Once they had obtained the answer they came for, the two didn’t linger in the black market any longer.
Leaving, however, proved far more troublesome than entering.
Wen Hanshan led Lou Xingyao through several winding routes, changing hideouts multiple times, and even switched out their disguises layer after layer until he was certain that the tails following them had been completely shaken off.
Only when they finally arrived home did Lou Xingyao, who hadn’t dared to breathe too loudly the entire way, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
His tense shoulders slumped as he murmured under his breath, “It’s a good thing you’re always so cautious.”
The alchemist they had visited in the black market had, at first, given a diagnosis identical to the one the Lou family’s physicians had made when Lou Xiaowu’s dual spiritual roots were first tested.
The verdict was the same: his meridians were frail and could not withstand the impact of spiritual energy.
From the alchemist’s tone, Lou Xingyao could even hear the faint note of resignation, as though he couldn’t understand why these two would go to such great lengths, crossing dangerous territory, just to hear the same hopeless result.
That was, at least, until the words “Meridian Restoration Pill” appeared in their conversation.
At that moment, the alchemist’s tone subtly shifted. He first said that the pill was indeed effective, then began to test them with indirect questions, probing, hinting, circling around the subject as if to find out whether the two had any of the precious pills on hand.
Though neither Lou Xingyao nor Wen Hanshan confirmed anything, the alchemist’s greedy eyes had already betrayed his assumptions.
Even when Wen Hanshan hurriedly pulled Lou Xingyao away, that man’s probing curiosity had not subsided in the slightest.
In the black market, there existed an unspoken rule: never inquire about the identities of either buyer or seller. Yet even this unspoken law couldn’t restrain that alchemist’s murderous greed.
It was easy to imagine the kind of disaster that would ensue if news of the Meridian Restoration Pill’s existence were to leak beyond the black market walls.
“Better safe than sorry,” Wen Hanshan said evenly, as though he had already foreseen all of it.
“Still… I made you spend quite a bit today,” Lou Xingyao murmured. Now that the immediate danger had passed, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the ten spirit pearls they had paid as consultation fees.
The thought made his heart ache. Ten spirit pearls enough to exchange for ten thousand taels of gold! With that money, they could have bought not just the courtyard they were living in, but three more just like it and still had silver left over!
“Those are merely external possessions,” Wen Hanshan replied without the faintest ripple of emotion, his tone light and calm.
Lou Xingyao’s eyes flickered. “And how many of these ‘external possessions’ does Brother Wen still have left?”
This was the first time he had ever broached the topic of money with Wen Hanshan.
Before this, Lou Xingyao had always believed that even brothers should keep accounts clear, money, after all, could sour even the best of relationships.
Yet during the consultation, though Wen Hanshan had not voiced any complaint about the exorbitant fee, Lou Xingyao had noticed the almost imperceptible pause in his movements when he paid.
That momentary hesitation had spoken volumes.
And since the expense had been for his sake, Lou Xingyao couldn’t keep pretending he hadn’t noticed.
Wen Hanshan’s expression didn’t change. “Enough to keep you well-fed,” he said simply.
It wasn’t a direct answer but that was enough for Lou Xingyao to understand. What remained, most likely, wasn’t much.
It wasn’t hard to guess why. When Wen Hanshan left the Zhou family, he hadn’t been able to take much with him. Though they hadn’t lived lavishly, neither could their lifestyle be called frugal.
From the Azure Flame colts they bought, to the courtyard they now lived in, every expense added up.
Now, with the additional cost of the alchemist’s fee, even a wealthy family would find such constant spending without income unsustainable, much less the two of them, who weren’t exactly rich to begin with.
Lou Xingyao didn’t expose the truth directly. He only said gently, “I was just thinking… now that we’ve finally settled down, perhaps I could find something to do. Even if it’s just a small earning, it’s better than relying on you entirely.”
Wen Hanshan instinctively wanted to refuse, but when he heard the sincerity in Lou Xingyao’s last words, he swallowed back the rejection that had reached his lips.
He didn’t wish for Lou Xingyao to be burdened by matters of money but clearly, Lou Xingyao was already feeling guilty for the expenses Wen Hanshan had shouldered on his behalf. Forcing the issue now would only make him feel worse.
Finally, Wen Hanshan gave a slight nod, yielding a step, “Take the Meridian Restoration Pill first. Once you’ve successfully drawn spiritual energy into your body, we can talk about other things.”
