Second Heaven

At dawn the next morning, while the sky was still dim and the sun had yet to rise, the group was already packed and ready to set out.

Shi Yan blended in among the Medicine Slaves, his expression calm and showing no sign of anything amiss. He followed the group in silence. Qiang Sen, who had been waiting to see him make a fool of himself, was stunned to find that he had returned to normal.

In the past few days, every Medicine Slave who had drunk the Gut-Severing Powder had woken the next morning with a face as pale as paper and a body utterly drained of strength. Those who were weak could barely walk, while even the strong looked pained and uneasy, their faces betraying their fear.

But Shi Yan's steps were steady and his face was flushed with health. He clearly didn't look injured, which left Qiang Sen full of questions.

After watching him for a while and confirming that Shi Yan was indeed fine, Qiang Sen frowned and went to the front of the group to report the situation to Mo Yan Yu and Kalu.

"Don't worry about him," Kalu said with an air of complete confidence. "Since that brat is a Martial Artist, he won't show anything unusual so easily. Once the essence in his body is used up, he'll be just like the others. I know the strength of the Gut-Severing Powder."

"Mm. Go on, and keep a close eye on him," Mo Yan Yu instructed coolly.

Seeing that neither of them was worried, Qiang Sen didn't press the matter. He returned obediently to the back of the group and continued watching Shi Yan closely, afraid that he might make some unusual move.

"Master, how much longer before he's writhing in agony?" After Qiang Sen left, Mo Yan Yu hesitated before asking Kalu. She wished Shi Yan would roll on the ground in pain right now; then she would finally feel satisfied.

"Don't worry. By tonight, he should be about there."

Daylight passed, and the moon quietly climbed into the night sky.

After the group settled down for the night, Kalu and Mo Yan Yu walked over to Shi Yan together. In the distance, Shi Yan sat on the ground with his head lowered, wolfing down his food as if unaware of how awful it tasted.

"Master, he doesn't look like..." Mo Yan Yu trailed off. Shi Yan's table manners were atrocious, but no matter how she looked at him, he didn't seem to be suffering at all.

Kalu's expression darkened. He gave a cold snort. "Are you questioning my ability to concoct medicine?"

"I wouldn't dare." Mo Yan Yu shook her head. "You've already proven the Gut-Severing Powder's efficacy on the other Medicine Slaves. I'm just wondering why... he's still unharmed. Could you have accidentally left out an ingredient in that first bowl of Gut-Severing Powder?"

"Miss Mo, though I, Kalu, am no high-level alchemist, I would never make such a mistake." Kalu was clearly displeased. He pursed his lips and grunted, "If you don't trust my ability, we can part ways right now."

"Please calm down, Master. That's not what I meant. I'm only puzzled. Please don't take it the wrong way..." Mo Yan Yu said with an ingratiating smile.

"Hmph!" Kalu ignored her. His figure flashed like lightning as he darted toward Shi Yan.

Shi Yan kept his head lowered and pretended not to see Kalu, though inside he was secretly amazed by Kalu's speed. He was glad he hadn't acted rashly the day before. Otherwise, Kalu would have had him completely at his mercy.

Besides being an alchemist, Kalu was also a Martial Artist who had entered the Innate Realm. Shi Yan, meanwhile, was only a Postnatal Second Heaven Martial Artist who had just learned to move the essence within his body. The gap between them was like a chasm; he had no hope of winning at all. If he forced a fight, he would only be courting death.

"Whoosh!"

Kalu's figure streaked over, making a strange sound in the air. In an instant, he was right in front of Shi Yan.

Shi Yan calmed himself, set down the food in his hands, and looked up at Kalu.

Kalu's thin face was full of menace. He struck as fast as lightning and clamped a hand around Shi Yan's left arm. His dry fingers pressed against Shi Yan's skin, and a stream of pure essence, like an electric current, suddenly surged into Shi Yan's arm. It followed the channels through his body, circled his stomach and intestines, then slowly returned, finally vanishing into Kalu's fingers.

Kalu's essence was extremely refined and powerful. As it coursed through the channels in Shi Yan's body, they swelled with a dull ache.

"Hm..." Kalu frowned in puzzlement and muttered under his breath, "That's not right. The Gut-Severing Powder's effects are clearly still there. Why does he still have essence left? And his stomach and intestines haven't rotted at all. He's only a low-level Martial Artist; his essence can't be that refined. It shouldn't have lasted this long..."

