191: The Xiao-Wang Duo (Part 1)

"Old Wang, are you... are you sure about this?"

Xiao Sheng stared at the dark Medicinal Pill in his hand, unable to suppress his doubt.

Two days had passed since the plan was confirmed and the teams were finalized. They had spent these two days figuring out how to sneak into the Residence.

Initially, they planned to disguise themselves as Servants or attendants to blend in, but Li Wenbo rejected this idea.

Prince Kang had coveted the throne for a long time, and the modifications to his Manor, as well as the personnel deployment and management, were extremely strict. It was impossible to sneak in at this time, and disguises wouldn't work either.

Therefore, Wang Yao refined a peculiar Medicinal Pill.

When he was in Jiangzhou, he had heard Zhou Yan mention a special mushroom that caused strong hallucinations when consumed.

At that time, Wang Yao had sought out Huo Zhongshan, hoping to acquire this mushroom and attempt Alchemy, but due to various delays, he only made preliminary conceptualizations and never actually started.

This time, he took the opportunity to refine it.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Xiao, I guarantee that there were absolutely no problems with the refining process of this Medicinal Pill."

"Don't judge it by its appearance; the effect is definitely what we expected."

Seeing Wang Yao's determined gaze and looking down at the Medicinal Pill in his hand, Xiao Sheng ultimately let fraternal loyalty overcome his fear and swallowed it in one gulp.

"I'll just treat this as helping Old Wang test the medicine and dashing his hopes."

"Why does it smell like mutton?"

The moment the Medicinal Pill went down his throat, Xiao Sheng felt a strange aura emanating from himself.

"Old Wang, you... Oh my god, what are you doing!"

He saw Wang Yao actually drooling at him, which scared him into taking two steps back.

Wang Yao realized his lapse in composure, quickly wiped his mouth, and took out a mirror, shining it toward Xiao Sheng.

Xiao Sheng's appearance in the mirror was normal, but Wang Yao pointed excitedly at the mirror and said:

"Senior Brother Xiao! The Medicinal Pill is a complete success!"

"Right now, in my eyes, you are a whole roasted lamb. Only the mirror shows your original appearance."

"Do you feel anything unusual right now?"

Xiao Sheng lowered his head to look at his hands incredulously, then checked the mirror. In his eyes, his hands had turned into Sheep Hooves, but the mirror showed no change.

This feeling was extremely bizarre; he felt like he could grasp things, but when he looked at his hands, they were a pair of Sheep Hooves unable to grasp anything.

"What kind of Medicinal Pill is this exactly?"

Looking at Xiao Sheng's astonished expression, Wang Yao smiled confidently.

"This is the 'Form-Shifting Pill' that I refined using a type of fungus."

"Its principle is to shift the hallucinogenic effect of that fungus from affecting the consumer to affecting the people around the consumer."

"The power of this fungus essentially interferes with a Cultivator's Five Senses, causing the other party to subconsciously match the results of their Divine Sense probe with what their Five Senses perceive."

"Since we can't enter disguised as people, why don't we disguise ourselves as ingredients or goods to sneak in?"

"As long as we figure out what items routinely enter and exit the Residence, we can transform into those things and naturally slip inside."

Fearing he didn't understand, Wang Yao continued to explain.

"According to Senior Brother Li, anyone or anything entering or exiting must first be checked by a special Formation, then confirmed by a Cultivator using their Five Senses, and finally thoroughly examined using Divine Sense."

"The Formation is for detecting dangerous items, the Five Senses check is to exclude items that can interfere with Divine Sense, and the final Divine Sense confirmation is the crucial step."

"Senior Brother Li comes from under the Fourth Senior Martial Uncle, so helping us bypass the Formation shouldn't be difficult. The hard part is the Divine Sense check."

"After all, the only two powerful Concealment Items he had were already used up, and he had none left for us."

"But with this Medicinal Pill, as long as the guard checks with their Five Senses first, they will fall under the Illusion Technique. We can then interfere with their Divine Sense and slip through."

Xiao Sheng extended his Little Sheep Hoof and high-fived Wang Yao.

"Old Wang is truly a Divine Being! Refining such a Miraculous Pill in such a short time—as expected of you, baa!"

"Haha, I just put in a casual effort. I guess this is just natural talent."

"Wait, Old Wang, why do I see you as a whole roasted lamb too, baa?"

"Did you take the medicine too, baa?"

Wang Yao was stunned, then immediately noticed Xiao Sheng's Sheep Face was rapidly turning purple, and his body began to sway.

