Chapter 56: Human Pill

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Human Pill

For ten days, Chen Yue persisted with his daily Visualization and Contemplation. He was now more than halfway to mastering the Entry Level of this Heart Spirit Cultivation Technique, with his progress at (591/1000).

While the results weren’t as immediately obvious as other Cultivation Techniques that boosted strength and speed, Chen Yue could clearly feel a difference.

When Chen Yue calmed his mind and focused, circulating the Heart Nourishing Technique with all his might, the world around him seemed to slow down by a fraction.

It wasn’t that time was actually slowing down, but that his Heart Spirit’s perception had become sharper, clearer, and more focused than ever before.

The trajectory of leaves rustling in the wind, the faint sounds of insects crawling, the murmuring sound of his own Qi Blood flowing, even the paths of dust motes floating in the air...

Many details he usually ignored or found difficult to perceive would now present themselves to his senses in a much slower, clearer manner.

This "slowness" gave Chen Yue more time to think and react when facing complex or rapidly changing situations. His grasp of combat opportunities, his ability to anticipate danger, and his control over his own strength would all be elevated to a new level.

This was the preliminary manifestation of a powerful Heart Spirit.

Although the effect was still faint, Chen Yue had already benefited greatly.

He believed that as his mastery of the Heart Nourishing Technique deepened, this ability to anticipate his opponents’ moves would grow stronger and stronger, perhaps even leading to other wondrous applications.

While Chen Yue was engrossed in his cultivation, deep within the Chen Mansion, the atmosphere inside a heavily guarded Alchemy Room was suffocatingly oppressive.

Chen Zhige currently stood before a Purple Copper Alchemy Furnace, his face ashen.

The fire beneath the Pill Furnace still blazed, and white vapor curled from its top, releasing a thick medicinal aroma tainted with a burnt smell.

The lid was open, revealing a puddle of dark brown dregs at the bottom, where the remains of a few unmelted Rare Medicinal Materials were faintly visible.

’Another failure!’

This was his third attempt to refine the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill this month, and his third failure.

The Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill was a rare elixir that helped Marrow Refining Realm Martial Artists nourish their spirit and harmonize yin and yang. It was extremely difficult to refine, placing severe demands on the Pill Master’s Heart Spirit, skill, and even their state of mind.

Seeing the Pill Furnace open and the medicinal aroma disperse, a trembling young apprentice hurriedly approached with a Jade Plate, intending to clean out the dregs.

However, just as he neared the Pill Furnace, Chen Zhige whipped his head around, a cold light flashing in his eyes. Without warning, he raised his leg and kicked the apprentice square in the chest!

THUMP!

Caught completely off guard, the apprentice screamed as he was sent flying backward. He slammed heavily against the hard bluestone wall and slid limply to the floor. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he curled into a ball, his body wracked with tremors of pain.

"I was observing the cause of the failure! Who gave you the goddamn nerve to take it upon yourself to clean it?" Chen Zhige’s voice was bone-chillingly cold, filled with undisguised violence and irritation.

He paid no mind to the fact that just a few days ago, he had whipped this very same apprentice with a cane until he was covered in wounds for being a step too slow in cleaning the dregs.

Fighting back excruciating pain and terror, the apprentice scrambled to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. "Disciple... Disciple was wrong!" he stammered. "Please forgive me, Master! Please forgive me, Master!"

Chen Zhige turned a deaf ear. His gloomy gaze swept over the dregs in the furnace again, his nostrils flaring as if trying to discern the subtle changes in their composition.

In the end, however, he just flicked his sleeves in irritation, turned, and strode out of the Alchemy Room, heading straight for the study of the Patriarch, Chen Jing.

Inside the study, Chen Jing was looking through documents recently sent from the various shops, his brow tightly furrowed.

When he saw Chen Zhige barge in unannounced, he was startled for a moment. He quickly waved away the attendants, put on a smile, and rose to greet him personally.

"Zhige, you’re here? Please, sit. Are you short on medicinal materials for alchemy again? You could have just sent a servant to let me know. There was no need for you to make the trip yourself."

Chen Zhige didn’t stand on ceremony. He took the seat of honor below the Patriarch’s, picked up the hot tea a servant had just brought him, and took a sip. Only then did he look up at Chen Jing, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"I hear that the one named Chen Yue, who moved into the Chen Mansion a while back, has successfully refined a Solid Essence Pill?"