Lou Xingyao nodded. At Wen Hanshan’s gesture, he went to fetch the small jade bottle from the room. “Then I’ll trouble Brother Wen to stand guard for me.”
According to the alchemist, while the Meridian Restoration Pill suited Lou Xingyao’s condition, it was best to have someone nearby during the process, someone who could act quickly in case anything went wrong. Naturally, that person could only be Wen Hanshan.
“Go ahead,” Wen Hanshan said, sitting cross-legged beside him, the quiet steadiness of his posture radiating assurance.
Seeing this, Lou Xingyao stopped hesitating. He sat cross-legged as well, lifted the jade bottle, and poured the pill into his palm.
Unlike the reddish-brown Bigu Pills, the Meridian Restoration Pill was a soft, pale yellow. Intricate, almost divine patterns shimmered faintly across its surface, so delicate that one could easily lose themselves in their depth.
Lou Xingyao knew this was the difference between a fourth-grade pill and a mere first-grade one.
He raised his hand and swallowed it. The pill dissolved the moment it touched his tongue, turning into a warm current that spread through his limbs and bones like a gentle tide.
It felt a bit like soaking in a hot spring, or perhaps like returning to the safety of the womb, a comfort so deep that Lou Xingyao’s nervous expression gradually softened.
But before that comfort could fully take root, a surge of violent force suddenly erupted inside him, rampaging through his meridians like an unstoppable storm.
In an instant, pain engulfed him, so sharp, so all-consuming, it felt as though his body had been thrown into a grinder, every nerve shredded, every cell crushed to dust.
Pain!!
That was the only thought left in his mind.
It was the first time in his life he had experienced such overwhelming agony. It was so unbearable that he almost wished for death, anything to escape this inhuman torment.
Just as his consciousness began to blur, Wen Hanshan’s cold, commanding voice rang sharply in his ears.
“If you wish to waste everything you’ve endured, then by all means, let go.”
The words struck him like a whip.
That alchemist, greedy as he was, had not lied about one thing. Before they left, he had warned them: The pill’s power would first shatter every meridian in the user’s body before rebuilding them anew.
The pain would be unimaginable and worse, if the user lost consciousness before the process finished, the pill’s power would immediately dissipate. The newly formed meridians would collapse, the effort wasted.
If one wished to start over, they would have to consume a second pill.
Lou Xingyao, though barely lucid, remembered that warning.
And then, as if echoing it, Wen Hanshan’s words before they’d left the house resurfaced in his mind: If you lack the resolve to go forward without hesitation, then you might as well remain an ordinary mortal. I will take care of you until your final breath.
If he couldn’t even endure the pain of rebuilding his own meridians, what right did he have to speak of determination?
Teeth clenched, Lou Xingyao forced his fading consciousness to focus. He gathered his will and concentrated entirely on the raging power inside him.
He didn’t know what he looked like from the outside but if he had, he would have been terrified.
Cracks began to split across his skin, thin at first, then widening rapidly. Blood oozed from the fissures, staining his robes crimson. In mere moments, his entire body was drenched, the sight horrifying.
The next instant, the pill’s restorative energy surged again, knitting the wounds closed with unnatural speed. Were it not for the faint bloodstains left behind, one might not believe that only moments ago his flesh had been torn apart.
But before the blood could even dry, the skin split open again.
And again, again and again, his body was torn and healed, torn and healed, a grotesque cycle that seemed endless.
By the time a thick crust of dried blood covered him, the process finally began to slow.
Inside his body, the same destruction and renewal repeated along his meridians.
When Lou Xingyao focused his attention inward, he realized that the violent energy rampaging through him now seemed… guided.
As if sensing his will, it began to move along certain paths, flowing rhythmically rather than chaotically.
Each time it passed through, his meridians grew sturdier, slightly wider, more resilient.
Even without formal cultivation experience, Lou Xingyao understood one thing: the wider and stronger the meridians, the smoother one’s path on the Dao would be.
That realization changed everything.
No longer did he shy away from the pain. Instead, he began to observe the energy’s pattern then, gritting his teeth, he even provoked it, deliberately stirring the flow to tear and rebuild the meridians once more.
The pain was beyond description, but he endured it, driven by an instinct deeper than fear.
And then, without warning, the dormant power of the stars, his innate stellar force, awoke from his dantian and joined the frenzy. It coursed through his veins alongside the medicinal energy, intertwining and amplifying it.
By the time the last trace of the pill’s power faded, the stellar energy still surged, untamed, faster and faster, until it seemed ready to burst from his body entirely.
