Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Life-Risking Cultivation

"This is way too heavy!" Shen Haoran grunted, struggling to hold up the giant ruler.

"Cut the crap. Put it on!" Without another word, Elder Yan tossed the giant ruler onto Shen Haoran’s back. Shen Haoran’s frame instantly sank several more inches into the earth.

"Urgh..." As the giant ruler landed on his back, Shen Haoran let out a muffled groan. The terrifying weight bent him over, making it impossible to stand straight.

After struggling for what felt like an eternity, Shen Haoran finally managed to stand up straight. He looked at Elder Yan and asked, "Can I start my Cultivation now that I’m carrying this?"

Elder Yan smiled faintly at the red-faced Shen Haoran. "No, carrying this is just the beginning. Next, you need to walk under the waterfall and use your Spiritual Power to stop its flow for two seconds. Only then can you truly begin your Cultivation of the Heaven-Breaking Kill!"

"What?!" Shen Haoran was stunned. The waterfall thundered down from a towering cliff, and its force was nothing to scoff at. To stand beneath it and stop its flow while carrying this giant ruler... the difficulty was off the charts.

But Shen Haoran wasn’t one to give up. Five years of being treated like trash had forged his will into something incredibly resilient. In fact, the greater the difficulty, the more he wanted to take on the challenge. ’How else can I break through my own limits?’

With a determined gaze at the waterfall, Shen Haoran painstakingly pulled his feet from the earth and began to walk toward it.

Shen Haoran had still underestimated the ruler’s weight. Every single step required all of his strength, leaving a deep footprint in the ground behind him. He also discovered that ever since he’d shouldered the giant ruler, the circulation of his Spiritual Power had slowed to a crawl, becoming almost nonexistent. He could only rely on pure physical strength to move.

After just five steps, sweat was pouring off Shen Haoran like rain, and his breathing grew ragged. Four steps later, he was completely spent and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"HUFF... HUFF... So heavy... Only nine steps and all my strength is gone! HUFF... HUFF..."

Glancing at the waterfall, still over ten meters away, Shen Haoran gave a bitter smile. He sat up and began to recover his strength.

And so it went. Shen Haoran would walk a few steps and collapse, recover his strength and continue, collapse again, and recover again... For that short distance of just over ten meters, it took him an entire afternoon to finally reach the waterfall.

"Phew... That wasn’t easy," Shen Haoran said, looking back at the deep footprints he’d left.

He took a deep breath, eyed the waterfall before him, and plunged in.

THUD! The moment he entered the cascade, a dull impact echoed out.

SPLAT! The immense force of the water crashed down on Shen Haoran, smashing him directly into the pool below.

Shen Haoran felt his body being torn asunder before he lost consciousness.

"Quick, save him!" Elder Yan yelled urgently at Changmao, seeing blood slowly begin to tinge the surface of the pool.

Changmao was swift. He dove into the pool and, two breaths later, reappeared before Elder Yan, dragging a blood-soaked figure.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s current state, even Elder Yan couldn’t help but gasp.

There wasn’t an inch of uninjured skin on Shen Haoran’s body. He was covered in gaping wounds, like a porcelain doll shattered by intense heat. Blood gushed from him freely. He already had one foot in the Ghost Gate.

"Old man, what the hell kind of Cultivation method is this?! If this kid dies, I’ll never forgive you!" Changmao roared at Elder Yan. After all, his life was bound to Shen Haoran’s; if Haoran died, he would die too.

"I know. This was within my expectations. It is part of the Cultivation," Elder Yan said grimly.

"Bullshit! Look at him, he’s already at the Ghost Gate, and you call this ’part of the training’? Are you out of your mind?!" Changmao didn’t buy it for a second and continued to rage.

"If you want him to live, do exactly as I say! Go dig a pit deep enough for a person and divert water from the pool into it!" Elder Yan commanded.

"Dig a pit? Are you trying to bury him or me? Believe it or not, I’ll..." Changmao stopped mid-threat. He saw Elder Yan pull several stalks of Spirit Medicine from his Storage Ring. A ball of black flame then ignited in Elder Yan’s palm, enveloping the herbs.

"You... You’re an Alchemist?" Changmao froze.

"Aren’t you going to dig that pit?" Elder Yan couldn’t be bothered to argue.

