Blood-Tempering Pill, Black Tortoise Divine Pill

Night fell, and the bustle in the Phoenix Street apartment gradually faded.

After dinner, Lang Yue led Leng Nu Jiao to the master bedroom at the far end of the hallway.

"Nu Jiao, you'll sleep in this room tonight."

Lang Yue gently pushed open the door and reached up to switch on the wall lamp. Warm orange light instantly spilled into every corner of the room.

Standing in the doorway, Leng Nu Jiao blinked in surprise at the furnishings inside.

The room was exceptionally spacious, without the flashy, childish decorations usually found in a teenage boy's bedroom.

An entire row of heavy ebony bookshelves stood against the wall, neatly packed with thick volumes. The edges of the spines of books such as the Continental Soul Beast Chronicles and An Introductory Analysis of Soul Guidance Arrays bore faint traces of wear from repeated reading.

The dark gray bedsheets lay perfectly smooth, and the black-and-white checkered desk was spotless. An old desk lamp that looked quite a few years old sat at one corner.

"He's been like this since he was little, always shutting himself in his room and refusing to put down those old books everyone else finds so dull."

Lang Yue gently stroked the edge of the desk, her expression steeped in a mother's tenderness. Turning her head, she lowered her voice and explained, "Ever since we moved to Shrek City, I've come in to clean every day. Although this is a new room, everything in it was arranged exactly as he liked it back in Aolai City. You can stay here tonight. I'll have him sleep in another room."

Tang Qingye: Love never disappears. It only shifts elsewhere.

Leng Nu Jiao's fingertips brushed over the rows of familiar book spines. Hearing the deeper meaning in Lang Yue's words, her cheeks instantly burned crimson.

Lang Yue had been young once herself. How could she fail to notice the girl's embarrassment?

She smiled gently, patted Leng Nu Jiao's shoulder, and considerately stepped outside, closing the door behind her.

As the door closed, the room abruptly fell silent. Leng Nu Jiao sat on the edge of the bed, awkwardly clutching the hem of her skirt.

Lingering around her nose was the clean, faint scent unique to Tang Qingye in this room.

She looked up at this private world that belonged entirely to the boy. Tonight, her heart beat faster and hotter than it ever had before.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom across the hallway, Tang Qingye stood by the window, looking out at the night beyond the city.

A faint rustling suddenly came from behind him.

"Big brother, I caught you!"

A soft little body lunged at him from behind, its arms wrapping tightly around his waist.

Tang Qingye lowered his gaze. Six-year-old Tang Wulin wore a one-piece pajama suit printed with little dragons, his soft hair tousled. He tipped up his round head and stared at him with bright, watery eyes, biting a corner of the quilt while dragging a pillow in one hand.

"Why aren't you in your own bedroom? What are you doing messing around in mine? Don't you know your brother is studying the state of the continent?"

Looking at the little source of amusement, Tang Qingye extended a finger and gently pressed it against Tang Wulin's forehead.

But Tang Wulin was like a sticky lump of candy. He clambered onto the bed on all fours, wrapped himself in the quilt, and curled into a little ball, muttering, "My room isn't any fun at all. Back in Aolai City, I always slept in the same bed as you. This room is too big, and I get scared at night. Big brother, I want to sleep with you tonight."

As he spoke, Tang Wulin shuffled toward the inside of the bed, leaving most of it free. His little hand patted the pillow, his eyes full of unreserved dependence on and admiration for his elder brother.

Looking at his refusal to leave, a trace of helplessness crossed Tang Qingye's eyes.

Without saying more, he drew the curtains, walked slowly to the bedside, and lay down.

Seeing his brother agree, Tang Wulin immediately broke into a broad grin. He snuggled against Tang Qingye and pulled the bedding over them both, wrapping them up tightly.

"Shrek City is so big... Big brother, will you still stay with me every day?"

The little fellow rested his head on an arm, a hint of drowsiness creeping into his voice.

"Just behave yourself. Even if the sky falls, I'll shoulder everything for you."

Hearing Tang Qingye's steady, certain voice, Tang Wulin felt completely at ease in his arms. He gently rubbed his cheek against his brother's clothes, clutching the edge of the quilt. His long lashes kept trembling, and he was already too sleepy to keep his eyes open.

