Chapter 22

It wasn't until he fell to the bottom of the alchemy furnace's inner liner, which had a terrifying temperature, that Li Yu realized what he had done.

He had used his bare hands to catch the secret medicine that was like a red-hot iron block... and ate it... and then used his bare hands to stuff the Forbidden Egg that had broken out of his belly back into his abdomen... the extreme pain from his roasted hands and throat, and the strange pain from his belly being forcibly torn open, were all being transmitted with a delay.

"Have I gone crazy?"

"Could it be that I've also been assimilated by this shitty world? Have I also become a pervert?"

"Well, that's not impossible; being crazy is better than being dead."

These sentences seemed complex, but in reality, they were just a fleeting thought in Li Yu's mind.

When he fell, the manic smile on his face hadn't even faded.

The next moment, the real pain, which was almost unbearable for a human, surged like a tsunami.

Burning!

Melting!

Li Yu felt as if everything about him, whether it was his shell or his soul, had been ignited and was being rapidly burned and melted.

And this pain had no source.

Because this "calcination" was happening from the inside out, coming from the civil and martial fire of the alchemy furnace, as well as the Fire Essence he had eaten, which was mixed with the essence of thirty-six types of highly toxic minerals.

Even though Li Yu's own state was special, he was still twisted and wailing from the burning at this time.

First, his shell carbonized in an instant, and his whole body twisted and curled up; he wanted to wail, but he couldn't, because as soon as he opened his mouth, one could only see a red-hot expanse inside, and terrifying smoke was visibly permeating.

Normally, a human body suffering this kind of injury would have died long ago.

But Li Yu was still alive.

In the twisted high temperature, the corners of his mouth even stubbornly tried to crack a smile.

He couldn't curse out loud, but he was already cursing in his heart:

"Such a painful advancement ritual is even more terrifying than water torture, the Human Vegetable market, and the like."

"Did I get on the wrong pirate ship again? This 【Spirit Venerable】 sounds like a righteous god, but could it also be an evil god?"

Li Yu understood a little at this time.

Why this Spirit Venerable path couldn't become mainstream; besides the fact that the deity above the sequence had fallen, this Pill-Forming Ritual, which served as the first hurdle, was likely one of the reasons.

Those who could not go insane or be pained to death in this kind of agony were likely one in ten thousand.

As for himself?

Li Yu was also a bit confused; he could feel all the torture and pain without missing a drop, but every time he was about to go insane, that remaining trace of rationality would never disappear.

And it was precisely this tiny bit of rationality that allowed him to gain something.

While wailing, he used this remaining rationality over and over again to sense his own shell, which was curled up like an infant.

Don't know how much time passed!

Don't know how many times he sensed it!

Abruptly, at this breath, a change appeared.

Besides the infinite scorching heat, he suddenly absorbed a wonderful feeling that made him return to peace and was extremely cool.

The heart and soul that had been submerged in pain were saved a little.

"Is it cinnabar?"

Initially, he was still confused, but it soon turned into certainty.

Because this was just the beginning.

Next, there was a continuous stream of wonderful feelings, wave after wave, as if they were relaying to protect his soul.

He identified them carefully, and there were thirty-six types.

And with the alternating smelting of the civil and martial fire, these pleasurable sensations began to mix and fuse, recombining into new wonders.

Corresponding to these, Li Yu's body, which was wrapped in a thick layer of carbonized shell, also began to undergo some essential transformation.

Gradually, he felt as if he had escaped the sea of bitterness, and an epiphany arose in his heart:

"Is this the mystery of the 【Pill-Forming Ritual】?"

"As long as you endure the pain of calcination, the shell doesn't shatter, and the soul doesn't go insane, you can borrow the 'medicinal power' to resist the pain during the transformation process?"

"In that case, did I accidentally see through the fundamental secret by having Hongdou go to that Smoke Qi House to gather the formula?"

"Since the Pill-Forming Ritual is like this, I imagine that for other righteous or evil gods, it should also be the same... for example, the 【Human Vegetable Ritual】 that Jiao Qing and Sun Sanniang didn't dare to risk; the punishment of being alive-skinned and sliced is indeed something no one dares to face, but if one endures it, would the strange flesh and blood in the secret medicine also bring special pleasure to offset the pain?"

Although Li Yu was not in the body of a Truth Bubble at this time,

he inexplicably felt that he had seen through a secret.

Just as he was about to continue sensing, suddenly, he heard sharp and fine weird cries.

"Forbidden Egg!"

"This thing is still alive?"

Li Yu, with doubts, looked inside his own shell, which was transforming every moment, at his abdomen. There, a strange "flesh pill" was being refined.

