow! Crack... What were you about to ask?"
Tang Xihe: "Can Gui Fang's poison be cured? We all thought he was cursed by karma and had to cultivate strange energy. If it can be cured, Jiu Tou Zhang, do you have any friends you can recommend?"
If the Ghost Fang is truly cursed by karma, the Heart-Cleansing Flute is a good way to dispel negative karma.
But if it's poisoning, that's a completely different matter. The Qingxin Flute can only provide temporary relief. Tangxi and Sihe thought about it again and again and felt that the fact that Guifang Wudi in the original work fell into a state of madness where he couldn't distinguish friend from foe in the later stages was related to the strange energy he cultivated. If they went deeper, it was related to the corrosive poison he was born with.
Instead of using the calming flute to suppress the symptoms, it's better to treat the root cause.
"Karmic curse?"
Nine-Headed Octopus's eyes narrowed, and the dark mask on its face fell off, indicating its dissatisfaction with the wording.
"Is that how you humans spread the word? Tsk tsk, Gui Fangfu encountered seven ungrateful wretches and then put a nasty label on him... That's why I hate cunning humans."
Nine-Headed Zhang picked up the conch cup, drank the thick liquid in one gulp, and smacked his lips.
"I am the doctor of Wandering Mountain."
Tang Xi and Wei Wei raised their eyebrows, seemingly not very surprised, and silently put down the conch cup.
"What a coincidence? You're a healer, and you seem to really want his poison. Well... since you can absorb his poison, maybe he has a chance to be cured?"
"Cure? Naïve."
Nine-Headed Zhang wiped the black mud off its face, slowly turned around, and looked down at Tang Xihe. When its nearly one-meter-tall head came close, there was a strong sense of oppression.
What's your name?
"Tangxi and".
"Alright, Immortal Tang."
The nine-headed octopus nodded, its tentacles beckoning to the amethyst shell, gesturing for Tang Xi and her companion to sit down. "Why don't you go back and seek help from human medical cultivators? Your magic academy certainly doesn't lack medical cultivators."
"We can't go back right now."
Tang Xihe carefully sat on the amethyst shell. The cushion was incredibly soft. Tang Xihe sighed, "Our situation is a bit troublesome. We could be attacked by evil spirits anywhere we go."
Moreover, he hadn't yet received the title of "disintegration of the army."
Nine-Headed Octopus seemed to be making a connection to something: "Sigh! I knew it! You humans have such short lifespans! The sea of knowledge is boundless! You die not long after you've finished learning! You're so useless!"
"..."
Tang Xi didn't know how to respond, so she forced a smile, thinking to herself that if humans could live for a thousand years, the Three Realms would have been doomed long ago.
Nine-Headed Chapter gazed into the distance, lost in memories.
“I am a disciple of Cao Muhui. It was my master who diagnosed Gui Fangfu back then, and I was right there beside him… Alas, if we have to make a comparison, the traces of poison in Gui Fangfu’s spiritual veins back then could still be discerned.”
"But that young friend Gui Fang's spiritual veins are so black that they're practically invisible! This is even more difficult to deal with than back then!"
"plant ash?"
Another character that goes beyond the original work.
Now, everything that has happened can no longer be based on any plot from the original story. Tangxi humbly asked, "I don't know him, we haven't taught him. So you can cure him?"
Nine-Headed Zhang's eyes widened instantly, his voice changing tone, "Please! Grass and Tree Radiance! The most powerful physician of the Phoenix and Lin Era! Never heard of him?"
"I've never heard of it."
Tangxi shook her head honestly and said earnestly, "But you have a way to deal with him, don't you?"
Nine-Headed Chapter remained silent for a while.
"Unless you destroy your spiritual veins and cleanse your marrow to refine your body, the pain will be no less than repeatedly drinking bone-dissolving water while you are conscious."
"Your situation is fraught with danger, would he really be willing to waste all his martial arts skills?"
Destroying one's cultivation is equivalent to starting all over again, and Tang Xi fell silent.
Moreover, although Gui Fang seemed indifferent, he was actually more concerned about the "karmic curse" than anyone else, as the one in charge of the central mission. Not to mention Gui Fang Wu Di, no cultivator would easily abandon their cultivation.
Everyone went through great hardships to be selected from the human world. They finally managed to squeeze into the secret realm. If they destroy their spiritual veins, wouldn't that be the same as going back to being ordinary people?
Tangxi asked hopefully, "Isn't there any other way?"
Nine-Headed Zhang shook his head, then glanced at him with a playful smirk, "Or, would you be willing to give him your inner core?"
Tang Xi thought for a moment and nodded, "If his poison can be eradicated, I'll cooperate however you want."
Nine-Headed Chapter was surprised and stared at Tang Xihe for a long time. What was this kid's background? His soul was so turbid, yet he was willing to go to great lengths for someone he had no connection with.
"Just kidding, who wants your inner core... If that kid Guifang is willing to cooperate, I'm 20% confident."
Tang Xi was immediately disappointed, "So low?"
"Low? You're kidding!"
Nine-Headed Chapter was displeased upon hearing this. "Immortal Master Xiaotang, in the Three Realms, not to mention other medical cultivators, I, Nine-Headed Chapter, once examined Gui Fangfu's pulse. Even my master, Cao Muhui, couldn't distinguish the poison. It was I who examined Gui Fangfu! Uh... although, although I used a minor supernatural power at the time... but! Only I know which dozens of poisons Gui Fangfu was afflicted with. I am one of the medical cultivators who knows corrosive poisons best! A 20% probability is already very high!"
