Solo Kill a Century-Old Soul Beast! Dragon Bone Grass for Alchemy!

But the Green-Veined Python was not having an easy time either. The punch smashed its serpentine body into a bend, throwing its attack off for an instant.

Lan Tian seized that gap. The short dagger in his right hand flipped around, and with soul power poured into it, the tip stabbed toward a spot on the snake's body where there was a slight opening between the scales.

The dagger tip sank in half an inch, and dark-green blood seeped out.

The Green-Veined Python hissed in pain. Its thick tail swept across, heavy and powerful.

Lan Tian crossed his arms to block, but the force drove him back several steps, his feet carving two deep tracks into the ground.

His arms tingled faintly.

This was the strength of a hundred-year soul beast.

He steadied himself and let out a breath, but the look in his eyes grew even more focused.

After the scent of the Green-Veined Python's blood was drawn out, its ferocity grew fiercer. Its snake body contracted again, preparing for the next charge.

But Lan Tian gave it no chance to catch its breath. Before the other side could fully build up its strength, he had already charged forward on his own.

This time, he lowered his center of gravity and advanced close to the ground, avoiding the attack range directly in front of the snake's head as he rushed to the side of the middle section of its body.

The short dagger stabbed out in rapid succession. Every strike aimed at the tiny gaps between the scales—precise, fast, and clean.

After three cuts, three wounds had been torn open along the side of the Green-Veined Python's body, and dark-green blood gushed out.

The snake's head whipped back. It opened its huge mouth and bit toward Lan Tian's shoulder, its sharp fangs carrying foul-smelling venom.

Lan Tian thrust his left hand forward and clamped onto the area beneath the snake's head, his five fingers exerting strength as he pressed it down hard. At the same time, the short dagger in his right hand slashed fiercely upward from below.

The dagger tip pierced precisely into the softest junction of scales beneath the snake's neck, sinking more than two inches deep.

This was a vital point.

The Green-Veined Python's whole body convulsed violently. Its serpentine body thrashed and coiled wildly, trying to strangle Lan Tian.

But that force lasted only a few breaths before weakening rapidly. In the end, it collapsed limply to the ground. Its tail swayed weakly, then stopped moving completely.

Lan Tian let go, stood up, and exhaled a long breath.

The clothing on his arm had been scraped open by the python's teeth, and a shallow trace of blood had seeped out, but the wound was not deep.

He activated Endless Life. The sheen of Blue Silver Grass flashed over the wound, and it soon healed.

He lowered his head to look at the Green-Veined Python on the ground, then crouched down and carefully removed the fist-sized snake gallbladder, wrapped it in oilcloth, and put it into his medicine chest.

Snake gallbladder was an excellent auxiliary ingredient in medicine. When decocted with other medicinal herbs, it had a remarkable effect on warming and nourishing the meridians.

Only then did he walk to the base of the dead tree, dig out the Dragon Bone Grass by the roots, and carefully put it away.

All the goals of this trip had been achieved.

He stood up, patted the dirt from his hands, gave the snake corpse one last look, then turned and walked out.

The return journey was faster than the way in, but he did not relax his vigilance.

After the battle just now, he had gained a clearer understanding of his current physique and battle judgment.

Against a hundred-year-level soul beast, he could already rely purely on physical techniques to contend head-on and win. Although the process had not been too easy, it at least proved that this path was workable.

By the time dusk was falling, he had returned to Nuoding City.

Once the medical clinic's door was shut and the lamps were lit, he spread out the Poria, Three-Leaf Blood Vine, Dragon Bone Grass, and Green-Veined Python gallbladder he had gathered today on the chopping board one by one, then carefully cleaned, sorted, and processed them.

After finishing his work, he stood in the rear courtyard, feeling the night wind brush across his cheeks, his heart very steady.

Level fourteen was only the starting point. There were still higher peaks waiting for him ahead.

After bringing the Dragon Bone Grass back, Lan Tian did not rush to process it. Instead, he first placed it in a cool, ventilated place to dry for two days.

