Chapter 15 Medicinal Liquid

At this moment, the flames beneath the tripod had completely extinguished. At the upper part of the tripod, all the medicinal ingredients had disappeared, replaced by a pool of greenish liquid. This liquid was presently circulating drop by drop within the tripod. As for the legendary pills, not even half of one could be seen. "What's going on here?" The muscles on Du Fei's face twitched slightly, his gaze fixated on the droplets of liquid. "Could this be the so-called pill? But it doesn't look like it..." He muttered to himself for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "System, what is going on?" "Beep...Clear question. System searching, answer. Due to irreversible errors, the alchemy process failed!" A cold electronic voice calmly echoed in Du Fei's mind, making the corner of his mouth twitch uncontrollably. These were thousands of gold coins! Just gone like that? For a moment, Du Fei felt an ironic urge to both laugh and cry. He sighed and asked, "What do you mean by irreversible errors?" "Beep! According to the alchemy process, when Qi is used to temper the fire, only at the final step can a pill be formed. Otherwise, the alchemy fails!" "Why didn't you warn me if you knew?" "The master did not command, the system cannot self-activate!" Facing the system's unreliable retort, Du Fei was left somewhat speechless. However, based on what the system said, alchemy requires Qi to temper the fire. Since he currently doesn't have Qi, this meant that his attempt at alchemy was a complete failure. "Indeed, becoming an alchemist isn't easy." Sighing, Du Fei gently shook his head, his gaze once again landing on the medicine tripod. "I just wonder... if I were to consume this failed product, what effects would it have?" The thought flashed through his mind, startling even Du Fei himself. But after hesitating for a moment, he slowly extended his hand, attempting to scoop up the medicinal liquid. It was strange. When touched by Du Fei's fingertip, a portion of the medicinal liquid turned into droplets the size of rice grains, sticking to Du Fei's finger. The sensation was chilling to the extreme, causing an involuntary shiver. "Let's give it a try!" A thought emerged from who knows where, and though Du Fei was aware of the unreliability of such an action, the desire to become stronger kept magnifying in his heart. At a certain moment, Du Fei finally gritted his teeth, quickly placed the drop of liquid into his mouth, and swallowed without hesitation. "Boom!" Less than a moment after the liquid entered his mouth, Du Fei felt an explosion in his mind. Immediately after, an intense bone-chilling cold surged from his lower abdomen, spreading quickly throughout his body via his meridians. In the span of a single breath, a layer of frost formed all over him. Even the temperature in the room dropped significantly. "This... I've really done it this time!" Du Fei sighed with a wry smile in his heart. But as he sighed, his breath instantly solidified into frost before his eyes. "Beep. Low-level crisis detected. Friendly system reminder, Body-forging Fist can resolve this crisis. Should the system auto-activate?" As Du Fei remained unable to react, the system calmly gave its prompt. "This unreliable system... is finally being useful for once?" Du Fei was ecstatic, immediately dismissing the auto-activation. His trembling body, driven by his willpower, slowly assumed a stance. "Slap...slap slap slap..." Following Du Fei's intent, the rather awkward Soft Fist was slowly executed. At first, with every movement, the bone-piercing cold caused sharp pain throughout his body. But as he continued his movements, although the cold sensation remained, the sharp pain lessened bit by bit. By the end of the Soft Fist sequence, the pain had almost disappeared, yet the bone-chilling cold persisted. Du Fei took a shallow breath, about to relax his stance. However, the moment he attempted to, another wave of bone-chilling cold surged from his lower abdomen once again. "Damn it! What's going on?" Du Fei cursed softly but had no choice but to quickly execute Soft Fist again. The gentle moonlight poured in through the window, casting on the frost scattered on the floor, reflecting a few unusual rays of light. Inside the room, Du Fei, with his upper body bare, stood in the center of the house. His hands continuously shifted through movements. With every hand gesture, his feet moved forward and backward, appearing elusive and eerily unpredictable to the extreme. With each of his movements, a momentary pause caused frost to form on his skin. But when he made the next move, the frost would rapidly shed from his body. Again and again, he resembled a snake shedding its skin, looking extremely bizarre. However, this frost wasn't pure white. Within the frost, there was a faint shade of blackish tint. It was so subtle that unless one paid close attention, it would go unnoticed. "Huh!" With a low shout, Du Fei's body slightly contracted, and then he threw a punch forward. With this punch, all the air in the room was set in motion, forming a spiraling current of air, fiercely shooting out in front of him. After this strike, the gradually shedding frost instantly fell away. Du Fei's skin, for a moment, shimmered with an unusual luster, while sounds of bones crackling continuously resonated. However, when he completed the final strike and retracted his stance, another layer of