The alley by the dry well in the west of the city was remote. There wasn't a soul in sight.
A wooden sign with faded writing read Shen Family Clinic.
Li Pingsheng stopped in front of it.
He raised his hand and knocked.
There was no response from 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 recognized Li Pingsheng outside, as well as the person on his back.
Li Pingsheng was covered in blood, and the man on his back was grievously wounded.
Shen Tong yanked the door open. "Hurry, get inside!"
He ushered them in, then turned around and locked the door.
Shen Tong went behind the medicine cabinet and pressed a spot on its side.
The cabinet slid aside, revealing a dark opening—a secret passage leading underground.
"It's safe down there."
Li Pingsheng followed him down, carrying Lu Qingshan on his back.
The secret chamber was simple, with only a stone bed and a few jars and bottles.
Li Pingsheng laid the unconscious Lu Qingshan on the stone bed. Several of his bones were broken, and he was barely breathing.
"Where are the medicinal ingredients?" Shen Tong asked.
Li Pingsheng pulled out the Red Marrow Vine from inside his clothes.
Shen Tong took it and looked it over. His expression changed.
The Red Marrow Vine was far older than he'd expected.
A layer of slick green mucus clung to the vine, carrying a poisonous aura.
The medicinal properties and the beast's blood—two opposing forces—were colliding wildly inside it.
"Phantom Face Spider venom!"
Shen Tong asked, "Did you kill a second-rank demon beast?"
He stared intently at Li Pingsheng.
Li Pingsheng nodded. His meridians felt as though needles were stabbing them.
"Pharmacist Shen, there's no time. Hurry and refine the pill."
Clutching the Red Marrow Vine, Shen Tong shook his head. "It's no use. The spider venom has already tainted it. Its medicinal properties are too strong and too chaotic."
"If we use the old method—refine it over a high flame, then toss in Blood-Coagulating Grass—the medicinal properties will clash, and the furnace will explode. The poisonous fumes would choke all three of us to death."
As soon as he finished speaking, the effects of the Pulse-Suppressing Pill in Li Pingsheng's body wore off. His unrestrained qi and blood began crashing against his meridians like mad.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the blood vessels beneath his skin burst one after another.
The pain of his meridians tearing apart made his vision go black in waves.
I can't die yet...
In the midst of the agony, Li Pingsheng abruptly activated his [Martial Wisdom] talent.
His mind cleared in an instant.
The steps for refining pills, the principles behind medicinal properties, and the characteristics of the ingredients—all of them were reworked and recombined in his mind.
Li Pingsheng opened his eyes and said to Shen Tong, "Pharmacist Shen, there are three parts of the pill-refining method you just mentioned that we might be able to change."
"Huh? What?"
Shen Tong thought his ears were playing tricks on him.
A martial artist was actually daring to question his decades of experience in pill refinement?
"First, the heat is wrong. The vine is yang, while the spider venom is yin. We can't use a high flame. We need to simmer it slowly over a low flame, letting them fuse first, then allowing them to fight it out on their own."
"Second, the order of the ingredients needs to change too. We can't add the Blood-Coagulating Grass first. We need to add Cold Pool Stone Powder first, using its cold nature to suppress the spider venom and buy the Red Marrow Vine time for its medicinal power to take effect."
"Third, and most crucial of all, is what I call reverse fusion. When the pill is almost ready, put out the fire and pour cold water directly over the furnace. The sudden clash of hot and cold will force the two medicinal powers to fuse completely. That's 'use cold to overcome heat, and find life in death.'"
Li Pingsheng's "reverse fusion" shattered Shen Tong's decades-long understanding of pill refinement.
Shen Tong looked at Li Pingsheng, blood streaming from all seven orifices, then at Lu Qingshan, half-dead on the stone bed. He gritted his teeth.
"Fine! You're going to die either way, so I'll refine it your way this once!"
With that, he immediately lit the fire and started the furnace.
This time, he followed Li Pingsheng's instructions, carefully controlling a low flame as he tossed the Cold Pool Stone Powder into the furnace.
Next came the Red Marrow Vine.
Inside the furnace, the two medicinal powers began to collide. The furnace shook violently.
Shen Tong pressed down hard on its lid.
"Low flame!"
"Add the Cold Pool Stone Powder!"