Watching his drowsy younger brother, a thoughtful look flashed through Tang Qingye's deep black eyes. His fingertips brushed the soul-guided storage ring at his wrist.

A faint light flickered over the ring, and a pill the size of a longan, lustrous and crimson throughout, settled quietly in his palm.

This was the Blood-Tempering Pill he had refined some days earlier in the Seven-Colored Heaven-Slaying Gourd's Refinement Space, using sword intent to separate a Soul Beast's original blood energy and combining it with the vital essence of plants.

The moment the pill appeared, a thin crimson mist spread through the room and lingered.

Its medicinal fragrance was warm and rich, blending the vitality of plants with pure blood energy. An untrained person would merely feel hot all over after smelling it; only a knowledgeable Soul Master could sense the tremendous medicinal power within.

Although the pill had been cleansed of the Soul Beast's lingering vicious thoughts, the original blood energy sealed within remained vast and mighty, like a surging river.

Tang Wulin's Soul Power was only rank three, and his foundation was still weak. If he swallowed the whole pill, its violent medicinal power would surely rupture the meridians throughout his body and endanger his life.

The medicinal power was too potent. Dividing it into portions and taking them separately was the only safe approach.

Tang Qingye remained calm. He held two fingers together like a blade, and a faint yet extremely condensed strand of blue-green sword intent flickered around his fingertips.

Without the slightest hesitation, he flicked his wrist, tracing several afterimages through the air too fast to make out.

The blue-green streak wound around the crimson pill like a nimble snake. With a series of faint sounds, the entire pill was cleanly divided under the sword intent's precise control.

The portions were perfectly even, without losing so much as a speck of medicinal powder. Nothing was wasted.

See? That was professionalism. That was technique. Those without the skills should take notes.

The entire Blood-Tempering Pill was precisely divided into twelve portions, each only the size of a soybean, with not the slightest difference in size.

Tang Qingye flicked his finger, returning eleven portions to his storage ring. Keeping just one, he held it to the lips of Tang Wulin, who had just drowsily opened his eyes.

"Big brother... what's that? Is it a sweet candy?"

Tang Wulin's little nose twitched as he sniffed the sweet medicinal fragrance. He barely managed to lift his heavy eyelids a crack, staring brightly at the red pellet between his brother's fingers. A little drool unconsciously trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"It isn't candy. It's a pill that nourishes your body and stabilizes your Soul Power."

In the era of the Legend of the Dragon King, if you said you had neither powerful attributes nor a noble bloodline, then sorry-you could only join the Nine Jail Gates.

The Golden Dragon King Bloodline inside Tang Wulin was indeed powerful, but it still demanded far too much skill to handle. Was there a simple yet powerful method to recommend? Naturally, there was...

Tang Qingye's expression remained cool, but a barely perceptible indulgence hid in his voice as he said softly, "Open your mouth. Eat it."

"Mm."

Tang Wulin had always trusted his elder brother completely, without the slightest doubt.

Without any hesitation, he obediently opened his little mouth, curled his tongue, and swallowed the soybean-sized pill.

Once swallowed, the pill was neither bitter nor forceful as expected. Instead, it became a warm, delicate stream that slowly flowed down his throat into his dantian.

"Big brother, I feel all warm. My whole body feels so comfortable."

Tang Wulin narrowed his eyes contentedly like a well-fed kitten, rubbing his head back and forth in the crook of his brother's arm. Clutching his sleeve and gently shaking it, he pleaded softly, "I can't sleep... Big brother, will you tell me a story? Back in Aolai City, you always told me such strange, wonderful stories."

"Which one do you want to hear?"

Tang Qingye rolled onto his side, allowing the little fellow to cling to him without pushing him away.

"Last time, I heard the story about the Jail Boss. This time, I want to hear the one about... the boy who could control fire."

Tang Wulin smacked his lips and burrowed deeper into the bedding, wrapping the quilt tightly around himself.

Tang Qingye gazed at the ceiling in the hazy moonlight, his voice extremely soft and his tone even. "On a continent without Soul Masters, where battle energy cultivation reached its pinnacle, there was once a boy. Once astonishingly gifted, he became a cripple overnight, suffered endless scorn and humiliation, and had his engagement publicly torn apart. Amid a sky full of mockery, he looked at that lofty sect girl and said, word by word: 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Never look down on a poor youth...'"