Shi Yan let him hold his arm without resisting.

"Master, how is he?" Mo Yan Yu walked over and asked curiously.

"We'll wait another day and see." Kalu's expression was gloomy. He still couldn't figure out what was going on. It never occurred to him to consider a "Martial Soul," because Martial Souls weren't something ordinary Martial Artists could possess. Nor had he ever heard of a "Martial Soul" that could heal its owner's body.

Mo Yan Yu nodded. Her mind was full of questions, but she didn't know what else to say. She only gave Shi Yan a few more strange looks, wondering what vicious scheme she might be plotting.

The following night, Kalu and Mo Yan Yu came over again and examined Shi Yan's body. When they found that his stomach and intestines still hadn't rotted, Kalu's expression grew even darker. He said they should wait another day.

On the third night, they came again. Kalu examined Shi Yan, but still found nothing.

Kalu came back again on the fourth night.

This time, Kalu was carrying two bowls of Gut-Severing Powder. When he reached Shi Yan's spot, he had Qiang Sen call over a Medicine Slave named Gu Luo. He told Shi Yan and Gu Luo to drink the freshly concocted Gut-Severing Powder together.

Shi Yan drank the Gut-Severing Powder without the slightest resistance.

"I concocted these two bowls of Gut-Severing Powder at the same time." Only after watching him finish did Kalu say this in a cool, detached tone.

Mo Yan Yu nodded. "As long as Gu Luo's body rots, that will prove something is wrong with this man's body. I understand what you mean, Master."

"Mm." Kalu nodded. "We'll come back at this time tomorrow and compare the two. Then we'll know."

At night, Shi Yan sat on the ground, his expression grave as he slowly circulated his essence.

The thin stream of essence gradually stretched through his main channels. At a thought, it moved with astonishing agility, swiftly flowing from one channel to another. Guided by his mind, it wound through his channels like a nimble little snake.

Gradually, the stream of essence followed the channels in his arm and reached the index finger of his right hand. Shi Yan focused intently as it slowly retreated into the channels of his arm. Then it suddenly accelerated, surging toward his fingertip like a rainbow piercing the sky. It moved faster and faster!

"Ts-ts!"

A strange sound came from the tip of his index finger, and the pain grew sharper. The stream of essence rushed into the finger, which trembled faintly like the rattling tail of a snake.

The essence gathered in his index finger and surged again and again, but the flesh stubbornly blocked it at the fingertip. No matter how hard he tried, it couldn't break through the layer of flesh and emerge from his body.

"Hah!"

He let out a deep breath and dejectedly drew the essence back to his lower abdomen. In a voice too faint to hear, he muttered, "Still no good..."

The Postnatal Realm had three levels of Heaven. Cultivating essence marked the First Heaven. The Second Heaven came when one mastered the essence and could circulate it through the body at will. The Third Heaven was reached when one could break through the restraints of flesh and let the essence flow out of the body.

Shi Yan could already circulate his essence at will, so he was at the Second Heaven. For the past few days, he had kept cultivating and gathering more essence, trying to make it flow out through his finger and break into the Third Heaven. Unfortunately, he had tried several times, and each time the flesh at his fingertip had stopped it from breaking through.

Looks like a Martial Artist's cultivation can't be done in a single bound. My essence still isn't powerful enough. I'll have to wait until it's refined and strengthened further before I can try again. After failing once more, Shi Yan sighed inwardly. He knew that the danger he was in had made him far too impatient.

He knew that by this time tomorrow, his body would still be unharmed and unaffected by the Gut-Severing Powder. But Gu Luo, the Medicine Slave, would surely have his stomach and intestines rot, and the damage might even spread to his internal organs.

Once Kalu compared them, he would know that there was nothing wrong with his Gut-Severing Powder. He would naturally realize that Shi Yan's body was different from ordinary people's. That would surely bring new trouble. His good days might truly be over; Mo Yan Yu might even strike at once to eliminate future problems.

It was also possible that Gu Luo would show signs of poisoning early tomorrow morning under the Gut-Severing Powder's effects. Shi Yan might be in trouble first thing in the morning. The Martial Artists wouldn't be busy cultivating like they were now; they would all be watching him, and he wouldn't have any chance at all.

Shi Yan looked up at the stars filling the sky, his expression gradually turning resolute. He knew that if he wanted to escape with his life, he had to act tonight!