"Put out the fire and pour on the water!"
Just as 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.
White vapor instantly filled the entire secret chamber.
A wave of force boomed, sending the furnace lid flying into the stone wall.
At the very center of the furnace, a dark red pill the size of a thumb hovered in the air.
It was etched with lines and radiated frightening heat.
The pill was ready.
Looking at it, Shen Tong warned Li Pingsheng:
"Master Li, this pill's medicinal power is ten times stronger than we expected. It's a poison pill. Whoever swallows it might explode on the spot. Think carefully."
But Li Pingsheng had no way back.
Hearing Shen Tong's words, Li Pingsheng smiled instead.
He reached out, snatched up the pill, and swallowed it without a second thought.
The moment it entered his stomach, its medicinal power erupted.
The scorching force raced wildly through his body, wrecking his meridians and flesh.
Li Pingsheng was in so much pain that he couldn't make a sound. His skin split all over, oozing blackish-red, filthy blood.
The agony nearly made him pass out.
Life and death hung by a thread.
As his consciousness began to blur, Li Pingsheng bit hard into the tip of his tongue. The pain brought him back to his senses a little.
The [Tiger Bone] talent within him burst forth with astonishing healing power.
A new force exploded, fighting the pill's rampaging medicinal power inside his body.
One side brought destruction; the other, rebirth.
With his [Martial Wisdom] talent active, Li Pingsheng endured the agony and guided the medicinal power through his entire body, deliberately letting it wreak havoc.
Only by breaking can one build; from ruin comes rebirth.
The force washed away every impurity, every clot of stagnant blood, and every hidden injury in his body, driving them out.
After his original meridians were destroyed, they were reshaped by the vitality of [Tiger Bone] and the pill's medicinal power. They became tougher, and their width increased threefold.
Time passed little by little, until the first rays of dawn shone into the secret chamber.
Li Pingsheng, sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes.
The qi and blood flowing through his body had become viscous and heavy, radiating a terrifying pressure.
The danger of his meridians bursting was gone, and his strength had increased.
[Potential Points: 2.5] [Mystic Arts—Basic Specialty: Empathy]
It was now available to activate.
Shen Tong stared at Li Pingsheng, who looked as if nothing had happened. His mouth hung open for a long while. "Master Li, you... you're a monster..."
Li Pingsheng stood and cupped his fists toward Shen Tong. "Thank you for your help, Pharmacist Shen."
Then he looked at Lu Qingshan on the stone bed, sliced his finger across his chest, and forced out a drop of heart blood.
"Pharmacist Shen, please use this drop of blood along with the leftover medicinal ingredients to refine a Pulse-Renewing Pill for Brother Lu."
Shen Tong looked at the dark red drop of heart blood, nodded, and started the furnace again.
Before long, a Pulse-Renewing Pill was ready.
Shen Tong fed the pill to Lu Qingshan.
It dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth.
Nourished by the heart blood, Lu Qingshan's body visibly filled out.
All the broken bones throughout his body rejoined and healed under the pill's medicinal power. His qi and blood recovered, and there were even signs that internal force was about to emerge.
At that moment, the atmosphere at the Zhao Family Estate was suffocating.
Not one of the dozens of Zhao Family core members in the hall dared breathe too loudly.
It was all because Zhao Ming had lost the Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle. As a result, the Zhao Family had lost its biggest trump card in its clash with the Black Water Gang.
The plan had been to unleash demon beasts and sow chaos, but instead it had turned into a bloody, head-on fight.
In just one night, seven Zhao Family shops in the west of the city had been smashed, three warehouses had been burned down, and more than half of their hired retainers and attendants had been killed or wounded.
Zhao Zhentian sat in the seat of honor, staring down at Zhao Ming on his knees with a gaze sharp as a blade.
He walked up to Zhao Ming and raised his hand, slapping him across the face. The blow split the corner of Zhao Ming's mouth and drew blood.
"Useless! You've brought shame on the entire Zhao Family!"
Zhao Zhentian pointed at Zhao Ming's nose and cursed, "I'm giving you one last chance. You must take first place in the Martial Hall Grand Exam and win back the Zhao Family's honor."
"If you can't do it, you can forget about being the heir. Get out and go live or die on your own in the Outer City."
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