Chapter 38 – Drunken Concoction
Xu Liao memorized the entire map into his brain.
He then proceeded to read the quest scroll in detail. The chain quest contained a simple guide: In order to control the Ghost Vine, a Drunken Concoction must be present.
A demonic item such as the Ghost Vine is best in devouring Yin Qi and souls. Existing within a world that doesn’t exist between the Yin and the Yang, any normal human seduced by this demonic item will have their essence all sucked away and the soul will fall into the fissure between the Yin and Yang, never to return. To resist the illusion from the Ghost Vine, there are only two methods: the first method is to overwhelm the Ghost Vine with pure mental strength; the second method is to reduce the Ghost Vine’s demonic powers by pouring the Drunken Concoction on it. This will make the Ghost Vine fall into a deep sleep which will allow you the chance to control it.
The Drunken Concoction isn’t considered hard to produce, but to collect the materials and mixing them together will still require at least one day and one night.
“Making a Drunken Concoction will take at least two days. The collection of materials will take one day, and the soaking of liquor will take another. If.. I don’t use this Drunken Concoction, would I be able to handle the Ghost Vine?” Xu Liao silently pondered to himself.
After weighing the possibilities and risks, he decided to follow the guide. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the risk, but rather he felt that it wasn’t necessary since he had a guide. Although taking two days will delay rescuing his mother, but it can still be accepted. However, if something were to happen to Xu Liao when handling the Ghost Vine if he didn’t use the guide, not will only he be dead, but his mother will lose all hope of survival as well.
“To make this Drunken Concoction, most of the materials can be found within the Emperor Court, but there isn’t any liquor here. So I still have to make a trip out to purchase… Guess I will just collect all the materials today.”
Xu Liao wasted no time and hastily followed the guide on the scroll. These materials were mainly located in dangerous areas. There were demonic beasts roaming nearby and even dimensional cracks. Fortunately, Xu Liao’s dark energy has unique attributes, thus, he was somewhat protected from the dimensional cracks. If it were to be another human cultivator or demon, even if they were stronger than him by ten over times, they would have most likely perished in this quest.
Sun Bo Fang laid on a chair in the bamboo house, listening to music and drinking coffee while reading a book. On the exterior, he seemed as if he was peaceful and tranquil, but inside, his heart was in turmoil.
Xu Liao had already entered the Void world for more than ten hours, so his mood wasn’t as calm as his expression.
He needed the Ghost Vine to successfully cultivate the secret skill of the Longevity Sect “Yin Yang Illusion”.
Sun Bo Fang picked up his mobile phone on the table and checked the time. He then raised his hand and made some gestures. Not long after, the black hole formed once again and a few demonic beasts rushed out.
He just sighed in disappointment as he casually swung out a piece of “dark cloud” that instantly devoured the demonic beast. Just when he wanted to close the black hole, he detected a familiar demonic Qi ripple which made his eyebrow twitch in relief.
A dark beam emerged from within the hole and landed on the ground. The beam transformed into a fat young man.
Sun Bo Fang stared at Xu Liao who was empty handed. He sighed again but couldn’t help but ask him:
“So did you find the Ghost Vine?”
Xu Liao coldly replied: “Do you think it is that easy?”
Sun Bo Fang then shrugged his shoulders.
“Let’s continue searching tomorrow then.”
Xu Liao ignored him and walked towards the bamboo door.
As Xu Liao exited the bamboo house, Sun Bo Fang glanced at this young man’s back view and laughed.
“This little brat… is growing up so fast. Who knows? Maybe after a few years I may not even be able to hold him down.”
After leaving the bamboo house, Xu Liao did not go back home. Instead, he visited Zhao Yan Qin’s home to purchase a few buns and asked her parents for Zhao Yan Qin. Zhao Yan Qin’s parents just laughed as if they didn’t have an ounce of worry that their daughter might fall in love at this age.
“If you two have fun later, you don’t have to be back so early!” Zhao Yan Qin’s father laughed.
Zhao Yan Qin smiled naughtily and followed Xu Liao out of Huai Demon Street. They came to stop when they spotted an empty eatery and settled down.
Xu Liao immediately got to the point and asked: “Do you know how to cure this Golden Bug’s venom?”
In return, Zhao Yan Qin’s face changed and sighed.
“Once a vicious demonic bug such as the Golden Bug injects its venom into a human body, unless it’s a demon king demon, it is impossible for us.”
“Isn’t Grandma Huai considered a demon king as well? If she’s not, we can seek help from Commander Xu Fu? Surely he is a demon king or above.” Xu Liao frantically tried to come up with possible solutions.
However, Zhao Yan Qin just shook her head and smiled bitterly: “Grandma Huai is indeed a demon king demon… and so is Commander Xu Fu. But you aren’t even close to them so how do you expect them to help you? Furthermore, even if Commander Xu Fu wants to help you, it’s futile. The Million Demon Clan and Eighteen Xian Faction have an agreement not to intervene with problems regarding humans.”
Xu Liao frowned.
“Sun Bo Fang forced me to explore the Void World, and even used my mother’s life to threaten me. Surely the Million Demon Clan would care?”
Zhao Yan Qin sighed again.
“About the threat… you can report to the Million Demon Clan about Sun Bo Fang forcing you to do dangerous things… The Million Demon Clan may protect you to a certain extent but they can’t do the same for the mother.”
It was at this moment when Xu Liao realized that why Sun Bo Fang had no fear and didn’t bother to hide his own traces. He had exploited a loophole in the contract between the Million Demon Clan and the Eighteen Xian Faction.
Xu Liao’s expression dimmed. He felt disappointed in the Million Demon Clan. Zhao Yan Qin seemed to have realized this and tried to console him.
“You don’t have to worry too much.. Sun Bo Fang may have threatened you, but once you retrieve the Ghost Vine, he wouldn’t harm your mother. I had talked to Grandma Huai about this issue and she reported this matter to the Demon Affairs Headquarters. “
Xu Liao laughed bitterly. He wasn’t a bit interested in such administrative measures. Who knows how long will the war of words would take? What he needed now wasn’t an official exchange of words between the a.s.sociations, but rather, a hero that serves justice.
Zhao Yan Qin could tell that her consoling wasn’t effective. Both of them sat down silently for a while. After some time, Xu Liao decided that it’s time to buy the liquor and he parted with the demon maiden.
Zhao Yan Qin just watched him disappear into the night helplessly. She then shook her head and reminded herself: “Grandma Huai had already promised to attack at a crucial moment. It is just that she had some considerations to make which is why she wanted me to promise that I wouldn’t speak a word of this.”
Making his way into a nearby supermarket, Xu Liao bought a carton of high alcoholic content common liquor together with a steel pot. After exiting the supermarket, he whipped out the Portal Door and slot in a credit. The portal once again emerged and Xu Liao re-entered the Emperor Court to begin the Drunken Concoction.
Carefully, he a.s.sembled his ingredients neatly in front of him before slowly mixing them in the steel pot. Following the guide, he added all the liquor into the pot next and stirred carefully. After twenty minutes, he put out the fire and waited for the concoction to cool down. Once cooled, he tilted the pot slowly and poured the turbid Drunken Concoction into a few bottles before burying them into the ground.
According to the guide, tomorrow at this timing, the concoction would be ready for use. Even a powerful being such as the Ghost Vine would get drunk from this concoction. Xu Liao was extra careful when handling the concoction, one spill of this mixture and he probably wouldn’t wake up in a few days.
Once he buried the Drunken Concoction successfully, Xu Liao whipped the Portal Door and paid another credit as he left the Emperor Court. Now all he has to do is be patient and wait….