Chapter 6: Sword Light Like a Meteor

The pill refined from beast blood damages the soul, whereas pills made from human blood merely increase negative emotions; one only needs to sit in meditation to dispel them.

Chen Ye had previously been unable to comprehend the reason for this difference.

Only after reading that detailed record did a still-immature hypothesis surge in his heart. First, assume that the essence of beasts and humans is no different, and the effects of the blood pills are the same; then, the principle behind the side effects should logically be consistent as well.

Since the principle is consistent but the results are utterly different, perhaps the crux lies in the so-called "clash." The book offers a thousand interpretations of the clash phenomenon, yet most merely list conflicting things, occasionally mentioning methods to resolve them, but not a single word on why they clash.

Those predecessors seemed anxious and hurried, only knowing to warn successors "do not do this," while deleting the key point of "why do this" from their writings. Perhaps they were too lazy to study, or perhaps they felt writing and recording was too laborious, so they saved effort wherever possible. After all, for most cultivators, following along was enough; understanding the underlying reason brought no benefit to cultivation.

Just like Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, who always followed the steps, cultivated according to what was recorded in books, never asking to the root, yet still cultivated a formidable magic power.

If not for bad luck, colliding with a high disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect, Mo Ci might have broken through several more realms; even if he could not become an immortal, he could have lived another few hundred years.

Of course, some people harbored ill intentions and deliberately fabricated nonsense.

Chen Ye had seen contradictory errors in several ancient cultivation texts, mostly due to the extremely outdated custom of "the master keeping a trick from the disciple."

The true transmission was like a puzzle missing a key piece, fearing the disciple would learn thoroughly and raise the Ten Thousand Souls Banner against the master.

Not surprising; most of us demonic cultivators are like this.

Chen Ye was stubborn; in his eyes, cultivation was the number one matter in life, and he had to investigate it clearly and thoroughly. Relying on what he had learned and realized over these few months, and comparing it with experimental results, Chen Ye believed the root of the blood pill clash still lay in the soul.

The foundation of cultivation is spiritual energy; all supernatural and bizarre phenomena in the world arise from spiritual energy.

A cultivator's soul is far more resilient than a mortal's, but after death, it must borrow spiritual energy to shape itself into a ghost, otherwise it will scatter at the slightest breeze.

If the soul of a beast could also influence spiritual energy, then the most easily affected would undoubtedly be the spiritual energy originally stored in the heart blood and refined.

Demonic sect cultivators refine pills with heart blood; what it contains is not only digested spiritual energy, but also the beast soul that has not yet completely dissipated. Taking the blood pill means integrating this spiritual energy into oneself and refining that spiritual energy a second time.

In this way, there is no guarantee that residual souls will not be inhaled into the body during absorption; once accumulated in large quantities, they will naturally affect one's own sanity.

Why can human blood pills be dispelled? Only because human grievances are largely the same; all humans have four limbs and five senses, and by comparing them, the differences are negligible.

Human suffering can be understood by humans.

If it can be understood, it can be self-soothed.

Only by knowing the "what" can one solve the "why."

But the five senses of beasts are fundamentally different from humans; how can a human comprehend the feeling of four limbs on the ground, eating raw meat and drinking blood when a beast soul enters the mind? Not to mention that the hearing, smell, and other senses of beasts differ from humans, making the clash even more violent.

To put it simply, it is that humans cannot understand beasts.

By the same token, beasts cannot understand each other either.

Therefore, even if a wild boar swallows a wolf blood pill, it cannot escape death; before dying, it will display wolf-like habits, which is the result of the wild boar's soul being eroded by the wolf soul.

In short, cross-species does not work; thus, the blood refinement method must involve eating one's own kind.

Verifying this hypothesis is not difficult; a little wolf blood pill remains; one only needs to capture a wolf, feed it the pill, and the truth will be revealed.

According to Chen Ye's speculation, feeding the wolf blood pill to a wolf would at most make the wolf irritable and restless, with absolutely no risk of madness and death.

With this thought settled, Chen Ye carefully stored the record and, taking advantage of the night, ran out of the ruined temple again. If he did not catch a wolf head tonight, he feared he would find it hard to sleep.

Zhao Hezhou had just vomited everything out of his stomach when he looked up and realized Chen Ye was gone. Just as he was full of doubt, he saw his wife pick up the wild wolf Chen Ye had brought back, skillfully skinning and cutting the meat with a small knife, preparing to put it in the pot.

