Daily Life at the Daoist Hall, Crossing Tribulation in the Venom Pit

"Pah! Tofu, tofu again."

Li Hou'er squatted beside Fang Shu, taking a bite of bun and a bite of tofu, his face full of bitterness. "And it's damn well burnt. Why's my dad such a miser?"

Hearing this, Fang Shu shook his head and silently gnawed on the plain bun in his hand.

In just a few huge bites, he swallowed the face-sized, three-fingers-thick bun, then pounded his chest and reached for another bun at his side, wolfing it down like a tiger devouring prey.

Seeing this, Li Hou'er clicked his tongue.

"This blood bun is fishy and hard. It's hard enough to swallow even with water; normally, you could use it as a brick in a fight.

Only you, Brother Fang, have teeth good enough—and a Tongue Sword—to eat this much."

Fang Shu gave a bitter smile at those words, but said little and continued burying his head in his food.

He had been at Solitary Gu Hall for half a month now. There was a communal sleeping platform in the hall, and with Li Hou'er leading him around, he rarely went home.

For the first ten days, including the day he became a disciple, he had taken one Essence-Nourishing Pill every day under the hall master's instruction, nursing his body and replenishing his qi and blood. He had also learned from Li Hou'er some methods for tempering his strength and helping digest the medicine's effects.

After ten days, the Essence-Nourishing Pills had run out.

His Second Uncle perhaps had not realized he would use them up so quickly, so he had not sent any more pills. Fang Shu knew the situation at home and did not ask for them.

Fortunately, Fang Shu discovered that gnawing on more of the Daoist hall's buns could also greatly replenish his qi and blood!

These were no ordinary buns. They were made by boiling down deer blood and tiger-bone powder, then steaming and sun-drying them nine times each. Aside from their intensely fishy taste and ironwood-like hardness, they had no other flaws.

More importantly, the Daoist hall provided food and lodging. These blood buns were available without limit—eat as much as one could, so long as none was wasted.

The kitchen masters often steamed over a thousand at a time. In any case, the things kept well, and when they finally expired, they could be fed to demon pigs.

Still, Fang Shu's bun-eating brought him more than benefits alone.

Besides his wild table manners and enormous appetite, like a starving beast, he had earned the nickname "Starving Beast" from hanging around with Li Hou'er. He also had to relieve himself six times a day—sometimes even nine.

He truly ate and then shat, gnawed and then dumped. His nickname had nearly become "Straight Guts" because of it.

But there was no helping it. If he ate so much without promptly emptying himself, undigested food would build up in his belly, and his intestines could swell until they burst, killing him.

After wolfing down eight enormous buns in one go, Fang Shu finally took a sip of water. He did not dare drink too much, then calmly headed toward the latrine.

Yet even that motion drew the attention of the others in the dining hall, and a burst of laughter and pointing immediately rose up.

"This guy shits as soon as he eats. Why's that? Why doesn't he eat Blood Essence Rice?

One bite of that stuff equals a whole bun."

"Because he's poor, obviously. All he can do is wreck his own body."

Fang Shu turned a deaf ear and walked into the latrine as though no one else existed. Several Daoist boys hurriedly ran out at once.

Pinching their noses and clutching their waistbands, exaggerated disgust on their faces, they joined the others' teasing with laughter.

Li Hou'er had been squatting in a corner. He immediately rose and glared furiously at those Daoist boys. But it did no good; instead, several cold, sharp looks fell on him.

So Li Hou'er silently squatted back down and ate his bitter tofu.

Less than half a cup of tea later.

Fang Shu emerged from the latrine with light steps.

He looked around the dining hall, surprise suddenly appearing on his face. The dozen or twenty people who had been there were all gone.

Only Li Hou'er remained. He sprang up to meet him and said excitedly, "Come on, Brother Fang, let's go!"

Fang Shu went along without hesitation, listening as Li Hou'er explained while they walked.

"Hall Master Du is opening the pit today, helping several senior Daoist boys in the hall cultivate and enter the Dao."

