Chapter 119: Lavish Banquet
Priam approached and extended his hand right above the young man’s forehead, closing his eyes.
Seconds later, he opened his eyes and withdrew his hand.
"The damage to his soul essence doesn’t matter much, and the injured meridians in his ethereal body are also insignificant."
To everyone’s surprise, wounds that severe were considered "minor problems" by that demon.
"I need a few very specific types of medicinal herbs for the initial treatment. Find someone who understands alchemy, so there won’t be any mistakes." Priam made a gesture with his hand, maintaining the posture of an expert.
"Certainly. Our race has a medicinal garden. Besides that, we have a thousand-year legacy and a collection accumulated over hundreds of years. Unless it’s something extremely precious, it’s possible to find everything." The Supreme General’s wife spoke solemnly.
But her husband’s expression became subtly ugly.
"That alchemist slave... he isn’t here right now, and I also can’t summon him at the moment. Well, it should be fine."
She clenched her fists, sending an urgent message.
In mere minutes, a trusted Elder entered the room.
Upon seeing that person, Priam dryly said the names of seven different medicinal herbs, along with the approximate age each one should have.
Priam had studied a little alchemy in the past. And later, since pills and medicinal herbs were useful for synthesizing, he studied as much as he could about them. So, he asked for seven... but in truth, he only needed one to create a useful power rune.
That Elder swallowed hard, but nodded and ran out as fast as possible. He received the order to use everything he could to return quickly.
In less than twenty minutes, he really did return.
Priam received the herbs and placed them on the table in the room, right in front of everyone.
Without emitting any fluctuation or energy, everyone saw something that made their hearts pound.
The energetic essence of all seven herbs came out of them and floated above!
Yes, it was only the purest essence, without the slightest impurity. Everything bad remained in the herbs!
That was inconceivable! That was completely terrifying and unbelievable.
The Supreme General turned to his wife. She was watching it all, already very calm, with tears in her eyes. He sighed in relief, because there wasn’t even the slightest doubt left that the demon before them was capable of saving his son.
They had truly hit the jackpot this time.
But it didn’t end there.
The seven materials were attracted by the demon and disappeared inside him. Everyone used their senses to the maximum, focused on that figure... but they couldn’t feel absolutely any of those energies inside him.
’Obviously! That figure wasn’t an elementary-level Mage Disciple at all! He was just using some Magic Art to hide that. He should be a terrifying Mage Master, or something even higher. That’s why they couldn’t feel anything coming from him...’ That was what everyone thought.
Priam extended his hand and picked up the Primordial Scarlet Essence Core.
[Synthesize?] [Yes / No]
He moved only the energy of one medicinal herb, together with all the energy of that Primordial Scarlet Essence Core.
[Yang Blood Rune: Capable of nourishing a Yang body, connecting to it to restore even the deepest wounds. In addition, it can be used together with other Yang energies to amplify their explosive power.]
He read the information, but he already knew well about that, since this rune was among the ones he had previously received knowledge of.
This power rune was peculiar because it could heal or help in battles in a completely different way, like a buff. But Priam still didn’t have Yang powers that matched it. The wind element was almost 70% Yin, after all.
In seconds, the demon nodded.
An intense red aura flowed like mist from inside him, moving toward the dying young man on the bed.
Everything was quickly absorbed by Hahho.
When it ended, Priam slowly turned around.
"He’ll wake up in a few minutes. This was only the initial treatment, because his body is very weak. In one hour, he should be ready for the conclusion. In the meantime, I need to rest a little; arrange a quiet room for me. Also, have someone bring me a meal. When I’m in my room, no one can disturb me without my permission."
That couple stood still, not reacting for a few seconds. But soon, they turned their faces toward their son and saw his eyes trembling subtly, as if he were about to wake up.
Their hearts beat like drums.
Hahho was already in a state where he would hardly ever wake up again if he wasn’t cured. Now, he really seemed to be slowly recovering.
"Yes!" the Supreme General said, full of excitement.
---
One hour later, Priam left the private room he had received inside that same building.
He took a deep breath, activating his concealment again.
’Great, I managed to get about 4 more hours.’
He wanted that time so he could recover his Ether with pills and, in doing so, have a good margin to work safely.
Priam opened the door and took steps toward the other room.
’That bastard really is lucky. I’m being forced to actually cure him...’
Priam could only lament, because, in fact, by using the Primordial Scarlet Essence Core with those herbs he had requested, he had managed to create a power rune capable of drastically recovering Hahho’s meridians.
He had caused all of this, and now he himself was fixing it. But...
’This won’t come for free! Quite the opposite!’
When he arrived at the room, he saw that now only the couple, the Elder, and Hahho were there. The other 3 demons had been kicked out.
