Heaven-and-Earth Essence, A Fine Exterior

Luo Fang's scalp went numb as he thought, This is bad, this is bad. What virtue or ability does Li Xian have? His ancestral graves must be smoking blue—he actually caught Madam Wen's eye.

I offended him badly before. From now on... from now on... life is truly going to be difficult.

His heart burned as though being seared by fire.

Yet he did not dare make the slightest sound.

Following the order, Li Xian raised his head. Though still young, his features were clear-cut and well-defined, and he was remarkably handsome.

"A fine exterior indeed."

Madam Wen did not stint on her praise. Nodding, she said, "He is simply too young. Let him grow a few more years, and he will suit my tastes even better."

Pang Long casually said, "Madam, I told you long ago that this kid is the most handsome of all the guards."

Li Xian humbly replied, "I wouldn't dare." Yet he thought, When did you ever say that? How come I never knew?

As he raised his head, he finally saw Madam Wen's true face.

Perhaps this Madam had already entered the realm of Bone Recasting, for there was not the slightest trace of martial training visible upon her.

Her figure was graceful, carrying an innate air of dignified elegance. Her skin was fair, yet it bore a faintly icy, distant sheen.

He did not dare look further at the details of her features or attire.

Li Xian only glanced at her in passing, not daring to study her closely. Still, he noticed a beauty mark beneath Madam Wen's right eye.

It lent an added touch of charm to that face.

He immediately thought:

I heard long ago that Madam is extraordinarily beautiful. Seeing her today, the rumors were indeed true. In both my lives, I have only seen such a woman once.

Still, although she is beautiful beyond compare, she is ultimately only a "person." She is not nearly as uncanny as they made her sound.

He lowered his head again, able to see only Madam Wen's white skirt hem and the tips of the white boots showing beneath it.

"Every stitch and thread must be worth real gold and silver."

Li Xian muttered to himself.

Compared to Madam Wen's beauty, he cared more about how much this outfit was worth.

What followed was the distribution of meat and soup. Madam Wen had always been precise in rewarding merit. She had called Li Xian over not because she appreciated him, much less because she valued him.

How could someone like her value a mere guard? Those with merit were rewarded, those with faults punished. That was all.

Li Xian understood this well. Neither joy nor sorrow stirred in his heart. This bit of Essence Food was something he had barely earned by risking his life twice.

He deserved it without shame.

"Pang Long, take a piece of meat and give it to Li Xian," Madam Wen ordered.

"Yes!"

Pang Long did as instructed, placing a piece of [Essence Food] the size of a finger joint into Li Xian's palm, still coated in milky-white broth.

The instant it touched his palm, Li Xian felt a prickling numbness.

That alone showed how extraordinary this thing was, and how potent its effects were.

Once the meat had been distributed, Madam Wen waved her hand. "Distribute the remaining soup as usual."

Her lotus steps shifted lightly, her figure flickered, and in an instant, she had vanished.

"Li Xian, you rendered great merit in obtaining this Essence Food. Ladle yourself three bowls of Essence Soup first, and eat the essence meat with it."

Pang Long spoke bluntly.

"Alright!"

Li Xian did not stand on ceremony. He filled three large bowls with soup, and the fragrant scent made him swallow involuntarily.

This was the original broth. Having been simmered for two days and one night, it was exceptionally thick, almost like soup jelly.

The soup allotted to the other guards had all been diluted, mixed with other medicinal ingredients, and simmered again. Compared to the original broth, its effects were far weaker.

That was also why Pang Long had told Li Xian to ladle and drink the soup on the spot.

Holding the large bowl, Li Xian gulped it down in one go.

The soup entered his stomach and immediately turned into strands of warm current, rapidly spreading through his five viscera and six bowels, leaving his entire body indescribably comfortable.

[You drank one bowl of Snow Demon Monkey Essence Food Soup.]

[Skill "Consumption" Proficiency +29]

But immediately afterward, Li Xian's expression changed. Those threads of warm current flowed through his flesh and muscles like a stream washing through cracks between mountain rocks.

They carried away impurities while nourishing his body.

Yet immediately afterward, they began rapidly dispersing from his body.

His eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and the nine apertures of the human body were like nine drainage holes.