Soon, the Daoist hall's main chamber was packed with people—more than a hundred of them.

It was Fang Shu's first time seeing so many people in the hall. Looking closely, he found that the servants, kitchen helpers, cooks, and others had all come to watch the excitement.

The two had arrived late and could only stand in a corner, like mere lackeys.

Thankfully, Li Hou'er was quick-witted and carried a long bench over from the dining hall. Otherwise, the brothers would have seen only heads, not a glimpse of what was happening in the chamber.

At the very center of the hall stood a pool one zhang wide and one zhang deep. A pungent stench filled the air. Snakes, insects, toads, centipedes, geckos, and all sorts of creatures crawled within, twisted together in dense, writhing knots. The sight made Fang Shu's scalp prickle.

"This is called the Venom Pit. The blood inside is said to be the blood of a hundred insects. One small mouthful can poison a giant elephant to death."

Li Hou'er quietly introduced it in Fang Shu's ear. "Listen carefully later. Every time the hall master helps someone enter the Dao, she explains some principles of cultivation."

"Mm. Thank you for the reminder, Brother Li."

Fang Shu nodded, immediately widening his eyes and pricking up his ears.

Crossing tribulation and entering the Dao was precisely the most important purpose of his cultivation in the hall!

"Is everyone here?"

Hall Master Du wore a dark floral robe. Her skin was like chicken flesh, her hair white as a crane's, and a strange smile rested on her face. She swept her gaze around, her eyes passing over Fang Shu and the others one by one.

"The first tribulation of the immortal path is called 'Ten Illnesses Nine Pains,' also known as 'Leaving Illnesses, Fewer Ailments.' To cross this tribulation, you must refine 'treasure blood' within your body."

She spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Refine ginseng blood, and your life may stretch long, granting longevity and extended years. Refine tiger-and-ox blood, and your strength may soar, reaching at most the force of nine oxen and two tigers. Refine iron-sand blood, and your skin may become like bronze and iron, unharmed by heat or cold. Refine lustful-eel blood, and your yang qi may surge, your root vessel greatly strengthened..."

Hall Master Du shouted softly.

"This vital blood is the bait-medicine of your cultivation. The Three-Six Elixir Method—refining medicine into bait—refers to these things!

Without vital blood entering the body, without treasure medicine within, no matter how many methods you learn or how well you cultivate, in the end, it will all be an empty field."

The hall master continued speaking in the chamber.

Fang Shu listened with rapt attention, his face alight with excitement.

Today, he had finally heard the precise key to crossing the First Tribulation—"refining blood and replacing blood"!

That was, transforming the ordinary blood in a human body and replacing it with blood of metal and stone, birds and beasts, plants and trees, snakes and insects, and so on.

After gaining treasure blood, the human body would no longer be merely mortal. It would begin to bear the bearing of an immortal: free of illness, untouched by heat and cold, ignorant of pain. It could also use treasure blood to wield magical artifacts freely, without damaging the body or shortening one's life.

This realm was called the First-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal.

As Fang Shu slowly pondered and digested this knowledge, Hall Master Du finished her explanation. Without the slightest delay, she pointed at several Daoist boys who had been in the hall for one or two years and shouted.

"Enter the pit."

Fang Shu immediately gathered his focus and fixed his eyes on the so-called Venom Pit.

Six Daoist boys stepped forward with a slap of feet.

There were men and women among them, most around seventeen to nineteen years old. Only one was a middle-aged man, his face weathered and resolute.

The six Daoist boys stood before the Venom Pit, looking at the snakes, insects, and poisonous creatures inside. Every one of their faces had turned pale.

Then someone in the crowd suddenly shouted and tossed in a rabbit, sending it flying into the Venom Pit.

Hiss! In an instant, the snakes and insects twisted around the rabbit. In the blink of an eye, it stopped twitching and turned into pus and blood.

