Chapter 619: Chaos

The milky-white liquid was a new addition to Liam’s arsenal, being one of two alchemical products resulting from the toads’ secretions.

Still, while the other alchemical product was meant for battle, the milky-white liquid was merely a stimulant, though one powerful enough to be called a poison.

Rachel still hadn’t finished learning all about Liam’s body. She was also the authority in that project, but he knew plenty about experimental phases.

It would be riskier, but having Rachel start the acupuncture phase would accelerate her growth in her unique art. Liam was willing to pay the price anyway. Welcoming abuse in exchange for strength was the norm in his journey at that point.

Liam also needed Rachel to start with the needles so that he could fine-tune the stimulant. He had to play his part in the experimental project, but only Rachel could tell him in which direction the alchemical product had to evolve.

Lastly, Liam hadn’t been the only one to grow through his hunts. Rachel had also gotten stronger. She had progressed through the rooting stage, making her readier to tackle the project, although he had no idea how.

The growth was even stranger since Liam and Rachel were basically always together. He smoked openly and with abandon, but she didn’t do anything at all, and sneaking nutrients while he was busy with alchemy didn’t explain what he had tracked.

Rachel’s improvements had been too steady for Liam’s distractions to justify them.

’Is her core’s nature connected to her arousal?’ Liam couldn’t help but wonder as the topic popped into his mind.

As odd as that sounded, dantians could come in strange shapes, and Liam couldn’t think of any other constant.

Rachel’s daily activities boiled down to massaging Liam, watching him, and doing things under the sheets he was cursed to sense. Liam could even guess what ran through her mind in those moments. It was impossible not to connect the dots when her reactions matched every time.

Rachel truly liked Liam a lot, and he was always around. Basically, he made her horny, and his rejections prevented her from ever appeasing that urge, keeping it alive all the time.

Of course, dantians needed external nutrients to grow, so the idea was more of an internal curse than an actual assumption. A self-sustaining core didn’t make sense, and Liam had a clue that denied it, too.

Liam mentally reviewed the dark-red aura around the rank 3 spear while Rachel left the bed. That energy was wild, chaotic, and ever-changing, and he couldn’t blame it on an item when it had smelled exactly like Rachel.

Liam didn’t plan to ask since the topic was taboo in the cultivation world. Yet, Rachel read his piercing stare, as suggested by her following statement.

"Honey, I’d be the happiest if you asked," Rachel said, kneeling and arranging her needles beside a mat. "I want you to be the one who knows me best in the entire world."

Rachel’s tone and presence revealed the maturity she often kept hidden. She hadn’t opposed Liam’s order, but the task still put her in a serious mood, as proven by the fact that she wasn’t staring at his junk, not all the time anyway.

"What’s your core’s nature?" Liam asked, lying on the mat. "How can you grow without nutrients?"

"I do absorb nutrients," Rachel responded, seizing the milky-white flask while caressing Liam’s torso. "Just uniquely."

Rachel’s touch lacked her usual sensuality. She was performing a check-up, testing and tasting to prepare for the procedure.

"My core feeds on chaos," Rachel continued. "I myself am not sure of the specifics. Even my noble parents are lost. Mother dear tried to develop arrays to harness nutrients, but with little result since they are unclear."

’Chaos?’ Liam thought, recalling his great Master’s explanation about elements. ’Is it even more complex than poison?’

Dantians reflected the Heavens’ elements, with fire, water, wind, earth, and metal as the most basic and common ones. Complex elements ranked above those five in intensity and power, but they came with far harsher, often harmful requirements.

In Rachel’s case, she literally didn’t even know what worked for her. Chaos was too abstract a concept, beyond what branching experts could conceive, let alone perceive.

"How does it work?" Liam questioned, the topic sparking his curiosity.

"My cultivation simply grows," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I don’t know whether chaos runs in the air, sunlight, or a channel only known to the Heavens, but my core takes it when it’s present."

"Your breakthrough?" Liam asked.

"It happened on its own," Rachel pouted. "Some men were unjustly chasing this beautiful little Sister. I was so heartbroken I didn’t notice losing them in a magical beast’s den. By the time I was safe and my tears dry, I discovered that minor roots had sprouted."

