Chapter 42: Taking Drugs Is Useless

Having made some money, Old Dong and Big Stone were not stingy this time. While they couldn't afford top-tier luxury, they still treated their former boss and the self-proclaimed second-in-command to truly good wine and food.

Recalling their glorious past, some clutched their wine, tears and snot flowing, drinking it all down.

Amidst endless brilliant lights, encountering who knows if they were human, demon, or monster along the way, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang returned, slightly tipsy, after eating from dawn till dusk. When they sat down in the room, they dared not lean forward at all, their stomachs were so incredibly full.

"We were careless, so careless. It would be terrible if someone attacked us now," Shi Chun lamented, leaning back in his chair with his distended stomach.

"Ugh, pretty good," Wu Jinliang burped, exhaling a strong scent of alcohol.

It wasn't their first time drinking alcohol; Bo Wang Tower in the place of exile also sold it, and they had paid to try cheaper varieties. But this was their first time drinking so freely, and with such good wine.

Both were so full they preferred not to speak much, fearing they might throw up what was sloshing in their throats.

After silently cultivating their internal energy to regulate their breathing for quite some time, the two slowly recovered.

When he opened his eyes again, Shi Chun unfastened a bulging money pouch from his waist. As he opened its mouth, purple flame-like energy immediately emanated from it.

Inside, besides some Sandalwood Gold, there were several small vials. He took out a small bottle, about the size of two thumbs, opened it, and poured out a pea-sized, greenish-blue pill named Longevity Pill. It was a common spirit pill used in the cultivation world to help improve one's cultivation.

Neither expensive nor cheap, depending on the individual, the normal market price was ten Sandalwood Gold per pill. Shi Chun bought twenty pills in one go, which amounted to two small bottles. He gave one bottle to Wu Jinliang, spending two hundred Sandalwood Gold, a sum Old Dong and the others had paid for him.

Naturally, they had bought these pills to take them and test their cultivation effects.

Feeling the glow of the flame-like energy in the room, Wu Jinliang opened his eyes and chuckled, "Oh, right, let's test the spirit pill's effects."

He immediately unfastened his own bulging money pouch from his waist. He didn't see purple flame-like energy when he opened it, as he had no money; it was bulging because he had stocked it with common wound medicines for emergencies, all paid for enthusiastically by Old Dong and the others.

He gulped the pill down, then went to his own couch, sat cross-legged in meditation, and kept his broadsword within easy reach.

After sniffing the pill's delicate fragrance, Shi Chun did the same, experiencing his first time refining a pill for cultivation in his life.

In the highest pavilion of Bo Wang Tower, a group of personnel responsible for local affairs were holding a routine discussion, and Miao Yilan was among them. After someone entered and whispered a few words in her ear, Miao Yilan turned and left, departing temporarily.

At the corner of the connecting corridor outside, Che Si, who had been tailing someone all day, was waiting.

Miao Yilan approached him. After he recounted the day's surveillance, she asked with some surprise, "Cao Puqing's nephew, Cen Futong, went to see him and had a secret talk?"

Che Si replied, "It should be a secret talk. Those who were with Cen Futong were dismissed. As they passed by me, I heard them grumbling about how mysterious it all was and not knowing what they were up to."

Miao Yilan pondered, "It wasn't to teach Shi Chun and the others a lesson because they'd offended Lu Taizhen, then?"

Che Si said, "It doesn't seem like it."

After pondering for a moment, Miao Yilan nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. Continue to keep an eye on them."

As night deepened, the songs and dances at Liyun Tower remained lively. Madam Feng Chi, ever the astute hostess, deftly navigated among the various distinguished guests.

Meanwhile, in the pavilion on the cliff edge outside Wuyou Hall, a person dressed in a black cloak sat. The face beneath the hood was, surprisingly, identical to Madam Feng Chi's.

A moment later, an eerie figure emerged from the shadows. It was Xiang Lan'er, with a graceful figure, her dishevelled hair covering her face, making her look like a female ghost in the dead of night.

After the two drew close, Feng Chi whispered, "The situation in Sheng Yu is unique, and it's difficult to confirm identities quickly. I've already passed the message to the higher-ups, and they've arranged for people to enter Sheng Yu, but it will take time. At the earliest, it will likely be by tomorrow morning."

With a gentle breeze stirring the hair hanging in front of her face, Xiang Lan'er said, "It's certain that this Shi Chun is far from simple; his help is definitely not just out of kindness."

Feng Chi uttered a soft "Oh?" and asked, "How so?"

Xiang Lan'er explained, "He's eager to facilitate Bian Weikang's return to Wukang Mountain. His own target should also be Wukang Mountain."

Feng Chi was immediately surprised and suspicious. "Who could he be? Could he be someone sent by one of the other two factions among the Three Lineages?"

Xiang Lan'er stated, "No matter who he is, I won't allow any interference here. We depart tomorrow morning. After leaving the city, I will find an opportunity to lure Bian Weikang away. You arrange for someone to eliminate these two uncertain factors."

Feng Chi hesitated, "Their identities are unknown. Is it appropriate to act so rashly?"

Xiang Lan'er countered, "They offended Lu Taizhen; wouldn't it be normal for them to disappear?"

"Alright," Feng Chi conceded. "I'll also press the higher-ups to see if they can verify their identities more quickly."

Xiang Lan'er said no more, turning to leave.

