Book 7, 11: Golden Pill
After a big battle, the scouting expedition finally destroyed the Demonic King.
Everyone was extremely excited. After all, a Desolate King was bound to possess quite a few riches, and according to the Boundless Sect’s rules, any Beasts killed during the expedition would belong to the scouting expedition. All they needed to do was hand over the ownerless resources they had obtained.
This was not a small haul. No wonder they were all so ecstatic.
Only Chang He’s expression was gloomy as he pleaded with Ye Fenghan, “Brother, this time it really wasn’t my fault. How about this? If I give up on my profits from this expedition......”
Ye Fenghan replied coldly, “I don’t care about your profits. Don’t want to dump my chamber pot? Easy - don’t talk so much when you’re around me.”
“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll listen to you more in the future, okay?” Chang He was delighted.
Ye Fenghan cupped his hand to his ear and made a shushing motion.
Chang He understood and obediently moved off to the side.
“Captain, we’ve found it. The Tricolored Lotus was just beneath its body,” one of the scouting party’s members exclaimed with excitement as he held a red, white, and blue flower in the air.
The Tricolored Lotus could be used to increase a person’s sensitivity to Origin Energy and increase their control over it. It could also improve the might of sword Qi that was unleashed, making it one of the most needed resources for the Boundless Sect. They had always tried to source high quantities of it, but unfortunately their efforts were met with limited success. Now that they had occupied quite a bit of Beast territory, however, they were able to harvest to their heart’s content.
Ye Fenghan glanced at the Tricolored Lotus and said with excitement, “This is probably at least three thousand years old. That makes it worth three thousand contribution points.”
Everyone was delighted when they heard this.
This untamed wilderness really was a place of many treasures - treasures as far as the eye could see!
Ye Fenghan stowed the Tricolored Lotus away carefully.
He was also given the small shoot that had been growing on top of that Demonic King’s head.
That shoot was known as the Jade Stem. It had been formed by that Demonic Beast from its own flesh and blood, and was used to bait its prey into its trap. The shoot itself was a valuable item that could greatly increase the power of one’s consciousness as well, and was no less precious than the Tricolored Lotus.
Since Ye Fenghan was the captain of the expedition, it was only natural that he was given the most valuable component of the Beast as well.
This shoot could be eaten, or it could be used to refine pills. Of course, the latter was much more effective than the former.
But after a moment of thought, Ye Fenghan ended up deciding to use it immediately.
His Dream Beauty Aspect was about to make a breakthrough. If he used this shoot, he would be able to immediately break through, successfully completing his second aspect.
If that was the case, his chances of surviving in this primal wasteland would greatly increase.
As soon as he thought of this, Ye Fenghan immediately made up his mind.
He first found a quiet location, then placed the Jade Stem in his hand as he began to activate the Origin Energy in his body, sending it into the Jade Stem.
The shoot began to slowly emit a white vapor.
Ye Fenghan sniffed the vapor, but it didn’t enter his nose. Instead, it circled around his body, then began to seep into his body through his eye.
This was how the Jade Stem was supposed to be used. More specifically, it was a method that Su Chen had devised.
Throughout his research, of which a majority was aimed at big goals such as completing the Flying Immortal Cultivation Techniques, he had made quite a few improvements to minor items on the side. One of these was a more efficient way to use rare herbs.
Boiling the Origin Energy and then assimilating it through the eye was thirty percent more effective than directly ingesting the medicinal herb.
As the medicinal power flowed into Ye Fenghan’s body, he felt his sea of knowledge begin to expand. A faint tinkle of a woman’s laughter could be heard echoing through it.
Ye Fenghan knew that this was an inevitable backlash that would occur once his Dream Beauty Aspect reached a certain level. His heart remained calm and unperturbed as the woman’s laughter began to fade.
Suddenly, Ye Fenghan felt a rumbling in his mind as countless illusory black figures began to charge at him, howling fiercely.
