BTTH: From Genius to Invincible-Chapter 552: Bodhisattva Great Restoration Pill
Word Count: 2,567 Words
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Xiao Yan howled in agony, crying out for mercy. He had never personally experienced Burning Blood before. By the time he could refine it himself, the substance had long ceased to be of any use to him.
"It hurts, it hurts, it HURTS!!!"
The old man smiled faintly, having clearly anticipated this reaction. He retrieved a small white jade tablet from his storage ring and carefully spread the red liquid across Xiao Yan’s back, methodically expanding its coverage until it coated a much larger area.
Xiao Yan’s back trembled with increasing violence as the crimson fluid spread. Veins bulged and writhed beneath his skin, creating a rather terrifying sight.
The red liquid clung to the surface of his skin, continuously seeping out faint threads of warmth. His entire body flushed an increasingly fiery red. This state persisted for over ten minutes before finally beginning to fade.
Of course, the pain came with its rewards. Xiao Yan could clearly feel his body opening up, as though every meridian had been simultaneously unblocked. His ability to absorb the world’s energy had increased by countless times over.
For a mere Dou Practitioner, tier 4 Burning Blood was practically a cheat code, driving cultivation forward without pause.
’If I’d had Burning Blood back then, I probably would’ve been a Dou King by the time I reached the Jia Ma Empire!’ Xiao Yan grumbled inwardly.
While enduring the scorching sensation, he followed the old man’s instructions and leaped onto a wooden stake. A thunderous crash echoed as the waterfall’s force caught him completely off guard, blasting him clean off the stake and sending him tumbling into the lake below.
’Damn it! I’m someone on the verge of becoming a Dou Saint. Don’t tell me I’ll be stopped by this thing!’
CRASH!
"Fuck!" he snarled through gritted teeth. Xiao Yan sprang nimbly onto a large rock, Heavy Xuan Ruler brandished overhead, and launched himself toward the first wooden stake with wild, flailing determination. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
BOOM!
His feet touched the stake and he instantly circulated his Dou Qi, soles locking firmly to the wood as a protective layer of energy surged across his body. The tremendous waterfall hammered down on him, but this time Xiao Yan miraculously held his ground.
’Hmph, is that all you’ve got?!’
Yet the moment he channeled Dou Qi to swing the Heavy Xuan Ruler, the weapon’s immense weight combined with the waterfall’s crushing torrent sent him flying once more.
He burst from the water and scrambled back up, only to be blasted away again.
"You still haven’t understood?" the old man remarked calmly after watching these repeated failures. "Your basic stance is fundamentally flawed. How can you possibly execute a perfect Flame Splitting Tsunami if all you know is how to circulate Dou Qi?"
"My stance?"
A firm palm landed on Xiao Yan’s back, subtly adjusting his posture. "Try it like this."
Sure enough, this time Xiao Yan managed to complete one proper cleaving strike. But when he attempted the second, his form faltered and the waterfall swept him away once more.
The old man sat cross-legged on a boulder beside the lake, watching the stubborn youth who refused to yield against the relentless torrent. A faint smile touched his face, and a glimmer of quiet satisfaction flickered through his aged eyes.
"Once you’ve completed three hundred swings, go outside and gather the medicinal ingredients listed on these pill recipes. I’ll demonstrate some fundamental alchemy techniques for you afterward." He paused, then added, "Oh, and arrange your own meals. I don’t provide food."
Xiao Yan’s concentration shattered at those final words. With a resounding splash, the waterfall blasted him away yet again.
Not even providing meals?!
...
RUMBLE!
The roar of the immense waterfall echoed through the valley day after day, year after year. Moisture hung thick in the air, insulating the small valley from the blistering heat of the outside world.
Beneath the waterfall that poured down like a silver dragon, a youth stripped to the waist gripped a massive black ruler and relentlessly cleaved at the torrent before him. Every swing sent curtains of water exploding skyward.
Xiao Yan’s feet clung to the wooden stake like the roots of a stubborn shrub, immovable and unyielding. Faint yellow Dou Qi flickered across his body, and each time the water crashed against him, wisps of vapor hissed upward from his skin.
Driving the heavy ruler into that raging torrent demanded a staggering amount of strength. Having persisted on the stakes for quite some time now, every swing sent a sharp, numbing ache lancing through the muscles of his arms.
He forced himself to endure even as his legs grew weak, silently counting in his heart. ’Two hundred and ninety-nine... three hundred!’
BOOM!
A faint arc of red light flashed forth. The waterfall split cleanly in two, its flow frozen for one breathless instant. Xiao Yan seized that moment, pushing off with both legs to launch himself clear of the stake.
Ten colossal wooden stakes stood beneath the waterfall, and Xiao Yan had conquered every single one!
"Yeah! I finally did it!" His face glowed with excitement as he pumped his fists in exuberant celebration.