The egg filaments and tentacles of the Forbidden Egg were not ordinary things; they were tough, disgusting, and could suck blood and paralyze, etc.

But under the continuous fire Qi superimposed inside and out, it was meaningless.

It shrank little by little, and the essence of flesh and blood refined from it didn't have time to dissipate before it was wrapped in medicinal power and fire power, merging into Li Yu's body.

That face, which had originally been full of evil energy and made one's hair stand on end, had long since turned into a twisted, wailing appearance.

Looking at it now, not only was there no threat, but it even made Li Yu feel it was very pitiful.

This face did indeed follow its instincts to beg him for mercy, and it was ignored by Li Yu without any surprise.

However, at the last breath when it was completely calcined and refined, an "unexpected change" occurred.

That face suddenly revealed a look of peace and relief.

At the same time, Li Yu clearly felt that he had received an inheritance.

It was exactly the Forbidden God's cookbook, the Forbidden God's Eye, the Flesh-Eating Forbidden Art, etc., that had been instilled into him when he was originally possessed.

=9+Book_Bar

Originally, these had been forcibly taken back when the Forbidden Egg forcibly broke out of his abdomen.

But now, they had all inexplicably returned?

Besides these, there were a few scattered emotions, as well as a desire that was strong to the extreme.

If described, it would be:

"I hate... fear my father."

"This human infant's encounter is the same as mine... too compatible... I want to go out..."

"I want to eat people!"

"I want to eat meat!"

"Going back... no... I want to leave some things... I want to stay."

This kind of change was naturally the first time Li Yu had encountered it.

But soon he remembered the scene he saw when he stared at the Forbidden God statue while Hongdou was cleaning the storage room—this evil god constantly giving birth to and then devouring its offspring.

A guess immediately formed in his heart:

"Once this Forbidden Egg matures, it will be called a 【Son of the Forbidden God】, so it is indeed the offspring of that evil god called the 'Forbidden God'; if it is not summoned to the human world, its fate is to be constantly born and then eaten; this Forbidden God is not disgusted by it."

"It has been parasitizing in the abdomen of this body of mine for many years; even if it hasn't been born yet, it actually already has signs of a newborn."

"Seeing that there was no hope of being born, and because it was extremely compatible with the original owner, plus its obsession, it chose to leave behind part of the Forbidden God's inheritance?"

Li Yu understood this, but there was not much joy.

He was about to advance to "Alchemist Apprentice" and didn't want to have anything to do with the Human Vegetable anymore.

Besides, what did he want this inheritance for?

Once he became an official Sequence Eight cultivator, would he continue to be a cook?

Finding a proper opportunity to run away, leave Wanfu City, and go to the three major nations of Gan, Jing, and Li to live a good life was the better plan.

Just when Li Yu was ten thousand times unwilling, it seemed that because of the touch of this inheritance, or because the Pill-Forming Ritual had reached its final moment,

the boundless pain suddenly stopped.

Infinite wonderful feelings, wrapped in some things, surged and rolled, submerging Li Yu.

He had advanced!

From this moment on, he left the scope of mortals.

Officially transformed into the Spirit Venerable path Sequence Eight... Alchemist Apprentice!

Just as he was floating like an immortal and wanted to moan, he also clearly felt his gains.

A mark similar to a bloodline inheritance was instilled:

"Art of Pill Fire!"

"An exotic flame that can be rubbed by hand or spat from the mouth, far beyond the comparison of ordinary fire; not only does it have unimaginable utility in alchemy, but it also has a restraining effect on some evil flesh and blood and cold, eerie objects; with Pill Fire on one's body, one can almost exempt most parasitic attacks and negative effects."

"Art of Consumption!"

"Can absorb the essence and nutrition of the target object through eating, while identifying its medicinal properties, toxicity, pollution, etc.; using this art has two side effects: one, if the target object's level is too high, it is very likely to cause me to die on the spot; two, after multiple uses, there will be a large amount of toxic pollution remaining in the body, which needs to be refined and discharged using an alchemy furnace."

These two exotic arts were the rewards for officially advancing to 【Alchemist Apprentice】.

Li Yu felt happy after sensing them, but he was not surprised.

What truly made him unable to believe was the third exotic art that had inexplicably appeared:

"Art of Medicinal Cuisine!"

"Based on transcendent culinary skills, combined with eerie recipes and the many medicinal properties required for alchemy, using this art can cook various medicinal cuisines and spiritual foods that combine deliciousness and therapeutic effects."

"Does this seem to be an exotic art mixed and smelted after burning the essence of the Forbidden Egg?"

"But what is this? A gift from the Forbidden Egg?"

Li Yu muttered.

Thinking of his disgust just now, he was a bit hesitant about whether he should say "truly fragrant" at this time.

(End of chapter)