Chapter 87 - The Confession Elixir and the Breakthrough

Back in the comfort of his hut, Su Bai finally relaxed.

The trip to Blackwater City had gone smoothly.

Elder Han had learned his lesson. The Bureau had been checked. The far village would receive aid. And most importantly, Su Bai had successfully confirmed that Devouring Maw could now chew on Golden Core Qi.

Overall, it was a productive trip.

After closing the door, Su Bai sat down at his table and opened his system inventory.

Earlier, he had taken the chance to sign in at the Righteous Inspection Bureau.

He had not checked the reward yet.

Now, he finally looked.

A small glass bottle appeared inside the system inventory. The liquid inside was clear, but faint golden threads swam through it like tiny chains.

[Reality-Binding Confession Elixir]

[Description: Used for interrogation. This elixir acts as an absolute filter on the target’s vocal cords. It forcefully binds their speech to their true memories. They retain full control over whether they speak, but once they open their mouth, it becomes physically impossible for their Qi and vocal cords to form a sentence that contradicts reality. If they choose to speak, only the absolute truth can come out.]

Su Bai froze.

This reward was... unique.

In the cultivation world, interrogation methods were common. Soul-searching, oath papers, truth incense, heart-questioning arrays, illusion mirrors, dream-entry talismans.

Some were cruel. Some were unreliable. Some turned the prisoner into a fool afterward.

But this elixir was different.

It did not force the person to speak. It simply made lies impossible.

Su Bai stared at the bottle. Then his eyes slowly lit up.

If the elixir made ordinary people speak only the truth...

Then what would it do to him?

Su Bai took out the bottle.

He hesitated for half a breath.

Then swallowed it.

The moment it slid down his throat, a strange warmth spread across his vocal cords. It wrapped around his throat like a thin golden chain.

At the same instance, his Reversal Body moved.

The warm feeling twisted. The invisible chain reversed.

Su Bai sat there silently.

After a moment, he decided to test if his theory is right.

He opened his mouth.

Originally, he intended to say, "My name is Su Bai."

But the moment his voice formed, something strange happened.

His memory blurred. His tongue shifted. The words changed by themselves.

"My name is Zack Madik."

Su Bai froze. His name had just been replaced by the name of a friend from his past life.

The hut became quiet.

Then his eyes slowly widened.

He opened his mouth carefully.

"I was the number one sword genius of Radiant Sky Sect since birth."

The words came out smoothly.

Su Bai’s breathing became slightly heavier.

Again.

"I have never eaten poison in my life."

Su Bai’s eyes glowed.

He understood.

The elixir’s reversed effect had forced his spoken words away from truth. As long as he opened his mouth, his speech naturally twisted into falsehood.

Su Bai slowly reached out from his system inventory. He grabbed the Soul-Scorching Interrogation Mirror.

His hand trembled slightly.

Just as he had run out of good lies, the system had delivered a lie-producing elixir.

Su Bai placed the mirror in front of him.

He cleared his throat, then spoke.

"I am a hardworking, honest young man who has never taken advantage of loopholes."

The mirror activated. A wave of soul-burning power rushed into his spiritual sea.

The Reversal Body twisted it. Warmth spread through his soul.

Su Bai shivered slightly.

He continued.

"My master is a calm and gentle old man who never beats people."

The mirror flared again. Another wave of reversed soul fire strengthened his spiritual core.

Su Bai nodded.

"My father was definitely a quiet and faithful man."

The mirror nearly exploded with light.

Su Bai’s soul trembled as a powerful current washed through it.

He froze, then carefully wrote in his notebook.

[Do not slander Su Qingshan too severely. Mirror reaction becomes intense.]

After that, he continued with safer lies.

"Liu Meng is a lazy alchemist who hates working."

The mirror burned.

"Ji Ruyue is warm, expressive, and very good at comforting people."

The mirror burned harder.

"Martial Aunt Shen Youran is approachable and easy to joke with."

The mirror erupted.

Su Bai immediately stopped.

His soul had been reinforced again, but his survival instincts screamed.

Some lies were too dangerous. Even the mirror seemed to agree.

After taking a breath, Su Bai continued.

...

The Soul-Scorching Interrogation Mirror was a righteous artifact meant to punish lies.

The Reality-Binding Confession Elixir was an interrogation medicine meant to prevent lies.

Together, after passing through his Reversal Body, they became a perfect soul-tempering method.

One forced him to lie. The other punished him for lying.

And his constitution converted the punishment into nourishment.

For the next thirty minutes, Su Bai spoke nonstop.

The mirror flashed again and again. Wave after wave of warmth reinforced his soul.

Finally, when the effect of the elixir faded, his throat returned to normal.

Su Bai opened his mouth and tried one last sentence.

"My name is Su Bai."

This time, the words came out correctly.

The mirror remained silent.

The effect had ended.

Su Bai leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

His soul felt unusually solid.

It was as if a layer of invisible impurities had been burned away, leaving his spiritual core smoother and firmer than before.

He never thought lying would feel this good.

For a moment, Su Bai stared at the mirror with complicated emotions.

Then he carefully placed it back into his system inventory.

He wrote another note.

[Reality-Binding Confession Elixir + Soul-Scorching Interrogation Mirror = forced lie soul-tempering method.]

Su Bai stared, then nodded seriously.

...

Later that day, Su Bai sat cross-legged on his bed.

It was time to digest the Golden Core Qi stored inside his body.

Su Bai closed his eyes.

The Gateway Qi Reservoirs opened one by one. The dense, solid Qi he stored there flowed out in thin streams.

Inside his main Dantian, the Yin-Crystal Asteroid Dao Pedestal moved silently.

The solid Qi entered the Void-Sunflower circulation.

It was broken apart, ground down, then pressed into the Dao Pedestal like dense black frost.

Cycle by cycle.

...

Time passed.

The hut grew colder.

Inside his body, the final strand of Golden Core Qi dissolved and sank into the Dao Pedestal.

Boom.

A soft pulse spread from Su Bai’s body.

Foundation Establishment Sixth Stage.

Su Bai opened his eyes.

For a moment, dark light flickered within them, then it faded.

He exhaled softly.

His progress was too fast compared to ordinary cultivators.

Normal Foundation Establishment cultivators spent years absorbing spirit stones, refining pills, stabilizing their Dao Pedestal, and carefully strengthening each stage.

Some were stuck for decades. Some died of old age before ever touching Golden Core.

Even Su Bai felt that it was a little unreasonable.

He didn’t dwell on it too much.

He took out his remaining resources.

He looked at them silently.

There were still twelve days before the sect competition.

Su Bai’s expression became calm.

He did not like danger.

But since he had to go, then he would prepare as much as possible.

Su Bai picked up the Tang Clan poison bottles and drank them directly.

Gulp.

The familiar taste of soda spread.

Then he closed his eyes and began cultivating again.