The Medicinal Effect

Cheng Tianfeng was the direct disciple of the Imperial Preceptor of Great Zhen.

And the Imperial Preceptor of Great Zhen was the master of Wentian Cliff.

Wentian Cliff held an exalted position in Great Zhen. Though it had few disciples, its martial arts and cultivation methods were unfathomably profound, and every disciple was a great master.

Chu Zhiyuan listened with grave focus.

There was no need to ask—the master of Wentian Cliff was certainly a grandmaster, perhaps even stronger than Chu Qingfeng.

He truly needed to be careful.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Third Brother, the Supervisory Department has detailed intelligence on Cheng Tianfeng, right? I want to see all of it."

"No problem. I'll report it to Imperial Grandfather." Chu Zhiyao nodded solemnly. "How about we go see Imperial Grandfather together... Oh, right, Fourth Son, you haven't met Imperial Grandfather yet, have you?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

Chu Zhiyao said, "With talent as extraordinary as yours, Imperial Grandfather will definitely like you. This time, you'll have a chance to meet him."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Without a summons from Imperial Grandfather, it would not be appropriate for me to see him."

There was no way news of him had not reached the Emperor's ears. He had mastered the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique created by the Emperor himself, yet the Emperor still showed no interest. That made his attitude clear enough.

But there was one most fundamental difference between him and the people of this world: he had come through reincarnation.

The concepts from his former life came first and took root as the master. The beliefs formed over these twenty years could not completely shake some of the fundamental notions from his previous life.

And the existence of Super Sensation gave him ample confidence.

He felt neither disappointment nor resentment over Chu Qingquan's cold neglect, nor did he harbor any urgent desire to win Chu Qingquan's favor.

But in the eyes of outsiders, it was naturally the opposite.

Which prince or imperial descendant did not wish to please Chu Qingquan? Who did not wish to gain Chu Qingquan's favorable regard?

Halfway through the meal, Chu Zhiyao took his leave. It was time for cultivation, and he had to begin his practice without disrupting his routine.

Chu Mingxuan and the others did not try to stop him. With expressions full of admiration, they readily let him go.

No matter what, cultivation came first.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. No one could fault it.

After seeing Chu Zhiyao off, the four returned to the room and sat down again. Chu Mingxuan raised his wine cup and looked at Chu Zhiyuan apologetically. "Fourth Son, sorry about that. I really shouldn't have dragged you into this."

He had finally come to his senses.

It seemed he had set Chu Zhiyuan up.

Answering Great Zhen's Heir Apparent's challenge would indeed be a great merit, but the risks were just as immense. Especially now that he had learned Cheng Tianfeng was the disciple of the Imperial Preceptor of Great Zhen and the master of Wentian Cliff, he felt even less certain.

Had he known Cheng Tianfeng had such a master beforehand, he would certainly have advised Chu Zhiyuan not to accept this assignment.

People naturally distinguished between those close and those distant.

Some remained strangers even after growing old together, while others became old friends at first sight. The depth of a relationship was not measured by time.

His relationship with Chu Zhiyao was not bad either, but because of Chu Zhiyao's temperament, it was far less close than his relationship with Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Eighteenth Uncle, Third Brother and I were bound to have a match sooner or later, to decide who would face Great Zhen's challenge. There was no avoiding it."

Among the Heir Apparent's generation, there were only three in the Xiantian Realm. In theory, Chu Zhiyao, who had entered the Xiantian Realm earlier, held the advantage.

But Chu Zhiyuan had mastered the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique, displayed even greater talent, and possessed crushing combat prowess.

To be safe, they would certainly arrange a match between him and Chu Zhiyao to see who was stronger and select the one to answer the challenge.

This had merely happened one step earlier.

That was why he had ultimately agreed.

A blade fell whether one stretched out one's head or drew it back. He might as well take it on proactively, and gain more support and praise in the process.

"Fourth Brother, you'll be fine!" Chu Zhiting said. "That Cheng Tianfeng is definitely no match for you!"

Chu Zhichuan nodded.

Having mastered the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique and the Great Avalanche Sword Art, along with Taiqing Yuan Sect's inheritance—he could not imagine who could surpass such a monster.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head. "Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother, don't praise me to death. No one knows what trump cards Cheng Tianfeng has. Since he dares come to issue a challenge, he naturally has confidence."

"...That's true."

The two wore solemn expressions.

--

A bright moon hung in the night sky.

The pitch-black sky was dotted with stars.

A few sparse dark clouds were gilded into silver scales by the moonlight.

In a residence not far from Earthly Soil Hall, Chu Zhiyuan sat quietly on his bed. The window stood open, and the cold night wind blew into the room, but he felt nothing.

The True Qi of the Greater Violet Sun Technique circulated within his body, supremely firm, supremely yang, and supremely pure, dispelling the Cold Qi and chill.

As he admired the slanting bright moon beyond the window, his state of mind grew ever more tranquil and peaceful.

A golden pill rested in his left palm—the Marrow Cleansing Pill he had exchanged for.

The Minor Marrow Cleansing Pill was crimson, while this Marrow Cleansing Pill was golden. It was bright and pure throughout, as though cast from gold, and carried a sense of weight.

Even resting in his palm, it weighed heavily on his hand.

The method used to refine this Marrow Cleansing Pill was wondrous. It completely contained its medicinal fragrance, preventing even the slightest leak without relying on a wax seal. Its sophistication was evident.

He drew a deep breath. Threads of medicinal fragrance seeped into his internal organs. Without Super Sensation, he would not have been able to smell even a trace of it.

