Chapter 94: Chapter 69: Sleeve Crossbow Boiling Blood Scatter! The Lie of the Black Lotusl l
As for the fate of Black Iron Manor after that, whether Mo Tie planned to rebuild it or to enjoy his latter years in peace was no longer Su Changkong’s concern.
Su Changkong had already done enough by eliminating the threats to Black Iron Manor; he could not possibly stay there his entire life to protect it forever!
The next morning, Su Changkong hid the Iron Beast Armor in a deserted mountain more than ten miles outside Clearwater City, then he himself entered the city and rented a very quiet residence to rest in.
“Now to prepare the Boiling Blood Scatter!”
In the small courtyard, Su Changkong had regained some physical and mental strength, and he did not idle away his time, but began preparing the Boiling Blood Scatter.
He had already collected all the ingredients for Boiling Blood Scatter, but preparing the medicine took time, or else Shi Zijian would have had the unluckly chance to experience its taste!
Red-bellied snake blood, blood insect grass, septicemia flower…
Su Changkong took these ingredients he had collected, crushing some, boiling others in hot water, then mixing, blending, and simmering them strictly according to the prescription given to him by Dr. Huashan.
After spending a day or two, Su Changkong looked at the palm-sized jar of blood-red powder in front of him and could not help but swallow his saliva.
This blood-red powder gave off a scent that made Su Changkong’s blood feel as if it was being stimulated, surging within him in waves, his face flushing red!
“This stuff… is indeed a powerful poison! Even martial artists in the Qi-Blood Realm, most would not be able to withstand it!”
Su Changkong marveled; Dr. Huashan’s serendipitous discovery of the Boiling Blood Scatter prescription was certainly a deadly poison.
Su Changkong decided to test its effectiveness.
He caught a mouse, tied it up, diluted the Boiling Blood Scatter in water to make it as thick as paste, then smeared some on a small knife and lightly slashed the mouse with the blade.
“Squeak, squeak!”
Within a breaths’ time, the black-haired mouse began rolling around as if it was enduring immense pain, its blood flowing rapidly like boiling water, its body expanding and swelling, and soon blood started oozing from its skin and pores. After a few struggles, it stopped moving and died.
“This thing is too potent! Had I had the Boiling Blood Scatter during my fight with Shi Zijian and coated it on the spikes of my armor, just a scratch would have made him perish on the spot, avoiding such a difficult battle!”
Su Changkong was astonished at the horror of the Boiling Blood Scatter; in less than ten breaths, the black-haired mouse had met a grisly death.
If he poisoned his weapons and managed to cut his opponent, even a martial artist in the Qi-Blood Realm would be struck by the deadly toxin. The blood-targeting Boiling Blood Scatter was certainly a terrifying and malevolent substance.
Using poison might seem dishonorable, but when fighting for one’s life, honor cannot be a concern – only the last one standing is the victor! One must use every means possible to win!
Having prepared the Boiling Blood Scatter, Su Changkong then pondered over how to maximize its efficacy.
Ultimately, Su Changkong’s answer was a long-range hidden weapon!
With poison applied to a hidden weapon, as long as it caused a flesh wound to the enemy, the Boiling Blood Scatter would take effect.
“I’ll rent a smithy to forge the hidden weapons I need!”
Acting on his thoughts, Su Changkong spent a considerable amount of silver to rent a small but fully equipped smithy in Clearwater City. He shut the door behind him and began researching and forging the hidden weapons he needed.
“I will make a crossbow… It needs to be sufficiently concealed, able to hide within a sleeve, and deliver a surprising blow at critical moments, leaving the enemy defenseless!”
After much consideration, Su Changkong decided to create a sleeve crossbow—a very compact crossbow that could be strapped to the arm and hidden under a sleeve. Such a crossbow would naturally not be as powerful as a heavy crossbow with a range of a hundred meters.
But it didn’t have to be that powerful; Su Changkong’s goal was for it to carry the Boiling Blood Scatter, as long as it could wound the enemy, it would be sufficient!
First, Su Changkong made a design. He had forged a heavy crossbow before and had accumulated some experience.
After drawing the design, Su Changkong began to forge the sleeve crossbow. Crafting such a delicate and intricate device proved to be several times more difficult than the heavy crossbow—the smaller it was, the greater the precision and skill required to forge it, the smallest mistake could lead to a huge failure!
Forging (7th realm Profound Mastery 1%)
With Su Changkong’s forging skills improving daily through his efforts, which were no less than those put into his other martial arts, and with his recent experience forging the Ferocious Beast Armor, he had naturally progressed even further during the focused task of crafting the sleeve arrows, entering the seventh realm following the Iron Cutting Blade Technique!
“Clang, clang, clang!”
Su Changkong worked up a sweat next to the furnace, forging the various intricate parts.
It took him a whole half-month to forge the sleeve crossbow as he had envisaged it.
From the outside, the sleeve crossbow crafted by Su Changkong looked like a cylindrical tube half a foot long, with three holes to insert three bolts.
“Click, click, click!”
Su Changkong fitted the sleeve crossbow onto his left arm, loaded three custom-made bolts, wound the trigger mechanism, and the parts inside the crossbow moved and tensed, making a faint sound like a ticking clock!
There were two ways to fire the sleeve crossbow; one way required both hands to cooperate to press the trigger to discharge the bolts.
The other way was to activate it with one arm, requiring a tight fist, taut muscles, and then a forceful wrist bend to release the spring, firing the bolts and concealing the action even more!
Only with Su Changkong’s forging skills reaching a level of Profound Mastery could he create such a sophisticated sleeve crossbow.
