SFS Chapter 332 Food Sutra
Chapter 332 Food Sutra
"Are you... the senior who was imprisoned by the mysterious organization and poisoned?" Gao Xingchen asked tentatively, with a hint of excitement in his heart.
The old man nodded slowly, with a hint of emotion in his tone: "Yes, I was imprisoned for decades. Thanks to you, I was able to see the light of day again. Although the poison in my body has been cured, this catastrophe was caused by me. I must do my best to make up for it."
Nan Li looked at the old man's frail body and said with concern: "Senior, how is your health now? Is there anything we can help you with?"
"I need some rare medicinal herbs to make an antidote to completely resolve this crisis." The old man said, handing Gao Xingchen a yellowed prescription. "Over the years, I have been researching detoxification methods. This is what I deduced based on my own situation. It should be effective for others as well."
Gao Xingchen took the prescription and looked at it carefully, and found that the medicinal materials recorded on it were very rare, and some were even unheard of. He knew that this was destined to be a difficult challenge.
"Don't worry, senior. We will do our best to find these herbs!" Gao Xingchen promised solemnly.
Thus, a search operation that raced against time began. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li set out on a journey to find medicinal materials according to the records on the prescription. They climbed over high mountains, crossed dense forests, and went deep into dangerous areas, encountering various difficulties and obstacles along the way.
Sometimes, they need to climb cliffs and risk falling at any time, just to pick precious herbs growing on the edge of the cliff; sometimes, they need to sneak into dangerous swamps and deal with poisonous insects and beasts, just to find the legendary antidote; sometimes, they will be hunted by a mysterious organization and have to fight a desperate battle with the enemy.
"Xingchen, be careful!" Nanli waved the whip in his hand and repelled a black-clad assassin, his eyes full of worry.
Gao Xingchen leaned against a towering tree, holding a dagger tightly in his hand, and vigilantly observed the movements around him. They had searched in this dense forest for several days, but still could not find the precious medicinal material called "Seven-Star Begonia" recorded in the prescription.
"Lier, we have to find the Seven-Star Begonia as soon as possible, otherwise those poisoned people will..." Gao Xingchen said in a heavy tone. He knew that time was running out and every delay meant more people would lose their lives.
At this moment, a strange fragrance came from the depths of the dense forest. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked at each other, and a glimmer of hope ignited in their eyes at the same time.
"It's the scent of the Seven-Star Begonia!" Nan Li exclaimed in surprise. Following the scent, they walked cautiously into the depths of the dense forest...
The fragrance became stronger and stronger. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li pushed aside the last bush and a wide valley appeared before them. In the middle of the valley, a crystal clear crabapple tree with colorful petals stood proudly. It was the seven-star crabapple tree they had been looking for!
However, before they could get close, several dark shadows flashed out from behind the trees and surrounded them. The men in black all had murderous looks on their faces, and they were obviously members of a mysterious organization.
"Want to snatch the Seven-Star Begonia? Wishful thinking!" The leading man in black sneered and pointed the sword in his hand directly at Gao Xingchen.
A fierce battle was inevitable. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li stood back to back, cooperating tacitly to deal with attacks from all directions. Nan Li's whip skills were sharp, and each strike was deadly cold, while Gao Xingchen used his flexible body skills to shuttle between the men in black. The dagger in his hand was like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, and each strike accurately hit the enemy's vital points.
In the end, relying on their superb martial arts and tacit cooperation, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li successfully defeated the men in black and obtained the Seven-Star Begonia.
They returned with the Seven-Star Begonia and gave it to the old man. When the old man saw this precious medicinal material, he was so excited that he burst into tears and immediately began to develop an antidote.
Gao Xingchen observed silently from the side and found that the old man's method of handling medicinal materials was very unique, and each step was full of ritual, as if he was performing a sacred sacrifice. He was moved and remembered that he had seen in ancient books that some ancient prescriptions required special methods to exert their efficacy.
Could it be that the development of this antidote also requires a similar method?
Gao Xingchen told the old man his idea. After hearing it, the old man's eyes flashed with surprise, and then nodded: "You are right, the development of this antidote does require the use of an ancient cooking method."
"Cooking method?" Gao Xingchen became even more curious.
"That's right. This cooking method is called 'Nine Turns to Refining the Heart'. The herbs need to be cooked in a specific order and at a specific temperature to stimulate the spirituality contained in the herbs and achieve the effect of detoxification." The old man explained.
Gao Xingchen immediately became interested. He was already quite knowledgeable about cooking, and he had an excellent memory, so he quickly mastered the essentials of the "Nine Turns to Refining the Heart".
However, things did not go as smoothly as expected. Gao Xingchen tried many formulas, but failed to successfully develop an antidote. Every time he made a potion, it was either not effective enough or too toxic to be taken.
