A Medicine Bath, Tortoise Snake Great Pillar Mastery, Insight into Pile Stance Traits, Closing in on 'Gold Muscle Jade Tendons'!

Fire Kiln, Medicine Lodge.

Or rather—

Medicine Hall.

After deliberation by the Wind and Cloud Association,

apart from setting up a headquarters in Anning's bustling streets, where the Four Great Halls had opened to teach disciples, and placing the three halls of discipline, martial arts, and scriptures within it to bolster their image,

the other Three Great Businesses, along with the Medicine Hall, remained where they were.

Of course, Yellow Medicine Master of the "Medicine Lodge" had strongly insisted on this as well.

Fortunately, when Huang Xuan had come before, Fire Kiln owner Lu Chengfeng had specially renovated the Medicine Lodge to curry favor. It now looked every bit like a spacious three-courtyard compound, secluded and quiet, with no one living nearby.

Otherwise, it would not have matched the Wind and Cloud Association's facade, and they would likely have had to renovate it all over again.

The moment Ji Xiu stepped into the rear courtyard,

he saw a Great Furnace nearly twice the size of an ordinary pill furnace. Not a single Medicine Boy stood around it; only Huang Xuan was there, sifting medicinal ingredients.

The instant the old man saw him, he sprang up with a whoosh, his eyes lighting up as he hurriedly waved him over.

"Come, come!"

"My Hall Master, today you'll be refining this batch of Cold Dispelling Pellets and Hundred Herbs Pills. Once you're done, you can go do whatever you please."

"Though they're only low-grade pills, you can refine a full eight or nine in one furnace, increasing both the dosage and the heat, while still maintaining roughly an eighty-percent success rate."

"You brat, you're a real genius!"

Huang Xuan chuckled, raising a thumbs-up with a beaming smile. There was none of the sour-faced look he had worn before.

Seeing how vastly different the old man was from when they had first met, Ji Xiu could only sigh helplessly.

Everyone outside thought his position as Hall Master had fallen into his lap like a pie from the sky.

But they did not understand.

There was no free lunch in this world!

If this old man did not have some hidden ailment requiring vast quantities of Cold Dispelling Pills and Hundred Herbs Pills—more than he could refine himself—

and if Ji Xiu had not happened to possess the Ninth Grade alchemy trait, Calm Mind, Focused Spirit, which increased the success rate of pill refinement by thirty percent and allowed him to achieve near-perfect success no matter how large the furnace,

this position of Hall Master would never have fallen to him.

He had earned his keep with skill. He had become someone others could rely on through ability!

If he had not deliberately concealed his talent and intentionally blown up one or two furnaces now and then, Huang Xuan would probably not be looking at him with admiration right now, but as though he were some monstrous prodigy.

Yet the benefits of holding Yellow Medicine Master's weak point were equally obvious.

Medicine Hall Master: fifty taels of silver in salary.

It did not sound like much.

But the Medicine Hall's business of buying and selling medicine all passed beneath his eyes, and Old Man Huang was here to hold the fort.

Other than seventh-grade pill pellets that required large-scale refining,

what pills could he not quietly pocket two of for cultivation?

Otherwise, why would so many people sharpen their heads trying to build ties with him and squeeze their way in?

Sitting beside the Medicine Lodge, Ji Xiu performed the Outer Pill Five Steps as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water. Watching the blazing furnace fire, he chatted with the old man beside him.

"Old Huang, you mentioned before using all kinds of Great Medicine and ninth-grade pill pellets to give me a Ninth Grade Medicine Bath, to loosen up my sinews and bones..."

He was tempted.

Moving pile stances differed from still pile stances. Though both took an hour, the former consumed far more energy.

Two sessions a day, morning and evening, wore his sinews and bones down until he was utterly exhausted. If not for all those pill pellets, he truly would not have been able to endure it.

And that was only because he had grasped the true essence of a superior pile stance.

If it were an ordinary person...

they would likely only be able to barely complete one session every three to five days, tempering their great tendons!

At this rate, he would bring the Tortoise Snake Great Pillar to completion in half a month, then achieve major accomplishment in Forging Tendons after another half month.

Including the Entering Force hurdle, he would spend more than sixty days in the Toughening Tendons Realm. Even among the Official Aristocracy, that would count as Hundred Days Foundation Establishment—not far off at all.

But—

if he could go faster, naturally that would be better!

At this, Huang Xuan sat beside him, crunching peanuts as he peeled their shells with his hands. Hearing him, he blinked his small eyes.

"The cost of that medicine bath isn't small. The ninth-grade pill pellets alone would take more than a dozen, along with all sorts of mountain herbs."

He chuckled, tossing a peanut shell onto the ground before lowering his voice conspiratorially.

"But what business are we in?"

"To put it bluntly, the Wind and Cloud Association handed this Medicine Hall to me. Other than completing their basic quota, do you think the rest will still end up in their treasury?"

"I'll definitely line my own pockets and swallow every last bit clean. Even if your three owners know, what can they do?"

The old man tucked his hands into his sleeves and grinned.

"A Ninth Grade Medicine Bath costs at least three hundred taels per session, and that's with sparse ingredients and weak, dried-up efficacy."

"With just your salary..."

"Working yourself to the bone for over half a year would only earn you that much."

"But once you're in the Medicine Hall, heh heh."

"It only took this old man seven or eight days to squeeze out one batch for you, and the ingredients are piled in generously. Once you finish refining these pills, I'll let you see it for yourself."

"Isn't Firewood Market Xu and Cattle and Sheep Wei unwilling to give you benefits? Aren't their underlings making a fuss too?"

"Boy, then this old man will lead you to eat their rations without anyone knowing, and forge your own path!"

