After returning to the cave with Hu Niu, Lu Li picked out a few medicinal herbs.
Only then did he take a Dragon Essence Pill and begin cultivating.
"That old man said the Dragon Essence Pill was only a hair's breadth weaker than the Purple Sun Pill. I'll try it for myself."
Thinking this, Lu Li immediately began practicing the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist.
Not long after he took the Dragon Essence Pill, the medicinal power inside him began to stir.
Lu Li could feel that its power was vast and fierce.
It was indeed only a hair's breadth weaker than the Purple Sun Pill, well worth its price of eight hundred taels.
Two hours passed.
Lu Li had completely digested the medicinal power.
He glanced at the sky. It was around six in the evening, and twilight was already gathering.
As Lu Li's cultivation realm continued to rise, his body grew tougher, and he digested the medicinal power faster and faster.
In the past, he would have had to wait until nightfall to absorb it all.
But now, though he performed the same number of strikes and absorbed the same amount of medicinal power, the time it took had shrunk considerably.
Perhaps once he broke through to the Organ-Refining Realm and his body grew stronger still, he could cultivate more times in a day.
Could he manage two pills a day without damaging his body?
Lu Li was already looking forward to finding out.
He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, brought his hands together, and lowered them as he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
He suddenly opened his eyes. They were bright as stars, shimmering with starlight.
He looked at the panel.
[Martial Arts: Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist: (Organ-Refining Realm 50/1800) One practice per day; mastery in a hundred years...]
At last, he had broken through to the Organ-Refining Realm!
Lu Li's mind remained calm, without much of a stir.
The Organ-Refining Realm was not his only goal.
He wanted to reach the legendary realm of the immortals and gods.
The realm that could make even the emperor kneel!
Besides, the Dragon Essence Pill was potent. The breakthrough had been well within expectations.
"Two hundred and fifty points of medicinal power. Not bad."
Lu Li calculated. "I have two pills left. After taking them, I can raise it to five hundred and fifty."
"I'll have to complete more missions."
"While the Wang and Huang families are fighting, I'll gather the pills I need to break through to the Blood-Exchange Realm."
Then Lu Li checked his body.
With deliberate effort, he focused his power inward. His five organs and six bowels churned and compressed, rumbling like thunder.
His punches had also grown more powerful.
The strength of someone in the Organ-Refining Realm was four thousand jin.
But he cultivated the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, famed for its immense power, so his baseline strength was already six thousand jin.
And that was before the explosive boost from his ultimate lightness skill, which sent his strength far beyond that figure.
Lu Li felt that he could now take on a Blood-Exchange Realm expert!
He just didn't know whether he could kill one.
Lu Li had yet to encounter anyone in the Blood-Changing Realm.
The young lady had formed a Blood-Qi Wolf Smoke.
But it was very faint, so she could only be considered half a step into the Blood-Exchange Realm.
His body had indeed grown tougher and stronger, and he felt as if he had boundless strength.
Even after cultivating, Lu Li was still full of energy, his mind clear and sharp, without the slightest fatigue.
A thought stirred in his mind. Didn't this mean he really could take two pills a day now?
But the sky was growing darker, and he needed to hurry back, so he didn't try it.
Carrying the medicinal herbs, he said goodbye to Hu Niu and went straight down the mountain.
Back at the apothecary, he shut himself in his room.
Lu Li took out the herbs he had brought back, ground them finely, and mixed them according to the recipe.
Black Hawk had said that Green Snake was skilled with poison, too, and was a half-step Blood-Exchange Realm expert with a beast companion. There was a good chance he would target Lu Li, so Lu Li had to make every possible preparation.
White mourning drapes hung throughout the Wang Family home. Funeral music played, and the sound of wailing carried far into the distance.
The atmosphere in the main hall was heavy, as if the air itself had frozen.
A coffin stood in the center, surrounded by a crowd of Wang Family elders.
Three-hundred-jin Wang Buju sat in the seat of honor, weeping in utter despair. The chair creaked under the weight of his shaking body.
Wang Buju was now the head of the Wang Family, and the person in the coffin was naturally his son, Wang Yu.
"My Yu'er, what a cruel death you suffered!"
"The old must bury the young—heaven is unjust!" Wang Buju wept until he could barely catch his breath.
Aside from Wang Ju, the Wang Family had no one to carry on its legacy. Though Wang Yu was hopelessly inept at managing the family and unsuited to being its head, at least he had martial strength enough to keep the riffraff at bay.
Now the Blood Ghost had killed him outright.
The Wang Family had been crippled for good!
After a while, Wang Buju flung aside his tear-soaked handkerchief, forced himself to collect his thoughts, and stopped crying. His voice still carried unmistakable sorrow. "Yu'er, your father has business to discuss first. I'll come sit with you again later."
His eyes red, he turned to the Wang Family elders and said gravely, "We had a huge advantage, yet things turned out this way. The county magistrate is very displeased."
At the mention of the county magistrate, the Wang Family members' hearts tightened, and they hurried to defend themselves.
"Patriarch, you can't blame us. We did everything we could, and even lost the eldest young master in the process..."
"That's right. If not for the Blood Ghost, we would've swept the Huang Family away last night!"
"The Blood Ghost is too powerful. No one expected him to attack the Wang Family. We never provoked him."
"Exactly. I went back and checked everyone who had a grudge against the Wang Family. We could trace every one of them. We definitely never offended the Blood Ghost!"
Wang Buju mulled it over. "Tell me about everyone you found."
"First is Li Yu, just a scholar. The third young master once took a liking to his beautiful wife and stole her away. Now Li Yu is despondent, living like a walking corpse. We beat him up and accidentally killed him. We confirmed he had no martial arts."
"Second is Zhao Xuan, just a farmer. He's still out there scratching a living from the soil. He has no martial arts."
"..."
"Last is Lu Li. He's now a guard for the Huang Family. According to reliable reports, he has only just stepped onto the path of martial arts. He couldn't have killed the eldest young master."
After hearing this, Wang Buju flew into a rage. His breathing grew ragged, and his obese body shook violently. Veins even bulged on his fleshy forehead. "So the Blood Ghost is clearly out to get me?"
"Hmph! Go to the Wind and Rain Pavilion and put a bounty on the Blood Ghost. Even if I have to empty the family coffers, I'll see him dead!" he roared through clenched teeth.
Then he sat back down, his thoughts racing.
"I became head of the family only by currying favor with the county magistrate and serving him hand and foot."
"If we fail to cripple the Huang Family, the county magistrate can replace me whenever he likes. I have to eliminate every possible complication!"
He clenched his fists, murder in his eyes.
He had no intention of surrendering his position as head of the family so easily.
It was the third watch, deep in the night.
Snow and wind swept across the land, and the cold cut to the bone.
On the walls of Chengfeng County, the guards huddled around a fire, wrapped in thick, furry blankets.
Suddenly, they all began nodding off. One after another, they collapsed onto the wall and sank into a deep sleep.
Before long, snores rumbled like thunder.
A blue giant python with a body as thick as a water vat, a triangular head, and terrifyingly dark eyes flicked its tongue and slowly climbed onto the wall. It soon slipped into the city and vanished into the night.
A black-robed figure followed, stepping onto the wall.
He wore a blue mask, a Green Snake carved along its bridge.
Two eyes showed through, glinting with bloodthirsty menace like a beast lying in wait, ready to strike a fatal blow at any moment.
"Blood Ghost, you dared to compete with me for what I wanted. You must be tired of living."
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