Chapter Thirty-Four: The Road Ahead

The medicinal power of the Seven Wounds Balm surged into Xu Chen’s organs, setting them ablaze. An inexplicable force was born within him. Xu Chen sensed that, at this moment, he possessed at least the strength of four tigers.

“Little rookie, you’re getting interesting. Come on then~” The doppelganger beckoned him with a curled finger once more.

“Your grandpa’s here!” With a loud bang, Xu Chen shot toward the doppelganger like a cannonball.

The battle began. Though Xu Chen, now wielding the strength of four tigers, still could not confront the doppelganger head-on, with all his might and the coordination of his internal energy, he was finally able to wound his opponent.

As the fight wore on, Xu Chen felt his organs begin to burn. The stronger the force surging within, the greater the pain in his internal organs.

“Come, let the great waves surge to the sky!” Xu Chen, risking injury for injury, finally landed a full-force palm on the doppelganger’s shoulder.

But immediately after, his other hand and both legs were broken by the doppelganger.

“You actually managed to hurt me.” The doppelganger touched the spot Xu Chen had struck, his expression neither shocked nor pleased. Then, with a sudden stomp, he shattered Xu Chen’s spine as he lay on the ground.

Xu Chen’s consciousness coalesced again in the Sacred White Space. Yet, just as his form solidified, he sensed a faint burning in his organs.

“Are there side effects?” Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the burning sensation finally faded.

“Not bad, taking medicine works. All that’s left is to find more recipes for this kind of medicine.” With that, Xu Chen pushed open the doors to the art of alchemy.

“Please produce ten batches of Seven Wounds Balm with a quality of at least eighty,” announced the mechanical voice.

After a bout of intense activity, three great bolts of lightning crashed down. Tingling all over, Xu Chen collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

At dawn, bare-chested, Xu Chen finished a set of the Twelve-fold Wave Foundation-building Body Method, then leaped into a small river to attune himself to the rippling of the water.

Niu Dali, meanwhile, practiced the unique battle dance of the Thunder Ox tribe on the riverbank.

“Brother Xu, a hundred li from here there’s a larger river, swift and surging. Wouldn’t training there be more effective?” Niu Dali suggested, watching the gentle flow of the small river.

Xu Chen surfaced. “I’m merely sensing the compounded rhythms of the current to gain insight into my Blood and Qi Foundation Method. The speed of the river doesn’t matter much.” With that, Xu Chen submerged himself again.

As dusk neared, man and ox finished their sparring and completed their training for the day.

“Junior Brother Xu, my kin have invited me to the Trial Realm again, and this time, I’ve agreed.” Niu Dali stroked his golden horns, unwilling to leave behind the current life of cultivation. “Our Golden-armored Thunder Ox clan has placed bounties on Thunder Oxen in the Great Stream. Slay fifty Madheart Clan members in the Trial Realm, and one receives rewards and the title of Warrior.”

“When do you leave?” Xu Chen asked after a pause.

“Tomorrow. I’ll probably be gone for several months.”

“Senior Brother Niu, see me before you leave tomorrow.”

“All right.”

Man and ox parted ways.

Returning home, Xu Chen used his remaining materials to make more Hemostatic Powder before entering the Sacred White Space.

At dawn, Niu Dali appeared at Xu Chen’s door. Xu Chen handed him a parcel. “Senior Brother Niu, I have little to offer as a parting gift. Here are sixteen doses of Hemostatic Powder I made. Take them for use in the Trial Realm. And remember, Senior Brother, on the path of cultivation, your life is the most important thing.”

Niu Dali looked at the parcel in his hand, suddenly moved. “Junior Brother Xu, our Thunder Ox clan has intermarried with humans before. I have a sister—peerless talent, as beautiful as the heavenly ox. If you can’t find someone suitable in the sect, I’ll introduce her to you.”

Xu Chen looked up at Niu Dali—ten feet tall, built like a double-door city gate, exuding an undeniable sense of oppression no matter how he looked at him. A phrase suddenly popped into Xu Chen’s mind: a pony pulling a train.

“I appreciate your kind offer, Senior Brother Niu, but I only wish for you and your fellows to return safely,” Xu Chen replied, touched.

“I’m off, then.”

With Niu Dali’s departure, Xu Chen resumed his solitary cultivation.

In the sect’s Library Pavilion, in the Alchemy Area, Xu Chen rifled through medicinal recipes.

“Seven Wounds Balm, Bloodburst Pill, Madheart Powder, Bloodmelt Ointment.”

“These four recipes are all I can get. Taking them in large quantities in the Sacred White Space can at least boost my strength by one tiger.”

“If that’s the case, after a few more years of cultivation to reach the strength of seven tigers, I should be able to master the Six Forms of the Sacred Ape.”

“If only I could refine elixirs—many elixir recipes could rapidly increase strength,” Xu Chen muttered, eyeing the section of elixir recipes.

“Is there any other way to close the gap?” Xu Chen pondered.

At that moment, a man carrying a giant axe passed by Xu Chen.

Seeing the axe, Xu Chen’s eyes brightened and he headed straight for the next floor, the Forging Area.

“Damn, I suddenly realized I’d been stuck in a mental rut. If I can make medicine and consume it myself, I can also forge weapons—they might give me an edge.”

In the Forging Area, Xu Chen found the Twelve Volumes of Weapon Forging.

Forging, like alchemy, could only be formally learned at the Treasure Body Realm. However, weapon forging lacked as many restrictions.

“In the Sacred White Space, elixirs can’t be brought in. Future magical treasures probably won’t make it either. Which means, even if I haven’t realized it yet, I’ll inevitably walk this path someday.”

He spent 200 spirit coins to purchase the Twelve Volumes of Weapon Forging. Then, as before, he visited the nearby market to buy weapon forging materials and equipment.

At the Blood and Qi stage, most focus on building their foundation, so only a minority use weapons. If it weren’t so, Xu Chen wouldn’t have found the materials and equipment for forging.

Upon returning home, Xu Chen found Old Monkey and had him direct the apes to build a dedicated weapon-forging workshop.

“Another 2,000 spirit coins gone,” Xu Chen thought with some heartache as he looked at the newly equipped forging room.

Inside, after initial study, Xu Chen took great interest in forging his first weapon.

“Let’s start with a blade.”

He used tongs to clamp a steel billet and placed it into the spirit fire furnace. When it was red-hot, he moved it to the anvil and hammered away.

Heating, forging—over and over, a dozen times. At last, a crooked, misshapen blade emerged.

“Hideous. Again.”

Xu Chen tossed it aside and picked up another billet.

From then on, Xu Chen spent his days cultivating and learning weapon forging, and his nights in the Sacred White Space refining potions.

After two months, he finally succeeded in creating a decent blade.

“Hardness, resilience, forged and folded a hundred times—this Hundred-refinements Blade is finally done. I wonder if the Sacred White Space will recognize it.”

Ordinary weapons are graded by the number of times they’re forged, apart from those made with special materials.

After sharpening the broken blade, Xu Chen set it aside, returned to his room, and eagerly entered the Sacred White Space.

In the boundless Sacred White Space, three wooden doors stood in the center.

“All this effort, and it still didn’t meet the standard!”