He was determined to get his hands on the Cold Jade Marrow.
Even if the other party was the deputy hall master of the Four Seasons Pharmacy.
With the Qin Family's resources, Qin Jiu refused to believe there was nothing that could sway him.
The following day at noon.
Wang Yue returned with the pills as promised.
He also brought news about the deputy hall master.
"Young master, the other party agreed to meet you at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, but it's set for three days from now. What do you think..."
"Three days from now?"
Qin Jiu stopped his Stance Training.
He first took the handkerchief a servant offered and wiped the sweat from his face, then went to sit in the pavilion.
Only then did he frown and ask, "Why three days from now?"
"He said the Medicine Hall has been busy these past few days, and he needs to deal with internal matters."
Wang Yue hesitated. "Young master, forgive this old servant for speaking frankly. That deputy hall master is no ordinary person. Your eagerness to get the Cold Jade Marrow may have made him think he can hold out for a better price. He might demand an exorbitant sum."
"It's fine."
"I'm not afraid he'll demand an exorbitant sum. I'm only afraid he won't name a price."
Qin Jiu said indifferently.
After all, it was easy to spend one's father's money.
As long as the price the other party named was within his means, it would be worth it.
"Let's set that matter aside for now."
"What about the pills made with the Third-Order Spirit Beast's blood?"
"Here."
At his words, Wang Yue immediately took a lamb-fat-jade-like porcelain bottle from his robe. "This pill is called the Green Blood Tendon-Changing Pill. Besides the Silver Frost Fox's blood, it also contains several precious medicinal ingredients."
"Six pills were made in total."
"Each one can improve the tendons and cleanse the marrow."
Qin Jiu took the bottle, somewhat surprised.
"So much spirit beast blood only yielded six pills?"
"Yes."
Thinking he was worried the Four Seasons Pharmacy might have skimmed some off, Wang Yue explained, "Young master, rest assured. The Four Seasons Pharmacy has an excellent reputation. Besides, I watched the alchemist throughout the process, both when the pills were first taking shape and when they were collected. He didn't steal any."
"Also, aside from these six pills,"
"I had them grind the Silver Frost Fox's bones into medicinal powder as well. Boiled into a paste, it can be applied externally to speed up Skin Polishing."
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Qin Jiu's eyes lit up.
He immediately called over a servant to boil the medicinal paste.
Anything that could accelerate his Skin Polishing progress was more than welcome.
Raising one's martial realm not only increased one's strength, it also meant one could bear more imprinted talents. In some ways, the medicinal powder was far more useful than the Green Blood Tendon-Changing Pill.
After all, this so-called remolding of one's constitution did not necessarily turn someone into a martial arts prodigy.
Otherwise, why would the Han Family be so shortsighted as to raise the Silver Frost Fox to the Fourth Order solely to help someone break through to Internal Strengthening?
With that in mind,
Qin Jiu opened the bottle and tipped a pill into his mouth. A faint herbal fragrance, mingled with a slight bitterness, spread across his tongue.
Before long,
a warmth rose in his abdomen.
"Young master, after taking this pill, it's best to practice your Stance Training. That way, you can absorb its medicinal power more effectively," Wang Yue reminded him.
Qin Jiu nodded, stepped out of the pavilion, and swiftly began the Dragon-Tiger Health-Nurturing Stake.
But his expression soon changed.
The warmth in his abdomen grew scorching with time, rapidly spreading through his limbs and bones until his blood seemed to boil, as though he had been thrown into a pot of hot oil.
In the end, Qin Jiu could take no more.
He ripped off his shirt and practiced the stance again and again, each movement swift and forceful.
For a time, fierce winds howled through the courtyard.
Inside the pavilion,
Qin Xudong, who had come to practice with him and had remained silent until then, cautiously asked, "Steward Wang, could there be something wrong with the pill?"
Wang Yue only glanced at him.
He did not answer.
Huang Jing, standing nearby, spoke instead. "There's naturally nothing wrong with the pill. Remolding one's constitution requires enduring the pain of having one's tendons pulled and bones drawn out. This is perfectly normal."
His voice held a note of envy.
In the martial way, resources mattered more than innate talent.
Without silver to nourish one's blood and energy, even the best constitution might not amount to much after a lifetime of training.
Conversely,
if one was wealthy, improving one's constitution was no difficult matter.
Thinking of this,
Huang Jing felt a pang of bitterness.
His constitution was quite good, but he had come from the bottom of a gang, and every resource had to be won through risking his life. By the time his blood and energy began to decline, he had only just managed to reach Second Refining. Now he watched his employer swallow pills that remolded the constitution like beans. He could hardly begin to describe how envious he was.
Time passed.
An hour flew by.
By now, Qin Jiu was drenched in sweat. Bare-chested, he was as red as a boiled shrimp, and visible wisps of white steam rose from his head.
"This pill really packs a punch."
He stopped the stance and let out a long breath.
The pill's effects had exceeded his expectations.
Though he did not know whether his constitution had changed, Qin Jiu could clearly feel that his blood and energy had grown incredibly condensed. He would probably be able to attempt his second breakthrough very soon.
"Ordinary people can take at most one pill a day."
"Any more, and they won't be able to bear it."
"But I'm different. With the Withered Wood Meets Spring talent, even if my meridians burst, they can heal on their own."
Qin Jiu's eyes gleamed.
As he pondered,
Wang Yue and the other two each brought over a wooden basin.
"Young master, this is the medicinal paste."
"Apply it all over after training, and it will work more effectively."
"Then put it on me."
Qin Jiu did not waste words. He immediately had Huang Jing and Qin Xudong help apply it.
But before the two could begin,
he stopped them again.
"Is there anything I should know about this paste?"
"After it's applied, your skin will likely feel numb and tingly. There's nothing else you need to pay special attention to."
Qin Jiu nodded.
He signaled for them to continue.
But soon, his face began to twitch.
At first, the paste felt pleasantly cool on his skin. Before long, though, the coolness turned to stinging, as if countless needles were pricking him all at once. As time passed, the stinging became outright agony.
It seemed to penetrate all the way to his bones.
He could not help letting out a low growl.
"Boom!"
Almost at the same moment,
the blood and energy inside Qin Jiu surged, as if breaking through some kind of restraint, then exploded in his chest.
"Is this... a blood-and-energy breakthrough?"
Huang Jing and Qin Xudong exchanged glances.
They knew that sound.
It was a sign that someone's blood and energy had knocked at the gate.
Meanwhile, Wang Yue's eyelids twitched, and a glint flashed in his cloudy old eyes.
He knew this was Qin Jiu's second attempt to break through.
And he knew that since Qin Jiu's first attempt...
only two days had passed!
Wang Yue's heart surged like a stormy sea. This was far more than a breakthrough achieved by piling on resources. No matter how many resources one had, if one's body could not absorb them, eating more would be useless.
On the other side,
Qin Jiu sensed the change in his body.
He was instantly overjoyed, and even the pain seemed to ease.
Most importantly,
the Red Seal had changed again.
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