"And never look down on a poor middle-aged man, or a poor old man."

The boy's clear, gentle voice carried a distinctive resonance, each word softly echoing through the room on the quiet moonlit night.

It was precisely this nightly companionship that had made Tang Wulin develop a dependence on and trust in him that others could scarcely match.

During those impoverished, monotonous days in Aolai City, the magnificent epics of other worlds he told had become Tang Wulin's most treasured childhood memories. Tang Qingye had not yet told him the story of Nezha, however, partly for fear that the kid might evolve into a Demon Pill.

As the story slowly unfolded, the Blood-Tempering Pill he had taken earlier gradually dissolved within him, its effects slowly taking hold.

Gentle warmth spread along his meridians, flowing bit by bit through his limbs and bones, seeping into his skin and flesh.

Rather than a violent, overbearing impact, it was mild and gentle, silently nourishing his body like spring rain soaking into the earth.

Pure blood energy surged swiftly through him, repeatedly washing over his still-frail bones, skin, and flesh, nourishing his physical foundation.

"Mm... big brother..."

By the time the story reached the boy entering the mountains to train, Tang Wulin's murmurs had grown increasingly faint, drowsiness welling up beyond his control.

Accompanied by the story in his ears and the warm medicinal power within him, surging sleepiness swept fiercely over his mind like a tide.

A close look in the hazy moonlight would reveal that, at some point, a faint red flush had spread over his skin, and his whole body had grown slightly hot.

Rich blood energy seeped out of him, flushing his fair little face crimson. His entire body brimmed with vitality, his complexion rosy and healthy.

There was not the slightest pain on his face. Instead, his brows relaxed, his little mouth parted, and under the pill's effects, he sank into a deep, peaceful sleep.

The next morning, the skies cleared after the rain, and Shrek City welcomed its first gentle ray of dawn.

On the bed, Tang Wulin rubbed his eyes groggily and slowly sat up beneath the bedding.

He lowered his head blankly to look at his hands. Last night's aching, sluggish discomfort had vanished without a trace.

Not only did he feel no sleepiness or exhaustion, but his whole body brimmed with strength, and even the gaps between his bones felt lighter and more comfortable than ever before.

His Soul Power, originally as frail as a strand of hair, had now absorbed its fill of medicinal power and become exceptionally lively and excited, circulating ceaselessly. It was actually peak third-revolution hyperthyroidism cultivation!

Deep within his meridians, his originally weak Soul Power had been expanded by a night of surging blood energy, becoming a clear stream that rushed through his narrow meridians, gathering the strength to break through.

The invisible barrier at his bottleneck trembled under a light collision from the rushing Soul Power, on the verge of shattering.

An extremely faint, muffled sound quietly burst from deep within his dantian, and the bottleneck barrier shattered.

The stream of Soul Power broke free of its shackles. Without sitting down to meditate, his original rank-three cultivation naturally broke through the bottleneck and firmly entered rank four.

Was this what taking pills felt like? He had never experienced anything so wonderful.

"Wow! Big brother, look! My Soul Power has grown stronger!"

Overjoyed, he turned to show off to his elder brother, only to find the space beside him neatly made and empty.

His usually aloof elder brother was already nowhere to be seen.

A delicate little white porcelain medicine bottle sat quietly on the bedside table.

Beneath the bottle lay a plain white note. Its handwriting was bold and forceful, the strokes harboring sharp sword intent.

Puzzled, Tang Wulin crawled over, picked up the note, and carefully read each word: The remaining pill portions are in the bottle. Take one every three days. Afterward, stretch your muscles and bones using the movements I taught you to fully absorb the medicinal power.

Focus on cultivating at home. When your Soul Power breaks through rank ten, your big brother will give you a present.

-Tang Qingye.

Reading those familiar instructions, he did not even stop to put on his shoes. His little bare feet pattered toward the tightly closed door.

The door was flung open, and Tang Wulin rushed headlong into the living room, his large eyes anxiously searching back and forth.

In the kitchen, Lang Yue was wearing an apron and clearing away last night's dishes. Hearing the commotion, she immediately turned around.

"Mom! Where did big brother go? Why is he gone?"

