Fourth-Grade High-Tier Pill, Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill

Black Rock City was one of the foremost major cities in the entire Jia Ma Empire.

After paying the entrance fee, Mu Chen entered the city without trouble. As he moved through the bustling streets packed with traffic, the deafening clamor of voices made him slightly uncomfortable.

However, after walking for a while, Mu Chen gradually adapted to this liveliness, so different from the "quiet" of the Magic Beast Mountains. Washed over by the overwhelming presence of people, much of the gloom in his heart was dispelled.

There were many markets in a large city, but those who could survive here were all shrewd people. Even with Mu Chen's own discerning eye, he would not be able to find any overlooked bargains in a place like this.

Mu Chen flexed his fingers. The gold coins obtained from the system's lottery could not be sacrificed, and by now, he had little use for the medicinal ingredients and such that could be bought with gold in the points shop.

Frowning, Mu Chen thought, The hidden injuries in my body are troublesome. I must deal with them as soon as possible, or they'll affect my future cultivation.

The most suitable treatments for hidden injuries are the third-grade Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid and the fourth-grade Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill.

The former is manageable. I have the ingredients, so I can refine it tonight after finding an inn. As for the latter, it requires a third-tier water-attributed Magic Core. These markets probably won't have such high-end goods, and even if they do, the price will surely be outrageous.

In the end, Mu Chen entered a high-end auction house. He purchased a third-tier water-attributed Magic Core for 120,000 gold coins, then bought a four-mouthed alchemy cauldron for another 200,000.

Although the auction house was bustling and the auctioneer was beautiful and alluring, Mu Chen did not find anything worthwhile after waiting for some time. He therefore left without lingering.

Several hours later, Mu Chen looked completely refreshed. Dressed in a brand-new white short shirt, he stopped before an inn and walked straight inside.

The cauldron landed and the flames rose. Even with injuries, Mu Chen successfully refined the Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid within half an hour.

He heated some water and poured it into a bath barrel, then added the Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid. After removing his clothes, he soaked within it, allowing the steaming vapor to moisten his cheeks. The medicinal power in the hot water continuously seeped into his body, clearing some meridians blocked by stagnant blood and lightly repairing the injuries within him.

"The Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid isn't very useful against deep hidden injuries. I still need the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill."

The next day, the lazy morning sun had just risen. Bathed in warm sunlight, Mu Chen passed through the crowds and headed straight for the flying transport station in the center of the city.

After last night's initial treatment, Dou Qi could already flow through his meridians without much difficulty. After walking for a while, a spacious plaza appeared before his eyes.

More than a dozen enormous flying magical beasts, Thick-Winged Birds, were resting in the plaza.

Mu Chen automatically filtered out the noisy shouts around him, bought a ticket to the Tagor Desert, and declined the paid "services" offered by several flirtatious women who had eagerly recommended themselves.

With a light stomp, Mu Chen leaped onto a bird's back under their resentful gazes, casually chose an empty room, and settled in.

About half an hour later, a loud cry rang out, followed by a faint sensation of weightlessness. Mu Chen pushed open the closed window and saw the ground below growing increasingly blurred, while the airflow stirred by the flying magical beast swept away the scattered clouds in the sky.

After leaving his room, Mu Chen pretended to be riding a flying magical beast for the first time and paced through the corridor. He soon discovered that four other people were traveling with him.

They consisted of a somewhat lecherous old man and three middle-aged men. All of them wore luxurious black alchemist robes and had arrogant expressions, with badges denoting their alchemist ranks displayed prominently on their chests.

One third-grade alchemist and three second-grade alchemists.

Those three second-grade alchemists are all Dou Masters. I don't know their star levels yet, but Dou Masters pose little threat to me.

That old man's aura is somewhat unstable. He probably broke through to Da Dou Shi not long ago.

Mu Chen's expression turned a little strange. These four should be the unfortunate fools from the story who coveted the Blood Lotus Pill.

Licking his lips, Mu Chen knew they were no good people. His gaze fell upon the Storage Rings on their fingers as he thought, I wonder if there's anything good in their Storage Rings. As alchemists, their wealth should be greater than that of ordinary people.

While Mu Chen was observing them, the four of them casually glanced at him as well. When they saw that he was not wearing the black robes unique to alchemists, their faces immediately revealed deep disdain. They had no intention of greeting him; in their eyes, Mu Chen was not even worthy of an extra word.

The four exchanged a few familiar words, laughed lewdly, and returned to their rooms. Before long, the gasps of men and the seductive moans of women sounded one after another.

The corner of Mu Chen's mouth twitched. He returned to his room and refined several third-grade healing pills to repair the injuries in his body.

Three days passed like this, and Mu Chen estimated that the Tagor Desert was no longer far away.

After finishing his cultivation, Mu Chen took out the Fourth-Grade Alchemy Cauldron he had bought at the Black Rock City auction house. His original Third-Grade Alchemy Cauldron had developed cracks after being tempered by the Xuan Huang Flame. If he used that cauldron to refine the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill, it would definitely explode.

"Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill," a fourth-grade medicinal pill.

Effect: It could repair accumulated hidden injuries within the body and temper the physical body. In particular, it had an enormous strengthening effect on the bones.

Required materials: one third-tier water-attributed Magic Core, one hundred-year Bone-Refining Spirit Grass, one fifty-year Tri-Color Flower, one portion of Ice Crystal Jade Essence...

"Although the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill is slightly inferior to top-tier fourth-grade pills such as the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and the Three-Mark Azure Spirit Pill, it is still absolutely a high-tier fourth-grade pill. Refining it successfully won't take little time." Shaking his head, Mu Chen quickly cast aside his distracting thoughts and adjusted himself to his peak condition.

He took out the ingredients and arranged them neatly one by one. With a flick of his finger, the Xuan Huang Flame shot into the gray cauldron. Pinching his fingers lightly, he sent a Qi-Replenishing Pill into his mouth and wrapped it in Dou Qi, sealing it in his abdomen. Once his Dou Qi was overly depleted, he would refine the pill to replenish it.

The curling Xuan Huang Flame enveloped the ingredients he had placed inside. Under Mu Chen's precise control, it rapidly extracted their essences. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner. Unlike an ordinary pill such as the Blue Heart Pill, refining the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill consumed considerable time and Dou Qi.

Mu Chen focused intently and did not dare let down his guard in the slightest. In the blink of an eye, five hours passed. Within the gray cauldron, a jade-colored pill the size of a longan had taken shape inside the deep yellow Xuan Huang Flame.

Having entered the final pill-condensation stage, Mu Chen quietly wiped away the sweat on his forehead and swallowed another two Qi-Replenishing Pills to restore the Dou Qi he had expended.

Five hours—this was the first time Mu Chen had spent so long refining medicine. He knew that without the Xuan Huang Flame, his strength as a Dou Master would never have been enough to sustain him until the pill-condensation stage.

Another half hour later, a rich medicinal fragrance suddenly drifted from the cauldron. It swiftly broke free from the confines of Mu Chen's room and lingered through the surrounding air.

"Medicinal fragrance fills the air—the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill is complete!"

Mu Chen slapped the cauldron, and a jade streak of light shot out. He caught it in his palm, where a smooth pill pattern was clearly visible on the jade-colored pill.

"It took five and a half hours. That really wasn't easy. The medicinal fragrance has spread out, so those four fellows probably can't sit still anymore."