"Oh, right, digging!" Changmao instantly cast aside the dignity of an Ancient Divine Beast and began digging at the ground like an eager puppy. After all, his own life was on the line!

Once Changmao had diverted the water, Elder Yan quickened his work. The black flames roiled, swiftly extracting the essence from the stalks of Spirit Medicine, which then merged into a multicolored liquid.

Elder Yan dripped the fused Essence of Spiritual Medicine into the pit, and the water within turned a brilliant, multicolored hue.

"Put Shen the kid in there!" Elder Yan ordered grimly. Changmao complied, gently placing Shen Haoran into the water.

The moment Shen Haoran entered the water, a vortex formed around him. The multicolored medicinal liquid surged into his body through his ghastly wounds and began to slowly repair his shattered frame.

As the Essence of Spiritual Medicine did its work, Shen Haoran’s breathing gradually stabilized, and the wounds on his body started to close.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s condition improve, Changmao let out a long sigh of relief. He then looked at Elder Yan and said, "Old man, I didn’t realize you knew Alchemy!"

"Hmph. I’m not some Low Level Alchemist. The legacy I inherited is that of the Alchemists from the Ancient Times!" Elder Yan said with pride.

"An Alchemist!" Hearing this, Changmao couldn’t stay still. Back in his era, even with his arrogant personality, he would have had to bow respectfully to a High Tier Alchemist. That’s because Alchemists weren’t just skilled in Alchemy; they were also masters of Artifact Refining, Talisman Arrays, and Puppets. It was even rumored that a High Tier Alchemist could bring the dead back to life!

"However, of the six paths, I have only mastered the Alchemy Dao. I haven’t been able to decipher the others..." Elder Yan continued.

"Oh." Changmao’s interest vanished completely. He had been hoping Elder Yan could forge him a new physical body. He never expected Elder Yan only knew Alchemy.

Elder Yan had dampened his spirits, so Changmao ignored him and lay down beside Shen Haoran, observing his condition.

「A night passed.」

The colorful Essence of Spiritual Medicine in the pool gradually faded, and the water became clear once more. As the first rays of morning sun touched Shen Haoran’s face, his tightly shut eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Ugh... Elder Yan? Changmao?" As Shen Haoran opened his eyes, he saw Elder Yan and Changmao staring intently at him.

"You’re awake? How do you feel?" Elder Yan asked urgently.

"How do I feel?" Shen Haoran clenched his fists and looked down at his body. He let out a long, loud cry. "Awesome!"

The wounds on his body had vanished, his previous injuries completely healed. Moreover, he could feel that both his Spiritual Power and his physical strength had grown!

"What happened? Wasn’t I critically injured?" Shen Haoran asked, confused.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s confusion, Elder Yan explained everything that had transpired.

"Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Liquid? Elder Yan, you’re an Alchemist! Does this mean I have nothing to worry about for my Cultivation from now on?" Shen Haoran asked excitedly.

"Theoretically, yes."

"Great!" Delighted, Shen Haoran wasted no time. He leaped from the pool, hoisted the giant ruler onto his back, and started toward the waterfall once more. With Elder Yan’s Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Liquid to heal him, injuries were no longer a major concern. He had already felt its benefits; where before he would have reached his limit in just six or seven steps, he now managed over ten before his stamina began to fail.

’If getting injured once brings such great benefits,’ Shen Haoran thought, ’then it’s completely worth it!’

This time, it took Shen Haoran half the time to reach the waterfall.

"Phew... My strength has increased so much!" Shen Haoran marveled.

’I’ll give it my all!’ Shen Haoran gritted his teeth, stared at the waterfall, and plunged in once again.

This time, he wasn’t instantly blasted away. He lasted for five full breaths before finally succumbing. Seeing Shen Haoran once again lose consciousness and crash into the pool, Changmao quickly dragged him out and tossed him into the pit already filled with the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Liquid.

The second time, Shen Haoran regained consciousness in half a day. Feeling the increase in his Spiritual Power and physical strength, he joyfully shouldered the giant ruler and headed back to the waterfall.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s death-defying Cultivation, both Changmao and Elder Yan were on edge. After all, every single time, he ended up with one foot in the Ghost Gate. The slightest mistake would mean his actual death.

But they had still underestimated Shen Haoran’s craving for power—and the depths of his madness. 「For the next half a month」 Shen Haoran teetered constantly on the brink of life and death. But with great risk came great reward, and his strength grew with each passing day.