Chapter 263: What Kind of Blood?

"Not good!"

Xin Xin Wenhua's face changed.

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai is one of the sect's great alchemists; though she has only barely reached the Organ Refining stage, she has consumed more pills than he has eaten grains of rice. If even she cannot withstand it, what would happen if Li Yuan took it?!

With this thought, he let out a long whistle to summon the white crane. After waiting a short while and finding the crane had not arrived, he did not wait further and broke into a full sprint.

"He..."

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai was stunned for a moment, then realized something, and her face changed at once as well.

Although she rarely left her quarters, she had heard of Li Yuan's reputation: the fifth talented disciple in two hundred years to earn the Patriarch's approval.

"What a sin!"

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai stamped her foot and also sprinted away.

Long Yin Peak is only a little over twenty li from Huntian Peak; for the two of them, this was nothing. Soon, they arrived one after another outside Li Yuan's small courtyard.

"Dingxin Shitai!"

Xin Xin Wenhua stopped the utterly stunned Dingxin Dingxin Shitai.

The dense hammering roared together into a single mass, like a river breaking its dikes. Waves of force blew out from inside the small courtyard, making the grass and trees outside the courtyard walls crash loudly with a "hua hua" sound, while the accumulated snow flew about in swirling chaos.

Clouds of water vapor rose several zhang high, scattered by the wind, only for more vapor to rise again, as if hundreds of kettles were boiling simultaneously within the courtyard.

From far away, both could feel the heat, as if the forging furnace that had burned fiercely for over a thousand years without extinguishing inside the Pure Gang Steer had been moved into this courtyard.

"This?"

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai was momentarily dazed, but then reacted: "Has that rascal taken the Golden Body Pill so quickly?"

"He is practicing Wu Gong."

Hearing the intermittent shouts and hammering from within the courtyard, Xin Xin Wenhua actually relaxed, though he could not help but feel some surprise.

It was not uncommon for Qi and blood to surge like a furnace within the Dragon and Tiger Inner Gate when one moved. Not to mention the True Transmissions and Elders, even among the Inner Gate's elite disciples, there were those with extraordinary talent who specialized in body refinement.

But that would at least require one to have fully mastered Organ Refining, even touched upon Marrow Refining, with a physique approaching the inhuman—a true master.

Hasn't this young man only recently opened his meridians?

"Is this young man's physique actually so formidable?"

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai was also startled, yet relieved. She had truly feared this rascal would kill himself by eating it; if that happened, she would have no way to explain it.

Long Xi Xiang was merely forgetful, not dead. If anything serious happened to his disciple, the consequences would be unthinkable...

"Extraordinary talent, combined with Ultimate-level body refinement. It is not just the Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra; there is another Ultimate-level body refinement technique."

Xin Xin Wenhua's eyesight was excellent; from the roaring hammering and the shouts within the courtyard, he could detect the various Wu Gong Li Yuan was currently practicing.

"This young man has learned quite a lot of Wu Gong. Diverse, yet refined?"

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai tilted her ear to listen.

Inferior hammer techniques, footwork, fist and palm strikes, footwork, Elephant-Form Hammers, the Sword Dao Battle-Hammer, the Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra, and yet another unknown body refinement technique?

This was not mere diversity; the mastery of each Wu Gong was extremely high, and they flowed into one another smoothly, without the slightest awkwardness.

"Not just that; there is another Ultimate Art!"

Xin Xin Wenhua closed his eyes slightly. Faintly, amidst the violent hammering and wind, he heard a dragon's roar, seeming to exist and not exist.

'This young man has hidden so deeply?'

Xin Xin Wenhua set his mind at ease, yet could not help but feel some shock: "Dingxin Shitai, your Golden Body Pill is simply beyond comprehension..."

From the hammering and the shouts, Xin Xin Wenhua could hear Li Yuan's pain, and it seemed to have been going on for a long time.

The medicinal power indeed exceeded that of a normal Golden Body Pill.

"This... this should not be, it should not be."

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai shook her head. She was even more puzzled than Xin Xin Wenhua; in her decades of alchemy, she had never seen such a thing.

