Chen Fusheng was pouring tea when he heard Huang Li calling out repeatedly. Irritated, he headed toward the inner room.
"The weather outside is freezing. Don't wake Grandpa."
Huang Li suddenly realized that Chen Fusheng's attitude had grown somewhat cold. She turned and said, "I've been busy with missions lately and haven't had time to look after the Household. Keep these things for now."
Seeing the gift packages fly out of her storage pouch, Chen Fusheng grew even more vexed. "You focus on your work. I've become a cultivator now. The Household isn't lacking anything."
Huang Li knitted her brows. She had spent no small amount of money when Huang Tiancheng fell ill. Back then, Chen Fusheng had no skills to speak of, and she had even needed to subsidize him.
Besides, as a man, he should have borne more responsibility. How was it that, looking at him now, he seemed to be blaming her instead?
That annoyed Huang Li. She had her own life and social circle. Of course, she was grateful that Huang Tiancheng had raised her all these years, but if one really calculated things carefully, her birth parents had left her some property when they died.
"Bang!"
In the outer room, Ling Yao knocked on the table in irritation. He disliked dealings between relatives.
Ling Yao's mood had already been poor. He had gone out on the river once, only to encounter a snowstorm that froze the river over. Going back and forth had delayed him for nearly a month, causing enormous losses.
What surprised him instead was that, just after returning to the Star Gazing Manor, he had heard that an Outer Sect Disciple had hauled up a fifty-pound fish.
Those bright, silvery-white scales at its tail... made him suspect that it might be an escaped top-grade spirit fish.
But how could a mere Outer Sect Disciple have the ability to haul it ashore?
Huang Li hurried out after hearing the commotion outside. Pretending to be casual, she said, "Senior Brother, the Household is a little shabby, and there's really nothing to entertain you with. I'm truly sorry. I'll definitely host you and make it up to you later."
Ling Yao smiled faintly without speaking.
"Oh, right, Fusheng."
Huang Li turned around and asked, "I heard you carried back some rare thing a few days ago?"
"Yes, but unfortunately, it wasn't a spirit fish." Chen Fusheng sounded regretful.
"Pfft, hahaha!" Ling Chen burst out laughing. These paupers really dared to dream.
"At fifty pounds, it's already a top-grade tonic. It's tremendously beneficial to the physical body."
Huang Li said, "I forgot to introduce you. Ling Chen is only nine years old this year and hasn't embarked on the path of cultivation yet, but with his pure physical body, he can already tear tigers and leopards apart with his bare hands!"
"He can tear tigers and leopards apart without cultivating?" Chen Fusheng suspected that Ling Chen had cultivated a Contemplation Method.
Ling Chen cut in arrogantly. "I've taken medicinal baths every day since I was three. It's no wonder you don't know. The direct descendants of great Lineages have taken medicinal baths since childhood. They need even more powerful tonics to nourish their bodies and lay down a foundation for cultivation ahead of time."
Huang Li felt envious as she listened. She hadn't received such treatment as a child, otherwise her potential for growth would have been even greater.
"Building a foundation from childhood? The nourishing effects of spirit fish are indeed powerful," Chen Fusheng said.
Ling Chen snorted. "What do you know? A mortal body can't withstand the energy of a spirit fish!"
Chen Fusheng glanced at the arrogant Ling Chen. What did my Third Brother say? He ate even more than Wang Lie and nothing happened to him.
Of course, Lei San's physique had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation. Chen Fusheng had tested it himself and been astonished. It was definitely an exceptionally terrifying special constitution.
"Fusheng, Senior Brother is going to eat here at noon. I don't know when Grandpa will wake up. Oh, right, where's that fish?" Huang Li asked expectantly.
Only then did Chen Fusheng understand why they had come. A fifty-pound top-grade game animal was extremely important to Ling Chen.
He said, "Grandpa is so seriously injured that he can't do any physical work. I hope Senior Brother won't take offense."
Huang Li thought the same. Delicacies prepared by someone in poor health would not suit their tastes either.
"Junior Brother, you flatter me. It was presumptuous of us to come when the old man is seriously ill. In my opinion, we should take the thing back." Ling Yao sounded exceedingly courteous.
"Take it back?"
Chen Fusheng suddenly understood. "You mean you want to eat that fish? You came too late. We finished it long ago!"
"What?"
Ling Chen flushed red and shouted, "That fish was so big! I could have eaten it for several days. How could you have finished it all?"
Chen Fusheng lifted his teacup and drank plain water. What the hell does it have to do with you whether we finished it?
"Didn't you leave any for me?" Huang Li was somewhat angry.
