It has to be said that Li Xingtian's constitution has improved tremendously after refining the thousand-year-old Bone Jade.
Coupled with the cultivation technique that is more suitable for him,
at least in terms of his progress in the Qi Refining stage, Li Xingtian's cultivation speed is now comparable to that of Li Yingling, who is endowed with the talent for cultivation.
After several days of intensive cultivation, Li Xingtian is finally ready to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
He is now sitting in meditation, with refined blood food in front of him—a sticky, dark red, thick blood clot.
After establishing the foundation with the subsequent cultivation technique, there will be no need to go through the trouble of capturing blood food. Instead, he will focus on refining his own flesh and blood.
So, although this cultivation technique seems troublesome, it's only the Qi Refining stage that is slightly cumbersome.
Chu Xingchen reluctantly took out all the remaining spirit stones from his spatial ring and set up a simple spirit-gathering array for Li Xingtian, providing enough spiritual energy for him to smoothly break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
These are all the spirit stones he can spare. Now, he's truly been drained by his disciple.
He doesn't think there could be a sect poorer than his in the world.
Inside the dilapidated temple, Li Yingling is boiling water by a small pot, with a strange expression on her face, as if anticipating something.
Ning Qianqian has also changed into Li Yingling's clothes, a light blue floral skirt. Although it's a bit loose, it's better than the dirty, ragged hemp clothes she was wearing before.
Li Yingling, who is somewhat of a neat freak, scrubbed Ning Qianqian thoroughly. The sound of water could be heard from the hut from morning until noon that day, occasionally punctuated by Ning Qianqian's wails. It seemed that Li Yingling scrubbed her hard.
The effect is remarkable. At least Ning Qianqian no longer looks like a refugee. With this set of clothes, she looks like a child from the slums wearing princess attire.
However, Ning Qianqian feels a bit uncomfortable in this outfit and is carefully adjusting the sleeves, which are a bit too wide for her, to keep them from getting dirty on the ground.
Although Li Yingling has assured her multiple times that it's okay.
Li Xingtian, who is about to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, doesn't look so good. He looks at Li Yingling and the boiling water in the pot with a solemn expression.
He takes a deep breath and looks at Chu Xingchen, saying seriously,
"Master, actually, I'm confident even without those pills."
"Medicine, although bitter, cures the sickness," Chu Xingchen says as he places the last spirit stone in position. As he finishes placing it, dozens of spirit stones start to glow.
"Don't worry, I know my medicine tastes off. This time, you don't have to worry. I've figured out what seasoning to add to make the pills delicious!"
"Master... Are you sure you're talking about pills and not the chicken leg my senior sister gnawed on?"
Chu Xingchen takes out the remaining genuine spiritual herbs from his spatial ring, which are just enough to barely refine one portion:
"If you don't trust my pill-refining skills, you can't doubt my cooking skills, my dear disciple."
Recalling his master's cooking skills, Li Xingtian finds this argument somewhat convincing. He looks at his master, hoping he will keep his word.
As he speaks, Li Xingtian sees his master using his old pill-refining technique. As bubbles gurgle up in the green liquid, Li Xingtian feels like his face is turning green along with the liquid.
What has changed?
However, just as the pill is about to be extracted and concentrated, Chu Xingchen quickly takes honey and boiled flour from his spatial ring, mixing them with some strange seasonings.
After mixing the flour and honey together, he carefully immerses the flour into the medicinal liquid to absorb it.
Soon, the limited amount of medicinal liquid is absorbed by the flour, and a greenish pill appears in Chu Xingchen's hand.
He picks up the pill and shakes it, finding it quite sturdy, with no signs of falling apart.
Great! This is a new step in pill refinement! Even a pot can be used to refine flawless pills.
Chu Xingchen proudly hands the greenish pill to Li Xingtian:
"Here! Try it!"
Looking at the pill in front of him, honestly speaking, although being solid makes it a bit more acceptable.
However, this emerald green color doesn't look like a proper pill no matter how you look at it. Instead, it looks like a poisonous pill that could pierce through one's heart.
Sighing internally, compared to the boring question of whether it's poison or not, Li Xingtian only cares about whether this thing will still be unbearably disgusting.
Facing his master's encouraging gaze, Li Xingtian grits his teeth and decisively swallows the pill.
At the same time, he catches a glimpse of his senior sister's scrutinizing gaze out of the corner of his eye.
As for the taste,
Li Xingtian exclaims—damn it! There's really no similarity between pill refinement and cooking!
Especially with the addition of flour, which is a game-changer!
He doesn't know if it's because of the honey, but the flour gets stuck in his throat!
Especially when paired with the horrible taste of the medicinal liquid, or should he say, the strong sense of repulsion from his body,
This is even more painful torture than swallowing the medicinal liquid straight, akin to a cruel punishment!
Li Xingtian struggles to speak, his hoarse voice barely挤出:挤 (jǐ) - to squeeze out, "Water! Master! I need water!"
Ning Qianqian quickly grabs a cup of water and hands it to the struggling Li Xingtian.
After quickly drinking a few sips of water to swallow the sticky dough in his throat, Li Xingtian catches his breath and doesn't say much.
Although the taste is horrible, the medicine takes effect very quickly. Li Xingtian quickly enters a state of cultivation, absorbing the spiritual energy from the spirit stones.
It seems that this experimental pill didn't turn out so well. Is it because the flavor wasn't strong enough to mask the taste?
Chu Xingchen ponders for a moment and then looks at Li Yingling, who has a relieved expression on her face.
Li Yingling quickly shakes her head and says, "...Master, in the future, let Junior Brother try these good things first."
"But you're his senior sister," Chu Xingchen says, rubbing his chin.
Li Yingling looks wronged and says,
"Master... If you don't want me to live, just say so."
Li Xingtian's breakthrough goes smoothly.
When the spirit stones stop shining brightly and the sun begins to set in the west,
The spiritual energy that was previously exposed outside of Li Xingtian's body instantly condenses inside him. He slightly opens his eyes, his breathing steady, and a sharp glint in his eyes.
The breakthrough is very smooth, with almost no obstacles. His master's pills are effective, coupled with the cultivation technique that suits him very well.
The breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage is even smoother than in his previous life, and can only be described as natural and effortless.
Chu Xingchen, who is grilling meat for his senior disciple, notices Li Xingtian's awakening and looks over:
"How do you feel?"
Li Xingtian nods: "Good."
"I'm talking about the pills I refined."
"...They're good too, but Master, if possible, don't refine them anymore," Li Xingtian says sincerely. "If you really have to, I think they might be very effective for torture, but they don't necessarily have to be eaten by me and Senior Sister."
Upon hearing this, Li Yingling's eyes light up, and she raises her hand in agreement, holding a skewer in her hand and saying, "Right! I think Second Junior Brother is right!"
Chu Xingchen's large hand unhesitatingly lands on Li Yingling's small head.
After establishing the foundation, one can abstain from food, but Li Xingtian still walks over and picks up a skewer to eat.
He glances at Ning Qianqian and then says,
"Master, the plan can begin."