Happiness bloomed across the old man’s face at the sight. "Hehe, Xiao Yan, come eat some fish."
A perfectly roasted fish, its skin golden and glistening, was raised invitingly before him.
Xiao Yan took a deep sniff and his stomach rumbled loudly in protest. He perched on the large rock, happily accepted the old man’s offering, and devoured it in ravenous mouthfuls.
The old man watched his disciple’s enthusiasm with a warm smile, his gaze drifting toward the ten stakes beneath the waterfall. "Not bad. Starting today, you don’t need to practice the Flame Splitting Tsunami anymore. You’ve mastered it. From now on, focus your efforts on alchemy and cultivation."
Xiao Yan’s ravenous chewing paused. He lifted his head and smiled. "Understood, Master."
Time passed quickly. With the help of Burning Blood, Xiao Yan’s cultivation soon climbed to the peak of a 9-star Dou Practitioner, just a hair’s breadth from Dou Master. Strictly speaking, he could break through whenever he chose.
Standing atop the cliff, he listened to the roar of the waterfall and gazed out across the beautiful scenery of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. The splendor of the setting sun was beyond the power of words to describe.
"The evening sun is infinitely beautiful; it’s just that dusk approaches."
Despite the breathtaking sunset, no trace of joy stirred in Xiao Yan’s heart. His eyes held only a quiet melancholy. He was about to reach Dou Master, and that meant it was time to leave.
The old man’s floating soul body slowly appeared at his side. He gazed at the sunset with a faint smile. "Xiao Yan, your Master is already dead, isn’t he."
Xiao Yan’s body trembled. He nodded, sorrow threading through his voice. "This is within the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree’s tree spirit space. I’m undergoing the Hundred Reincarnations."
Joy flickered through the old man’s eyes. He patted Xiao Yan’s shoulder. "The Bodhisattva Ancient Tree’s Hundred Reincarnations... what an extraordinary opportunity! You’ve truly grown to remarkable heights."
"Go on, then. Let your Master see how far your alchemy has come one last time."
Xiao Yan closed his eyes slowly. After a long moment of silence, he nodded and finally released the suppression on his cultivation. His strength surged from peak 9-star Dou Practitioner straight through into the Dou Master realm.
The instant he broke through, an exceedingly terrifying power erupted from within. All of Xiao Yan’s original cultivation came flooding back. His Intermediate Heavenly State Spiritual Strength made the entire Magic Beast Mountain Range tremble, and the waterfall itself reversed its flow.
Eleven Heavenly Flames reappeared within his Acceptance Soul. Mao Wu had now fully evolved into a Heaven Seed Flame and been completely refined by the Flame Mantra. The Flame Mantra itself had advanced to a High Tian Class Qi Method, placing it among the most powerful on the entire Dou Qi Continent.
The old man nodded upon sensing the Flame Mantra’s evolution, though his eyes carried a bittersweet ache. Cultivating that technique to such heights was proof enough of how many life-and-death crises Xiao Yan had weathered.
Xiao Yan’s cultivation continued to climb without pause—from Dou Master to Dou Grandmaster, Dou Spirit, Dou King, Dou Emperor, Dou Ancestor, Dou Venerate—and then, under his Master’s watchful gaze, he shattered the barrier the old man had never managed to surpass in life.
He became a Dou Saint.
Not a half-baked Half-Saint, but a true, genuine Dou Saint!
The might of a Dou Saint warped and distorted the tree spirit space. The Hundred Reincarnations drew near their end.
A pitch-black medicinal cauldron materialized before him. Warmth and comfort softened the old man’s expression at the sight of his old companion, still faithfully at his disciple’s side.
Medicinal ingredients flew out one after another. Their sheer number beggared belief—a full thousand stalks filled the air until the entire space was blanketed and Xiao Yan stood at the heart of a sea of herbs. Among them, a single Bodhisattva Seed emitting a faint, serene green glow floated to the forefront.
Yet Xiao Yan was not planning to refine a Bodhisattva Pill. Beyond the Bodhisattva Seed, he also possessed the Core Bead he had obtained from the Ye Clan—a Rank 9 energy core capable of being used to refine a Tier 9 Treasure Pill.
He had said before that he couldn’t refine tier 9 pills because he lacked the ingredients for the recipes he possessed. But circumstances had changed. Though those specific ingredients remained beyond his reach, the old man’s teaching had filled every gap and patched every flaw in his knowledge. A brand-new tier 9 recipe had taken shape in his mind.
The Bodhisattva Great Restoration Pill. A Tier 9 Treasure Pill that increased a peak Nine-Change Dou Venerate’s chance of breaking through to Dou Saint by fifty percent.
Xiao Yan truly deserved his reputation as an alchemy genius. He quickly steadied his emotions and entered his peak refinement state.