frost emerged. But this time, the frost seemed to be much lesser than before. Du Fei seemed to chuckle bitterly. Without hesitation, he executed a set of Body-forging Fist, causing the room's temperature to drop a few notches instantly. "Hu!" With the last punch thrown, no bone-chilling cold surged from Du Fei's lower abdomen. After taking a shallow breath, he slowly opened his eyes. Glancing around, he couldn't help but give a wry smile. However, after a slight twist of his body, Du Fei's face lit up with joy. He murmured to himself, "The medicinal liquid seems overbearing in nature, but it indeed has some miraculous effects... having consumed just a drop, can I really advance to the fifth level of Body-forging so quickly?" Having said that, Du Fei's gaze fell on the medicine tripod in the room, covered in frost. Looking at the remaining drops of medicinal liquid, a peculiar gleam flashed in his eyes. Setting other things aside, just consuming the medicinal liquid and then cultivating such frost throughout the room... a common ninth-grade pill shouldn't be capable of producing this effect. Perhaps he had inadvertently created something extraordinary! He took out a crystal bottle from the inner chamber and carefully poured the remaining liquid into it. Seeing that over half the bottle was still filled with the liquid, Du Fei felt a hint of joy in his heart. If his luck held out and he consumed all of this medicinal liquid, he presumed he could reach the seventh level of Body-forging, right? The seventh level of Body-forging! That was his current goal. Only by reaching the seventh level of Body-forging would he have the strength to contend with Du Qing in the Clan Contest! Du Fei firmly believed that if he reached the seventh level of Body-forging, even without practicing any martial techniques, he would have a very high chance of defeating Du Qing! "The next thing to do is to continue cultivating!" Taking a soft breath, Du Fei quickly tidied up the inner chamber. Once the frost and snow had mostly melted, he took out a piece of clothing to replace the one that had almost been shattered during his cultivation, and then he leisurely walked out of the inner room. "Young Master, you're finally out! If you hadn't come out soon, I would have barged in!" As soon as he left the inner room, Little Ai, who was sitting in the room with a worried look, relaxed her expression and couldn't help but speak. Du Fei took a few steps forward, reached out to ruffle Little Ai's hair, and smiled, "What? You got worried just after a little while?" "A little while!?" Little Ai looked shocked. "Young Master, did you get silly from refining pills? You've been in the inner room for a whole half month! If it weren't for the fact that I could still sense your presence, I would've rushed in! Speaking of which, since when did you become a monster? Not eating or drinking for fifteen days and still looking so lively?" "Half a month?" Du Fei was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. His pill refining usually took no more than half a day. So, did that mean he had been cultivating for the rest of the time? The potency of that medicinal liquid was so domineering! He had cultivated for half a month just to fully assimilate that single drop! No wonder he had a faint feeling of breaking through to the fifth level of Body-forging! For a moment, Du Fei was filled with inexplicable emotion, realizing once again that he seemed to have stumbled upon a treasure. "Speaking of which, Young Master, did you successfully refine the pill?" Little Ai looked up with a puzzled expression. "I suppose it's done," Du Fei replied after some thought. The medicinal liquid was too potent, and he wasn't confident enough to give it to Little Ai. "However, I might need to practice refining it a few more times before it's safe to consume." "As long as you're fine, that's all that matters," Little Ai whispered. "If I succeed in refining the real pill, you'll be the first one to test its effects!" Du Fei touched his nose, looking somewhat embarrassed, "By the way, has there been any trouble in the past half month?" "Not really, but the incident at the market the other day seems to have been reported back to the Du Family. The Senior Elder sent a message asking if I'm interested in becoming his disciple to continue my cultivation," Little Ai hesitated before speaking softly. Hearing this, Du Fei's eyebrows slightly raised. The Du Family's Senior Elder, Du Zhenshan, was rumored to have been an Eighth-grade Martial Artist for many years, likely possessing the strength of a mid-level Eighth-grade Martial Artist. Such a powerhouse was interested in Little Ai? But after pondering for a moment, Du Fei began to understand. Someone like Little Ai, who at merely her teenage years possessed the strength of the ninth level of Body-forging, would be considered a supreme genius anywhere. It was only natural for the family to care so deeply about her. Moreover, the Senior Elder taking a disciple might not be as simple as just accepting a student, right? With these thoughts, Du Fei sneered, "Little Ai, handle this matter as you see fit. After all, we're living under someone else's roof. Whether we accept or decline, it could lead to complications. At times like these, we may have to endure... but trust me, it won't be long before you won't have to tolerate any longer." Hearing this, Little Ai also showed an understanding expression.