Chen Jing nodded, a hint of gratification in his tone:

"That’s right. Although the quality is still a bit lacking, he did indeed succeed. The boy’s Talent for the Alchemy Dao is truly exceptional, and he’s progressing quite rapidly. I’ve heard he’s still making great strides. He’s a promising prospect. Given time, he could become another powerful asset to our Chen Family."

"Prospect? Asset?"

Chen Zhige tapped his fingers noncommittally on the smooth mahogany tabletop, making a soft TAP-TAP sound.

He changed the subject, his tone flat. "These past few days, my attempts to refine the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill have all ended in failure. Even refining the Snow Ginseng Jade Marrow Ointment hasn’t been going smoothly. I can no longer guarantee the success rate or quality of the pills."

Hearing this, Chen Jing was momentarily stunned. Then his expression shifted as if he’d realized something, and his gaze grew sharp.

"Zhige, don’t tell me you’re thinking of targeting Chen Yue? That is absolutely out of the question!

"Our Chen Family has few Direct Lineage Pill Masters as it is. Lin Quan is getting old and his energy is failing. This Chen Yue has exceptional Talent and is young—now is precisely the time to be nurturing him. If something were to happen to him, the future supply of elixirs for Huichun Hall would be severely impacted!"

Chen Zhige seemed to have anticipated Chen Jing’s objection. With no hint of surprise on his face, he continued in his slow, deliberate manner:

"Huichun Hall’s profits are certainly important. But compared to that..."

He paused, his gaze fixed on Chen Jing. "How is Xuanli supposed to continue his cultivation? And how are the two other clan elders stuck in the Bone Forging Realm supposed to break through their bottlenecks?

"Without a stable supply of Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills and Snow Ginseng Jade Marrow Ointment, none of that will be possible. You should know perfectly well which is more important, Patriarch."

Chen Jing’s brow furrowed deeply, and he remained silent.

Chen Xuanli was the Chen Family’s Stabilizing Needle, the greatest reason the family could stand firm in Youlin County.

The other two Bone Forging Realm elders were the family’s core strength. Their cultivation was indeed tied to the family’s very survival and prosperity. In comparison, Huichun Hall’s profits and Chen Yue, that promising prospect for the future... they seemed to weigh far too little.

Seeing Chen Jing waver, Chen Zhige continued slowly:

"You are all well aware of my talent in alchemy. The only reason I can maintain my current Alchemy Skill is by barely sustaining it with the Human Pill Technique. We both know this. Of course, it’s not as if there are no other options."

Chen Zhige’s tone shifted. "We could truly bring that Chen Yue into our Chen Family and nurture him with care. In the future, perhaps he could even take on the responsibility of refining the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills and Snow Ginseng Jade Marrow Ointment. But..."

He drew out his words, "How long would that take? Three years? Five? Or ten? Can Xuanli and the others afford to wait that long?"

The study fell utterly silent, the only sound being the TAP-TAP of Chen Zhige’s fingers on the tabletop, like the drumming beat of a death sentence.

After a long while, Chen Jing finally spoke slowly:

"Refining Chen Yue into a Human Pill is a last resort. The loss would be too great. How about this... we secretly abduct a talented Alchemy Master from one of the other families in the county? It would solve your immediate problem without harming our own Chen Family."

This was undoubtedly a more practical idea—sacrificing an outsider to protect their own.

Chen Zhige nodded, a smile touching his lips as if he had expected this all along.

"That is naturally the best option. However, do you really think, Patriarch, that with Huichun Hall’s Alchemy Masters being abducted and the Divine Flame Cult lurking in the shadows, the other families in the county will leave their own Pill Masters so poorly guarded?

"I’m afraid they’re already under heavy guard, and may have even set traps, just waiting for someone to walk into their net. Have you considered the difficulty and risk of trying to silently abduct a sufficiently talented Pill Master under these circumstances?"

Chen Jing’s expression turned ugly once more. Chen Zhige was right. With Youlin County in a state of high alert, the other major families were undoubtedly protecting their Pill Masters with unprecedented security.

"I’ve said all I need to. The choice is yours to make, Patriarch."

Chen Zhige stood up and dusted off his spotless robes, his tone returning to its detached flatness. "Without a suitable Human Pill to assist me, I won’t be able to refine any acceptable Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills anytime soon. If Xuanli asks about it, I’ll have to ask you to explain the situation to him, Patriarch."

With that, he turned and left the study, not sparing another glance for Chen Jing’s dark and uncertain expression.