Chapter Thirty-Three: The First Sensation

With a heart pounding in excitement and hands trembling, Xu Chen cautiously completed each step as if he were a novice.
“I must hold on, I’m about to succeed!”
With the final step, the coagulating powder, the preparation of the hemostatic powder was finished.
An “80” appeared above the hemostatic powder, marking its quality.
Xu Chen barely had time to feel elated before he suddenly looked toward the sky.
“Objective completed. Reward: Perfect Hemostatic Powder Crafting Insight.”
In that instant, Xu Chen felt his soul pulled into a deep abyss.
Heaven and earth transformed, all things reversed.
Then, a mysterious force reshaped the world anew.
When he regained his senses, Xu Chen found himself a six-year-old child standing before an apothecary table, an elderly man with a childlike face and white hair beside him.
“Whether crafting medicine or refining elixirs, both are about harnessing the use of all things.”
“My dear grandson, if you wish to master the art of pill-making, begin with learning how to craft medicines.”
The elder then personally began preparing hemostatic powder, and the child Xu Chen watched with solemn attention.
The old man radiated a profound aura; every movement and every word etched deeply into Xu Chen’s soul.
Soon, the simplest hemostatic powder was complete.
Xu Chen gazed at the crimson, translucent powder, feeling as if it were a work of art shaped by the universe itself.
“My child, do you see? This is the most perfect hemostatic powder in the world, bringing forth the full potential of all ingredients and rare items.”
Xu Chen was about to respond when his body naturally spoke for him:
“Grandfather, I understand.”
Then Xu Chen entered a peculiar state, as if someone guided his body and soul to craft hemostatic powder.
The six-year-old darted around the apothecary room, collecting and processing various herbs.
Once the ingredients were prepared, he began to make the medicine.
Soon, another batch of hemostatic powder was done, this time marked with “82.”
“My child, when you handled the nettle grass just now, you used…”
The elder taught with patience, and Xu Chen listened intently, for he shared the same doubts.
“Grandfather, let me try a few more times.”
The child proceeded to make ten batches of hemostatic powder, and finally, produced one of perfect quality, marked “100.”
In that moment, Xu Chen’s soul returned to the sacred white space, brimming with insights that surfaced in his mind.
He sat within the sacred white space for a long time, lost in thought.

“So that’s how it works.”
Xu Chen’s consciousness returned to his body, and he fell into a deep sleep.
At dawn, with gentle sunlight streaming in, Xu Chen awoke refreshed.
After breakfast, he practiced the Twelve Wave Body Refinement on the grass outside his door.
Perhaps because of his good mood, Xu Chen sensed he was on the verge of a breakthrough in the Twelve Wave technique.
With his final strike, eight sonic booms echoed through the air, tearing up a large swath of turf ahead.
Even the calm river dozens of yards away rippled in response.
At that moment, Niu Dali, carrying a massive stone weighing a hundred thousand pounds, heard the commotion and hurried over.
“Xu, have you broken through?” Niu Dali asked joyfully.
“I think so.”
“We’ll know for sure after a match. Let’s go!”
Niu Dali dropped the giant stone, shaking the ground, then charged at Xu Chen like a heavy truck.
Seeing Niu Dali’s excitement, Xu Chen smiled slightly and rushed forward as well.
After their sparring match, Niu Dali rubbed his body with a grimace.
“Xu, you’ve reached the strength of three tigers and five oxen.”
“You’re cultivating pretty fast,” Niu Dali tried to offer a compliment.
“As long as I’m making progress. How is your own training going, brother Niu?”
Xu Chen could tell Niu Dali hadn’t used his full strength in their bout.
“I’m at about the strength of one dragon and four oxen now. The bloodline talent of our Thunder Ox clan shines most at this stage, so my growth is faster,” Niu Dali added.
“Looks like soon I won’t be able to keep up with you, brother.”
“That won’t happen. No matter how strong I am, if I can’t hit you, it’s useless.”
Niu Dali was somewhat helpless—after all this time, he never managed to gain the upper hand against Xu Chen.
After a bit more conversation, they went back to their own training.
As the sun set and dusk arrived, Xu Chen took a flying ride to the market at the foot of Spirit Medicine Mountain, purchasing ten sets of ingredients for Seven Wounds Balm. He had already acquired the recipe.
Returning home, Xu Chen first made a batch of hemostatic powder.
“Although it’s not of perfect quality, it’s close enough. With this quality, a batch should fetch at least one spirit coin.”
Once finished, he began crafting Seven Wounds Balm.
Thanks to his experience with hemostatic powder, Xu Chen found the process smooth, and after wasting only six sets of ingredients, he successfully made a batch of Seven Wounds Balm.
“The perfect insight from making hemostatic powder was invaluable. Otherwise, just producing a single qualified Seven Wounds Balm would have taken at least half a month.”
Xu Chen smiled, suddenly realizing this might be the first time he truly benefited from his golden finger.

“It hasn’t been easy. Eight years since I started cultivating, and at last I’ve enjoyed a bit of a transmigrator’s privilege.”
In the sacred white space, Xu Chen strode confidently to the wooden door of the pharmaceutical arts.
“Please produce ten batches of Seven Wounds Balm, each of quality eighty or above,” a mechanical voice commanded.
Xu Chen adeptly searched for the herbs and began processing the Seven Wounds Balm.
Out of twenty sets of materials, only seven batches succeeded, all below quality seventy.
‘Boom!’
A thunderbolt as thick as a bucket struck, reducing Xu Chen to ashes.
His consciousness reformed, and with a calm expression, he pushed open the door again—another thunderbolt struck.
“To be honest, once you get used to it, it’s not so bad.”
After the last thunderbolt, Xu Chen’s consciousness reformed again.
This time, he didn’t rush in but carefully sensed his current form.
“Just as I thought—after death, there are no side effects.”
Xu Chen’s expression turned fervent, and he kicked open the door of the Sacred Ape Six Forms.
“Here comes your grandfather!”
The moment he entered, Xu Chen stuffed the remaining six batches of Seven Wounds Balm into his mouth.
Seven Wounds Balm could stimulate the potential of the internal organs and blood, temporarily boosting strength.
But its effectiveness waned quickly, and the side effects were severe. With Xu Chen’s current strength, it only increased his blood force by two oxen.
Xu Chen unleashed the power of three tigers and seven oxen, matching his clone in over ninety moves.
“Where’s your door? Where’s your path?”
“Is it the back door, perhaps?”
The clone mocked Xu Chen, pinching his neck.
“Grandfather will take you down sooner or later,” Xu Chen said, forced out word by word as his throat was squeezed.
“We’ll see when that day comes,” the clone replied, then twisted Xu Chen’s neck with a flick.
Xu Chen’s consciousness reformed yet again, but this time he didn’t hurry in. Instead, he carefully sensed his current conscious form.
“Just as I thought—after death, there are no side effects.”
His excitement mounting, Xu Chen kicked open the Sacred Ape Six Forms door.
“Your grandfather has arrived!”
The moment he entered, he stuffed the remaining six batches of Seven Wounds Balm into his mouth.