The First Immortal of Destiny

"Master...my butt hurts."

The Spirit Storage Rat rolled over, its long claws covering its bum, looking pitifully at Shen Mo.

Possessing the "Savage Demon Body," the wound pierced by the Dragon Sparrow Sword had already healed without a trace in such a short time.

"This is the only time. You won't need to provide blood to enter or exit anymore."

"If you keep dawdling and find it uncomfortable later, don't blame me."

Shen Mo found this somewhat amusing.

He could, of course, with a single thought, place the Spirit Storage Rat into the Spirit Pet Bag.

But this little fellow was clearly apprehensive about the Spirit Pet Bag, likely a lingering trauma from being stuffed into the Universe Bag.

It was better to let it enter the Spirit Pet Bag willingly.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

The Spirit Storage Rat circled the Spirit Pet Bag twice before reluctantly burrowing inside.

Soon enough, it was completely won over!

Emerging from the Spirit Pet Bag, it began to drag its nest, made of spiritual grass stems and leaves, into the bag.

It looked as if it planned to make the Spirit Pet Bag its permanent residence.

Although it was a Class II demonic beast, the Spirit Storage Rat was still fundamentally a "rodent" and preferred enclosed, secure dens.

Through the Spirit Pet Contract, Shen Mo discerned the little fellow's thoughts. So, he roasted a good deal more Python Dragon meat and placed it in the Spirit Pet Bag as its daily rations.

He didn't need to arrange anything else; for now, he hadn't sealed the Spirit Pet Bag with his Divine Sense.

The Spirit Storage Rat could enter and exit freely, and it would arrange the Spirit Pet Bag much like a cultivator would set up their cave mansion.

In the future, when they went out, he could allow the little fellow to enter but not exit.

This would prevent it from suddenly rushing out and causing trouble for him, its master, at a critical moment due to a lack of communication!

After resolving the issue of how to carry the Spirit Storage Rat, Shen Mo planned to cultivate for a few more days. Then, he would take it to Jiyun Town at the foot of the mountain to test the extent of its Innate Divine Ability's enhancement.

After all, it wasn't advisable to let it roam freely within his Inner Door cave mansion.

If it stole treasure from a Qi Gathering Realm disciple, that might be manageable. But if it stole from a Spirit Sea Realm Elder...

Not only the Spirit Storage Rat but Shen Mo himself would face dire consequences!

He put the Spirit Pet Bag aside and continued cultivating using [Martial Performance].

However, this time, he didn't solely focus on improving "The Big Dipper Swordplay" and the "Sword Control Spirit Technique." Instead, he evenly distributed his practice time among various cultivation methods and martial arts.

Soon, Shen Mo discovered a problem while practicing the "Purple Mansion Heart Scripture."

[You are practicing the "Purple Mansion Heart Scripture" with [Martial Performance]. Due to the pill's poison in your body, cultivation is not proceeding smoothly, and your Mana is still turbulent.]

[You are practicing the "Purple Mansion Heart Scripture" with [Martial Performance]. Due to the pill's poison in your body, cultivation is not proceeding smoothly, and you have sustained minor injuries.]

[You are practicing [Martial Performance]...]

Shen Mo felt his breath become erratic, and a faint throbbing pain emanated from his Qi Sea, Chakras, and internal organs.

He hastily stopped the [Martial Performance] cultivation and consumed some Healing Elixir, which brought some relief.

Pill's poison? What's happening?

Shen Mo summoned the Destiny Panel and began to sift through the vast amount of feedback, entry by entry.

After a considerable time, he finally located a few overlooked messages.

[You have consumed a large quantity of Qi Restoring Pills. The medicinal power rapidly replenished your depleted Mana, restoring it to fullness.]

[You have consumed a large quantity of Qi Restoring Pills. The pill's poison cannot be eliminated quickly. The accumulating poison will impact your cultivation.]

[You consumed one Green Wood Qi Transformation Pill. Its potent medicinal power replenished your depleted Mana...]

So that was the reason!

Previously, to deal with the pursuit by the minor Heavenly Demon, Shen Mo had frantically activated the Soul Refining Flag.

At that time, he had consumed two boxes, a total of one hundred Qi Restoring Pills, and three Green Wood Qi Transformation Pills.

Taking so many Mana-restoring elixirs in such a short period meant he hadn't had time to neutralize their toxicity. As it accumulated, the side effects began to manifest.

After returning from the ruins of the Cloud Sword Sect, Shen Mo had been preoccupied with alchemy, talisman making, forging The Big Dipper sword embryo, and setting up the Sword Array. He had almost forgotten about this issue.

