Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed since Lu Li entered the Corpse Sect.
On this day, Lu Li finished refining the final Corpse-Nurturing Pill as usual and prepared to enter the Time Hall to cultivate his Gale Steps and Mountain-Shaking.
Aside from these two, he truly had nothing else to practice. The Spiritual Qi in this pill-refining chamber was far too sparse to be used for piercing acupoints.
Furthermore, the seven Meridian-Nourishing Pills refined from the seven stalks of Photinia serrulata were already gone.
Unsurprisingly, they had helped him break through twenty-eight acupoints. He had now opened forty-four acupoints on his sixth Qi meridian, reaching the mid-stage of the sixth layer.
Out of his seventy Piercing Acupoint Pills, only fifty-six remained.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of directly consuming a Piercing Acupoint Pill and letting himself recover naturally for a month. However, doing so meant he wouldn't be able to use his True Qi during that time. If a sudden crisis occurred, it would be difficult to handle. After some thought, he abandoned the idea.
It was worth noting that over the past month, his pill-refining duties had grown increasingly demanding. From the initial two pills out of five sets of materials, it had been raised to eight pills out of ten sets.
He didn't know if this was done deliberately because they saw he could complete his duties every day.
But even so, Lu Li could save at least one Buddha-Heart Fruit each day.
Up to now, he had hoarded a full seventy Buddha-Heart Fruits. If he only had Photinia serrulata, he could immediately begin refining Meridian-Nourishing Pills again.
However, just as he prepared to step onto the stone bed.
The stone door unexpectedly opened.
The youth wearing the blue fanged mask walked in. He looked at Lu Li and said, "Master Qin, the Great Elder said you have done well this month. Tomorrow, you are allowed to rest for a day. Furthermore, you are permitted to take a stroll in the square to clear your mind, provided I accompany you."
After a month of interaction, this blue-masked youth's attitude toward Lu Li had shifted from initial coldness to respect, and even a hint of fawning.
Lu Li also knew that this youth was named Wu Liu, ranked sixth among the Seven Martial Wraiths of the Corpse Sect.
Of course, this name was merely a title. Whoever defeated him could claim it. As for his true name, the youth had never mentioned it.
"Many thanks." Lu Li nodded, indicating his understanding.
"Alright, then I will take my leave. I will come to collect the pills later." Wu Liu offered a slight cupped-fist salute, turned, and left.
He actually felt deep sympathy for Lu Li's plight, but he had no way to help, nor did he dare to.
Lu Li did not tell Wu Liu that he had already finished refining today's pills. He worried that if word got out, the Great Elder would increase his daily burden once again.
"I wonder how much longer those three old fellows can hold on."
Lu Li sat cross-legged on the stone bed. Lately, he often heard Wu Liu mention, 'There is an old fellow taking the Heart-Piercing Pill every day, and he's almost dead.' This inevitably gave him the sorrowful feeling of a fox mourning the death of a hare.
Although he could complete his duties now, there was no guarantee that the Great Elder wouldn't have a sudden whim to deliberately make things difficult for him one day.
Later, Wu Liu arrived as promised to collect today's eight Corpse-Nurturing Pills. He mentioned he would come first thing in the morning to open the door for him. After Lu Li exchanged a few polite words, Wu Liu bid his farewell and left.
Tomorrow someone else would take over his duties, allowing him to relax for a while.
Inside the Time Hall, Lu Li's shifting movements left behind streaks of afterimages. At this point, his Gale Steps had already reached the large success stage, allowing him to cross over seventy zhang in a single breath. Although it rapidly drained his True Qi, it had to be said that this speed far surpassed ordinary Qi Refining cultivators at the eighth or ninth layer.
Furthermore, after this period of practice, his boxing technique, Mountain-Shaking, had also reached Perfection, capable of unleashing five times his physical strength.
Combined with his base physical strength of six thousand jin, using Mountain-Shaking was enough to erupt with a massive force of thirty thousand jin. It was quite terrifying.