Clearly, this Venom Pit was no showpiece for playacting. The creatures inside were vicious poisonous insects that bit any living thing they saw and pounced on whoever came near.

Hall Master Du sat before the Venom Pit. At a stretch of her hand, a disciple offered her freshly brewed tea.

She sipped it unhurriedly and said, "Life and death are fated; wealth and honor lie with Heaven.

Those who enter my Venom Pit will have their qi and blood stimulated by the poisons of a hundred insects, forcing them to circulate their cultivation. The longer you endure, the greater your chance of entering the Dao, and the greater the benefits."

Hall Master Du paused.

"Of course, the chance of disability and death will also be greater.

Think carefully. You have only one life, and only one chance to enter the pit.

If anyone enters and immediately comes back out, that is not only ruining his own future, doing harm without benefit—it is also wasting the energy of this old woman's precious insects. Better to die inside and become insect feed."

These words made the six Daoist boys turn even paler.

One of them moved his lips and chose to step back.

Lowering his head, he said, "Hall Master, I think I can cultivate a little longer. My family may also be able to save up some more money for me."

This immediately drew a chorus of jeers from the hall, along with laughing voices.

"What a shriveled-ball coward!"

But Hall Master Du did not care. She merely nodded.

At that moment, splash!

Before anyone could react, a sound suddenly rang out from the Venom Pit. Someone had jumped in, instantly stirring up waves of hissing from the snakes and insects.

"Ahhh!" Judging by her figure, it was a woman. The moment she entered the pit, she screamed miserably and flailed wildly inside the Venom Pit.

In only ten breaths, the woman lost all signs of life and toppled backward toward the insect blood in the pit.

Hall Master Du gave a soft sigh. Her figure flashed, and with one scoop of her hand, she pulled the female Daoist boy out. With a light shake, all the snakes and insects dropped from the Daoist boy's body, and even the blood drained away.

Then Hall Master Du publicly tore open the female Daoist boy's robe, exposing the flesh of her chest and belly, her thighs and crotch, without the slightest covering.

Yet no one in the hall looked at the female Daoist boy with lustful eyes.

Her skin, which should have been fair and tender, was now mottled green, red, blue, and purple. There was almost no intact flesh left anywhere on her body. She was swollen and gleaming, like a bloated corpse.

Hall Master Du's hands became afterimages as she rapidly kneaded the female Daoist boy several times, squeezing poisonous blood from her body and tasting it.

She said blandly, "Trying to be clever, but she can still be saved. Take her away and ask Master Leech to suck some out."

"Yes, Master." Daoist boys and servants immediately brought over a prepared door panel, placed the female Daoist boy on it, and swiftly carried her out of the hall.

The crowd had been so dense that not even water could pass through, yet without anyone calling out, they parted on their own.

Watching this scene, Fang Shu felt a chill creep through his heart and clicked his tongue in shock.

He could not help asking, "Is it always this miserable?"

Li Hou'er watched from beside him. Though his eyelids twitched as well, he seemed used to the sight and clicked his tongue.

"This senior sister is already considered clever. She was the first to enter the pit, so the hall master would definitely take extra care of her.

See that? Her face is basically fine. She must have applied medicine. Her chances of surviving should be good, and she likely won't be crippled either."

Fang Shu's heart tightened even further at those words.

He had thought that female Daoist boy had simply been ruthless enough to leap in on a hot-headed impulse.

He had not expected her to have planned so carefully, and even applied medicine beforehand. No wonder Hall Master Du had called her "trying to be clever."

Although Fang Shu had not been in the hall long, after hearing the hall master explain the principles of refining blood in the Venom Pit, he knew that enduring it with one's body was the only solution at such a time.

Even if medicine was used, it could only be tonics or fierce medicines that stimulated qi and blood. One could not use insect-repelling or insect-avoiding medicine.

Otherwise, one would damage one's own potential and lower the chance of successfully refining blood.

As the two spoke quietly in the corner, another figure moved a few times before the Venom Pit. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly leaped toward the pit.