Hahho was now lucid, showing an expression of gratitude when he saw the "Crucible Devil."
He began struggling to get up, trying to bow before him as a weak and sincere voice escaped his mouth:
"This Junior... thanks you for saving my life and granting me the chance to be reborn..."
"Haha, don’t mind it. I’m not doing this with good intentions, but I charge fairly according to my merits. With that body, don’t move too much," Priam laughed benevolently, in an almost malicious tone, while standing beside the bed. "Come, let me take a look at your meridians."
Then, he extended his hand toward Hahho’s chest, sensing his ethereal body without touching him.
A few minutes later, he withdrew his hand and said:
"Great. Your soul is ready enough. His recovery won’t be complete, but I guarantee an 85% cure of his meridians. After that, I’ll leave behind a prescription with medicines. I estimate that, in seven days, he should be at 98%, or even completely cured."
Upon hearing that, everyone forgot to breathe.
85% of his completely destroyed meridians would be healed immediately? Did something that good really exist?
Even if he didn’t leave behind any prescription with the medicine, with 85% already healed, any specialized demon would have an extremely high chance of completing the cure.
Priam snorted.
"I’ll need many specific herbs this time."
"This junior here is none other than the Elder responsible for the medicinal field. I am the most familiar and knowledgeable about all types of medicinal ingredients in the race. Please proceed and instruct me." That Elder from before bowed as he spoke.
Priam nodded.
"You’d better remember this well..."
In a single breath, he named twenty-three types of medicinal ingredients in sequence.
That Elder was stunned in place.
Even though all those herbs could be considered precious, the accumulation of years of savings from their race could easily acquire them all... the problem was that this demon wanted all of them at a specific age.
Seeing the Elder with a dumbfounded expression, Priam looked at him with disdain and asked:
"What? None of this is rare or strange."
"We have them, of course, we have them," the Elder promptly said. "But, as for their age..."
"Ah! I almost forgot to remind you of that," Priam said solemnly. "These medicinal herbs I just requested cannot have any variation in age... Well, if they really can’t be found, a variation of one or two months would be acceptable. But the effects will be much weaker. It may not seem like much, but even if it’s a difference of one month, there will be a substantial difference in their accumulated natural essence. So hurry!"
Priam’s absurd inventions immediately left the Elder perplexed.
He thought to himself that this eccentric demon’s reasoning was simply too different; his requirements for herbs were so strict that he himself, in comparison, was practically a charlatan.
Humbly, he bowed with an ashamed face.
"Senior’s instructions, this junior will keep them in mind... but, even though I am experienced... these requirements..."
Forget him, even the Supreme General beside him was stunned... at most two months of difference? Who the hell could discern that?
There were herbs with hundreds of years and others with thousands of years in the immense medicinal field. They basically grew freely in a natural area. Knowing each one’s age so precisely was impossible.
Priam sighed, then said dryly:
"Fine. I should gather them myself..."
After speaking, he paused and waved his hands once more:
"Ah, forget it. The place where a race or clan stores its medicinal ingredients will certainly be a place of utmost importance. It’s possible that only a few members are qualified to enter, making it even more impossible for outsiders to go in..."
Everyone fell silent, thoughtful, for a few seconds.
It was the Supreme General’s wife who reacted first.
"No, no! The senior is too serious. Although my race’s treasury is an important place, it only serves to guard against despicable individuals. Senior is an upright demon."
She spoke and turned with a gaze sharp as a blade toward her husband.
"Yes, yes." He quickly said. "If Senior doesn’t go personally, I estimate these ingredients still won’t be completely gathered for several days. That will make Senior wait in vain and worsen my son’s injury."
The treasury was an important place, accessible only to those with extremely high rank within the race. Even so, as the leader’s brother, he had the privilege to decide this.
It would be the first time an outsider entered the treasury, but they didn’t feel even the slightest discomfort or think it was inappropriate. Besides... it was impossible for them to be robbed.
Priam pretended to think for a moment and then nodded.
"Fine. However, although I’m grateful for your trust in me... how about this: this Elder must accompany me throughout the entire search process, without staying even one meter away from me. Besides, I’m not using any spatial ring; you can verify that just by probing my body. I say this so you can be at ease and for my own peace of mind."
No spatial rings... This meant it was impossible to take anything, even if he wanted to rob the treasury. Even if someone took something, it would be impossible not to be noticed, and it would be even more impossible to escape.
After those words, the hearts of the two were moved, and their admiration for the unshakable integrity of that "Demon called Crucible Devil" reached its peak.
Priam could only laugh internally. His acting skills and deception techniques really were high-level.
In less than two hours, he went from being an extremely suspicious demon to someone they were offering a lavish banquet to.