Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 182 - 138: Demon Blood as Medicine, Jade Bone Pill Complete!

Hearing these words, Su Mu was slightly taken aback; he had only asked that question casually just now.

The Moonlit Cyan Wolf mask exuded killing intent and a hint of mystery; Zhang Jin could not see Su Mu's expression beneath it, but noticed his benefactor's brief contemplation, and immediately added another sentence.

"You might not know, benefactor, but Changfeng County connects north to the Qifeng Mountain Range…"

Hmm?

Su Mu murmured, suddenly struck by a thought. "Are you saying there are still demon beasts within Qifeng Mountain Range?"

"Exactly. In recent years, there have indeed been demon beast sightings in that range, but the Changfeng County Magistrate has kept this news under wraps. Ordinary folk don't know. Just last year the magistrate organized experts from the major powers of Changfeng County to jointly hunt demon beasts."

Directly hunting demon beasts to obtain demon blood, huh?

What must it feel like to face a demon beast in combat?

Su Mu's heart was moved, but after considering for a moment, he still declined, saying, "Let's leave it at that for now."

"I see…" Zhang Jin's face showed a trace of regret, and he could hear Su Mu's intent to depart from his earlier tone. He immediately cupped his fists and bowed deeply once again, "Benefactor, should you come to Changfeng County someday, please visit me at Hongmen Martial Arts Hall. I, Zhang, will host you and cleanse your dust."

"Alright."

After Su Mu nodded lightly, cicadas chirped a few times. Instantly, he leapt several zhang, his toes tapping lightly on the eaves before vanishing completely into the night.

"Such astounding lightweight skill… This level of skill is probably no less than Bai Yi, the Flower-Picking Thief of Canghe County."

Zhang Jin's face couldn't help but show shock. After being ambushed and abducted by Qi Wuxing, Zhang Jin was unaware of events outside, and did not know that Canghe County's Bai Yi had already become a soul slain by Su Mu's fist.

"Unparalleled boxing and stick skills, Li Feiyu… Master was right: There is always a higher sky, a stronger man. Had I not met benefactor tonight, I, Zhang, would surely have died by that villain's hand."

"Benefactor truly is a remarkable man; his martial arts have surely entered the peak of the Seventh Grade."

"Benefactor's Melting Gold and Iron martial art indeed bears some resemblance to Cyan Cloud Forging Workshop's secret art, the Melting Gold Technique, but the Forging Workshop is famed only for forging throughout the Three Counties. Nowadays, only the Workshop Master, Wu Lie, has achieved Seventh Grade."

After sighing to himself about there always being a stronger man, Zhang Jin did not think further; the Forging Workshop Master Wu Lie's martial skill was nowhere near his benefactor's. Two similar martial arts in the world were nothing strange.

Previously, he had only heard of Li Feiyu's name in passing; after tonight, this name would be forever engraved in Zhang Jin's heart, never to be forgotten in this lifetime.

After leaving Lin Family Manor, Su Mu fled more than thirty li away; with his current strength, his surging Pill Force could easily sustain thirty li of continuous lightweight skill, thoroughly at ease.

Su Mu didn't travel at full speed; the journey of over thirty li took but a quarter-hour, and soon the towering bluestone city walls came into view.

With a sound like the wind, Su Mu tapped lightly on the city wall and easily reached the top, then leapt down with a mere 'whoosh,' Power surging from his feet, quickly bounced atop the eaves and headed toward Yanque Street.

Throughout this process, the Cyan Cloud soldiers atop the wall were fully armed, armored, sabers at their waists, yet none detected a thing.

Returning to his courtyard, Su Mu brought the three jars of demon beast blood into the alchemy room.

According to the pharmacists at the medical hall, fire-attributed demon beasts' blood was more suitable as medicine; this was their judgement based on medical skill.

"Let's try it first."

This was precisely why Su Mu declined Zhang Jin's invitation to Changfeng County; he planned to experiment with alchemy first. Su Mu trusted the pharmacist wouldn't deceive him, but experience is the truest teacher—what the pharmacist said wasn't necessarily absolute truth.

He then selected the jar among the three with the least chill.

"Hiss!"

A stream of blazing heat spouted from Su Mu's palm, and within moments, the charcoal blazed into a roaring fire.

Though he had never succeeded in refining the Jade Bone Pill, Su Mu was already intimately familiar with all the steps of alchemy—except the recipe did not detail how to add demon beast blood.

Su Mu's thoughts stirred. Recalling copied passages from medical books, his mastery in medical skill and alchemy skill, plus the Hidden-Dragon Level of his comprehension, all played a role. After some inference, Su Mu made up his mind.

"First use the water technique to purify the demon beast blood."

Su Mu skillfully processed the herbs, adding them one after another to the copper medicine furnace; once the main ingredients were successfully fused, he added the purified demon blood per his understanding.

About an hour later, a delicate fragrance wafted from the medicine furnace. Su Mu's eyes gleamed, and his long fingers directly plunged into the fire to retrieve several coals. Had any ordinary person witnessed this scene, they'd have been dumbstruck—this furnace blazed at least a thousand degrees.

