Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 304 - 294: Divine Invitation Potion

Lu You watched as the test results came in, a flash of joy crossing her face.

She rarely took supplements and had thought her Sea of Consciousness was still a long way from the strength required of a Two-star Beastmaster.

It turned out she was only half a star short. Realizing this, a shortcut came to mind.

"The supplies from the university included a bottle of Sea of Consciousness Expansion Liquid... I’ll try it later."

Lu You murmured, her voice soft. It seemed like she was talking to herself, but she was actually seeking Gu Ming’s opinion.

Gu Ming’s expression shifted. ’What a familiar medicine,’ he thought. ’Isn’t this the Spiritual Power expansion drug advertised on TV all the time, the one every eighteen-year-old is supposed to take?’

His family had bought a bottle for him during the New Year, but Gu Ming hadn’t drunk it.

In the system’s eyes, that stuff was a low-quality Divine Invitation Potion for the Divine Invitation Ceremony. He didn’t know if that was the truth, or if the system had forcibly twisted its nature into being a Divine Invitation Potion.

In any case, an idea began to form in Gu Ming’s mind.

"Let me see..."

Gu Ming’s supplies also contained the liquid provided by the university.

He casually unzipped his backpack and rummaged in a side pocket for a moment before pulling out a small, exquisite glass vial.

The Spiritual Liquid in this vial was identical to the one in Lu You’s palm. Both were in thumb-sized ceramic bottles, the liquid sloshing gently at the bottom, appearing to hold shattered stars from the Milky Way.

Upon closer inspection, the suspended motes of light would coalesce into fine streams along the bottle’s inner walls, stirring a primal hunger in both of them and making their mouths go dry.

Gu Ming was already a Two-star Beastmaster, so he had little desire for the Sea of Consciousness Expansion Liquid. The Spiritual Liquid suitable for him was the Golden Sea Liquid, meant for nineteen-year-old Beastmasters.

Lu You, however, was struggling to resist. Her breathing quickened, and she unconsciously licked her lips.

She desperately wanted to catch up to Gu Ming. Her Sea of Consciousness was half a star weaker than his—no, perhaps the gap was even wider.

How could she possibly resist drinking it?

[Your classmate with severe social anxiety wishes to expand her Sea of Consciousness. She has taken out a low-quality Divine Invitation Potion. With her weak willpower, she is currently being swayed by an Evil God.]

"Wait."

Gu Ming suddenly placed a hand on hers, stopping her.

[You intervened with a sharp rebuke, cutting off the Evil God’s influence.]

[You know that expanding one’s Sea of Consciousness through an Evil God’s ritual is inadvisable. The short-term boost will bring unknown hidden dangers. You have decided to have Cyan Treasure use Rootless Wood to process the low-quality Divine Invitation Potions on hand and purify both doses.]

"What’s wrong?"

Lu You asked weakly, not understanding why Gu Ming was holding her hand.

Gu Ming’s thoughts raced as he followed the system’s line of reasoning.

"It’s not safe to drink it directly. We should purify it first."

Previously, Gu Ming wouldn’t have had the ability to purify the liquid.

But now, having learned a great deal about the Cultivation Element, he knew that the strange plants grown from the Grass Seed of a Grass Element Pet Beast had developed root systems capable of absorbing toxic elements from poisons, leaving behind pure Spiritual Water.

The system’s logic was likely based on this principle: to use the powerful, invasive nature of the Rootless Wood to absorb the toxic components from the Divine Invitation Potion.

The Rootless Wood itself grew rooted in the void. The wood wouldn’t contaminate the land, and its toxic roots would eventually be exiled into the void to self-destruct, which amounted to a safe disposal.

Besides, with Ah Kun’s Devouring Secret Technique, he could just throw it to Ah Kun to be devoured and converted into Evolution potential if the purification failed.

He immediately put his thoughts into action. Gu Ming took the liquid from her hand without asking for permission.

Of course, Lu You had no objections. She felt a deep sense of concern from him, as if he had been genuinely worried she would take the medicine incorrectly.

