Chapter 228: Soul-Returning Great Pill, Six Cuts Perfected

"What is this?"

Li Rui frowned in confusion and did not immediately take the box.

Dao Meng grinned:

"Xiaotang told us not to open it. I don't know either."

"Alright."

Li Rui paused, then took the small wooden box from Dao Meng's hand. Since Xia Xiaotang had forbidden Dao Meng and the others from looking inside, he didn't open it—instead, he slipped it into his robe.

After introducing Tang Hai to Dao Meng,

he found a quiet place.

He pulled out the small wooden box from his robe and slowly opened it.

Inside lay a pill, as large as a fist, entirely black, etched with golden dragon patterns.

Li Rui's brow furrowed slightly.

He pondered for a long while in his mind.

Yet he could not identify the type of this pill.

At that moment, he noticed a small slip of paper beneath the black-gold pill, bearing a crooked line of writing—clearly Xia Xiaotang's hand.

"This pill is called the Soul-Returning Pill, secretly crafted by the Witch Kingdom's imperial family. Legend says it has miraculous effects for awakening. I hereby offer it to the Divine One."

Li Rui's lips twitched.

Awakening

Clearly, Xia Xiaotang had mistaken him for the Beast God, believing that consuming this pill would help him recover his Beast God's power faster.

It was a clever idea.

Unfortunately, Li Rui was not the Beast God.

"Soul-Returning Pill"

He silently murmured the three characters, his thoughts racing—then he froze in shock.

"The Soul-Returning Great Pill—one of the Witch Kingdom's three imperial secrets!"

At this thought,

Li Rui felt his heart nearly skip a beat.

No wonder he had never seen an image of this pill in any ancient texts—it was simply too rare. Too few had ever laid eyes on the Soul-Returning Pill.

So few, in fact, that even the authors of those ancient texts had only heard its name, never seen its true form.

He stared at the black-gold pill for a long while, then exhaled slowly, whispering to himself:

"It really is the Soul-Returning Great Pill!"

Legend says the founding Witch Lord of the Witch Kingdom awakened the Beast God's bloodline, received the Beast God's legacy, and obtained one scripture, one magic treasure, and three pills.

With these three things, he conquered the ten thousand beasts of the southern frontier, founded the Witch Kingdom, and established a millennium-spanning empire.

That was why the Witch Kingdom's imperial family claimed descent from the Beast God.

The Soul-Returning Pill was one of the three pills passed down by the Beast God.

"Legend says the Soul-Returning Pill grants enlightenment, turning fools into prodigies. It is a divine object coveted by all martial cultivators."

"Yet even the Witch Kingdom's princes and princesses may not possess this pill."

A divine object is called divine not only because of its power,

but also because of its scarcity—a necessary trait.

According to what he knew,

fewer than ten people in the entire Witch Kingdom could obtain the Soul-Returning Pill, and most were peak figures or core members of the imperial family.

Without exception, all were beings Li Rui could only look up to now.

He sighed softly.

"I underestimated Xia Xiaotang's status after all."

Xia Xiaotang was likely far more than just a distant branch of the imperial family.

Otherwise, how could she produce the Soul-Returning Pill?

Li Rui's gaze toward the Soul-Returning Pill grew fiery.

Even with his composure, he could not remain calm before such a legendary treasure.

"A child gains wisdom; an old man regains clarity."

This was the ancient texts' evaluation of the Soul-Returning Pill's effects.

The Witch Kingdom's endless emergence of talents was inseparable from this pill.

Li Rui finally suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

Return it?

Of course not.

Heaven offers, yet you refuse—you invite misfortune.

Moreover, the Soul-Returning Great Pill was far too precious; it could grant him a tremendous leap in power.

Compared to killing someone to seize a treasure, this pill was gifted by Xia Xiaotang—its risk was infinitely lower.

Li Rui did not rush to consume the Soul-Returning Great Pill.

As usual, he waited until the Weiheshimao Office closed, then returned home to Anning Guard as if nothing had happened.

Upon entering his family's home,

none had eaten yet.

He slipped into his room,

stared at the Soul-Returning Pill in his hand, his eyes blazing with intensity.

The Soul-Returning Pill differed from other elixirs—no one knew what changes it would trigger upon ingestion.

The Weiheshimao Office was crowded, filled with people—including those from the Witch Kingdom.

Even if this pill was gifted by Xia Xiaotang, discovery would bring endless trouble, and he could never explain it to the government or Anning Guard.

A minor official of the Yu Kingdom possessing a Witch Kingdom secret elixir? It made no sense whatsoever.

To handle great weight with ease—that is cultivation.

Hence he had pretended nothing had happened, waiting until he returned home before preparing to consume the Soul-Returning Pill.

More accurately, he would gnaw it.

The Soul-Returning Pill was too large to swallow whole.

Li Rui divided it into three bites and swallowed the entire fist-sized pill.

An exotic fragrance flooded his mouth and nose in an instant.

It's like nectar poured over the head!

Li Rui felt a cool stream pour down from the crown of his head, cooling his entire body. In a single thought, thousands of images flashed into his mind—an overwhelming torrent of information that, under normal circumstances, would have shattered his skull.

Yet now, he still had room to spare.

The Soul-Returning Great Pill—terrifying indeed!

No wonder the world called it the supreme elixir of enlightenment.

Practicing martial arts in this state was no different from sudden awakening—a controlled, deliberate awakening. The thought alone was terrifying.

For martial cultivators stuck at a bottleneck, it was the ultimate dream.

A thought suddenly arose in Li Rui's mind.

As the pill's effect reached its peak, he slammed his head against the pillow.

Closed his eyes.

Fell asleep.