Normally, if the fire control or the medicinal materials were insufficient, an entire batch of pills would mostly be ruined. Even if not ruined, the medicinal power would clash and dissipate. Yet the Golden Body Pills from her recent batches were of the most perfect quality.

If it were not so, she would never have considered tasting it herself.

"In that case..."

Xin Xin Wenhua thought for a moment. The many spiritual herbs he had provided were all premium selections from Baicaotang; there could absolutely be no mistake.

The two exchanged a glance, then both looked toward the small courtyard:

"The problem... lies with that Serpent Blood Golden Body Fruit!"

"Those Golden Body Fruits are strange."

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai recalled that during her alchemy, a medicine boy had been specifically assigned to inspect the materials, and she herself had handled them during the process, yet at that time she had indeed detected no anomaly.

"Is the age of those Golden Body Fruits very high?"

Xin Xin Wenhua did not understand medicinal theory; he trusted Dingxin Dingxin Shitai's alchemical mastery, for she was a great alchemist who had produced the Longhu Longhu Dadan.

"Could an old nun like me not tell the age of the medicinal materials?"

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai glared at him.

"Then?"

"If the age of the Golden Body Fruits is not the issue, then the problem must lie with the blood."

"Blood?"

Xin Xin Wenhua's heart stirred: "Do you mean the quality of the serpent blood used to nourish the Golden Body Fruit trees was extremely high?"

There were many spiritual herbs in the Hundred Beasts Forest; although the Golden Body Fruits were rare, they did exist. But those few 'Beast Ancestors' would never shed blood to water the trees...

"I fear it was extremely high."

Dingxin Dingxin Shitai pinched the bridge of her nose, wanting to speak but holding back.

"How high?"

Xin Xin Wenhua became interested.

"Wait a while and ask him before deciding."

Abbess Dingxin shook her head, saying nothing, but a look of shock and doubt flashed in her eyes.

She suspected that even the blood of the oldest 'Jiao King' in the Hundred Beasts Forest could not have cultivated a Golden Body Fruit of this caliber.

Beyond her doubt, she felt some regret.

If she had examined it carefully back then, this blunder certainly would not have occurred.

A Golden Body Fruit of this caliber, if combined with superior spiritual herbs, would not only make this batch of Jin Shendan less violent, but its medicinal power could even double.

"Are all the spiritual pills of Longhu Temple this fierce?"

In the biting cold of midwinter, the sweat vapor in the courtyard never dissipated; on Li Yuan's bare upper body, pores dilated, constantly spewing heat, while his internal organs, tendons, and bones throbbed with hidden pain.

The medicinal power of this Jin Shendan was not only violent but also unceasing, with the clear intent of tearing him apart and not stopping until it succeeded.

"The fiercer, the better!"

Amidst the astonishment came naturally joy; with just over half the power of a single Jin Shendan, the Ten Thousand Blades Spiritual Dragon Body had already crossed that final threshold, reaching the Minor Success stage.

With twenty-two more remaining, pushing toward the Seventh Layer's Great Perfection might not be impossible, right?

Li Yuan forced himself to endure the pain of swinging the hammer; after countless trials of altering his bone structure, his tolerance far exceeded that of ordinary people, yet it still had its limits.

He did not know how much time had passed; after another muffled groan, Li Yuan dropped the hammer, performed a set of Dragon Zen Stance at extreme speed, and then collapsed directly beneath the tree.

The medicinal power within his body surged violently, yet he, in a rare occurrence, felt somewhat drained; the medicine had damaged his physique, and at such a time, stillness was better than movement.

"Ten Thousand Blades Spiritual Dragon, Dragon Zen Vajra!"

Li Yuan concentrated intensely; besides the four inner armors enhancing his 'Hard Body Talent', he also controlled three bone ornaments enhancing his spirit.

He concentrated and visualized.

Dragon Zen Vajra was a supreme art combining movement and stillness, cultivating both spirit and heart, with a conception even higher than that of the Ten Thousand Blades Spiritual Dragon, which was also a supreme art.