The old man nodded slowly, pleased that personal matters hadn’t shaken his disciple’s focus.
A low hum resonated through the air as a brand-new Heavenly Flame, born from the merging of all eleven, slowly emerged in Xiao Yan’s palm. The Flame Mantra’s advancement to High Tian Class meant this merged flame had reached an inconceivable level of power.
Even the unique Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and the Nihility Devouring Flame were no longer its superiors. High Tian Class represented the Dou Qi Continent’s absolute pinnacle.
Nothing born of the Dou Qi Continent could exceed the Dou Saint realm. Dou God was a state that transcended the continent’s very rules, which was precisely why one needed something called Origin Qi to reach that level.
The Black Demon Cauldron released waves of pitch-black energy the instant Xiao Yan fed the Heavenly Flame into it. It was as if the cauldron had never truly acknowledged him as its master until this very moment. Only now did it fully submit, unleashing power unlike anything it had ever shown before.
Xiao Yan’s pace was neither hurried nor slow. His movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water—from adding the ingredients to refining them, every action completed in a single, seamless sequence. In that moment, it was as though he had returned to a state of pure simplicity. His technique had achieved perfection, natural and whole, as if the very principles of the Great Dao had been made manifest.
Whether it was his refinement method, his fire control, or his use of Spiritual Strength, every movement was breathtaking to behold. Even the old man couldn’t help nodding again and again, lost in admiration of this fluid, seamless mastery.
Under his Master’s gaze, Xiao Yan remained calm and composed. Every action matched each ingredient’s unique properties and age with unerring precision. Every nuance of his control was confident and unhurried, methodical and assured.
Refining a tier 9 medicinal pill required considerable time—three full months. Yet for Xiao Yan, three months passed almost too quickly.
The world plunged into sudden darkness.
Clouds gathered with frightening speed from all directions above the Magic Beast Mountain Range, forming a mass of such extreme, abyssal blackness that it swallowed the sky whole. No thunder rumbled from within those clouds, yet gazing into that depthless dark, so deep it seemed capable of pulling one’s very sight into its maw, was enough to make even souls tremble.
Black Demon Lightning. The ultimate tribulation lightning, summoned only by a Tier 9 Treasure Pill. Its power rivaled a Dou Saint’s full strike!
Joy flashed through the old man’s aged eyes. It was truly wonderful that the disciple he had taught and passed his legacy could refine a Tier 9 Treasure Pill.
Pitch-black lightning churned through the black clouds like a dragon half-glimpsed through storm and shadow. The dark dragon seemed to be chasing a dragon pearl, its gaze locked hungrily onto the pill within the cauldron, as though devouring it would grant the power to become a true dragon.
Xiao Yan hesitated at the sight. The old man smiled softly. "Go. Don’t let anything hold you back. Your path stretches far beyond mine."
Xiao Yan stood with his back to the old man. His right hand trembled faintly before the Heavy Xuan Ruler appeared with a quiet hum. This time, his form was finally perfect.
All eleven Heavenly Flames merged onto the Heavy Xuan Ruler. The instant Xiao Yan assumed that flawless stance, the entire world fell abruptly silent. This was no Tian Class Dou Technique, yet it surpassed Tian Class entirely!
Thunder roared. The Black Demon Lightning transformed into a colossal black dragon and lunged toward him. Xiao Yan tightened his grip on the ruler’s handle. A Dou Saint’s terrifying might exploded from his body as the energy of the world condensed to a single point.
"Flame Splitting... TSUNAMI!!!"
His voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot. The Heavy Xuan Ruler swung in a vicious, all-consuming arc straight into the Black Demon Lightning!
Shattered.
A flawless crescent of fire split the Black Demon Lightning cleanly in two. But it was not just the lightning that was severed. This world itself was cleaved apart, and with it, the Hundred Reincarnations.
A hundred lifetimes. Yet for Xiao Yan, there had truly been only one.
No joy filled him now. No elation at achieving Dou Saint, no pride in refining a Tier 9 Treasure Pill. Tears heavy with grief rolled down his cheeks one by one, splashing onto the flat of the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
Because he could feel it. As the Hundred Reincarnations ended and this world dissolved, the old man’s body was fading with it, breaking apart bit by bit into drifting motes of light.
Thirty years had passed since Xiao Yan arrived on the Dou Qi Continent. He had known sadness before. He had shed tears before. But this was the most heart-wrenching moment of his entire life.
Cracking sounds echoed from every direction as fissures spread through the dissolving world, revealing the tree spirit space of the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree beyond.
He was a Dou Saint now. A 9th-tier alchemist. The Hundred Reincarnations had concluded, and the time for farewell had come.
And this time, it was truly forever. There would be no second chance, no future reunion.
This was goodbye.
