"Let me taste this Essence-Nourishing Pill that only Inner Peaks disciples get to enjoy, and see what flavor it has."
At noon that day.
Jiang Yi arrived in the snowy woods north of Crimson Flame Peak, at the "best cultivation spot" the Heavenly Book had indicated before.
Now that he had the Essence-Nourishing Pills, he had no intention of hoarding them for later.
Grandpa had specifically said that cultivators of the Demonic Path Lineage must remember these words: "Make full use of everything."
Spend however much you have, use whatever you possess, and climb higher before worrying about anything else.
Thus, in ancient times, the Demonic Dao had maintained a strict hierarchy of cultivation realms. Those of equal rank seldom fought; what they liked best was bullying those beneath them.
Higher cultivators never took lower cultivators seriously, treating them all as material to harvest and refine at will.
Only later, as lineages bearing the title of "sect" rose and fell, had another round of changes altered their ways.
Jiang Yi had only occasionally heard a few words about these hazy tales of the past from Yang Xun.
He gathered his wandering thoughts, sat down amid the snow, and prepared to circulate his cultivation art.
According to Li Ruohan, the greatest benefit of the Essence-Nourishing Pill was not advancing cultivation or strengthening Primordial Essence, but "clarifying Qi and awakening the spirit, gathering essence to nourish the brain."
The effects were especially pronounced the first time!
"The hardest part of the Fifth Level of Qi Refining is the 'Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate.'"
Jiang Yi had once humbly petitioned the Heavenly Book and questioned it closely, gaining a general understanding of its mysteries.
Thus, he also understood precisely where the value of the Essence-Nourishing Pills lay.
"According to the Daoist texts, the Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate is no ordinary aperture, but is formed by heaven and earth in union.
"Analyzed carefully, that probably means the Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate is a 'cavern of nothingness,' without shape or shadow, elusive and hard to find."
Holding the little bottle, Jiang Yi let his tangled thoughts sink bit by bit, like a heavy object dropped into water, entering a state of focused concentration.
"The Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art describes it in extremely vague terms, saying only 'being arises from nothingness' and 'within resides the natural true sovereign.'
"Grandpa's annotations are broad, too. They say the marvel of the Inner Mansion of the Origin Gate lies in how 'in stillness, it gathers the misty vapors to house the true and nurture the breath, governing the source of all generation and transformation; in motion, it draws forth essence to radiate outward, serving as the connecting pivot for openings and closings great and small.'
"Ugh, cultivators really don't know how to speak human language. I still have to rely on the Heavenly Book!"
Jiang Yi shook his head with a sigh. Without the Heavenly Book's help, who knew how many winding detours he would have taken, how many pitfalls he would have stumbled into?
Could anyone truly master these secret essentials of cultivation without a teacher, when every obscure word seemed to hold a hundred meanings?
"Luckily, I found time to catch up on my lessons earlier, so I won't be completely lost."
Jiang Yi tipped the little bottle. A smooth, round pill the size of a longan rolled into his palm. He gently picked it up, tilted his head back, and swallowed.
As soon as the Essence-Nourishing Pill entered his throat, he circulated his art, slowly refining it.
"To advance from the fourth level to the fifth, the profound principle lies in 'refining Qi and Blood into essence, using true lead to concentrate the spirit, bringing the two together so their friction stirs them into action.' From there, the Origin Gate opens, and the Inner Mansion is established!
"Then unite water and fire, establish the furnace and cauldron, work the bellows, and set the Dipper's handle!"
Jiang Yi soon tasted the "flavor" of the Essence-Nourishing Pill. At first, it was like a trickling stream nourishing his flesh and blood.
But as it circulated through his body and strengthened his Primordial Essence, it gradually became like a boiling hot spring washing through every bone, enveloping the dense lumps of true lead and turning into a stream of Qi that rushed straight toward his head.
Throb, throb!
Jiang Yi's temples suddenly pulsed. Between his brows, the heat was even more scorching, as though a branding iron had been pressed against him.
"Clarifying Qi and awakening the spirit, gathering essence to nourish the brain-it lives up to its name!"
So long as he thought of making great strides in his cultivation, adding another tenth to his progress, Jiang Yi no longer found this torment unbearable.
However bitter cultivation was, could it be worse than toiling like an ox or horse as a Mortal Laborer, never able to turn his fortunes around for an entire lifetime?
"To attain perfection at the fourth level, increasing True Qi alone isn't enough. I also need to open the brain's spirit and accumulate spiritual radiance.
"The Essence-Nourishing Pill can condense Qi and Blood into essence and combine it with true lead, giving me a chance to concentrate my mind and shake the brain's gate."
The scorching force drove repeatedly into his skull like a red-hot iron spike, giving Jiang Yi the illusion that he was "about to grow a brain."
He remained patient, suppressing the illusory agony of blood vessels bursting and his skull exploding as he absorbed the medicinal potency of the Essence-Nourishing Pills.
