Chapter 385: 狂暴冲关

The black-clad youth braked sharply, his feet splashing into the lake water. This was the end of the land route.

At this moment, the morning sun rose in the east. As dawn broke, the Imperial Nectar still clinging to the branches and leaves instantly vaporized, dissipating into the world without even a whisper. This treacherous and unpredictable night had finally passed.

The appearance of the sun also signaled the failure of his pursuit. The black-clad youth stood by the shore, lost in thought for a long while, then suddenly stretched. "Oh well, oh well!"

This prey was far too cunning, throwing tattered clothes into a pig demon's cave to mislead his pursuers and gain a precious fifteen minutes. He even had the audacity to dig pits and bury traps along the unavoidable path. He Lingchuan still had a few jars of black powder in his storage ring, which he used to create small booby traps. He also had small firecrackers, the kind that explode when thrown on the ground, which worked perfectly as detonators. When the black-clad youth stepped on a thrown firecracker, it immediately detonated the "trap."

Once He Lingchuan escaped into the lake, the black-clad youth was completely helpless. Now that the sun had risen, the scent of the Imperial Nectar had vanished; the vast lake before him offered countless possibilities for the prey to land. He had no choice but to give up.

When his subordinates finally arrived, breathless, they saw their young master emerge from the bamboo forest with his hands clasped behind his back: "No luck. Let's go to Fufeng City."

The group was stunned: "You... you didn't catch him either?"

The youth casually brushed his sleeves and stated frankly, "I lost him."

Why wasn't the young master angry?

"To gain it is my fortune, to lose it is my fate," the black-clad youth said, masking his helplessness with composure. "Besides, our harvest last night was already very rich." They had collected Imperial Nectar all night and then plundered from other demons and martial artists in the morning, returning fully laden. Getting this last piece of Imperial Nectar paste would have been a bonus, but not getting it was no big deal. "The mission is paramount."

He Lingchuan leaped into the water, and the Imperial Nectar in his hair dissolved, immediately attracting a school of fish. He threw out the prepared fragrant pellets. As the foul odor spread, the fish scattered.

He took the opportunity to swim far away, landing in a concealed patch of tall grass several hundred feet away. During this time, several large lake beasts attacked, but he drove them away with the fragrant pellets, making his escape safely despite the peril.

After reaching shore, he didn't rush to leave. Once he confirmed no creatures were observing him, he took out Lord Boshan's invisible snakeskin, draped it over himself, and entered a meditative state, closing his pores to prevent any vital energy from escaping.

The sound of the forest and the rustling trees perfectly masked his breathing. The clear water had washed away any trace of his presence.

Even if a creature jumped past him, it probably wouldn't sense him. He Lingchuan watched two squirrels fighting over territory on a branch to his left, and a little later, a shrike flew over with prey, impaling an insect on a branch like a skewer. Since even they couldn't detect him, He Lingchuan felt even more at ease.

He spent half a day here meditating. During this time, many humans and demons passed beneath the tree, but He Lingchuan remained perfectly still. Anyone who dared to openly receive Imperial Nectar in the wilderness last night and could still emerge successfully must have at least two tricks up their sleeve.

It wasn't until the sun began to cast long shadows that the tiger returned. After rubbing against the tree, a small creature climbed up the trunk and scurried all the way to He Lingchuan. "Good work," he said, stroking the eyeball spider that had just returned. Before leaving the chaotic jungle, he had placed his "eyes" there, allowing him to observe the entire event as a live broadcast. If he hadn't sent the tiger to retrieve it, how could the eyeball spider, with its eight short legs, ever have caught up with him? Now that his scout was retrieved, it was time to find a place to refine the medicine. Imperial Nectar doesn't have a long shelf life, so it was best to ingest it as soon as possible.

However, He Lingchuan had no intention of leaving the forest rashly. Earlier, he had clearly seen crows circling there, then heading northeast. Those petty creatures wouldn't rest until they had their revenge.

They weren't the priority right now. He Lingchuan jumped down from the tree and said to the Heart-Protecting Mirror, "I need to find a nearby cave to refine the medicine." The Heart-Protecting Mirror was silent for a few breaths, as if inquiring, then replied, "That's easy. The tiger demon knows of a particularly hidden underground cave nearby, a bear's den. Every winter, they go to check if any bears are hibernating inside."

The tiger immediately led the way, walking seven or eight li southwest. The terrain here was challenging, with steep mountains, numerous crevices, and small, miscellaneous trees everywhere. Few demons or humans would choose this place to gather Imperial Nectar.

The tiger led He Lingchuan down to the bottom of a dry stream bed, where there seemed to be no path, then it plunged into a thicket of weeds over ten feet tall. He followed, only to discover an irregular small cave, or perhaps a crevice, hidden behind the tall grass and a few trees. Its widest opening was just over four feet. A living person would either have to crouch or roll to enter.

He Lingchuan first investigated, finding it to be a water-eroded cave several dozen feet long with no other exit. Inside, the cave was surprisingly spacious. Deeper within, there were piles of grass and thick clumps of moss, pressed flat like a mattress by something unknown. He Lingchuan also noticed various types of mushrooms growing there. The air was filled with a musty smell and a faint hint of something gamy, likely left by wild bears or boars, but long ago.

