Chapter Fifteen: Challenging the Earth Fiend Meridian

Chen Mu told Chen Haoran that he would be cultivating for the next few days and wouldn’t be coming out for meals, casually mentioning the matter of the so-called “Wood Daoist” in passing. After making sure no one was spying outside, Chen Mu locked himself in his room. Inside, Rou’er had already prepared the ingredients for refining the Sha Pill. She set up a barrier, stretched lazily, then raised her head proudly, saying, “Hmm, not bad, everything’s ready. Since you haven’t refined pills before, let me handle it for you. Really, there’s no helping you. Watch closely now~”

In an instant, a cauldron of deep violet appeared in the room. It looked ancient and unfathomable, giving the impression of an endless seabed at first glance.

Rou’er stirred her spiritual power, and a stalk of medicinal herb was swept into the cauldron. Her small, white paw reached towards the cauldron, and a plume of azure flame rose and entered its depths. This blue flame was called the Dragon Fox Netherflame, the true beast-fire of the Dragon Fox. As it blazed, the whole room seemed to grow a shade dimmer, but the heat was terrifying—for, sitting beside it, Chen Mu already felt a chill of fear.

After extracting the essence from the first herb, Rou’er swept another into the cauldron with her spiritual power. In this way, she refined all the ingredients, and the powders and liquids gradually merged in the cauldron into a paste. Rou’er patted the cauldron with her paw, and the flame grew brighter. Slowly, the Sha Pill began to take shape, its outline gradually forming that of a pill.

In a flash, the pill became as round as a bullet. A rich fragrance filled the air as Rou’er slapped the cauldron, causing the lid to fly off and a dark red pill to shoot out. Chen Mu observed its surface, which was covered in strange lines—these must be the legendary pill patterns.

Though Chen Mu didn’t understand Rou’er’s alchemical techniques, he watched with fascination as she extracted essences, combined them into a paste, and finally formed the pill. The exquisite patterns on the pill were especially pleasing to the eye.

“I’m letting you watch so you can get familiar with the process. There’s nothing more for you to learn by just watching, so practice purifying those ordinary herbs you just got. When you reach a certain level, I’ll have you try refining pills yourself.”

“Oh.” Chen Mu nodded eagerly.

Next, Chen Mu took out the crimson gold cauldron he’d obtained from the City Lord’s mansion. He glanced at Rou’er, who had already started on the second Sha Pill, and began imitating her by purifying medicinal herbs.

He focused his spiritual power, guiding the yang attribute energy in his body to conjure a tiny flame between his palms, then carefully fed it into the cauldron to begin the purification process.

At first, almost all the herbs Chen Mu tried to refine burned to ashes, but he didn’t give up—he persisted, adjusting his flame each time.

Rou’er, on the other hand, remained calm, refining pills as casually as eating or drinking. One Sha Pill after another was completed and placed into bottles, her technique growing ever more deft.

So the night passed. By midnight, Chen Mu was exhausted, his energy and spirit completely spent. Fortunately, in his last attempts, he managed to successfully purify the essence from a few herbs.

In contrast, Rou’er had nonchalantly refined a hundred Sha Pills over the course of the night, each of the highest quality.

By morning, Chen Mu had recovered his energy and spirit through meditation. He looked at the resting Rou’er and the pill bottles beside her, a warmth rising in his heart.

Since the barrier was still intact, he didn’t worry about Rou’er being discovered. He slipped out to buy breakfast, waiting quietly for Rou’er to wake up so they could eat together.

Half an hour later, Rou’er finally opened her eyes, only to be startled by Chen Mu, who was resting his chin on his hand and watching her. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I was waiting for you to wake up. I bought breakfast. Want to eat together?” Chen Mu said a little sheepishly.

Rou’er rolled her eyes. “With my current cultivation, I could go ten years without eating and be fine. You’d better focus on practicing your herb purification.”