Ye Fenghan was badly startled. Sect Master hadn’t said anything about any demons entering his body when reaching the stage of Great Success. What was happening?
He didn’t believe that Su Chen would try to harm him, yet there was also no denying what was happening before his very eyes.
Even so, he knew that he could rely on no one but himself to survive this ordeal. He carefully guarded his heart as he activated the power of his Aspect to its greatest extent, holding on for dear life.
Thankfully, now that his Dream Beauty Aspect had reached the stage of Great Success, his sea of knowledge had become much more responsive, and the waves surged to form giant walls blocking off his heart.
However, those strange figures came thick and fast, charging with reckless abandon as they attempted to tear his sea of knowledge to shreds. Even with the aid of his Dream Beauty Aspect, Ye Fenghan found it hard to defend himself adequately.
If those black figures entered his body, it was very likely that he would lose himself.
At that moment, he could sense that one of his other Aspects was beginning to awaken.
After a moment’s thought, Ye Fenghan decided to activate his Golden Bird Aspect as well.
The Golden Bird Aspect belonged to Owl Country’s Cheng Clan and specialized in fire. Apparently, the real Golden Bird was capable of igniting the Heavens, incinerating everything below into ash.
Even though the humanized bloodline wasn’t nearly as powerful, at full power it was more than capable of setting an area of ten thousand square feet ablaze. It was also the Aspect of the seven Desolate Beast Aspects that had the greatest area-of-effect.
Ye Fenghan had no choice. He could sense the sinister energy encroaching on his heart, leaving him no choice but to fight back with fire.
An instant later, flames exploded from Ye Fenghan’s body, burning those demons to a crisp as they roared and shrieked in pain.
So these guys were in fact afraid of fire.
That was no surprise given their sinister nature.
Ye Fenghan gritted his teeth and began to burn fiercely. In the blink of an eye, the demons in his body were charred and turned to ash.
At this point, his Dream Beauty Bloodline had already reached the stage of Great Success, and no new demons were appearing. Once the sun appeared, the remaining demons were all exterminated. Finally, Ye Fenghan was safe.
Even though this battle had taken place inside of his body, he had actually been wounded quite significantly.
Just as he was in consternation about what had just happened, he suddenly discovered that his consciousness power had gone up yet another level. At the same time, a golden pill formed out of consciousness power had coagulated in his sea of knowledge.
What was that?
Ye Fenghan didn’t know what it was, but he could sense that it was filled with a powerful energy.
Perhaps he could draw it out?
He reached out to touch the golden pill with his consciousness......
BOOM!
It exploded.
“What happened?” Ye Fenghan’s subordinates all rushed over when they heard the explosion.
Ye Fenghan stepped out of his tent, his face charred and smoke billowing everywhere.
His expression was steely as he coughed, “I’m fine, I’m fine. I was just doing some research...... which failed.”
“Hm? So you’ve picked up Sect Master’s habit of researching as well?” Chang He chuckled.
Ye Fenghan shot him a glare. Chang He immediately shut his mouth and stepped off to the side.
He had no choice but to obey if he didn’t want to be emptying chamber pots for a year.
But when he heard Chang He mention the Sect Master, his heart jolted for a moment.
He knew that perhaps only Su Chen would be able to explain what had just happened to him. He pulled out his transmission box and stepped off to the side, attempting to communicate with Su Chen.
Upon seeing this, Chang He muttered to himself, “What’s he being so secretive about.”
Until Su Chen’s figure appeared off in the distance.
Su Chen came very quickly.
Because he was riding the Void Seahorse.
Everyone was amazed when they saw Su Chen appear, and they all knelt on the ground. “Sect Master!”
Su Chen nodded in their direction, then looked at Ye Fenghan. Suddenly, he grabbed Ye Fenghan’s hand, and a violent blast of consciousness power invaded his mind. Ye Fenghan made no attempt to defend himself and let Su Chen do as he pleased.
