Chapter 148: The Peak of a Martial Artist

This was a fiery red forest, unusually quiet inside, and compared to the dense beast roars nearby, this place seemed somewhat eerie. The red leaves often emitted a strange energy fluctuation.

Under this brief tranquility, a low murmur suddenly sounded. Inside the forest, a naked body was soaking in a medicinal pool.

Three days had passed since Yang Tian fell asleep, and he was still half-conscious, soaking in a pool of light red medicinal liquid.

The entire pool exuded a rich vitality. A phantom figure sat cross-legged beside it, watching Yang Tian absorb the medicinal power, nodding in satisfaction.

Nearby, Xiao Bai took on patrol duty, occasionally letting out a "ding ding" sound. The faint demonic aura emanating from its body caused nearby spirit beasts to draw closer.

After half a day, Yang Tian's hazy eyes slowly opened. As his pupils moved, he saw Yang Xiao and let out a slow sigh of relief.

The moment Yang Tian moved his body, a tearing pain shot straight to his heart. He couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, his face filled with agony.

"Uncle Xiao, where is this?" Yang Tian glanced around, licked his parched lips, and said softly.

"This is deep within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains," Yang Xiao replied with a slight smile.

"Deep within!" Yang Tian shuddered, sat up with difficulty in a cross-legged position, looked at the pool of medicinal liquid, and smacked his lips.

He seemed to recall something and scanned the surroundings.

"Those two little girls have been taken away. Don't worry, they'll be fine." Seeing Yang Tian's tense expression, Yang Xiao shook his head and chuckled.

Yang Tian was silent for a moment, then remembered the scene earlier. Before he passed out, Meng Yunxi had come; Hong Ying and the others should have been taken away by her.

"Focus on your cultivation first. This is a healing potion I prepared. In the future, don't always use the Water of Life when injured, or your body will develop resistance. Your flesh contains too much Water of Life; it needs to be guided out in time."

"Resistance?" Yang Tian's heart tightened, a sense of dread rising within him. If what Yang Xiao said was true, the accumulation of too much Water of Life in his body would do no good for his cultivation.

When the accumulated medicinal power reached a peak, it would directly detonate, and the piled-up energy would burst Yang Tian apart.

"The trees around here are Flame Trees. They contain a precious medicinal liquid. I didn't expect to find such a large grove. You're quite lucky, kid."

After speaking, Yang Xiao took out a red jade bottle and uncorked it. A scorching energy emanated from within; the liquid inside looked like magma.

"It'll hurt a bit. Bear with it." Yang Xiao shook the bottle in front of Yang Tian, a smile spreading across his face.

"Oh..." Looking at the jade bottle in Yang Xiao's hand and then at his smile, a hint of unease flickered in Yang Tian's eyes.

"Sizzle..." A drop of fiery red liquid fell into the pool, and the entire pool began to roil. In moments, it was like boiling water, sizzling loudly.

"Is this medicine or poison..." Watching the roiling liquid, Yang Tian's scalp tingled. Just one drop caused such an effect.

"Don't just stand there. Start cultivating. I put a lot of effort into refining this liquid." Seeing Yang Tian's expression, Yang Xiao curled his lip and scolded with a laugh.

"Alright..." Nodding, Yang Tian took a deep breath, cast aside distracting thoughts, and directly activated the War Heaven Art.

The moment the War Heaven Art began to circulate, the liquid in the pool suddenly churned, and strands of scorching energy drilled into Yang Tian's flesh.

His skin felt as if it were being cut open, both painful and itchy, like countless ants crawling inside his body. Every part of Yang Tian seemed to be undergoing torment.

On Yang Tian's wounded skin, as the strands of scorching energy grew, they seemed to turn into balls of fire, making a "zzz" sound.

Yang Tian couldn't help but twitch his mouth. His whole body ached and itched; sometimes it felt like being scratched by a chicken, other times like falling into magma—agonizing.

As time passed, the pain lasted for about a quarter of an hour. The scorching energy had already wormed into all his muscles, corroding them. Inside, it was like a flood, with surging energy bursting forth.

Strands of medicinal power were driven out, turning into clusters of rich, medicinal vapor, shimmering with a glazed, jewel-like luster. They washed through Yang Tian's body, and with each cycle, he sensed the internal energy growing.

"Not bad." Sensing Yang Tian's recovery, Yang Xiao nodded, took out the red jade bottle again, and dripped two more drops into the pool.

"Sizzle..." The entire pool seemed to encounter its nemesis, shaking violently as wild energy surged into Yang Tian's flesh.

Waves of pain and itch assailed him, several times more intense than before. Yang Tian twitched his mouth, forcibly suppressing the urge to jump out, enduring the torment.

This surge of scorching energy grew, writhing inside Yang Tian's body. The energy within gradually intensified, and his entire interior took on a glazed hue.

"How can there be so much medicinal power!" Seeing this, Yang Tian smacked his lips hard. The power here wasn't just Water of Life; most of it was from Xuan Yuan Yang Tai Dan, and then ancient elixirs.

