SWDnovel Chapter 39 Blood Dew Burns the Body
Chapter 39 Blood Dew Burns the Body
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the Valley of Shadows was deathly silent.
Gu Anli stood beneath the ghost mulberry tree that served as a "conduit," his fingertips holding a gray-furred mountain rat he had just snatched from a pile of rocks. In his other hand, he held a jade bottle, its mouth tilted and hovering near the mountain rat's mouth.
"Squeak—"
The mountain rat struggled desperately, but it was no use against Gu An's grip, which was as strong as an iron clamp.
A drop of blood essence, as red as agate, slid down and landed precisely in the mouse's mouth.
Gu An released his grip, retreating three zhang in a flash, staring intently at the little beast that had landed.
In the blink of an eye, the mountain rat's originally dull eyes instantly became bloodshot, almost dripping with blood. Every single hair on its body stood on end, bristling like steel needles, and its small body swelled up rapidly like an inflated pig's bladder.
"grumble--!"
The piercing scream was cut short before it could be fully uttered.
"Bang!"
After a muffled thud, the blood mist exploded.
No complete corpse was left behind; even the bone fragments were pulverized into powder by that violent blood energy, leaving only a pool of steaming dark red mud on the ground.
Gu An's eyes twitched violently, and a fine layer of cold sweat seeped out from his back.
This isn't a tonic; it's clearly a powerful explosive.
If he had been greedy and reckless, and had swallowed it directly, he, Gu An, would be the one who exploded into a pulp right now. After all, that underground Tai Sui was a monster that had grown by devouring countless Yin and evil poisons. Even after being filtered by Gui Sang, its blood and qi power was still incredibly domineering, and it was simply not something that a Qi Refining stage cultivator's weak meridians could directly withstand.
"It needs to be diluted with water, and it has to be extremely cold water."
Gu An put away the jade bottle and turned to walk towards a cold pool deep in the valley. It was connected to the underground Yin veins, and the water temperature was always below freezing, which was perfect for neutralizing the heat of the Blood Spirit Dew.
……
Inside the stone house in courtyard number 13, section B.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, and the isolation array was fully activated.
A large wooden tub, about half a person's height, was placed in the center of the house. It was filled with black water taken from Ghostly Valley, and there were even a few pieces of unmelted thin ice floating on the surface.
Gu An stood naked by the tub, took a deep breath, and dripped a drop of Blood Spirit Dew into the water.
"Sizzle—"
It was as if boiling oil had been poured onto a snowdrift.
The once lifeless, icy black water instantly boiled, billowing plumes of white smoke. The single drop of red liquid rapidly spread through the water, like ink spreading, turning the entire bucket of water an eerie pale pink in the blink of an eye. The biting cold and scorching heat of blood clashed fiercely within the bucket, producing a teeth-grinding, explosive sound.
"Whether it works or not depends on this one."
Gu An gritted his teeth, pulled out a hard wooden stick that he had prepared beforehand, held it between his teeth and bit down hard, then stepped into the bucket.
The moment he entered the water, Gu An's eyes bulged out, and the veins on his forehead throbbed wildly like earthworms.
The excruciating pain gradually intensified with the ripples created as the fish entered the water!
It wasn't just the stimulation of alternating hot and cold; it felt more like countless tiny, blunt knives simultaneously cutting his skin, or like millions of fire ants crawling into his pores and gnawing at his flesh.
"Ugh—!!!"
The muffled groan was amplified by the wooden stick being held in Gu An's throat, turning into a low growl like that of a wild beast.
Gu An looked down and watched as his originally pale skin turned bright red at a visible speed, followed by large blisters that then ulcerated, burst, and oozed black blood.
Those were impurities and toxins that had accumulated in the body for many years, which were being forcibly squeezed out by this domineering force.
His body's instincts drove him to want to jump out of this hellish barrel, but in order to become stronger, Gu An had no choice. In this dog-eat-dog world, only by taking that step to the highest point could he have the right to rest and catch his breath.
"Give me... the lock!"
Gu An clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, forcefully suppressing the urge to escape. He roared inwardly, frantically circulating the "Turtle Breathing Technique."
