Chapter 173 - 107: Crossing the Sea True Intent
Back Mountain Alchemy Room.
Liang Cheng sat cross-legged and shirtless before the Bronze Medicine Cauldron. Inside, a medicinal soup roiled like lava as blood-colored steam rose, carrying a pungent, metallic odor.
"Get in."
Liang Cheng took a deep breath. "Elder Huang, isn’t this a bit much?"
"Cut the crap. This is just the appetizer. You think this cauldron is for the real pill test? This is a medicinal bath. The actual pill test comes next, and its Medicinal Power is ferocious. This is to give you a layer of insurance, just in case."
"Huh?"
Liang Cheng was a bit panicked. Elder Huang continued, "With this medicinal bath as a foundation, even if you fail the pill test, you’ll just be bedridden for a year or so at most. It won’t affect your foundation."
"I am a kind-hearted man. Which pill tester hasn’t received my most meticulous arrangements? It was the same for Wang Teng back then. It’s just that the Martial Arts Academy has had too few good prospects these past few years, or else it would never have been your turn."
"You’re a lucky brat..."
Hearing this, Liang Cheng’s expression turned strange. He felt a little uneasy, but still leaped naked into the cauldron.
SIZZLE—!
The instant his skin touched the medicinal soup, it felt like being doused in boiling oil. Excruciating pain bored in from every inch of his skin, surging along his Meridians and straight into his organs.
He let out a muffled grunt, his jaw instantly clenching tight.
He hadn’t felt pain like this since reaching Golden Armor Realm Perfection.
"What are you grunting for?"
Elder Huang squatted by the cauldron and slapped its side with a withered hand. "Hold on. This is just the beginning. If you want to get through this pill test in one piece, you have to endure it."
The flames beneath the cauldron grew stronger!
The medicinal soup came to a full boil. Bubbles burst all around Liang Cheng, each explosion unleashing a scorching torrent that savagely forced its way into his Meridians.
Pain!
It hurt more than being hacked by blades and axes!
Liang Cheng felt as if his Meridians were being pierced by red-hot iron bars. His Qi Blood surged wildly within him, nearly bursting from his body.
His skin turned crimson, and his veins bulged, squirming like earthworms.
"The Medicinal Power of the Blood-Protecting Soup is meant to forge your insufficiently tough Meridians, force out impurities, widen your Meridians, and fill you with Essence."
By now, Liang Cheng had focused his mind and could no longer hear Elder Huang’s words clearly.
The Medicinal Power in the cauldron assaulted him continuously. The burning sensation in his Meridians grew more intense, yet he could feel them becoming tougher. His physical strength had actually risen to a new level, and his Essence and Qi Blood were so abundant he was practically a walking super-tonic pill.
Finally, as time passed, the pain faded away, replaced by a pleasant warmth spreading through his body. He even let out an involuntary moan of extreme comfort.
"Alright, get up."
After an unknown amount of time, Liang Cheng heard Elder Huang’s voice. He opened his eyes and discovered that the medicinal bath in the cauldron had become nothing but clear, thin broth.
"Not bad. You’re ruthless with yourself, kid. Not many people can normally endure that."
Hearing this, Liang Cheng cursed inwardly but didn’t dare say anything.
Just then, Elder Huang suddenly grew serious and took out an extremely bright red pill.
"I created this Pill Formula by referencing the Blood Marrow Pill from Wu Zhenshan and the Blood Sacrifice Technique of the Fire Worship Sect, then rebalancing it on the foundation of the Source Replenishing Pill."
"The Medicinal Power is fierce and violent. An ordinary person would likely find it unbearable. But your Hard Skills are outstanding, and now you have my Blood-Protecting Soup as a foundation. Even if the pill test fails, it won’t damage your core."
"So, kid, are you ready?"
Liang Cheng took a deep breath and nodded.
He then got out of the Medicine Cauldron, dressed himself, and sat cross-legged on the ground. Taking the Elixir from Elder Huang, he closed his eyes and swallowed it directly.
Then, an immense Medicinal Power instantly erupted within his body.
Liang Cheng’s face flushed crimson as Elder Huang squinted, recording his reactions from the side.
’The Medicinal Power is too aggressive. Even a kid with such a solid foundation can’t adapt to it immediately. It seems I’ll need to add some supplementary ingredients later to balance the Medicinal Power.’
As Elder Huang took notes, the Medicinal Power continued to burst forth inside Liang Cheng.
If not for his abundant Qi Blood and toughened Meridians from the medicinal bath just now, he felt his Meridians would have been snapped by the Medicinal Power.
Immediately after, excruciating pain erupted from all over his body.
He hadn’t expected this Elixir to not only act on his Meridians and acupoints but also stimulate his body’s Essence Qi Blood, causing the Medicinal Power within him to surge violently once more.
Elder Huang continued to stare at Liang Cheng. "This is the newest Pill Formula I’ve developed, referencing those worthless things from the Fire Worship Sect."
"This Elixir isn’t like the Low Grade trash those idiots concocted. It cultivates both internally and externally and has the effect of Purification of Essence and Marrow."
"According to the Pill Formula’s intended effects, if an ordinary True Essence Realm expert has condensed too few True Qi Seeds, they can use their own Essence Qi Blood to compensate and rise to a new level."
Liang Cheng was now gritting his teeth hard, because the pain had risen to an even higher level than during the Blood-Protecting Soup bath.
It was too painful!
’If I hadn’t reached Golden Armor Realm Perfection, an ordinary person would have likely exploded and died under the ferocious Medicinal Power.’
’No wonder Elder Huang was so insistent on me testing the pill. How could any ordinary person withstand this?’
The Medicinal Power rampaged through his body. Under the intense pain, even he began to approach his limit, his consciousness slowly starting to fade.
Elder Huang grew nervous at the side.
’Is the Medicinal Power too fierce? Is he not going to make it?’
’Will this pill test end in failure?’
Just as Elder Huang was about to intervene and suppress the rampaging Medicinal Power in Liang Cheng’s body, Liang Cheng’s condition suddenly changed again.
"Hm? This is interesting."
It turned out that just as Liang Cheng’s Meridians were about to give way, the strange cultivation path diagrams from the Fragment of the *Crossing the Sea True Intent* flashed through his mind.
’Refining Essence and Transforming Qi... using the body as a vessel...’
Suddenly, inspiration struck. He stopped trying to resist the violent Medicinal Power in vain. Instead, he attempted to guide a sliver of the scorching torrent, circulating it according to the path recorded in the Fragment.
The moment the first wisp of Medicinal Power was guided, the excruciating pain intensified abruptly!
But immediately after, the scorching heat began to transform. It was like a raging flood being diverted into a prepared river channel; although it still surged, it no longer crashed about aimlessly.