Feng Chi then softly called out, "That bond of indenture, when it was recorded at the Heavenly Court's yamen, couldn't be falsified and carried the imprints of your true body. Remember to destroy it to avoid any unforeseen problems."

With her back to Feng Chi, Xiang Lan'er simply replied, "It's already destroyed."

The night flew by, and faint signs of dawn already appeared on the horizon.

Shi Chun, still sitting cross-legged in meditation, opened his eyes. He picked up the small bottle of pills next to him, opened the lid, and sniffed the refreshing medicinal fragrance within, his eyes filled with deep suspicion.

Generally, cultivation at the same realm is also divided into three tiers: Minor Attainment, Major Attainment, and Grand Attainment.

His cultivation, in the Initial Martial realm, had reached Grand Attainment two or three years ago. Strangely, after entering the Grand Attainment realm in Initial Martial, he had made no further progress for quite some time, no matter how diligently he cultivated. He had initially thought that using cultivation resources outside would solve the issue, but to his surprise, after an entire night, he was still stuck, showing no signs of progress.

One Longevity Pill had no effect, perhaps the potency wasn't enough, so he took two. Yet, even after consuming three pills throughout the night, there was still no effect. Had he bought fake medicine?

If so, it would be far too brazen.

On second thought, he felt the possibility was low; he had, after all, gone to buy them with someone from Bo Wang Tower.

He got up and opened the window to look outside. It wasn't light yet, and he had originally intended to wait until dawn to talk, but clutching the pill bottle and sniffing it repeatedly, his anxiety ultimately became unbearable. He couldn't hold back and rushed to Wu Jinliang, calling out, "Jinliang, Jinliang, Jinliang..."

He casually pulled out a piece of Sandalwood Gold, which illuminated the room.

Wu Jinliang slowly concluded his cultivation and opened his eyes. Seeing the situation, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Shi Chun asked, "How effective was the Longevity Pill for you?"

Hearing his question, Wu Jinliang realized something. "No way, did the pill have no effect on you?"

Shi Chun had asked him about similar issues back in Dongjiuyuan, and they had discussed it more than once.

Shi Chun questioned, "It worked for you?"

Wu Jinliang nodded. "Yes, it worked, and the effect was quite good. It's at least three times faster than simply absorbing and converting the spiritual energy from heaven and earth. You had no effect at all?"

Shi Chun shook his head. "Three Longevity Pills and no effect. By the way, how many did you take?"

Wu Jinliang's eyes widened. "Three pills and no effect? I only took one, and it's still working even now as I refine it. The shopkeeper wasn't lying. No, Chun Tian, what exactly is wrong with you? Is there a problem with your cultivation technique?"

Shi Chun turned and sat on Wu Jinliang's couch, shaking his head wearily. "I don't know what's wrong. When I was little, people said Uncle Eight was the strongest fighter. All us kids pestered him to learn his cultivation method, didn't we? Later, I was the only one who managed to cultivate it; all of you switched to other methods. Back then, I never heard Uncle Eight mention any problems. He later had an accident and passed away, so now I have no way to ask him."

Wu Jinliang muttered, stroking his chin, "That's not right. Logically, it shouldn't be a problem with the cultivation method. If there were an issue with the method, it shouldn't affect spiritual energy absorption, should it? If it could affect it, then why weren't you affected before? I say, you didn't eat something wrong, did you? Think carefully, did you secretly consume some valuable item before this?"

"Go away!" Shi Chun waved his hand, wishing him to vanish as far as possible. He was already vexed, and this matter was truly upsetting; he wasn't in the mood for jokes.

He put away the Sandalwood Gold, and the room immediately plunged back into darkness. He got up and returned to his own couch, lying down with his hands clasped behind his head, his legs crossed, and his mind filled with worries.

He couldn't help but be bothered; his worst fear had materialized. It was clearly not a problem of lacking cultivation resources, but rather that something had gone wrong with his own cultivation—a problem that had persisted for two or three years and remained unresolved. What was he to do?

He couldn't just abandon this cultivation method and start training another, could he? He felt that his current method was quite effective in combat, and fighting with it was exhilarating. The more ferocious the opponent and the stronger their killing intent, the more excited he became in the midst of battle, feeling as if every pore was breathing freely.

He felt that each time he fought an opponent brimming with killing intent, his physical resilience would also strengthen a little.

At least in Dongjiuyuan, no one had stronger physical resilience or better self-healing abilities after injury than him. If opponents fought without weapons, in a group brawl, he dared to charge alone into a crowd and fight them to the death.

Although his cultivation had stopped progressing, the tendency for his physical body to gradually strengthen during combat had not ceased.

He felt this cultivation method was quite good, which was why he hadn't switched to other methods in the past two or three years. He was truly reluctant to give it up.

Should he find a suitable expert to analyze his cultivation method if the opportunity arose?

In the darkness, Wu Jinliang, dimly watching him, knew that Shi Chun had encountered a particularly major hurdle. He didn't know what to say, as he had no solution for this problem himself and truly couldn't offer any help. Seeing that it wasn't light yet, he couldn't be bothered to overthink things and continued to close his eyes, refining the spirit pill's medicinal power, enjoying the good fortune of having cultivation resources.

Shi Chun, lying there, however, couldn't stop himself from overthinking. There was no need to waste any more spirit pills, and before he knew it, dawn broke.