After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 387: Chapter 386: Berserk Breakthrough

The boy in black screeched to a halt, his feet landing in the lake water.

This was the end of the road.

At that moment, the morning sun rose in the east.

As dawn broke, the Emperor’s Liquid still clinging to the branches and leaves instantly vaporized, vanishing between heaven and earth without even a soft HISS.

The treacherous, unpredictable night had finally passed.

The appearance of sunlight also proclaimed the failure of his pursuit.

The boy in black stood on the shore in a daze for a good while, then suddenly stretched.

”So be it, so be it!”

This prey was far too cunning, throwing tattered clothes into the Pig Demon Cave to mislead his pursuers and buy himself a precious fifteen minutes.

He even had the leisure to dig a pit and plant a trap on the path he was bound to take.

Hee Lingchuan had a few jars of Black Powder left in his Storage Ring, which he used to rig a small device. He also had some Small Firecrackers—the kind that explode when you throw them on the ground—which worked perfectly as a trigger fuse.

When the boy in black stepped on the Hand-Throwing Firecracker, he directly detonated the ”mine.”

Once Hee Lingchuan escaped into the lake, the boy in black was completely helpless.

Now that the sun had risen, the scent of the Emperor’s Liquid had vanished. The vast lake stretched out before him; who knew where his prey would come ashore?

He could only give up.

When his subordinates finally caught up, panting for breath, they saw their Young Master walking out of the bamboo forest with his hands clasped behind his back.

”It’s no use. Let’s go to Fufeng City.”

The men were stunned. ”You... you didn’t catch him either?”

The youth patted his robes, completely composed. ”I lost him.”

’Why isn’t the Young Master angry?’

”To gain it is my fortune; to lose it is my fate.” The boy in black could only pass off his helplessness as composure. ”Besides, last night’s harvest was already plentiful.”

They had collected Emperor’s Liquid all night and plundered more from other Demons and Martial Artists at dawn, returning with a full load. This final piece of Emperor’s Liquid Paste would have been the icing on the cake, but failing to get it wasn’t a major loss.

”The mission is what’s important.”

When Hee Lingchuan jumped into the water, the Emperor’s Liquid in his hair dissolved, instantly attracting a school of fish.

He threw out a prepared fragrant ball.

The moment the foul smell spread, the fish scattered.

He seized the opportunity to swim far away, finally climbing ashore in a hidden patch of tall grass a thousand zhang away.

During this time, a few large Lake Beasts attacked, but he drove them all away with fragrant balls. The process was thrilling but not truly dangerous.

After getting ashore, he didn’t rush to leave. Once he confirmed that no creatures were watching him, he took out Lord Boshan’s Invisible Snake Skin and covered himself with it. He then regulated his breathing and entered a state of Meditation, sealing his pores to prevent any trace of his aura from leaking out.

The sound of the soughing forest sea perfectly concealed his breathing.

The clear water had washed away all traces of his presence.

Even if a creature jumped right past him, it probably wouldn’t sense him. Hee Lingchuan watched two squirrels fight for territory on a branch to his left. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a shrike flew over with its prey and impaled the insect on a branch, like making a kebab.

If even they couldn’t discover him, Hee Lingchuan felt much more at ease.

He regulated his breathing and meditated there for half a day.

During that time, many humans and Demons passed under the tree, but Hee Lingchuan didn’t move a muscle.

Anyone who dared to collect Emperor’s Liquid in the wilderness last night and was still able to walk away smoothly had to have a few tricks up their sleeve.

It wasn’t until the sun began to set that the great tiger returned. It rubbed against the tree, and a small creature scurried up the trunk, right to Hee Lingchuan’s side.

”Good work.” He stroked the newly returned Eye Spider.

Before leaving that chaotic jungle, he had planted his scout there, allowing him to watch a ”live broadcast” of the entire event.

If he hadn’t sent the great tiger to pick it up, with the Eye Spider’s eight short legs, when in the blue moon would it have caught up to him?

