Quinn Shepherd always kept a stash of medicinal herbs in his Glutton Dragon Pouch, just in case—never know when you’ll need to patch yourself up. Of course, as a divine doctor, it was only natural that he kept a few poisons in there too.
And even if he didn’t have any poison on hand, with just spiritual herbs, he could whip up something lethally toxic.
The two White Bat Demons stood upright as Quinn stepped forward to examine their injuries, frowning slightly. Their physical wounds weren’t too serious—the real problem was the soul damage inflicted by the Witch King.
The Grand Witches of Loulan Golden Palace cultivated their souls using the spirits of other beings, including humans. Their sorcery was vast, but their mastery of soul arts was unmatched; their combat magic was actually weaker than their soul techniques.
When Ben Coates fought Quinn, he didn’t use his best soul arts, but instead relied on Dao Sword and the sacred techniques of Little Jade Capital and other holy lands. As a result, he lost the initiative and was nearly killed by Quinn.
If Ben had unleashed his soul-based sorcery, the outcome would’ve been uncertain—Quinn couldn’t guarantee that the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra could withstand those soul attacks.
Loulan Golden Palace’s soul arts were known as witch-law sorcery, honed to the utmost and earning them the reputation of being the holy land of the grasslands.
The two White Bat Demons had been struck several times by the Witch King’s witch-law sorcery. Even at minimum, the Witch King’s cultivation was at the Heaven-Man Realm. That neither bat had died showed just how extraordinary god-descendant bloodlines could be.
“That tough, huh? Looks like I’ll need some heavy medicine...” Quinn muttered.
The two White Bat Demons immediately grew wary. “What did you just say?”
"I mean your injuries are pretty severe—so you’ll need some strong medicine. By the way, what should I call you two?"
To deal with Ben Coates and the witch-law sorcery of Loulan Golden Palace, Quinn had studied pharmacology and soul-nourishing remedies. Apothecary’s teachings didn’t cover much about soul poisons or witchcraft, nor were they very detailed. Apothecary was a poison king, but he mostly operated in the heartlands, rarely venturing onto the grasslands—so he didn’t know much about witch-poison or soul injuries.
But after so many run-ins with Loulan Golden Palace, Quinn gradually developed his own ideas.
Combining the Seven Creation Chapters of the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra, he devised a treatment that blended medicine with cultivation arts.
"I’m Fu Yuqiu, and this is my brother Fu Yuchun," said the white bat with the longer ears.
The two White Bat Demons watched as Quinn refined pills and medicines—without a furnace, just using his hands and yuanqi to extract the medicinal power. He handled the monarch, minister, assistant, and courier herbs all with pure technique, and the bats couldn’t help but marvel: "Bull-headed doctor, you really are something. We can barely keep up!"
It didn’t take long for Quinn to finish the first batch of spirit pills.
Fu Yuchun, whose ears were shorter, didn’t swallow the pills right away. He eyed Quinn warily: "Bull-headed doctor, you try one first!"
Quinn couldn’t help but laugh. "You two are pretty cautious. For the record, I’m not Bull—I’m Quinn. Just Quinn Shepherd." With that, he popped a spirit pill into his mouth.
Only then did the two White Bat Demons relax and take the pills. Quinn then used Creation Ghost-God Art and Creation Earth Origin Art to pat and prod them, catalyzing the medicine and stabilizing their souls. Both bats felt much better—their injuries had genuinely eased.
Quinn refined another batch of spirit pills, but Fu Yuchun still insisted he eat one first. Clearly, this bat was much more cautious than his younger brother, Fu Yuqiu.
Quinn did as asked and swallowed a pill. Only then did the two bats take theirs, and their injuries improved further.
Just then, several Grand Witches caught up and attacked without warning. The two White Bat Demons were still badly hurt, their external wounds not yet healed. Quinn flicked his finger—Worryless Sword shot forward, stabbing at the attackers.
The Grand Witches, thinking they had the upper hand, burst out laughing: "So this is the so very poor Cult Master Quinn of the Heavenly Demon Cult! Already at Six Directions, but still only one flying sword? Guess we’ll earn some credit by taking him down!"
Before they finished, a blizzard of swords erupted behind Quinn—eight thousand blades soared skyward out of the Glutton Dragon Pouch, then curved down, sweeping over the Grand Witches in a single, thunderous rush.
Quinn flicked his index finger upward; Worryless Sword flew back to its sheath, and the other seven thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine swords zipped back into the Glutton Dragon Pouch.
Where the swords had landed, not a single intact corpse remained.
The two White Bat Demons stared, wide-eyed, utterly speechless.
The Wild Di steppe soldiers could launch Saber Pills, unleashing countless curved blades in a spectacular display. But this bull-headed doctor—on his own—was an entire army. Thousands of swords flew out, each Grand Witch pierced by who knows how many blades, dying in the most unjust way imaginable.
"If those Grand Witches found us, the Witch King can’t be far behind. We shouldn’t linger!"
Quinn’s eyes flashed. He said to the two bats, "Let’s move—quickly."
The White Bat Demons followed, exchanging a glance. Fu Yuqiu grinned, "Those guys just now called you Cult Master Quinn of the Heavenly Demon Cult?"
