Chapter 300 - 241: A Thousand Qi Blood Pills, a Street-side Wine Stall

Chapter 300: Chapter 241: A Thousand Qi Blood Pills, a Street-side Wine Stall

Wu Liangchen’s eyelid twitched at the sight of the long string of numbers.

After all, even the last time, when he’d fused the Five Animals Fist and the Hunyuan Stance, the resulting technique had only cost just over a hundred wisps of Life Fire.

But this time, the cost had skyrocketed by two orders of magnitude, reaching as high as ten thousand wisps.

But a moment later, Wu Liangchen grew excited.

His past experience told him that the amount of Life Fire required was directly linked to the power of the Cultivation Technique.

In other words, the more Life Fire it consumed, the more powerful the Cultivation Technique.

This meant that the mid-tier Treasure Grade Star-Swallowing Meridian Opening Skill would surpass every Cultivation Technique Wu Liangchen had learned so far, becoming his strongest one for the time being.

For now, however, Wu Liangchen could only look on greedily. He had only accumulated around three hundred wisps of Life Fire, a far cry from the more than ten thousand required.

But this didn’t discourage Wu Liangchen. Based on his past experience, the initial cost in Life Fire was always the highest. By carefully studying and practicing a technique, he could significantly reduce the amount needed.

And that wasn’t even the best part. Most importantly, through the recent incident, Wu Liangchen had acquired a massive amount of cultivation resources from the Martial God Temple.

This included a vast number of medicinal herbs and pills for replenishing Qi and Blood.

Just then, Wu Liangchen pulled a large gourd from his bundle. A paper slip was stuck to its side.

Qi Blood Pill.

The gourd was heavy, and it made a rattling sound when he gave it a shake.

After he pulled out the stopper, an exotic fragrance wafted out from inside.

Wu Liangchen tipped one out and saw that the Qi Blood Pill was about the size of a soybean.

By that estimate, this single gourd must hold three to four hundred pills, and Wu Liangchen had brought back three such gourds in total.

’So all the wealth Great Yan painstakingly accumulated over so many years ended up in my hands just like that?’

Wu Liangchen thought, amused.

But he didn’t feel the least bit guilty.

After all, Great Yan had tyrannically extorted from its people for so many years; it was high time they paid a price.

’What I’m taking now is merely a bit of insignificant interest.’

With that, Wu Liangchen swallowed a Qi Blood Pill.

BOOM!

The moment the pill entered his stomach, it dissolved instantly, transforming into a surge of Qi and Blood that flooded his organs.

This state lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Only when Wu Liangchen’s entire body was flushed with heat and his forehead was beaded with sweat did the great tide of Qi and Blood slowly recede.

[Life Fire +30 Wisps]

A single Qi Blood Pill had increased his Life Fire by a full 30 wisps.

Even accounting for a first-time-use bonus, the pill’s effects were incredibly potent.

After all, since his advancement to Grandmaster, the sheer volume of Wu Liangchen’s Qi and Blood was on a completely different level than before.

For the pill to still increase his Life Fire by 30 wisps under these conditions was truly extraordinary.

’Thirty from one pill, three hundred from ten... This gourd has three or four hundred pills. Even accounting for diminishing returns, this is more than enough.’

’Looked at this way, gathering ten thousand wisps of Life Fire doesn’t seem so difficult after all.’

’After all, it’s just a matter of popping pills.’

’If I take one every ten minutes, it should only take about two days.’

’And that’s not even counting the fact that I can reduce the Life Fire cost through study and practice...’

At this thought, Wu Liangchen suddenly grew eager.

Compared to the exploration and advancement of his martial path, everything else was a trivial, external matter, hardly worth a second thought.

Even the current crisis, a major event that had shaken the entire upper echelon of Great Yan in the eyes of ordinary people, was less important to Wu Liangchen than the slightest bit of martial progress.

Thus, he chose to enter secluded Cultivation without a moment’s hesitation.

At that very moment, the entire Imperial Capital began to boil over with unrest.

The chain reaction from the complete wipeout of Great Yan’s leadership had finally begun to manifest.

Rumors ran rampant in the streets, panic spread among the populace, and prices began to skyrocket.

Local thugs and hooligans seized the opportunity to run wild, bullying merchants and stirring up trouble, throwing the markets into utter chaos.

In response, many shopkeepers simply closed their doors. Citizens with no urgent business refused to even step outside, all of them hiding in their homes and praying for the chaos to pass quickly.

As a result, the streets of Great Yan’s capital quickly grew desolate. Even with the new year approaching, there was not a hint of festive atmosphere.

Old Man Liu walked down the main street carrying his liquor pole, his heart heavy with worry.

This "liquor pole" was a modified shoulder pole.

A wine cask was attached to the front, topped with a flat wooden lid. Arranged in a circle on the lid were seven or eight tin flagons, all filled with the cheapest rotgut liquor.

The Imperial Capital produced tin, so tinware was inexpensive. Besides, for someone who spent all day wandering the streets and alleys, pottery was too fragile; tin was far more practical.

The basket at the back held snacks to accompany the liquor. Although the patrons of his stall were from the lowest rungs of society, the men of the Imperial Capital were a proud bunch who refused to lower their standards, no matter how dire their straits. Even if it was just a single peanut, a man had to have a snack with his drink.

Old Man Liu’s stall was no exception. A large wooden bucket held eight big bowls—four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes. When a customer ordered, he would scoop a portion onto a fist-sized plate.

But despite being called "meat" and "vegetable" dishes, they were all rather humble fare.

The four meat dishes were pig’s head meat, sheep’s brain, beef tripe, and chicken feet.

With the exception of the pig’s head meat, these were all butcher’s scraps left over after slaughter, so they were naturally very cheap.

The four vegetable dishes were even simpler. They usually varied by season, but most of the time they consisted of dried tofu, fried soybeans, cabbage hearts, and pickled peppers.

You could barely even call them "dishes"; they were more like the small, salty pickles one might eat with congee.

But in the eyes of the men who came to his stall to drink, they were a supreme delicacy.