When Fang Xing returned home, night had fallen completely.
He carried the box inside, opened it, and looked at the high-grade wild ginseng within, which was more than fifty years old.
The ginseng was intact, with plenty of roots.
"I wonder what quality it'll become after being enhanced..."
Fang Xing gazed at the wild ginseng, his heart filled with anticipation.
This time, it was a gamble.
Money was secondary. What mattered most was what changes the wild ginseng would undergo after being enhanced.
Whether it could help him break through the Dark Force Dragon Gate all came down to this.
He took a deep breath and steadied himself. Then, with a thought, he chose to enhance it.
In an instant, a crimson glow spread across the wild ginseng.
As he watched, the ginseng began to change.
The crimson glow enveloped it, and a faint spiritual radiance emerged.
Fang Xing didn't even blink, afraid he might miss something.
At that moment, his heart seemed to stop beating.
Before long, the crimson glow surrounding the ginseng vanished, and a line of text appeared before his eyes.
[A high-grade wild ginseng containing fifty-two years of growth was successfully enhanced. Obtained a high-grade Spirit Ginseng that was two hundred years old.]
"Two hundred years... A high-grade Spirit Ginseng!"
Reading the words that had appeared before his eyes, Fang Xing felt his heart give a hard thump.
The wild ginseng had become a Spirit Ginseng—and one that was two hundred years old, at that.
A Spirit Ginseng was no ordinary wild ginseng. The two weren't even in the same league.
It was a Treasure Medicine.
Treasure Medicines were special products that completely transcended ordinary medicinal herbs.
Their value and efficacy far surpassed those of ordinary herbs.
He didn't know much about Treasure Medicines, but he did know a little.
This stuff was something even ordinary people—and even martial artists with a certain degree of strength—would scramble to get their hands on.
Most people not only couldn't own one; they could hardly even hope to lay eyes on one.
If word got out that he had a two-hundred-year-old Spirit Ginseng Treasure Medicine, even Transformation Force martial artists might not be able to resist making a move.
"An incredible score!"
Fang Xing's eyes burned as he looked at the two-hundred-year-old Spirit Ginseng.
With this Spirit Ginseng, the improvement would be tremendous.
Breaking through Dark Force was practically guaranteed.
Once again, he had witnessed the miraculous power of his enhancement ability, turning the rotten into the wondrous.
Looking at the Spirit Ginseng in the box, its faint glow spreading around it, Fang Xing gradually calmed down.
He didn't even need to use all of it at once. He could take it in several doses.
Otherwise, the medicinal power might be too great for his constitution to withstand.
Coming back to himself, he picked up the Spirit Ginseng and headed into the kitchen.
He took out a clay pot, then carefully cut off about one-third of the Spirit Ginseng with a pair of scissors.
He sealed away the rest for the time being.
Even a third of the Spirit Ginseng held immense medicinal power.
Treasure Medicines were no ordinary herbs.
Their efficacy was absolutely no joke.
One-third of the Spirit Ginseng would be enough to help him break through.
He added water and lit the fire.
Fang Xing squatted in the kitchen and boiled the Spirit Ginseng.
It took well over an hour before the medicinal decoction was ready.
A small, palm-sized bowl sat filled to the brim.
Just smelling it made him feel refreshed and invigorated.
Unlike decoctions made from ordinary herbs, the Spirit Ginseng's liquid was dark red.
Thick and syrupy!
It looked almost like molasses.
A faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils.
"Boiled Spirit Ginseng... This scent really hits hard..."
Smelling it, Fang Xing swallowed, waited for it to cool a little, then drank it down in one gulp.
He finished every drop of the Spirit Ginseng decoction, even licking the residue in the bowl clean.
He couldn't waste any. This was the finest Spirit Ginseng decoction.
Every drop was precious.
Setting down the bowl, he left the kitchen. In an instant, he felt an unbearable heat surge through his body.
The Spirit Ginseng's medicinal power was taking effect!
His skin turned red in an instant as its immense medicinal power erupted inside him, like a volcano spewing fire.
Fang Xing immediately began practicing the Demon Subduing Fist.
