Whale Rubber

The next morning, Qing Hongyuan set off.

Zhao the Coachman drove the inconspicuous carriage east, carrying Qing Hongyuan toward Heaven Dou Port on the eastern coast of the Tiandou Empire.

From Nuoding City to Heaven Dou Port, it took three days at full gallop.

Including the purchase and return journey, the round trip would take at least ten days.

When Qing Hongyuan left, Shen Wanqing stood at the manor gates and watched him off for a long time. Only after the carriage vanished into the morning mist did she turn and head back inside.

Liu Yunlan had shut herself in the herb room from that night onward. The old lady read Qing Mufeng's instructions for using Whale Rubber over a dozen times, then adjusted the medicinal bath formula based on her decades of pharmacological experience.

"For the hundred-year Whale Rubber stage, the medicinal bath should focus on gentle nourishment. The medicine can't be too potent, or the body won't be able to handle it."

As she prepared the herbs, the old lady muttered to herself, "For the millennium-grade stuff, we'll need a different formula. We'll have to add several herbs that unblock the meridians and promote circulation, helping the Whale Rubber's medicinal effects seep into the meridians."

Qing Mufeng stood at the herb room entrance, watching his grandmother's busy back without disturbing her.

Her seriousness put him at ease.

With an elder like Liu Yunlan, who was so proficient in pharmacology, the effects of the Qing Clan's Whale Rubber strengthening would improve by at least thirty percent.

Shen Wanqing had spent the past few days in the accounting room.

Though the Qing Clan's businesses kept a low profile, their hidden cash flow was substantial.

She spent three days taking stock of all available funds, set aside enough for half a year of family expenses, and allocated everything else into a special account for "Whale Rubber purchases."

The sum was considerable.

At current market prices, it was enough for the family of five to consume for several years.

Qing Zhengyue, on the other hand, had become rather idle these days.

Every morning, the old man cultivated the Azure Dragon Method in the bamboo grove. He read ancient texts in his study during the morning, soaked in medicinal baths in the afternoon, and continued cultivating at night.

His Soul Power had stabilized at level seventy. The External Soul Bone, the Wind Wood Dragon Wings, was also slowly merging with his body. Whenever he circulated his Soul Power, he could feel the wing bones grow faintly warm, as though responding to his will.

Qing Mufeng had not been idle either.

Starting the day after he returned, he began taking hundred-year Whale Rubber according to the method he had written down.

The method for taking hundred-year Whale Rubber was simple.

Grind it into powder and take it with warm water.

Every morning after getting up, Qing Mufeng first circulated the Azure Dragon Method once to smooth out the Soul Power in his meridians. Then he took a small spoonful of Whale Rubber powder, mixed it into warm water, and drank it in one gulp.

Whale Rubber had a mild flavor, with a faint fishy tang from the sea, but it was not unpleasant to drink.

After taking it, his body would grow faintly warm, as though a warm current were spreading through him, flowing from his abdomen to his limbs.

The sensation was very comfortable.

It was not like a medicinal bath, which seeped in from the outside. Instead, it nourished him from within.

The medicinal effects of the Whale Rubber were like invisible threads, following the paths of his meridians and gradually nourishing his muscles, tendons, and bones.

Each dose made his body heat up. Once the warmth faded, he felt refreshed all over, as though he had received a deep massage.

Qing Mufeng could feel his body growing stronger.

It was not an increase in Soul Power. His Soul Power remained at level thirty-four, unchanged.

It was his physical body that was strengthening.

His skin had become more elastic, his muscles more resilient, and his bones denser.

The feeling was subtle, but real.

On the third day, Liu Yunlan also began taking it.

The old lady was a level fifty-nine Soul King, only one step away from becoming a level sixty Soul Emperor.

Her martial soul was the Emerald Jade Snake, suited toward poison techniques and healing. Among the five of them, her physique ranked second from the bottom, only stronger than Shen Wanqing's.

"Grandma, how do you feel?" Qing Mufeng asked three days later.

Liu Yunlan was mixing a new medicinal bath formula. Hearing him, she looked up and thought for a moment.

"My old injuries don't hurt as much anymore," the old lady said. "Those hidden injuries I suffered when I was young always ached whenever the weather turned gloomy. These past few days, they seem much better."

Qing Mufeng smiled. "Then it's working."

Liu Yunlan looked at her grandson and lightly patted him on the head.

"You child, you understand more than this old woman does."

Qing Mufeng chuckled but said nothing.

On the seventh day, Shen Wanqing began taking it as well.

His mother had the weakest physique in the family. She was a pure support-type soul master and had never cultivated a body-strengthening technique, so her meridians were far narrower than everyone else's.

When she took Whale Rubber for the first time, her reaction was far more pronounced than Qing Mufeng's and Liu Yunlan's.