"How could this happen?" Gao Xingchen looked at the medicine cauldron in front of him that was emitting black smoke, his brows furrowed, his heart filled with frustration.
At this moment, Nan Li walked in from outside, holding an ancient parchment scroll in her hand, her face solemn: "Xingchen, I found some clues. The members of the mysterious organization seem to be looking for an ancient recipe. It is said that this recipe can make an invincible poison..."
Gao Xingchen took the parchment scroll, looked at it carefully, and suddenly a bold idea flashed through his mind.
Could it be that this mysterious recipe is related to the development of the antidote? Gao Xingchen took a deep breath and suppressed his anxiety. He knew that now was not the time to panic. "If this recipe is related to the mysterious organization, then it may be the key to the antidote!" He clenched the parchment scroll in his hand and looked at Nan Li with burning eyes. "We need to find this recipe. Maybe it can help us find a way to detoxify!"
Nan Li nodded, her beautiful eyes gleaming with determination. "Without further delay, we split up. You are responsible for searching the family books, and I will go to the place where I found the clues before to see if I can find more information."
So, the two of them acted quickly. Gao Xingchen plunged into the family's library, which contained a vast collection of various classics that the Gao family had accumulated over hundreds of years. He began a long and tedious search based on the few words recorded on the parchment scroll.
Time passed by minute by minute. Gao Xingchen flipped through countless ancient books, but still could not find any records related to the content on the parchment scroll. He rubbed his sore eyes, feeling anxious. Could it be that this clue was broken?
Just when he felt desperate, his eyes accidentally swept across the bottom of the bookshelf, and a tattered ancient book caught his attention. This ancient book looked like it had not been read for a long time, and the words on the cover were blurred. Gao Xingchen pulled it out as if possessed by a ghost, and gently blew away the dust on it.
"The Food Sutra?"
When he saw the two words on the cover, he was immediately shocked. The content of this "Food Classic" was not a recipe book, but a record of the characteristics of various ingredients and some strange cooking methods. Among them was a description of the ancient recipes recorded on the parchment scroll, and even a method to neutralize its toxicity!
Gao Xingchen was ecstatic, as if he had found an oasis in the vast desert. He could not wait to open the ancient book and read it carefully. The book recorded that the toxicity of the ancient recipe came from a special spice. This spice itself was non-toxic, but after a specific cooking method, it would produce a highly toxic substance. The method recorded in the "Food Classic" was to mix it with another special ingredient to fight poison with poison and neutralize its toxicity.
Gao Xingchen immediately realized that this might be the key to solving the mystery! He immediately took the "Food Sutra" to find Nan Li. After repeated research and experiments, the two finally found a way to neutralize the toxicity of the ancient recipe...
Gao Xingchen and Nan Li were overjoyed. They followed the methods in the ancient books and began to try to make the antidote. However, things were far from as simple as they imagined. Several key ingredients recorded in the ancient books had been lost for many years, and even with the power of the Gao family in the Nine Star Realm, it was difficult to find them.
"Are we just going to give up like this?" Gao Xingchen clenched his fists unwillingly, his heart filled with reluctance and anxiety. Looking at those tribesmen who were suffering from illness, he wanted to test the medicine on himself and bear the pain for them.
Nan Li gently held his hand, with a firm look in her clear eyes, "Don't worry, there will always be a way." She flipped through the ancient books, her slender fingers gently stroking the obscure words, "The book records that although these ingredients have been lost, they are not completely without substitutes. We just need to try them one by one to find the most suitable combination."
So, they began a long and arduous experiment. They traveled to every corner of the Nine Star Realm, looking for possible alternative ingredients. Countless attempts and countless failures never extinguished the hope in their hearts.
Finally, after countless days and nights of hard work, they successfully developed an antidote. Looking at the crystal clear pill in their hands, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li smiled at each other, tears welling up in their eyes.
They immediately organized people to distribute the antidote to the poisoned clansmen. However, at this moment, a powerful aura suddenly descended, shrouding the entire Gao family in a shadow.
"Who is it? How dare you stop me?" Gao Xingchen's face darkened and a sharp cold light flashed in his eyes.
A figure wearing a black robe and with his face hidden under a hood slowly descended from the sky. His voice was hoarse and full of coldness and ridicule. "Gao Xingchen, do you really think you can stop me? All this is just the beginning!"
Gao Xingchen was shocked. He recognized the person who came. It was the leader of the mysterious organization! Why was he here? Did he know about the antidote?
"What do you want to do?" Nan Li stepped forward and protected Gao Xingchen behind her, with cold murderous intent flashing in her beautiful eyes.
The man in black robe sneered, "I will make you pay for your stupidity!"
A powerful pressure descended instantly, covering Gao Xingchen and Nan Li. Can they withstand the attack of the man in black robe? Can the antidote they worked so hard to develop be distributed smoothly?