Crimson Flame Sword Art

He comprehended ten cultivation manuals in a row.

Only when Su Hao felt a faint swelling ache in his head did he realize that this ability had its limits in the short term, tied to his mental capacity. Ordinary people, too, would grow weary and develop headaches after studying for too long.

"They're all basic cultivation manuals. Mastering more of them is useless... I should look at some spells."

At first, he had thought that the more, the better.

Once his temples began to ache, Su Hao hurriedly shifted his focus and committed all the remaining basic spells to memory.

After finishing, his head swam and throbbed, and he sat down on the ground.

"Sigh, in truth, the only cultivation manual truly important and useful to me is the Crimson Flame Sword Art! Reading the others is no different from reading nothing."

After resting for a while, Su Hao finally came to understand this.

He had encountered so many cultivation manuals and spells at once that his mind had failed to turn the corner.

He had come here to find a way to strengthen himself. One such method was enough—trying to swallow too much would only leave him unable to digest it!

Naturally, he had to choose the most suitable and convenient method.

And after comprehending all the books, Su Hao had already determined which one suited him best. There was no cultivation manual here better than the Crimson Flame Sword Art!

The Qi Refining Art lacked power, and the spiritual energy it condensed was of poor quality.

The Spirit Wood Scripture was a wood-element cultivation manual. Its spiritual energy was enduring and resilient, but both the spells recorded within it and the standalone Vine Thorn Spell were rather weak.

Moreover, Qi Refining stage cultivators had limited spiritual energy. Their battles often centered on close-quarters combat, without so many fancy flourishes. Even cultivators without talent in the sword dao would still learn some swordsmanship.

By the time Su Hao went downstairs, night had already fallen.

Old Man Zhao had built a bonfire outside the bamboo lodge and was roasting a pheasant. A jar of wine sat beside him, and every now and then, he would lift it and take a deep swig.

"Kid, you're out?" Old Man Zhao beckoned Su Hao over. "Can you understand what you read?"

"..." Su Hao smiled, keenly aware of the importance of keeping a low profile.

"Even with the most worthless cultivation manual, if you fumble through it on your own, one careless mistake could make you suffer deviation." Old Man Zhao spoke with a sigh.

Su Hao's eyes shifted, and he bowed to Old Man Zhao. "Senior, could you teach me how to cultivate?"

"Hah? Did you forget what I said this afternoon? Talent is very important! You don't have that talent, so how could I teach you? Can you even hold out until then?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Old Man Zhao slapped his own mouth and muttered, "Almost let it slip again."

"Senior, there's no need to hide things from me. I know quite a lot—for example, the true purpose of Medicine Slaves. Lin Zhi Shan wants to use us to complete the Hundred Profound Gang Body, doesn't he?"

Su Hao stepped closer.

"Oh, you even know about the Hundred Profound Gang Body!" Old Man Zhao was utterly stunned. A Medicine Slave should never know such a deep secret.

Even he himself had only learned of this secret by chance from a steward.

"Since you know, you must be terrified now, right?" Old Man Zhao pondered for two seconds but did not press him further.

"Yes, so I want to find a way to survive." Su Hao sighed.

"Don't waste your effort. Lin Zhi Shan is at Qi Refining Level 7 and has decades of experience. How can you fight him? If you cultivate according to ordinary methods, it would already be good if you advanced one level in half a year or a year. What's more, you still need time to make up for your shortcomings in spells and magical artifacts.

"I advise you to behave yourself. At least then, you'll die more quickly."

Old Man Zhao shook his head and simply laid everything bare. In any case, this kid already knew about the Medicine Slaves.

"That can't be... Ge Lao Si, who came in with me, reached Qi Refining Level 2 in just a few days. And Master gave us plenty of Origin Blood Pills. Senior disciple brother Lin Miao said that Origin Blood Pills are treasures—Lin Zhi Shan poured a great deal of effort and precious medicinal ingredients into them."

Su Hao wore the look of a simple-minded fool. "Master gave me lots of Origin Blood Pills too."

"Origin Blood Pills are spiritual pills made from many precious medicinal ingredients. Lin Zhi Shan truly poured immense effort into them. He spent more than ten years' worth of savings on this, and the pills' medicinal power is abundant. One pill can equal a month of cultivation."

Old Man Zhao's words abruptly stopped.

"Origin Blood Pills are poisonous, right?" Su Hao asked probingly.

"..." Old Man Zhao frowned tightly and stared into Su Hao's eyes. "Who told you so much?"