"Commander Pang, this..." Li Xian looked over in confusion.

"You felt it too. An ordinary Clay Embryo cannot retain this energy." Pang Long smiled. "But it is beneficial in the end, and opportunities like this are rare. It is good to let you try it in advance."

Li Xian drank the second bowl.

Just as before, after the soup entered his stomach, it transformed into invisible warm currents that spread through his flesh and muscles, then flowed out through his skin and nine apertures.

This energy was formless.

It arrived with form, yet vanished without a trace.

Though he could not retain it, as it passed through his flesh, it seemed to nourish his body as well. Li Xian only felt brimming with vitality; his strength, bones, meridians... all had become tougher.

He drained the third bowl.

Though the energy dispersed, Inner Qi continued to emerge from his dantian without end.

Li Xian's mind stirred. When Inner Qi circulates, it seems able to slightly influence the path this energy takes?

Could it be that only after Qi Circulation Through the Heavens can one barely retain this energy?

Unfortunately, this thing was like a gust of wind. When it blew in, his whole body felt refreshed; before he could react, it had already scattered away.

"Essence Food is what is truly precious."

"When I was your age, I did not even know what [Essence Food] was."

"If you say you are lucky, you encountered a Snow Demon Monkey and nearly lost your life."

"But if you say your luck is poor, at such a young age, you are already eating Essence Food. In neighboring Qingning County, countless wealthy families have children practicing martial arts. Their families may possess fortunes beyond measure, yet when they are in their teens, they may not even have the chance to consume Essence Food to strengthen their bodies."

Pang Long sighed deeply.

This Essence Food was only the size of a little finger joint, translucent white and crystalline, like a piece of fine jade.

The moment he swallowed it, Li Xian's body shook. A flush rose over his skin, and his blood and qi surged swiftly like a great river in flood.

Crackling sounds came from all over his body.

[First consumption of Snow Demon Monkey Essence Food]

[Skill Consumption Proficiency +70]

[Skill: Consumption]

[Proficiency: 398/500 Initiation]

[Description: A tiny Clay Embryo, broken and laughable. You can eat it, but cannot keep it—there is nothing to be done. As you continuously consume Heaven-and-Earth Essence Treasures, you have begun to glimpse the mysteries of eating. Absorption efficiency has slightly increased.]

Pang Long said:

"This kind of energy is called Heaven-and-Earth Essence. It is a necessary thing for stepping into Bone Recasting."

"You cannot retain Heaven-and-Earth Essence, but the medicinal properties contained in the meat are enough to transform your physique."

"For this day, simply rest. There is no need to practice martial arts or train your fists. Let your muscles and bones adapt on their own."

The Heaven-and-Earth Essence soon dissipated, but the medicinal power contained in the meat continued nourishing his body without end.

Li Xian lay on his bed, his surging blood and qi spilling outward. Perhaps because he was too young, he felt a blazing restlessness clawing at his heart and lungs.

"I only took a small bite, yet it has such an effect."

"I truly wonder how Commander Pang and Madam... deal with it."

This was Li Xian's most well-behaved day.

By the following morning, Li Xian stood by the well and rinsed himself with cold water.

After washing away the sweat covering his body, he felt thoroughly refreshed.

To his surprise, he seemed to have grown taller. Because of malnutrition, Li Xian had previously appeared somewhat thin and shabby compared to martial artists his age.

After becoming a guard, his height had gradually caught up, but after all, only a little over a month had passed, so the changes had been limited.

Yet early this morning,

he astonishingly realized that in a single day, he had grown more than an inch taller, and his entire body had become far sturdier.

"Good heavens, it is this fierce?"

Li Xian threw a punch into the air, executing a move of [Wild Bull Fist]. Its power and momentum were both more than thirty percent greater than before.

[The wild bull roars, the fist strikes like a bull. Proficiency +3]

The difference did not lie in his mastery of the fist technique.

Li Xian had not used Inner Qi either.

Rather, the improvement in his muscles and bones had made gathering force, throwing a punch, and withdrawing the stance flow together in one unbroken motion.

"Besides that, my Inner Qi has grown quite a bit as well."

"I wonder how far I am now from Qi Circulation Through the Heavens?"