Eight Dragon Binding Ropes already drifted within his Twelve Meridians.

When he had first entered the Fifth Layer Jade Tower, he could only condense seven Dragon Binding Ropes before his meridians could no longer bear the burden. Now, he could already condense eight.

This was the result of his recent cultivation of the Dragon Transformation Technique.

The eight Dragon Binding Ropes rested silently within eight meridians. They truly resembled eight flood dragons, ready at any moment to charge into the Ren and Du Meridians.

Eight Dragon Binding Ropes were already his limit. He prepared to strike at the Jade Tower once more.

If he failed, his meridians would likely be injured. Then he would seize the chance to use the Great Avalanche Sword Art and the Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart Step, worsening injury upon injury, until he reached his limit and cultivated the Dragon Transformation Technique again.

And if that truly did not work, he still had the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture.

"Rumble..."

The sound of floodwaters bursting through a dike rang in his ears. It was caused by the eight Dragon Binding Ropes charging into the Governor Vessel and breaking through the Jade Pillow Pass.

His body shook violently, as though he were sitting in a small boat tossed upon raging waves.

The color drained from his face at a visible pace, until his complexion was pale as paper.

Yet his eyes blazed with piercing brilliance.

He drew a deep breath, pulled his sword from its sheath, and leaped out through the window. He vanished in a flash midair, then appeared at the base of a wall three zhang away.

The longsword at his waist had already turned into a blur, as though more than a dozen swords were thrusting out at once.

Moments later, he abruptly stopped.

He sheathed his sword, hurriedly pulled out the golden pill from his sleeve and stuffed it into his mouth, then assumed the Dragon Subduing Stance and began circulating the Dragon Transformation Technique at full speed.

Every inch of his muscles seemed to tremble. He looked like someone in the throes of an epileptic fit, yet his eyes grew increasingly bright.

Even at this moment, when darkness repeatedly swept across his vision and he was about to faint, Super Sensation continued to function.

As he observed the various parts of his body inwardly, his meridians ached as if they were about to split apart. They seemed on the verge of shattering in the next instant, and he could faintly see cracks forming.

Meridians were condensed from Qi, but under Super Sensation, they appeared as transparent conduits, utterly real and unmistakable.

These conduits were one with the body's vitality. Once vitality vanished, the conduits vanished as well, and so did Qi.

Under Super Sensation's observation, the golden pill turned into a mass of Qi after mixing with his saliva. It entered his stomach, rapidly spreading through his internal organs and meridians, enveloping his entire body.

Once the Dragon Transformation Technique began circulating, the Qi spread throughout his body swiftly gathered in, flowing along the technique's mental method. It rapidly nourished and repaired his meridians, while also expanding and strengthening them.

This was the wonder of the Dragon Transformation Technique.

It repaired while expanding and strengthening, preventing injuries from piling upon injuries like frost atop snow.

At this moment, his severely injured meridians had no strength to resist. They allowed the Dragon Transformation Technique to expand and strengthen them, making the cultivation effect more than ten times greater than usual.

The Qi transformed from the Marrow Cleansing Pill was exhausted by the Dragon Transformation Technique after a quarter of an hour. He then stuffed two Minor Marrow Cleansing Pills into his mouth.

When the medicinal power of those two Minor Marrow Cleansing Pills had also been exhausted, he could only stop the Dragon Transformation Technique.

His meridians were still injured.

He formed hand seals with both hands, his lips moving as he contemplated the Earth Venerable diagram.

The Earth Venerable Statue in Earthly Soil Hall flashed once. Clusters of yellow light drifted down from afar onto his hands and feet, then were driven by the Dragon Transformation Technique to circulate through his meridians.

Wherever they passed, his meridians rapidly recovered.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, his meridians were healed.

His meridians had now been completely renewed. They were two parts tougher and two parts wider, capable of accommodating more True Qi in circulation.

He estimated that he could now comfortably contain nine Dragon Binding Ropes.

He simply carried things through to the end. He first used the Heavenly Yuan Art to replenish some of his depleted mental strength, then began condensing Dragon Binding Ropes again.

Condensing Dragon Binding Ropes took a great deal of time.

He first refined his True Qi with the Qi Washing Art, then condensed it into Dragon Binding Ropes, completing one after another until there were nine.

By then, the night had already passed, and the first light of dawn had begun to show.

He tried to strike at the Jade Tower.

The result was failure.

Each layer of the Jade Tower was sturdier than the last.

He had broken through the Fourth Layer Jade Tower with only eight Dragon Binding Ropes, yet nine Dragon Binding Ropes could not break through this Fifth Layer Jade Tower.

Ten Dragon Binding Ropes should be enough to break through it in one stroke. Or perhaps nine Dragon Binding Ropes, striking again and again, could eventually break through it.

Of the previous four layers of the Jade Tower, only the first had shattered with a single blow. The remaining three had all required repeated impacts.

He shook his head regretfully.

He was only one breath short. If he had one more Minor Marrow Cleansing Pill today, he could have directly condensed ten Dragon Binding Ropes.

He suppressed his regret and looked up at the sky. It was already too late to go to Bright Martial Hall.

He returned to the Prince's Residence for breakfast, then went to the Ministry of Rites Office to report for duty, before heading to the Tower Reaching Heaven to look up records concerning Wentian Cliff.

There were quite a few records of Wentian Cliff in the Tower Reaching Heaven.

At noon, just as he was about to return to the Prince's Residence for lunch, he saw Chu Zhiyao waiting some distance away the moment he stepped out of the office.