Eating Soft Rice Wasn't Easy

"Damn it, old man, don't you know people can be scared to death by others? You always sneak around like a ghost, seriously." Recognizing General Jiang's voice, Liu Ding pouted.

"What old man? How rude. You should know that being rude to me is being rude to yourself." General Jiang rolled his eyes. This little brat had no sense of respect.

"If you want people to respectfully call you General Jiang, you'd better prove that you have what it takes to be a teacher." Liu Ding rolled his eyes as well. Seriously, other people's grandpas-in-a-ring were arrogant, overpowered, cool, and badass. Yet here was this down-and-out old man, a Four-Vessel Martial Apprentice, demanding respect.

"Hmph. I may not be capable of teaching others, but guiding you as you are now is more than easy enough for me." General Jiang snorted. "If you keep being so careless with your words, this old man will never come again."

"Come on, I know you love me the most." Liu Ding shamelessly laughed it off. "General Jiang, do you have any way to completely clear my Meridian Court?"

"As for a method, just keep taking medicinal baths with the Du Meridian Fluid Zhi'er gave you." General Jiang winked.

"You damn old man, you're messing with me?" Liu Ding roared.

Having finally gotten the better of the brat once, General Jiang was in an excellent mood. He chuckled. "Although you'll still be using Zhi'er's medicinal fluid, there's one difference. Aside from the blood of ferocious beasts, you'll also need Gallstone Crystals from earth-element ferocious beasts. The higher their grade, the better. The first four vessels—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—are wood, metal, fire, and water. With earth added, the five elements generate one another, allowing the medicinal fluid to achieve its greatest effect."

"Bone Forging Root, Meridian Fusion Grass, ferocious beast blood, and Gallstone Crystals from high-grade ferocious beasts... Old man, do you think I'm some rich tycoon? Even counting on all ten fingers, those things would still be outrageously expensive. Even Zhi'er only collected enough ingredients to make one basin of this medicinal fluid. Where am I supposed to get them?" Liu Ding was truly speechless.

"That's none of my concern. Go steal, go rob, or go become a pretty boy kept by a woman. I'm only giving you guidance. Whether you can truly become a mighty strongman capable of lifting heavy weights depends on you." General Jiang chuckled as he gradually faded away, cloak and all, disappearing into the darkness.

"Do I really have to live off a woman? Even if Zhi'er is fair, rich, and beautiful, I can't bring myself to be some pretty boy." Liu Ding sighed. Back then, he had been a happy fool with plenty of fun but no money.

When he stepped out of the room, he saw Zhi'er sitting on a small chair beside the doorway, looking over at him. Her crystal-like, beautiful eyes swept over him, and she seemed to freeze for a moment.

It had only been one medicinal bath, yet Zhi'er felt that Liu Ding now seemed somewhat different. It was not merely the vigor of someone who had just recovered from his injuries, but a feeling as though he had been reborn.

"Zhi'er's medicinal fluid really is amazing." Having no choice, Liu Ding first tried flattering Zhi'er. "I was just wondering... um, do you still have any medicinal ingredients?"

"Hm? You look completely recovered. Why do you still need ingredients for Du Meridian Fluid? Do you think they're cabbages?" Zhi'er sounded mildly reproachful, though a deeper meaning seemed to glimmer in her crystal-like eyes.

"Well... could you lend me some money first?" Liu Ding laughed awkwardly, then added, "I want to take a look around the night market."

"The night market?" Zhi'er's crystal eyes brightened. "I've never visited a human night market before. Can you take me?"

"Can I refuse?" Liu Ding smiled bitterly.

"What, you don't want to bring along a wealthy patron like me?" Zhi'er smiled faintly. "Don't worry. Whatever you want to buy, I'll pay for it."

That was exactly what worried him. Liu Ding's smile stiffened further. Eating soft rice like this was too embarrassing, damn it.

A few hours after nightfall was Bleser City's liveliest time. Everywhere was brilliantly lit as though it were daytime, and crowds of people in strange clothing filled the streets.

