Elder Zhao gazed at the pill in the jade bottle, its radiant colors flowing like shimring light. He brought it close to his nose and inhaled deeply, instantly feeling an overwhelming and vast life force wash over him, soothing and refreshing.
“A fine pill! Using poison to counter poison, breaking down before rebuilding! Then reinforcing the foundation with seven kinds of pure, supre yang spirit materials to restore vitality! Marvelous!”
His eyes, looking at Li ngze, no longer expressed re appreciation.
“Co! Follow !”
Unable to hold back any longer, Elder Zhao grabbed Li ngze’s hand and hurriedly rushed toward the Prince’s residence.
…………
The Prince Yong’s Mansion.
Once majestic and imposing, it was now shrouded in an unshakable aura of deathly despair.
The maids and servants inside all wore sorrowful expressions, stepping lightly as if afraid to disturb the old prince bedridden within.
The steward was a pale-faced, whiskerless old eunuch. Upon seeing Elder Zhao, he hurriedly bowed and led the two through layers of corridors, finally stopping before a secluded bedchamber.
“Elder Zhao, as you know, the prince… his temper is bad. Especially in recent years, it’s been even worse… sigh.” The eunuch sighed, hesitating to speak further. “There are three shifts of attendants daily. Please… bear with us.”
Elder Zhao nodded, signaling him not to say more. He then turned to Li ngze, saying, “Go in. Rember, no matter the outco, just do your best. If anything happens, I will take responsibility.”
Li ngze felt warmth in his heart. He respectfully bowed to his master, took a deep breath, and followed Zhao Wuji through the heavy chamber doors.
Inside the mansion, the dicinal scent was so thick it felt almost tangible.
The light was dim, windows covered by thick curtains, and the air heavy with a dense, decaying stench.
Beneath a small sandalwood bed in the center lay a gaunt figure. If not for the weak but steady rise and fall of his chest, one might have thought it was a corpse.
This was Li ngze, who had won glorious battles to expand the Great Yu Dynasty’s territory.
“Prince, Zhao Wuji of Ouhuan has brought a new disciple to seek an audience,” an old steward announced quietly.
“Yes, let them in.”
Li ngze did not even lift his eyelids, his voice hoarse, “Pills? A bunch of talkative useless fools. Over the years, I have taken fewer pills than the herbs you see, yet they were useless. I could only watch helplessly as my spirit was gradually devoured by this damned poison miasma. Tell them to leave. Don’t bother .”
He had long been disheartened and weary from the relentless tornt of his illness.
From initial hope to arriving disappointnt, to now complete despair.
He had seen too many so-called “Pillmasters” who, when facing him, made grand promises but ultimately could only shake their heads and leave empty-handed.
The new arrival was likely another reckless youth hoping to gain fa by treating his illness.
The old steward’s face showed difficulty. Just as he was about to enter, Ouhuan Yu had already taken a few quick steps back, a faint smile on his face.
“Old Prince, his temper is just as foul and stubborn as in his younger days! Have you, Ouhuan Yu, earned his favor?”
Only then did Li ngze open his clear eyes fully, shooting a sharp glance at Zhao Wuji, then looking at the old steward beside him. A mocking smirk curled his lips.
“Oh? That old geezer. What, you sent so greenhorn to try his luck? You might as well save your breath;
don’t let your reputation as the master’s last disciple be ruined on the first day.”
His gaze fell on Elder Zhao, filled with impatience and contempt, as if looking at a ridiculous clown.
“Hmph, whether it’s luck or not, we’ll see when we try!” Elder Zhao showed full confidence in his disciple.
Li ngze spoke slowly, “The prince is poisoned by a toxin known as the ‘Seven Absolute Corrupting Divine Miasma.’ This poison is not in the flesh or ridians but invades the spirit directly. It is like a bone-attached ulcer, constantly eroding your vitality and soul power. Therefore, ordinary detox thods are like boiling water without removing the scum—ineffective.”
The old prince’s well-like eyes flickered with a trace of emotion for the first ti.
This young man had spoken directly to the root of the poison!
This was not sothing the pillmasters who recited textbooks could recognize.
“Oh?” His voice carried a hint of scrutiny. “Go on.”
