Grass Return Pill

"Senior Brother Ye."

The one greeting him was a female disciple of seventeen or eighteen, surnamed Lin and named Qiushui. She had undergone Third Body Tempering.

She was the newly assigned Outer Sect Disciple from the Medicine Field, there to assist with the daily patrols. She was doing the work that had previously belonged to He Liu.

On the third day after Ye An returned to the Sect, Liu Ruyan's thanks arrived.

The person who delivered it was an unfamiliar steward. He did not say much, merely handing over a wooden box and saying that Miss Liu had ordered him to personally deliver it into Master Ye's hands. The box's lid was sealed with the Liu Lineage's lacquer seal, and it had never been opened.

Ye An accepted it, and the steward turned and left.

He closed the door, placed the wooden box on the table, and lifted the lid. Inside, three bottles of Meridian Opening Pills were stacked neatly, with two ingots of silver wrapped in red paper pressed beside them.

At the very bottom of the wooden box lay a smaller Jade Bottle. It was pale green, without a label or pattern, and sealed only with a thin layer of wax.

Ye An picked up the Jade Bottle, pulled off the wax seal, and poured out a pill. Its color was somewhat dark, with an extremely thin sheen on its surface. It was a circle smaller than a Meridian Opening Pill, but denser in texture. Its medicinal fragrance was extremely faint, lingering only in the small patch of air around the bottle's mouth.

The letter mentioned two things: the Meridian Opening Pills and silver were payment for the matter at the mining site, while the pill inside the Jade Bottle was a "Grass Return Pill." Its effect was to raise the aptitude of anyone below Grade B Bone Aptitude by one grade. After it was used, there would be no second effect; it could only be taken once.

A Grass Return Pill? Ye An had naturally heard of this pill. It could raise his Bone Structure grade, and he had previously wanted to save some Contribution Points to exchange for one at the Sect.

He had not expected it to appear in his hands in this manner.

That evening, after he finished regulating his breathing, he swallowed the Grass Return Pill.

At first, he felt nothing from its medicinal power. It was neither bitter nor astringent in his mouth, sliding down his throat like a piece of jade warmed by body heat.

A moment later, warmth began to spread around his Dantian, like a ball of warm air slowly rotating against its inner wall and extending toward the ends of his meridians. The flow of his Internal Energy became smoother, with many of the obstacles that had existed before disappearing.

After roughly a quarter of an hour, the warmth began to fade, then vanished completely.

He stood up and walked to the wooden post at the head of the bed. Extending his right index finger, he pointed at the post. The wood caved inward, forming a tiny depression whose depth was a hair deeper than before.

He sat back down on the bed, opened the "Meridian Opening Formula," and continued circulating the First Layer's path. He discovered that the flow of his Internal Energy was slightly smoother than before.

Low-B-Grade Bone Structure! Ye An's confidence in the Inner Sect Grand Competition increased a little more.

Over the next two months, Ye An devoted nearly all his time to cultivation.

The Grass Return Pill's residual medicinal power had not been exhausted in a single burst. Instead, it seemed to seep in slowly over the days that followed, raising his cultivation efficiency somewhat.

The Internal Energy that had originally required more time to accumulate could now achieve the same effect in only seven or eight-tenths of the time.

One night in mid-August, the Rosy Cloud Sword Technique officially crossed the Micro threshold. The sword light became steadier than before, and the gaps between successive moves grew shorter. After finishing the five forms, he no longer needed to pause midway to adjust.

The time had reached early September.

The First Layer of the Meridian Opening Formula also reached ninety-nine on this day. He was only one step away from breaking through to the Second Layer. The Internal Energy in his body had grown much more vigorous than two months ago, and every circulation brought a feeling of near-satiation, as though he could push forward another step at any moment.

That morning, Ye An arrived at the Martial Practice Ground of the Inner Sect.

Lu Xingzhou was already there, standing before a Wood Dummy and loosening his wrists. When he saw Ye An approach, he lowered his hands.

He had originally wanted to greet him, but after taking only two steps closer, he stopped. His gaze swept up and down Ye An, and then he asked in surprise, "Senior Brother Ye, are you about to break through?"

There was a hint of confirmation in his tone. He was not probing; he was simply voicing what he had already noticed.

[Meridian Opening Formula (First Layer): 99/100]

[Star-Shattering Finger (Micro): 17/200]

[Rosy Cloud Sword Technique (Micro): 1/200]

Ye An glanced at the panel and replied, "Just a little short."

Indeed, he was short by one point.

"Just a little short." Lu Xingzhou repeated the words, then shook his head. His tone held the rueful reflection of someone who had been through it before.

"Being just a little short of a realm bottleneck is the hardest part. I used to feel that I was just a little short of breaking through Meridian Opening, but I ended up being stuck for two whole months. During those two months, everything I practiced felt wrong, as though the door had opened a crack but you simply couldn't push it any farther. Later, I broke through for no apparent reason. Looking back, I don't even know how I survived those two months."

Shen Qing was sitting on the stone steps not far away, reading a book. She had not looked up at first.

She had previously thought Ye An was merely a quiet, honest man who worked hard at cultivation without anything particularly special about him. After spending more time with him, she realized that his diligence was not an act. It was steady, day after day, without the slightest fluctuation.

He looked like a thoroughly honest man, yet when he cultivated, he was harsher than anyone.

After Lu Xingzhou asked that question, she raised her eyes and looked at Ye An. She confirmed that his aura was indeed much more substantial than it had been two months ago. That feeling was solid and unmistakable.

During a break in their cultivation, the three of them sat down on the stone steps beside the Martial Practice Ground to rest. Lu Xingzhou took a swig of water, gazed at the distant mountain silhouettes, and suddenly said, "We're all Inner Sect Disciples now. Our next goal is the Four Halls."

At his words, Shen Qing set down the book in her hands.

Lu Xingzhou added, "Aside from reaching the Qi Condensation Realm, there's another route to becoming a Four Halls disciple. That's making the top ten in the year-end Inner Sect Grand Competition. The only requirement is that participants be no older than twenty. We all qualify by age. Maybe we can give it a try."

He glanced at Shen Qing, then at Ye An. "Senior Brother Ye, what do you think?"

Before Ye An could answer, Shen Qing spoke first. "Sign up? You should. The registration fee is also a resource. We still have plenty of time. We can spend another year building our foundations in the Inner Sect and sign up next year instead."

Her tone was perfectly natural, stating a conclusion that left no need for anyone else to object.

After spending a long time with the two of them, Ye An sensed that Shen Qing had changed somewhat from his first impression of her.

When he had first met her, her aloofness seemed to seep straight from her bones. The number of times she spoke to people could be counted on one hand. At the time, Ye An had thought she was probably the sort of person who was naturally unwilling to associate with others.

But now he gradually sensed that she still rarely took the initiative to speak, and when she occasionally heard something she did not want to respond to, she merely remained silent. Perhaps she was not truly cold and aloof, but simply taciturn? And a little shamelessly proud?

Ye An added, "That's true. We can participate next year, and if next year doesn't work, the year after. There's no problem at all."

Lu Xingzhou brightened after hearing this. "Senior Brother Ye is right. We may have to stay in this Medicine Field for several years yet."

Ye An smiled and nodded in agreement, neither denying nor correcting him.

Shen Qing's gaze rested on Ye An's face for a moment before withdrawing.

She always felt that this man looked honest, but his words carried another layer of meaning.

When he said, "If next year doesn't work, then the year after," there had not been the slightest fluctuation in his tone.

Shen Qing could not explain why. She simply felt that Ye An had never regarded "spending a year building his foundations" as one of his options.