Chapter Twelve: Washing the Marrow and Cutting the Bones

  In the courtyard of the King of Qi's mansion, Jiang Nan carefully examined the six jade bottles in his hand, his mind racing with excitement: "Great, the treatment that only the princes of the King of Qi's mansion could enjoy in the past, I can finally enjoy it too!"

  Jiang Xue jumped down from his shoulder and transformed into a stunning woman, gently reaching out to take a jade bottle, pouring out more than ten yellow bean-sized pills, rotating in her jade hand, crystal clear, a refreshing fragrance wafted over, invigorating the spirit!

  "The elixirs of the Medicine King's Manor were just mediocre, barely passable as a low-grade product, but for those in the martial world, they were already extremely rare."

  Jiang Xue took a glance and smiled, "Zi Chuan, with these medicinal pellets, you can solidify your foundation even more. However, the Hidden Spirit Pellet and Nourishing Body Pellet are somewhat useful to you, but since you're cultivating the Demon Prison Mysterious Fetus Scripture, the Beneficial Qi Pellet is not very useful to you, eating it would be a waste."

  Jiang Nan thought carefully and indeed, this was the truth. Although the Yiqi Dan could increase true energy, his cultivation of the Moyu Xuantai Jing would absolutely exceed the speed at which the Yiqi Dan could be refined.

  However, the other two kinds of elixirs, especially the Nourishing Body Elixir, were extremely useful for him.

  For a long time, he had been eating plain food and drinking coarse tea, his nutrition was not keeping up, and his body had accumulated too many impurities, his physical quality could not compare with those of the wealthy families.

  He is now practicing Mo Yu Xuan Tai Jing, Long Hu Xiang Li Jue, Jiang Yue Po Lang Jue and other heart methods. His demand for nutrition has become more vigorous, not only has his appetite increased greatly, but he also needs to eat four or five meals a day, eating the finest meat of demonic beasts, yet still often feeling hungry, precisely because his diet is too poor, unable to keep up with his body's demands.

  If this continues, it will inevitably delay his cultivation progress. As his cultivation becomes more profound, the impact on his cultivation growth rate will become even greater!

  However, with the nourishing elixir of Danshan Dan, it will eliminate the hidden dangers in his body and greatly benefit his martial arts cultivation.

  A nourishing pill from the Medicine King's mansion would sell for over a hundred taels of silver, and it wasn't unreasonable.

  As for the effect of Yunsen Dan, it is to nourish and cultivate one's essence, energy, and spirit, as well as to foster one's willpower and spiritual power. It is a highly valuable medicine. Jiangnan had once heard a master from the Qi Wang Fu mention the importance of willpower and spiritual power when teaching the young masters of the palace, especially when cultivating to the level of external circulation, having immense willpower and spiritual power would make one even more extraordinary!

  Jiang Xue smiled and said: "Zi Chuan, you should first use the Nourishing Body Pill to regulate your body, then take the Concentrated Spirit Pill, the effect will be better."

  Jiang Nan immediately swallowed a Nourishing Body Pill, and suddenly felt a surge of hot energy gushing out from his Dantian, spreading to his four limbs and hundred bones. He hastily sat down cross-legged, using his true Qi to stimulate the medicinal effect, regulating his body.

  In his lower abdomen, the medicinal power of the elixir began to emanate, emitting a scorching heat that was like a furnace within him. The heat rose and fell, constantly refining away the impurities in his body, bringing out the impurities from his skin, muscles, tendons, bones, and even bone marrow, forcing them out of his body.

  He was drenched in sweat, with black oil-like impurities being squeezed out of his ten million pores, only to be evaporated by the heat and leave a thick layer of grime on his body!

  The mighty medicinal power of the Nourishing Body Pill even penetrated his pores and skin, expelling the long-accumulated impurities within his body, and even curing the hidden diseases within him!