Tangxi touched the tip of her nose awkwardly.
"Okay, okay. I don't know anything about medicine, sorry for the offense."
In short, we now know that Gui Fang Wu Di has a 20% chance of removing the poison from his body; it all depends on whether he is willing to do so.
But there is still one thing that hasn't been done.
Tang Xihe then asked, "I have another question for you: who is the current ruler of the Tiger Clan?"
Nine-Headed Zhang asked in surprise, "The Tiger Clan? They were all wiped out long ago. The last Lord was named Jian Tan, and he's dead too."
"..."
Annihilated?
Tangxi and Meng were sitting in their seats.
How could that be?
If the entire Tiger Clan is wiped out, what will happen to the 'Giant Sword'?
It takes a different turn from the original story.
Tang Xi suddenly felt a strong sense of loss of control, and for several seconds, her mind was unable to react.
What do we do now?
Things are getting more and more chaotic. Maybe...maybe that while I'm desperately trying to avoid the end of the world, I'm inadvertently pushing for its destruction?
Tangxi was sweating profusely and couldn't sit still.
How could this be? No, no, it must be me worrying unnecessarily...
When Jiu Tou Zhang suddenly didn't hear a reply, he glanced down at Tang Xihe and noticed that Tang Xihe's expression was uncertain, as if she had thought of something extremely terrifying.
Nine-Headed Octopus froze. "What's with that expression? Shock? Lingering fear?"
Having not studied human expressions in a long time, Nine-Headed Octopus lowered its head, leaned closer to Tang Xihe, and asked curiously, "Are you surprised? Or afraid?"
"...A little bit of both, I guess."
Tang Xi leaned back slightly, pushing aside the enormous head in front of her, somewhat resistant to being looked at up close.
Fear is definitely present.
If Tangxi accidentally pushes the world to its doom, she will die of guilt for the trouble she caused.
The original story and reality have taken completely different paths. Even if Beichen obtains the "Giant Sword" and Guifang cures the Corrosive Poison, it's hard to guarantee that the real-life "Cultivation and Destruction" will reach its final world-destroying ending in other ways.
Tang Xi closed her eyes, not daring to think about it further.
The amethyst shell wrapped around his back, giving Tang Xi a slight sense of security. He cleared his throat before finding his voice, "When did this happen? Who did it?"
"Who else could it be? Those black-robed immortals who dare not show their faces!"
As Jiu Tou Zhang moved toward the treasure vat, he secretly observed Tang Xihe's expression.
"Just about half a year ago, right? A tiger demon who had already taken human form was dissatisfied with the Nadan service... You know about the Nadan service, right? Hey, you humans don't have to pay taxes or serve in the military, so I'm not going to bother explaining it to you."
"In short, that guy defied the immortals, so they disemboweled the poor tiger clan members one by one, looted their demon cores, and threw their heads everywhere. It was a horrific sight!"
Tang Xi stood up. "What about the empty hotel?"
"You actually know about the Hollow Hotel?"
Nine-Headed Zhang was overjoyed, but his face suddenly turned cold, and he abruptly approached, "Wait, how do you know about the Hollow Hotel? Who exactly are you? You seem to know a lot of things?"
The Hollow Inn was destroyed in a cataclysmic self-destruction six hundred years ago, along with all the vengeful spirits of the mountains within it.
Tang Xi shook her head absentmindedly, looking distracted and preoccupied.
You wouldn't believe me even if I told you.
With the Hollow Inn gone, it's highly unlikely we'll be able to get the Tranquil Flute.
There was no hope for the future. Tang Xi took a deep breath and rubbed her face vigorously.
Seeing him so distraught, Nine-Headed Octopus couldn't help but remind him, "Hey, have you ever seen your own soul?"
Tangxi shook her head.
“Turbid, viscous, like a broken stem of duckweed, leaving no trace, vague and directionless,” said Nine-Headed Chapter. “I shouldn’t have warned you, but if this continues, you will become possessed.”
Tang Xi shook her head, seemingly denying something. Her throat was dry, and a thousand words were stuck in her throat. She wanted to say something, but her mind was blank.
What do we do now?
Without the guidance of the original work... no, no.
Everything that is happening now has completely deviated from the original story.
"Can we go for a walk?" Tang Xi asked.
"Okay, go ahead, I'm not talking to you anymore, I need to clean the guest rooms."
Nine-Headed Octopus sighed, rummaged through various cleaning tools, put on an apron and sleeves, and crawled upstairs. Not forgetting to wave his tentacles at Tang Xi and warn her, "Don't go too far. There's an array on Wandering Mountain to conceal your presence, and the array's core is right below the inn. But you're human. If you go too far from the inn, the array will fail, and I can't guarantee your safety if something happens."
Not hearing a sound, Jiu Tou Zhang secretly turned around and found that Tang Xi and others had already gone far away.
"...Hmph! You rude brat!"
Nine-Headed Zhang secretly made a face at Tang Xihe's back, climbed the wave ladder, and bumped into a pale, upside-down face around a corner.
Gui Fang Wu Di was also startled. He rolled onto the ground, tidying his hair as he said with a grin, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I did it on purpose."
"A ghost!"
The Nine-Headed Octopus screamed and hurled everything it could grab at Gui Fang Wu Di, frantically waving its tentacles and punching the air with its eyes tightly closed.
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