"Sigh, it's a long story... No matter what, you know my situation too. There's no turning the tide." Su Hao let out a long sigh. "I'll listen to Lin Zhi Shan properly. Right now, I just want to die knowing the truth."

Old Man Zhao glared at Su Hao. "Then don't drag me down with you. If I tell you everything and Lin Zhi Shan comes to settle the score with me afterward, what then?"

"He's already gone into secluded cultivation with Ge Lao Si. I'll most likely be next. He won't care about such things," Su Hao said.

"Actually, there's no harm in telling you. Every Origin Blood Pill you take costs you one year of your lifespan! You won't live to die of old age anyway, so naturally, you don't need to worry about this poison."

After thinking it over, Old Man Zhao decided to tell him the truth.

"One pill costs a year of lifespan!"

Su Hao was startled. But Old Man Zhao was right: Medicine Slaves would not even live for a year, let alone several decades. Whether one's lifespan was a hundred years or a thousand, it did not matter.

Su Hao had no more questions.

He had claimed to be seeking Old Man Zhao's guidance in cultivation, but in truth, it was because Old Man Zhao was kinder than the other people of the Golden Light Sect. He had merely used the topic as an excuse to ask more questions.

"Thank you, Senior, for speaking so honestly."

Su Hao cupped his hands in farewell.

Old Man Zhao watched Su Hao leave and shook his head with a sigh.

In a sect like this, even he had to survive by acting weak and fawning.

His situation was hardly any better than Su Hao's. All he could do was cower in a bamboo lodge like this and cling to life.

Upon returning to Bamboo Heart Courtyard, Su Hao rushed straight back to his room and immediately swallowed another Origin Blood Pill.

"If the poison merely shortens my lifespan, it won't kill me outright. I can accept that!

Not to mention, my physique has a strong resistance to pill toxins."

Su Hao no longer had any concerns.

With the "Medicine Spirit" talent, it would naturally be best if he could completely resist pill toxins.

But even if it could only detoxify part of them, that was still fine—it would reduce the losses.

Not long after swallowing the Origin Blood Pill, that nauseating, retching discomfort surged up again.

This time, Su Hao was prepared and vomited into the wooden bucket.

Then he began cultivating.

The medicinal power from the two Origin Blood Pills was immensely rich, filling every limb and bone.

Su Hao's hot blood boiled, his qi and blood rushing to his head.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and circulated the cultivation method of the Crimson Flame Sword Art.

The medicinal power continuously transformed into surging spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy cultivated through the Hundred Profound Medicine Veins dissipated in the process, merging into the new spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy condensed by the Crimson Flame Sword Art was far denser, violent in nature, and its power and quality were nowhere near comparable to that fraudulent cultivation method, the Hundred Profound Medicine Veins.

In the blink of an eye, the night passed.

The accumulated medicinal power from the Heart Nurturing Pills and Origin Blood Pills he had taken over the past several days was all dissolved and converted.

Under normal circumstances, without the foundations of Heart Nurturing Pills and Hundred Profound Medicine Veins spiritual energy, as long as Su Hao stopped taking Heart Nurturing Pills and Origin Blood Pills, he would no longer be suitable material for Lin Zhi Shan's Hundred Profound Gang Body.

Name: Su Hao
Realm: Qi Refining Level 2
Talents: Fire Elemental Sword Physique (Blue), Medicine Spirit (Blue), Medicine Person (Gray, ineffective)

Su Hao felt none of the Origin Blood Pill's side effects. Lifespan was something invisible and intangible, so naturally he had no way to judge any losses related to it.

"I'll take each day as it comes—every day I live is a day earned! Even if I die, I won't let Lin Zhi Shan have his way!"

Su Hao saw no hope of defeating Lin Zhi Shan. The gap between their realms was simply too great!

There were only three Origin Blood Pills left.

The rest were in Lin Miao's hands.

Su Hao simply swallowed all three remaining Origin Blood Pills at once!

Origin Blood Pills required time for Qi Refining cultivators to refine and absorb. Even Lin Zhi Shan would not dare swallow so many Origin Blood Pills in one go.

Their medicinal power was too violent, placing an enormous burden on the meridians and internal organs.

But Su Hao dared!

It was only a swelling pain in his meridians, and even that pain gradually improved as he cultivated.

That night, Lin Miao unexpectedly did not come to Bamboo Heart Courtyard.

"Steward, do you have any weapons, like a longsword or a dagger?" Su Hao went to find the steward of Bamboo Heart Courtyard.