Refining Blood-Strength Pills

The moment the [Great Strength] trait activated, Chen Xun felt a surging warm current course through his entire body.

The next instant, a powerful force seemed to descend upon him out of nowhere.

With a clench of his hand, strength nearing two thousand jin made him feel as though he could lift a small mountain.

Of course, that was merely an illusion born from his suddenly surging strength.

Even if his strength increased tenfold or a hundredfold, he still could not lift a small mountain through flesh and blood alone.

"This kind of power is truly intoxicating."

Chen Xun sighed, then disabled the [Great Strength] trait and activated the [Gravity] trait.

The instant the [Gravity] trait activated, Chen Xun felt as though he had suddenly gained some special ability.

As long as he wished it, he could increase the gravity acting on himself, up to a maximum of onefold.

"Increase gravity by 0.1 times."

The instant that thought surfaced, Chen Xun immediately felt his body grow heavier, as though every sinew and bone in his body was being pressed down by an invisible force.

After casually taking two steps, he was noticeably slower than usual.

Even his breathing became somewhat labored.

Though he had only increased gravity by 0.1 times, it had to be understood that this force acted upon every single cell in Chen Xun's body.

The pressure it imposed on Chen Xun was far greater than carrying a hundred kilograms of weight.

"Let's see if I can apply gravity to only one part of my body."

Chen Xun began experimenting, starting with his hand.

The next moment, Chen Xun felt his arm sink.

"It works."

Chen Xun's eyes immediately lit up.

"Now let's try my feet."

With a thought, both of Chen Xun's feet became heavy, making his steps seem mechanical and cumbersome.

After trying again and again, Chen Xun discovered that as long as he wished it, he could apply gravity to a specific limb of his body, or even to his internal organs.

"If that's the case, what about Blood Qi?"

That was Chen Xun's ultimate goal.

If he could apply gravity to Blood Qi, could it accelerate the birth of Essence Blood and increase the amount of Essence Blood produced?

Chen Xun began testing it cautiously.

In the end, Chen Xun excitedly pumped his fist.

"It works. This method works."

As Chen Xun applied gravity to the Blood Pool Acupoint, the Blood Qi within it visibly compressed, and the "waterline" of Blood Qi dropped by a small amount.

Moreover, as the gravity Chen Xun applied grew stronger, the "waterline" fell faster and farther.

In the end, when the full onefold gravity pressed down, the "waterline" had dropped by more than half.

By visual estimate, the "waterline," which had originally been two-thirds full, now had only about one-fifth remaining.

But whether it could accelerate the condensation of Essence Blood still required observation.

"I hope it works."

Afterward, Chen Xun stopped watching the changes in his Blood Pool Acupoint and quickly went to meet Yang Feng, who had finished checking the warehouse inventory.

"Brother Feng, how did it go?"

"You're lucky. There happens to be a batch of tiger bones in the cold storage that has been kept for several months."

"That's great. Thanks, Brother Feng."

Chen Xun said excitedly.

"Don't thank me yet. Not a single cent can be short of what you owe."

"Of course. Please rest assured."

Chen Xun then took out the silver he had prepared beforehand and bought ten jin of tiger bones and ten jin of low-grade Mutant Beast meat.

Mutant Beast meat was divided into four grades—superior, middle, low, and special—based on the amount of energy it contained.

The strength of different Mutant Beasts, as well as different parts of the same Mutant Beast, could affect the quality of the meat.

Low-grade Mutant Beast meat cost one tael of silver per jin, which was exceedingly expensive.

At the market, one tael of silver could buy a sheep weighing thirty or forty jin.

This showed just how costly Mutant Beast meat was.

More importantly, it was something money could not readily buy.

Outside, even if Chen Xun paid ten times the price, he could not buy a single jin of Mutant Beast meat.

Of course, if he really had to pay ten times the price, he would not buy it either. It was not worth it.

After Martial Artists bought Mutant Beast meat, they could simply take it home, stew it, and eat it.

The energy contained within Mutant Beast meat was abundant and easily absorbed by the human body, making it highly filling.

Eating more of it could even improve one's physique to a certain extent, which was why it was so sought after by Martial Artists.

However, Chen Xun had bought Mutant Beast meat mainly to refine [Blood-Strength Pills].

[Blood-Strength Pills] were also sold in the Hunting Team's warehouse for one tael of silver each, with each person limited to three pills per month.

The effects of one pill could last roughly three days, though for those with high absorption efficiency, the duration was even shorter.

