48: Some people see the joke, some people are the joke

Actually, there was no name for the Cultivation Technique on the scroll.

The reason Midnight Gao Sou and others knew this was the Qingming Medicine Forging Art and could see its introduction was because they were players.

Players had a unique information panel that native NPCs couldn't see, which was Jiang Feng's Golden Finger for the players.

Originally, this Golden Finger didn't have much of a presence; the medicinal ingredients in the mountains were no different from weeds when there was no corresponding skill, and no information panel would pop up. When they saw Cultivators or Yao Beasts, there was no panel showing their Realm.

According to the players brought back to Duan Kong Cave, only Secret Manuals that matched their Cultivation could show their names, some even lacked descriptions, and more Secret Manuals only translated the Xuanhuan text itself into Huaxia characters, which meant they could be scammed by native NPCs.

Therefore, when Midnight Gao Sou saw the five large characters for [Qingming Medicine Forging Art], his heart turned cold.

If anything in the Xuanhuan World could trick people, the only thing that wouldn't trick them was the System panel that players came with.

The Cultivation Technique on this scroll was indeed the Qingming Medicine Forging Art used by evil Cultivators!

"Excuse me, is this the Cultivation Technique that your Duan Kong Cave's Elders and Disciples all practice?"

Midnight Gao Sou still held a last shred of hope in his heart.

He felt that the Female cultivator might not be a bad person, but rather had been deceived by an evil Cultivator, and was also a pitiful soul.

Because the name written on this Cultivation Technique scroll was originally not [Qingming Medicine Forging Art] but [Qingming Sword Art].

But then he heard the Female cultivator nod and say, "Indeed, this Qingming Medicine... Sword Art, is precisely the Cultivation Technique practiced by my Duan Kong Cave's Elders and Disciples, passed down for thousands of years, and is an outstanding among grade eight Cultivation Techniques."

The four exchanged glances.

Damn it, this Female cultivator even let it slip!

Midnight Gao Sou looked at the Female cultivator's face, still so pure, as if untouched by worldly dust, like a Fairy from a painting, who had come to the Mortal world merely to display her beauty.

But the truth was right before their eyes; this person not only knew this was the Qingming Medicine Forging Art, but also deliberately wove lies to deceive the four of them.

Did they even need to ask what her intentions were?

"Our Aptitude is dull."

The Mage was smarter and thought of a way to refuse: "This is, after all, a Cultivation Technique passed down by Duan Kong Cave for thousands of years. If it were given to us to cultivate, I'm afraid it would tarnish your reputation, so let's just forget about it."

The other three quickly nodded, all indicating that the Mage was right.

The Female cultivator's voice, like a secluded orchid in a valley, came: "No matter, my Duan Kong Cave excels at Alchemy, and Revered Master has also prepared 'Bone-Changing Medicinal Pills' for you. Not only can they temper the Meridians, but they can also completely transform one, allowing even a mediocre Mortal to become a Cultivation Genius after consuming this Medicinal Pill."

After speaking, the Female cultivator took out four Medicinal Pills and distributed them to the four.

The four looked at each other.

Since they hadn't learned Alchemy skills, the System panel didn't give any prompts this time, and they didn't know what kind of Medicinal Pills they held.

"This thing, it seems like Jiangcheng Lao Wang ate it before, right?"

Midnight Gao Sou hesitated for a moment, asking in a low voice.

Old Potato also nodded: "Indeed, Jiangcheng Lao Wang ate this Medicinal Pill and directly advanced a Realm, becoming the first Qi Refining second stage Cultivator."

Xiao Daidai was a bit naive: "Then should we eat the Medicinal Pills first, and then run away?"

The Mage was speechless: "Judging from the human Medicinal Pill plot, as long as we eat this Medicinal Pill, we will become someone else's medicinal ingredient. This thing cannot be eaten casually."

Old Potato pondered for a moment: "The four of us will work together to see if we can counter-attack her."

The Mage thought carefully: "She should also be in the Qi Refining Realm, at most a few stages higher than us. If the four of us attack together and find a way to use the Ni Ling Grass, we should have a chance of winning."

Midnight Gao Sou was still hesitating: "Is it possible that she was just coerced by an evil Cultivator? And is actually a good person at heart?"

At this moment, the Female cultivator took a step forward, picked up the Ni Ling Grass from the ground, and softly said: "Although Ni Ling Grass is a grade nine Spirit Medicine, it is extremely rare; you might not find a single stalk even if you search the entire Efeng Mountain Range. I will temporarily keep it and record your merits after returning to the Sect."

"Well, the Ni Ling Grass is gone."

The Mage sighed; their chances of winning were even lower.

Midnight Gao Sou was still conflicted and didn't want to attack; he was truly afraid he might misunderstand the other party again.

He hesitated for a long time, walked up to the Female cultivator, and just as he was about to ask, he heard the Female cultivator say:

"I used a sound transmission talisman to contact Revered Master earlier. Calculating the time, he should be arriving soon."

"Huh? Sound transmission talisman?"

Midnight Gao Sou was completely stunned.

He suddenly realized that, at the same Realm, there was actually a huge gap between Loose Cultivators and Sect Cultivators, and that was resources.

The Female cultivator was clearly only in the small Qi Refining Realm, but she could use a sound transmission talisman, achieving a hundred-mile sound transmission similar to Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The Mage carefully said: "Gao Sou, we can't wait any longer. I think we should run away right now. If this Female cultivator is truly a good person, she won't chase us. If she's a bad person... then we'll have a good fight with her."

Midnight Gao Sou sighed: "Alright, we'll run now."

Just because of his hesitation, they lost the Ni Ling Grass. Now Midnight Gao Sou no longer hesitated and wanted to run far away.

But just then, a hearty laugh came from the sky: "Haha, my dear Disciple, I heard you found four excellent seedlings for your Revered Master?"

The Female cultivator remained calm, bowing towards mid-air: "Revered Master."

As Midnight Gao Sou and the other three took a step, they felt a powerful Qi lock onto them, as if taking another step would result in being pierced by a Flying Sword.

So they changed to marching in place, stretching their bodies at the same time.

"Oh, the Ni Ling Grass in my body has finally been expelled."

Old Potato exaggeratedly stretched his arms, as if easing his muscles.

The new Cultivator walked through the air, transmitting his voice from afar, and also threw a Flying Sword outwards, casually killing a peeking Demonic Beast.

Foundation Establishment.

The four's hearts sank; the strong enemy they least wanted to face had arrived.

"Perhaps it's just a false alarm, and he's really just here to take Disciples?"

Midnight Gao Sou was still holding onto his last fantasy.

He looked up, gazing in the direction of the newcomer.

With that look, his face instantly changed.

That person was far too familiar.

"It's over."

The Mage let out a wail.

"It really is him..."

Old Potato also let out a mournful cry.

Xiao Daidai was almost in tears: "No, how can we be so unlucky?"

The newcomer had a face everyone was familiar with; it was the Foundation Establishment Cultivator Jiangcheng Lao Wang had encountered before.

[Hahaha, it's actually him]

[Indeed, Foundation Establishment Cultivators aren't dime a dozen; there shouldn't be many in this area. I guessed it was him]

[Then there's no suspense now; all four streamers are going to become Medicinal Pills]

[So, this Female cultivator is actually an evil Cultivator too?]

[Does that even need to be asked? Isn't it obvious?]

The live stream was in an uproar, everyone watching the joke unfold.

Only Midnight Gao Sou felt a chill throughout his body, his throat choked by something, unable to speak, his vision even blurred, with glistening liquid dripping from his eyes, splashing onto the dirty mud.

He was the joke.