"This is a good spot. This will do." He Lingchuan was satisfied. He had the tiger stay outside to guard, instructed the eyeball spider to spin silk to seal the cave entrance, and then covered it with the Mist Veil Brocade.

Next, he took out his alchemy furnace, auxiliary ingredients, and most importantly, the Imperial Nectar from his storage ring, and began refining. He decided to start with the Imperial Nectar paste.

He Lingchuan rubbed his hands. Such a perfect piece of paste would be a terrible waste if not refined into a God-Slaying Pill. His harvest last night had been exceptionally bountiful; the spiritual rain that fell on the spider webs was almost entirely collected without waste. Thus, four small wine jars, each eight-tenths full, lay in his storage ring. The last time, at Fengling Ferry, the Imperial Nectar he obtained was only a thin layer at the bottom of a bottle, incomparable to what he had now.

Without question, all of this would be refined into Hundred Benevolence Pills to aid his future cultivation. Luckily, he had prepared enough ingredients; otherwise, where would he find all the herbs in the wilderness?

He Lingchuan wasted no time, activating his true fire and opening the furnace to begin refining. He had observed the medicine ape Lingguang's refining process many times, understanding the principles even if he hadn't done it himself.

Most importantly, he had already practiced and rehearsed the refining process in his dreams at least fifteen times, with Master Sun Fuling providing tips from the side with the incantations. With Master Sun overseeing, every small error and detail would be highlighted, explained, and corrected without fail!

Thanks to practice making perfect, He Lingchuan, though currently nervous, refined the medicine busily but without chaos, proceeding in an orderly manner. The medicine itself wasn't difficult to refine; it was just that its effects were hard to control once ingested. As long as the heat and steps strictly followed the requirements, failure was unlikely!

This time, heaven was merciful; for four hours, no creatures came to disturb him outside the cave. Or perhaps the battle for Imperial Nectar last night had been too brutal, leaving most creatures exhausted, and those who had obtained it also needed to refine it quickly.

The God-Slaying Pill was refined, and the Hundred Benevolence Pills were also refined... most of them. Despite repetitive, mechanical work, one batch was still accidentally ruined. He Lingchuan could only console himself: "A ten percent defect rate isn't bad."

Fortunately, even the ruined batch was still edible, though its medicinal effects were greatly reduced. During this struggle for the Imperial Nectar paste, the Heart-Protecting Mirror had also exerted itself. He Lingchuan was someone who always rewarded contributions, so he threw a small remaining piece of Imperial Nectar paste to the mirror.

The mirror was ecstatic. The piece of paste that had awakened it months ago was nowhere near this large! In days when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was scarce and others could only struggle, how wonderful and fortunate was it to still be able to consume Imperial Nectar paste? Indeed, happiness and disparity are only truly appreciated through comparison.

"This master is reliable, truly reliable!"

He Lingchuan paid no mind to its thoughts. Holding the newly refined God-Slaying Pill, he pondered for a long time before deciding to take it immediately. Such a precious item in his hands felt truly 'hot to the touch.' Fearing that delaying might lead to complications, he decided to consume it directly.

He sent the eyeball spider to scout the surroundings, hung the mirror at the cave entrance, and even observed the night sky to ensure no rain would fall and flood the cavern. Only then did he exhale deeply and settle into meditation.

But he didn't notice that, deep within the stone cave, two fresh white mushrooms had appeared on the dry moss, their caps pointing directly toward him.

After circulating his True Force for several cycles to warm up, making his body active and his breathing even, He Lingchuan took out the God-Slaying Pill and swallowed it whole!

The goose-egg-sized Imperial Nectar paste, after nine cycles of refining, resulted in a God-Slaying Pill slightly smaller than a jujube, and it didn't melt in his mouth. He Lingchuan chewed it several times like a jujube before swallowing. It was sweet and fragrant, just a bit dry and stuck in his throat. It really was like a jujube.

Helian Chen hadn't mentioned what the God-Slaying Pill should taste like, so what he refined shouldn't be considered a failure, right?

Only a dozen breaths passed when a powerful surge of heat suddenly erupted from his Dantian. It felt like a massive tidal bore on an astronomical tide day, or the shockwave from a sudden explosion in an enclosed room. No matter how much he prepared, he was caught completely off guard.

This was too potent, wasn't it? Helian Chen hadn't described it like this.

All he could do in his haste was try his best to guide this powerful energy towards his Shanzhong acupoint, preventing it from diverting or bursting its banks midway. Diverting midway would lead to Qi deviation. Bursting its banks would mean ruptured meridians.

This was like a sudden natural disaster erupting within his body, the greatest crisis he had encountered since he began cultivating.

Helian Chen had not anticipated his good fortune in acquiring such a large piece of Imperial Nectar paste. Consequently, the medicinal potency contained within the God-Slaying Pill He Lingchuan refined was at least twice as strong as Helian Chen's original estimate, if not more! Imperial Nectar rain might contain impurities and require purification upon acquisition. However, natural paste bypassed this complex process, and its efficacy couldn't be simply multiplied; the piece He Lingchuan obtained even contained red nectar marrow.

He was like an unlucky person leading hundreds of stampeding mad bulls; if he couldn't guide them in time and effectively, he would surely be gored, trampled, and flattened into a meat patty.