Severe Backlash

A month later.

Ma Yan was shocked on the spot when he saw Zhou Yan, who looked as if he had lost nearly two sizes.

"How did you end up like this?"

The young man, who had previously looked lean, dark, and sturdy, was not quite skin and bones, but he appeared to weigh less than a hundred pounds. His face had turned deathly pale, and there wasn't a hint of blood in his lips.

At a glance, one would mistake him for a patient suffering from a long-term illness, on the verge of passing away.

Zhou Yan, however, did not seem to care. He waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, I've just been practicing a bit too diligently."

Although he had not yet succeeded in refining the corpse, a massive amount of Yin energy and corpse aura permeated the air while he nurtured it. Zhou Yan had absorbed and refined all of it, which led to such a drastic change in his appearance.

The Profound Yin Corpse Refining Technique was a heterodox path; it lacked the balanced cultivation of both energy and blood, or the sense of fulfillment found in orthodox sects.

However, the benefit of such heterodox paths was the extreme speed of cultivation. Relying on that Yin energy and corpse aura, combined with his relentless, day-and-night grinding, Zhou Yan had not only raised his Mystic Yin Art to the "Proficient" level in one go but had also condensed fifteen drops of Profound Yin essence blood.

He was able to condense a drop of Profound Yin essence blood almost every two days.

One must realize that the further one progresses in cultivation, the slower the speed of condensing essence blood becomes.

The human body has its limits. Before undergoing a rebirth of the marrow and bones, the condensation of every drop of essence blood is akin to scraping the body clean, which is why the speed slows down significantly in the later stages.

If this were an orthodox sect, there would be no way to achieve such a rapid rate of cultivation.

"Cough, cough..."

Zhou Yan wanted to continue speaking, but he couldn't help but break into a fit of coughing.

Seeing this, Ma Yan hurried forward to support him, instantly feeling a chill upon contact, as if he were holding a block of ice.

"Your cultivation method is too bizarre. Perhaps you should just give it up," Ma Yan couldn't help but say again.

He had known there were drawbacks before, but he hadn't expected them to be this severe.

Watching Zhou Yan transform from a strong, healthy young man into his current state, Ma Yan felt a mix of regret and fear.

People naturally feel fear toward things they cannot understand.

Zhou Yan shook his head firmly. "I've come this far and paid such a heavy price; how could I give up so easily?"

Ma Yan looked hesitant. "But if you continue like this, I'm worried you won't last until the corpse is successfully refined."

Zhou Yan waved his hand. "This has nothing to do with refining the corpse; it's just that my cultivation has been a bit too reckless. I was too impatient, and my body couldn't handle it. I do need to find a solution."

His training over the past month had been far too frantic. While it had rapidly boosted his cultivation, it had also nearly damaged his foundation.

Simple medicinal herbs for boosting energy and blood, along with the Five Animal Frolics, were no longer enough to support his current level of practice.

Moreover, every medicine has its toxicity; taking too much is harmful to the body.

It was also because Zhou Yan's training was so extreme. If he had slowed down slightly to give his body enough time to recover, the situation would have been much better.

However, that would have lowered his cultivation progress by several tiers, which was something Zhou Yan was unwilling to do.

"Brother-in-law, do you know where I can find health-preserving techniques? They need to be authentic, and preferably well-known," Zhou Yan asked after some thought.

Since the Five Animal Frolics were insufficient, he would just have to practice a few more health-preserving arts; perhaps that would have an effect.

It was a choice made out of desperation.

Without money, resources, or proper techniques, he could only rely on his own sheer grit.

Even knowing there were hidden dangers, he couldn't afford to care.

Once he truly began to subdue demons and eliminate evil, those malevolent spirits wouldn't care if he were a fresh rookie or a venerable elder; they were all just chaotic, mindless, evil entities that wanted to destroy everything.

Ma Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Health-preserving techniques are usually circulated among the wealthy and powerful, or among physicians. Among them, Doctor Zhuang at the Tianhong Medical Hall is the most famous, and he would be the most suitable for you."

Zhou Yan became interested and asked curiously, "Why?"

"It is said that Doctor Zhuang's ancestors were imperial physicians, and the Tianhong Medical Hall has been passed down for nearly a hundred years with a sterling reputation. Doctor Zhuang is now over sixty, yet he still has a full head of black hair, a booming voice, a sturdy frame, and can eat two large bowls of rice in one sitting..."

As Ma Yan spoke, he couldn't help but glance at Zhou Yan and remark, "In any case, Doctor Zhuang looks much healthier than you do."

Zhou Yan couldn't help but cough lightly, realizing he had indeed been training like a madman this past month.

"...The most important thing is that Doctor Zhuang once stated publicly that he is willing to teach his health-preserving techniques unconditionally to anyone who wants to learn; one only needs to go to the Tianhong Medical Hall to become his apprentice," Ma Yan concluded.

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Of course it's true. Many people know this," Ma Yan nodded.

"I heard that when Doctor Zhuang was young, his dream was to become a teacher. But because he was the only heir in his family, he couldn't abandon the century-old medical hall, so he inherited the family business."

"This became a regret for Doctor Zhuang, and later on, he made that statement..."

"After all, health-preserving techniques aren't anything rare; almost every medical hall has them, and there isn't much difference between them..."

Zhou Yan nodded, understanding the situation.

Health-preserving techniques, at most, help people live a bit longer, which is somewhat attractive to the wealthy.

But for ordinary people, they didn't come into this world to enjoy life, but to atone for their sins.

The longer they live, the more painful it is for them!

For those at the bottom of society, a top-tier health-preserving technique is not as useful as an external martial art like Spring Leg or Boat Fist.

Furthermore, for truly wealthy families, obtaining health-cultivation techniques is incredibly easy; there is no need to go through the trouble of taking on a master.

Although it is merely a nominal relationship, those wealthy families are unwilling to be easily entangled in such ties.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan still harbored some doubts in his heart: "Are you certain Doctor Zhuang will actually teach, rather than just cultivating his reputation and building a good name for himself?"

"You can rest assured on that point. Doctor Zhuang's reputation over several decades speaks for itself; he is absolutely not that kind of person," Ma Yan said with a solemn expression.

It was evident that he held that Doctor Zhuang in high regard, perhaps even with a sense of reverence.

Hearing this, Zhou Yan did not hesitate any longer and immediately said: "Since that is the case, once the corpse is successfully refined, I will head to Tianhong Medical Hall to apprentice."

Ma Yan blinked and asked: "Not going now? Your body..."

Zhou Yan shook his head firmly, looking toward the direction of the inner room: "Before the corpse refinement is complete, I will absolutely not step a single half-step outside this residence."