Meridians Widened Threefold!

Dry Well Alley in the west of the city was remote, and at this hour, there wasn't a soul in sight.

A wooden sign with blurred lettering hung there: Shen Family Clinic.

Li Pingsheng stopped in front of the sign.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

There was no movement inside.

After a while, the door creaked open a crack, and someone peered out from behind it.

"Who is it?"

"Pharmacist Shen, it's me."

Shen Tong saw Li Pingsheng clearly, along with the person on his back.

Li Pingsheng was covered in blood, and the person on his back was injured more severely than usual.

He pulled the door wide open: "Quick, come in!"

Shen Tong ushered the two into the house and locked the door behind him.

Shen Tong went behind the medicine cabinet and pressed a spot on the side.

The cabinet slid to the side, revealing a pitch-black opening—a secret passage leading underground.

"It's safe down there."

Li Pingsheng carried Lu Qingshan down.

The secret room was simple, containing only a stone bed and some bottles and jars.

Li Pingsheng placed the unconscious Lu Qingshan on the stone bed; the man had several broken bones and was barely breathing.

"Where are the medicinal herbs?" Shen Tong asked.

Li Pingsheng pulled the Red Marrow Vine from his bosom.

Shen Tong took it and looked, his expression changing instantly.

The age of this Red Marrow Vine was even greater than he had imagined.

The vine was coated in a layer of greenish slime, carrying a toxic aura.

The medicinal properties and the beast blood were clashing violently within the vine.

"Phantom Face Spider venom!"

Shen Tong asked, "You killed a second-rank demonic beast?"

He stared fixedly at Li Pingsheng.

Li Pingsheng nodded, feeling his meridians ache as if being pricked by needles.

He said: "Pharmacist Shen, there's no time. Hurry and refine the pill."

Shen Tong gripped the Red Marrow Vine and shook his head: "It's useless. This thing has been tainted by the spider venom; the medicinal properties are too fierce and chaotic."

"If we use the old method, refining with high heat and then adding Blood-Coagulating Grass, the medicinal properties will clash and the furnace will surely explode. The toxic smoke would kill all three of us right here."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the effect of the Pulse-Suppressing Pill in Li Pingsheng's body wore off, and his suppressed blood energy began to batter his meridians like a madman.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the veins beneath his skin began to burst one by one.

The pain of his tearing meridians made his vision go black.

I can't die yet...

Amidst the excruciating pain, Li Pingsheng abruptly activated his [Martial Wisdom] talent.

His mind cleared instantly.

The steps of alchemy, the logic of medicinal properties, and the characteristics of the herbs all began to re-derive and combine in his mind.

Li Pingsheng opened his eyes and said to Shen Tong: "Pharmacist Shen, there are three places where the alchemy method you just mentioned could be changed."

"Huh? What?"

Shen Tong thought his ears were failing him.

A martial artist, daring to question his decades of alchemy expertise?

"First, the heat is wrong. This vine is Yang, and the spider venom is Yin. You can't use high heat; you must simmer it slowly, letting them fuse first before letting them fight it out."

"Second, the order of adding herbs must change. Don't add the Blood-Coagulating Grass first; add the Cold Pool Stone Powder first. Use its cold nature to suppress the spider venom and buy time for the medicinal power of the Red Marrow Vine."

"Third, and the most critical step, is called Reverse Fusion. When the pill is about to form, pull the fire and pour cold water directly onto the furnace. Rely on this sudden thermal shock to force the two medicinal powers to fuse completely. This is called 'Overcoming Heat with Cold, Finding Life in Death'."

The "Reverse Fusion" that Li Pingsheng described shattered Shen Tong's decades of understanding of alchemy.

Shen Tong looked at Li Pingsheng, who was bleeding from his seven orifices, then at the half-dead Lu Qingshan on the stone bed, and gritted his teeth:

"Fine! You're going to die anyway, so I'll refine it your way!"

With that, he immediately lit the fire and opened the furnace.

This time, following Li Pingsheng's instructions, he carefully controlled the low heat and tossed the Cold Pool Stone Powder into the furnace.

Next came the Red Marrow Vine.

Inside the pill furnace, two medicinal forces began to collide, causing the furnace to shake violently.

Shen Tong pressed down hard on the furnace lid.

"Low heat!"

"Toss in the Cold Pool Stone Powder!"