’How could something from the university be harmful?’ she thought. But if Gu Ming felt it was only safe after purification, she would trust him unconditionally.

"Cyan Treasure, use Rootless Wood and have it absorb the toxic components in this liquid," Gu Ming said.

This was the first time Cyan Treasure had ever done something like this.

"Is this medicine poisonous?" Cyan Treasure asked, its tongue flicking like a snake’s.

"All medicines have some toxicity; it’s just a matter of whether it’s weak or strong," Gu Ming said, shaking his head.

This is precisely why Alchemy exists—to neutralize and adjust the toxicity through a large number of ingredients, leaving behind only the beneficial parts for the human body.

However, in some cases, to maximize a medicine’s effects, a higher concentration of toxic components also means a higher concentration of active ingredients. This is a trade-off an Alchemist must make.

Gu Ming gave Cyan Treasure simple instructions. It immediately shook its Foundation Establishment Tripod, creating a clone of the Seed of Rootless Wood Grass from its Dantian and casting it into the void.

SWOOSH!

It opened its mouth and shot out a Plant Life Light Wave, rapidly catalyzing the Rootless Wood and allowing it to skip its long growth period to instantly become a mature specimen.

Purple-black roots of the Rootless Wood extended from the void, easily piercing the two vials and beginning to absorb the liquid inside.

Gu Ming transmitted the impression of the toxic ingredients—information converted by the system in his mind—to Cyan Treasure via his Divine Sense.

Upon receiving the signal, the Rootless Wood began to actively absorb the toxic components.

In less than two seconds, the two fingernail-sized drops of Spiritual Liquid had shrunk by more than half.

The sparkling, star-like effect of the Sea of Consciousness Expansion Liquid vanished, leaving behind a simple, transparent droplet.

At the same time, the desire it induced in humans to consume it also diminished. The feeling for both of them shifted from ’This looks delicious, I really want to eat it,’ to ’Is this just plain water?’ The change in perception was immediate.

Lu You could clearly feel the change in her desire to consume it. It seemed to her that Cyan Treasure had truly extracted the toxic substances, which made her feel much more at ease.

Gu Ming waited a moment until a system notification appeared, indicating that the liquid was now completely purified and no longer possessed the spiritually infectious properties that pointed toward the Evil God’s ritual.

However, the medicine’s original Medicinal Power had also been reduced from 100% to 50%.

But conveniently, Gu Ming and Lu You’s two doses combined were now equivalent to the original 100% efficacy.

After that, it was just a matter of drinking it.

"Um... I’m going to go take a shower first,"

Lu You said quietly, her face blushing.

According to the medicine’s instructions, she needed to change her clothes and bathe, then come out to burn incense for the Divine Invitation Ceremony, and finally take the medicine to receive the Spirit Venerable’s blessing.

Gu Ming’s expression flickered. He wanted to stop her from performing the Divine Invitation Ceremony.

Even though the medicine’s composition had been altered by the Rootless Wood, it was hard to say whether she could still successfully call upon the Spirit Venerable.

But if she just drank it directly, it wouldn’t have any effect. After all, the stuff was originally meant to be used for the Divine Invitation Ceremony.

The Spirit Venerable was a subordinate of the Spirit God, and most Spiritual Pet Beasts in the world were blessed by the Spirit God.

Asking the Spirit Venerable for a blessing through the Divine Invitation Ceremony was something most people did.

Even the instructors at Wenquxing University believed this; otherwise, they wouldn’t have distributed this Spiritual Liquid to the students.

In their view, since it had been used for so many years without issue, it was only natural to continue the tradition.

Gu Ming waited in the living room for twenty minutes. When she returned from her shower, her hair was still damp. She was wearing a different high school uniform and looking down at the instructions.

Gu Ming glanced at his system, waiting to see if it would react.

He waited for a long time, until Lu You began to loudly chant the name of the Spirit Venerable.

Gu Ming couldn’t wait any longer and interrupted her Divine Invitation Ceremony again.

"Wait."

Gu Ming decided that if the system wasn’t going to bug out, he would just have to trigger a bug himself.