Heaven and Earth Were a Cow

Mo Ci fell silent, not because his disciple had angered him into shutting his mouth, but because he truly had no strength left.

He was a lonely ghost whose allotted years were nearly spent. Though the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was of some use and could barely keep his soul from scattering, it could not support him moving about freely. After saying a few words, he had to rest for a long while.

Forget it. He couldn't teach this disciple himself. He'd wait until he woke up, then see what realm the boy could reach.

Chen Ye strode out of the ruined temple and watched the frail youth race off, his feet seeming to catch the wind. He ran with more agility than a fawn in the woods.

Chen Ye circulated the spiritual energy in his body, murmured an incantation, and gathered his magic power at his fingertips. He traced a spirit talisman over his eyes and cried, "Spirit Eye, open!"

In an instant, he closed and reopened his eyes, and his pupils turned a brilliant gold. Everything before him took on a different appearance.

The rocks and soil appeared in varying shades of ocher, while the trees and leaves were covered in a faint green... All things in the world took on colors according to the Five Elements.

This was a basic spell that every Qiling Realm cultivator needed. With a pair of Spirit Eyes, one could see all things and discern the flow of spiritual energy. Every method of observing and investigating qi was rooted in it.

But Chen Ye wasn't looking for any heavenly treasures. He was hunting. The spiritual energy flowing through wild beasts varied from one to another, its colors mixed and highly unstable beneath his Spirit Eyes, making them conspicuous. Even without knowing how to hunt, he could easily find their tracks.

Before long, Chen Ye found a pack of wolves in the woods: five in all, each in its prime.

Chen Ye slowed his steps, held his breath, and crept closer. When he was just four or five zhang away, the most alert wolf pricked up its ears and looked toward him.

"So sharp?"

Chen Ye muttered under his breath and reluctantly stopped. A Qiling Realm cultivator was still made of flesh and blood. One bite from a wolf would leave him drenched in blood.

This was the moment for his dead master to make one last contribution.

Chen Ye opened his storage pouch and released a pitch-black zombie.

The zombie moved stiffly and was controlled entirely by the sound of the bell in Chen Ye's hand.

One shake made it hop forward once. Three shakes in a row made it charge at any living creature's blood and claw and bite wildly.

Chen Ye jingled the bell, driving the zombie toward the wolves. They instantly grew wary, growling low and baring their white fangs as they formed a half circle around the unwelcome intruder.

A larger wolf's eyes flashed with a savage light. It attacked first.

It kicked off with its hind legs, its body shooting toward the zombie like an arrow loosed from a bow. Its sharp claws flashed through the air and raked viciously at the zombie's chest.

The zombie reacted too slowly to dodge in time. The wolf tore several deep gashes into it, splitting its black flesh to reveal the rotten bones beneath.

Seeing this, the other wolves pounced too. Some bit at the zombie's arms, while others tore at its legs.

The zombie didn't feel pain, but it still looked rather battered under the pack's assault. Its beggar's clothes turned to rags in an instant, and its shredded black flesh shed scraps with every passing moment.

But Chen Ye couldn't have cared less. He showed the true colors of a demonic sect disciple, giving no thought to his master's body being damaged as he rang the bell and set the zombie against the wolves.

At Chen Ye's command, the zombie suddenly swung both arms, knocking down a wolf that had come too close. Then it opened its mouth wide and sank its teeth into another wolf's neck.

The wolf couldn't dodge in time. Blood gushed from its neck, and after a few spasms, it fell still.

Wolves were cunning and knew when to yield. Seeing how fierce the zombie was, the remaining three howled and fled. But under Chen Ye's Spirit Eyes, he could see that they were only pretending to run. Using the trees for cover, they circled around, hoping to ambush him from behind.

Chen Ye couldn't help exclaiming, "Pu Songling didn't lie to me. Wolves really are sly. They can deceive you and even launch ambushes."

But a zombie had no vital parts. What good would an ambush do?

Even if the three wolves bit it furiously, all they did to the old, dry corpse was knock off a few scraps. It was no big deal.