Watching his wife's so decisive movements, Zhao Hezhou could not help but speak up to stop her: "Wait, this is the prey of that strong man; taking it without asking is improper..."

His wife glared fiercely at him and scolded: "You have read so many sage books, yet you are as stupid as an ox in human affairs. Husband, do you really think that young man needs your help? He is merely giving you a way out. If he did not wish to help us, why would he have been so generous yesterday? How can you not see the situation clearly?"

Zhao Hezhou thought carefully, and his wife's words made sense; instantly, his face turned red with shame. He hurriedly ran to fetch firewood and secretly vowed never to be so pedantic again.

By the time the wolf meat soup was ready, Chen Ye had not yet returned. On ordinary days, Zhao Hezhou would have waited for this benefactor to return before daring to use his chopsticks, otherwise it would be impolite. But now, he silently divided the soup, left a sufficient portion for Chen Ye, and then let his wife and children eat their fill first.

Although some formalities were lost, Zhao Hezhou had already understood that these empty rituals could not fill the stomach or support a wife and children. He even planned that when Chen Ye returned, he would beg this strong man to take him as a servant; whether as an ox or a horse, as long as his wife and children could eat their fill, it would be fine. What sage books, what imperial examination titles—all were worthless in the face of life and death.

However, by midnight, Chen Ye was still nowhere to be seen. Zhao Hezhou felt anxious and uneasy, fearing Chen Ye might encounter misfortune while walking in the mountains late at night. What if this strong man really met with danger... Zhao Hezhou thought for a moment, instructed his wife a few words, then held a torch, stepped out of the ruined temple with long strides, and intended to search for Chen Ye's tracks.

At the same time, Chen Ye was two mountain peaks away.

The young man sat on a rugged giant rock, staring at the wild wolf below. The wolf was thin and weak, its eyes bloodshot, glaring fiercely at Chen Ye as if it would tear him into pieces in the next second.

Chen Ye, however, smiled and stared intently at this beast. It seemed that after hunting without restraint for these two days, he had searched for half the night before finally finding a lame, one-legged wolf. Chen Ye fed the wolf blood pill into the wolf's mouth and quietly waited for the medicine to take effect.

Until the moon reached the middle of the sky, the lame wolf finally showed strange phenomena. First, ignoring its leg injury, it lunged and bit at Chen Ye with all its might; then it raised its head and howled, looking much more spirited than its previous half-dead state.

Fearing he might accidentally kill this experimental specimen, Chen Ye quickly hid behind the giant rock and observed patiently. From the time the medicine took effect until now, two hours had passed; although this lame wolf was extremely irritable, it had not gone completely mad.

According to Zhao Hezhou's record, after the medicine took effect, those two wild boars did not last an hour before dying. This lame wolf in front of him was much thinner; after two hours, it was still hopping around lively, so Chen Ye felt his hypothesis was correct.

The wolf blood pill contains the wolf's residual soul, but for a fellow wild wolf, there is no clash; it is merely the lingering grievance before death that makes the lame wolf extremely irritable.

This is a drastic change in temperament, not damage to the soul.

Chen Ye laughed loudly and recorded this result in detail. Since the crux has been found, the next step is to think about how to remove the influence of this residual soul. As long as this problem is solved, Chen Ye will become a butcher, slaughtering thousands of pigs, cows, and sheep, and his dantian sea of qi will be formed.

Just as he was rejoicing, Chen Ye suddenly heard Mo Ci's voice: "Be silent, hold your breath and calm down."

Although Chen Ye was full of doubts, he did not ask immediately; instead, he followed the instruction, tightly closed his lips, and made his breathing as light as possible.

At this moment, a brilliant light streaked across the sky.

After this light disappeared into the horizon, Chen Ye heard Mo Ci speak again: "It is over."

Chen Ye immediately asked: "Master, what is the trick with that meteor?"

"Where is it a meteor!" Mo Ci's tone was grave. "That is the sword light of the Qinghe Sect! Flying on a sword requires at least a Transcendent Realm cultivator; with just a glance, they could cut off your head."

Chen Ye suddenly understood; the direction where those two sword lights disappeared was exactly where Cui County was located.

The so-called "sword like a meteor" is truly no exaggeration; that madman impersonating the Qinghe Sword Sect is likely in trouble.