In the blink of an eye, five days had passed since Lu Li entered Pill Room Number Three.
That morning, the maidservant Chun Tao brought several light breakfast dishes to Lu Li's room, just as she usually did. She cleared away the untouched dinner from the day before, lightly tidied the room, and prepared to leave.
This was her daily routine.
Chun Tao was also a cultivator, but she had only just stepped into the first level of Qi Refinement. Without any friends, she did not dare venture out alone to temper herself. Being taken in by the Market Lord's Manor and receiving those few True Essence Pills each month was already an immense favor.
Some days ago, Wan Hong'an had offered her some advice. He mentioned that she possessed decent looks, and since Master Qin was young, she might secure a good future if she was willing to set aside her pride.
She did not want to remain a maidservant for life. After struggling for a long time, she mustered the courage to change into an outfit that made even her own face blush. Unfortunately, that "Master Qin" did not seem to feel anything toward her.
Whenever this came to mind, her heart fell into turmoil-mingling disappointment, relief, reluctance, and doubt.
She did not know if her beauty was lacking, or if that "Master Qin" was...
After packing away the leftover food from yesterday, Chun Tao stepped out of the room. She gently closed the door and was about to leave when she caught sight of a youth walking toward her. He wore dark green martial attire and carried an extraordinary bearing, though his complexion was slightly dark.
The youth's face revealed a hint of fatigue, yet it was mixed with profound joy.
Chun Tao stepped forward and bowed in greeting. "Master Qin, you have returned."
The person was indeed Lu Li. He nodded, smiling as he gave a light hum of acknowledgment. "Busy?"
Chun Tao smiled and nodded. "Yes, Chun Tao just delivered your breakfast. It is still hot, you should go eat some quickly."
"Good, thank you for your hard work." Lu Li smiled at Chun Tao, then brushed past her.
"It seems Pill Masters do not have such eccentric tempers after all." Chun Tao's large eyes shifted nimbly, and with a faint smile, she walked off into the distance.
Inside the room.
Lu Li ate a simple breakfast and stretched his body before lying down on the bed. Afterward, he impatiently entered the Time Hall. Sitting cross-legged on the prayer mat in the center of the grand hall, he waved his hand, and jade bottles appeared before him.
This time, he had used thirty-three sets of materials to refine thirty-two Meridian-Nourishing Pills.
It was not that he did not want to refine more, but the Meridian-Nourishing Pill was truly difficult to concoct. Refining a single set of materials at a time was fine; they would almost always successfully form into pills.
But if he attempted to refine several sets together, he would lose out without exception. Lu Li had tried refining three sets of materials simultaneously on three occasions. Two of those attempts only yielded two Meridian-Nourishing Pills, and only once did he produce four.
He guessed this was mostly because the pill formula remained incomplete. After that, he no longer dared to refine multiple sets at once. It was precisely because of this trial and error that he had ruined one set of materials.
"I wonder how effective they are. I will test one first."
Lu Li set the Meridian-Nourishing Pills back in their place, picked up a bottle of Piercing Acupoint Pills, poured one into his palm, and swallowed it in a single gulp.
Unsurprisingly, it brought that familiar sensation.
The surging medicinal power rampaged through his Dantian like sharp arrows. Lu Li had already experienced the ferocity of this medicinal energy. This time, to minimize his injuries, he controlled it with far more caution.
Just before reaching the eighth acupoint of his fifth qi meridian, Lu Li slightly relaxed his control. The arrow-like dragon immediately surged forward like a bursting dam. By the time Lu Li tried to pinch the gap closed, he realized it was already out of his control.
A muffled thud echoed out.
The eighth acupoint shattered open. Despite his preparations, Lu Li nearly bit through his own teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
Just like last time, the acupoint the arrow-like dragon passed through was left battered and bloodstained. The slightest use of True Qi brought about a heart-rending, agonizing pain.
After bursting open the eighth acupoint, the arrow-like dragon diminished by half, yet it continued to surge forward uncontrollably. Lu Li simply stopped trying to restrain it. He worried that using external force to block its path might disrupt the Piercing Acupoint Pill's efficacy.
"Thud!"
Another muffled sound rang out as the ninth acupoint also shattered. The surging medicinal power was reduced to mere remnants, wandering through the qi meridian for a moment before vanishing completely.
Using his inner vision, Lu Li saw that both acupoints were stained with blood.
Now was the time to witness the Meridian-Nourishing Pill's efficacy. Enduring the pain, Lu Li carefully poured out a Meridian-Nourishing Pill. A flash of anticipation crossed his eyes before he tossed it into his mouth.
The Meridian-Nourishing Pill melted the moment it entered his mouth. A gentle, soothing aura swirled across his palate, as pleasant as basking under the warm sun on a spring meadow.
Secretly delighted, Lu Li carefully guided this gentle aura, allowing it to slowly seep into his Dantian before driving it step by step into the fifth qi meridian.
Once inside the qi meridian, it became much easier to control. With Lu Li driving it forward from behind, the aura approached the eighth acupoint step by step.
The moment it touched the bloody gashes, this medicinal power immediately adhered to the wounds like a healing salve. Seeing that quite a bit of medicinal power still remained, Lu Li quickly guided it toward the ninth acupoint.
In this manner, both acupoints were coated in the grayish-white medicinal power of the Meridian-Nourishing Pill. At the same time, a numb, itchy sensation arose within his meridian acupoints. He knew the Meridian-Nourishing Pill was helping him heal his acupoint wounds. In his heart, he mused that this Meridian-Nourishing Pill truly lived up to its name.
What surprised Lu Li was that even after coating two injured acupoints, roughly half of the medicinal power still remained. This left him somewhat unwilling. Was he simply going to let it go to waste?
He had painstakingly refined these pills, and there were only thirty-two of them in total.
According to his estimates, a single Meridian-Nourishing Pill should have no problem mending four acupoints. It would be a true pity to waste it like this.
"Should I... take another Piercing Acupoint Pill?"
Lu Li tentatively observed the "salve" plastered against the acupoint barriers as this thought crossed his mind. However, he was truly worried that the Piercing Acupoint Pill's raw medicinal power would destroy the salve. If that happened, the loss would outweigh the gain.
For a time, Lu Li fell into extreme indecision.
After hesitating for a long while, Lu Li simply could not bear to waste the remaining medicinal efficacy. Gritting his teeth, he made a decision. He first withdrew the Meridian-Nourishing Pill's medicinal power back into his Dantian, then took out another Piercing Acupoint Pill and swallowed it.
Under his control, the arrow-like dragon formed by the Piercing Acupoint Pill swiftly howled past the eighth acupoint. In an instant, the salve plastered onto the acupoint barrier showed signs of dispersing.
Alarmed, Lu Li forced the arrow-like dragon to speed forward. Only when it had completely bypassed the eighth and ninth acupoints did he look back at the salve-which had nearly been swept away-and breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, two consecutive muffled thuds rang out. The tenth and eleventh acupoints were breached in succession.
Enduring the pain, Lu Li quickly mobilized the Meridian-Nourishing Pill's medicinal power stored in his Dantian. Along the way, the first two acupoints absorbed a portion of the medicinal power. However, to his delight, the remaining two acupoints were successfully coated with the salve.
Although the medicinal power covering the final acupoint was much weaker, it was still better than nothing.
Lu Li also reached a conclusion: he could take a maximum of two Piercing Acupoint Pills at once before relying on a single Meridian-Nourishing Pill to heal his injuries.
Now, it was just a matter of seeing how long it would take for the Meridian-Nourishing Pill to fully mend his injuries before he could begin the next round of breakthroughs.