He tightly clutched the note and tilted up his little head, unable to hide the panic in his voice.

Seeing her son's anxious expression, Lang Yue gave a gentle, helpless smile. Wiping the water from her hands, she said softly, "Your brother went back to the Spirit Pagoda with your Sister Nu Jiao early this morning. Go read and study. All you ever do is watch television, muddling along in human form."

The ninety-ninth floor of the Spirit Pagoda.

Leng Yaozhu reclined against a silver-gray velvet sofa, her legs crossed. Dressed in a smoky blue-green gown, she looked both gentle and poised.

Her long, fiery-red hair fell loosely over her shoulders without a single ornament. Her features were cool and exquisitely beautiful, her bearing naturally untouched by worldly dust.

She simply sat there, yet even the warm light filling the room seemed to dim before her beauty.

Her perception had long since spread densely throughout the entire floor.

Just as two deeply familiar auras reached the hallway outside, the Soul Guidance Runes embedded deep within the walls hummed softly, and the door slowly slid open to either side without a sound.

Tang Qingye stepped inside first and bowed slightly, his voice respectful and gentle. "Master, I'm back."

Following close beside him, Leng Nu Jiao lightly gathered her skirt and bent her knees in greeting, speaking softly. "Teacher."

Leng Yaozhu lazily tapped the armrest, amusement rippling through her eyes. "We've been apart for half a day. Did you think of me for even a moment?"

Tang Qingye lowered his eyes and composed himself, answering with obedient propriety. "Your disciple thought of you constantly, Master."

Tang Qingye had long since gone numb inside: We were only apart for half a day, but she's making it sound like half a year. Still, what can I do? She's my precious master, so I'll just have to take it.

Hearing this, Leng Yaozhu gave a soft snort and cast a sidelong glance at the boy before her, a hint of reproach in her voice. "So perfunctory. You really are a heartless little thing. I worry about your cultivation every day and prepared a rare treasure for you well in advance. It seems I still think about you more."

As she spoke, she lifted her shoulders slightly and drawled, "Come here and massage my shoulders. I've spent days poring over Battle Armor diagrams at my desk, and my neck and shoulders have grown quite sore."

Tang Qingye obediently walked behind the sofa, gently laid his hands on her shoulders, and slowly began kneading and massaging them.

He controlled his strength with exceptional precision, working along the muscles and channels of her neck and shoulders, using just the right pressure to gradually ease the fatigue accumulated over the past few days. Still the supreme emperor of massage technique-I won't hold back.

His fingertips occasionally brushed her delicate, warm skin, smooth and lustrous as jade, its touch unconsciously quieting the mind.

Leng Yaozhu closed her eyes, completely relaxed her back, and peacefully enjoyed the soothing stillness.

A little later, Leng Yaozhu lightly raised her wrist, the wide sleeve of her gown sweeping gently. It was actually the divine skill-Universe in the Sleeve.

An antique wooden box the size of a palm settled steadily in her hand.

Its surface was carved with ancient Black Tortoise water-pattern seals that flowed continuously into one another. A faint, mellow medicinal fragrance, ancient and substantial, slowly seeped through its seams.

She raised her hand and gently opened the lid.

A perfectly round pill rested quietly on a soft, snow-white velvet lining, with a beauty beside it for company.

The pill was clear and lustrous, a deep ocean-blue glow flowing over its surface. Wisps of fresh, lingering medicinal fragrance instantly swept through the entire room.

Merely breathing it in would cause the dormant Soul Power within one's body to stir and circulate on its own.

This was the supreme treasure passed down through the Black Tortoise Sect for a thousand years-the Black Tortoise Divine Pill.

It could cleanse the marrow and meridians, purge impurities accumulated in the body over the years, widen the Soul Power channels throughout the body, and stabilize one's cultivation foundation. It was a supreme cultivation opportunity she had painstakingly arranged specifically for Tang Qingye.

The beauty beside it was the lower-spec Mystic Water Pill, part of the Dark Nether Sect's once-a-decade promotion-buy one, get one free.

Ten thousand years ago, the Dark Nether Sect had counted as a first-rate power, but now its strongest member was only rank ninety-four. It and the Body Sect were brothers in misfortune. This also proved that anyone connected to that family had little future-nothing more than a maggot to be used.