These people were either cultivators or mercenaries,

During the day, people were either hunting monsters or training. Only during this period could they relax a little and replenish the equipment and supplies they would need for the next day.

Before Zhi'er had taken human form, she would never have dared come to such a dangerous place. If she were caught, she would be sold as a highly valuable beast pet.

A girl's heart was always the same. Zhi'er lingered at cosmetics stalls everywhere, filled with curiosity.

With his purse empty, Liu Ding could only risk his life to accompany the beauty. Only after Zhi'er had tired of playing did he take her into a medicinal herb shop and buy the Bone Forging Root and Meridian Fusion Grass needed for the Du Meridian Fluid. Naturally, Zhi'er paid for them.

"I'll pay you back." Every time they bought an ingredient, Liu Ding made the promise with complete sincerity.

"Are you sure you really want to pay me back?" Zhi'er looked at Liu Ding reproachfully.

"If I don't, then I really will be living off a woman." Liu Ding smiled bitterly.

"That's true. You'd lose face." Zhi'er covered her mouth and laughed. Then she suddenly stuffed a gold card into his hand. "It seems I didn't consider your pride. Consider it a loan. There are ten thousand gold coins inside."

Ten thousand... The gold card felt a little hot in his hand. Liu Ding looked at Zhi'er. This little girl actually had a gold card. Her identity as a spirit beast was becoming harder and harder to see through.

"What, is that not enough? Remember, you have to pay it back. If I lend you any more, you won't be able to repay it. I don't want you paying with your body. You're my brother, Brother Liu Ding." Seeing Liu Ding staring blankly, Zhi'er covered her mouth and teased him.

"It's enough, it's enough," Liu Ding hurriedly said. Sigh, pretending to be her brother had blocked any chance of taking things further. He had truly dug his own grave. Was it too late to regret it now?

All the ingredients for the Du Meridian Fluid had been purchased. Now, only beast blood and Gallstone Crystals were missing.

Gallstone Crystals, also known as gall essence, were not the gall essence of ordinary ferocious beasts. They came from ferocious beasts capable of advancing in rank. As such beasts advanced, their gall essence continuously evolved as well, containing the Beast Soul Qi of the ferocious beasts. They were an indispensable ingredient in pill formulas for cultivation in this world.

For example, the White Tiger Soul Forging Pill and Azure Dragon Soul Forging Pill used during the Liu Clan's advancement were refined from Gallstone Crystals of ferocious beasts and named accordingly.

In truth, the White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and other Soul Forging Pills of the Liu Clan only used subspecies of those divine beasts. If they were truly refined from the Gallstone Crystals of divine beasts such as the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, or Black Tortoise, a low-level Soul Forging Martial Apprentice would explode and die upon consuming one.

Refining a ferocious beast's Gallstone Crystal into a pill was no simple task. The refiner needed powerful mental strength to control the Beast Soul Qi contained within the crystal and make it merge perfectly into the pill.

Therefore, on Shan Continent, people with such abilities were called Pill Consecrators.

Consecrating pills was difficult, while directly mixing the ingredients into medicinal fluid was much easier. However, the drawback of medicinal fluid was that the Beast Soul Qi dissipated quickly, and less than thirty percent of it could be used.

This was also one reason why Liu Ding had soaked in the medicinal bath for an entire day yet still failed to completely clear his Meridian Court.

But medicinal baths had their own advantages. They did not require overly complex consecration methods and could be absorbed directly. Liu Ding was now breaking through toward Five Soulforging Cauldrons. Combined with the stable metal, wood, water, and fire of the first four vessels, what he needed was a Gallstone Crystal from an earth-element ferocious beast.

For a medicinal bath, fresh beast blood and Gallstone Crystals were best. Thus, this line of trade had developed independently, with mercenaries mostly hunting the materials during the day and selling them at the night market.

Liu Ding led Zhi'er through several streets before entering the avenue of shops specializing in beast blood and Gallstone Crystals on Mercenary Street.

The moment they entered the blood-soaked street, they saw all kinds of people, most of them fierce-looking mercenaries. However, there was no need to fear, because this street was under the Liu Clan's control.