After a brief moment, Su Chen nodded. “This is indeed a little strange. Come with me.”
He grabbed Ye Fenghan and dragged him off to the side.
When Chang He saw this, he was bemused. “What exactly is going on?”
Everyone else shrugged, obviously just as confused.
Not far from there, Su Chen and Ye Fenghan stood. Su Chen was obviously deep in thought, his expression solemn.
Ye Fenghan said, “Sect Master, what exactly happened to me? Just give it to me straight. I can take it no matter what happened.”
After a moment’s thought, Su Chen said, “I don’t actually know what exactly happened to you. It’s possible that, when you used that pure Yang energy to dispel the demons, a byproduct was left behind. This interaction between Yin and Yang may have affected your body itself, forming a golden pill in the process.”
“Sect Master means that whatever those demons left behind when they died remained in my body, and even merged with my Origin Energy to form such a pill?”
“The truth might be even more complicated than that. I need to search your memories thoroughly in order to determine what took place. Relax your consciousness and use the Dream Beauty Aspect to guard it, but do not resist...... This will hurt quite a bit.” As Su Chen spoke, he tapped his finger onto Ye Fenghan’s forehead.
Very quickly, Ye Fenghan felt a torturous pain begin to spread all over his entire body.
He gritted his teeth and forcefully endured. After an unknown period of time, Su Chen finally retracted his finger.
He let out a long sigh. “Finally, it’s done.”
This way, Su Chen saw everything that Ye Fenghan had experienced.
He carefully parsed through Ye Fenghan’s memories, perceiving the various changes that had taken place in his body. A preliminary conclusion had already begun to take shape in his mind, but more accuracy would take some time.
When Su Chen glanced back at Ye Fenghan, who was slumped on the ground, he said, “Fenghan, I am willing to accept you as my disciple. What do you think?”
Ye Fenghan was momentarily startled before he rejoiced. “Disciple pays his respects to Master!”
Su Chen smiled and nodded when he saw this.
Actually, Su Chen had viewed Ye Fenghan as his disciple in all but name for a long time. Otherwise, he would not have passed on the Seven Bloodline Microcosm Aspect, nor given him any cultivation pointers.
historical
Accepting him as a disciple now was no more than a formality.
Ye Fenghan kowtowed three times before Su Chen gestured for him to stop. “Rise.”
Ye Fenghan stood and respectfully came to Su Chen’s side.
Su Chen said, “I have a pretty good idea about what happened, and there’s no need for you to panic now. The way I see it, this matter is a blessing, not a curse. You should spend some time to ponder over it; if you run into any issues, just let me know.”
“Yes, Master!”
Su Chen casually carved out a rift in space and pulled out a Titan-Class puppet, handing it to Ye Fenghan. “Since I’ve now accepted you as my disciple, I must also observe etiquette by giving you a gift. Take this Titan-Class puppet and use it to keep yourself safe.”
A Titan-Class puppet was as strong as an Ultimate Emperor Realm cultivator. Being given such a present startled Ye Fenghan quite badly. He had no idea about the wealth that Su Chen had recently accumulated, so he hurriedly protested, “Master, you can’t!”
“It’s not a big deal. Since I’ve accepted you as my disciple, I cannot put your life in danger so carelessly. That being said, this item is only meant to keep you safe. If you rely on it too extensively, you will not advance.”
“Your disciple understands!” Ye Fenghan replied loudly. “I promise you that I will only use this treasure at a critical juncture.”
“Mm.” Su Chen stood calmly. “Now that the matter’s been settled, you may go. What has taken place in your body can only be fully realized through battle. Let’s see what surprises it will bring for you. If anything seems to be going wrong, let me know immediately.”
As he spoke, he turned around and left.
Ye Fenghan watched Su Chen depart respectfully, but he didn’t notice that a shadow had fallen across Su Chen’s face.
“Lord of the Dreamrealm, you just couldn’t hold yourself back, huh?”