  After an unknown period of time, the medicinal power of this Rejuvenation Pill was finally exhausted. Jiang Nan took another pill, and its effect was slightly different from the previous one. The first Rejuvenation Pill had expelled the impurities in his body, while the second pill used its powerful medicinal properties to nourish his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones. The medicinal power even penetrated through his skin, causing his body to start filling with boundless energy!

  His skeleton buzzed, his muscles burst forth, and his skin tightened and contracted, allowing him to unleash an even more powerful and terrifying force than before, all thanks to the miraculous effect of the Nurturing Body Pill!

  He was originally practicing the Dragon and Tiger Elephant Fist, and had already approached the power of four tigers. Now, after taking two Rejuvenating Pellets, he washed away the impurities in his body, cured his hidden ailments, and actually increased his power by another tiger!

  The power of the Five Tigers!

  "The young master of the Qi Wang Fu can often take this kind of elixir, no wonder his strength is far superior to that of ordinary people!" Jiang Nan thought to himself.

  After taking the third Rejuvenation Pill, he felt that although the medicinal power of the Rejuvenation Pill was still strong, its effect on his body's transformation was no longer as good as the first two. He continued to take a bottle of Rejuvenation Pills, and by the end, the Rejuvenation Pill could no longer continue to improve his body, indicating that the medicinal power of this spiritual pill had reached its limit. Even if he took more Rejuvenation Pills, there would be no greater improvement, unless he found an even higher-grade spiritual pill.

  "Is it going to be dawn soon?"

  Jiang Nan looked out the window, seeing that the sky was already bright, with the morning sun about to rise. This was the best time to cultivate the Demon Prison Mysterious Fetus Scripture, and he immediately activated it.

  This stimulation is not trivial, and Jiangnan can't help but be overjoyed. Yesterday, when he stimulated the Xuan Tai Jing, his true energy was stagnant, but now it's as if it's been lubricated with oil, running much faster than before!

  "My body has become even stronger and more robust after being nourished by the Nurturing Pellet, with my true energy flowing more smoothly than ever before. I've also gained a deeper understanding of how to utilize my true energy!"

  When the sun was three poles high, Jiangnan had not stopped cultivating, still absorbing the solar energy from the sunlight, converting it into true energy in his body. After a while, he felt that the yang energy in his body was surging and almost uncontrollable, only then did he stop cultivating, with great joy in his heart.

  "The effect of the Nourishing Body Pill is indeed powerful. Yesterday, Jiang Xue sister said that my body was too weak and couldn't withstand the intense sunlight at noon, but with the nourishment of the Nourishing Body Pill, I can cultivate for a longer time!"

  Jiang Nan slowly withdrew his true energy, and saw the true energy rushing into the dantian, where it was swallowed by the magic clock inside with a "whoosh" sound, hiding inside the clock to nourish itself.

  He looked at himself and slightly furrowed his brow. His body was covered in a thick, black grime that reeked of rot and decay.

  He hastily walked out of the room, quickly came to the edge of the deep well in the courtyard, probed his hand into the well and made a grasping motion, true energy burst forth, transforming into a great river emerging from a deep valley. Suddenly, the sound of rushing water was heard from within the well, a column of water was sucked up by his true energy, like a miniature great river flowing out of the deep valley!

  His true energy became more and more vigorous, more and more effortless, and drawing water from a well was simply easy for him!

  Jiang Nan washed the dirt off his body, feeling refreshed and invigorated. He changed into a clean set of clothes, feeling his energy was more abundant than ever. Just then, Jiang Xue suddenly stepped forward, opened her mouth, and sucked away 40% of his yang energy.

  Although 40% of his yang energy was drawn away, causing his cultivation to drop by as much as 40%, Jiang Nan still felt that his current state far surpassed his strongest state from the day before!

  He thought back on his experiences over these days and still felt as if he was in a dream, everything seemed unreal and unbelievable.

  "Zi Chuan, something big has happened at the residence of the King of Qi!"

