Second Tribulation, Essence-Refining Human Immortal

Several days passed in the quiet room.

Fang Shu silently circulated the Qi and Blood within his body. Under his guidance, the rich medicinal power continuously seeped into his flesh and penetrated into his bones.

Suddenly, the muscles in his body twitched violently, crackling and popping.

Fang Shu suddenly opened his eyes and immediately felt his Qi and Blood and energy surge more actively than ever before.

And when you look up at the sky again, it just so happens that the moon is high in the sky.

Furthermore, the text in the realm section of the Dao Register in my mind has changed to:

[Can withstand the tribulation (99% chance)]

Just as he expected, with careful refinement of his Qi and Blood, and aided by the rich Spiritual Qi and medicinal power within his body, the success rate of this tribulation could reach almost 100%.

Without further hesitation, Fang Shu turned and darted swiftly across the bottom of the well.

Roll, roll!

There was a large vat at the bottom of the well, which was trembling violently because of his movements.

The large vat was filled with 60% mercury, which was now swirling and forming a vortex, emitting a sound like thunder and lightning.

Fang Shu's method of undergoing tribulation and refining marrow this time is different from the previous tribulation in the Venom Pit. He mainly adopted the Lead Method.

Compared to the gradual refinement of marrow through poison after entering the Insect Method, Lead Method requires one to drink mercury into the body during tribulation, allowing it to penetrate directly into the bone marrow.

Such practices are terrifying to even hear about. Ordinary people would die if they touched them, and even ordinary Immortal cultivator would easily be maimed or killed if they did, thus shortening their lifespan and causing harm for half their lives.

If Fang Shu hadn't obtained this fortuitous opportunity and Dao Register monitoring his physical body and helping to correct it, allowing him to have a clear understanding of his physical condition at all times, he wouldn't have dared to do this.

Such an extremely intense marrow-refining Secret Method naturally has its own advantages.

According to the Lead Method, if one uses this method to transcend tribulation, one can further enhance one's Root Bone and cultivate the wonders of copper tendons and iron bones, refining a mouthful of silver mercury Marrow Essence, which is far superior to ordinary marrow refining for transcending tribulation.

Even if the bones are broken in the future, the Marrow Essence inside will immediately seep out, enveloping the bones and keeping them stable. Moreover, the broken bones can be completely repaired within a day.

Such strong bones and powerful bone regeneration ability are the wonderful effects of Lead Method refining!

Furthermore, mercury is highly toxic; inhaling it can harm or even kill a person.

Fang Shu's incorporation of this poison into his body aligns perfectly with the principle of refining marrow with poison in the Insect Method, greatly enhancing his physical body's resistance to poison. After successfully transcending the tribulation, he will also gain access to the benefits of the Insect Method's marrow-refining method.

These two skills, one primary and one secondary, complement each other perfectly.

Fang Shu is increasingly convinced that he has not chosen the wrong Cultivation Method.

Gurgling!

Inside the quiet room, Fang Shu, swift as the wind and moving like fire, burned slowly in the air, his Qi and Blood essence rising two zhang high.

Finally, with a snap.

The huge water tank shattered, unable to withstand the rotating mercury, and the tank broke into pieces the size of fingernails, scattered all over the ground.

However, the mercury in the vat did not spill onto the ground; instead, it formed a shimmering silver sphere that continued to spin rapidly in the quiet room.

Fang Shu Shuyou stepped forward, his hands and the muscles of his entire body constantly channeling his Qi and Blood to maintain the high-speed rotation of this mass of mercury, preventing it from scattering to the ground.

The mercury itself was like a millstone, crushing and grinding the Qi and Blood that Fang Shu had transferred into it, chewing it thoroughly before spitting it out and returning it to Fang Shu's body.

This process is a crucial step in refining one's Qi and Blood. The longer one persists, the more impurities will be removed from the Qi and Blood during the tribulation, resulting in purer Qi and Blood.

Relying on the rich Spiritual Qi and medicinal power within his body, Fang Shu spun the mercury sphere for three hours, as if whipping a top, using his arm as a stick and his qi and Qi and Blood as a whip.

During those three hours, his vital Qi and Blood had been thoroughly processed and weakened, leaving his once vibrant Qi and Blood quite withered.

However, the Qi and Blood and qi that have been ground up have a silvery tinge and a metallic luster, making them appear quite extraordinary.

The mercury sphere, originally the size of a water tank, was constantly evaporating, turning into highly toxic mercury vapor that filled the quiet room.

In Fang Shu's hands, only a small ball of the medicinal essence, the human head mercury, remained, still spinning.

He stood still amidst the mercury vapor, and every breath he took felt sweet and fragrant, making his mouth and nose tingle.

Even with his physical resistance to poison, he was struggling to withstand the intense toxicity of the environment. If it were an ordinary person, they would surely have died on the spot within three breaths.

But since he survived, what does it matter if he only inhales a few breaths of mercury poison? It will only help him to strengthen his Root Bone and increase his cultivation!

