The Drawbacks of Pills

Time slowly crept into evening. Chen Lin set down the Artifact Refining Manual and walked over to the rabbit cage, finding the rabbit still hopping about lively, showing no signs of abnormality.

He finally felt relieved.

The pill he had refined was quite similar in smell to the Enlightenment Pill recorded in that book from the Water Moon Pavilion woman, though its appearance differed somewhat.

But now he had no time for more careful verification. No matter how the pill looked, as long as it wasn't poisonous, that was enough.

"Three hundred spirit stones' worth of effort—hope you're at least somewhat useful."

Once he was sure the pill wouldn't poison him to death, Chen Lin swallowed it whole.

Spicy, sour, and bitter.

Even gulped down whole, it ravaged his taste buds.

But soon, a mysterious sensation coiled around his mind, leaving him no time to dwell on the taste.

As that mysterious feeling emerged, Chen Lin found his thoughts becoming unusually sharp. Many things he had forgotten came flooding back, and when he pondered problems, his reasoning became clear and structured, letting him pinpoint key points in the shortest time.

This?

He was startled at first, then ecstatic. He quickly grabbed Introduction to Basic Spells, flipped to the Object Manipulation Technique page, and began reading.

This time, he immediately felt the difference.

Before, he had thought he'd thoroughly studied this spell, but now he discovered many hidden critical points he had overlooked.

And as he had guessed, his earlier scientific deduction, though rigorous, had ignored the gap between the scientific system and the cultivation system.

After reinterpreting it, Chen Lin took out the Carefree Sword and began practicing while continuing to comprehend.

This time, it was like a fish in water. Many difficult points were quickly mastered, letting him finally taste what it felt like to be a genius.

A quarter of an hour later.

Just as Chen Lin was happily immersed in cultivation, his body suddenly trembled, and the mysterious sensation receded like a tide.

Immediately after, he let out a miserable scream, clutching his head as he collapsed to the ground.

Screaming and rolling, his head felt like countless steel needles stabbing into it. It took a long while before the splitting headache slowly faded.

"Is there something wrong with this pill?"

Tortured miserably by the intense pain, Chen Lin couldn't help doubting the pill's reliability.

But that mysterious feeling just now had been real, and it had indeed enhanced his comprehension.

In just that quarter hour, he had basically learned the Object Manipulation Technique and could use it proficiently.

With a thought, the Carefree Flying Sword floated up into the air, moving under the technique's control like a nimble little fish, responding as if it were part of his arm.

It seemed the pill's effects were decent.

If he had relied on slow, steady effort, reaching this level with the Object Manipulation Technique would have taken at least several months, maybe even half a year.

But now, it had only taken a quarter hour.

Of course, such speed was also related to his long prior practice.

Still, the effect was astonishing.

But though the effect was good, the side effect was obvious—that heart-wrenching headache was truly unbearable.

"Forget it. As long as it doesn't kill me from the pain, I have to keep using it. Learning a few more spells greatly increases my chances of survival."

Muttering to himself, Chen Lin's gaze grew resolute.

Compared to the torment of pain, what he feared more was the eerie state of this place.

Glancing at the rabbit still hopping lively in its cage, Chen Lin rested for a while, then began making talismans.

The next morning, he took the Fireball Talismans he had refined to the market. After selling them, he bought another batch of materials for refining Enlightenment Pills.

Returning, he started alchemy again.

After a full day of repeated refining, he finally obtained two more pitch-black, pungent pills.

Cleaning up the iron cauldron furnace, Chen Lin stared at the two pills for a long time. Finally, gritting his teeth, he picked one up and swallowed it.

With the spicy, sour, and bitter taste, the mysterious sensation returned.

He didn't dare delay and immediately began comprehending the Wind Control Technique.

Sure enough, as his comprehension improved, he gained new insights into this spell, feeling a sudden clarity.

Suppressing the ecstasy in his heart, he focused entirely on understanding.

A quarter of an hour later.

"Ah!"

The intense pain struck, and Chen Lin collapsed to the ground again, clutching his head.

This time, the pain lasted longer than before, and its intensity had also increased.

After the agony subsided, Chen Lin's expression turned grim.

He had never expected the pill's side effects to change—and to grow worse each time!

If things continued like this, he had no idea how many more times he could endure it. His earlier plan to use this pill to grind through every purchasable spell was completely ruined.