  Tie Zhu arrived to learn the Dragon-Tiger Elephant Fist from him, and as soon as he approached the courtyard, his face immediately turned extremely solemn. He glanced around and said in a low voice: "Just now I heard that the Imperial Palace sent news that Wu Si Jiang, the martial arts manager of the Wu family, has gone missing. His body was found downstream of Yangchuan River this morning. The Wang family has already dispatched an expert to investigate his cause of death..."

  "Wu Si Jiang's body has finally been found!"

  In the south, a chill ran down his spine. He thought to himself: "I killed Wu Si Jiang using three different martial arts - Hunyuan Kai Bei Shou, Lü Māo Thirteen Pounces, and Jiang Yue Po Lang Jue. These three martial arts will definitely not escape the eyes of the experts in the Qi Wang Fu! The Qi Wang Fu strictly forbids the spread of martial arts outside the family, if they find out I know Jiang Yue Po Lang Jue, they will definitely not let me off easily!"

  "Wu Si Jiang, this smiling face with a ruthless heart, we underlings' lives are nothing in his eyes, he can beat or kill us at will. Who would have thought that he'd end up like this? He died well, he deserved it!"

  Tie Zhu's message was swift, and he smiled: "However, the Imperial Court attaches great importance to this matter, believing that someone is going to deal with the Qi Wang Fu. This time, among the high-ranking officials sent out, it is said that there is also the son of Qi Wang, Qi Feng! In addition to Qi Feng, there are also General Manager Qi Dang and more than a dozen strong men!"

  "Is it Crown Prince Qi Feng?"

  Jiang Nan's heart moved, and the eldest son of the Qi Wang Fu, Qi Feng, was an extraordinary person. To someone like him, Qi Feng was simply surrounded by a divine aura, dazzlingly brilliant.

  It is said that this person is both civil and martial, with no one excelling in piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting. At the same time, he has a strategic mind, having played out military battles on a sandboard with King Qi three times, with King Qi losing all three times. His martial arts skills are even more astonishing, already being a top-notch strongman who has cultivated external aura at just over twenty years old, and it is almost certain that he will cultivate the divine wheel!

  "Even if Ziqing is wise and powerful, he's still just a mortal after all. He'll never be able to find out about me!"

  "In any case, I've already gotten rid of my slave status and redeemed the contract for selling myself. I'm no longer in the Qi Wang Fu, so even if Qi Feng turns the entire Qi Wang Fu upside down, he won't be able to find me."

  Downstream of Yangchuan River, around the corpse of Wusi River, the tall and powerful Qi family surrounded this place layer by layer, strictly forbidding outsiders from watching.

  A young man in purple clothes walked slowly and came to the front of Wu Si Jiang's body, looked at him for a few moments, and showed a thoughtful expression.

  "Your Highness, what have you discovered?"

  The eunuch in charge of the palace stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "In my humble opinion, this matter is probably the doing of some young master from the inner court. Wu Si Jiang was too reckless and must have offended one of the young masters from the inner court, which led to his being killed by that young master. Although Wu Si Jiang was an outer court official, he was just a slave after all. Why make such a big fuss over a dead slave?"

  "Qī Yuè, your words are quite wrong."

  That purple-robed young master was none other than Qi Wang's eldest son, Qi Feng. With an air of elegance, he slightly shook his head and walked along the Yangchuan River towards the upper reaches, smiling as he said: "Wu Si Jiang is just a lowly slave, his life or death is naturally a trivial matter. If the person who offended him was truly a member of the royal family's inner circle, who would dare say anything if they killed him within the palace? But this person chose to act outside the palace, it's clear that the one who acted wasn't a member of our royal family's inner circle."

  Qī Yáng hastily followed up, laughing and saying: "If it's not the young master of the Wang Manor who did this, then who else could it be?"

  "If you're not a member of the royal family, then you're naturally just a slave in our palace!"

  More than a dozen masters of the Wangfu closely followed Ziqi's left and right, advancing all the way, and soon arrived in a dense forest, which was exactly where Jiangnan killed Wu Siyang.