Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Spirit Devouring Pill

Three days later, thanks to the monstrous recovery ability of his Chaos Divine Body and Elder Yan’s elixirs, Shen Haoran’s injuries had almost completely healed.

"Hoooo..." Shen Haoran let out a long, turbid breath, his entire body instantly feeling much more relaxed.

’He’s finally healed!’ Sensing Shen Haoran’s aura, Elder Yan also breathed a sigh of relief. ’Thankfully, nothing unexpected happened these past three days.’

"Yeah. And my strength has improved again. Although there are no signs of a breakthrough yet, I’ve already touched the threshold of a Tier Three Spirit User. Fighting really is the fastest and most effective way to increase one’s strength!" Shen Haoran said, clenching his fists.

"Where’s Changmao? Why isn’t he here?" With his injuries fully healed, Shen Haoran was in a cheerful mood. But then he realized it was just him and Elder Yan in the cave—Changmao was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, him. He spent the last few days expending a lot of energy searching for Spirit Medicine for you. He’s recuperating in the Sword Spirit Space right now!" Elder Yan said with a sigh. These past three days, Changmao had rushed about daily in the dangerous mountain forests. Shen Haoran’s swift recovery was largely thanks to him.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran’s heart warmed. Although he and Changmao had a master-servant relationship, Shen Haoran had always been very wary of him. After all, he was an Ancient Divine Beast Taotie, and Shen Haoran couldn’t believe it would obey his commands so readily. After this, however, he truly began to see Changmao as a brother.

After silently thanking Changmao, Shen Haoran asked Elder Yan, "Elder Yan, how’s that cultivation plan of yours coming along? I need to increase my strength as soon as possible so I can go find Xue Qinghe and settle this score!"

When Shen Haoran asked about the cultivation plan, Elder Yan heaved a long sigh. "The plan is difficult to make. Back in the middle region of the Profound Spirit Mountain Range, there were at least Spirit Beasts that could serve as your sparring partners. But here, any random beast could easily one-shot you! On top of that, we can’t make too much of a commotion during your cultivation, or you’ll be in deep trouble if you attract a Spirit Beast."

"Ah? Then what do we do?" Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed. If there was no cultivation plan and he had to rely solely on meditation to increase his strength, how long would it take for him to get his revenge?

It had also been almost half a year since he left the Shen Family. If he couldn’t rapidly increase his strength, he would undoubtedly lose the two-year agreement. And if he failed, the Shen Family would face the danger of retaliation from the Spirit Crane Sect! At this thought, Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed even more tightly.

"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you increase your strength!" Elder Yan said, as if he knew what Shen Haoran was thinking.

"Huh? Elder Yan, you have another way?" Shen Haoran was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"I do, but it involves some risks."

"What kind of risks? I’m not afraid. As long as it can increase my strength, I’ll do it!" Shen Haoran said without hesitation.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s determined expression, Elder Yan took a Jade Bottle of elixirs from his robes and handed it to him.

"Elixirs? Elder Yan, the risk you’re talking about... it isn’t that my cultivation will be permanently stuck at a certain level after I improve, is it?" Shen Haoran said with a frown.

"Hmph, of course not. I wouldn’t deign to refine that kind of elixir, nor would I ever let you take one!" Elder Yan snorted.

"This elixir is called the Spirit Devouring Pill. It’s more accurate to call it a poison than an elixir. Its effects are extremely tyrannical. After you swallow it, it will devour your Spiritual Power from within, and at an incredible speed!

Since there are no battles here for you to train with, I can only use this elixir to simulate the rapid depletion of Spiritual Power during combat. At the same time, to make sure your combat awareness doesn’t lag, you must fight against me while simultaneously counteracting the Spirit Devouring Pill’s effects!

However, this is somewhat dangerous. If the Spirit Devouring Pill’s effects are still active after it has devoured all your Spiritual Power, it will begin to directly devour your Essence Blood!"

"Devour my Essence Blood!" Shen Haoran cried out in alarm. He knew that Essence Blood was the very source of a person’s life. If it were devoured, it would affect his lifespan!

"Elder Yan, why can’t I just fight you directly?" Shen Haoran asked, confused. ’Since the Spirit Devouring Pill is so dangerous, it would be much better to just fight Elder Yan directly!’

"That won’t work. The power you can unleash at full strength is no longer weak. A fight between us would create a huge commotion. If that attracts one of the overlords from the inner region of the Profound Spirit Mountain Range, it would be even more dangerous! Besides, your strength will increase much faster by taking the Spirit Devouring Pill. After all, the greater the risk, the greater the reward, right?" Elder Yan explained.

After hearing Elder Yan’s words, Shen Haoran took a deep breath. Staring at the Jade Bottle in his hand, he gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, I’ll risk it!" With that, he tipped out a black elixir and tossed it directly into his mouth.

The moment the black elixir entered his mouth, it dissolved into a torrent that flowed down into his stomach. Then, an incredibly tyrannical suction force erupted from within his body. The three Spirit Pills in his Dantian trembled, and streams of Spiritual Power surged out from them, merging into the black torrent.