Just as Lou Xingyao’s control began to slip, the opening lines of the Ten Thousand Celestial Stars Scripture flashed vividly in his mind.
He had studied that scripture for days, its verses long since etched into memory. Instinctively, he guided the stellar energy according to the method described.
At once, the world within his consciousness transformed.
The skies above turned into an endless sea of darkness, and across it stretched countless stars, their soft light rippling like waves.
Around him, the air filled with motes of light, tiny, colorful specks, rising and falling in irregular patterns.
He knew what they were: the manifestation of spiritual energy itself.
Carefully, he reached toward the red and green motes, symbols of the fire and wood elements. The moment they brushed his fingertips, the motes merged into his body, and the starlit sky above began to pulse with rhythmic brilliance.
As more and more spiritual energy flowed into him, the once-rampant stellar force began to converge, merging gradually with the incoming qi until both fused into one, harmonious, balanced, complete.
When the last of the turbulence settled, Lou Xingyao exhaled deeply. A faint light still shimmered in his eyes as he slowly opened them.
Outside, night had already fallen. The sky was deep and vast, filled with stars that glittered just like those he had seen in his meditation.
Before he could even gather his thoughts, Wen Hanshan’s calm, steady voice broke the silence.
“Very good,” he said, his tone filled with rare warmth. “To recover from your injuries and draw qi into your body so swiftly… and to remain in meditation for ten whole days on your first attempt. Remember this feeling. Do not grow arrogant, continue to maintain it.”
Lou Xingyao lowered his gaze, breath still unsteady. He could feel it, his new meridians, firm and vibrant, pulsing with a power unlike anything he’d ever known.
For the first time, the path of cultivation had truly opened before him.
✦ ✧ ✦
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator promises nothing except gratitude and possibly more chapters.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Crossing OverChapter 2 · Lu XioaWuChapter 3 · UncleChapter 4 · Substitute MarriageChapter 5 · Travelling Through BookChapter 6 · SpaceChapter 7 · InheritanceChapter 8 · ExplanationChapter 9 · He familyChapter 10 · CompensateChapter 11 · WeddingChapter 12 · LeavingChapter 13 · SuspicionChapter 14 · Change SurnameChapter 14 · Change SurnameChapter 15 · SummaryChapter 16 · Family BusinessChapter 17 · ResettlementChapter 18 · DeterminationChapter 19 · TreatChapter 20 · Enter the TaoChapter 21 · Private TrainingChapter 22 · BreakthroughChapter 23 · ExperienceChapter 24 Part 1 · Questions and AnswersChapter 24 Part 2 · Questions and answersChapter 25 · GiftChapter 25 Part 1 · GiftChapter 26 Part 1 · Sword IntentChapter 26 Part 2 · Sword IntentChapter 27 Part 1 · SelectChapter 27 Part 2 · SelectChapter 28 Part 1 · PastChapter 28 Part 2 · PastChapter 29 Part 1 · ConfessionChapter 29 Part 2 · ConfessionChapter 30 Part 1 · TradeChapter 30 Part 2 · TradeChapter 31 Part 1 · Male LeadChapter 31 Part 2 · Male LeadChapter 32 Part 1 · LuckChapter 32 Part 2 · LuckChapter 33 Part 1 · GuessingChapter 33 Part 2 · GuessingChapter 34 Part 1 · SystemChapter 34 Part 2 · SystemChapter 35 · OpportunityChapter 36 Part 1 · LingquanChapter 36 Part 2 · LingquanChapter 37 Part 1 · Hundred Flowers PartChapter 37 Part 2 · Hundred Flowers PartChapter 38 · Worth itChapter 39 · SaintessChapter 40 · ExperimentChapter 41 · Vampire SystemChapter 42 · NotesChapter 43 · WarningChapter 44 · PlanChapter 45 · Fellow VillagersChapter 46 · AssimilationChapter 47 · IlliterateChapter 48 · Pak WahChapter 49 · Sudden EnlightenmentChapter 50 · Wen ZhiChapter 