Sniffing the medicinal aroma, Su Mu's heart was fervent this time, full of anticipation. Lifting the lid, a cloud of white smoke filled the room; once the elixir smoke faded—

Su Mu's eyes shone as he stared.

"This time it's taken shape!"

After adding demon blood, a full ten pills finally formed within the furnace—not scattered as before. Moreover, the charred pill surfaces were adorned with sparkling jade-like gleams; the medicinal properties had clearly fused successfully.

"But the timing was off; after adding demon blood, the fire must be recalibrated."

Su Mu picked up a pill the size of a date pit, rolling it between his fingers, examining it closely while thoughts raced. With his current achievements in alchemy and medical skill, he couldn't see everything at a glance, but could still discern many problems.

"There's still time until dawn; onto the second batch."

Striking while the iron was hot and learning from the last batch, Su Mu quickly adjusted his method; another hour passed, and as dawn barely brightened the sky outside—

A voice of joy emerged within the room.

"The Jade Bone Pill is complete!"

Within the misty alchemy room, a fresh fragrance permeated; lifting the lid, ten pale yellow pills with flowing jade glimmer lay quietly in the alchemy furnace.

"Ten pills became five… a fifty percent success rate, not a bad start!"

Su Mu nodded secretly, quite satisfied. He immediately crushed the failed pills again, gleaned new lessons and experiences, then focused on the successfully refined Jade Bone Pills.

"Let's test the effect. Not sure how many pills to take at once, better start with one."

The recipe acquired from Bai Yi, returning from Cang River to Cyan Cloud; after a month of guidance from the pharmacist, Su Mu had finally succeeded in refining the Jade Bone Pill, feeling it hard to contain his excitement.

Brow furrowing, Su Mu swallowed a Jade Bone Pill, and a strange thought flashed by—if only all medicines in the world could be made into medicinal wine.

Though Su Mu had taken plenty of pills by now, he still unconsciously furrowed his brows when doing so.

Such is human nature—a habit ingrained since youth, just like the bottom line Su Mu holds as a man, difficult to change. He kills, and has killed many, but would never senselessly slaughter innocents like Qi Wuxing.

After taking a pill, as it dissolved, a surge of fiery warmth spread—yet mixed with a hint of cold.

"Even though cold attribute demon beast blood can be made into Jade Bone Pills, the pharmacist was correct… fire attribute is indeed more suited for medicine."

With each breath, the medicinal power flowed with his qi blood through all the meridians of his limbs. The instant it reached his bones, Su Mu trembled all over and every bone burned with fiery pain.

"What potent effect!"

Such tingling soreness hadn't been felt in ages. Su Mu entered a state of introspection, activating Power to accelerate the medicinal force; as he did so, it felt as if every bone was tossed into an alchemy furnace to be roasted alive.

After a long while, Su Mu exhaled deeply.

"The effect claimed in the recipe is still humble; the Jade Bone Pill's medicinal power is at least five times that of the Bone-Forger Ointment from the Demon Slayer Bureau!" Even Su Mu was astonished by the conclusion.

It should be noted the Demon Slayer Bureau's ointment was already superior to the Hundred Elixir Tower's, but what's most important is not even this.

After three rounds of bone forging, when Su Mu applied ordinary ointment, it was as if his body had developed resistance—the ointment was significantly less effective. But these pills didn't present the same problem; their effect could be fully unleashed.

"Since this jar of demon blood is usable, the other two can probably work after purifying more of their chill with the water technique… One jar can make about twenty batches, so sixty from these three."

Su Mu roughly estimated the consumption rate for using demon beast blood in medicine, and his mind was settled.

With the Jade Bone Pill's problem finally broken through, Su Mu's days returned to tranquility; he settled back into life shuttling between the courtyard, Forging Workshop, and medical hall.

Ten days later, Su Mu completed the spiritual infusion in his second short blade. This time, the artifact pattern was even more successful than the last, greatly impressing Lin Ruoshui.

"What a freak—old waves washed away by the new! The three of us old-timers will soon be swept dead onto the shore by you!"

"The younger generation is truly formidable!"

From this day onward, all three Masters fully opened their individual forging rooms to Su Mu, and the arrangement for Su Mu's fourth dedicated forging room was already on the agenda.

Whether the three Masters or Wu Lie, all clearly understood that Su Mu, even if he hadn't personally yet forged a grade-entering treasure artifact, his current skill was already on par with the Masters.

These days, the contentious debate among the three Masters and Wu Lie was all about what name to give Su Mu's forging room.

But Su Mu seemed unconcerned; by day he kept refining his forging art within the Forging Workshop, at night he trained with Jade Bone Pills and martial practice, and every few days he'd visit the medical hall for tea, pastries, and copying a medical book.

Time flowed like water; in a blink, a month had passed.

Crack, crack!

In the Yanque Street courtyard, the youth sitting cross-legged shuddered all over, his bones ringing out together, producing a burst of popping like New Year's firecrackers.

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