"Withdraw the fire and douse it with water!"

Just before the medicinal properties inside the furnace were about to explode, Shen Tong picked up a basin of well water and splashed it all over the furnace with a loud "whoosh."

White mist instantly shrouded the entire secret chamber.

A wave of air "banged" the furnace lid off, sending it flying to smash against the stone wall.

In the center of the furnace floated a thumb-sized, dark red pill.

The pill was covered in patterns and was terrifyingly hot.

The pill was a success.

Shen Tong looked at the pill and warned Li Pingsheng:

"Young Master Li, the potency of this pill is ten times fiercer than expected; it is essentially a poison. If you swallow it, you might explode on the spot. You had better think this through."

But Li Pingsheng no longer had a way out.

Hearing Shen Tong's words, Li Pingsheng actually smiled.

He reached out, snatched the pill, and swallowed it without a second thought.

As soon as the pill hit his stomach, its medicinal power erupted with a roar.

The scalding force rampaged through his body, ravaging his meridians and flesh.

Li Pingsheng was in so much pain he couldn't make a sound; his skin cracked all over, oozing dark red, filthy blood.

That excruciating pain nearly caused him to black out.

Life and death hung by a thread.

Just as his consciousness began to blur, Li Pingsheng bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain bringing him back to clarity.

The Tiger Bone talent within him erupted with astonishing regenerative power.

A surge of newborn strength exploded, clashing with the violent medicinal force inside his body.

On one side was destruction; on the other, rebirth.

With his Martial Wisdom talent active, Li Pingsheng gritted his teeth through the agony, guiding the medicinal force to flow through his entire body, actively facilitating the destruction.

Without destruction, there is no construction; only after breaking can one be built anew.

The impurities, stagnant blood, and hidden injuries within him were all scoured clean by this medicinal force and expelled from his body.

Once his original meridians were destroyed, they were reshaped by the vitality of the Tiger Bone and the medicinal force, becoming tougher and three times wider than before.

Time ticked by, and the first rays of dawn shone into the secret chamber.

Li Pingsheng, sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes.

The flow of blood and qi within him had become thick and heavy, radiating a frightening sense of oppression.

The danger of his meridians rupturing was resolved, and his strength had increased.

[Potential Points: 2.5]

[Mystic Gate--Primary Specialty: Synesthesia]

It was already available to be unlocked.

Shen Tong stared at Li Pingsheng, who looked as if nothing had happened, his mouth hanging open for a long time: "Young Master Li, you... you are a monster..."

Li Pingsheng stood up and cupped his hands toward Shen Tong: "Many thanks for your help, Apothecary."

After speaking, he looked at Lu Qingshan on the stone bed, drew a line across his chest with his finger, and forced out a drop of his heart blood.

"Apothecary Shen, please use this drop of blood, along with the medicinal dregs, to refine a Pulse-Renewing Pill for Brother Lu."

Shen Tong looked at the drop of dark red heart blood, nodded, and restarted the furnace.

Before long, a "Pulse-Renewing Pill" was finished.

Shen Tong fed the pill into Lu Qingshan's mouth.

The pill dissolved upon contact.

Nourished by the heart blood, Lu Qingshan's body visibly filled out.

His broken bones knit back together under the medicinal power, his blood and qi recovered, and there were even signs of internal energy beginning to form.

At this moment, inside the Zhao Family Estate, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

In the main hall, dozens of core members of the Zhao family didn't dare to breathe a word.

Just because Zhao Ming had lost the Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle, the Zhao Family had lost their greatest trump card in the skirmish against the Black Water Gang.

The plan had been to let the beast cause chaos, but it ended up turning into a brutal, head-on clash.

In the span of a single night, seven of the Zhao Family's shops in the west of the city were smashed, three warehouses were burned down, and more than half of their retained guest experts were killed or wounded.

Zhao Zhentian sat in the main seat, his eyes fixed on the kneeling Zhao Ming like blades.

He walked up to Zhao Ming and struck him across the face with a backhand, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth instantly.

"Useless trash! You've dragged the entire Zhao Family's reputation through the mud!"

Zhao Zhentian pointed at Zhao Ming's nose and cursed: "I'm giving you one last chance. At the Martial Hall Grand Exam, you must take first place for me and win back the Zhao Family's honor."

"If you can't do it, then get lost and forfeit your status as heir; go to the Outer City and fend for yourself."