51 · CarrierChapter 52 · LeavingChapter 53 · Follow UpChapter 54 · OutrageousChapter 55 · OnceChapter 56 · TeasingChapter 57 · Playing aroundChapter 58 · Beast fireChapter 59 · Watching a PlayChapter 60 · Extermination of the entire clanChapter 61 · ChoiceChapter 62 · PossessionChapter 63 · CalculationChapter 64 · GuaranteedChapter 65 · Grand OpeningChapter 66 · Grand OpeningChapter 67 · Protecting one’s ownChapter 68 · Secret RealmChapter 69 · BetrayalChapter 70 · DetailsChapter 71 · FramedChapter 72 · MeetingChapter 73 · KillChapter 74 · MapChapter 75 · FoundationChapter 76 · Strange Phenomenon!Chapter 77 · ExchangeChapter 78 · LetterChapter 79 · ShortcutChapter 80 · God of Slaughter!Chapter 81 · Poison PillChapter 82 · Lou ShuChapter 83 · ProgressChapter 84 · An attemptChapter 85 · Movement and StillnessChapter 86 · Good intentionsChapter 87 · ChangeChapter 88 · Childhood friendChapter 89 · ThoughtsChapter 90 · Old storiesChapter 91 · HeritageChapter 92 · TestChapter 93 · LoverChapter 94 · Heartfelt wishesChapter 95 · MasterChapter 96 · TeachingChapter 97 · IllusionChapter 98 · Mutual RestraintChapter 99 · ObstructionChapter 100 · PalaceChapter 101 · Core TechniqueChapter 102 · OathChapter 103 · Dual cultivationChapter 104 · AccessChapter 105 · VulnerabilityChapter 106 · DensityChapter 107 · WantedChapter 108 · EntrustChapter 109 · RevisitChapter 110 · MonitoringChapter 111 · Secret RealmChapter 112 · NourishChapter 113 · InventoryChapter 114 · Get Rich QuicklyChapter 115 · ElderChapter 116 · Grand FormationChapter 117 · Heaven’s WillChapter 118 · BountyChapter 119 · GainChapter 120 · BlameChapter 121 · ChattingChapter 122 · GuessChapter 123 · Zheng TianChapter 124 · SparringChapter 125 · Sword intentChapter 126 · KenshinChapter 127 · Auditing a classChapter 128 · CoincidenceChapter 129 · ContradictionChapter 130 · RouteChapter 131 · CostChapter 132 · ConfiscatedChapter 133 · Holding a grudgeChapter 134 · SupportChapter 135 · DeteriorationChapter 136 · Unable toChapter 137 · PriceChapter 138 · VariantChapter 139 · Start AnewChapter 140 · ShamelessChapter 141 · Black PotChapter 142 · Benefiting fromChapter 143 · PieChapter 144 · DifferencesChapter 145 · DetoxificationChapter 146 · Current situationChapter 147 · TeasingChapter 148 · IntelligenceChapter 149 · Returned GiftChapter 150 · Old debtChapter 151 · FleshChapter 152 · OpeningChapter 153 · GrudgesChapter 154 · RegretChapter 155 · Gang fightChapter 156 · GentleChapter 157 · ComplaintChapter 158 · ScreamsChapter 159 · GeniusChapter 160 · ConcernChapter 161 · Hidden StoryChapter 162 · StingyChapter 163 · Guilty conscienceChapter 164 Part 1 · StruggleChapter 164 Part 2 · StruggleChapter 165 · Win or LoseChapter 166 · TasteChapter 167 · Shifting The BlameChapter 168 · MoonlightChapter 169 · Past EventChapter 170 · RegretChapter 171 · RetributionChapter 172 · Cause and EffectChapter 173 · BackgroundChapter 174 · FlatteryChapter 175 · HonestChapter 176 · BookkeepingChapter 177 · FarewellChapter 178 · GuidelineChapter 179 · BottleneckChapter 180 · HabitChapter 181 · Casual ChatChapter 182 · Flowing WaterChapter 183 · RumoursChapter 184 · Seeking AdviceChapter 185 · PityChapter 186 · FormationChapter 187 · BasicChapter 188 · Fake TombChapter 189 · BewareChapter 190 · TraceChapter 191 · DiscussChapter 192 · Ancestral preceptsChapter 193 · Loose CultivatorChapter 194 · AllocationChapter 195 · Thank you for your kindnessChapter 196 · ExplanationChapter 197 · ErrorChapter 198 · Culinary skillsChapter 199 · Starry SeaChapter 200 · ComparisonChapter 201 · FrustratedChapter 202 · Don’t watchChapter 203 · LonelinessChapter 204 · NoChapter 205 · Exposing ShortcutsChapter 206 · CraftsmanshipChapter 207 · Bottom LineChapter 208 · StrikeChapter 209 · Ten GoldChapter 210 · Pretentious