At the same time, he used the Demon Subduing Technique's breathing method for drawing power inward, beginning to absorb the Spirit Ginseng's medicinal energy.
The potent medicinal energy spread through him. As he practiced the Demon Subduing Fist, Fang Xing felt as if he had endless strength.
Demon Subduing Force coursed through his body.
The qi and blood throughout him surged.
His body was like an erupting volcano.
In the courtyard, afterimages overlapped.
He practiced again and again, showing no sign of stopping.
The medicinal power in his body was gradually absorbed, and his flushed skin slowly returned to its normal color.
"Pop—!!"
A punch shook the air, producing a faint crack.
Fang Xing circulated the Demon Subduing Force within him according to the Demon Subduing Technique's internal cultivation method, then swiftly began knocking at the gate to break through.
"Vmmm!!!"
A deep hum sounded from within him.
His tremendous force shuddered.
With the Spirit Ginseng's powerful medicinal energy supporting him, he didn't need to worry about running out of strength at all.
His hands never stopped moving as he pushed the internal cultivation method to its limits.
At that moment, his force began to change.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
"Rumble!!!"
A thunderous roar rang out within him, and Fang Xing abruptly came to a stop.
At that moment, the Internal Force in his body seemed to step onto an entirely new level.
He had broken through the body's acupoints.
An unprecedented sense of clarity filled him from head to toe.
It felt as though he were ascending to heaven.
His Internal Force had been elevated!
His qi and blood surged!
His whole body felt as if it had been remade.
His muscles and bones rang in unison.
The powerful force coursed not only through his meridians but also through the acupoints in his body.
He broke through the gate and opened the acupoints!
Dark Force achieved!
"So this is Dark Force!"
Fang Xing clenched his fist. The feeling was completely different from when he had wielded Bright Force.
Dark Force lay hidden within the body.
It remained still until the moment it moved—then it shook the heavens!
"Crack—!!"
He suddenly threw a punch. His force gathered at a single point, and the air shuddered. The next instant, three feet away, a head-high wooden dummy bore a clear fist mark.
His force shattered the wood fibers.
The fist mark was plain to see, sunk a full inch into the wood!
His force had pierced the air!
Compared with Bright Force, breaking through to Dark Force was a fundamental transformation.
As he performed the Demon Subduing Fist, an invisible current swirled within three feet of him.
It formed an intangible wall of air!
"Crack!!"
He struck a stone with one punch, and it shattered on the spot.
His fist could split metal and stone!
"Whew..."
He exhaled, reined in his aura, and looked at the shattered stone and the wooden dummy broken from a distance. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
With the Spirit Ginseng's medicinal power, he had knocked at the gate, broken through, and crossed the second Dragon Gate.
"With my strength now, ten martial artists at the peak of Bright Force couldn't defeat me."
An overwhelming confidence welled up within him.
Fang Xing's eyes shone as he looked up at the stars in the night sky.
All his confidence came from his own strength.
To have such immense power gathered in his own body was truly... exhilarating!
"Now that I've reached Dark Force, even the four Constables together couldn't beat me."
"Across all of Qingshan County, I can count myself among the experts."
Looking at the night sky, Fang Xing felt his spirits soar!
Bright Force was fierce and unyielding, while Dark Force was soft.
A strike could leave no visible wound, yet its force would seep into the body and rupture the internal organs.
Dark Force!
Force hidden within, Internal Force piercing through the air!
Even from three feet away, he could injure someone without making contact.
An ordinary person struck from three feet away would be killed outright.
Even a Bright Force martial artist hit by his three-foot, long-range strike would be injured.
"There's still two-thirds of the Spirit Ginseng left. After I take it, I can not only consolidate my gains but also rise to another level."
Fang Xing looked toward the room in the main house.
It was a good thing he hadn't acted impulsively and swallowed it all at once. Otherwise, its medicinal power would have been enough to make him bleed from all seven orifices.
If his body couldn't withstand it, not only would he fail to break through; he might even suffer a backlash from the medicine and end up with depleted qi and blood!
In an even worse case, the backlash could directly kill him. That wasn't impossible.
Just one-third of the Spirit Ginseng's medicinal power had been enough to push him through the gate.
The rest would be just right for consolidating and strengthening his power.
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