by A P Gore
Li Jia chuckled, his left eye twitching slightly. “You’re going to die, and you still dare to call us wastrels? You and your son are wastrels.” His gaze jumped to Wei for a moment and then vanished.
Wei snickered in his mind. For an arrogant fellow like Li Jia, a cripple like him was nothing but a fart, so he wouldn’t pay attention to him, and that was good. And with them taking his father away, he would be gone and punished heavily.
That fit his plan perfectly. At first Wei didn’t want to give his pill to these ants, but he wanted a peaceful period to concentrate on his recovery and body cultivation, and when he spotted this trio nearby, a plan had formed in his mind, and he’d exposed the pill. The pill had a unique scent, and he’d expected it would attract attention from this trio. If he hadn’t, then he would have used divine transmission to draw them.
His plan would have failed if his stepfather hadn’t eaten the pill. But everything went perfectly in the end.
“Let’s take him.” Li Tang pulled out a thick rope and wrapped it around Li Sua and dragged him out.
“Wastrel.” Li Jia suddenly raised his leg and stomped it on Wei’s abdomen. A sharp pain shot from his stomach, and he felt his whole-body convulsing before he lost conscious.
System: Host body is in danger. Activating...
Chapter 6 Dead young master?
Ki Fei hummed a folktale as she passed the back of the Li clan compound. From the time the morning dew appeared on the wildflowers, she had lined up in front of old Lou’s store in Old Martial City’s north market. She didn’t even get to enjoy her morning tea because of this, but she didn’t regret it even a little bit. The Pink Rabbit’s Breath old Lou sold was a miraculous regenerative medicine. People even joked that it could regrow an immortal’s heart. Jokes aside, she had seen its usefulness when she had suffered a heavy injury, and if it could alleviate a little of the young master’s pain, it would be worth the fifty silver coins she’d spent on it.
Lost in thought, she kicked a large stone lying in the road and tore her long gray gown. It had nearly cost her whole month’s salary, but she was more afraid of the young master’s reaction. He liked cleanliness, and he would despise her if she looked like this. Cursing over her carelessness, she first checked the broth she had bought. Thank goodness, it hadn’t spilled. It still emitted the heavenly fragrance of Pink Rabbit. She licked her lips, remembering the sweet taste of the Pink Rabbit meat she once ate when she was a kid. It tasted heavenly.
With the back of her hand, she checked her face, and thank goodness there was no dirt. After that small blunder, she increased her pace cautiously and headed to the young master’s room. In less than ten minutes, she reached the open doorframe of the young master’s lone room at the farthest corner of the Li compound. Seeing the ruined door in the broad daylight, she sighed in her heart. A few months back, old master Sua had smashed it in pieces after getting angry at the young master. Since then, her stubborn young master had refused to repair it, although he suffered from the rain and cold wind. If he could cultivate, rain and wind wouldn’t mean anything to him, but with his mortal body he couldn’t resist the effects of the cold.
“Wait for me to get stronger, young master. I’ll help you take revenge for your punishments,” she whispered as she stepped through the open door.
“Young master . . .” Her heart stopped when she spotted young master Wei sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood.
“Master.” She dropped the pot and rushed ahead to check on young master Wei’s pulse. Tears streamed from her eyes, and she couldn’t focus on his pulse for a few breath’s time.
“No . . .” she cried when she got no pulse. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. “Young master, how could you leave me like this . . .” There was no pulse coming from young master Wei’s body, and she couldn’t believe he was no more. This was impossible. Last evening when she fed him chicken soup, he even joked around with her. He’d looked so good in the evening light. His face had even gained back a little of the color he had lost after the fight with that bastard Kang.
This must be the old master’s doing. That devil of a man always beat the young master for no reason. It must have been him again.
She touched her heart. It was in pain, and there was no remedy for this. It only knew revenge. “Old master Sua . . .” She dropped on the young master’s chest, wrapping her tiny hands around his neck. “I vow to the heavens today that one day I’ll get strong and kill you for killing my young master.”