After entering, he clenched his teeth tightly. His face rapidly reddened, then turned a deep purplish red in the blink of an eye.

He did not collapse. Instead, he began practicing a set of fist techniques in the Venom Pit, risking his life to stimulate his own qi and blood.

But after ten breaths, his movements became distorted. After twenty breaths, his stance completely fell apart. Before thirty breaths had passed, his entire body went numb, and he was about to crumple into the Venom Pit.

Hall Master Du moved with swift hands and sharp eyes. She sprang forward and scooped up the Daoist boy, then slapped his body repeatedly, forcing part of the poisonous blood from within him.

Expressionless, she gave another order. "Carry him away. Hand him over to Master Leech."

Two people had already been defeated in the Venom Pit, neither lasting even thirty breaths. The remaining three Daoist boys' expressions changed, their fear and uncertainty growing all the stronger.

A full hundred breaths later, under Hall Master Du's cold snort, another finally gathered his courage, drew in a breath, and leaped into the Venom Pit.

The moment he entered, he sat cross-legged and began circulating his cultivation throughout his body. Layer upon layer of heat radiated from his skin, as if he were a furnace, making the bloody stench in the main hall even thicker.

Watching from the side, Fang Shu immediately heard people say.

"His qi and blood are being stimulated so quickly. Did he take some fierce medicine?"

"Most likely. The medicine's effect looks quite strong. If he can't break through this time, even if he survives, he'll probably be ruined for the rest of his life."

After sixty or seventy breaths, amid sighs and pitying murmurs from the crowd, the meditating man's body stiffened. Hall Master Du noticed something wrong and yanked him upside down out of the Venom Pit by the head.

Even as he was carried away, the medicated Daoist boy remained seated cross-legged. His qi and blood had congealed, leaving his body rigid as wood, impossible to soften.

He was carried away sitting just like that, with a flushed, half-smiling expression still at the corners of his mouth.

Clearly, this man had also failed to cross the tribulation, all his efforts falling short at the final step.

Only two remained.

One of them was thin and slight. After dawdling for half a cup of tea, he closed his eyes and jumped into the Venom Pit to cross the tribulation.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he actually gritted his teeth and held on for forty or fifty breaths. In the end, he crawled out of the Venom Pit himself, but it was still a failure.

By this point, one person had withdrawn, while four had been grievously injured, their fates unknown.

The final person stood alone before the Venom Pit. His expression was a sight to behold. He was so nervous he seemed to have forgotten how to breathe, his face purple.

Not only him—even Fang Shu and the other onlookers around him, whether newcomers or old hands, Daoist boys or servants, were all utterly quiet. The atmosphere was unbearably oppressive.

Hall Master Du seemed rather tolerant toward this last remaining sprout today.

The fellow dawdled for more than a hundred breaths without even adjusting his qi and blood properly. Hall Master Du did not urge him, merely closed her eyes and waited.

In the oppressive silence, a toad as large as a person suddenly hopped in from outside.

It croaked loudly and shouted without a care for anyone else, "Hall Master, Hall Master! Master Leech says it's already sucked itself full.

If you send it any more people, it'll quit its job and go be a demon. It won't do this anymore."

The toad's cry gave many people in the hall strange expressions.

Thump! Hall Master Du abruptly opened her eyes. She did not look at the final Daoist boy, replying directly instead.

"Understood."

Once she finished speaking.

Hall Master Du turned around and lifted a massive stone-carved screen from behind her, one zhang wide and one zhang thick. The lower portion was like a pot lid or a millstone, while the upper portion was carved with scorpions, centipedes, and poisonous insects, lifelike in every detail.

As though she were carrying an empty gourd, she lightly placed the stone-carved screen over the Venom Pit, sealing its mouth.

Though she lifted the immense weight as easily as if it were nothing, the instant the Venom Pit closed, the sound of a heavy object striking the ground rang out. Even the floor of the main hall trembled.

"Disperse," Hall Master Du instructed blandly.

