Chapter Thirty-Two: The Blood Ignition Pill

On the second day, upon waking, Xu Chen once again entered the Sacred White Space to begin crafting Hemostasis Powder. Whenever he felt weary or bored, he would seek out the Six Forms of the Saint Ape for a sparring session—more precisely, to endure another round of hardship. So the cycle repeated, day after day, until finally, on the third day, Xu Chen managed to produce his first batch of Hemostasis Powder with a quality score of eighty.

Though it was only a single batch of such high quality, Xu Chen sensed that victory was already beckoning. Even as the thunderbolt crashed down, he felt he had triumphed. With each passing test, his confidence grew; the consciousness he sent forth to endure the thunder strikes began to find a strange exhilaration amidst the pain.

His routine became simple: aside from his daily guard duties, he returned to craft Hemostasis Powder. This pattern continued until the sixth day, by which time he had produced twenty batches, four of which achieved a quality score above eighty.

One morning, just as Xu Chen was about to enter the Sacred White Space, he heard a knock at his door.

"Who could be looking for me at this hour?" he wondered, opening the door in confusion.

A striking figure clad in vibrant red stood before him, lively and beautiful.

"Little junior brother~"

She wore a loose, fiery red gown, her demeanor as passionate as her attire.

"Good morning, senior sister." Unable to resist, Xu Chen glanced at Hu Feifei’s back, noticing that her red tail had grown out.

"Thank you for carrying me back to camp the other day," she said. "Now that I've recovered, I wanted to invite you to dinner to express my gratitude."

Hu Feifei sized Xu Chen up, suddenly realizing that her junior brother was rather handsome.

"No need for such trouble. Even if I hadn’t rescued you, someone else would have," Xu Chen replied, hesitating.

Before he could finish, Hu Feifei took him by the wrist and led him toward a bustling market in the square.

"Just come with me. I promise I won’t eat you~"

Among the gathering of various minor sects, a large market had been constructed, resembling a small town. In a private room of a tavern, Hu Feifei ordered a table full of dishes.

"Little junior brother, judging by your bone age and current strength, you must have ordinary aptitude, right~" she asked, scrutinizing him.

"Senior sister, your insight is remarkable," Xu Chen replied, pausing his chopsticks and answering truthfully.

"You used connections to get into the Great Creek Sect, planning to marry a companion from another race, correct~"

Xu Chen nodded again.

"You’ve done your sister a favor, so once you reach the Treasure Body Realm, I’ll introduce you to a little junior sister," Hu Feifei promised, patting her chest, which quivered slightly.

"Why wait until the Treasure Body Realm?" Xu Chen asked, curious.

"Because without reaching that realm, you can't break through the limitations of your bloodline and can't nurture a child," Hu Feifei explained.

"The most crucial point is that cultivation at the Blood Vitality Realm is too low," she laughed.

Xu Chen finally understood why his father insisted on supporting him until he attained the Treasure Body Realm.

"Senior sister, now that you’ve recovered, will you return to the Trial World?"

"Yes. For those of us from other races, it's a rare opportunity," Hu Feifei said, her eyes sparkling. "There are countless chances for treasures and techniques inside. If we seize them, perhaps we can step onto the path of immortality."

"Then I wish you every success," Xu Chen said.

At that moment, Hu Feifei’s disciple token vibrated.

"Little junior brother, my teammates are calling me back. Take your time with the meal," she said, settling the bill before leaving.

Xu Chen looked at the thirty-six dishes before him and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

"Ordinary aptitude really is easy to spot," he mused, picking up his chopsticks to continue eating.

After finishing, Xu Chen wandered around the market. Eventually, he came upon an apothecary. Outside the shop, a wooden sign announced Blood Ignition Pills available for sale today.

"Blood Ignition Pills?" he wondered. Typically, pills, powders, and ointments all fell within the realm of medicine-making.

Given his own experience in alchemy, Xu Chen was intrigued. Entering the shop, he asked, "Shopkeeper, what effects does the Blood Ignition Pill have?"

"It can temporarily boost your blood vitality by just under ten percent for an hour, but only those at the Blood Vitality Realm can take it," the shopkeeper explained. "It’s effective, but the side effects are severe—afterward, you’ll feel weak for a month."

"It's not as potent as the spiritual elixirs, but it's cheap—one spirit coin per pill," the shopkeeper added enthusiastically.

Xu Chen’s eyes lit up. He had studied nearly all the alchemical recipes available in the Great Creek Sect, and only three met his criteria. Now, encountering one here was exciting.

"Shopkeeper, do you sell the recipe?" Xu Chen asked, examining a bottle of Blood Ignition Pills.

"Esteemed guest, this is our Spirit Herb Gate’s exclusive formula. We don’t sell it," the shopkeeper replied, growing wary.

"I’m not interested in competing with your business. I just want to study it out of curiosity," Xu Chen assured him.

"You must be joking. We never sell our recipes," the shopkeeper said, his earlier enthusiasm fading.

"In that case, I’ll take ten Blood Ignition Pills," Xu Chen said.

He returned to his quarters with the pills.

"Since it’s not a pill formula, alchemical recipes are still relatively easy to decipher," Xu Chen muttered, pouring out a pill to begin his research.

After months of study, he couldn’t claim to be a master, but he had some skill.

"Withered Heart Grass, Red Bright Stone powder, ginseng juice, Three Bitter Lotus..."

Xu Chen identified several ingredients by their scent.

"I’ll continue my research once I return."

Unnoticed, two months had passed while Xu Chen stood guard. The spirit vessel that had brought them slowly descended in front of them once more. After the replacement disciples disembarked, Xu Chen and his companions boarded.

As the spirit vessel took flight, Xu Chen leaned against the railing, gazing down at the square below. He felt increasingly like a non-player character.

"If transmigrating makes one the protagonist, my presence as the protagonist is woefully faint," he thought, unable to resist a self-deprecating laugh.

Back at the Great Creek Sect, Xu Chen collected his reward from the Miscellaneous Hall: eight hundred spirit coins.

"Not bad," he remarked.

Returning home at dusk, he found Niu Dali by the river outside his door, squatting with a massive stone weighing a hundred thousand pounds on his shoulders.

"Senior Brother Niu, long time no see."

Seeing Xu Chen return, Niu Dali tossed the stone aside and ran over excitedly.

"Junior Brother Xu, with you gone, my cultivation hasn’t been nearly as satisfying," he said. "Come, let’s spar. Let me show you whether I’ve improved these past two months!"

Without warning, Niu Dali’s fist—large as a clay pot—swung toward Xu Chen.

"Hey, Senior Brother Niu, you’re not fighting fair! I wasn’t ready!" Xu Chen dodged to the side, then unleashed his full blood vitality, charging at Niu Dali.

The two of them were the best sparring partners for each other.

Despite possessing the strength of ten tigers, Niu Dali still couldn’t best Xu Chen. Xu Chen’s palm strikes, imbued with strange force, pierced Niu Dali’s flesh like needles. Though not particularly damaging, they stung terribly.

After their bout, Niu Dali felt as though he’d been turned into a pincushion.

"Enough, I surrender," he said, raising his hands.

"Junior Brother Xu, I believe that once you have the strength of ten tigers, you’ll dominate the Trial World."

"Take it slow. I still need six tigers and seven bulls more," Xu Chen replied.

After sparring, they each returned to their homes.

That night, Xu Chen nervously prepared to craft his twentieth batch of Hemostasis Powder in the Sacred White Space. Upon entering, he was unexpectedly filled with a sense of clarity and inspiration; of his previous nineteen batches, nine had achieved a quality score above eighty.