“Prince,” Li ngze continued, “this pill I bring is not for detoxification.”
He opened the jade bottle, and an overwhelming, vast life force instantly filled the entire chamber, even freshening the stale air.
The pill, glowing with seven-colored light like a newborn sun, lay quietly in the bottle, emitting a comforting warmth.
“This pill is called the ‘Seven Treasures Soul-Firming Pill,’” Li ngze explained. “It cannot neutralize the strange poison within you but can reinforce the foundation and cultivate your essence by using seven kinds of spirit materials imbued with the vitality of heaven and earth to repair your damaged spirit and stabilize your waning life force. The poison is like a flood;
life force is like a dam. Without a solid dam, how can the flood be controlled? Once your spirit stabilizes, I will slowly help you eliminate the poison’s root, stabilizing your nearly collapsing soul and extending your remaining years.”
He did not overpromise;
his tone was sincere and confident.
“Oh? Quite the boast.”
A flicker of surprise appeared in Prince Yong’s murky eyes. This young man was steadier than those before him. Discover more novels at novel·fire·net
Using poison to counter poison, reinforcing the foundation…
He had heard this countless tis but never from anyone who could explain it so thoroughly and sincerely, striking the heart of the matter.
More importantly, the pure life force emitted by the pill stirred a long-lost yearning in his numbed soul.
Perhaps… it was worth trying?
After all, as a man on the brink of death, what could be worse than now?
He hesitated for a mont but was ultimately moved by the phrase “extend your remaining years.”
He was not afraid of death.
But he could not let go of the vast family legacy, nor his useless descendants.
“Fine, I will risk my life to accompany a gentleman today, be your test subject,” he said, extending his hand. “Give the pill.”
Li ngze handed over the pill as instructed.
Prince Yong looked at the seven-colored glowing pill in his palm, astonishnt flashing in his eyes. Without hesitation, he swallowed it in one gulp.
The pill did not lt into a warm flow as he had expected. Instead, it exploded like a fiery, icy magma in his dantian!
“Ah!”
The old prince’s emaciated body trembled violently, veins bulging on his face. His entire body convulsed fiercely, as if enduring the pain of a thousand knives.
A black-purple poisonous gas surged wildly from the acupuncture points all over his body, corroding the surrounding wooden furniture with a sizzling sound.
“Protect the prince!”
The old eunuch panicked, and guards rushed in instantly, drawing swords and glaring fiercely at Li ngze and the others.
“Stand down!”
Elder Zhao shouted sternly, “This is the dicinal power attacking the poison miasma;
it’s a good sign!”
Li ngze’s face was grave as he said, “Prince, focus your mind and calm your breath. Hold your primordial unity. This is breaking down before rebuilding. If you cannot maintain your heart, even immortals cannot save you.”
At this mont, Prince Yong felt as if his soul was trapped in a massive millstone, crushed and torn repeatedly.
He recalled his youth on the battlefield, struck by multiple arrows yet fighting on without retreat.
“If I’m not afraid of thousands of troops, how could I fear this trivial pill!”
A fierce warrior’s iron-blooded will surged from his heart with a roar!
Enduring the inhuman pain, he clenched his spirit’s final clarity, allowing the pill’s overwhelming power to rampage inside him.
After an unknown length of ti, the excruciating pain slowly subsided, replaced by a warm, vast life force like sweet rain nourishing a parched riverbed, revitalizing his nearly withered limbs and repairing his riddled soul.
His once clouded eyes gradually cleared, and his pale, paper-white complexion regained so color. His weak breath steadied and grew strong.
He slowly raised his hand, looking at his still thin but no longer trembling palm, feeling the long-lost, powerful energy within, montarily dazed.
“My poison…”
“Is it broken?!”
Prince Yong suddenly stood from his chair with astonishing speed, no trace of a dying old man.
He stretched his limbs, feeling an unprecedented comfort as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.
“Hahaha! It’s broken! Really broken!”
He threw back his head and laughed loudly, the booming sound vibrating the study’s windows.
The dignity and dominance of a superior once again returned to him.
“Well done! Well done, young man!”
He abruptly turned, grabbing Li ngze’s shoulder. His tiger-like eyes were filled with excitent.