"It seems the ancient elixirs they refined have drawbacks too. If one relied on them for daily cultivation, it wouldn't work." Yang Tian licked his lips. The medicinal power accumulated in his body was too strong.

Rumble! Yang Tian's River of Blood and Qi was rapidly recovering. The medicinal power that had been stored in his body for a long time was very potent. Each time it washed through the River of Blood and Qi, the energy within solidified a bit.

"Awoo..." Sensing this familiar energy fluctuation, Xiao Bai bounded over excitedly, its big eyes fixed on the large pool of liquid, a hopeful gleam in them.

Xiao Bai cast a furtive glance at Yang Xiao. Seeing him with eyes closed, it stretched out its head, extended its pink tongue, and took a lick.

After drinking the liquid, Xiao Bai smacked its lips. In the next instant, its fur stood on end like a little hedgehog, baring its teeth, its stomach feeling as if it had worms.

"Haha!" Seeing Xiao Bai's state, Yang Xiao couldn't help but laugh heartily.

"Awoo..." Xiao Bai let out a long howl, its whole body in agony, and immediately bolted away.

"This little guy..." Yang Xiao couldn't help but chuckle. If anyone else had swallowed that liquid directly, they'd either die or be severely injured.

A full day passed, and the red liquid in Yang Xiao's bottle had decreased by nearly half. Now, the aura Yang Tian emitted was immense and extremely unstable.

"Looks like he's about to break through." Yang Xiao stopped pouring the liquid. The dormant medicinal power in Yang Tian's body was almost exhausted, and what remained wouldn't cause major trouble.

Inside Yang Tian, his skin was like jade, his bones translucent, his blood and qi crystalline. His entire body radiated a jewel-like luster. Not only had his physique improved, but the energy in his Qi Sea could no longer be suppressed.

The Blood Qi Little Man appeared on the ground of the acupoints, looking at the remaining twelve acupoints. Yang Tian smacked his lips. Others broke through them one by one, but he had to blast open twelve at once.

"Bang..." After a moment of stillness, the Blood Qi Little Man suddenly punched out. Blood qi shimmered, starlight burst forth, and a fierce energy erupted.

All one hundred and eight acupoints shook, rumbling inside like a great drum being beaten. The sound waves spread, causing all one hundred and sixty-eight acupoints to tremble.

Thunder Drum Heavenly Sound—this phenomenon, when fully developed, could shake people to death. Those who could comprehend this phenomenon had extremely deep foundations, astonishing vitality, and cultivation reaching Tongxuan, manifesting the Thunder Drum to drive the Thunder Drum Heavenly Sound.

One by one, the acupoints were blasted open. Energy surged like a tide, and Yang Tian's aura climbed steadily. The storm in the River of Blood and Qi grew fiercer.

The wind howled louder, stirring up waves. Cracking sounds of air bursts frequently exploded. The surrounding starlight also stirred, and with each star's blessing, the weight of every drop of blood and qi seemed to multiply several times.

"Chi!" As the last acupoint was blasted open, Yang Tian's entire body suddenly shook. All one hundred and eight acupoints operated at full capacity, and a brilliant crimson radiance seemed to twist heaven and earth.

Rumble! The one hundred and sixty-eight acupoints shook the world, interconnected, shooting out an extremely dazzling crimson beam that directly projected into the River of Blood and Qi.

His momentum climbed. The entire River of Blood and Qi expanded wildly, and dense heavenly and earthly essence surged in, forming a huge vortex above Yang Tian's head.

Yang Tian's absorption speed was terrifying, like a bottomless black hole. The entire River of Blood and Qi swelled, surging blood and qi like an open faucet.

Rumble! The rainbow-like blood and qi fully bloomed, and strands of crimson scattered through the void. His entire aura surged several times, and the energy within him grew stronger.

Just as Yang Tian's absorption speed slowed, he vaguely sensed the River of Blood and Qi trembling and quickly stopped. If he broke through to the Tongxuan realm now, he would definitely trigger a lightning tribulation.

"I didn't expect the accumulated energy to be so vast, actually touching the threshold of Tongxuan." Sensing this fluctuation, Yang Xiao smacked his lips. According to his estimation, Yang Tian's breakthrough to Tongxuan would take some time. He hadn't expected that driving out the dormant energy in his body would lead to a natural progression.

Yang Tian opened his eyes, a startling crimson light flashing in them. Sensing the immense blood and qi within, he couldn't help but smack his lips. If he encountered Gu Qi again, he was confident he could blow him apart. But that was provided his cultivation hadn't broken through...

Yang Tian patted his stiff arms, then cast his gaze at the medicinal pool. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes. The liquid in the pool had turned clear; the medicinal power had been completely absorbed by him.

"Don't be stunned. Your energy has increased quite a bit. Try to see if you can refine a second-grade pill now." Seeing Yang Tian's astonished expression, Yang Xiao said with a slight smile.