The other ten jin of tiger bones were much cheaper, costing Chen Xun only three taels of silver.

That was only because tiger bones were scarce. If they had been the bones of ordinary wild beasts, one tael of silver would have been enough to take them all.

After obtaining what he needed, Chen Xun left the Dragon-Tiger Grounds without pause, left the Li Family, and returned to the house he rented.

"Chen Xun, you're back."

Ye Ying was tidying the house. When she saw Chen Xun, her eyes lit up.

"Brother, you're back."

Chen Qingqing, who had been helping clean another room, heard the commotion and ran out as well.

A few days earlier, she had left the Li Family Martial Arts School. Staying there for a short time was fine, but remaining for long was inappropriate.

Of course, once Chen Qingqing reached the age to learn martial arts, Chen Xun would still send her to the Li Family Martial Arts School.

In this world, without even a little martial ability to protect oneself, it was all too easy to suffer losses.

"I'm back."

Chen Xun nodded to the two women, then instructed them.

"Sister Ye, sorry for the trouble, but help me boil several pots of hot water and fill the bathing barrel."

"Qingqing, go help her."

"Okay," the two women answered in unison.

Thus, the three of them began busying themselves, each with their own task.

Chen Xun went to the medicine room, shut the door, and began preparing the materials needed for the Tiger Medicinal Bath.

After preparing them, he began studying how to refine [Blood-Strength Pills].

Meanwhile, Ye Ying and Chen Qingqing worked hard to boil water.

However, by the time the hot water filled the entire bathing barrel, Chen Xun's refinement of [Blood-Strength Pills] had failed once again.

"Damn it, I was just a tiny bit short."

"I refuse to believe it'll fail again this time."

His eyes red, Chen Xun was about to continue trying when someone knocked on the door.

"Chen Xun, the water is ready."

"Alright, I understand."

Chen Xun froze, then snapped out of his obsessive state of mind.

Gradually, he calmed down.

"Forget it. I'll cultivate the Iron Garment Art first."

Afterward, Chen Xun took a packet of prepared medicinal powder along with an intact tiger bone and tossed them both into the hot water.

Before long, the clear water turned into a pool of bloody water, and he could even smell the stench of blood within it.

This was the Tiger Medicinal Bath.

Chen Xun removed all his clothes and immersed his entire body within it.

Then, using the special medicinal properties in the bath combined with the Blood Qi in his body, he began tempering the skin over his entire body, seeking to refine it until it was as tough as steel.

Several days passed. With an ample supply of tiger bones, Chen Xun's progress in the [Iron Garment Art] advanced by leaps and bounds.

He improved rapidly at nearly fifty points of progress per day.

If this continued, Chen Xun would be able to cultivate this martial art to Perfection in just over a month.

Even Chen Xun, who possessed experience in the Perfection-level [Iron Garment Art] and the aid of the [Iron Vest Training Boost] trait, required this much time.

Those without such advantages could only rely on Comprehension and talent, advancing bit by bit at a speed slower by who knew how much.

Thus, most Martial Artists might never cultivate a martial art to Perfection over the course of their lives.

While his progress in the [Iron Garment Art] was rapid, his improvement in the [Primordial Unity Stance] was no small matter either.

In just a few days, Chen Xun's Primordial Unity Stance had reached Major Accomplishment.

[Martial Art: Primordial Unity Stance (Major Accomplishment 36/1000)]

Aside from his martial arts, Chen Xun finally succeeded once in refining [Blood-Strength Pills].

Afterward, thanks to his experience with the [Minor Accomplishment Green Satchel Alchemy], his success rate rose rapidly. His current success rate in refining [Blood-Strength Pills] had reached sixty percent.

In total, he refined eighteen [Blood-Strength Pills].

Chen Xun swallowed one and found that its effects far surpassed [Blood-Strength Powder], though it did not last very long.

Others took three days to digest one pill, while Chen Xun digested one in a single day.

Fortunately, he could refine [Blood-Strength Pills] himself. Otherwise, obtaining more [Blood-Strength Pills] would have become a headache.

Then, after several days of testing, Chen Xun successfully confirmed that the [Gravity] trait could accelerate the production of Essence Blood.

Under onefold gravity, the production speed increased by more than double.

He had originally been able to produce two drops of Essence Blood per day, but now he could produce five drops per day.

His cultivation speed increased dramatically.

Finally, the [Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art] had reached Minor Accomplishment. Chen Xun was preparing to open his second Blood Pool Acupoint.