Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior

Chapter 377 - 224: Tempering the Heart, Advancing to Grade 6! (Part 2)

On the other hand, the older a Martial Artist is when undergoing Blood Exchange, the more their Qi Blood has already decayed; should they fail in the attempt, it could easily trigger a total collapse of Qi Blood and a loss of lifespan, leaving behind irreparable damage, and may even lead directly to death and Dao dissolution.

"Tao Xingzheng swore that this pill could help me reach Sixth Grade in a short time—let’s see just how potent the Azure Blood Five Elements Pill really is!"

Su Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly, glinting with sharp light; this pill, engraved with three Pill Patterns, was even higher in grade than the Red Flame Spear he forged, and possessed tremendous medicinal power. An ordinary person, upon merely catching its scent, would have their Qi Blood surging and their face flushed red.

If one were to consume even a scraped-off bit of powder, it’s likely their Qi Blood would erupt, resulting in instant death. Only someone like Su Mu, with a body forged of Jiao Tendon and Jade Bone, qualified to ingest and refine it.

Previously, Su Mu had his doubts, suspecting something unusual about the Azure Blood Five Elements Pill. But now, having first glimpsed the mysteries of the Little Vajra Secret Realm, and with the ’Zheng’ character in hand, he was full of confidence to take it.

"Gulp!"

With a slight frown, Su Mu swallowed the Azure Blood Five Elements Pill—about the size of a green jujube—in one go.

Whoosh!

The pill melted partly upon entering his mouth, turning into viscous, pure medicinal fluid. The raw, salty bitterness was unpleasant, but as the medicinal power began to surge forth, even Su Mu’s Jiao Tendons pulsed and resounded, and he instantly felt an immense torrent of Qi Blood energy rushing within his body, akin to blood-red waves endlessly washing over and cleansing every limb and meridian, until the power finally penetrated into the Five Viscera.

Such powerful medicinal force could only be called domineering—far surpassing any elixir Su Mu had ever taken!

"Before, Tao Xingzheng gave me two months to break through to Sixth Grade. Now that I’ve refined Gang Force, I may not need anywhere near that long."

Su Mu mused silently. With his formidable Jiao Tendon Jade Bone physique, he could withstand the rampaging medicinal force, and now, with Gang Force at his disposal to catalyze the medicine, Su Mu’s refining speed had reached a chilling, unimaginable level for ordinary Martial Artists.

"The Five Viscera must be tempered carefully. The heart, as the center, corresponds to the Fire of the Five Elements—begin with tempering the heart!"

"But who knows if the Gu Insect will seize the chance to cause trouble."

A vicious flash crossed Su Mu’s eyes as he instantly activated the Fire Element Divine Skill within the Five Elements Technique, and, coordinating with Fire Sparrow Breathing, began to temper his heart following the unique method for Five Viscera Tempering.

As Su Mu swept the medicinal power into his heart for tempering, he couldn’t help but utter a soft "Hmm?"

This time, the Gu Insect below his chest was strangely docile, showing no signs of disturbance. Su Mu vividly recalled the ripping, heart-rending pain he’d experienced when he’d previously tried tempering his Five Viscera without the aid of a pill.

Now, with the Azure Blood Five Elements Pill assisting, while pain remained, it was reduced more than tenfold—dozens of times weaker!

"What an incredible Azure Blood Five Elements Pill!"

The Gu Insect was still, the pain suppressed by the medicine; with everything prepared, Su Mu focused wholly. He felt as though his entire body was engulfed in raging flames, his heart being seared and hammered, its beating accelerating furiously.

During the process, his blood began to circulate ever faster, and dark-red, impurity-laden blood was expelled from his body. That heart, resounding like a war drum, was like a dust-covered Treasure Pearl being wiped clean, growing brighter and stronger.

Infused with Fire Attribute Power and a constant stream of medicinal force, the powerful throbbing heart produced the first drop of blistering, scarlet newborn blood—its energy content several times that of ordinary blood!

Once the newborn blood appeared, it coursed through every limb and meridian, then returned to nourish the heart, accelerating its tempering. Crimson specks—belonging to the Five Elements’ Fire—began appearing on its surface, then linked into lines.

Meanwhile, the Jade Bone inside Su Mu started operating quietly, with every bone marrow greedily absorbing the newborn blood, using it as nourishment to grow stronger.

"Hmm, so tempered heart blood can also enhance Jade Bone—what a benefit!"

Su Mu’s eyes burned with intensity. Although assisted by the Jade Bone Pill after his fourth Bone Forging, its effects diminished; now he saw a new direction to strengthen his bones.

