chsdbacks Chapter 132 Absorbing the Red Essence Fruit
Chapter 132 Absorbing the Red Essence Fruit
By the time Lin Yan climbed back into the valley through the gap in the cliff, it was already dark.
Standing in the middle of the valley and looking around, the waist-high wild grass rustled in the evening breeze, and there was no other sound.
He walked halfway around the western cliff and saw a dark cave entrance on the waistline of a precipice.
The cave entrance was small, about ten feet above the ground, and a clump of low shrubs grew along its edge, covering most of the entrance.
Lin Yan climbed up the protrusion on the rock wall, pushed aside the bushes and peered inside. Although the cave wasn't very deep, it was well hidden. If he rested here at night, no monsters should notice him.
He retreated from the cave entrance, moved some rubble around, and stacked it piece by piece at the entrance, leaving only a finger-width gap for observation.
The moment his back touched the rock wall, he felt all the soreness in his body surge up at once.
During the daytime battle, he was running for his life from beginning to end. He was chased by the blue-scaled beast for an unknown distance, then crossed mountains and valleys to reach the ravine, and then turned back. He didn't even have time to catch his breath in between.
Lin Yan reached out and tore off the robe, which was practically a tattered rag, and rummaged through his bundle to find a clean set of clothes to change into.
After changing his clothes, he took out the Red Essence Fruit from his pocket.
The last ray of light outside the cave had faded, and the Crimson Essence Fruit glowed with a faint red light in his palm, casting a dark red hue on the surrounding three-foot-wide stone wall.
The fruit is not large, but it is very plump, and its whole body is vermilion and almost transparent. There are many fine lines on the surface of the peel. You can see the flowing juice inside through the almost transparent peel. It remains active after being picked and is beating gently like a heart. You can't feel it at all if you don't hold it in your palm.
Lin Yan recalled the fierce appearance of the azure-scaled beast protecting this thing during the day. That beast had already reached the threshold of the fourth rank, and it was probably saving the Crimson Essence Fruit for when it broke through. Otherwise, a peak third-rank beast would not have chased after it for several miles like a madman.
He circulated the Hundred Arts Calligraphy Form within his dantian, focusing his mind on the skill called "Herbal Gathering".
[Feedback: The Crimson Essence Fruit matures in thirty years and bears fruit in a hundred years. Its medicinal properties are extremely potent. It can be used to refine Breakthrough Pills or consumed directly. If consumed directly, approximately 50% of its medicinal power is absorbed. The diffusion of its effects places a heavy burden on the meridians; the user must have at least six meridians open to withstand it. The medicinal power primarily affects the Qi, blood, muscles, and bones, and is particularly beneficial for body-strengthening techniques.]
Taking it directly will only have 50% of the effect.
Although it's not quite as good as refining pills, it's still acceptable. He has now opened up eight meridians, meeting the conditions for direct consumption. Yang Tie has been hiding his strength and is definitely still eyeing him covetously. The other Dragon Guards and high-level demonic beasts are also major concerns for him. His current strength is not enough to deal with them.
Let's improve our strength first.
Lin Yan sat cross-legged and held the red essence fruit to his mouth.
There was a small indentation at the stem end. He gently pinched the small opening with his fingernail, and a strong sweet smell immediately rushed into his nasal cavity. He put the opening into his lips and gently sucked on the peel with the tip of his tongue.
The juice was inhaled into the throat and down into the stomach, leaving a trail of burning sensations along its path.
The moment the fluid entered his stomach, Lin Yan's abdomen suddenly tightened.
The fruit juice exploded in the stomach like a spark, and a large amount of medicinal power was absorbed. Then it turned into countless hot streams that rushed to the dantian along the eight meridians.
Lin Yan groaned, his muscles tensed, veins bulged on his forehead, and tiny bumps appeared on his skin, making it look as if countless needles were trying to burst out from under his skin.
He focused his mind on his dantian, guiding the turbulent, scorching streams of energy along the path of true qi circulation in the third level of the Yanwang Heart Sutra.
The medicinal power of this tiny sip of fruit juice was far more volatile than ordinary true qi. Each step it took through his meridians felt like a dull knife scraping flesh, causing him to tremble with pain.
He gritted his teeth and persevered, guiding the medicine's effects little by little throughout his body.
The burning sensation in my meridians grew stronger and stronger, and fine beads of blood began to seep from the surface of my skin, emerging from my pores and staining my newly changed robes red.
If an ordinary third-grade cultivator had taken this Crimson Essence Fruit, they would have been writhing in pain on the ground by now, their meridians unable to withstand the impact of the medicine and possibly even bursting.
Fortunately, Lin Yan's meridians, having been tempered by both the "Yan Wang Heart Sutra" and the "Dragon Elephant Body Forging Technique," were far more resilient than those of other cultivators at the same level. Although the violent medicinal power caused him great suffering, his meridians showed no signs of shattering.
He tried his best to keep his mind clear, circulating the "Yan King's Heart Sutra" to guide the medicinal power to continuously strengthen the meridians in the eight extraordinary meridians, while also diverting some of the medicinal power into the muscles and bones of his limbs and bones, activating the flesh-refining incantation of the "Dragon Elephant Body Forging Technique".
The medicine gradually seeped into his muscles and bones, and every breath was accompanied by a burning pain. He felt his muscle fibers being torn apart and rebuilt one by one, and his whole body was faintly glowing red.
Two hours later.
It was completely dark outside the cave, and the red light inside grew dimmer and dimmer until it went out completely.
Lin Yan sat upright in the darkness with his eyes closed, dark red impurities constantly oozing from the pores of his body.
The impurities seeped out from his skin pores, layer upon layer, and now had solidified into a hard scab half an inch thick, emitting a strong fishy stench.
The last trace of medicinal power in his body was guided into the meridians of his right arm. After the scalding flow of energy rushed through the end of the meridians, he felt as if a heavy shell had been removed, and his whole body felt relaxed.
Lin Yan suddenly opened his eyes.
He has already completed the initial refinement of the medicinal power of this Red Essence Fruit.
He clenched his fist, and when the muscles in his palm tightened, it felt much firmer than before. He could clearly feel the power of blood and qi surging under his skin and flesh at his fingertips, and his internal energy had increased by more than 20%.
His physical strength has also increased significantly. The first level of the Dragon Elephant Body Forging Technique, the Skin Refining Realm, is nearing completion, and he will soon be able to step into the second level, the Flesh Refining Realm.
Lin Yan stretched his shoulders, and the soreness from before had completely subsided. The abrasions on his left shoulder and right arm were also repaired by the medicinal effects, leaving only a few light pink new scars.
He stood up and shook his body. The dark red impurity shell on his body cracked open and crumbled to the ground.
The skin exposed beneath the hard shell was whiter than before, and the muscle lines were more defined, giving it a sense of refinement after being tempered and honed.
If Yang Tie is still around here, I'll see how hard his palms are next time we meet.
He turned around and sat down against the rock wall again. He took out the last piece of dry food from his bundle, slowly ate it, drank a couple of sips of water, closed his eyes, and began to recover his strength.
Tomorrow we will continue our in-depth exploration. More than ten days have passed since we set off from the capital, and time is running out for him.