Chapter 6: Belly Fire

Of course it's expensive!

You think one silver bean is enough to buy a Life Cultivator’s life?

Impossible.

This is “coercive buying and selling”—the Law Art cannot be fulfilled, and due to the huge price discrepancy, it violently backlashed against the Law Cultivator.

Xu Yuan precisely understood this, which is why he took the Law Cultivator’s life-money without hesitation.

The Alchemy Cultivator rushed forward without delay, spat twice into his palm: “Pfft! Pfft!”

Spittle splashed out sparks!

Two balls of flame ignited swiftly on his palms; the Alchemy Cultivator swung both hands and slammed toward Xu Yuan!

The Alchemy Cultivator refines pills using a “belly fire,” and can also spit out this [belly fire] to attack enemies.

But this Alchemy Cultivator is unrefined—his [belly fire] has not yet formed; he can only summon flame to cling to his palms and amplify his power.

Xu Yuan leapt onto a nearby boulder; the Alchemy Cultivator chased after him and slammed both palms onto the rock, leaving two charred handprints!

The Alchemy Cultivator’s “fire” naturally suppresses many evil spirits; something lurking unseen in the forest, upon seeing this fire, swiftly retreated with rustling sounds.

Xu Yuan looked down from above, suddenly pulled out the bamboo cage, and tossed it straight over the Alchemy Cultivator’s head: “There!”

The bamboo cage fell through the air; the Alchemy Cultivator looked up, saw a small bamboo trap meant for catching insects, sneered, and slapped it with his palm.

Flames roared on his palm, ready to engulf the tiny cage and burn it to ash.

But the cage suddenly opened—it was small, yet surprisingly elastic!

The bamboo slats stretched, widening the gaps between them.

Originally, these gaps were tiny to prevent insects from escaping.

Now, to trap a person, wider gaps were no problem.

Thus, the small bamboo cage instantly expanded to the size of half a room; the Alchemy Cultivator, head tilted upward, slapped upward—seen from afar, it looked exactly as if he had voluntarily stepped into the cage!

Shhh—

The cage descended, enclosing the Alchemy Cultivator inside.

The Alchemy Cultivator paid no mind; he split his hands and unleashed flames.

The bamboo slats were thin and delicate, easily snapped by hand; with fire, they would surely turn to ash.

But the result was utterly unlike what the Alchemy Cultivator expected—the bamboo slats, beneath his [belly fire], became as hard as steel, glowing red-hot yet refusing to ignite!

He pushed his hands apart, yet the bamboo slats did not break.

Worse still, the cage contracted inward; the sharp tips of the bamboo slats pierced his body from impossible angles!

The cage shrank tighter, and the bamboo slats drove deeper.

The bamboo slats, seared red-hot by his own [belly fire], pierced his flesh, scorching his skin into sizzling smoke, releasing the stench of burning pig hair…

Moreover, each bamboo slat pierced not at random—it struck precisely at acupoints or severed specific meridians.

This could not be coincidence!

The Alchemy Cultivator froze in place.

Two bamboo slats aimed at his eyes; four others crossed through his mouth—he could not speak.

The wounded Law Cultivator stared wide-eyed: “Y-you… you’re a Craft Cultivator!?”

Xu Yuan was certainly not a Craft Cultivator—his stepmother was.

When his stepmother drove Xu Yuan out of the house, she had to give him something for protection.

This cage, let alone being unrefined, could not be damaged even by a seventh-rank Alchemy Cultivator’s [belly fire].

Even a seventh-rank Wu Xiu’s “copper skin, iron bones” would be pierced instantly by these bamboo slats.

Xu Yuan walked toward the Law Cultivator, who shrank back in terror: “Y-you don’t come near!”

At this moment, in both their “green lives,” the crimson omens nearly completely drowned out their original life-colors.

Xu Yuan compared the Law Cultivator and the Alchemy Cultivator repeatedly, then pulled out the skin he had shed and stuffed the Alchemy Cultivator inside.

Xu Yuan was sixteen, still growing.

The Alchemy Cultivator was taller and somewhat fat.

Xu Yuan had to use some “family techniques” to squeeze him in.

This technique? He learned it before the New Year from his stepmother—her hometown had the custom of slaughtering pigs and stuffing sausages.

Anyway, since his stepmother came into the family, Xu Yuan’s food and drink had greatly improved.

The Law Cultivator watched, chilled to the bone—not because of Xu Yuan’s “family technique,” for he had done similar things himself many times; in this era, it was nothing unusual.

What terrified him was… that skin was clearly this boy’s own!

Do people shed skin?!

He had never heard of any cultivation sect possessing such a method!

Could this fellow have already become a malevolent spirit, lurking in Qihetai Town?

But his appearance seemed too lifelike to be one.

“W-what are you doing?” The Law Cultivator’s voice trembled; the magical backlash grew stronger, leaving him weak.

Xu Yuan glanced at him and pointed to the nearby boulder: “Stand under that, and I’ll tell you.”

The Law Cultivator instinctively thought: Don’t go!

This boy is going to attack me!

Though he knew his current state meant escape was unlikely, anyone facing death will struggle desperately.

The Law Cultivator dashed without hesitation in the opposite direction—straight into the forest!

Shhh-shhh-shhh…

A dense, strange sound erupted in the forest, followed by the Law Cultivator’s screams.

The Snake Vines had finally feasted!

Previously, the Snake Vines had always wanted to eat Xu Yuan, but felt tricked—seeing a piece of meat, only to find it was a piece of ginger when they bit down.

Xu Yuan didn’t repeat the mistake of the big man—he waited until the sounds ceased, then smeared his body with realgar powder and walked into the forest.

The Snake Vines had grown utterly disgusted with this guy—always using this stuff against us!

And yet we had no way to stop it.

We’re snakes—how could we not fear realgar?

The Snake Vines hissed and retreated swiftly into the forest’s depths, then raised their heads among the trees and brush, hissing warnings at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan ignored them; after checking, he found only a white skeleton left in the forest, still stained with blood.

All flesh, organs, and viscera had been devoured by the Snake Vines.

A bag lay on the ground; Xu Yuan picked it up—it was full of money.

One small gold ingot, about five taels.

Two ten-tael silver ingots, plus ten pieces of assorted silver scraps and silver beans.

Also dozens of copper coins.

All were the Law Cultivator’s “life-money.”

Xu Yuan took it all without hesitation.

By the time Xu Yuan stepped out of the forest, the skin and the Alchemy Cultivator inside had shrunk into a single plaster.

Like the dog-skin plaster sold by Uncle Shen next door.

But Uncle Shen’s products were cheap and plentiful, packed thick with medicinal paste.

This one contained only a thin layer.

Xu Yuan suddenly realized the comparison was inappropriate—this was my own skin; how could it be a dog-skin plaster?

Xu Yuan stuck the plaster onto his navel.

The thin layer of paste visibly absorbed rapidly; soon, Xu Yuan felt a fire rise in his belly.

The Alchemy Cultivator’s [belly fire]!

Now, Xu Yuan was not only a Life Cultivator—he was also an Alchemy Cultivator.

This shed skin was not waste; it had another use: “refinement.”

When he shed this skin, Xu Yuan already knew it had additional uses.

But one skin could be used only once—each shed skin had different effects; what the next skin would do, Xu Yuan did not yet know.

At the time, Xu Yuan had sensed: this June insect was no ordinary Life Cultivator’s medicine ingredient!

He had never before heard that a Life Cultivator could possess a life-pattern immune to evil corruption, nor that a Life Cultivator could shed skin…

(End of Chapter)