’She had her breakthrough after running away from people she tricked?’ Liam translated in his mind. ’Without her noticing? Was it because she caused enough chaos to push her cultivation to the next stage?’

Liam was only guessing, but every implication remained shocking. Breakthroughs were notoriously dangerous, requiring active control and effort in complete isolation to avoid permanently debilitating injuries, let alone achieve success.

Nevertheless, the transformative process had been seamless for Rachel, as if her cultivation were an actual tree that sprouted new protuberances when conditions were right, demanding no input on her side.

’She is like a beacon that constantly attracts energy only she can use,’ Liam realized. ’Does she have to be involved in creating it? But that wouldn’t explain her current growth.’

Rachel seemed to read Liam’s mind since her following statement addressed that point. "Ever since Honey’s inspiring battle against Senior Andrew, my core started developing rapidly. It’s just my guess, but it might have to do with the chaos brewing in the Great Quiet Desert."

Rachel fell silent for a second, continuing after flashing a sweet smile at Liam. "Actually, I’ve noticed more meaningful growth ever since Honey conquered me."

’It somewhat makes sense,’ Liam considered. ’My arrival alone caused a mess. Killing so many magical beasts is also bound to make the forbidden zone’s environment chaotic.’

The topic was truly interesting, even broadening Liam’s mindset further. He couldn’t actually understand it, but he tried to apply part of that theory to himself anyway.

’The swamp is me benefiting from the poison in the environment,’ Liam pondered. ’But could I ever attract it from so far away? No, I work differently. My being is more about spreading.’

Liam wasn’t a beacon. He was an infection down to his very presence, capable of poisoning anyone he interacted with due to the many problems that followed him.

That could be more than philosophical thinking. Liam’s Qi already tainted the world, but he had more at his disposal. He wielded the intent of a branching expert, a will that stretched beyond his physical body.

’Could I poison someone by just wanting to?’ Liam wondered. ’I did so with the sand, so ...’

Liam had to interrupt his brainstorming because Rachel took his hand, bringing it to her mouth, leaving a deep kiss on its back as she squeezed his arm.

Liam was about to retrieve his hand since the kiss crossed the line, only to stop when he felt Rachel’s trembling lips. She was worried for him, that sentiment remaining evident even as she put his arm back down.

"Honey, little Sister will start slow," Rachel cheerfully announced, grinning from ear to ear, trying and failing to hide her worry from Liam. He saw how she wanted to reassure him and herself.

’Damnit,’ Liam cursed internally. That careless, always-happy woman was genuinely scared of hurting him. Before he knew it, he was devising ways of reassuring her.

"You have taken care of me plenty of times," Liam stated. "And if this shows promise, I’ll have a hard time rejecting you even when you touch me for ulterior motives."

Rachel froze, at a loss for words, only to laugh and cover her mouth at the smirk that expanded in her view. Liam had actually played along with the banter for once.

"Does that include Honey’s majestic-," Rachel tried to tease.

"Don’t get ahead of yourself," Liam interrupted with a scoff, sighing helplessly when he saw Rachel sticking out her tongue mischievously.

Despite the sense of defeat Liam felt, Rachel looked much calmer as she picked up her needles, stabbing him with swift and methodical confidence.

Initially, Liam didn’t feel anything relevant, but a strange sensation spread through him as needles covered his chest, head, and limbs. He never had any real difficulty circulating his Qi, but he felt open now, as if his channels had widened.

Then, Rachel seized her last needle, dipping it in the milky-white liquid, before wiping its tip on the flask’s edge. That was only a test, so she wanted to use as little poison as possible, both out of safety and to prevent Liam from developing immunity.

Nevertheless, alchemical products were stronger than natural ingredients, even when magical beasts secreted them. Liam was also extremely skilled, especially in poisons.

The result was nothing short of extreme, as proven by what unfolded when Rachel stabbed the needle at the exact center of Liam’s lower waist, directly above his dantian.

A surge of power abruptly ran through Liam. His muscles escaped his control, tensing. His back arched, sending his hands to the floor. His fingers pierced it, opening cracks that expanded throughout the hall.