The terrifying Devouring Power made Shen Haoran’s entire body shudder. He immediately mobilized the Spiritual Power within him to counteract the suction.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Shen Haoran’s forehead. The tyrannical effect of the pill was almost too much for him to bear. Only after completely depleting all the Spiritual Power within his three Spirit Pills did he finally manage to neutralize the Spirit Devouring Pill’s effects.

PANT... PANT... Shen Haoran felt as if his body had been completely hollowed out, and he couldn’t muster a single shred of strength.

Seeing this, Elder Yan took out the Red Flame Red Lotus for Shen Haoran. He quickly sat on it, formed a hand seal, and began to recover his Spiritual Power.

"That’s some terrifying medicinal power!" After a long moment, Shen Haoran finally recovered and spoke with lingering fear.

"And what about the gains?" Elder Yan asked.

"Hehe, it’s true that great risks come with great rewards!" Shen Haoran chuckled. The Spiritual Power in his body was even more abundant. ’Just two more times like this, and I should be able to break through to become a Tier Three Spirit User!’

"Hurry and get your body accustomed to it. After that, we’ll start actual combat!"

"You got it!" Shen Haoran said, then tipped another Spirit Devouring Pill into his mouth, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate.

...

「Five days later.」

"Heaven-Breaking Kill!"

Inside the cave, Shen Haoran’s body shot toward Elder Yan like a cannonball, slamming fiercely into his palms.

BANG! With a muffled thud, Shen Haoran was sent flying from the impact, only stopping when he crashed into the stone wall. Instantly, cracks spread across its surface like a spiderweb.

Shen Haoran dropped to the ground. Ignoring the pain racking his body, he scrambled onto the Red Flame Red Lotus, formed a hand seal, and began to recover his Spiritual Power.

The effects of the Spirit Devouring Pill were still active inside him. If he didn’t supply Spiritual Power in time, it would start devouring his Essence Blood. After a long while, Shen Haoran finally neutralized the pill’s effects and began to restore the Spiritual Power in his body.

Over these five days, Shen Haoran had finally broken through to become a Tier Three Spirit User. He was now able to fight Elder Yan while under the effects of the Spirit Devouring Pill. Although he could only last two moves each time, he was constantly improving, and the Spiritual Power in his body was growing at a terrifying rate. It had only been five days since his breakthrough, yet Shen Haoran had already completely consolidated his strength and was beginning to charge toward the rank of Tier Four Spirit User.

A short while later, Shen Haoran opened his eyes, a look of joy on his face as he felt the abundant Spiritual Power within him. He then looked at Elder Yan, battle intent surging. He pulled out another Spirit Devouring Pill and was about to pop it into his mouth, ready for another big fight.

But just as Shen Haoran was about to toss the Spirit Devouring Pill into his mouth, a world-shaking roar echoed from outside the cave.

"Something’s happening!" Hearing the roar, Shen Haoran immediately stopped what he was doing and went to the cave entrance to look outside.

"It’s over there. Two Tier Six Spirit Beasts are fighting!" Elder Yan’s Spiritual Thought was powerful, and he immediately pinpointed what was happening.

"Tier Six Spirit Beasts?" Shen Haoran was puzzled. ’A Tier Six Spirit Beast is usually the lord of its own territory. Two lords wouldn’t fight so easily, unless it’s a dispute over land!’

"Let’s go take a look!" Shen Haoran said, looking in the direction of the sound.

"Are you an idiot? With your meager strength, the aftershocks from a battle between Tier Six Spirit Beasts could kill you instantly. What do you think you’re going to do there?" Elder Yan said, shooting him a cold look.

"I’m not going to watch them fight. They probably can’t spare any thought for their lairs right now, can they? A Tier Six Spirit Beast’s lair should have plenty of valuable things, right? If I could take advantage of the situation and loot one or two items, I’d strike it rich!" Shen Haoran said, licking his lips as his eyes burned with greed.

Hearing this, Elder Yan was also tempted. The two of them then followed the sound and ran toward the site of the battle.

Thanks to the auras of the two Tier Six Spirit Beasts, all the surrounding Spirit Beasts had been scared off. Thus, they didn’t run into any trouble along the way and soon arrived at the battlefield.

Upon arriving, Shen Haoran couldn’t help but gasp as he took in the scene. In the distance, two Spirit Beasts the size of mountains were locked in combat. The shockwaves from their battle pulverized the surrounding hills and trees. Even from such a great distance, Shen Haoran could still feel an oppressive pressure.

"Two Tier Six Hell Demon Bears! We came all this way for nothing," Elder Yan said regretfully after seeing the two Spirit Beasts.

"Huh? Why?" Shen Haoran didn’t understand.

"Hell Demon Bears are notoriously gluttonous in the Spirit Beast Realm. Don’t even think about finding any Heavenly and Earthly Treasures in its lair. The only thing you’ll find is bear dung!" Elder Yan said with disdain.

Shen Haoran was disappointed by Elder Yan’s explanation. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he spotted what looked like a human figure by a small stream in the distance.

"Hm? Is that someone...?"