Now that his scout was back, it was time to find a place to refine the medicine. The Emperor’s Liquid had a short shelf life; it was best to consume it soon for peace of mind.

But Hee Lingchuan had no intention of leaving the forest rashly.

He had clearly seen the crows circling here earlier before heading northeast.

’Those petty, vengeful things won’t rest until they get their revenge.’

But they weren’t his current priority. Hee Lingchuan leaped down from the tree and said to the Heart-Protecting Mirror, ”I need to find a nearby cave to refine the medicine.”

The Heart-Protecting Mirror was silent for a few breaths, as if inquiring, then replied, ”That’s easy. The Tiger Demon knows of a nearby cavern, a bear’s den, that is exceptionally well-hidden. Every year when winter approaches, they go check if there are any bears hibernating inside.”

The great tiger immediately led the way, heading southwest for seven or eight li.

The mountains here were high, the slopes steep, and the ground full of fissures, making it difficult to traverse. It was covered in scrubby, small-leafed trees, and almost no Demon or human would choose this place to collect Emperor’s Liquid.

The great tiger led Hee Lingchuan to the bottom of a dry ravine where the path seemed to end. Then, it plunged into a patch of weeds over a zhang tall.

He followed it in, only to discover an irregular little hole behind the tall grass and a few scrubby trees—a fissure in the earth, really. The opening was only a little over four chi wide at its broadest point.

For a living person to get in, they’d have to either squat and walk or roll.

Hee Lingchuan first investigated and found it was a water-eroded cave several zhang long, with no other exit.

The cave was actually wider inside. In its depths were piles of grass and entire clumps of moss so thick they looked like mattresses, flattened by something unknown. Hee Lingchuan also noticed various types of miscellaneous mushrooms growing inside.

The air was thick with the smell of mold, with a faint, gamy scent that had likely been left by a wild bear or boar long ago.

”This place is good. This will do.” Hee Lingchuan was very satisfied. He had the great tiger stand guard outside as a Protector, ordered the Eye Spider to seal the cave entrance with its silk, and then covered it with the Cloud-Glow Brocade.

Next, he took out the Pill Furnace, supplementary ingredients, and the most important item—the Emperor’s Liquid—from his Storage Ring and began the refining process.

’Let’s start with the Emperor’s Liquid Paste.’

Hee Lingchuan rubbed his hands together. It would be a criminal waste of a heavenly treasure not to refine such a perfect piece of paste into a God-slaying Pill.

His harvest last night had been exceptionally bountiful. Almost all the Spirit Rain that had fallen on the spider web had been collected without waste. As a result, four small wine jars, each filled eighty percent full, now lay in his Storage Ring.

The last time at Fengling Ferry, the Emperor’s Liquid he had obtained was barely enough to cover the bottom of a bottle. It couldn’t compare to what he had now.

Without a doubt, all of this had to be refined into Hundred Virtues Pills to aid his future Cultivation.

Fortunately, he had prepared enough ingredients. Otherwise, where would he find all the necessary herbs in these desolate mountains?

Hee Lingchuan wasted no time, summoning his True Flame and starting the Pill Furnace to refine the medicine.

He had often observed Medicine Ape Ling Guang’s alchemy process. ’Even if you haven’t seen a pig run, you’ve eaten pork.’ This would have to do.

Most importantly, he had already practiced and rehearsed the process in the Dream Realm no fewer than fifteen times, with Sunx Fuling at his side, prompting him with the Mantra.

With Master Sunx overseeing him, every single minor error and small detail was pulled out, magnified, explained, and resolutely corrected!

Thanks to the fact that practice makes perfect, although Hee Lingchuan was nervous now, his refining process was busy but not chaotic, orderly and methodical.

The medicine itself wasn’t difficult to refine; the tricky part was controlling the effects after consumption. As long as the heat control and steps were followed strictly according to the instructions, it was hard to mess it up!

