In the quiet chamber of the Poisonous Mouth, Yu Lie sat cross-legged on the altar, unmoving.
The altar now looked different from when he had been refining pills.
More than half a month had passed since he had successfully concocted his medicine.
During this time, he had invested heavily, even going back to the river to catch fish, and had managed to refine six bottles containing a total of seventy-two Blood-Strengthening Pills.
Because Yu Lie used pure and high-quality materials, each pill he refined could last for at least four hours, one hour longer than what was recorded in the pill formula.
Taking two pills a day, eight hours in total, was enough for a month's worth of cultivation.
In terms of efficacy, this would greatly accelerate his progress in poison cultivation and speed up the digestion of his Copper Tendons and Iron Bones.
The remaining four hours of the day were for rest, allowing his body to recover from the effects of the medicine.
Yu Lie adjusted his breathing, and when he opened his eyes, he reached into his Blood Toad Pouch and pulled out a porcelain bottle.
He poured out a pill the size of a longan, its deep red color glowing faintly.
Although it wasn’t the first time he had taken the pill, the moment the Blood-Strengthening Pill appeared in his hand, Yu Lie felt a rush of energy.
Just a whiff of its medicinal aroma filled his mouth and nose with a sweet, metallic scent, and his blood and qi surged within him.
A single pill like this would sell for at least a thousand coins in Blackwater Town.
Lower-level disciples would never use it for daily cultivation but would save it for breakthroughs or transformations.
Even mid-level disciples would only take one every three days, not to waste its potency.
According to the pill formula, one pill could sustain a mid-level disciple for three hours of intense cultivation, calculated based on the peak efficacy period.
After four hours, the pill’s effects would still linger, ensuring the disciple wouldn’t feel hungry for three days.
By supplementing with lower-grade spiritual or blood food, they could maintain half their usual cultivation speed.
Of course, this method, while efficient, was time-consuming.
Yu Lie had calculated that it would take at least nine to ten months for a mid-level disciple to reach their peak and fully digest their Copper Tendons and Iron Bones, ready for the next transformation.
And that was assuming optimal conditions and a disciple with decent innate talent.
Yu Lie, however, didn’t have that kind of time.
He had already been in Blackwater Town for nearly two years, and with only a little over a year left before his three-year term was up, he couldn’t afford to wait.
With this in mind, Yu Lie opened his mouth and placed the Blood-Strengthening Pill under his tongue.
The pill wasn’t meant to be swallowed whole.
An ordinary person would need at least an hour to slowly dissolve it in their mouth and swallow it bit by bit.
Otherwise, the pill’s potency would explode violently within the body, potentially causing a backlash that could damage internal organs and reduce rather than increase one’s vitality.
During the process of dissolving the pill, one also had to use a special technique of tapping the teeth and stirring the saliva to ensure the pill dissolved evenly and its effects were absorbed properly.
Yu Lie, however, didn’t need to wait.
As soon as the pill entered his mouth, his saliva naturally enveloped it, dissolving its outer layer.
With a gentle tap of his teeth, a warm medicinal energy flowed into his stomach, invigorating his entire body like a bowl of hot porridge on a winter’s day.
After swallowing three mouthfuls of saliva, Yu Lie’s face flushed red.
He stood up and assumed a special posture from the Five Poisons Organ Refining Guidance Technique, starting slow and then speeding up, tempering his body and aiding in the absorption of the pill’s effects.
In less than half an hour, the Blood-Strengthening Pill in Yu Lie’s mouth had completely dissolved into saliva, which he swallowed.
This was because Yu Lie’s pills weren’t bought from others but were refined by himself, infused with his own blood.
With his blood as a catalyst, the pill’s effects were not only gentler and more effective but also absorbed much faster.
Others couldn’t compare to him.
Even if someone else took his Blood-Strengthening Pills, they wouldn’t achieve the same level of convenience.
This was one of the great benefits of learning alchemy—being able to tailor medicines to one’s own body, making them both affordable and highly effective.
Among the many paths of cultivation, alchemy was considered one of the best for survival, progress, and longevity.
This was precisely why Yu Lie had gone to such lengths to enter the alchemy chamber in the first place.
After completely swallowing the pill, the astringent taste in Yu Lie’s mouth disappeared, leaving only a sweet aftertaste.
His mouth continued to produce saliva, which he swallowed mouthful by mouthful.
A cultivator’s saliva was considered a secret elixir of the human body, beneficial and harmless, often referred to as the “wine of immortality” or “nectar of the gods.”
Yu Lie, sitting cross-legged on the altar, felt as if he had drunk fine wine.
His body swayed slightly as he performed the guidance technique, his movements alternating between fast and slow.
He imitated the roars of a bear, the chest-beating of a gorilla, the pounce of a tiger, and the stillness of a pine tree.
Thin wisps of white vapor rose from the top of his head, condensing into a mist in the quiet chamber.
Within the mist, faint shapes resembling fish and snakes could be seen.
After two hours of intense cultivation, Yu Lie slowly concluded his practice, but the white vapor above his head didn’t dissipate.
He then moved to a corner of the chamber and brought over a large water vat, placing it in the center of the altar.
He tossed in various herbs, some dark green, others pitch black, turning the water murky and causing it to boil on its own.
Yu Lie removed his clothes and stepped into the vat, submerging himself until the black water covered his head.
He sat cross-legged inside, meditating quietly.
Though his body was still, the water in the vat swirled as if fierce carnivorous fish or snakes were thrashing about.
With each day of taking the pills and secluding himself, Yu Lie’s vitality grew stronger.
He immersed himself in his cultivation, feeling an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.
But Yu Lie wasn’t the type to seclude himself indefinitely.
If he felt too stifled after several days of isolation, he would tidy up the chamber and head out to visit Old Yu, using the latter’s VIP card to enjoy some new tea at a teahouse.
They would chat, share stories, and indulge in massages.
This, too, was part of his cultivation, helping to regulate his body, relieve fatigue, and loosen his muscles and bones.
On the fifteenth day of his seclusion, Yu Lie, feeling the strain of intense cultivation, emerged to enjoy some tea.
On the eighteenth day, having taken too many pills and feeling bloated, he went out again to relax.
On the twenty-third day, it was time for tea and a massage.
On the twenty-fourth day, he returned to intense cultivation, followed by a massage the next day.
On the twenty-sixth day, after a day of hard work at the Poisonous Mouth, he joined Old Hu and Radish Head for a post-work massage.
...
By the thirty-fifth day, he had visited the teahouse so often that they gave him his own VIP card.
On the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, and thirty-eighth days, he continued his intense cultivation.
On the thirty-ninth day, he reasoned that hard work didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy a massage.
After all, balancing work and rest was important.
On the fortieth day, payday arrived, and Yu Lie declared, “The teahouse is my home. I’m coming!”
...
With ample pills, diligent cultivation, and precise massages, Yu Lie’s cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds.
He estimated that, without even needing to master Bone Poison, the gains from his work at the Poisonous Mouth alone would allow him to fully digest his Copper Tendons and Iron Bones in two to three months, preparing him for his fourth transformation.
However, on this particular day, Yu Lie lazily swung his robe as he returned from the teahouse to the Poisonous Mouth chamber.
As he opened the door, his footsteps paused...
(End of Chapter)