Chapter Seventy-Six: Success! Arrival! (Please subscribe, please vote for Monthly Ticket)
Chen Yushu’s expression remained remarkably calm, yet within, he could hardly contain his excitement and exhilaration.
He understood well that achieving the meditative state was the true measure of innate talent among those who walk the path of the shadow. The higher one’s meditative realm, the faster one’s cultivation proceeds; one’s foundation and incense cultivation grow steadily stronger with time.
Just as when he first reached shallow meditation, his spiritual strength advanced slowly, at times imperceptibly. But with minor meditation, the pace quickened notably—especially after igniting the celestial fire and attaining the incense path; he found he could gain a bit of incense cultivation every three or five days.
Now, having advanced to major meditation, even without actively cultivating, he could sense that, at most, in a day or two, his incense cultivation would rise again.
“Yet, it’s a pity—after reaching the fourth reading realm, ‘Clarity of Heart,’ the experience required for improvement has soared to eight hundred points. There’s no way to progress further in the short term.”
After his excitement, Chen Yushu felt a tinge of regret. Upon discovering the benefits of reading, he was eager—impatient, even—to push it to the fifth, sixth realm… Yet, the experience needed was overwhelming. Worse, he had run out of books. The medical texts in the pharmacy would be finished in a day or two; he needed to find a new trove, a place with plentiful books.
He didn’t dwell on it further. Heading straight into the kitchen, he stoked the fire and began brewing medicine.
He certainly hadn’t forgotten that his King of Medicine Stance was nearing a breakthrough. When the decoction was ready, he didn’t drink it immediately; instead, he went out into the courtyard to practice.
Having eaten earlier in the pharmacy, his belly still full, he knew to exercise first, wring himself dry before anything else.
By now, his practice of the King of Medicine Stance was utterly proficient; every move carried a graceful, natural air. The thirty-six forms flowed swiftly.
King of Medicine Stance +3
“King of Medicine Stance—minor achievement!” Chen Yushu’s heart stirred.
He felt heat surging within, and in his mind, countless insights and experiences about the stance flowed, as if he’d practiced it hundreds or thousands of times, deepening his understanding and perception.
“The Liu family pharmacy has a rule: minor achievement in the stance is a threshold. Only then can one enter the secret chamber and acquire the next external refinement method—the King of Medicine Force Lock. Moreover, one can claim an additional martial art—a technique truly suited for defense and combat.”
Chen Yushu took a deep breath, anticipation flickering within him.
Then he drank a bowl of blood-tonic soup and resumed practice, eager to explore the changes at this new minor achievement level.
Soon, the thirty-six forms were completed.
King of Medicine Stance +2
His heart stirred again; a fierce heat rose inside, flooding his body from head to toe, every limb and bone. The sensation was far more intense—at least twice as strong as before.
“Still, something’s off. This is merely the ordinary minor achievement version of the stance—not the perfect form I envision.”
He frowned, pondering long and hard. At last, he drank the nourishing soup and resumed practice, but this time he abandoned the conventional approach.
He combined his recently elevated spiritual power, using its unique ‘inner vision’ to adjust his practice. Though this ‘inner vision’ was crude, only able to ‘see’ the movement of flesh beneath the skin, it was already a vast improvement.
He practiced and adjusted simultaneously, his breathing matching his movements, changing rhythm as needed.
One round completed.
King of Medicine Stance +5
“Still not enough. The moves are standard, but they don’t match my own medicinal philosophy nor do they precisely align with the meridians and acupoints—there are flaws.”
This time, Chen Yushu thought even longer, so much so that the effects of the blood-tonic and nourishing soups caused his internal energy to boil.
At last, he began a third round, constantly refining his movements and breath, until he completed the entire sequence.
King of Medicine Stance +7
Now, at last, a smile appeared on his face.
Success!
A new, more suitable stance had been forged.
He pressed on—one round, two, three…
King of Medicine Stance +6
King of Medicine Stance +7
King of Medicine Stance +5
…
After seven consecutive rounds, Chen Yushu finally paused.
King of Medicine Stance: minor achievement (40/400)
“The medicinal effect has weakened? No—the consumption from practicing the stance has grown. Even with both blood-tonic and nourishing soups, I can only manage seven rounds.”