"Oh no! Senior Brother Xiao has been poisoned!"

Xiao Sheng collapsed directly onto the ground, foaming at the mouth in Wang Yao's arms.

A Servant heard the commotion and came in, only to see Wang Yao holding a whole roasted lamb foaming at the mouth, terrifying the Servant.

Urged by Wang Yao, the Servant quickly went to summon Li Wenbo.

Although he didn't understand why Wang Yao was calling a whole roasted lamb "Senior Brother Xiao," nor did he understand why he needed to save a whole roasted lamb.

Furthermore, could this thing even be saved?

After the farce was over, Xiao Sheng stared at Wang Yao with a resentful expression, a gaze that made Wang Yao extremely uneasy.

"Senior Brother Xiao, listen to me. I truly didn't expect this thing to be so fiercely toxic."

"I thought that fungus only had hallucinogenic effects; I had no idea it could be lethal."

Watching these two who had caused trouble before even setting off, Li Wenbo suffered a headache.

Shi Suiyan and Yuan Chenling were only operating within the Kaifeng, so he could still look out for them. But he truly couldn't understand why Zhou Yan had sent these two to a place as dangerous as Prince Kangs Residence.

If it weren't for their excellent performance in that Base previously, he would genuinely want to send more people to the Residence and have them stay in the Kaifeng with Shi Suiyan and the others.

"Junior Brother Wang, how exactly did you manage this?"

"I recall that the drunken immortal mushroom lost its lethality after the Lianxing Pavilion began cultivating it artificially."

"How did you manage to refine this kind of Medicinal Pill using harmless fungi produced by the Lianxing Pavilion?"

Li Wenbo wore an expression equivalent to "Old Man, Subway, Phone," examining the Medicinal Pill in his hand.

In his perception, this Medicinal Pill was composed entirely of various Toxicity, containing almost no Medicinal Properties; in fact, it seemed to contain more roasted mutton components than medicinal ones.

But undeniably, this Medicinal Pill was indeed a success.

If the Toxicity could be reduced slightly, the plan they spoke of might truly be achievable.

The Disguise Effect of this item was very unique. Even a Nascent Soul Cultivator, if they first interacted using their Five Senses, would have their Divine Sense affected. If they didn't scan carefully, they could indeed miss them.

Furthermore, it seemed only Cultivators at their level could consume this Medicinal Pill; anyone weaker would die, and anyone stronger wouldn't be affected.

Wang Yao, upon consumption, should be fine due to his Physique, but Xiao Sheng might have to suffer a bit.

However, if an Antidote was prepared beforehand, and Wang Yao—who would be in a normal state—helped Xiao Sheng detoxify after passing the inspection, the problem shouldn't be too severe.

Damn it, they actually found a way!

After hearing Li Wenbo's analysis, Xiao Sheng, who had been angry, calmed down.

Since a Soul Transformation Mighty Expert approved it, it must be feasible. Thinking of the crisis of widespread suffering, Xiao Sheng gritted his teeth and decided to endure it.

Wang Yao wasn't so unreliable as to knowingly let Xiao Sheng endure a problematic Medicinal Pill.

Therefore, he asked Li Wenbo to spend an afternoon optimizing it, significantly reducing the Toxicity of the Form-Shifting Pill.

Although it could still kill people, at least it wouldn't take effect so quickly, which served as Xiao Sheng's final bit of comfort.

Finally, Li Wenbo stood at the back gate of the Li Manor, watching the two leave the Kaifeng via a secret tunnel, feeling a strange sense of unreality.

"Young people nowadays are all so..."

He no longer knew how to describe them.

The fate he shared with Zhou Yan was originally meant to be a bluff, yet under his talent, he forcefully pulled out Emperor Taizong, who became their side's strongest fighting force.

And how did Wang Yao manage to refine so many Poisons into a positive effect?

That afternoon, although he and Wang Yao optimized the Medicinal Pill together, he was actually only responsible for controlling the Heat Control and performing precise operations; Wang Yao directed the entire process.

Even after the Medicinal Pill was refined, he still hadn't figured out how Wang Yao managed to condense a pile of highly toxic Medicinal Liquid into a somewhat "normal" Poison.

If he were to refine it, the finished product would at most be a Poison capable of killing a Core Formation Stage Cultivator quickly.

Sighing, Li Wenbo recalled this Soul Transformation Clone. His Main Body synchronously received this information and couldn't help but fall silent.

However, the silence didn't last long. He soon re-immersed himself in his work, continuing to formulate various plans and policies.