Her face stayed flushed for an entire hour, and her palms were drenched in sweat.

"That's normal."

Liu Yunlan checked her pulse. "Your meridians are too narrow. The medicinal effects can't push through them yet, so they can only spread through your muscles first. Once your meridians gradually widen, it'll be fine."

Shen Wanqing nodded, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and continued circulating the Azure Dragon Method, guiding the Whale Rubber's medicinal effects through her body.

She was not afraid of hardship.

If it would help her Fifth Soul Ring reach the ten-thousand-year level, what was this little discomfort?

On the tenth day.

Qing Hongyuan returned.

The carriage entered through the manor's rear gate. Zhao the Coachman jumped down from the driver's seat and opened the door.

Qing Hongyuan jumped down from the carriage, covered in road dust but in excellent spirits.

"Father, I bought the goods." He took a large wooden crate from his storage ring, placed it in the middle of the courtyard, and opened it.

The crate was neatly packed with Whale Rubber.

Small, pale yellow, translucent gelatinous pieces that gave off a faint sea-fishy smell.

They were divided into three sections:

Hundred-year Whale Rubber took up the most space, filling half the crate;

Millennium Whale Glue came next, taking up one-third;

Ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber was the least numerous, with only a dozen or so pieces, each wrapped separately in oiled paper.

"I bought five hundred portions of hundred-year Whale Rubber," Qing Hongyuan said as he took them out. "Eighty portions of Millennium Whale Glue. Twelve portions of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber, all between ten thousand and twenty thousand years old. There was no stock above thirty thousand years. It has to be ordered, and it costs much more."

Qing Zhengyue walked over, picked up a piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber, and weighed it in his hand.

"This is enough for now," the old man said. "We'll use it first. If it's not enough, we'll buy more."

He put the piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber back into the crate and turned to look at the family of four.

"Starting today, everyone will take it. Follow the stages Feng'er wrote down, step by step."

"Yes."

Three days later, Qing Hongyuan also began taking hundred-year Whale Rubber.

At that point, all five direct members of the Qing Clan had entered the first stage of Whale Rubber strengthening.

The days passed one by one.

Every morning, the five of them each took a spoonful of hundred-year Whale Rubber powder, then circulated the Azure Dragon Method to guide its medicinal effects through their bodies.

They each went about their own business in the morning.

Qing Zhengyue read, Liu Yunlan prepared medicine, Qing Hongyuan practiced swordsmanship, Shen Wanqing handled the accounts, and Qing Mufeng cultivated.

In the afternoon, Liu Yunlan would brew a large pot of medicinal bath, and the family would take turns soaking in it.

At night, the five of them gathered in the main hall, ate dinner, chatted briefly about daily matters, then returned to their rooms and continued cultivating until late at night.

It was peaceful, but fulfilling.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Qing Mufeng could clearly feel his changes.

His body had become sturdier.

Not the sort of sturdiness that came from bulging muscles, but a density that ran from within to without.

His skin was more elastic, his muscles more resilient, his bones denser, and even the speed at which his Soul Power circulated had increased somewhat.

His Fourth Soul Ring target was at the ten-thousand-year level. With his current physique, he believed he could manage it.

But it was still not enough.

What he wanted was not merely "possible," but "foolproof."

He still had to continue down the path of Whale Rubber strengthening.

That evening, Qing Mufeng sat in the bamboo grove, circulating the Azure Dragon Method as he sensed the warm power cycling through his body.

The medicinal effects of the hundred-year Whale Rubber had accumulated within him to a certain extent. He felt that his body had already adapted to this intensity.

It was time to enter the next stage.

"Grandfather." He found Qing Zhengyue and spoke directly. "The hundred-year Whale Rubber has reached about the right point. We can begin taking Millennium Whale Glue."

Qing Zhengyue looked at his grandson, sizing him up from head to toe.

"How does your body feel?"

"Very good," Qing Mufeng said. "The medicinal effects of the hundred-year Whale Rubber have already merged into my muscles and skin. Continuing to take it will only have weaker and weaker effects. It's time to switch to Millennium Whale Glue and begin strengthening the meridians and bones."

Qing Zhengyue nodded, then looked at the others.

"What do you all think?"

Liu Yunlan was the first to speak. "I'm about there too. The effects of the hundred-year Whale Rubber have clearly weakened these past few days. It's time to move up to the millennium level."

Shen Wanqing hesitated. "I may need to wait a few more days. My meridians are adapting slowly."

Qing Hongyuan considered it. "I can move on to the millennium level."

Qing Zhengyue nodded and made his decision.

"Then starting tomorrow, the three of you will take Millennium Whale Glue first. Wanqing will continue with the hundred-year Whale Rubber. Switch when you feel you're ready."

"Yes."