Breaking Through the Bottleneck

After returning to his room, Chen Fan properly stored away his spoils of war, then collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. The past few days had truly exhausted him. Although meditating to recover could also count as rest, it was nowhere near as relaxing as a proper sleep. The poison in his body had long ceased to be a serious problem. Even if there was still the tiniest trace left, he no longer needed to meditate; a good sleep should allow him to recover on his own.

When he woke, it felt as though a lifetime had passed. He had apparently slept for a long time. Looking outside, he found that it was already the afternoon of the next day. He had slept for an entire day, yet Chen Fan now felt incomparably refreshed, his energy and strength fully restored. It was time to study the things he had brought back.

Chen Fan spread all the various materials he had gathered across the table, comparing them one by one against the Treasure Record before following the different refining methods to begin experimenting. His crafting conditions were now fairly complete: crushing, decocting, mixing, stirring, and filtering. He poured some of the venom directly into small bottles, while placing others into round molds to wait for them to fully blend and cool into solid pills.

After a flurry of work, he had finished processing every last material. Although he had failed a few times, things had gone fairly smoothly overall. If he were to prepare the same poisons again, Chen Fan was confident he could succeed nine times out of ten. Five small bottles and more than a dozen pills now sat on the table—his final results. Chen Fan was immensely satisfied and impatient to test these poisons.

But upon second thought, he was utterly speechless. How was he supposed to test them? Find someone at random and make them swallow them? Was that something a human being would do? Even if someone were willing to let him test poison on them, he had only just begun making poisons and did not yet know how well he had controlled the heat. What if he poisoned them to death? Moreover, in his excitement over refining poison, he had actually forgotten to prepare the corresponding antidotes. In other words, once these poisons took effect, there might be no way to save the victim.

What was he supposed to do? Surely he could not test poison on himself? Hm? Test poison on himself? The Treasure Record seemed to mention something like that. He immediately opened it and searched for something. Suddenly, his gaze stopped on a certain page: Test poison with one's own body? When one's art of poison-making was profound and one's grasp of toxicity had reached the finest hair's breadth, one could use one's own body to test poisons. This allowed one to personally experience a poison's effects and gain more precise control over its toxicity. However, one must never attempt it lightly before having sufficient confidence. If one wished to try, one must first prepare a means of detoxification and never proceed blindly.

Chen Fan looked at those words and secretly marveled. The author of this Treasure Record must have often tested poisons on himself. That was far too fierce. But then he thought again: anyone capable of writing such a book could not possibly be normal. And while testing poison on one's own body looked dangerous, it was not impossible if done step by step, gradually and methodically. The fact that such a thought had arisen in his mind was downright terrifying. Normally, he was an extremely cautious person who never did anything without confidence. Why had he now become somewhat irrational? Had refining poisons driven him into qi deviation?

He sat there blankly, staring at the bottles and jars before him, at a loss for what to do. At last, as though he had suddenly figured something out, he picked up a small bottle and took a mouthful, then immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and entered meditation, feeling the changes within his body.

What he did not know was that he had actually been analyzing things all along. The materials he used to make poison were all the lowest grade. Judging from how the pills he had made back then resisted snake venom, they should have been weaker than that venom. Even if his crafting process was better now, taking just a small mouthful of poison should not be a major issue. He had not suffered much after being poisoned by that snake venom before—at worst, he had merely passed out. It was not as if it were his first time fainting, so what was there to fear? Besides, he was prepared this time. If anything went wrong, he could immediately circulate the Golden Wheel Scripture to purge the poison. Perhaps this little bit of toxicity would not even be enough to knock him unconscious.

Chen Fan dared to do this mainly because everything he had gone through before had given him a certain confidence in his resistance to poison. It had to be said that his judgment was very accurate. Before long, Origin Qi within his body became turbulent, his blood and veins flowed somewhat sluggishly, and his breathing grew rapid—the unmistakable signs of poisoning.

However, he did not immediately circulate his cultivation to detoxify himself. Instead, he gave himself some time to experience the poison's effects. After several breaths, he could already fully sense the potency of that mouthful of venom. Only then did he activate the Golden Wheel Scripture and use it to purge the poison. Before long, every trace of toxicity was completely eliminated.

Huh? Just as he withdrew his cultivation technique, Chen Fan suddenly sensed something. His heart stirred, and he went to the table again, picked up the small bottle, and took several more mouthfuls before sitting cross-legged once more. After sensing it for a while, he could roughly judge the poison's strength. If he drank the entire bottle at once, it would be roughly equivalent to the giant snake's venom. But what he cared about was something else. Just now, when he circulated his cultivation technique, he had actually felt a faint sign that the bottleneck of his Internal Qi was about to break through. So he repeated the process. It really worked! This was inconceivable.

