Master of Ten Thousand Foxes-Chapter 44: Strong Bull Horn Ointment

The sky over Fox Mountain was as it always was, heavily laden with dark clouds.

In the square, a cauldron full of medicinal soup was already boiling, "gurgling" and bubbling. A fierce wind blew, carrying the pungent smell of the soup, dispersing it among the mountains.

Bai Mo sat on a fishing recliner nearby, spreading out his divine sense to confirm that this concoction was a success.

Around the tripod furnace, dozens of fox disciples were scurrying about, arranging various vessels, preparing to bottle the newly concocted ointment and store it.

"Milo Ginseng refined, Strong Bull Horn Ointment..."

Indeed, this cauldron of ointment was meant for the maintenance of bull horns. The Ancient Immortal Dynasty used this ointment on the horns of bulls to make them harder and sharper, with the additional effect of dispelling evil!

"The ointment of Sequence Eight, refined with precious Milo Ginseng, astonishingly cannot be used by humans, only by bulls.

"It seems their previous assertion that bulls were more precious than humans in the Ancient Immortal Dynasty might truly make sense!"

The disciples were already preparing a ladder, just waiting for the tripod furnace to cool down, so they could climb up and store the ointment.

Bai Mo sat on the fishing recliner, but he frowned, feeling somewhat at a loss.

"Spent half a day cultivating Milo Ginseng.

"Spent another half day refining the ointment.

"Although during this process, I learned a lot and solidified my knowledge of the Alchemy Dao, it still feels like a loss.

"Our Fox Mountain doesn’t raise bulls, so isn’t this ointment a waste?"

Bai Mo looked at the fox disciples nearby and waved to call Quanquan Hu over.

"Let Master see your nails."

He cradled Quanquan Hu in his arms, squeezed its furry paw, and let its claws extend.

Bai Mo’s divine sense expanded, like an invisible wind, enveloping Quanquan Hu in an instant, focusing on examining its claws and meridians.

...

Time slowly ticked by.

The strong wind in the square continued, cooling the tripod furnace, cooling the ointment.

Holding Quanquan Hu, Bai Mo immersed his divine sense in its claws, thoughts flashing in his mind, lines of knowledge passing through, causing his mind to constantly clash. Like countless shiny swordfish darting wildly in the vast sea, rubbing and colliding against each other.

Finally...

The strong wind in the square continued, cooling the tripod furnace, cooling the ointment.

The fox disciples were cautiously testing the temperature of the tripod furnace, carefully setting the ladder against the furnace, preparing to climb up and store the ointment.

When suddenly, they heard the master speak out.

"Stop!

"Don’t seal this cauldron of ointment yet.

"We will add some ingredients and alter its effects.

"Everyone, go to the storage, fetch a hundred pounds of Dragon Snake Grass, fifty pounds of Shallow Sands, and a thousand fox hairs."

What?

The fox disciples exchanged glances but immediately obeyed.

Though they didn’t understand why, the master’s words were always right. The master’s orders must be followed!

Soon, two large bundles of Dragon Snake Grass, a large bag of Shallow Sands, and a bag of fox hair were delivered.

These fox hairs weren’t very fresh; they were gathered over the years from dormitory cleanings. The master forbade throwing them away, storing them in the warehouse. Recently, as the diet of the fox disciples improved, they shed less hair, making fox hair quite rare now... If more is needed, they would have to pluck it from everyone!

"First, pound the Dragon Snake Grass into a fluffed state, then add the fox hair and mix them evenly..."

Bai Mo began to instruct, and the fox disciples immediately complied.

Yet they were unsure what the master intended to concoct.

...

After a few hours, a brand new ointment was ready.

Under the master’s direction, the fox disciples held copper ladles, pouring the ointment directly onto the square ground.

This new ointment was extremely adhesive; when poured on the ground, it wouldn’t even spread, pooling in thick heaps that solidified quickly under the mountain wind.

Some fox disciples carried buckets, others held ladles, working in groups from south to north and east to west, pouring a ladle of ointment every few steps on the square.

One ladle after another, under the cold wind, solidified into mounds of ointment scattered across the square.

When the last ladle was poured, Bai Mo took a sweeping glance, instantly counting them.

"A hundred by a hundred grid of ointment mounds, exactly ten thousand mounds. One for each disciple, just right!"

More and more fox disciples peeked out from the edge of the square, looking at the many mounds of ointment. What was the master up to?

Then Bai Mo cleared his throat, and spoke with a magnified voice.

"This is for everyone’s practice!

"Originally, the Strong Bull Horn Ointment could only strengthen bull horns. But that thing is useless for us on Fox Mountain!

"Now the revised Strong Bull Horn Ointment... or rather, renamed as Strong Fox Claw Ointment, can strengthen fox claws!

"Everyone gets one mound, and by plunging your claws into it, you can strengthen them!"

The mountain wind blew, the fox disciples exchanged glances, and fell silent.

They extended their claws, looked at them, stretched out their nails, and looked at them again.

They recalled the experiences learned in Puncture Valve practice, remembered the tasks Black Gloves talked about, and remembered Black Gloves’ "Spirit Rhinoceros Finger"!

The master concocted this "Strong Fox Claw Ointment," which could amplify claws and nails!

"Yay, yay, yay!"

"Woo, woo, woo!"

With joyous sounds, a group of foxes rushed to the square, dancing in circles around the master, swaying their heads and wagging their tails.

...

The mountain wind howled.

Bai Mo sat in the square, tightening the collar of his raincoat, holding a tablet computer, studying new Pill Formulas while watching the fox disciples practice.

In the square, there were a total of ten thousand mounds of ointment, several thousand of which already had fox disciples vigorously plunging into them! Thousands more fox disciples, who hadn’t finished their work in the medicinal field, would come later.

Quanquan Hu guarded its own mound of ointment, noticing that this black, sticky mound didn’t look appealing. But the appearance didn’t matter! What mattered was the effect!

At that moment, it extended its claws, revealing its nails, striking like lightning, with a "thud," puncturing the mound.

The texture of this ointment was very unique, and once penetrated, a huge resistance was felt, making the nails ache. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Ow!"

Quanquan Hu cried out.

Not just it, but also thousands of fox disciples in the square occasionally let out cries. This ointment was even harder to puncture than that Puncture Valve!

Quanquan Hu pulled its nails out of the ointment, feeling sore. Yet, amidst the soreness, there was a cool sensation creeping along the nails.

Quanquan Hu frowned, thinking this ointment truly had an effect, worthy of being concocted by the master!

It grinned, bared its teeth, and plunged a claw again!

Thud!

"Ow!"

...

As the fox disciples continued to plunge their claws, the black ointment slowly faded in the outer layer, gradually hardening and turning into fine white sand, blown away by the mountain wind. The inner layer of black ointment was exposed. In this way, a mound of ointment was slowly lessened by every plunge.

Bai Mo sat in the fishing recliner, spreading his divine sense, occasionally sweeping over the ointment, occasionally sweeping over the claws of the fox disciples.