Flesh-Nourishing Realm

The sky had begun to lighten faintly.

When Chen Chong woke, it felt as though every sinew and bone had been pulled from his body. For seven straight days, he had refined pills from dawn until dusk, leaving the furnace only to eat or snatch a brief nap.

As a pill master, he could actually have taken advantage of the gaps to slack off. Once the heat was steady, stepping away for a moment would not have mattered.

Yet whenever he looked at the refugees curled up in their shacks below the slope, he always wanted to squeeze out his last shred of strength—refine one more batch, then another.

He propped himself up and sat, raising his head to look at the sky. The moon had not fully set, hanging thinly in the west. Its light spilled down, cool as mist.

Then something stirred within him.

His qi and blood surged, and his flesh seemed to churn. Fine waves of soreness swelled between his bones, as if countless ants were gnawing at him, yet also as if a warm current were washing, seeping through, and nourishing beneath his skin.

Beneath the skin, between the fascia, his flesh was growing anew, filling out and condensing at a speed he had never experienced before.

Chen Chong closed his eyes and felt the change.

A moment later, he opened them and let out a long breath of stale air.

[Realm: Flesh-Nourishing Realm (1/10000)]

His exhaustion vanished without a trace. A faint smile appeared on Chen Chong's face. At last, today was a good day.

He stepped out through the courtyard gate. Today was the final day of relief for the refugees.

Chen Chong felt conflicted. After today, he would no longer have to work so hard, yet something indescribable continued to knot together in the depths of his heart.

At noon.

Chen Chong was staring intently at the pill furnace. These days of high-intensity pill refinement had carved the process for the Illness-Repelling Essence Pill into his bones. Every herb and every point at which the heat had to change was as precise as machinery.

The medicinal liquid in the furnace bubbled softly. His hand rested against the furnace wall, utterly still.

Then the clash of metal exploded through the air.

Chen Chong looked up, his pupils abruptly shrinking.

Yuan Zhiwu was already fighting a man dressed as a refugee. The man wielded a long spear, its shaft dark and heavy, its tip gleaming with cold light. His moves were seasoned and vicious, and he traded blows evenly with Yuan Zhiwu.

Yuan Zhiwu faced the spear barehanded, his palms roaring through the air. Every strike carried the deep, powerful force of the perfected Flesh-Nourishing Realm.

"Ha ha, I didn't expect to be discovered." The man gave a savage grin and swept his spear sideways, forcing Yuan Zhiwu back half a step.

The refugees scattered in all directions. Cries, footsteps, and the clatter of overturned pots and bowls blended into a single chaos.

The guards immediately went on alert. Zhao Da and Qian Hu stood back-to-back with weapons in hand, shielding Li Zhaoning behind them.

And Chen Chong also moved to protect Li Zhaoning.

More precisely, he had retreated to Li Zhaoning's side while surveying the surroundings, ready to run at any moment.

Just then, several more "refugees" suddenly sprang into action.

Lu Yun led several guards to meet them. Blades flashed and fists collided, but after only a few exchanges, Lu Yun took a heavy punch to the chest and was sent flying.

The other guards fell one after another as well. Some clutched their arms, others covered their legs. None had suffered fatal wounds, but they had temporarily lost their ability to fight.

Li Zhaoning remained as cool and detached as ever, her expression unchanged.

Chen Chong cursed inwardly.

But he had already calculated it. Yuan Zhiwu was tied down by the spearman. Though the remaining enemies were numerous, their cultivation ranged only from the Skin Tempering Realm to the Flesh-Nourishing Realm. With the foundation of his two perfected cultivation methods, he had a good chance of finding an opening, charging out, and slipping into the alleys of the refugee district.

But what then? He could not return to Jichuntang Hall, nor could he return to Dingshan County. This was not something he could atone for by delivering the corpse of a rat demon. If anything happened to Li Zhaoning, the Li Family would demand an explanation.

As he wrestled with himself, Li Zhaoning spoke.

"Since you have made such a spectacle so close to the city gate, you must be seeking something." Her voice was steady and unhurried, as though she were discussing a business deal. "Why cross blades and make everyone unhappy?"

The man fighting Yuan Zhiwu swept his long spear, forcing Yuan Zhiwu back, then planted the spear tip on the ground and stood ten paces away.

He was in his thirties, lean and wiry, with a hooked nose, deeply sunken eye sockets, and a pair of eyes bright enough to chill the heart.

He wore ragged refugee clothes, yet his bearing was utterly out of place among the surrounding people. The vicious bandit aura forged through countless battles made him like a blade yet to be sheathed.

"I have long heard that the Li Family has a daughter named Zhaoning, swift of mind and keen in wit." His lips curled upward. "Seeing you today, you truly are extraordinary. Yang He has come today for a pill."

Yuan Zhiwu retreated to Li Zhaoning's side.

Chen Chong looked over and saw several small wounds on him. The spear tip had torn open his left shoulder, blood seeping through; the back of his right hand was badly bruised; and the skin at his temple had been scraped open. His expression was far from pleasant.

"May I ask what pill?" Li Zhaoning asked. "That you would make such a grand display?"

"The Flesh-Regenerating Bone-Mending Pill."