“I don’t know if you can kill him or not, but if you don’t let me go, I might die right now.” A familiar voice shook her soul.
Chapter 7 Blood Nourishing Powder
Li Wei didn’t know how much time had passed since Li Jia nearly took his life. When he regained consciousness, the dark had vanished, replaced by sunrays stretching through the hole-ridden roof, bringing a refreshing chilly aroma with them.
He was alive, or so his throbbing body and the rough ground under his back told him. On top of that, the cold wind brushed against his wounds, sending chills through his body. It had rained the last time he had his eyes open, and the chill still hung in the air. Even his blood smelled cold and icy.
A bout of coughing took over his body, and he almost lost his life again. Li Jia’s kick had destroyed his abdomen and the meridians nearby it. The last thing he remembered was blood spurting from of his mouth and stomach, staining his shirt with red color.
At least that bastard didn’t hang around and mutilate his corpse. He would have been dead if that had happened. Truly dead.
Wait, there was another thing. Something popped in his vision, like an overlay. It was called . . . system?
A headache overtook his brain, and he couldn’t remember anything about that mysterious thing. But he had a gut feeling that it had saved his life.
But was his life completely saved?
Sending his divine sense into his body, he checked his condition. A bout of pain shot from his head, like someone was splitting it into two parts.
What was wrong with him? Why was he getting these headaches?
But wait. They only came when he used his divine sense.
Suddenly, he realized the issue.
This was happening because his divine sense carried his experience and intuition along with it. And that was the crux of the issue. If it were only memories, it shouldn’t be unstable, but memories differed from experience. Memories could only teach him theories about things, but experience taught him the working of an art or a technique.
Although his divine sense was reincarnated with his soul, his current body couldn’t support it—he didn’t have soul space. All his previous life’s experience lay inside the divine sense while his memories became merged with his soul. He could feel his divine sense weighing with heavy experience, but it wasn’t connected to his soul. It was a kind of a third-party entity for him, and his own divine sense hadn’t formed yet.
Basically, he was a clean paper with lots of memories and an extra piece of experience that didn’t belong to him, but to his previous life. If he wanted to store these experiences, he had to form a soul palace and assimilate this experience in his own divine sense. But how could he form a soul palace at his current realm?
The divine sense lived in soul space formed after a cultivator reach a certain realm. But he was too fragile to have a soul space, or even a hint of a soul space. If he overused his divine sense, it would crumble, and along with it all the experience of his previous life.
He couldn’t use his divine sense anymore. If it crumbled, he would lose his intuition, and that would be like life without vigor.
Ignoring his divine sense for a moment, he assessed his body’s condition.
The situation was grim. Only ten percent of his blood remained in his body. The meridians around his stomach had been ruptured, and blood still leaked from his gut.
But this was good. Really really really good.
When he decided to choose Blood Essence B
ody Cultivation Art, he planned to use his previously injured state to start cultivation. Blood Essence Body Cultivation Art cultivated one body in Blood Essence Body, and the initiation required one to lose as much as blood one could, so the new blood formed with the cultivation art would be vigorous and full of essence. This was a pragmatic art that could leave one careless about one’s body. As long as a drop of blood and soul remained, one could regenerate their whole body in the higher realms. Loss of blood, injuries, and regrowing one’s limbs would be nothing once a person reached mid-level realms of Blood Essence Body.
Of course, it couldn’t regenerate one’s dantian, as it wasn’t part of one’s physical body, but a mysterious entity. Then this was all in the future. Currently, he could only wish to reach Foundation Realm quickly and gain the first power bestowed by Blood Essence Body. Once he reached Foundation Realm, he would know the details of that power.
Currently, he only had ten percent of his initial blood flowing in his body. Barely enough to keep him alive. Thanks to his divine sense, he could perfectly gauge his own body’s condition.