Hum!

In the dim realm of spiritual light, the sound of a bell seemed to be struck.

The 'Spiritual Self' Li Yuan visualized was also sitting in meditation, and as his mind turned, a faint Long Mo Dan golden light rose upon the originally colorless 'Spiritual Self',

and soon, it shone brilliantly as if plated with gold.

A somewhat blurred yet quite violent shadow of a spiritual dragon, as if pierced by ten thousand blades, circled his body, occasionally emitting a dragon's roar as if resisting.

Simultaneously visualizing two supreme arts to digest this Jin Shendan.

"This kid really can endure."

Gently pushing open the courtyard door and seeing Li Yuan sitting cross-legged beneath the old tree, his entire body's tendons knotted and bulging, his figure swollen several times larger than normal, Xin Xin Wenhua felt great admiration.

Even while sitting in meditation and regulating his breath, he could not help but twitch all over; just how much pain must that be?

Yet this kid was still enduring; he must not have spat out that Jin Shendan.

"Extraordinary mental fortitude."

Abbess Dingxin held several spiritual pills, ready to rush up and save him at any moment; she had not expected this kid to endure so much.

An excellent test subject for pills.

This thought arose in her heart.

The sun set, the moon rose above the treetops; the two waited from just before noon until deep night, until Li Yuan, nearly drained and collapsing, barely opened his eyes:

"Thank you, Senior Brother and Abbess, for guarding me."

Sitting in meditation is not fainting; naturally, he had heard some of the two's conversation.

"Hold your breath and concentrate."

Before Li Yuan's words had even finished falling, Abbess Dingxin had already reached out, pressing his shoulder, and shoved a 'Yangshen Pill' into his mouth.

"Yangshen Pill!"

Although drained, Li Yuan still recognized this pill; it was the most common type of spiritual pill, with gentle medicinal power, nourishing qi and blood, and one of the precious medicines for healing injuries.

"Huff!"

Moments later, Li Yuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, feeling soreness throughout his body that penetrated to the bone; moving even slightly made him ache so much he nearly bit his teeth off.

"The medicinal power of the Yangshen Pill needs several hours to take effect; do not move around."

Xin Xin Wenhua glanced at the sky: "Abbess, shall we discuss matters tomorrow?"

"Mm."

Abbess Dingxin was full of doubts but asked nothing, turning and leaving.

Li Yuan forced himself back to his room, lay down, and fell into a deep sleep; consuming this Jin Shendan was ten times more painful than fighting Old Han.

When Li Yuan woke up with the sun high in the sky, although his body still felt somewhat sore, it was nothing significant.

"This Yangshen Pill is indeed a good thing."

Lying on his bed after the injury, Li Yuan moved his tendons and bones slightly, feeling the gains from a day of self-torture.

With a slight application of force, the patterns on his arms, resembling cuts from swords and blades, became deeper.

The Ten Thousand Blades Spiritual Dragon Body had reached Minor Success, and the Dragon Zen Vajra Sutra had also entered the stage of Mastery.

"No wonder everyone says Jin Shendan is a Hard Body spiritual pill; the effect is truly astonishing, equivalent to two or three months of Ku Gong!"

Amidst the joy, Li Yuan also felt some lingering fear; this was truly too bitter.

Perhaps due to the extreme pain of yesterday, or perhaps because he had hardly rested for the past half year, Li Yuan lay in bed, not wanting to move at all.

"Have those two little ones not returned yet?"

After lying there for a while, Li Yuan sat up; outside the door, a knocking sound rang out at the right moment, and through the courtyard gate, the gleam of weapons was very conspicuous.

It was precisely Xin Xin Wenhua and Abbess Dingxin.

"You guarded until midnight yesterday, and you're here again today?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred; having lain here so long, he had already guessed that the Jin Shendan he had taken yesterday was not normal.

He rose, opened the door, and welcomed the two into the room.

"That Jin Shendan..."

Before Li Yuan could finish speaking, Abbess Dingxin, who had spoken at the same time, cut him off:

"Li boy, where did you get that Dragon Blood Golden Body Fruit?"