She turned around again, took several sticks of incense, and with her back to the crowd, slowly lit incense and candles before the Five Poisons hanging painting on the altar wall.

In an instant.

Voices rose continuously in the main hall. Many people discussed what they had just seen, their chatter buzzing like flies.

Only that final Daoist boy remained silent. His face held both relief and melancholy, as though he had lost something. He seemed somewhat dazed and lost.

He looked at Hall Master Du as she lit the incense herself. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely lowered his head, silently blended into the crowd, and quickly left the hall.

With the final person gone, Fang Shu finally withdrew his gaze.

His face was dazed as he murmured, "Is crossing tribulation to enter the Dao truly this perilous?"

Of the six people crossing tribulation today, two had shrunk back and four had failed, leaving Solitary Gu Hall utterly wiped out, without a single gain.

And according to Hall Master Du, regardless of whether those six had tried or not, they had either suffered grievous bodily harm or lost their resolve. None of them would ever again be able to enter the Venom Pit to cross tribulation in this life. Entering it again would be seeking death.

Li Hou'er, standing nearby, heard Fang Shu's muttering. He suddenly sucked at his teeth and grinned.

"No, no, not necessarily."

"Hm?" Fang Shu immediately fixed him with a bright gaze.

Looking toward the Venom Pit, Li Hou'er explained:

"The Venom Pit tribulation is actually the Solitary Gu Hall's guaranteed benefit. Anyone who has cultivated here for over a year and more or less grasped their immortal arts can give it a try.

"But this isn't the only path one can choose for crossing tribulation."

Li Hou'er counted on his fingers.

"To cross tribulation and ascend to immortality, one can burn thatch and strike cauldrons, take in red lead, refine autumn stone, and drink women's milk; one can gather yin to replenish yang, rub the navel to pass qi, and receive an empowerment from an expert; one can fast and abstain from grain, consuming spiritual objects; one can invite immortals to guide the phoenix, letting the gods open one's apertures... There are plenty of methods."

Hearing this, Fang Shu hesitantly pointed again at the sealed Venom Pit in the hall, his eyes full of inquiry.

Li Hou'er understood. He shrugged and recited with a swaying head:

"This is called: the poor stake their lives, while the rich possess divine powers."

"Money can commune with gods!" Li Hou'er waggled his brows and rubbed his fingers together.

Fang Shu fell silent.

He understood. Those who had entered just now were all poor disciples of the hall—or rather, ordinary Daoist boys. After nourishing their qi and blood, they could only place their hopes on gambling with their lives to cross tribulation.

At most, they took a few fierce medicines that stimulated the flesh. Naturally, the process was perilous, with not even one in four surviving.

But if one had money and connections, there was no need to brave such danger.

Then again, this incomparably dangerous Venom Pit tribulation was still a benefit the hall offered its veteran Daoist boys. Only those who had remained in the hall for a full year were qualified to use it.

Having greatly broadened his horizons, Fang Shu saw that few people remained in the hall. He cupped his hands toward Hall Master Du, intending to leave together with Li Hou'er.

Just then, Hall Master Du was studying the hanging painting on the wall when she suddenly spoke:

"Fang Shu, stay.

"Your qi and blood have been nourished quite well. It seems you have already recovered by more than half."

Hall Master Du paused, then said, "This old woman can impart cultivation to you and teach you how to refine your cultivation and temper your blood."

Fang Shu first praised her keen eye inwardly, thinking that Hall Master Du had sharp eyes indeed.

Because he had been stuffing himself with food, according to the Dao Register, the upper limit of his [Lifespan] had already recovered to fifty-five years.

And the recovery had been slowing more and more. The rest likely required gradual nourishment over time, or even more restorative pills; it could no longer be repaired in a short while.

When he heard the hall master's next sentence, Fang Shu froze for a breath, and all stray thoughts vanished from his mind.

Great joy appeared on his face. He immediately bowed.

"Yes, Master!"