In a normal condition, he would have never achieved this low blood percentage, as he would never dare to exhume his blood to such low levels. When he decided to cultivate Blood Essence Body Cultivation Art, he’d planned to exhume fifty-one percent of his total blood and start cultivating—the bare minimum amount required for cultivating the first level. But now, he had achieved a ninety percent blood loss, and that would be extremely beneficial for his future cultivation.
He was about to recite the cultivation method when something dropped near his head and two tiny hands wrapped around his neck, almost crushing him. A sweet fragrance emitted from the owner of those hands and he knew it was Fei’er. Her body always emitted this unique fragrance. Like an Ice Orchid Flower. This fragrance could calm one’s mind.
But that didn’t mean he could indulge in this fragrance for long. With only ten percent of his blood remaining and a mortal body, he would surely die if this assault continued even for a few more breaths.
“I vow to the heavens today that one day I’ll get strong and kill you for killing my young master.” Fei’er’s determined voice struck in his mind. This girl was the last tie he had left to this mortal world. She was a servant in his house, but he had never treated her like one. He’d always treated her like a little sister, and no matter what, she always stuck with him, in thick and thin. He even paid her salary by earning money himself. Although he could only provide her a bare minimum salary, she stayed with him.
“I don’t know if you can kill him or not.” Opening his eyes, he gasped for a breath. “But if you don’t let me go, I might die right now.”
“Young master!” Fei’er released him in a jiffy and sobbed hard. “I thought . . .” She wiped her eyes with the backs of her tiny hands and then a beautiful smile bloomed on her face. “Forget it. As long as you are okay. But this blood . . .”
“Fei’er, I’m fine. Tell me, have you reached Refinement Realm layer one?”
Fei’er nodded, her eyes still misty at the corners.
“Good. Go to the corner and dig a foot deep, and you will find a money pouch.”
Fei’er arched her brows, her small mouth pouting.
“Go, I need you to buy me some herbs.” He coughed, pain radiating through his nerves with every movement of his throat. It made him realize how fragile a mortal body was. After cultivating to the peak of Refinement Realm, one would get years added to their life and get rid of common sickness or small injuries that normally happen with every mortal. Unfortunately, most of the people never reached that stage. They remained in the first few levels of Refinement Realm and gained only small benefits. Only geniuses with Silver Grade Spirit Root or Physical Root were selected in the sects for cultivation. Others remained at the bottom. They could never reach the apex of the Mortal Realms.
In the path of cultivation, the first stage was called the Mortal Realm, and it matched with the realm he currently lived in. It contained Refinement, Foundation, Bone Baptization, Marrow Cleansing, Boiling Blood, and Heart Blood Realm. These realms were further divided into nine layers.
“Young master, please drink this Pink Rabbit broth first. It will help you restore your energies.”
“No, get the herbs first,” Wei said firmly. “Get me Blood Flower, Bone Protruding Fruit, and Red Ginseng.” These were all low-grade herbs that could be crushed together to form a simple Blood Nourishing Powder. A common recipe known among commoners. It didn’t require any alchemy knowledge or a furnace. But it was an excellent life saver in tough situations, so many people carried these things with them. “Also get a White Cicada Fruit.”
“These . . .” Fei’er’s eyelashes fluttered. “Young master . . .” She hesitated and looked at the money pouch hanging at her gray dress’s waist. “They will cost at least ten gold, and the quality will be quite low.”
“I have thirty gold saved in the pouch. Buy three sets. Don’t worry about quality.” All he cared about was these herbs’ blood replenishing power, and he didn’t need a Gold Grade herb to replenish his current blood supply. A low-tier Bronze Grade herb would do. Like a Root, everything else was divided into grades. Bronze being the lowest and then Silver, Gold etc. But for herbs and certain things, these grades were further divided into low, middle, and high tiers. All three herbs he’d asked for were low-tier Bronze Grade herbs and quite cheap, available even in an outskirt city like Old Martial City.
Although he knew a better recipe that didn’t require any alchemy knowledge, those herbs wouldn’t be available in this city, nor he could afford them for now.