Consciousness revived—he found himself standing in the Dream Cloud Platform.

Li Rui immediately shut his eyes.

After a long while, he opened them again.

"It worked."

The effect of the Soul-Returning Great Pill had carried into Great Dream Immortal Travel!

His innate talent was already terrifying; combined with the pill's effect, it nearly reached the state of sudden awakening—then amplified further by the Great Dream Immortal Travel's talent boost.

At this moment, his mental processing speed was likely unmatched in the world—a state beyond sudden awakening!

Li Rui did not know how long this state would last in Great Dream Immortal Travel. He quickly sat cross-legged on the Cloud Platform, closed his eyes.

Martial intentions appeared in his mind like countless stars.

In a daze,

he saw a figure holding a long blade, back turned to him, moving like a coiling dragon, the sword dancing wildly as if pouring down a storm.

At this moment,

a low chant reached Li Rui's ears:

"The fourth form of the Six Cuts of the Wandering Dragon: Shocking a Hundred Li!"

The sword technique was brutal and fierce, utterly unlike Li Rui's style—focused solely on offense, pushing strength to its limit, layering force upon force, each strike stronger than the last.

It bore a faint resemblance to the hammering style of his disciple Liu Tiezhu.

Each strike sent a gale crashing across the Cloud Platform.

=9+Book_Bar

The next instant.

The blade technique changed.

Still as a mountain, the long blade hung low, seemingly motionless, yet secretly gathering power.

Soon.

The blade intent on his body reached its peak; the nurtured intent from the Sword-Whetting Posture erupted in an instant, and for a fleeting moment, it seemed as if a divine dragon raised its head toward heaven.

"Sixth Form of the Flying Dragon Slash: Dragon Soaring Through Heaven!"

The low-hanging long blade slashed upward with the force of thunder.

Faint sounds of wind and thunder echoed.

If Qi Ze had taken this blow, his score would have dropped from eighteen to one.

One strike, instant kill!

Just as the blade intent reached its zenith and the blade tip nearly pierced the heavens.

Li Rui silently completed the final line:

"Sixth Form: The Dragon Soars Too High, and Regrets It!"

In an instant, the blade that had been surging upward with unstoppable force abruptly halted mid-air, reversed with even more terrifying power, changing from a slash to a downward cut.

"It's easy to throw a punch, hard to pull it back. Use only seven-tenths of your strength, and leave some in reserve."

Li Rui suddenly recalled the words of the instructor at the martial school he had sneaked into as a boy.

Back then, he thought it was mystic nonsense.

Now, it had become the very essence of martial truth.

"Nine at the Top: The Dragon Soars Too High and Regrets It. At the peak of power, one must hold back. Excess leads to overflow; excessive hardness invites breakage. Only when one releases and retracts with ease can one attain true freedom."

That shadow merged with Li Rui's form at this moment.

A long blade appeared in Li Rui's hand.

No longer bound by rigid forms, his movements flowed freely, controlled and measured.

Just as Li Rui's age had passed.

He was no longer in the reckless flush of youth, yet he had his own advantage: he knew how to hold back his strength.

Sometimes, holding back is to kill better.

Pure brute force is not always the most effective way to kill.

Li Rui sought results.

After practicing all night, under the strange enhancement, the Six Forms of the Flying Dragon Slash reached perfection—and more importantly, it perfectly suited Li Rui.

"Done!"

Li Rui's face betrayed unmistakable excitement.

One Soul-Returning Pill had saved him a full decade of arduous study!

"Come out."

At Li Rui's low command, Qi Ze's figure appeared before him.

He had barely steadied himself.

When brilliant blade light engulfed him.

The next morning.

Li Rui pushed open his door, refreshed and alert.

Hmm. One slash.

Qi Ze died peacefully—at least in the dream. In reality, it was probably much the same.

"The Soul-Returning Pill is truly formidable!"

Li Rui felt his perception of the outside world had sharpened.

This was a sign of enhanced comprehension.

"One pill can enhance comprehension? Unheard of."

No wonder the Soul-Returning Pill was called one of the Three Secret Elixirs of the Witch Kingdom.

Not only that.

He felt the Yinglong Qi coursing through his meridians now flowed far more smoothly; each circuit increased the quality of his Immortal-Xuan Qi by more than double its former rate.

In other words, his time to complete Qi Condensation would be halved.

The Soul-Returning Pill had enhanced him in every aspect.

His strength surged!

"The mediocre become prodigies—true indeed."

Li Rui was overjoyed.

Xia Xiaotang had given him such a divine elixir—truly a great blessing.

Then.

Li Rui's expression turned peculiar; he rubbed his chin.

"If that little girl found out I'm not the Beast God, would she cry?"

Elsewhere.

Ten thousand miles away, in the Witch Kingdom's imperial capital.

In a dark palace, rows of oil lamps lined the walls; deep within, darkness swallowed even the candlelight.

"Well done."

"The Qi clan still harbors treacherous intent, colluding with the Ghost Ming Sect to sabotage the Witch Emperor's grand plans. You've accomplished this task—I'm pleased."

A withered, rasping voice rose from the darkness.

Dao Mo knelt on the ground, forehead pressed flat against the floor like the most devout worshipper.

"May the Beast God protect us."

Hearing Dao Mo's words,

Xia Xiaotang, standing beside the Grand Witch, seemed to recall something and smiled faintly, a dimple appearing.

"It's the Beast God who protects us."

Thinking of the elixir she had left behind, she felt she was simply brilliant.

Give the Beast God an elixir, and he'll surely protect her.

The first disciple of the Beast God—wasn't that more prestigious than being the Grand Witch's favorite disciple?

"I'm a genius!"

(End of Chapter)