Quinn sat atop the Dragon‑Qilin, still refining pills, and replied offhandedly, "Yeah. But we call ourselves the Holy Saint Cult."
Fu Yuqiu said, "We’ve met some Holy Saint Cult folks before—they came here too. Another group, all golden and shiny, called them the Holy Saint Cult. You’re the human cult master, but you’re not from the Fire Star clan?"
Quinn dropped his Fire Star Lord form and reverted to his usual self, smiling: "That’s right. I’m human—just using the Holy Saint Cult’s god-form to transform into the Fire Star Lord."
The two bats drooled, communicating silently: "Once we’re healed, let’s eat him!"
"Roast him—seven-tenths done!"
...
Quinn finished refining the pills but didn’t give them to the bats; he simply ate them himself and didn’t offer the remaining two either. Fu Yuchun asked, puzzled, "Why not share the spirit pills, Cult Master Quinn?"
Quinn smiled: "This batch is for detoxifying myself—not for you two."
"Detoxifying?"
Fu Yuchun shivered and stammered, "Detoxifying what, exactly?"
Quinn replied matter-of-factly, "Obviously, the poison in those last two batches of spirit pills you just took."
The bats’ faces turned black. Just as they lunged for him, their souls went numb, bodies convulsed in pain, and they collapsed, twitching on the ground.
(End of this chapter segment. Click next page for more!)
Dragon-Qilin snorted and chuckled, "Those two dumb birds actually dared eat the Cult Master’s pills—don’t they know any better?"
The bats, furious, shouted from the ground, "You’re the dumb bird, you fat lump!"
"Dragon Fatty, not everything with wings is a bird—they’re not birds at all."
Quinn picked up the two bats and set them on Dragon-Qilin’s back, grinning: "Gentlemen..."
"Pah!" the bats spat, refusing to yield.
"My poison only seeped into your souls—it’s a new soul poison I developed. This is just your first episode; after ten, your souls will tear apart, and the pain will be unbearable!"
Quinn smiled, "Soul poison is special—it multiplies inside your soul. Each attack makes it ten percent stronger. I have the antidote, but I’ll only give you a tenth of the dose each time—just enough to cancel out the extra poison."
He took the two pills he’d just refined, cut off a small piece for each bat, stuffed the pieces in their mouths, then crushed the rest to powder.
He never keeps antidote on hand—just in case the bats try to kill him and snatch it. He’ll only refine more before the next attack, keeping control over them.
The bats felt the soul poison suppressed by the antidote; the pain vanished, and they got to their feet, faces dark and uncertain.
After a moment, Fu Yuchun sighed, "We give up. But we’ll only protect you in Nethergloom Ravine—once you’re out, we go our separate ways!"
"Deal!"
Quinn agreed readily, then refined another batch of pills and tossed them to the bats, along with a bottle of Dragon Spittle Elixir for their external wounds. "Elixir on the outside, pills by mouth—your injuries should heal up nicely."
The bats swallowed the pills and smeared Dragon Spittle Elixir on their wounds—sure enough, they were almost fully healed.
"Careful—there are soul worms underground! Fat Dragon, don’t step on the ground!" Fu Yuqiu’s ears twitched as he warned.
Dragon-Qilin quickly conjured fiery clouds beneath his feet, lifting himself off the ground. Quinn looked down and saw snowy white tendrils rising from the earth, swaying gently.
These strange creatures were eerie indeed. Suddenly, twisted faces appeared on the white tendrils, mouths opening to unleash piercing screams that assaulted their souls.
The two bats shrieked in unison, sending silent shockwaves into the earth. The ground shook violently, then split open as a massive, tentacled worm burst out—half above ground, half below—instantly killed by the bats' sonic attack.
The worm rapidly dissolved, turning into a puddle that soaked into the dirt. Tiny, twisted-faced figures crawled from its body, scattering in all directions before turning into wisps of green smoke and vanishing.
Quinn was stunned. What kind of bizarre life form was this?
"Nethergloom Ravine is ancient," Fu Yuchun said. "My elders said this place once bordered the Netherworld—Youdu. Long ago, gods opened a passage to another realm, the Netherworld itself."
Fu Yuchun continued, "But some things from the Netherworld slipped through. It took immense effort to seal the breach, and our White Bat God clan was tasked with guarding this place, keeping Netherworld creatures from breaking through. Now, only the two of us remain."
The bats exchanged glances, faces twisted with bitterness, looking like two dried oranges.
Both were male—how could they possibly continue the line?
Quinn was taken aback. After a moment, he said, "I never imagined you two were guardians of this world. But you’re brothers, and both male—when you die, who will protect Nethergloom Ravine...?"
"Enough!" the bats snapped in unison.
"Alright."
Quinn dropped the subject. "Do you remember what happened sixteen years ago? Did a streak of fire fall from the sky and land here?"
"Yes—it blasted through the seal our clan’s elders left behind."
Fu Yuqiu said, "We checked it out—it was dangerous. Then some people arrived; we ate a few, but some managed to get inside, and only a handful came out alive."
Quinn’s spirits lifted. He quickly asked, "What exactly fell from the sky?"
"A ship—half buried in the Netherworld, half left in the earth."