Chapter 156 - 155: All-Around Improvement
Meanwhile, the beauties, led by Hanik’s Heart and Su Ling’Er, all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Xia Wuyang had kept his promise and was no longer making insatiable demands as he had before.
"He has finally listened to reason. If he had refused to listen any longer, I fear something would have happened to us."
"We shouldn’t let our guard down. The elder Crown Prince is quite senile these days. There’s no guarantee he won’t relapse, so it’s best we remain cautious."
"It’s a good thing the elder Crown Prince can’t get anyone pregnant. Otherwise, with all this daily revelry, I’m afraid we’d all be pregnant, especially Ling’Er and Hani."
...
In any case, this new arrangement was good for everyone. It just seemed a bit unfair to the elder Crown Prince.
After all, for a man with one foot in the grave to be unable to enjoy himself to the fullest... that must have been an awful feeling.
But it was far better than the elder Crown Prince dying on top of one of them. If that were to happen, whichever woman it was could forget about seeing another day.
Little did they know, Xia Wuyang didn’t feel the least bit wronged. In fact, he was delighted. This was exactly what he wanted.
With ample time for Cultivation, Xia Wuyang progressed by leaps and bounds.
His Blood Transformation Realm Cultivation advanced daily, bringing him ever closer to the Late Stage. With the help of abundant Middle Level Miracle Treasures, one could only imagine how fast he was improving.
His mastery of the Soul Enchantment Technique grew, and he continued to refine it. In the future, it might even be possible to elevate it beyond the level of a Spirit Art.
His refinements to the Dragon Tiger Fist and the Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique also deepened, making them increasingly powerful.
His Mortal Pill Technique improved steadily as well. Even without the aid of epiphanies, his progress was swift thanks to his Comprehension and Spiritual Power.
Even without epiphanies, he would have a chance to master the Top Level Mortal Pill Technique within a few months, let alone with the epiphanies he was actually having.
Thanks to Xia Wuyang’s masterful performance, the drama within the Deep Palace had reached a delicate equilibrium.
The anxious beauties around him had no idea that the elder Crown Prince they thought they had reined in was actually undergoing a shocking transformation. His comprehensive strength had already reached a level they could only gaze up at in awe.
Before he knew it, Xia Wuyang’s Spiritual Power was approaching its bottleneck. As a new day dawned, it increased by another point, allowing him to break through as a matter of course.
points!
Unfortunately, he didn’t awaken a new Companion Talent. He couldn’t even feel the slightest sign of one emerging and had no idea when the next awakening would be.
A peculiar power surged into his Sea of Consciousness, sending him into another state of epiphany.
The focus of this epiphany was, once again, Alchemy.
The synergistic principles for combining thousands of herbs... The subtle interplay between Pill Fire and Heart Fire... The unique rhythm of Pill Formation... The secrets hidden within Pill Patterns... The very core of healing the sick and saving lives... All of it, and more, merged into one.
Many concepts that had once been obscure and difficult to grasp suddenly became crystal clear. It was as if he were witnessing countless real cases of healing and life-saving, watching as innumerable herbs were refined and finally condensed into Elixirs.
’So that’s how it is!’
Xia Wuyang realized with sudden clarity. Healing was a form of Alchemy, and Alchemy was a form of healing. At their core, both existed to improve the well-being of all living things.
Although this epiphany didn’t allow him to break through to the level of a Top Level Mortal Alchemist, his medical skills soared, and his understanding of the Alchemy Dao underwent a qualitative leap.
He could now process dozens of High Level Mortal Herbs at once. His success rate in refining High Level Mortal Elixir and Medicine had become astonishing, and most of them no longer posed any real challenge to him.
His control over the Pill Fire had grown more refined, allowing him to manipulate even the slightest fluctuations in temperature.
Xia Wuyang took out his Bronze Alchemy Furnace, effortlessly processed dozens of High Level Mortal Herbs, and began refining a particularly difficult High Level Mortal Pill.
Refining this pill had been a struggle for him in the past, but this time it was immensely easier. In just about half an hour, the process was nearly complete.
"Condense!"
With a soft cry from Xia Wuyang, the liquid inside the furnace rapidly condensed. Several High Level Mortal Pills appeared, each one emitting a peculiar fragrance and worth a fortune on the open market.
’Not bad, not bad at all. I’m not far from becoming a Top Level Mortal Alchemist. One more epiphany should be enough to make the breakthrough.’
Nodding in satisfaction, he stored away the High Level Mortal Pills and resumed his Cultivation.
While his Alchemy Dao advanced, Xia Wuyang’s Cultivation also reached the peak of the Blood Transformation Middle Stage. All he needed was a bit more refinement before he could attempt to break through to the next level.
「A few days later.」
After confirming that his Foundation was flawless and his Essence, Qi, and Spirit were honed to their absolute peak, Xia Wuyang prepared to charge the bottleneck.
’This time, I’ll use the Red Blood Fruit to break through!’
Xia Wuyang took out a Jade Box. Inside lay a fruit, crimson from skin to core—a Middle Level Miracle Treasure.
Needless to say, this was another Middle Level Miracle Treasure from the Inner Treasury. It contained a considerable amount of energy and traces of Yang Attribute power, making it perfectly suited for breaking through to the Blood Transformation Late Stage.
After centering himself, Xia Wuyang consumed the Red Blood Fruit. A searing medicinal power quickly manifested and surged through his body.
Unlike the many Miracle Treasures he had consumed before, the Red Blood Fruit’s power carried an aura of Supreme Yang and Firmness. This was the perfect counter to the cold, yin impurities that one needed to purge during the Blood Transformation Realm, making it the bane of all such filth.
Under his Introspection, the impurities within his Qi Blood were rapidly purged, causing it to grow strangely brilliant.
"Break!"
An unknown amount of time passed before, with a soft cry, the bottleneck to the Blood Transformation Late Stage shattered completely.
Aided by his Extraordinary Level Spiritual Power, which allowed him to control his own energy as if it were an extension of his limbs, combined with his custom-tailored Dragon Tiger Fist and profound understanding of the realm, this bottleneck had posed no real obstacle.
The Qi Blood coursing through his body began to swell, growing more vigorous and pure with every passing moment.
Simultaneously, the tempering of his Qi Blood became more profound, and it began to faintly radiate a scorching aura.
The sounds of the Dragon’s Roar and Tiger’s Howl from within his Qi Blood grew even more astounding, causing the very ground around him to tremble.
His Power surged, his speed surged, his five senses surged...
His skin strengthened, his muscles strengthened, his internal organs strengthened...
His innate talent sharpened, his aptitude sharpened, his Comprehension sharpened...
...
It was a comprehensive enhancement that covered every aspect of his being. This was the most miraculous and profound stage of the Body Refining Stage, one that would even have a decisive impact on his future Cultivation.
The greater the benefits one reaped in this realm, the more it would aid their subsequent Cultivation.
Fortunately, it was in this very realm that Xia Wuyang had awakened the Companion Talent Tree Deep Roots. This gave him a Cultivation Foundation three times stronger than that of other Martial Artists at his level. As a result, the benefits he stood to gain would also far surpass theirs.
The more vigorous his Qi Blood became, the greater the benefits of tempering it, and the more astonishing the improvements to his overall constitution.