"I went to ask for you, but the people at the West Courtyard said you'd gone on a mission." Chen Fusheng replied indifferently.
Huang Li felt somewhat hurt. The weather was so cold. Wouldn't it have kept for a few days?
It seemed women were women after all. Good things would never come their way. This made Huang Li even sadder, and her sense of belonging to the Household vanished completely.
Ling Yao swept a faint glance over them. It seemed the estrangement between this brother and sister ran deep. Naturally, that suited him perfectly.
Only... Ling Yao suddenly fixed his gaze on Chen Fusheng, faintly sensing a powerful surge of Life Essence Blood.
"It was only a fish. If it's gone, it's gone. But you, Chen Fusheng, seem to have an extraordinary physique?" Ling Yao asked.
Chen Fusheng's heart tightened slightly. "Senior Brother has a keen eye. I've only just entered the Star Guiding Realm, and my physical body has indeed become somewhat better at absorbing energy."
"You have a special constitution?" Ling Chen stared wide-eyed. That pauper has such luck?
Ling Yao took a smooth, round black stone from his robes and handed it over. "This is a black iron stone. It can test the quality of your physique."
Chen Fusheng pondered briefly before accepting. The essence of his physical body lay dormant in his energy sea, so testing it once or twice would not matter.
On the contrary, he also wanted to use Ling Yao to learn more about body tempering. He would simply treat it as casual conversation.
"Buzz!"
Chen Fusheng clenched the black iron stone. At once, dense, masculine energy surged forth.
Ling Yao's eyes flashed brilliantly as he looked at the deformed black iron stone. "Not bad. Your pure physical body is comparable to the third layer of the Star Guiding Realm. The strength of your physique is extraordinary."
Ling Chen's eyes blazed as he stared at Chen Fusheng's heart.
Chen Fusheng placed the black iron stone on the table. "My physique's growth has already reached its limit. It's nothing worth mentioning. Senior Brother, you flatter me."
"Junior Brother, have you heard of an Acquired Treasure Body?"
Chen Fusheng shook his head. Ling Yao smiled faintly. "An Acquired Treasure Body is formed by nourishing the body with various top-grade resources. Yet successful cases are one in ten thousand. Even so, all the great Lineages continue to spend resources trying. It's simply because an Acquired Treasure Body is connected to the Four Realms!"
"So the Four Realms are connected to one's physique. What's special about an Acquired Treasure Body?" Chen Fusheng didn't understand why Ling Yao was telling him all this.
"Once an Acquired Treasure Body is formed, the body becomes as hard as stubborn stone. Ordinary blades and swords can't injure it, and its life potential becomes extraordinary."
Chen Fusheng felt nothing upon hearing this. At present, his skin was like steel, his tendons and muscles like drawn bows, and his bones were as hard as metal and stone. He was far tougher than the so-called body of stubborn stone.
It seemed that an Acquired Treasure Body was only comparable to an ordinary special constitution!
Special constitutions naturally had different grades: low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. And above those? An Innate Treasure Body.
"I don't know much about the Four Realms either. I have an unreasonable request, but perhaps this matter should still be left to Junior Sister..." Ling Yao hesitated.
"Fusheng, what I'm about to say may be shocking and bizarre, but it's perfectly normal. Listen patiently until I finish."
Huang Li slowly explained that the Heart Blood of various powerful physiques could be called "medicine" and could effectively nurture an Acquired Treasure Body.
Ling Chen possessed such potential naturally because he had swallowed various kinds of Heart Blood.
"Heart Blood can be called the Human Body Great Medicine. It's also precisely what Ling Chen urgently needs right now," Huang Li said.
"You mean... he wants to drink my blood?" Chen Fusheng wished he could stamp a shoe print across their faces.
"Only one bowl. Senior Brother owes you a favor." Huang Li's words made Ling Yao frown. Who had told her to make such a promise on her own?
His favor was not so easy to earn. But considering the complicated relationship between Huang Li and Chen Fusheng, he tacitly agreed.
Still, their relationship had to be severed as soon as possible. He didn't want to inexplicably gain a brother-in-law.
A favor?
Chen Fusheng looked at Huang Li and refused sternly. "Heart Blood is connected to the source of my life. How could I trade it?"
Ling Yao was amused. Someone was offering him a favor, and he didn't want it?
Huang Li hurriedly tugged at Chen Fusheng's sleeve and said anxiously, "Senior Brother's favor—wouldn't that mean Grandpa's illness would be cured with a wave of his hand?"
"He can cure it with a wave of his hand?!" Chen Fusheng fell even deeper into silence.
"Fine!"