In the end, the zombie had picked up a few more wounds, but four of the five wolves had been killed. The last wolf only chose to run once it was sure the situation was hopeless. At least it had a sense of loyalty.

Chen Ye tossed two of the wolves to the zombie to feed on their blood, replenishing some of its strength.

Ordinary zombies were driven by blood alone. Since they had no souls, human blood and beast blood made little difference.

He bled and skinned the remaining wolves, carefully prepared them, and then examined the blood he had collected. The key to cultivating with the Blood Refining Method was to draw in and refine blood containing spiritual energy, then fuse it into oneself to help form the dantian's qi sea.

The heart's blood contained the greatest concentration of spiritual energy in the human body. It seemed wolves were no different.

In Chen Ye's Spirit Eyes, the blood squeezed from the wolf's heart glimmered like scattered stars. It contained spiritual energy, but very little.

That didn't matter. Chen Ye only wanted to investigate why beast blood made people lose their minds, while human blood did not.

No, that wasn't quite accurate.

The book said that practicing with human blood caused one to be affected by resentment, leading to extreme emotions like irritability and overwhelming grief. One had to sit in meditation and refine it with methods for calming the mind.

If the resentment in human blood could be dispelled, what about beast blood?

The book had only a few words to say about practicing with beast blood: "It damages the soul; use it, and you'll become a beast."

The account was so brief that it seemed to be deliberately withholding information, or perhaps the author simply couldn't be bothered to explain.

Chen Ye had always been curious by nature. Otherwise, he never would have figured out how to improve the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. He had made many conjectures about this matter of resentment. Now that he had wolf blood, he could finally test them.

Once he had everything in order, Chen Ye returned to the ruined temple and refined the spiritual blood according to the book's instructions. Qiling Realm cultivators could see spiritual energy, but could hardly control it at will. So Chen Ye's refining looked more like he was heating oil in a pot to cook.

He fiddled with all sorts of bottles and jars, working until he was drenched in sweat. After quite a while, he managed to make half a gourd of blood pills. But he couldn't take them yet; they had to mature for three days.

Spiritual energy had all sorts of uses, but getting it to merge with the body was easier said than done.

Ordinary people inhaled spiritual energy with every breath, but less than one ten-thousandth remained in the body. Most of it was breathed right back out. Only after it accumulated day by day did a little spiritual energy remain in the blood around the heart. This energy had already been digested, so it was easier to absorb.

The blood pills sealed in the spiritual energy to keep it from dissipating, while medicinal ingredients drew that energy out and infused it into the pills.

Once the pills had matured, a cultivator could swallow them and quickly absorb the spiritual energy, which had already been digested again and again, saving them a great deal of effort. Chen Ye had spent several days of work to make just half a gourd of blood pills, but their effects were comparable to half a year of meditation.

When Chen Ye had first read the book, he'd thought that this world was like a cow, with all things under heaven and earth serving as its first three stomachs. Cultivators were the fourth stomach, eating what others had already digested...and savoring every bite.

But that was the way of cultivation. If you wanted to rely on nothing outside yourself, you would most likely end up as a pile of dry bones. Even a Demon Venerable had to take pills and refine magic treasures. There was no such thing as having an epiphany one day and ascending to immortality the next.

Now that he had the pills, all that remained was to find a "lab rat."

He had to find out what made the Beast Blood Pill drive people mad before he could think about how to solve the problem.

As he was pondering, footsteps sounded outside the ruined temple. Chen Ye looked up and saw a couple carrying a swaddled infant climbing the steps. When they reached the temple and saw Chen Ye, along with the skinned wolf carcasses drained of blood, the man jolted in fright and almost turned to flee.

Seeing him hesitate, the woman gritted her teeth and spoke to Chen Ye. "Brother, our family of three is passing through. We saw smoke coming from here and wondered if you might spare us some meat broth or porridge. This child hasn't eaten in three days. Please, have mercy."

Chen Ye smiled faintly. "Meeting is fate. Make yourselves at home."