It wasn't until the pill's poison flared up that he noticed something amiss from the Destiny Panel's feedback.

The [Martial Performance] shadow was modeled after him, mirroring his own cultivation perfectly.

Currently, his difficulty in cultivating the "Purple Mansion Heart Scripture" was significant enough to impede his progress through the cultivation Realms.

Even if he refrained from practicing cultivation methods, the residual pill's poison in his body would silently continue to erode and damage his Dao Body.

If it became severe, it could even cause his cultivation level to regress!

Fortunately, with tens of thousands of inner and outer disciples in the Riverside Sect, there were precedents for almost any situation.

Numerous methods existed to completely eliminate the threat of pill's poison.

These included flushing it out in the Spirit Pond on Stars Peak, consuming Exorcism Origin Pills designed to neutralize pill's poison, or practicing the "Body Washing" technique, which specialized in purging such toxins.

However, regardless of the chosen method, it would invariably cost a substantial amount of Spirit Stones.

A single cleansing session in the Spirit Pond would cost over a hundred Spirit Stones, and it was impossible to eliminate all the pill's poison in one attempt.

Depending on the severity, one might need ten, or even twenty to thirty, such sessions.

As for the "Body Washing" technique, although it could be purchased or exchanged at the Magic Tower, it was a middle-grade profound-level cultivation method. The price was not low, and its function was quite singular. Moreover, practicing it via [Martial Performance] would also consume a large quantity of Spirit Stones, making it highly impractical.

After some deliberation, Shen Mo concluded that personally refining the Grade III Elixir, the Exorcism Origin Pill, was the most practical solution.

Purchasing the elixir recipe would be an investment, not merely an expense.

Besides using it himself, he could also sell the pills to earn Spirit Stones.

Many cultivators suffered from the torment of pill's poison. A Grade III Elixir like this would undoubtedly find a ready market in Jiyun Town.

"Perfect. My progress in the Alchemy Path has been slow lately, so I need to find a few more Grade II Elixir recipes."

"Conversely, on the Talisman Path, I can already craft six types of Grade II talismans, and my experience bar there has surpassed my Alchemy Path."

[Destinied Lord: Shen Mo]

[Cultivation: Qi Gathering Realm, Layer II]

[Talisman Path: Grade II (1825/3000)]

[Alchemy Path: Grade II (1565/3000)]

[Forge: Grade II (122/3000)]

Subsequently, Shen Mo rose and headed to the Alchemy Zone.

When he returned, he carried three Grade II Elixir recipes and one Grade III Elixir recipe, along with the corresponding spiritual medicinal materials.

These were:

The Grade II Elixir, Great Yuan Cultivation Pill: an advanced version of the Minor Yuan Cultivation Pill. It was several times more effective than the Minor Yuan Cultivation Pill at enhancing cultivation and consolidating one's foundation.

The Grade II Elixir, Dragon Power Pill: long-term consumption of this pill could improve vitality and physical constitution, greatly benefiting external magic techniques.

The Grade II Elixir, Sweet Rain Pill: a healing elixir. Its therapeutic effects were significant for both internal injuries involving Chakras and organs, and external flesh wounds.

The Grade III Elixir, Exorcism Origin Pill: specifically designed to neutralize and eliminate pill's poison.

Each Grade II elixir recipe cost fifty low-grade Spirit Stones, while the Grade III elixir recipe cost a hefty two hundred Spirit Stones.

After purchasing a large quantity of alchemy materials, Shen Mo had nearly exhausted his entire reserve of Spirit Stones.

Including the Qi Coalescing Pill and Soul Nurturing Pill (both at MAX proficiency), and the Demon Suppressing Pill (a Grade II Elixir rewarded from the Alchemy Tower), Shen Mo now had a total of six types of Grade II Elixirs he could refine. Four of these could also be used to increase his proficiency and advance his Alchemy Path level.

Without further delay, he excluded the "Purple Mansion Heart Scripture" and "Heavenly Origin Technique" from his [Martial Performance] cultivation, focusing instead on other martial arts and magic techniques.

Meanwhile, Shen Mo himself immersed himself in refining various elixirs.

He planned to first refine Grade II Elixirs, including the Demon Suppressing Pill, to further elevate his Alchemy Path level. Only then would he attempt to concoct the Exorcism Origin Pill, which eradicated pill's poison.

After all, Grade III Elixirs were costly, considering just the spiritual medicinal materials. Every bit saved was a gain!