Chapter 29: Subduing the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong! Feeling refreshed!

Gu He smiled helplessly, "Old Hai, this is just an ordinary pet snake."

"Right, Xiao Cai?" Gu He gently touched the little snake's head with his index finger, and the little snake extended its tongue to lick his fingertip flatteringly.

"Look how obedient she is, not aggressive at all; she's even more docile than a sheep."

Hai Bodong looked at Gu He with a speechless expression.

It was as if he were saying: "I was just complaining to you about the Snake-People Clan Queen Medusa a second ago, and now you're telling me that the pet snake you're raising is cute."

Absurd!

Is something wrong with you? Can't a doctor heal himself?

However, Hai Bodong cautiously kept his thoughts to himself.

Fine, let it be a pet snake! You're the pill king, you do you!

Just at this moment, Gu He heard that pleasant yet somewhat abrupt sound of the System.

[Ding! The target's favorability toward the host has increased by 5%. Reward obtained: ghost god cauldron!]

[ghost god cauldron: Can automatically condense flame energy, increase the success rate of Alchemy, and boost efficacy.]

[Target's favorability toward the host: 0%.]

[Congratulations, host. Your target is finally willing to look at you properly.]

What did he do?

Did he manage to please this arrogant, shrunken version of Medusa at some point?

Or perhaps the little snake was amused by Hai Bodong's fearful appearance.

And what's with "look at you properly"? Do all snakes have a squint?

...

The seven-colored little snake twisted her iridescent body, her red tongue flicking as she hissed. Her diamond-shaped purple eyes stared fixedly at Hai Bodong, as affectionate as if she were looking at a lover...

Yet beneath that affection lay a bloodlust, as if looking at prey.

Gu He seemed to sense the little snake's restlessness. He flicked her tail with his finger, telling her,

"Humans don't taste good."

There was already enmity between the man and the snake. If Hai Bodong found out that this little snake was Medusa, wouldn't he want to make spicy fried snake head?

Opposite him, Hai Bodong said, "...Hehe."

Gu He coughed, "Let's get back to business."

He had Hai Bodong dismiss the bystanders.

"There should be a way to break your Seal, right?"

Hai Bodong smiled bitterly, "Over these years, I've been collecting methods to break the Seal everywhere, and I actually did find one."

"What is it specifically?"

"It's a type of Medicinal Pill, but the conditions for Alchemy are extremely harsh. The alchemist must possess a strange fire!"

Hai Bodong shook his head, "Even you, Gu He, probably don't have a strange fire, right?"

Gu He took the mischievous little snake down and let her play on the counter.

"What if I do have a strange fire?"

Watching Hai Bodong's skeptical gaze, he slowly raised his hand, and a wisp of dark cyan flame rose up, appearing on his palm.

"It is ranked on the strange fire ranking list, known as the Green Lotus Core Flame."

"Look, can I help you refine the Medicinal Pill?"

Hai Bodong looked at him in shock, his words stuttering slightly,

"This... is this really a strange fire?!"

Gu He nodded and stated his purpose, "I can help you refine the Medicinal Pill needed to break the Seal, but the condition is that you must give me the map fragment you obtained."

Hai Bodong looked troubled, "This..."

He sighed, "It's not that I'm unwilling to part with the map fragment, but this Medicinal Pill is still missing one type of Spirit Medicine..."

"I know the rule for alchemists is that the Spirit Medicine must be provided by oneself, and for this Break-Eruption Pill, the only ingredient I haven't been able to collect is the Sand Mandala..."

Gu He grabbed back the little snake that wanted to crawl onto Hai Bodong and take a bite,

"Old Hai, I already have the strange fire; why would you think I wouldn't have the Sand Mandala?"

Hai Bodong was stunned, "You actually have it? This thing can only be found by going deep into the desert..."

After saying this, he realized. Perhaps Gu He's strange fire was found deep in the desert.

With his influence, finding a group of helpers to assist in searching for the strange fire was not a difficult task.

"Hahaha, Heaven is helping me!" Hai Bodong swept away his previous vicissitudes and fatigue, slamming both hands on the table.

"Feeling refreshed! Feeling refreshed!"

With a wave of his hand, he took out the Pill Formula and all the Spirit Medicine.

