Radiance

Chen Ye grabbed the edge of the bed, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

All the joints in his body gave off faint cracking sounds at once, as if a pair of invisible hands had smoothed every bone from head to toe.

Pain.

A bone-deep agony, like having his bones replaced.

It hurt so much that he could barely stop himself from crying out.

But he knew that if he did, it would surely bring trouble.

He held it in, forcibly swallowing the roar that had nearly burst from his throat and letting out only a short, muffled groan.

Sweat trickled from his forehead into his eyes, stinging with salt.

Chen Ye had no choice but to close his eyes.

After nearly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the abnormal flush on his skin finally began to fade. The swelling pain and discomfort throughout his body eased along with it.

Panting, Chen Ye slowly loosened his grip on the bed. His hand was still trembling slightly.

He looked down at it, clenched his fist, then opened it again.

The joints in his fingers gave off the faintest crackle.

Had he made it?

Chen Ye stood up and took a deep breath. A solid strength seemed to radiate from his entire body, and he felt lighter than ever before.

He glanced at the panel still floating in his vision.

[Current remaining lifespan: two years, four months, and twelve days]

He had been gritting his teeth through the pain just moments ago, but at the sight of those numbers, he instead felt calm.

His lifespan had been spent, and he had endured the pain.

At least now he had finally managed to build up a few resources.

Chen Ye immediately fished the remaining seven taels of silver out from under his pillow.

One tael of silver could redeem four days of lifespan.

Seven taels meant he could redeem twenty-eight days.

It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Chen Ye made the choice to redeem the lifespan, and the silver vanished into thin air.

[Current remaining lifespan: two years, five months, and nine days]

Including the lifespan redeemed with silver, he had only actually spent five months and three days.

His remaining lifespan had dropped to the two-year mark.

If he kept taking Blood Ginseng Pills every day from now on, he could last at most another forty-three days.

Worse still, the lifespan consumed by the Blood Ginseng Pills was different from what he had pawned away; he couldn't redeem it with silver.

When that time came, he would die even if he did nothing.

Fortunately, although the Blood Ginseng Pills shortened his life, they could stimulate his qi and blood, so they were still useful.

Since Zhang Tieyi was still feeding them to him, he had no choice but to keep taking them.

For now, the most important thing wasn't living longer, but getting out of here alive.

Chen Ye dismissed the panel. After improving his cultivation, he chose not to improve it any further.

Zhang Tieyi was coming to watch him practice tomorrow. He needed to first observe the man's reaction before deciding what to do next.

Chen Ye blew out the oil lamp.

The dim yellow room was plunged into darkness.

The rustle of clothes being removed sounded in the dark.

Lying on the bed, Chen Ye felt his wrist. A vein there swelled faintly beneath his fingertips.

Once, then again—steady and strong, brimming with vigorous life.

Soon, even snores began to sound in the darkness.

At dawn the next day, someone knocked on the east wing.

Chen Ye had just broken through, and his energy was surging, as if he had strength to spare. He had slept lightly all night.

At the sound, he jolted awake, instinctively glancing out the window.

The sky was still a bluish gray.

There were no blades or soldiers as he had feared.

He relaxed slightly, then furrowed his brow, grabbed his outer robe from beside the bed, threw it on, and opened the door.

Gao Qiaoniang stood outside, still looking a little dazed with sleep. "Guard Zhang is here. He's waiting in the main room. Get ready quickly."

So early?

Chen Ye silently estimated that today was at least half an hour earlier than usual.

That was strange.

"All right, I'll be there in a moment."

Chen Ye's mind stirred, and the qi inside him began to circulate. The morning haze in his head cleared in an instant.

After changing, Chen Ye went out.

When he reached the main hall, he noticed that the atmosphere today was different from usual.

Zhang Tieyi had a short saber at his waist, his expression solemn.

Candlelight from the table flickered across his face.

For a moment, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Guard Zhang, you wanted to see me?" Chen Ye looked away and spoke first.

"Take a stance. Let me have a look."

Zhang Tieyi lifted his chin. Unlike usual, he didn't give Chen Ye medicine right away. Instead, he told him to take a stance first.

Chen Ye's heart lurched.

Had Zhang Tieyi noticed his breakthrough last night?

No, that shouldn't be it.

He had observed carefully over the past few days. No one else would be around at that hour.

Zhang Tieyi couldn't have found out so quickly.

Chen Ye calmed himself. Although suspicion stirred in his heart, he still did as he was told. "Yes."

Once he had settled into his stance, Zhang Tieyi stood to one side and scrutinized him without a word.

His silence was enough to make Chen Ye uneasy.

Chen Ye didn't dare move recklessly. He avoided stirring the qi inside him too much and firmly suppressed the ember-like warmth in his dantian.

He had only been standing for a short while when Zhang Tieyi asked, "Do you feel anything unusual?"

"I still feel hot," Chen Ye replied.

Zhang Tieyi's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He stepped forward and pressed a palm directly against Chen Ye's Guanyuan Acupoint.

Chen Ye felt a cool current invade his body along Zhang Tieyi's arm, rushing straight toward the Guanyuan Acupoint.

The acupoint reacted naturally to the stimulation, surging with warmth.

Zhang Tieyi withdrew his hand, his expression turning complicated. He muttered to himself, "The medicine's effects still haven't been fully drawn out. Your qi and blood aren't vigorous enough."

He reached into his robe, took out a small porcelain bottle, and tipped out a pill.

It was about the same size as a Blood Ginseng Pill, but darker in color, nearly a deep red.

Zhang Tieyi gave a curt command. "Eat it."

Chen Ye looked at him. The pressure in the man's eyes left no room for refusal.

He wordlessly accepted the pill, tipped his head back, and swallowed it.

This pill was much more potent than the Blood Ginseng Pill he had taken before. The moment it entered his mouth, a burning sensation burst forth.

Its surging medicinal power churned through his stomach like molten lava, nearly making him collapse and fall to his knees on the spot.

He hurriedly circulated his breathing method, struggling to dissolve the violent medicinal power.

[Current remaining lifespan: two years, two months, and nine days]

He stared at the notification that suddenly appeared in his vision, stunned.

Not twenty days, but nearly three months.

This one pill had brought his remaining lifespan to the brink of falling below two years.

The medicinal power was so overwhelming that the flesh and blood throughout his body felt like sponges already soaked through, with nowhere left to absorb any more.

Chen Ye felt as if he were inside an oven, scorching all over.

Even though he desperately tried to refine it, his efforts were a drop in the bucket compared with the medicinal power continuously overflowing from his stomach.

Just as Chen Ye was at his wits' end, the vast medicinal power seemed to resign itself and reluctantly began forcing its way into the Guanyuan Acupoint.

The Sea of Qi Acupoint and Shimen Acupoint were filled along with it.

Chen Ye lowered his head and saw a speck of golden radiance emerge through the skin at the location of his Guanyuan Acupoint.

Right after that, a second speck of golden light lit up at his Sea of Qi Acupoint.

Then a third.

Three points of golden light flickered like stars at his lower dantian, standing out vividly in the dim hall.