Chapter 23: Cultivation and Consuming the Marrow-Cleansing Pill

"You...!"

He Jiaojiao was incensed. She glared at Lu Changfeng and demanded, "Are you saying that I am meddling in affairs that don't concern me?"

Lu Changfeng offered no reply.

In He Jiaojiao's eyes, this silence was an admission of his agreement. Her anger flared even further.

"Hmph, pretentious!"

He Jiaojiao stamped her foot and retorted, "You are only at the Pulse-Opening stage; how could you possibly be a match for Zhou Tian? When you first refused to let Grandma come to Divine Pill Peak, I actually thought you were a talent! But now I see, you are nothing but an arrogant fool!"

"Hmph!"

Lu Changfeng waved his hand, too indifferent to offer an explanation. He Jiaojiao turned on her heel, her silhouette fluttering away as she vanished from the spot.

***

Yuehan Peak.

Lu Changfeng returned to his cave dwelling. Along the way, Zhou Xuantong had seemed as if he wanted to say something, but held back. Standing at the entrance of the cave, Lu Changfeng looked at him and said, "If you have something to say, speak."

"Senior Brother!" Zhou Xuantong hesitated, then quickly cupped his hands in a salute. "He Jiaojiao did, after all, help us. And she is the granddaughter of the Divine Pill Peak Master... If we drive her away like this, will there be consequences?"

He did not finish his sentence, as he knew Lu Changfeng had likely already considered the outcome.

"Don't worry," Lu Changfeng replied with a faint nod, his tone calm. "She is merely throwing a tantrum. As the granddaughter of a peak master, no matter how headstrong she may be, she still possesses the capacity to distinguish right from wrong. Besides, even if someone like her were to sabotage us, she wouldn't do it behind our backs."

Hearing this, Zhou Xuantong sighed softly and said no more.

After he left, Lu Changfeng tapped his storage ring.

*Hum—!*

Everything he had purchased at the marketplace tumbled out before him. Lu Changfeng had long since realized that there was nothing of true value among these items, yet he did not feel he had squandered his thousands of spirit stones. He sifted through the pile, eventually pulling out a ceramic-like shard.

Although it appeared to be a piece of pottery, it felt cold to the touch, and its texture was more akin to metal.

"This thing..." Lu Changfeng held it between his fingers, examining it closely.

Just then, *hum—!*

A crystalline black light suddenly pulsed from within his body. The Dao Ancestor Divine Furnace seemed to possess a will of its own, greedily absorbing the fragment from his hand. In an instant, the shard lunged toward the center of Lu Changfeng’s forehead.

There was no pain, yet the fragment had vanished.

"It disappeared?" Lu Changfeng frowned, muttering to himself, "No, it must have been absorbed by the Dao Ancestor Divine Furnace!"

He had anticipated that the shard might trigger a change in the furnace, but he had not expected the furnace to actively consume it. As he pondered this, a surging wave of spiritual energy rippled outward. The furnace emitted a brilliant white glow. Before Lu Changfeng could react, his vision went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar environment.

"Where is this..." Lu Changfeng did not panic, looking around. He realized that in this grey, hazy world, his own body was ethereal. Yet, as he clenched his fists, he could feel a rhythmic, aching sensation.

A blood-red crescent moon, partially obscured, hung behind dark clouds. Before him stretched a vast, grey Gobi desert filled with dark, blood-colored shadows. Wailing sounds echoed through the heavens, making the place feel increasingly eerie.

In the far distance, a massive furnace glowing with black light stood tall, connecting heaven and earth. The karmic fire within the furnace swelled and receded in time with Lu Changfeng's own breathing. Sparks of fire fell, washing over the grey gravel of the land.

In Lu Changfeng's vision, the furnace shuddered, suppressing the very fabric of the world. Before he could make another move, his consciousness grew hazy. The scene before him seemed to dissolve, and Lu Changfeng found himself back in his cave dwelling.

Although the furnace had not fully manifested, he could sense that after devouring the ceramic-like shard, its power had grown significantly. He could even feel it manifesting within his sea of consciousness. One had to understand that while Lu Changfeng had known the Dao Ancestor Divine Furnace resided within him from the start, he had previously been unable to command it; even his perception of it had been incredibly vague. Now, however, he could clearly sense its presence.

"It seems... the furnace is repairing itself!" Lu Changfeng nodded slightly, whispering his hypothesis. Although the furnace now showed no further reaction, he could feel that it was vastly different from before. He tried to command it, but found he still could not.

With a sigh, Lu Changfeng pushed the matter to the back of his mind. He did not hesitate to take out the fourth-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill he had obtained from the Divine Pill Pavilion.

Instantly, the fragrance of the pill filled the air. Even just by smelling it, Lu Changfeng felt his internal energy surge and his spiritual power flow more vigorously. He swallowed the pill.

*Boom!*

Waves of scorching heat surged through his meridians. The potent energy struck his channels, causing them to tremble and develop tiny cracks. Yet, the medicinal power flowing through them instantly mended the damage. Under the influence of the medicine, his meridians became wider and tougher.

"This must be a top-grade pill!"

Every type of pill was graded, but the skill of the alchemist varied, as did the degree of medicinal fusion. The more powerful the alchemist, the greater the efficacy of the pill. They were categorized into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. What Lu Changfeng had consumed was a top-grade pill.

As time passed, the medicinal power was gradually released. Lu Changfeng’s skin turned a burning red, and beads of blood seeped from his pores. A foul, pungent odor began to fill the cave. Lu Changfeng furrowed his brow. While refining the medicinal power, the intense pain caused his body to tremble incessantly. Any sweat that formed was instantly evaporated by the high temperature radiating from his skin.

Accompanying this pain, however, were immense benefits. Lu Changfeng’s flesh became more compact, and his bones shone with a crystalline luster, emitting a faint fragrance. In a short time, the strength of his physical body had increased more than threefold.

Three days passed in a flash.

At dawn, a roar echoed through the silent Yuehan Peak. The demonic beasts in the surrounding wilderness seemed to sense terror, fleeing wildly in all directions. Inside Lu Changfeng’s cave, he suddenly opened his eyes, a brilliant light flashing within them.

A powerful surge of blood-energy rose up, causing the cave to tremble. The immense force instantly shattered the formations he had set up.

"Roar—!"

A suppressed, primal roar erupted from his throat. The terrifying sound wave rippled outward in all directions. The gravel in front of the cave was instantly pulverized into fine dust and scattered by the wind.

Inside the cave, Lu Changfeng stood up slowly, his clothes already reduced to tatters. His lean, muscular frame radiated a terrifying aura. Though he did not look overly bulky, he exuded a sense of explosive power. As he moved, ripples of energy seemed to flow around his body.