This time, the heavens were merciful. For four whole double-hours, no creature came to disturb him outside the cave.

Perhaps it was because last night’s battle for the Emperor’s Liquid had been too brutal, and most creatures were exhausted. Those who had managed to snatch some also needed to refine it as soon as possible.

The God-slaying Pill was successfully refined, and so were the Hundred Virtues Pills... for the most part.

After repetitive, mechanical work, he still managed to ruin one batch by accident. Hee Lingchuan could only console himself:

’A ten percent failure rate. That’s not high.’

Fortunately, even the ruined pills were still edible, though their efficacy was greatly reduced.

The Heart-Protecting Mirror had also contributed during the struggle for the Emperor’s Liquid Paste. Hee Lingchuan was someone who always rewarded merit, so he tossed a small, leftover piece of the Emperor’s Liquid Paste to the Mirror.

The Mirror was ecstatic.

The piece of paste that had awakened it a few months ago wasn’t nearly as big as this one!

In these days when Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was scarce and everyone else was ’eating dirt’, it could still eat Emperor’s Liquid Paste. What marvelous bliss was this?

’Happiness and disparity really are all about comparison.’

’This master is the real deal. Absolutely the real deal!’

Hee Lingchuan paid no mind to its inner monologue. He held the freshly refined God-slaying Pill and thought for a long time, finally deciding to take it while it was still ”hot.”

Holding such a precious item was like holding a hot potato. He feared that delays would bring complications, so it was better to just eat it directly.

He sent the Eye Spider to scout the surroundings, hung the Mirror at the cave entrance, and even observed the Celestial Phenomena to ensure it wouldn’t rain during the night and flood the cavern. Only then did he let out a long breath, sit cross-legged, and enter Meditation.

But he didn’t notice that on the dry moss in the depths of the stone cave, two fresh white mushrooms had sprouted at some unknown time, their caps turned toward him.

He first circulated his True Power for a few Circulations to warm up, activating his body and smoothing his aura. Only then did Hee Lingchuan take out the God-slaying Pill and swallow it in one gulp!

After the goose-egg-sized Emperor’s Liquid Paste underwent nine cycles of brewing—no, refining—the finished God-slaying Pill was slightly smaller than a jujube. It didn’t melt in his mouth instantly.

Hee Lingchuan chewed it a few times as if it were a jujube before swallowing. It was sweet and fragrant, just a little dry, and it scratched his throat.

...It was really just like a jujube.

’Helian Chen never mentioned what a God-slaying Pill should taste like. The one I made can’t be a failure, right?’

Only about a dozen breaths passed before a massive torrent of heat suddenly erupted from his Dantian with a BOOM. The sensation was like a flash flood on the day of a king tide, or the shockwave from a sudden explosion in a sealed room. No matter how he had prepared, he was still caught completely off guard.

’Isn’t this too intense? This isn’t what Helian Chen described!’

The only thing he could do in his haste was to do his utmost to guide this powerful energy toward his Chest Acupoint, preventing it from changing course or breaking its banks midway.

Changing course midway would lead to cultivation deviation.

Breaking its banks would mean all his meridians would rupture.

It was like a natural disaster erupting inside his body—the greatest crisis he had ever faced in his Cultivation.

Helian Chen had never expected him to be lucky enough to obtain such a large piece of Emperor’s Liquid Paste. Therefore, the medicinal power contained in the God-slaying Pill Hee Lingchuan refined was at least twice as strong as Helian Chen’s baseline prediction!

Emperor’s Liquid Rain might contain impurities that needed to be purified after collection. But the naturally formed paste skipped this step. Its potency couldn’t be calculated by simple multiplication, and the piece Hee Lingchuan had obtained even contained a red pulp-marrow inside.

He was like an unlucky sod running in front of a hundred stampeding mad bulls. If he couldn’t guide them effectively and in time, he would definitely be gored into a cripple and trampled into a meat patty.