“Your na is Li ngze, right? From today on, you are my lifesaver! The most honored guest of Prince Yong’s Mansion! Anyone in the capital who dares to lay a finger on you is challenging !”
With that, he took down a token from his waist made entirely of purple-gold, carved with a fierce tiger totem, and handed it to Li ngze.
“Carry this token;
it ans the prince’s personal presence! Within the capital, even the forbidden areas of the capital can be accessed! Officials of the mansion will obey your orders!”
Elder Zhao watched the scene, calmly stroking his beard with a casual deanor, but inside he was bursting with joy.
Hahaha! My disciple truly is a prodigy who can refine the Nine-Pattern Divine Pill! Now, let’s see who among those old pillmasters dares to speak nonsense!
…………
The news that the old royal prince’s condition greatly improved overnight after taking the pill spread explosively throughout the capital.
No one dared to doubt Li ngze’s abilities anymore, nor whisper behind his back.
Within the Pill Division, elders who had been watching Li ngze cautiously were completely unsettled.
“Ah, you see? Ouhuan Yu’s judgnt never fails!”
“Indeed, indeed, such a young man with profound pill skills. Truly fearso, a fearso reincarnation!”
“Let’s go, hurry up and et this pill prodigy. We must make a good connection!”
Suddenly, Li ngze’s alchemy chamber was bustling with visitors. Gifts piled up like mountains, starkly contrasting with the previous few quiet days.
anwhile, Wei Linger, the instigator of all this, smashed her private chamber into pieces the mont she received the news.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
Her delicate face twisted in jealousy, her eyes blazing with flas.
“He must have just gotten lucky! Yes! That’s it!”
In Elder Zhao’s courtyard, he leisurely sipped tea, listening to the outside praise with an unruffled expression.
Yet the slight upward curve of his mouth and the gentle tapping of his fingers on the table betrayed his imnse joy.
“Ah, a bunch of opportunistic old fools,” he thought smugly.
“Don’t they know whose disciple this is? My Zhao Wuji’s last disciple isn’t ordinary. The Nine-Pattern Divine Pill? Curing an old prince? That’s just the beginning! Just wait and see!”
The more he thought, the more pleased he felt, convinced that the best decision of his life was stealing this treasure and bringing him under his wing.
At the center of the storm, Li ngze quietly left the Pill Division and went to the capital’s largest library.
Prince Yong’s recognition had granted him authority far beyond his current status. Using these newfound connections, he cautiously began to investigate the tasks entrusted by his father.
“Blood Maple Forest…”
When he entered this place na, the jade scroll he consulted showed only a few words.
[Blood Maple Forest: A forbidden border area of the Great Qian Dynasty, filled with intense resentnt and fierce spirits. Mortals beware.]
As for the second-tier spirit materials, only nas appeared with no origin, as if conjured from thin air. All clues abruptly ended at the most critical point.
“It seems these details are indeed top-secret royal information, even more sensitive than I imagined.”
Li ngze sat at the desk, brow furrowed, reviewing the scattered clues he had gathered.
Using Prince Yong’s connections, he discreetly questioned so old pillmasters in the division, receiving only cryptic warnings.
“ngze, so things are better left unknown. Focus on refining your pills and don’t ddle where you shouldn’t.”
Li ngze slightly adjusted his brow. It seed that to complete his father’s mission, the title of the Pill Division’s top disciple alone would not suffice.
He needed to gain a higher status to access the dynasty’s most core secrets.
Months passed in a flash.
A piece of news exploded in the capital like sumr thunder.
To celebrate a major victory on the border and demonstrate national prestige, the Great Yu Dynasty decided to hold the “Great Pill Refining Contest” several years ahead of schedule!
This contest was unprecedented in scale.
Not only would all the pill prodigies within the dynasty participate, but several neighboring vassal states would also send envoys to observe.
The ultimate winner would receive unsurpassed glory, unimaginable abundant resources, and an insane reward coveted by all cultivators—a chance to enter the royal family’s deepest vault, the “Royal Secret Treasury,” to select any three treasures and study the records there for three days!
“The Royal Secret Treasury…”
Li ngze stared at the announcent. This was the opportunity he had been seeking.
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