Chen Fusheng suddenly rose and looked at Ling Yao. "Senior Brother Ling Yao, as long as you can cure my grandpa's illness, let alone one bowl of blood—even ten bowls would be nothing!"
"Ten bowls?"
Ling Yao rose and laughed loudly. "Junior Brother, you're refreshingly straightforward. It's merely Cold Poison. With my Fifth Grade Fire Source Star potential, naturally I can deal with it as easily as turning over my hand."
"Kid, just watch!" Ling Chen pointed at Chen Fusheng, brimming with pride.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Senior Brother, but do you have any experience treating illnesses?" Chen Fusheng asked.
"Looks like you've misunderstood my strength?"
Ling Yao's entire body blazed with light, transforming into a blood-red beam that was scorching and searing.
Chen Fusheng was shaken. This energy made the qi and blood in his body faintly wither, as though he were facing a volcano!
Ling Yao was dozens of times stronger than Teng Xiong!
Even the energy erupting from his energy sea seemed to contain the hazy, terrifying outline of a Fire Attribute Star, appearing and disappearing.
"This is practically a Star Phenomenon."
Chen Fusheng hadn't expected Ling Yao's cultivation to have neared the level of Divine Travel. Once he condensed a complete phenomenon and activated the projection of the Fire Source Star, he would unquestionably be a top expert.
In particular, reaching the level of Divine Travel meant that Ling Yao's spiritual thoughts were incomparably powerful, allowing him to control energy with exquisite precision and purge the poison.
In the inner room, the old man closed his eyes.
Ling Yao came striding over like a dragon and tiger, his wide sleeves filled with Fire Attribute Energy.
"Buzz!"
Layers of energy sprayed from his palm like magma. They looked violent but were actually gentle, enveloping Huang Tiancheng.
Then, using his spiritual mental power as a guide, he directed the energy along the old man's pores and into every limb and bone.
Very soon, the scarlet energy wrapped around a large mass of white mist that emerged!
Clearly, this was Cold Poison!
Chen Fusheng's pupils shrank slightly, while Ling Chen burst into laughter. "Now you know how powerful an Inner Courtyard nineteenth disciple is, don't you? My Second Brother is already charging toward the Divine Travel realm!"
"Pretty damn impressive..."
Before Chen Fusheng could finish speaking, he noticed something was wrong. Ling Yao seemed to be trembling?
"Senior Brother, you..."
Huang Li's pretty face changed slightly. The white mist he had drawn out couldn't be refined away by his energy. Instead, it clung to his palm.
The palm of his hand visibly formed a layer of frost, which even began spreading toward his arm.
Ling Yao's face darkened. The energy in his energy sea surged like a tide as he forcefully refined the Cold Poison.
"His energy sea is truly astonishing. The energy it sprays is like a raging tide. A single wave could severely injure me!"
Chen Fusheng discovered that the eruption of Ling Yao's energy possessed the momentum of boundless, raging waves. Once he went berserk, he was truly formidable.
The energy sea was the source of life, vast and unfathomable.
As one cultivated, the energy sea grew increasingly powerful!
But Chen Fusheng noticed that Ling Yao's energy sea had been rapidly depleted, yet he still couldn't suppress the frost!
The frost even spread to his forearm and surged toward his abdomen. Was he about to be frozen into an ice sculpture?
"The energy can't refine it. It specifically targets the physical body. This Cold Poison is truly bizarre!"
Ling Yao's frozen hand suddenly clenched tightly, attempting to draw energy from his energy sea and resolve the problem from within.
But to his horror, the moment his palm clenched, it suddenly filled with densely packed frostbite cracks.
The body's functions were dying on every level!
Ling Yao was horrified. He acted decisively, turning his right hand into a blade and severing the necrotic arm. His body also staggered before collapsing to the ground.
Instead, the Cold Poison gathered within the severed limb without dispersing, leaving the rest of them unaffected.
Ling Yao's face was pale as paper, and beads of sweat the size of beans covered his forehead. His vitality had been gravely damaged, and even the phenomenon condensed behind him collapsed.
All the accumulation he had built for charging into Divine Travel had turned to dust just like that!
Huang Li screamed. He had severed his own arm? What was going on?
"Ah, Second Brother, your hand!"
Ling Chen's eyes reddened with blood. He glared at Huang Tiancheng with murderous hatred, raised his fist, and smashed it down.
"You old beast! You harmed my Second Brother! Go to hell!"
"Smack!"
Chen Fusheng's pupils widened. He slapped Ling Chen across the face, crushing half of it inward and caving in his eye socket.
Ling Chen's vision went black. Blood splashed from half his face, and his flying body smashed through the window paper and shot into the courtyard.
Before you continue