What frustrated him even more was that the pill's effective duration hadn't been enough to bring his Wind Control Technique to a proficient state.

Circulating his spiritual power, Chen Lin's body slowly lifted off the ground, but it only rose less than half a foot before losing momentum.

Not only that, but while floating, he couldn't drive his body to move at all.

His current state could only be described as having glimpsed the threshold—not even reaching minor success, let alone mastery.

"No, since it's the Wind Control Technique, I should be borrowing the wind's power. I shouldn't be cultivating indoors!"

Suddenly, Chen Lin thought of something, slapped his forehead, packed up, and pushed open the door to step outside.

As the weather warmed, the ice and snow had gradually melted, and incidents of beast hordes attacking the city were steadily decreasing.

Even so, Chen Lin didn't dare venture too far from the city. Instead, he found an uninhabited spot on the edge of the shantytown to practice the Wind Control Technique.

Just as he expected, casting the spell in an open area yielded much better results. With a light breeze blowing that day, he managed to lift his body about three feet off the ground and could even drift slowly with the wind.

This was a novel experience for someone who had never floated in midair before, and he found himself thoroughly enjoying it for a while.

But after playing around for a bit, he stopped.

Because even in this state, it was still utterly useless.

He hadn't learned this spell to put on a show—he needed it for combat and escape. The current effect clearly wouldn't cut it.

So he had to deepen his comprehension of the spell.

Besides, this was a flight-type technique. Without reaching mastery, he wouldn't dare use it recklessly. If he fell halfway through, the result would be disastrous.

After resting a while, he took a small bottle from his pocket, pulled out the stopper, and tipped out the remaining Enlightenment Pill.

Relying on his own comprehension wasn't going to work—he needed the medicine again.

After checking his surroundings once more to confirm there was no danger, he closed his eyes and shoved the pill into his mouth.

Then, he began to focus on cultivation.

At first, he was still clumsy, but as he practiced more and deepened his understanding of the spell, the height he could float to steadily climbed, and his speed in the air also began to increase.

By the end of his practice, he could even rise over two zhang off the ground, but he was still somewhat awkward—only able to fly in a straight line, his speed dependent on the wind, and nowhere near as agile as a bird.

Still, this was the limit of the Wind Control Technique. After all, it was only a low-level spell; he couldn't expect too much.

Sensing that time was almost up, Chen Lin quickly returned to the ground.

Soon after, he skillfully hugged his head, leaned against a large tree, and began convulsing uncontrollably.

The pain this time was even stronger, causing Chen Lin to dig his fingers into the tree bark until they were bloody and raw.

It took a long while before he returned to normal.

Chen Lin shook out his robe, soaked with sweat, and stared blankly for a moment before preparing to head back to his dwelling.

But the next moment, his entire body tensed up, and his eyes narrowed as he looked not far away.

Someone was standing there!

"Old Yu?"

Just as his hand pressed down on the hilt of the Carefree Sword, Chen Lin called out in surprise.

He recognized this man—it was the old man Yu Yuehai, who lived in the same courtyard as him and usually kept to himself.

"What are you doing here?"

Even though they shared a courtyard, Chen Lin didn't know him well and had little contact with him, so he remained on high alert.

"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist Chen truly is a man of great perseverance. To endure such spiritual torment—I've underestimated you before."

Old Yu's wrinkled face squeezed out a faint smile as he sized up Chen Lin, giving him a creeping sense of unease.

"What do you mean? What exactly are you trying to do? I advise you not to play tricks, or don't blame me for being rude!"

Chen Lin's tone turned harsh. Without waiting for the other to speak, the Carefree Sword, which he had been gripping, suddenly shot out, straight at the man!

Having lived two lives, he knew the principle of striking first. And for this man to appear here at this moment, there was no way he had no ulterior motive, so Chen Lin acted immediately.

But he wasn't a ruthless killer, unwilling to take a life without cause. This strike aimed for the man's shoulder, not a vital point, leaving room for reconciliation if he had misjudged.

Yet the next moment, his expression shifted.

The man simply raised a hand, and his Flying Sword was effortlessly caught between two fingers, buzzing with a trembling sound.

"Tsk tsk, decisive enough, but not ruthless enough. Soft-hearted, that's your flaw."

The old man's wrist flicked, and the Flying Sword snapped in two with a sharp crack.