Chapter 22: Promotion to Alchemy Apprentice and the Gift of the Forbidden Egg

It was not until he fell to the bottom of the alchemy furnace’s inner chamber, with its terrifying temperature, that Li Yu realized what he had done.

He had reached out with his bare hands to catch the secret medicine, which was like a piece of red-hot iron... and swallowed it... then, with his bare hands, he had stuffed the forbidden egg that had burst from his abdomen back inside... The searing pain in his scorched hands and throat, and the bizarre agony of having his belly forcibly ripped open, arrived one after another, delayed.

"Am I insane?"

"Could it be that I’ve been assimilated by this shitty world? Have I become a freak too?"

"Well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing; being crazy is better than being dead."

These few thoughts seemed complex, but in reality, they passed through Li Yu’s mind in a single instant.

Even as he crashed down, the crazed smile on his face did not fade.

The next moment, a true, almost unbearable agony for any human surged forth like a tsunami.

Burning!

Melting!

Li Yu felt as though his entire being, both shell and soul, had been set ablaze and was rapidly being melted away.

And this pain had no discernible source.

Because this "calcination" was occurring from the inside out, fueled by the gentle and fierce fires of the alchemy furnace, as well as the fire essence he had consumed, which was laced with the essence of thirty-six types of highly toxic minerals.

Even with Li Yu’s unique state, he was twisted and howling in agony.

First, his shell carbonized in an instant, his entire body twisting and curling up; he tried to howl, but could not, for the moment he opened his mouth, only a glowing red void could be seen, with terrifying smoke visibly billowing out.

Normally, a human body would have died long ago from such injuries.

But Li Yu was still alive.

Amidst the twisting, high-temperature heat, the corners of his mouth even stubbornly tried to curl into a smile.

He could not curse aloud, but in his heart, he was already raging:

"Such a painful promotion ritual is even more terrifying than water torture or the human-meat markets."

"Did I board the wrong pirate ship again? This [Spirit Venerable] sounds like a righteous god, but could it be an evil god instead?"

Li Yu understood something now.

Why this Spirit Venerable path could not become mainstream—aside from the fact that the gods above the sequence had fallen, this Alchemy Ritual, the very first hurdle, was likely one of the reasons.

To not go insane or be tortured to death in such agony—one would be lucky to find one in ten thousand.

As for himself?

Li Yu was also somewhat puzzled; he could feel every bit of the torture and pain without missing a drop, but every time he was about to go mad, that remaining sliver of reason never vanished.

And it was precisely this tiny bit of reason that allowed him to reap a harvest.

While howling, he used this last bit of reason to sense his own body, which was curled up like an infant, over and over again.

Who knows how much time passed!

Who knows how many times he sensed it!

Abruptly, in this moment, a change occurred.

Beyond the infinite scorching heat, he suddenly absorbed a wonderful, cool, and immensely peaceful sensation that brought him back to tranquility.

His heart and soul, previously drowned in pain, found a measure of salvation.

"Is it cinnabar?"

At first he was doubtful, but soon he became certain.

Because this was merely the beginning.

Next came a continuous stream of wonderful sensations, wave after wave, as if relaying to protect his soul.

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

And as the gentle and fierce fires alternated in their smelting, these sensations of pleasure began to mix and fuse, recombining into new wonders.

Corresponding to this, Li Yu’s body, wrapped in a thick layer of carbonized shell, also began to undergo a fundamental transformation.

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

"Is this the mystery of the [Alchemy Ritual]?"

"As long as one endures the pain of calcination, without the shell shattering or the soul going mad, one can borrow the 'medicinal power' to counteract the pain of the transformation process?"

"In that case, does my having Hongdou gather the ingredients at that Smoke-Qi House count as accidentally stumbling upon the fundamental secret?"

"Since the Alchemy Ritual is like this, I suppose it must be the same for other gods, whether righteous or evil... For instance, the [Human-Meat Ritual] that Jiao Qing and Sun Sanniang dare not risk—the punishment of being sliced to death 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 a special pleasure to offset the pain?"

Although Li Yu was not in his Truth Bubble form at this moment.

He inexplicably felt that he had seen through a secret.

Just as he intended to continue sensing, he suddenly heard a series of sharp, delicate, and strange cries.

"The forbidden egg!"

"This thing is still alive?"

Li Yu, filled with doubt, looked inward at his own body, which was constantly transforming, specifically at his abdomen. There, a strange "meat pill" was being refined.