He had even heard of people in the world who would use mercury to transform their bones and skin to undergo tribulation, a cruel method. Compared to that, his current method of undergoing tribulation was already considered gentle and harmless.

In the quiet room, Fang Shu's gaze was sharp as he stared at the swirling mercury before him, muttering under his breath:

"The two energies, like flowing mercury, are the wonders of heaven and earth, entering my body. Lead strengthens my bones, yin and yang harmonize, meridians flow smoothly, and my body is renewed..."

He chanted the Mnemonic for transcending tribulation, then immediately raised the refined mercury and rolled it over his strong, muscular body, from his hands to his shoulders, from his shoulders to his back, from his back to his abdomen... finally rolling it to his chest, where he gulped it down and swallowed it, shrinking it slightly before continuing to roll it.

However, although the mercury entered his mouth, it did not go into Fang Shu's stomach. Instead, it was expelled from his nostrils like smoke.

This is one of the key secrets to overcoming tribulations through Lead Method; those who do not understand it will either die or be maimed!

Even though Fang Shu had already entered the Dao, cultivated the Purple-Lead Venom Blood, and possessed strong muscles and abundant medicinal power within his body, he was still only a Human Immortal. His internal organs were still fragile. If he were to ingest a large amount of mercury, the risk would be even greater than when Shi Hou drank the poison blood. It would be tantamount to "committing suicide by swallowing gold."

Therefore, he had to pretend to ingest mercury, just like a smoker smoking a hookah, while actually stimulating his Qi and Blood, using his mouth as a furnace, his throat as a bellows, and his nose as a smoke channel, and by tapping his teeth and making a drumming sound, he could quickly evaporate the mercury, make it swirl around in his body cavity, and then expel it in time.

This method minimizes the amount of mercury remaining in the body while still allowing the physical body to absorb the medicinal and metallic properties of the mercury, thus reducing the risk of poisoning.

However, this kind of tribulation-crossing practice is still a huge burden on the lungs of cultivators. Unless one has a strong physique and profound Cultivation Method, one should not do it, otherwise it will easily damage the lungs and cause chronic cough and asthma.

Fortunately, Fang Shu was a man with a robust physique and profound Cultivation Method skills.

One mouthful after another of the medicinal mercury was refined into smoke as his Qi and Blood and qi were burned, which was expelled from his body and gradually turned his body silvery white.

Between the internal and external sensations, Fang Shu could feel his bones itching and burning all over his body. Waves of heat were accumulating inside him, as if they were about to explode, which was truly unbearable.

But this also means that his bone marrow is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, including his bones, which are being refined with lead and mercury, becoming both strong and resilient, no longer ordinary bones.

If someone were to remove Fang Shu's bones at this moment and tap them with their hand, they would hear a clanging sound like metal striking metal.

Finally, after Fang Shu had finished consuming all the mercury spheres the size of a human head, the mercury vapor in the quiet room was so dense that even his hair was covered in mercury dew.

Fang Shu stopped breathing and instead held his breath, punching and kicking wildly in the quiet room.

Its stirring caused the mercury vapor in the quiet room to begin to rotate, grinding against the walls of the quiet room and making a rolling sound like a stone mill, like wind and thunder.

After holding his breath for a full fifteen minutes, he suddenly shouted, "Ha!"

Crackling sounds echoed through his body, the bones making a dense, overlapping, clanging noise.

The mercury vapor, swirling like a tornado, was also suddenly exploded and scattered into mist by his shout.

At this moment, Fang Shu suddenly took a deep breath, as if he were inhaling all the mercury vapor in the quiet room into his chest in one gulp.

Even the mercury vapor that wasn't inhaled seemed to be affected; the tiny mercury particles trembled and condensed into beads of mercury.

The next moment, Fang Shu Shuhou, in the quiet room, exhaled and chanted, his voice like iron trembling:

"I am now undergoing tribulation and knocking on two gates, eating lead and drinking mercury while exhaling Jin Yan."

Burning one's body and marrow is nothing to fear; a complete transformation makes one feel like an immortal.

Clap clap clap!

Droplets of mercury poured down like a torrential rain, splashing onto his hair and shoulders, turning the floor of the quiet room into a silvery white expanse.

Fang Shu finished his practice and stood with his hands behind his back in the quiet room, looking up at the sky, but the bright moon was no longer in his eyes.

But he himself was radiantly beautiful, draped in silver frost and white dew, strolling leisurely as if bathed in moonlight, as if he had just emerged from a moonlit pool.

Thus, Fang Shu's body successfully survived the ordeal of "Soft Bones, Crumbly Flesh," and its quality was excellent. His body was like Copper-Poured, Iron-Cast, and his Qi and Blood would be as fierce as a tiger. His muscles and tendons would be connected as one, and even flies and insects could not land on him.

It can travel a hundred miles without getting tired, carry a thousand pounds without hindrance, and in its movements, whether sitting or lying down, it can leave no trace on the snow and not sink in the water. Crossing mountains and rivers is just a piece of cake for it.

This realm is known as the "Second Tribulation Refining Essence Immortal".