In the dim stone chamber, mist once again rose and swirled.
A large metal cauldron had replaced the usual water vat.
The lid was tightly sealed, and though there was no fire beneath it, a continuous stream of steam poured out from the cauldron.
Inside the cauldron sat Yu Lie, cross-legged, refining his poison cultivation.
If anyone were in the chamber, they would not only hear the hiss of steam but also the sharp, crunching sounds of something being chewed and crushed.
Yu Lie was hidden within the cauldron, sitting with his head bowed, a thick, serpentine bone coiled around his body.
This bone was none other than the skeleton of the Black Serpent Fish King.
After hunting the beast, Yu Lie had immediately dissected it, extracting its gallbladder, roe, and other organs.
He then mixed these with medicinal herbs, cooking the fish king to aid his cultivation.
Now, after six or seven days of seclusion in the cauldron, Yu Lie had consumed nearly the entire Black Serpent Fish.
All that remained was the spine, which he now held in his hands, gnawing on it with great force.
The sound of metal clashing echoed as Yu Lie bit into the spine, the hardest part of the fish king's body.
Thanks to his cultivation of "Copper Tendons and Iron Bones," and the fact that he had soaked the spine in medicinal liquid beforehand, he was able to chew through it.
After three or four hours, he finally swallowed the last piece.
A fierce heat surged in his abdomen.
The spine of the Black Serpent Fish King, known in Blackwater Town as the "Poison Dragon Bone," contained decades, if not centuries, of accumulated toxins from the fish king's diet.
It was even more potent than the gallbladder.
Consuming it raw would be fatal to most, but for Yu Lie, who cultivated poison, it was a powerful supplement.
Suddenly, a metallic clang rang out as Yu Lie's eyes snapped open, glowing with a cold, predatory light.
His fists and palms struck the inside of the cauldron, leaving deep imprints.
The cauldron shook violently, as if filled with explosives, until it finally burst apart, scattering fragments across the room.
Amid the thick, corrosive mist, Yu Lie's muscular figure emerged, sitting calmly in the center of the wreckage.
His body steamed with intense heat, his blood and qi boiling like a furnace.
The remaining medicinal liquid in the cauldron evaporated rapidly, enveloping him in a swirling mist that gave him an almost ethereal appearance.
Yu Lie's muscles and bones trembled as his body underwent a rapid transformation.
The toxins from the fish king's spine released a cold, brutal energy that merged with his own, further enhancing his physique.
By the next morning, Yu Lie finally opened his eyes, a look of satisfaction on his face.
He stood up, tapping his body and hearing the metallic clang of his hardened bones.
Picking up a piece of the shattered cauldron, he crushed it effortlessly in his hand.
His body was now tougher than ordinary metal.
This unexpected breakthrough meant that Yu Lie had not only mastered the second layer of his poison cultivation—Bone Poison—but had also fully digested the "Copper Tendons and Iron Bones" transformation.
This put him ahead of schedule, giving him an extra month to prepare for his next breakthrough: "Cleansing the Marrow and Refining the Blood."
This final transformation of the Dao Child realm involved purging impurities from the body, refining the marrow, and producing powerful blood.
Once completed, a cultivator could control their pores, hide their presence, and even resist the slightest touch, such as a feather or an insect.
Yu Lie pondered the process, recalling a passage from a book he had read recently.
The key to "Cleansing the Marrow" lay in refining the marrow to produce strong blood, which would nourish the entire body.
The shedding of hair was merely a side effect of gaining control over one's pores, not the main goal.
The quality of the blood produced during this transformation would determine the strength of the cultivator's future True Qi, as True Qi was refined from the cultivator's blood and essence.
The blood could be classified into different grades, such as Lead Blood, Mercury Blood, Gold Blood, and Jade Blood, each indicating the cultivator's potential.
As Yu Lie considered this, he noticed a dark, serpentine aura flowing through his fingers, reminiscent of the Black Serpent Fish King.
He pricked his fingertip, and a drop of dark blood oozed out, heavy like mercury.
It slid slowly across a piece of the shattered cauldron before corroding a hole in the metal.
Yu Lie's eyes gleamed with determination.
With his body now stronger than ever, he was ready to take the next step in his cultivation journey.
The upcoming "Great Mobilization" would no longer be a threat but an opportunity to gain experience and resources.
(End of Chapter)