Chapter 956: Chapter 956

There were only a dozen or so pills in the large bowl. It took one bite and swallowed them all. This scene left everyone agape. Despite Nanli’s warning, they were still startled. It was one thing for a furry spirit beast to suddenly appear, but why could it swallow so many pills in one gulp? Even more bizarrely, it spoke: "I’m hungry!"

The little cub’s front paws rested on the edge of the bowl. Its crimson eyes stared at Shi Miaomiao and the others.

Shi Miaomiao managed to keep her composure, but the other alchemists, losing their focus, all ended up with their furnaces exploding. Black fog filled the air, mingled with an unpleasant smell of burning.

Shi Miaomiao quickly gathered her concentration and managed to refine the pills in the furnace. Before she could pour the pills into the bowl, the little cub had already landed in the furnace and swallowed them again. After swallowing a few pills, the rumbling continued.

Shi Miaomiao was shocked and stammered, "It... it... how can something so small eat so much?"

Nanli had already reached the door and sighed helplessly, "It has a special constitution. Anyway, for the time being, it needs to eat a lot in one meal. Last night, it ate over a hundred of my pills before it felt full."

Shi Miaomiao’s face turned pale, "No way? Over a hundred?! Nanli, you have to understand, the pills you refine are worth three of ours. Even if we refine until we vomit or our hands cramp up today, it won’t be enough for it to eat."

The other alchemists nodded in agreement. This task should be described with the word "impossible."

"I have spirit stones to replenish my energy, so I can refine a few more batches," Nanli said, "This should be enough for it to eat today." She then said to the little cub, "Don’t make a fuss. You won’t go hungry. Trust me." The little cub wagged its tail obediently.

Nanli didn’t waste any time and went back into the room to get busy. Shi Miaomiao looked at her large belly and then at the onlookers, her heart churning with waves of determination.

She was Nanli’s most capable assistant! She would turn the impossible task into a possible one!

Immediately, she became even more focused and continued refining with all her concentration. The other alchemists, seeing this, dared not slack off either. After all, they were from the Shi family, and when they got serious, they were relentless.

The little cub was fed at noon, in the evening, and even had a late-night snack. Even the Beast Food Pills for tomorrow were prepared. This greatly reduced Nanli’s workload.

However, the ten alchemists who came all fell asleep as soon as they lay down, and even Shi Miaomiao couldn’t hold on any longer, her eyes already unable to stay open. Nanli used a talisman paper figure to transport them all to the guest rooms for a good rest.

Shi Miaomiao still had a bit of consciousness left, and as the paper figure lifted her, she reached out to Nanli, "Master, I... I have a request..."

Nanli’s mouth twitched. Seeing Shi Miaomiao’s state, anyone who didn’t know better would think she was on her deathbed.

"What is it?" Nanli naturally asked first.

"I’ve been alone and struggling for eight hundred years. After becoming the head of the family, I’ve never dared to be negligent for a moment..."

"I need a husband, a partner. I think your fourth brother is quite nice."

Nanli gave her a sideways glance, waved her hand, and had the paper figure carry her away.

Shi Miaomiao was still shouting, "I really need one! Nanli! Believe me, I’m serious! I truly like your fourth brother..."

Nanli quickly cast a silencing talisman. Shi Miaomiao fell silent. Even if the fourth brother wasn’t here, it would be inappropriate if others overheard. Her fourth brother’s marriage should be decided by himself. Not to mention that Shi Miaomiao probably just thought the fourth brother was tall, handsome, and had decent cultivation, making him a good candidate for a son-in-law, without much sincerity.

After a few days of hard work, now that they could finally breathe a sigh of relief, sleepiness came over them. There was a small couch outside the screen. Nanli specifically checked on Siheng and saw that everything was still fine, so she went to lie down and quickly fell asleep.

The autumn night was chilly. Shandu took a blanket and covered Nanli, continuing to keep an eye on Siheng and Cinian. As the eldest disciple, he had not closed his eyes the whole time.

However, in the middle of the night, he noticed that Siheng’s brow was furrowed for a full half an hour. He didn’t want to disturb Nanli, but he saw that the master’s originally restored ruddy complexion was becoming increasingly pale at this moment. Immediately after, a gust of wind swept through the room, and demonic energy spread!

"Wha... What?!" Shandu was greatly shocked. Because this demonic energy... was surging out from Cinian’s body!

Fortunately, Nanli had set up numerous talisman arrays in the room earlier, so the demonic energy did not spread outside but stayed and diffused within the room. This demonic energy seemed to have eyes, unable to invade Siheng’s body, but instead surged towards Shandu and Nanli.

Shandu had been guarding here all along and had no time to practice and heal his injuries. Although there was not much spiritual energy in his Dantian, he still blocked in front of the couch first, pinching the Buddhist seal. But with weak spiritual energy, the effect was minimal. Only a small amount of demonic energy was dispersed. Shandu’s forehead was already covered in sweat, his face pale, and his body trembling uncontrollably. The ferocity of the demonic energy was too much for him to bear, and he was about to fall over.

A burst of energy came from behind. It was Nanli. Nanli instantly moved to Shandu’s side, supporting him with one hand and casting a talisman with the other to absorb the surging demonic energy. The room instantly became much brighter. And she cast another talisman, which was enough to protect them both from the powerful demonic energy.

"Master Nanli!" Shandu panted, but he still couldn’t catch his breath. Because he saw that Cinian’s body still had countless demonic energies seeping out. Fortunately, Siheng was a celestial body, and the divine mark on his forehead flickered with a silvery white light, restraining the demonic energy from approaching.

He was extremely terrified, and his voice changed: "How could this be?! How could there be demonic energy seeping out of the master’s body!" Nanli also saw this and her face turned serious. She said, "Perhaps Shanxun did something beforehand." Shandu hated Shanxun immensely in his heart. But now was not the time to settle scores. He hurriedly asked, "What should we do?"

Ordinary cultivators would have a major problem if they were contaminated with a little demonic energy, let alone they were Buddha Cultivators. Nanli did not rush to answer. She first probed with spiritual energy and then had a general understanding of the situation.

"There is a source of demonic energy in Cinian’s body. Just now, when Siheng helped him treat his injuries and connected the broken meridians, it was inadvertently triggered," Nanli said, "In less than a quarter of an hour, his Buddha Bone will be destroyed."

Shandu was both shocked and angry. He didn’t want to think about how his master had been poisoned at the moment. He only knew that if his master lost his Buddha Bone, even if he recovered, his cultivation would be almost gone. Without thinking, he knelt down with a thud.

With tears in his eyes, he choked out, "Master Nanli, do you have any way? If he loses his Buddha Bone and is still contaminated with demonic energy, the master will probably suffer more than death in the future. I beg you, I am willing to give my life, just to ask Master Nanli to help the master get through this disaster."

As he spoke, large tears had already fallen. He was crying uncontrollably.