Could consuming poison raise one's realm? Chen Fan still could not believe it. He tried his best to remain calm. First, without drinking any poison, he directly activated the Golden Wheel Scripture and found no improvement whatsoever. Then he drank another mouthful of venom and circulated his cultivation again. Sure enough, it worked again! Chen Fan's eyes lit up, and he continued drinking. Naturally, he did not dare consume it all at once; there was still danger involved.

After repeating the process several more times, he had drained that small bottle of venom. At this moment, as the Golden Wheel Scripture circulated, Chen Fan felt Origin Qi within his body brimming with abundance. The speed of its circulation through the heavenly cycle greatly increased, and once heaven and earth Origin Qi entered his body, his dantian madly absorbed it. His capacity for storing qi rose severalfold as well. The bottleneck of the second level was shattered in one stroke, and he officially reached the third level.

Hah! Chen Fan exhaled a long breath of foul air. The qi and blood in his meridians had undergone further transformation, and from this point on, the heaven and earth Origin Qi within his body would be even purer. Feeling the changes in his physical condition, Chen Fan was overjoyed. This was truly an unexpected blessing. He had gradually begun to understand his peculiar body: it seemed that every time he was poisoned, as long as he did not die, his cultivation would improve. Of course, the small bottle of venom alone had been far from enough for him to advance today. The giant snake's venom must also have granted him enormous benefits.

Chen Fan did not become carried away. He continued meditating and cultivating to consolidate his realm. After an entire night, he had successfully stabilized his cultivation. If he could further improve his swordsmanship, then against inner court disciples at the level of Sha Ye and Bu Shi, he believed he could fight one against two without falling into the slightest disadvantage.

Yet the matter of his constitution was truly too strange. Throughout all ages, among every kind of cultivation manual, ancient tome, miscellaneous essay, and strange anecdote, there was probably no record of such a thing. He had heard that the sect possessed a Scripture Pavilion. If he could look through its texts, he might discover something. But that was a place only inner court disciples could enter. Did that mean he had to wait two years? By now, he no longer had any worries about entering the inner court. But his constitution was too miraculous. If he did not find a way to understand it better, he could never truly be at ease.

At that moment, someone knocked on his door. Chen Fan hurriedly put away the bottles and jars on the table before opening it.

"What are you doing? Why are you moving so slowly?" a young girl asked anxiously.

Qin Ziyan?! What was going on? Why was she here? "Senior Sister Qin, why have you come? I've been sleeping all this time. Ever since I returned that day, I've been feeling groggy, like an aftereffect of poisoning, so I've just been sleeping." This woman was clearly here to stir up trouble. Chen Fan did not want too much contact with her. What a joke—this was the Little Witch. And within the sect, she could play him to death without him ever knowing how.

"Ah? Are you all right? Should I ask Master to treat your injuries?" Qin Ziyan asked with a serious expression.

"N-No need. I'm basically fine already, just a little sleepy." This girl seemed genuinely concerned about me. And thinking of what she said before about wanting to repay me... no way, was she here to throw herself into my arms? "Senior Sister Qin, why have you come here? How did you know where I lived?"

"What? I'm not allowed to come? Still, you're rather famous in the outer court. I asked around and found the place, then came right over!" Qin Ziyan said with a cheerful smile.

"Why has Senior Sister Qin come looking for me? Are you still holding on to what happened last time?" Chen Fan was naturally referring to how Qin Ziyan had said she would take him back to the palace for interrogation on the charge of secretly learning swordsmanship.

"You really know how to hold a grudge, don't you?" Qin Ziyan suddenly puffed out her cheeks in anger. "Do I look that petty? Hmph. I originally came to take you somewhere nice, but my good intentions have been treated like donkey liver and lungs."

Oh? Chen Fan's thoughts turned, and he asked suspiciously, "Where? It isn't the back mountain or some forbidden ground again, is it?" He always felt that whenever the Little Witch wanted to take him out, nothing good would come of it.

"Mm... you could say it is a forbidden ground, but only for you. The Scripture Pavilion—have you heard of it?" Qin Ziyan said.

What? This was like searching everywhere in iron shoes to no avail, only to find it without any effort at all. He had just been thinking about visiting the Scripture Pavilion, and now the opportunity had come? Chen Fan stared seriously at Qin Ziyan's face. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" As she said this, her face reddened slightly and she turned her head to one side.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Chen Fan did not care what she was plotting. As long as he could enter the Scripture Pavilion, that was enough. Serious business came first.