One after another, without stopping at all!
Four full hours passed, and a dark, heavy sky covered Crimson Flame Peak.
Sweat poured from Jiang Yi like thick syrup. His Daoist robe soaked through and steamed dry again, becoming a mass of wrinkles.
By three quarters past midnight, the bitter cold had thickened, wrapping around the young man as he sat motionless as a clay figure.
"Done!"
All at once, Jiang Yi raised his eyelids. His lashes stirred slightly, and a keen light seemed to flash in his eyes.
His ears seemed to hear heavenly drums beating, several booming notes reverberating through his entire body.
It was as though some aperture had been opened, and a sense of ease welled up within him!
Then his sturdy physique, its sinews, bones, blood, marrow, and organs already transformed, seemed to shed a shell, becoming light as a feather.
With a gust of cold wind, he felt as though he could rise and float into the air!
"Unfortunately, true flight has to wait until the tenth level. Even after the fifth, when I can gather and refine Spirit Chance, it's only 'crawling through clouds,' not 'flying through the skies.'"
Two Essence-Nourishing Pills had brought Jiang Yi considerable progress and no small harvest.
His Qi and Blood had surged upward and reached the brain's gate. Not only had this made him light as a swallow, nimble and agile, it had also sharpened his hearing and sight and awakened wisdom in his mind.
"If the Heavenly Book were here to examine me, my cultivation would definitely have passed 'fifty percent.'"
Jiang Yi lingered a little longer, carefully savoring the heartfelt joy welling up from his body and mind. Its lingering sweetness was enough to wash away the skull-splitting pain from earlier.
To borrow the phrase He Laohun always had on his lips, it was probably-damn fine!
"Precious medicine is most effective the first time. With each later dose, its effects diminish."
Jiang Yi felt both regretful and fortunate. After all, the greater the benefits of the Essence-Nourishing Pills, the greater the gap between him and the direct descendants of local clans, to say nothing of the scions of Daoist clans.
"In less than two short months, heaven and earth have turned upside down! Surely, if the Inner Peaks saw me, they'd call me 'a fine talent for the Demonic Dao,' too."
Jiang Yi rose, then suddenly felt a faint itch in his throat. He coughed twice and spat out a clump of bloody phlegm containing extremely fine black particles.
"These must be the 'impurities' built up from years of bitter labor in the Quenching Room, breathing in acrid smoke and swallowing ash and dust."
Jiang Yi felt even more invigorated. Had he not expelled that mouthful of bloody phlegm, it would have accumulated in his lungs and organs over time, likely taking root as a chronic illness that would torment him when his Qi and Blood declined in old age.
"I'm in such fine spirits. How about reciting a poem... Forget it. I'll wait until I reach the fifth level."
Jiang Yi stepped forward at an unhurried pace, his thoughts drifting. Tomorrow, it would be time to go down the mountain with Grandpa.
He had heard that their destination this time was called "Three Harmonies Ward Market."
It was quite a famous place in Northern Mang Ridge.
"These are the 'Seven Baleful Needles.' There are seven in total. I'll bestow one upon you!"
Inside a workshop on Sewing Peak, all was quiet. Only Zhou Can and the man with triangular eyes were there.
"Once Luo Tong goes down to Heart-Seizing Forest with you, use it to kill him! A Seven Baleful Needle driven through the crown of the head kills instantly and leaves no visible wound!"
Zhou Can gave meticulous instructions, making certain the triangular-eyed man named Zeng Shun did not forget a single word.
"Overseer, secretly murdering a Mortal Laborer of the sect-if an Inner Peaks senior brother discovers any clues and we can't pay compensation, we'll be punished..."
Zeng Shun swallowed, hesitation on his face.
He flattered and curried favor with Zhou Can so that his work would be easier and he could endure his twelve-year term of labor.
Naturally, he was not very willing to dirty his hands with murderous work like this.
"Relax. Senior Brother Xu has a use for me now. He certainly won't say anything."
Zhou Can said sinisterly:
"If you won't do it, plenty of others want to handle it for me. Think it over carefully.
"I remember you still have five years left on your term. We'll have plenty of chances to deal with each other from now on."
Zeng Shun shuddered violently, then immediately dropped to his knees, raising both hands above his head.
"Please bestow the Seven Baleful Needle upon me, Overseer!"
Zhou Can nodded in satisfaction and handed Zeng Shun the silver needle, fine as an ox's hair. After explaining its use in detail, he strode away.
In the boundless snowy night, his heart burned. Senior Brother Xu had said that as long as Sewing Peak's output tripled next spring, he would reward him with a "complete Law Artifact" personally refined by Elder Sui.
"If I get a White Bone Dharma Sword and return home to establish a clan, who could stand against me?
"Haha, a patriarch! I can be the patriarch of a Qi Refining Clan too, and have tenant farmers kneel and kowtow to me!"
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