Yu Lie arrived at the entrance of the official alchemy room in the town. Before he could even lead the donkey inside, a severed hand suddenly flew out from the door of the alchemy room! Following that was a series of wailing sounds, and a bald scabby dog rushed out from the door, grabbing the severed hand in its mouth.
"Giggling!" The dog immediately started chewing on the severed hand, crunching away happily. When the dog noticed Yu Lie staring at it, it stopped giggling and growled threateningly.
Yu Lie calmly averted his gaze, not bothering to look at the dog any further. The dog in the alchemy room was no ordinary dog. It was a human-faced dog, known for its voice resembling that of a child's, also called a doll dog. Yu Lie knew he couldn't afford to provoke it.
He slightly bowed towards the human-faced dog, then stepped aside to make way, brushing past the door into the alchemy room. Inside the door, a pregnant female Daoist happened to pass by Yu Lie, presumably the one feeding the human-faced dog.
Yu Lie didn't spare a second glance at the dog or the people inside the alchemy room. The silly parrot on his shoulder curled up, resembling a dead bird.
As Yu Lie stepped into the side room of the alchemy room, a voice sounded, "Guest, what are you here to purchase?"
On the tall counter, behind the iron bars as thick as a child's arm, a figure moved, and a solemn voice was heard.
Yu Lie nodded and replied, "Thank you. I'm here to buy some medicine."
The dark counter area, a head popped up, "You're joking. Who comes to the alchemy room not to buy medicine? But this is just a side room, we only sell medicinal ingredients here. If you want medicine, you'll have to go to the main room, where they have pills and powders."
Yu Lie smiled and continued, "Three stalks of Red Dogtail Grass, a bottle of Bat Urine, ten pieces of Gecko Tail, a bottle of Zombie Tooth Powder... Three pellets of Fasting Pills, two sticks of Sandalwood, a jar of Purifying Altar Water."
The figure behind the alchemy room responded, "Alright!" and the sound of rummaging through boxes and containers followed.
"Dogtail grass... Fasting Pills, hmm!"
Then a surprised voice exclaimed, "Guest, are you planning to undergo a transformation? Congratulations, I wish you an early ascension to immortality."
The medicines Yu Lie purchased were clearly targeted, especially the Fasting Pills, indicating his intention to seclude himself for cultivation. The experienced Daoist in the alchemy room quickly deduced that Yu Lie was preparing for a transformation, a crucial stage in cultivation.
Next, a head suddenly appeared from the iron bars, looking dry with thin, long hair tangled around, "However, you're missing the life-saving White Ox Gall in your ingredients. Are you sure you want to save that money?"
White Ox Gall possessed strong detoxifying properties, crucial for stopping ingestion mishaps and enhancing resistance during the transformation process, making it a valuable and practical medicine for novice Daoists like Yu Lie.
Upon hearing the Daoist's advice, Yu Lie stood in front of the counter and replied, "No need, I'm all set. Thank you."
The head on the counter chuckled strangely, muttering, "I've seen many like you, young and fearless. Every time there are those with intestines dragging, limping, or bleeding from all nine orifices running over... You see these thick iron bars on the windows? It's to prevent them from escaping."
Yu Lie simply smiled and didn't respond further.
In fact, the Daoist's warning was understated. Those who managed to crawl over were either prepared with a small amount of antidote or had robust physical bodies. For novice Daoists like Yu Lie, whose bodies hadn't undergone substantial transformation, poisoning without an antidote during ingestion would be a certain death sentence.
Turning into a pile of flesh on the spot was their most likely fate, with no chance of escaping the meditation room.
Next, money was exchanged for goods. A head flew out from behind the counter, hair entwined on the iron bars, holding a paper package and a small jar with a vacant neck.
After a few swings in mid-air, the head tossed the medicine package and jar into Yu Lie's arms, singing, "Take your time, come back often!"
After receiving the medicinal ingredients, Yu Lie gratefully bowed and replied, "I will."
He then stepped out of the alchemy room, leaving only the head still cackling.
Next, Yu Lie bought a robe from the west street, provisions from the north street, and entrusted a bird to be kept in the south street.
Once everything was prepared, he entered the official meditation room of Blackwater Town.
The stone walls of the official meditation room were thick and damp, lacking in light. Yu Lie held candles as thick as a child's arm, capable of burning for seven days and nights. Although the quality was poor, he had no choice. He bought seven of them, enough to last him over a month in the meditation room.
This was the rule: external candles are not allowed in!
Although the official meditation room didn't charge fees, it required upkeep, and those who used it had to offer some incense money. Failure to do so often led to a miserable end.
Transformation cultivation wasn't just about ingesting medicinal ingredients; it involved bathing, burning incense, purifying the mind, regulating breathing, and inspecting the ingredients, all without any interruptions.
Any disturbance could lead to all previous efforts going to waste. The lucky ones might suffer severe injuries, while the unlucky ones could perish on the spot, leaving their inheritance to others.
Yu Lie didn't want any "enthusiastic" Daoists knocking on his door during seclusion, asking, "Guest, would you like to continue with a candle?"
The effects were promising. The meditation room Daoist had chosen a Feng Shui treasure for Yu Lie, ensuring good ventilation and a death rate of only three percent during transformation, prompting Yu Lie to be cautious to avoid lowering the property value with his death.
The Daoist also thoughtfully provided door-blocking items, promising that even if a senior Daoist came, they wouldn't be able to immediately open the meditation room door.
In the meditation room, Yu Lie set aside his worries and patiently nurtured his body and mind. He bathed, lit sandalwood incense, and finally took out the "Dao Scripture," reciting it several times.
Once everything was ready, Yu Lie swallowed the Fasting Pills and looked at the paper donkey beside him, his eyes burning with determination.
Cultivation had thresholds, and despite cultivating for over a year, Yu Lie had yet to cross the threshold. For this transformation, Yu Lie had staked everything. If he failed, not only would the high loan not spare him, but he would be left with a crippled body and an empty shell, likely ending his own life.
However, Yu Lie wasn't afraid. Enduring for over a year and taking out a high loan were all to maximize his cultivation potential, to succeed and step onto the path of Dao!
Although he didn't have White Ox Gall, he had already purchased Ascension Pills, which could enhance the success rate of the transformation, more precious than White Ox Gall! Combined with his good fortune of slaying a formidable wolf demon and consuming it, once he completed the transformation, he would be even stronger than ordinary Daoists.
And this step marked the beginning of Yu Lie's journey towards ascension to immortality!
Yu Lie's determination couldn't be contained any longer. He followed his heart and drew out a paper knife, rising from the stone altar in the meditation room and toppling the paper donkey.
He swiftly cut open the paper donkey's abdomen, intending to extract the wolf demon's heart and liver for consumption.
But in the next moment, Yu Lie froze in place, his face turning pale, shock evident in his eyes.
The paper donkey's belly was empty, devoid of any wolf organs, only some blood, water, and minced meat.
"Where are the huge pile of demon organs?!!"
His eyes blurred.
Yu Lie stood in the meditation room, feeling as if he were standing by the Blackwater River, with the mountain wind chilling to the bone.