This thing was different from ordinary medicinal herbs. When freshly picked, its medicinal properties were at their strongest, and using it directly in medicine could easily damage the meridians instead. He had to wait until about thirty percent of its moisture evaporated naturally and its medicinal properties settled before it could be combined with other herbs for decoction.

Over the past few days, he had processed the snake gallbladder, and had also cut the Poria and Three-Leaf Blood Vine into thin slices and dried them in the sun, neatly stacking them inside ceramic jars and sealing them.

Two days later, quite a bit of the moisture on the surface of the Dragon Bone Grass had dried away. Its originally pale-gold roots and stems had grown somewhat darker, and the texture really did feel as hard as bone.

Lan Tian took it down, cut it into several sections, and then began preparing the medicine.

This time, he was not making a medicinal bath, but refining an oral decoction.

A few days ago, when he encountered that Green-Veined Python in the middle layer of the Soul Hunting Forest, although he had won in the end, the impact his muscles and bones had taken when he blocked that sweep of the snake's tail with both arms had not been small.

Ever since then, he had been thinking that relying solely on external medicinal baths to warm and nourish his meridians was ultimately limited in speed. If he could cultivate both internally and externally, using medicinal baths and oral decoctions at the same time, the effect should double.

According to the books, Dragon Bone Grass had the effect of strengthening bones and fortifying tendons. Paired with the blood-activating effect of Three-Leaf Blood Vine, and then combined with the warming and nourishing power of snake gallbladder, the three together should not be much worse than Whale Glue when it came to strengthening the body.

Once he decided, he acted.

In the kitchen, an iron pot was set over the stove. Clear water went into the pot, and he added the Dragon Bone Grass, Three-Leaf Blood Vine, snake gallbladder, and several auxiliary herbs in sequence according to the proportions he had worked out. After bringing it to a boil over high heat, he lowered it to a gentle simmer.

The color of the medicinal soup gradually changed from clear water to pale gold, then to a thick brown. Its viscosity grew higher and higher, and the medicinal fragrance spread through the entire courtyard. It was strong but not unpleasant; instead, it carried a heavy scent unique to plants and trees.

After simmering for nearly an hour and a half, the medicinal soup in the pot had reduced to only one bowlful. It was as thick as honey, with a layer of glossy sheen floating on the surface.

Lan Tian poured the medicinal soup into a ceramic bowl, let it cool until it was warm, then lifted it and drank it down.

The instant the medicinal soup entered his mouth, a scorching current rushed straight down his throat, like a spark falling into his dantian. It immediately exploded, splitting into countless thin streams that surged along his meridians toward every bone and every muscle in his body.

This feeling was very similar to Whale Glue, yet also somewhat different.

Whale Glue's medicinal power leaned more toward a pure infusion of energy, violently and directly strengthening the body.

But the medicinal power of this bowl of decoction was far more refined, like an artisan's hand carefully polishing between bone and fascia, tempering what was already solid into something even denser, while filling in and reinforcing the weaker spots.

His entire body seemed to have been thrown into an invisible furnace, slow-cooked over a gentle flame, reforged from the inside out.

Lan Tian sat cross-legged among the Blue Silver Grass in the courtyard, circulating his soul power to assist the absorption and diffusion of the medicine's effects.

Time slowly passed. A layer of fine sweat seeped out on his forehead, and a faint golden sheen appeared on the surface of his skin. That was the outward sign of Dragon Bone Grass's medicinal power seeping into the periosteum.

Faint crackling sounds came from deep within his bones, as if the joints between his bones were undergoing some subtle restructuring and reinforcement.

This process continued for nearly four hours before the medicinal power gradually settled down.

When Lan Tian opened his eyes again, the sky had turned completely dark. The moon hung on the treetops beyond the courtyard wall, and silvery-white moonlight spilled down, falling over the Blue Silver Grass leaves throughout the courtyard as if plating them with a thin layer of mercury.