If I go out now, not only will all my previous efforts be wasted, but I'll also need to recover from these injuries for another half a month.
The essence of the Turtle Breathing Technique lies in "locking".
Normally he would lock in his breath, but today he wanted to lock in the full barrel of violent medicinal power, and even more so, his own life force that was on the verge of collapse.
His 84,000 pores on his body were forcibly closed under his control.
The blood and qi that were about to dissipate were forcibly trapped inside the body, with nowhere to be released, so they could only drill into the deeper muscles, fascia, and even bones.
Crackling sounds. Those were the groans of bones under immense pressure.
Gu An's consciousness began to blur, and all he could see was blood red. In this extreme pain, he felt as if he had become a piece of raw iron being repeatedly hammered on an anvil.
Every second was stretched into an eternity of torment.
After an unknown amount of time, the boiling sound inside the bucket gradually subsided.
The originally pale pink liquid became clear again, but there was a layer of dark sludge at the bottom—that was the dead skin and toxic grime that had shed from Gu An's body.
……
As dawn broke, the morning light streamed into the room through the cracks in the window.
"Splash!" The sound of water rang out.
Gu An emerged from the bucket limply, like a corpse whose bones had been drained, and crashed heavily onto the cold bluestone ground.
He was breathing heavily, each breath carrying a hot, scorching airflow.
I lay there for a full quarter of an hour before the tearing pain receded like a tide, replaced by an unprecedented sense of fullness and hunger.
Gu An slowly got up, supporting himself on the ground.
He looked down at himself. His skin, which had been dull and sagging from years of taking inferior pills, now gleamed with a cold, hard jade-like luster. With the slightest exertion, the large veins beneath his skin bulged like bowstrings, exuding an explosive sense of power.
He casually grabbed a piece of black iron ore from the corner of the table, which was used to weigh down paper, and exerted force with his five fingers.
"Click."
Without using any spiritual power, relying solely on finger strength.
He actually managed to crack the hard rock with his bare hands, and stone chips fell off in a flurry.
"That's it?"
Gu An stared at his palm in disbelief. The torment of that night was equivalent to three months of hard work in a normal physical cultivation.
With a thought, the panel appeared.
Name: Gu An
[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 4 (5/800)]
[Technique: Evergreen Spring Technique (Second Level: 30/400)]
【Skill:】
【Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique (Incomplete/Self-Completed): Beginner Level (1/100)】
[Note: This is an extremely crude and painful method of forcibly tempering the body using external force, even at the cost of overdrawing one's own essence. Once the skin is initially formed, it is difficult for ordinary iron to damage it.]
Lifespan: 19/109 (Undergoing drug overdose repair, -1 year)
Gu An's lips twitched as he looked at the extra row of skills.
"Self-realization? It comes from pain, doesn't it?"
Although the panel's evaluation was harsh, calling it "rough" and requiring a deduction of lifespan as a repair cost, the substantial increase in strength and defense was his strongest trump card for survival in this chaotic world.
Lifespan can be extended, but once life is gone, it's truly gone.
After Gu An finished dressing, he felt as if his Taoist robe had become lighter.
He glanced at the jade bottle on the table; it still contained more than half a bottle of Blood Spirit Dew. Based on last night's consumption, this stock was enough for him to practice ten more times at most.
That is, a two-week supply.
"Not enough...not nearly enough."
Gu An's eyes gradually deepened.
Body tempering is a bottomless pit; as the body's resistance to drugs increases, the required dosage will become larger and larger.
To master the [Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique], the Tai Sui that he had drugged underground with poison must continuously "produce milk" for him.
But that's a demon at the seventh level of Qi Refining or even higher; it can't produce Blood Spirit Dew just by drinking the northwest wind.
This world also follows the principle of conservation of energy; only by feeding it enough spiritual things can more value be extracted from it.
Gu An opened the window and looked at the distant mountains shrouded in morning mist.
The fighting at the front is intense, and wounded soldiers and corpses are being brought back every day. Even if things get really bad, the outer sect has no shortage of treacherous cultivators who want to "borrow" some Xuan Yin silk to make a fortune.
"Looks like once this batch of stock is used up, we'll have to find some food for that tyrant again."