Tang Peng felt a warm stream of energy enter his body, but it disappeared after entering his body in a few seconds. More streams of the same energy rushed into his body at the same time, but only a few streams remained after a while, but they rushed into his body and healed his wounds.
Tang Peng then sat straight up, making the disciples avert their gazes. The hunger inside of him had worsened all of the sudden, making his stomach create a rumbling sound.
"Hmm, it seems you're extremely injured. I needed six streams of Tree Spirit Qi to heal you. Why did you go down the mountain on your own? You're just a mortal." Heng Tan said. He did not know why someone would willingly go against the mountain's weather just to get down.
"You? You're called Heng Tan right?" Tang Peng exclaimed in surprise. He did not notice that a high level cultivator like him would suddenly show up to help him. He automatically assumed that Heng Tan was high-levelled, as he appeared to have deep knowledge on the realms of cultivation.
"Yeah. I'm the Rotating Core doctor for disciples. Why are you so surprised? People do get injured." Heng Tan raised an eyebrow as he pumped more Tree Spirit Qi into Tang Peng's body. It appeared as thick yellow threads, which extended into Tang Peng's acupoints. Tang Peng's injuries fully healed with one last huge infusion of it.
"Oh. Do you have any food or water? I'm feeling hungry. Peng Xiu was not around so I took it on myself to come down and search." Tang Peng explained. Thinking back on it, it was quite stupid to go out without knowing about the conditions of the mountain. He could have possibly died back there.
"Food? And water? Didn't Peng Xiu send some food for you?" Heng Tan contemplated for a moment. "Uhh... it was a momentary mistake. Just send me back then." Tang Peng shamelessly asked.
"Hey, I already wasted some of my Tree Spirit Tree Qi on you. Don't you think you should repay me?" Heng Tan accused Tang Peng of having no gratitude, which made Tang Peng feel guilty. "I will do something for you to make up for it."
"Good. You can become my lab rat then. Since you're hungry, I will provide some food for you." Heng Tan smiled. He wanted to test if there were any adverse effects of possession on Tang Peng. He then signalled for Tang Peng to follow him.
Even though Tang Peng felt apprehensive about this, he felt that he needed to repay Heng Tan. His parents had taught him that he needed to return favours. The man had saved his life, so it was only fair for him to become a lab rat. Tang Peng
Since Tang Peng had arrived at Nine Step Sect's main grounds, he was curious about the life of cultiavtors. He peeked around him, seeing the various disciples going about their daily lives. There were people who were holding jade bottles in their hands, some who were diligently reading, some that were pointing fingers at him and muttering... It seemed like he was popular around here now, which made Tang Peng slightly happy.
Even though Tang Peng was curious about what they could be discussing, he ultimately ignored them. They could gossip about him all they wanted. He just needed to fulfil his basic instincts now.
Soon enough, Tang Peng and Heng Tan arrived at a long row of wooden huts. There were some people outside of these huts who were practicing some moves. They looked a lot older and taller than Tang Peng. They were also chanting continuously, "One Step to Hell, Nine Steps to Heaven."
"In case you haven't noticed, this is the servant huts. The people you see practicing have accrued enough contribution points or received a gift, so they can begin to cultivate the basic One Step theory." Heng Tan was like a tour guide, explaining the basic structure of the Nine Step Sect.
"One Step theory? Could you elaborate on it?" Tang Peng was curious about the cultivation technique that the Nine Step Sect used. Even though he had no potential, the knowledge of cultivation techniques would surely help one day.
"By relying on one's potential, one can unlock the meridians and draw in the Qi. It takes around 1 year to unlock meridians with average talent, but with monthly pills this is reduced to 6 months. Then, one can create spiritual soil in the soul. The more soul there is, the higher the realm. Wait, this is confidential knowledge. I will have to kill you now." Heng Tan looked seriously at Tang Peng, making him gulp down his saliva.
"Don't worry, this is quite basic knowledge, so you won't need to be silenced or anything like that." Heng Tan, upon making such a joke, laughed out loud. Tang Peng awkwardly laughed together with him. This destroyed Tang Peng's perception of him as a ruthless cultivator, which made him slightly more relaxed.
Heng Tan then took out a key from a ring on his hand. He used it to unlock the door leading to a uniquely patterned hut, which had special symbols that was carved in the wood.
When Tang Peng entered the hut, he could detect a strong medicinal smell. There was also a sickly sweet smell in the air. Just smelling it was making Tang Peng activate his gag reflex, even though it did not have any disgusting smell at all. He could also see that there were various gases around him, which was absorbed quickly by the special symbols in the wood.
"Here, wear this mask. There are a lot of substances here that could kill you very fast." Heng Tan handed Tang Peng a piece of cloth, which was emitting a smoky smell. He pressed it against his nose and mouth, cancelling out the smells immediately.
His body started going back to normal after the smells were gone. "Why didn't you give me the mask earlier before we entered?" Tang Peng asked angrily. It was embarrassing for him to have his lower half suddenly burn up.
"It's harmless. It's just that the side effects are inconvenient. Do you want to eat or not?" Heng Tan moved further into the hut, but he secretly smirked at pulling off the little trick on Tang Peng. Tang Peng pressed the mask even harder on his face, as he could detect some faint smells around him.
Since the hut was bigger than most of the wooden huts around, it was separated into two sections by a passage. When Tang Peng moved into the passage, he could hear the cries of numerous beasts, which he ignored as he hurried into the other section.
At the other section of the wooden hut, there was a wooden bed with neat blankets. There was also a table where a stack of books were arranged neatly. In the center, however, was a large round wooden table.
There were dried stains on the table, while a set of knives and other medical equipment was nearby. Tang Peng looked curiously at the table. What creature could require this amount of space? Could it be... humans?
"It's ready. Eat up." Heng Tan took out some raw meat and vegetables from a cabinet. They emitted a pleasing smell together, which made Tang Peng salivate. The desire to eat wiped away all other thoughts in his mind. Even though it wasn't cooked, he still wanted to eat it.
"This is the 1 star Qi Absorption Demon Rabbit. It can quench thirst and fill up mortals. I put some tiny flakes of Snowy Dew Herb to enhance the flavour for the candidates of the test to have a good meal." Heng Tan boasted about his non-existent culinary skills, but his jaw dropped when he finally looked at Tang Peng.
Tang Peng had already devoured the food, down to the very last morsel. Not only that, he still looked hungry for more food, as if he was a black hole that could never be satisfied. When he noticed Heng Tan looking at him with shock, he scratched his head.
"Sorry, I was too hungry. You got any more food to eat?" Tang Peng shamelessly asked for more food. He was growing after all, it shouldn't be too much to eat a bit food right? He had felt that there was something special about the meat, and that he needed to eat it right away.
As Tang Peng thought this, the energy that contained the Yin energy of the demon rabbit reached his darkened soul. It absorbed the demon rabbit's Yin energy, before his soul started to rotate around. After the soul finished rotating, the Yin energy was sent throughout his body.