The egg filaments and tentacles of the forbidden egg were no ordinary things; they were tough, disgusting, and capable of draining blood and causing paralysis.

But under the constant, overlapping fire-Qi from within and without, they were meaningless.

It shrank bit by bit, and the flesh essence refined from it was swept up by the medicinal power and fire-Qi before it could dissipate, merging into Li Yu’s body.

That face, which had originally been sinister and chilling, had long since turned into a twisted, howling mess.

Seen now, it not only lacked any threat, but even made Li Yu feel it was pitiful.

This face was indeed following its instinct to beg for mercy, which Li Yu ignored without surprise.

However, in the final moment when it was completely calcined and refined, an "unexpected event" occurred.

That face suddenly revealed an expression of serenity and relief.

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

It was precisely the Forbidden God Cookbook, the Eye of the Forbidden God, the Forbidden Flesh-Eating Art, and other legacies that had been instilled in him when he was first possessed.

=9+Shu_ba

Originally, these had been forcibly withdrawn when the forbidden egg burst from his abdomen.

But now, they had all inexplicably returned?

Besides these, there were several fragmented emotions and a desire that was intense to the extreme.

If described, it would be:

"I hate... I fear Father."

"This human infant’s encounter is the same as mine... it fits so perfectly... I want to go out..."

"I want to eat people!"

"I want to eat meat!"

"Going back now... no... I want to leave something behind... I want to stay."

This was the first time Li Yu had encountered such a turn of events.

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

A guess immediately formed in his heart:

"Once this forbidden egg matures, it is called the [Son of the Forbidden God], so it is indeed the offspring of that evil god called the 'Forbidden God.' If it isn't summoned to the human world, its fate is to be constantly born and eaten; this Forbidden God certainly doesn't mind the disgust."

"It has been parasitizing in my body for many years; even if it hadn't been born yet, it already showed signs of being a newborn."

"Seeing that birth was hopeless, and because it was so perfectly compatible with the original host, combined with its obsession, it chose to leave behind a portion of the Forbidden God’s inheritance?"

Li Yu figured this out, but felt no joy.

He was about to be promoted to "Alchemy Apprentice" and had no desire to have anything more to do with human-meat.

Besides, what did he need this inheritance for?

Once he became an official Sequence 8 cultivator, was he supposed to keep being a cook?

Finding a proper opportunity to run away, leave Mancheng, and go to the three great kingdoms of Gan, Jing, and Li to live a good life was the better plan.

Just as Li Yu was ten thousand times unwilling, perhaps because of the triggering of this inheritance, or because the Alchemy Ritual had reached its final moment.

The boundless pain suddenly stopped.

An infinite sense of wonder, carrying some things, surged and rolled, drowning Li Yu.

He had promoted!

From this moment on, he had transcended the realm of mortals.

He had officially transformed into a Spirit Venerable path Sequence 8... Alchemy Apprentice!

Just as he felt light as air and wanted to moan, he also clearly felt his gains.

A mark, similar to a bloodline inheritance, was instilled into him:

"Alchemy Fire Art!"

"A heterodox flame that can be conjured by hand or spat from the mouth, far surpassing ordinary fire. Not only does it have incredible utility in alchemy, but it also suppresses certain evil flesh and blood and cold, strange objects. With Alchemy Fire on one's person, one can almost exempt oneself from most parasitic attacks and negative effects."

"Ingestion Art!"

"Allows one to absorb the essence and nutrition of a target through consumption, while simultaneously identifying its medicinal properties, toxicity, and pollution. Using this art has two side effects: first, if the target's level is too high, it will likely cause me to die on the spot; second, frequent use will leave a large amount of toxic pollution in the body, which must be purged through self-refining in an alchemy furnace."

These two strange arts were the rewards for officially promoting to [Alchemy Apprentice].

Li Yu was happy after feeling them, but not surprised.

What truly left him in disbelief was the inexplicably added third strange art:

"Medicinal Cuisine Art!"

"Based on extraordinary culinary skills, combined with strange recipes and the many medicinal properties required for alchemy, this art can be used to cook various medicinal spirit foods that possess both delicious flavor and therapeutic effects."

"Does this seem to be a strange art mixed and refined after burning the essence of the forbidden egg?"

"But what is this? A gift from the forbidden egg?"

Li Yu muttered.

Thinking back to his earlier disdain, he was now hesitant about whether he should say "how delicious."

(End of chapter)