Fei’er dug at the corner and five minutes later she came back with a shabby black pouch. After burying it in the soil for nearly two years, it had already lost its luster and showed signs of decay.
“Young master. I’ll get the herbs you asked for, but why do you want White Cicada Fruit? That smells horribly. It’s not part of the Blood Nourishing Powder.”
So, the lass had a basic knowledge of alchemy. Good. In this life, he had a goal set for himself. He was going to become an Alchemy Master and to do that he had to visit Alchemy Comprehension Tower first.
“You’ll find out when you bring them back.” Wei sneered.
Chapter 8 Heart Blood
Fei’er walked through the sun-illuminated door and smiled at him with her beautiful blue eyes. Wei heaved a sigh in his heart. She had come back in just two hours, and the way she held her pouch close to her heart give him assurance that she had gotten all the herbs.
He’d been waiting for this and couldn’t hold it anymore. Taking the risk, he sent his divine sense into his body. As he sent his divine sense through his body, he realized he had lost more blood, and his blood percentage hung around just nine percent.
“Did you get the White Cicada Fruit?” he asked in a tattered tone.
She nodded, spreading her lips in a faint smile as she sat next to him. Her body exuded a unique fragrance that calmed him down a little. Something he needed badly right now. It reminded him of the time he’d met this lass for the first time. He was badly hurt, lying in the street, and a little girl came forward offering him a fruit she was eating. Her clothes were tattered and her face dirty, and yet she offered the fruit upon seeing his condition. That touched his heart, so he recruited her as his servant, as she wouldn’t take money without working for him.
“Good.” That was his only option for survival.
But before that, he had to perform a step with her help.
“Fei’er, help me get up.” After she left, he had tried to move his hand but failed as pain took over his consciousness, and he almost lost it.
“Young master, please let me crush this into a paste and apply it to your wounds. You don’t need to get up for that.” Fei’er put down the herb pouch and brought a stone crusher near him.
“No. Help me get up first.” He coughed, and his lungs almost jumped out of his throat. All his organs were in turmoil,
and if this continued, he might not make it to tomorrow.
Fei’er gritted her teeth and slid an arm below his back. Her soft touch eased his pain, but he spurted a mouthful of blood out.
Water droplets fell on his face, and he spotted Fei’er crying silently.
“Young master, please let me apply the paste first.”
“No. Do it.” He gritted his teeth and gulped down the next bout of blood trying to jump out of his mouth.
After a minute of vicious pain and two mouthfuls of blood, his back rested on the stone wall. The cold penetrated through his tattered shirt and into his back, sending a shiver through his spine.
“Now . . .” His chest heaved. “Squeeze the White Cicada Fruit into a juice and create Blood Nourishing Powder in another pot.” The room swirled around, and he almost lost consciousness again.
He couldn’t lose it.
Not yet.
For the next ten minutes, Fei’er worked as per his instructions, and two pots, one filled with white juice that smelled spicy, and the second with Blood Nourishing Powder, were ready in front of him.
“Bring the juice forward, stab my heart with a knife, and put my Heart Blood in the juice.”
Fei’er’s face twisted, her eyes spanning wide. “Young master, what are you asking?”
“Get my Heart Blood out and pour it into the White Cicada Fruit juice and then feed me that.”
Her eyes spanned wider than humanly possible, and her face turned grim. “Young master, do you want me to kill you?” She suddenly slapped herself hard. “How can I think like this? Young master, I can’t do this.”
Wei pushed the next bout of blood back in his stomach. “Fei’er, this is the only way for me to survive. Don’t worry, I won’t die. The White Cicada Fruit will replenish my blood.”
Fei’er shook her head and stepped back.
“If you don’t do it, then I’ll die,” he said, and he surely would. His blood level had reached rock bottom, so just the Blood Replenishing Powder wouldn’t save him. Unless he got a high-tier Silver Grade medicine, nothing else could save him.