But aside from these two things, Lu Li's other skills were pitifully lacking. Regarding Five Elements techniques, he only knew the basic Fireball technique. To speak of it, he didn't even seem like a true Cultivator.
This also made Lu Li make up his mind. If he had the chance, he definitely had to find a few high-level techniques. If for nothing else... they looked impressive.
That was right, simply because they looked impressive.
With the explosive power of his physical body, a single punch was enough to shatter the technique attacks of any cultivator at the same level.
"Ah-!"
Right at that moment, a sudden agony like being hacked by chaotic blades assaulted Lu Li's mind. Caught off guard, he crashed heavily to the ground, clutching his head and screaming miserably, "It hurts, it hurts to death..."
It was a pain that pierced deep into his soul. Looking closely, within his mind, countless skeletons formed from black mist were frantically gnawing at his Divine Sense, causing him a suffering worse than death.
"The Soul-Devouring Pill!"
Lu Li's eyes turned bloodshot. Only then did he recall the words of that terrifying old man. Forcing himself to endure the intense pain, he summoned a jade bottle, extracted a crystalline pill from within, and shoved it into his mouth.
This pill was called the Clear Spirit Pill. Wu Liu had delivered it to him three days ago, but because the effects of the Soul-Devouring Pill hadn't flared up, Lu Li hadn't taken it.
Instantly, the medicinal power transformed into countless green water droplets that surged toward the black skeletons in his mind.
These black skeletons seemed rather afraid of the green droplets and began retreating frantically. But the green droplets were relentless, wrapping around the black skeletons in just a short moment.
A moment later, as if hypnotized, these black skeletons plummeted downward one after another, lying motionless and silent within Lu Li's Sea of Consciousness.
After experiencing this, Lu Li couldn't help but turn pale, sitting on the ground gasping for breath.
It took a long time for him to recover.
"It seems I need to sound out Wu Liu and see if there is a way to completely resolve this Soul-Devouring Pill." Lu Li's expression darkened. This feeling of being controlled by others was truly unbearable.
Early the next morning.
Wu Liu arrived exactly as promised, and Lu Li was already waiting by the table early on. Having been locked in this cage for a month, his heart was already plagued with stifling frustration. He was eagerly looking forward to going out for a breath of fresh air.
As soon as the large doors opened, Lu Li stood up and walked out, saying gratefully, "Many thanks, Brother Wu Liu."
"Master Qin is too polite, I am merely following the Great Elder's orders," Wu Liu responded with a smile.
The two walked side-by-side toward the square.
Although the sky above the square was a murky gray, the occasional drift of cool air immediately relieved much of the stifling frustration in Lu Li's heart. He tilted his head up to look at the sky and let out a heavy breath of turbid air.
"Master Qin, there are chairs over there. Let's go sit for a bit," Wu Liu said, pointing to the stone chairs in the corner.
Lu Li nodded. After sitting down, he quietly stared at the sky without saying a word, his thoughts drifting off to who knows where.
Seeing Lu Li lost in thought, Wu Liu covertly swept his gaze across Lu Li's face from time to time. He seemed to have something to say, but every time the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.
Sensing something, Lu Li withdrew his gaze and said, "Brother Wu Liu, if you have something to say, speak plainly."
"Ahem, Master Qin noticed." Wu Liu scratched his head awkwardly. "Actually... I wanted to ask Master to help me refine a batch of pills, but I was afraid you wouldn't have the time."
"Refining pills?" Lu Li felt mildly surprised. Looking at the other party's expression, it was likely a private matter. On second thought, he happened to want to ask about news regarding the Soul-Devouring Pill, so he smiled and said,
"Brother Wu Liu doesn't need to feel embarrassed. Although we haven't known each other long, we share an affinity. If Brother Wu Liu doesn't mind, just call me Brother Qin. As for the pill refining matter... I can give it a try for you."
"Excellent. In that case, thank you, Brother Qin."
Wu Liu's face filled with joy. He stealthily fished out a beast-skin pill recipe from his robes and handed it to Lu Li, "Brother Qin, take a look..."