Huang Xuan waggled his brows, looking utterly mysterious.

The benefits in his words made Ji Xiu take a deep breath. He calmed his mind and focused his spirit, then worked fiercely for him.

If you wanted the horse to run, you had to feed it grass.

Clearly, Huang Xuan understood that principle deeply. He had not kept a single bit extra for himself and had fed it all to Ji Xiu.

Ji Xiu's heart was already surging with excitement.

"My goodness..."

"One medicine bath costs more than three hundred taels? Just how much did he put in, and how fierce is its efficacy?"

"Fine, I'll refine these pills with everything I've got—willingly!"

An hour later!

Bang!

The furnace opened, and the fragrance of a hundred herbs burst forth.

Huang Xuan rubbed his hands, his eyes lighting up. Tossing aside the peanuts he held, he stared at the many round pill pellets within and clapped repeatedly.

"Good, good, good!"

"Enough, enough."

He picked one up and sniffed it, then swallowed a Hundred Herbs Pill in one bite. Feeling his abdomen grow scorching hot, he was overjoyed.

"Good boy, the medicinal efficacy is truly excellent."

"Come, come, come! Follow me!"

With that, he dragged Ji Xiu to a room in the Medicine Hall's rear courtyard used to store "medicinal ingredients."

The moment he pushed open the door,

Ji Xiu saw a massive fire stove heating a huge wooden barrel nearly half a person tall. It boiled with a glug glug, pressing against its lid as it seethed.

The air indeed brimmed with medicinal fragrance.

But Ji Xiu's eye twitched at the sight.

"This is... a medicine bath?"

Hearing him, Huang Xuan gave a snort and walked over. He directly lifted the lid, raised one arm, and effortlessly hoisted the enormous barrel weighing dozens of jin.

Then he walked to an empty tub in the center and poured all the medicinal treasures for the bath into it in one go.

"Boy, what do you know?"

"A medicine bath... has to be stewed!"

"Stew those pill pellets and mountain treasures until they turn to mush, until they all dissolve into the medicinal spring specially prepared by this old man. Then, once it's portioned out, every single drop is essence."

"Tsk tsk, now that's what it means to hit the mark."

"I'm telling you, with this amount, even among those young masters of the Official Aristocracy in the prefectural city, those from ordinary households would be doing well if they could have a session like this once a month!"

"You brat can do it four or five times a month. In all of Anning County, whose Sinew Tempering can match the investment you're getting?"

"Even the biological sons and daughters of those three great families!"

"They couldn't afford to spend this much!"

"Why aren't you getting in yet?"

"The longer you drag it out, the faster the medicinal properties will dissipate!"

Ji Xiu's heart shook at Huang Xuan's words. He hurriedly removed his outer clothes and climbed in.

The old man kept adding water to the tub. The liquid was a shimmering green, with dregs floating both at the bottom and on the surface. It did not look like much, but—

the instant Ji Xiu sat cross-legged within it!

His brows first knit tight. Then the great tendons and flesh all over his body began trembling uncontrollably!

The trickling medicinal spring seemed to seep in through every inch of his pores, spontaneously tempering his sinews, bones, and flesh. It nearly caused the reddened skin covering his body to burst apart!

"What fierce ingredients!"

Ji Xiu threw back his head, feeling as though steam were beginning to rise from his scalp.

"Boy, slowly and methodically practice your pile stance!"

"You have no idea how much good stuff this old man put in for you!"

Satisfied by the sight, Huang Xuan nodded and slowly strolled out.

Seeing this,

Ji Xiu gritted his teeth.

"Pile stance?"

In his mind, he visualized the Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form. But this time... because he was in water, he feared splashing even the slightest drop and weakening the medicinal efficacy, so he moved extraordinarily slowly.

Yet—

his movements grew ever more solid, and his efficiency... became even faster than before!

Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form progress +1!

Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form progress +1!

The scorching boiling water made his face flush crimson. His seven apertures throbbed, and his entire body felt as though it were about to explode!

But as he began performing the stance, again and again,

in the end, he even incorporated the Mystic Tortoise Great Toad Form as well, merging the entire Tortoise Snake Great Pillar into one seamless flow—

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!!

His body

seemed to knock open some kind of shackle, unlocking a hidden treasury!

With a splash, the tendons and muscles linked piece by piece, strand by strand, along the Spinal Column Great Dragon

drank like a sea whale gulping down the ocean, swallowing the final essence of the medicine bath in a single mouthful!

Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form progress +1!

Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form (18/30)

The Ordination Master's Tendon-Tempering Chapter, 'Soaring Serpent Chasing Cloud Form,' has reached major accomplishment. You have successfully comprehended the true essence of the 'Tortoise Snake Great Pillar' and captured a trace of 'qi resonance'!

You have opened the first 'hidden treasury' of the physical body and comprehended the physical trait: Mystic Blood Flood Dragon Tendons!

Keeping track of the time, after nearly two hours, Huang Xuan, who had been standing outside the room the entire time, began muttering.

"Why is there no movement?"

"This barrel of Ninth Grade Medicine Bath is premium stuff. It should take at least half a day to absorb. Don't tell me this brat couldn't take it and fainted?"

Somewhat worried, he pushed the door open.

"Ji—"

However,

the instant he knocked the door open,

he saw the bare-chested youth.

Across that broad back, a faint golden glow flickered like the newborn morning sun.

At the same time, the thick great tendons hidden beneath a thin layer of skin

gleamed like jade refined into crystal amid the faint golden radiance of his flesh.

Even concealed beneath skin, their outlines could still vaguely be seen!

Huang Xuan froze on the spot.

Then—

he raised a trembling finger.

"Gold..."

"Gold Muscle Jade Tendons!?"

"H-How is this possible?!"