At those words, a slight ripple appeared on Li Zhaoning's face. It was faint and fleeting, like wind brushing across water before the surface smoothed over again. But Chen Chong saw it.

The Flesh-Regenerating Bone-Mending Pill. It was no ordinary medicine. It could reconnect severed bones and regenerate sinew and flesh. To a martial artist, it was equivalent to a second life.

Throughout all of Dingshan County, it was said that no one had refined this pill in over a decade.

"To trade my safety for this pill, I fear you overestimate me," Li Zhaoning said blandly.

"Ha ha—" Yang He laughed loudly. He took an exquisite wooden box from his robes. It was made of purple sandalwood and carved with cloud patterns, clearly no ordinary item. "I have the ingredients needed to refine this pill. All I seek is a pill master."

He held the box on his palm, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before finally landing on Chen Chong. Then he looked away and turned to Li Zhaoning. "Today, Miss Li will accompany me into the mountains, and we shall see which pill master the Li Family sends. Once the pill is refined, she will be returned. If the pill cannot be refined—"

He drew out the last word, the smile on his lips deepening.

"Ha ha ha."

The atmosphere immediately drew taut.

The guards tightened their grips on their weapons. Yuan Zhiwu's breathing grew heavy, faint force gathering in his palms. Though wounded, he should still be able to stake everything on one final clash.

Chen Chong calculated rapidly.

If they fought, he could find an opening and flee. But if he fled this time, there would truly be nowhere for him to return to. If Li Zhaoning came to harm and he ran, then when the Li Family demanded an explanation, he would be the first held responsible.

Just then, Li Zhaoning looked at Yang He and said calmly,

"A pill master? Is there not one right beside me?"

At those words, both Chen Chong and Yang He were slightly taken aback.

Yang He soon laughed. "Miss Li has courage. Fine. Then this pill master will set up his furnace and refine the pill here. However—"

He looked toward the Dingshan County gate in the distance, of which only one corner could be seen. The soldiers on the walls were faintly visible.

"You do not have much time."

Chen Chong understood. Li Zhaoning did not want to go into the mountains.

At this moment, Li Zhaoning had placed her life in the hands of his pill furnace—in whether or not he succeeded.

After a brief thought, Chen Chong understood why.

If he succeeded, everyone would be happy. Yang He would most likely not risk fighting again.

Not to mention that Yuan Zhiwu was prepared to fight to the death, the city gate was too close, and reinforcements could arrive at any moment. Yang He had come alone to take this risk; he could not possibly have failed to consider a retreat.

If he failed, Yang He was definitely a man of his word. Yuan Zhiwu was only barely holding on against him. In the chaos of battle, killing Li Zhaoning would be easy.

As for himself, if he failed, he would still flee amid the melee just as he had planned. Other than Yang He, no one else could withstand a single exchange against his perfected cultivation methods.

But if he succeeded, there would surely be benefits.

Yang He tossed the wooden box over. Chen Chong caught it, steadied his mind, and opened the box.

Inside lay several processed medicinal herbs: dragon's blood, frankincense, myrrh, drynaria, and a crimson root whose name Chen Chong could not identify. Yet it radiated a rich aura of vegetal essence qi.

The inside of the lid was engraved with dense, tiny writing: precautions that had to be observed during refinement.

As expected, a pill formula of this level would never be easily disclosed.

There was no such thing as a one-hundred-percent success rate in pill refinement. Even though Chen Chong's pill-refining skill had reached perfection, a moment of carelessness while refining Tiger Bone Pills could still lead to failure.

The higher the grade of the pill, the more precautions it required, and the more chances there were to make a mistake.

Chen Chong took a deep breath and emptied his mind.

Then he moved.

He selected the herbs, ground them, sifted them, and mixed them with honey. His movements were incredibly swift, as though he had rehearsed them thousands of times.

His hands were steady and quick as he poured the medicinal powder into the furnace and lit the fire. Flames licked the furnace bottom, and the medicinal fragrance began to spread.

Wasn't this a little too fast?

Everyone around him looked tense.

Yang He stood with his hands behind his back. The smile had vanished from his face, and his brow furrowed slightly. Yuan Zhiwu panted heavily beside Li Zhaoning, his gaze fixed on the pill furnace. The guards' palms were soaked with sweat as they gripped their weapons.

But now that the medicine had entered the furnace and the fire had been lit, no one dared make a sound.

An inexplicable silence descended. Only the flickering flames could be heard, along with the faint sizzling of medicinal liquid roiling inside the furnace.

Chen Chong watched the pill furnace with calm eyes. The strength of the flames changed constantly, as though they were dancing.

A fraction too strong, and the medicine would scorch. A fraction too weak, and the medicine would disperse.

The hearts of everyone around him seemed to rise and fall with the flames.

Yang He's fingers unconsciously clenched. Yuan Zhiwu's breathing sank and rose with the rhythm of the fire, and even Li Zhaoning's gaze had settled upon the pill furnace without blinking.

Time seemed to stop.

Who knew how long passed? Perhaps it was brief, perhaps it was long. A wisp of green smoke curled out from the beast-shaped mouth of the furnace lid.

Then the pill fragrance spread everywhere.