Gu He also took out the Sand Mandala he had found in the Holy City from his storage ring.

This was a pale yellow plant, with a strange shape resembling a long yellow snake. There was a lump on its tongue, and this lump was the essence of the entire plant.

Gu He took the parchment Pill Formula, the three pale black characters "Break-Eruption Pill" revealing an ancient Aura.

He carefully studied it with his perception, "Old Hai, if you don't mind, I can refine the Medicinal Pill right now."

Hai Bodong waved his hand, "Of course I don't mind!"

Gu He had already shown his sincerity, with both the strange fire and the Spirit Medicine; if he were still worried needlessly, it would be too unreasonable!

Gu He smiled lightly and summoned the newly acquired ghost god cauldron.

This was a cauldron not found on the cauldron ranking list, but its appearance looked extraordinary at a glance.

Its whole body was a gorgeous dark blue, and the mysterious runes engraved on the outside made it look even more impressive.

Divine light glows brightly, ghost fire flickers faintly.

It looked extremely like cold jade.

Gu He first tucked the slightly sleepy little snake into his pocket, then began Alchemy.

His palms moved rapidly over the counter; one by one, the Spirit Medicine were grabbed into his hands and then skillfully tossed into the Medicine Cauldron.

His actions were like threading flowers and picking leaves.

Inside the ghost god cauldron, the scorching cyan flame docilely divided into a dozen tiny flames, which then slowly enveloped the various Spirit Medicine.

The cyan flame danced enchantingly as time slowly passed.

Energy ripples spread out with the ghost god cauldron as the center, and the thick aroma of the Medicinal Pill filled the room, lingering for a long time.

By this time, it was already dawn. Gu He had spent only half a day to refine the Break-Eruption Pill, and it was a success on the first try!

Hai Bodong had also not slept all night. He stared at the purple Medicinal Pill that was gradually becoming round under the burning of the Green Lotus Core Flame, his eyes turning red.

The energy ripples gradually dissipated. This purple Medicinal Pill was spat out by the ghost god cauldron, obediently landing in the jade bottle Gu He had prepared, and then handed by Gu He to Hai Bodong.

Hai Bodong sat cross-legged, swallowed the Medicinal Pill, and then gradually entered a state of Cultivation.

Half an hour passed. Violent energy erupted from Hai Bodong on the ice platform. Wherever the energy ripples passed, the furniture was shattered.

Gu He protected the map fragment he had found from the pile of maps, teasing the little snake while smiling helplessly.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Hai Bodong's Seal was finally broken!

The fierce energy generated by the Break-Eruption Pill forcibly squeezed the snake patterns out of Hai Bodong's head.

"Hahaha! This damned Seal has finally rolled away! This old man has become a Dou Huang again!" Hai Bodong's body floated in mid-air like lightning.

Afterward, he flew down, his feet lightly touching the ground, "Gu He, thank you."

He also saw the ancient map fragment in Gu He's hand, "You can take the map fragment!"

"I have never seen such a complex map! It's a pity that no matter how I study it, it's unsatisfactory... perhaps it's because this map is only a fragment."

Gu He stroked the map fragment in his hand, which felt quite smooth to the touch, and took out another one from his storage ring—the map fragment from the secret cave in the valley that Xiao Yi Xian had explored.

Back then, she went into the mountains to collect Spirit Medicine with other mercenaries. After entering the valley, she gathered the courage to break into the cave, used medicinal powder to drive away the Demonic Beast, then used her wits to crack the mechanism and entered the depths of the cave.

There were three treasure chests in the cave, and she opened them one by one to look.

The three treasures were the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, the Eagle Wings, and the Profound Rank Dou Technique, Mad Lion Roar.

Any one of them, if taken out, would cause a frenzy in Qingshan Town.

Xiao Yi Xian understood the principle that holding a treasure is a crime, so she only dug up some rare Spirit Medicine and took the Seven-Colored Poison Manual.

And in the process, she discovered this map fragment.

Even Gu He didn't know that she had been carrying this map fragment of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame all along.

After all, according to the original work, it was Xiao Yan who accompanied her into the cave, and then Xiao Yan took away most of the treasures.

Until one day, after Xiao Yi Xian caused an Alchemy furnace explosion, she took it out to beg for mercy from him.