Inside the secret chamber.
After several days in a row, Zhang Qing finally adjusted himself to his peak condition. Overjoyed, he took out the Breakthrough Pill. Gazing at the crystal-lustrous pill, his eyes brimmed with determination.
"I, Zhang Qing, am in the prime of my life. With all these years of accumulation, there's no reason I shouldn't succeed!"
He had only just passed thirty, his body was at its peak, and after all these years of accumulation, he had long since touched this bottleneck. Now, with the aid of the pill, there was no reason for failure.
Brimming with confidence, Zhang Qing began circulating his cultivation and refining the Breakthrough Pill within him. Yet he failed to notice that, as the crystal-lustrous pill's medicinal effects dissolved, a wisp of Lin Chang'an's purifying spiritual power also spread through his body.
The pill had come from Lin Chang'an's hand, so it was perfectly normal for it to carry a trace of his spiritual power.
Tampering with the pill was the lowest of low strategies. Not to mention cultivators' keen sensitivity to their own bodies—once something went wrong after taking a pill, they would immediately know the pill was at fault.
Though it was easy for an alchemist to tamper with a pill, Lin Chang'an would not leave behind such an easily discovered handle. Unless he had prepared a poison pill from the very beginning, intending to kill with a single blow.
As the pill dissolved, Zhang Qing instantly felt its powerful, pure medicinal force transform into spiritual power, helping him break through the shackles that had blocked him for years.
Just as spiritual power surged through Zhang Qing's entire body and he gathered all his strength to launch an assault on the bottleneck—
Zhang Qing's expression abruptly changed. His face flushed red