“I’ve already bought it, so just have a taste.” Chen Mu blinked hopefully.

“You really are impossible...” Rou’er moved close and took a big bite of a meat bun. “Hmm, not bad.”

And so, human and fox made short work of the breakfast Chen Mu had brought.

After breakfast, Rou’er handed the bottles of Sha Pills to Chen Mu. “Here, these are the new Sha Pills I just made. Recover your energy and spirit first, then take one.”

Following her instructions, Chen Mu immediately calmed his mind and adjusted his state. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he opened his eyes.

He opened a bottle, letting a Sha Pill fall into his hand, then popped it into his mouth. As soon as it reached his stomach, a surge of violent energy spread outward from his lower abdomen.

Chen Mu tensed, quickly activating the “Ancient Sun Scripture.” The sinister energy flowed along his meridians as the scripture ran.

He kept probing for the location of the Earth Fiend Meridian with his spiritual power, following the method Rou’er had taught him.

At last, it was as if he’d found a beacon in a fog—he struck the Earth Fiend Meridian, but no matter how he tried, it simply wouldn’t open.

Thus, the effect of the first Sha Pill wore off.

Chen Mu sighed. As expected, opening the Earth Fiend Meridian was no easy task.

He took a second pill. With the help of his spiritual power and the “Ancient Sun Scripture,” the sinister energy quickly reached the same spot.

This time, Chen Mu didn’t waste as much medicinal power; he kept trying to break through, but although he was more skilled, there was still no progress.

The third pill—failure.

The fourth—failure.

The fifth...

The sixth...

By the eighth pill, Ye Wangchuan finally coughed up blood. He had been too impatient, overloading his meridian and injuring himself internally.

Rou’er was startled, then asked with concern, “Are you all right? Why are you coughing blood? How many have you opened? Don’t be so hasty...”

She placed her small paw on Ye Wangchuan’s hand to check. Seeing that he hadn’t opened even a single Earth Fiend Meridian, she frowned. “What? You haven’t opened one at all? With Sha Pills of this quality, you should have managed at least one, even with injuries. Did you follow the method I taught you?”

“I did exactly as you said. I sensed the Earth Fiend Meridian with the first pill, but it just wouldn’t open.”

“If you sensed it, you should have been able to open it. Why... It must be that chaotic energy parasite at work.” Rou’er’s expression was uncertain. “You should rest for a while and try again after you’ve recovered.”

“It’s fine, I can continue. Don’t forget I have Healing Pills—the injuries are nothing.” Chen Mu reassured her.

He took out a Fasting Pill and pretended to swallow it, but actually drew on the life force stored in the black pearl to heal his injuries. In no time, he was fully recovered.

Seeing that Chen Mu’s recovery was genuine, Rou’er nodded and cautioned him to be careful.

But Chen Mu realized that taking the pills one by one wasn’t going to work; he’d need to increase the dose, just as he’d done with the Meridian Opening Pills.

So while Rou’er was distracted, he secretly swallowed two Sha Pills at once.

Rou’er was furious at this, but didn’t dare interrupt him, deciding to lecture him thoroughly after he finished.

Inside Chen Mu, the sinister energy surged like a powder keg. He immediately focused his mind, channeling all the energy into the unopened Earth Fiend Meridian.

Unfortunately, the meridian began to crack. After a long effort, it still wouldn’t open.

He sighed again—still no breakthrough. Clearly, he needed to increase the dosage even more.

When Chen Mu stopped cultivating, Rou’er unleashed a torrential scolding. Chen Mu could only put on a sheepish face and do his best to calm her down.

After repeatedly assuring her that he could recover from any injury, Rou’er finally cooled off.

This time, Chen Mu decided to take ten Sha Pills at once. He was certain that if he took enough, he’d break through.

The ten pills entered his body, and the sinister energy exploded. Chen Mu immediately began to convulse; the tearing pain was so intense he writhed on the floor, his fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms and blood dripped down.