"At this pace, with Gang Force as support, in at most ten days I can fully refine this Azure Blood Five Elements Pill, and formally step into the Sixth Grade Realm!"

Su Mu rejoiced, his mind exceptionally clear. Multi-tasking, he estimated the time needed to refine the pill, arriving at an initial guess of ten days.

In just ten days, Su Mu would complete a step that was nearly impossible for ordinary Lower Three Grades Body Tempering Martial Artists—the very ’moth to a flame’ step Tao Xingzheng referenced. Even with elixir assistance, success was never guaranteed.

But Su Mu felt no hindrance now; everything flowed as naturally as eating or drinking water. Unbeknownst to him, this was due to his own Martial Dao foundation being terrifyingly profound, enhanced by the Dragon-and-Phoenix Level comprehension he possessed, making the process so easy and pleasant.

The seventh day arrived.

He didn’t need ten days; just seven days later, under introspection, Su Mu saw the heart below his chest rejuvenated, with a flaming red glow running across its surface, entering the final phase.

A third of the blood in Su Mu’s body had now transformed, the newborn blood even redder, fierier, and more vigorous, full of immense life-force, with not the slightest hint of emptiness—completely unlike someone just breaching the Sixth Grade.

As Su Mu willed it, the mountain air abruptly twisted, waves surged invisibly, and his Qi Blood was so mighty that, even without burning energy, hints of the Qi Blood Wolf Smoke emerged. Wisps of crimson smoke rose from Su Mu’s scalp.

Everything was progressing smoothly—only a final stabilization remained.

Yet just as Su Mu was about to succeed, a sudden mutation erupted from within the nearly refined Azure Blood Five Elements Pill!

"Boom!"

From the deepest part of the Azure Blood Five Elements Pill, an arcane, insidious Spiritual Imprint burst forth, heading straight for Su Mu’s brow, clearly trying to usurp and take command.

This abrupt turn of events came with no warning, attacking right as Su Mu was about to break through to Sixth Grade, making it almost impossible to guard against.

At this critical moment, a cool energy flowed from the fish-shaped White Feather Pendant Su Mu wore.

Without hesitation, Su Mu grabbed a sheet of paper and unfolded it, immediately beginning to recite aloud:

"Heaven and earth contain upright Qi, random forms gathering forth. Below, it’s rivers and mountains; above, the sun and stars."

"Buzz buzz buzz----!"

As Su Mu recited from Shuangbai Academy’s "Nurturing Vast Qi," the ’Zheng’ character Liu Zhengyuan left behind shone radiantly, and an upright, peaceful force surged into Su Mu’s brow.

At the same time, in Su Mu’s brow’s sea of consciousness, a booming sound of ’Zheng’ echoed, waking Su Mu as if struck between the eyes and regaining his clarity.

Immediately, the Dragon of Spiritual Power lurking in Su Mu’s brow launched a counterstrike under the power of ’Zheng,’ attacking the insidious imprint trying to seize sea of consciousness and usurp its place. The two spiritual powers tangled fiercely, crashing and grinding against each other.

The opposing forces battled in Su Mu’s brow’s sea of consciousness, making his head feel like it was stabbed by needles, pain splitting him apart; his face turned pale, and blood flowed from all seven orifices, his body shuddering uncontrollably.

"Tao Xingzheng!"

Su Mu’s eyes filled with bloodshot lines, a wild murderous intent raging within. How could he not understand what had happened now? His suspicion was right—Wang Xuantian’s words that day weren’t lies!

"Suppress it for me!"

Su Mu growled low, reciting "Nurturing Vast Qi" relentlessly, activating the ’Zheng’ character to guard his sea of consciousness, and unleashed the Dragon of Spiritual Power with full force to strangle the insidious imprint lurking in his mind.

Buzz buzz buzz!

Su Mu’s black hair whipped wildly as the Dragon of Spiritual Power roared in fury from his brow. Although the insidious Spiritual Imprint in the Azure Blood Five Elements Pill was extremely formidable, it was ultimately a rootless weed.

With the ’Zheng’ character defending his consciousness, Su Mu could unleash completely, the berserk Dragon of Spiritual Power steadily devouring and shredding the imprint, finally annihilating it completely.

As the excruciating pain that felt like his head being torn apart ebbed away, Su Mu shuddered all over, stepping into Middle Third Grade in that instant.

His freshly-tempered heart pounded powerfully beneath his chest, newborn blood surging forth, overflowing with majestic vitality; Su Mu’s seven orifices staunched their bleeding immediately, his pallid face returning to a healthy flush.

Middle Third Grade, First Realm—Five Extremes Realm achieved!

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