He blinked, finding it quite reasonable. After breaking through, his cultivation efficiency improved, and each set of stances absorbed more medicine and energy.
Still, a single serving of nourishing soup boosting forty points of experience surprised him. He knew it was due to multiple factors combining.
“If that’s the case, taking one nourishing soup daily, I’d need only ten days to reach major achievement in the stance?”
Calculating, he grew excited.
He knew that as he advanced, the experience gained would likely diminish, but what if he took two servings daily? Three? He wasn’t lacking in funds now.
Recently, Shi Hao came daily to collect spirit talismans, leaving behind a considerable sum each time. Though sales had slowed, his silver reserves were substantial—already at three hundred, enough for a hundred servings of nourishing soup.
…
In the study,
Chen Yushu was drawing talismans.
His hand was steady as stone, hovering in the air, pen, ink, and paper perfectly aligned, and as he infused spiritual power, instantly fused with the void, channeling a mysterious force that pressed down upon his entire being, restricting every movement.
With a swift stroke, a rune was formed in the blink of an eye.
The pen moved again—second rune, third rune… Soon the paper was filled, the runes linked together.
Ong!
A flash of spiritual light appeared on the talisman; invisible forces flooded in.
Success!
Calming Talisman!
“I’ve practiced this every night, used up at least a hundred sheets of talisman paper. Finally, after my meditation advanced to major achievement, I broke through the last barrier and drew it perfectly.”
Chen Yushu exhaled in relief, his gaze falling on the attribute panel.
Sure enough, the Calming Talisman appeared, marked as ‘initiate.’
From here, things became simple. Drawing the talisman again, he found he could scarcely fail. In just half an hour, he had ten complete Calming Talismans.
With his work done for the day, he returned to his room.
“The Calming Talisman soothes and focuses the mind, pacifies the soul, and can assist in cultivation, enhancing meditation.”
Sitting on his bed, Chen Yushu casually grasped a Calming Talisman, feeling no hesitation, and activated it without a second thought.
Instantly, his mind settled; his spiritual power seemed to resonate with the entire world, utterly relaxed. The turmoil outside could not disturb him.
He slipped into meditation, immediately noticing his spiritual power was more active than before, even faintly sensing certain special particles in the world.
Suddenly remembering something, he withdrew from meditation, produced a soul orb, and slipped back into meditation, guiding his spiritual power to absorb the orb’s energy.
As before, he drew in a hundred strands of spiritual particles, absorbing and refining them in an instant.
“After reaching major meditation, my speed at refining the soul orb has improved so much?”
He was stunned.
He drew again—hundreds of strands emerged, then a thousand, two thousand…
Up to five thousand, then he slowed.
Incense Path +7
Five thousand strands weren’t his limit, but he knew the soul orb was formed from the wrath of vengeful spirits, filled with violent and angry energy; he’d rather go slow than risk being affected.
Zzzzzz…
Suddenly, he felt a chill around him and saw the household warding talisman hanging from the eaves turn black.
“Something unclean has entered?”
He reacted instantly.
In fact, days earlier, he’d noticed that one of his warding talismans had been triggered—something unclean had passed by.
He’d remained on guard since, but with nothing happening, there was little he could do. Unexpectedly, tonight, it returned.
His heart sank, but he quickly calmed himself.
He’d analyzed this before: whatever it was, it couldn’t be too strong. If it were, the warding talisman would have turned to ash the moment it approached, unable to hold out this long.
Moreover, its main purpose likely wasn’t him. The warding talisman was ultimately a deterrent—its power against spirits was limited. If the entity truly wanted to ‘come in,’ a single talisman wouldn’t stop it.
So, while he’d remained vigilant, he hadn’t been overly concerned.
Now, with the talisman triggered again, he couldn’t sit still.
Calming himself instantly, he focused, a spark of spiritual light flickering in his eyes.
Aura Observation Technique!
With its aid, he scanned the surroundings—even through the walls, he immediately detected a surge of yin energy in the direction of the rear courtyard.
“The rear courtyard?” Chen Yushu wondered.