"So he becomes this enthusiastic the moment he hears we're going to the Scripture Pavilion. This man really is..." Qin Ziyan muttered inwardly. Then the two headed toward the inner court.

After the two left, heads poked out one after another from the surrounding area. They were all people who had been hiding nearby to watch the show. "Who knows what kind of dog-shit luck this kid has? First Fairy Ye escorted him home, and now Little Witch Qin is accompanying him away." "That kid looks utterly ordinary. How does he have such luck with women?" "Tsk, tsk. Whether it is fortune or disaster is hard to say. He actually dares to stand with one foot in each of two boats. Neither of those women is easy to deal with. Let's see what he does later!" The crowd discussed it endlessly...

At the inner court of Swordcry Mountain, beneath a small mountain peak, Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan stopped. On the way here, thanks to Qin Ziyan, no one had tried to stop them to verify their identities. Some had even deliberately avoided them from afar at the sight of her. They had passed through without obstruction. Qin Ziyan was far more useful than a disciple token.

"All right, the Scripture Pavilion is up there. I can't get you in just by showing my face over there." Qin Ziyan pointed toward the mountain ahead. Not far up it stood a massive three-story pavilion, which should be the Scripture Pavilion. The surroundings were peaceful, and it was not far from the inner court. It truly was a fine place for inner court disciples to study. "A senior brother from my Sword-Imperial Pavilion is guarding the place today. When we get to the entrance, I'll lure him away, and then you can go inside."

"There's no need for that." After hesitating briefly, Chen Fan took out a token. He was actually in a difficult position. This token should allow him to enter the Scripture Pavilion without issue, but if he were discovered, Fairy Ye might be implicated. Yet if he did not use it and sneaked in instead, then if he were caught, the Little Witch would be implicated. He could only weigh the lesser of two evils. He had realized that whenever anything involved the Little Witch, matters became exceptionally complicated and the consequences hard to predict.

"Huh? A Swordheart Hall token? Are you really from Swordheart Hall? Then why didn't you take it out last time? And why are you living in the outer sect?" Qin Ziyan was greatly astonished. Just how many secrets did this young man have?

Chen Fan did not answer her. He simply walked straight toward the Scripture Pavilion, leaving Qin Ziyan speechless as she could only follow.

After walking along a short mountain path and climbing more than a dozen steps, they arrived before the main entrance of the Scripture Pavilion. Normally, disciples from the three inner court palaces took turns guarding the place. At present, a young man sat on a long bench by the door, reading a book in his hands. Hearing someone arrive, he paid no attention at first and merely gave them a slight glance from the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, he rose to his feet and tossed the book in his hand behind him. "It's actually Junior Sister Ziyan. This is truly a sight one sees once in a thousand years! Doesn't Junior Sister hate coming here most of all? Don't you dislike reading? Why have you come today..." The young man had only gotten halfway through his words.

"Ahem, ahem." Qin Ziyan coughed twice in quick succession, signaling him to shut up at once. Embarrassment appeared on her face as she said, "Senior Brother Lu, don't speak nonsense, all right? When have I ever said I dislike reading? I was merely too busy practicing swordsmanship in the past and had no time to come here."

The young man found this impossible to believe, but he did not dare argue with her. Smiling, he said, "Then that's wonderful. Junior Sister's swordsmanship is superb, and now you are well-read besides. You are truly accomplished in both literary and martial arts."

This... was far too servile. Were all inner court disciples like this? Chen Fan inwardly despised him.

"Junior Sister, please go in." The young man gestured for Qin Ziyan to enter, his face still carrying a fawning expression. But when he turned to Chen Fan, his expression stiffened. "This junior brother looks unfamiliar. Could you show your identity token?"

Chen Fan handed over the token as requested. The young man gave it a brief look but did not take it to inspect it. After all, such a thing was practically impossible to forge, and Chen Fan had arrived with Qin Ziyan, so what problem could there be? He was merely symbolically maintaining the dignity of his position as the Scripture Pavilion's administrator.

"Mm, all right, you may enter as well. You know the rules, yes? Whether cultivation manuals, techniques, or any other books, you may borrow at most three at once. Register your name when you leave. Each borrowing period may not exceed one month; after a month, you must return them or renew the loan."

Borrow my ass, Chen Fan thought. Wouldn't registering expose me? It looked like he would have to spend some time inside and read a little more.