Decaying World

Chapter 124, Test 124 (Thanks to Alliance Leader B_ernice)

Qingfeng Temple.

After seeing Han Xiaoyue off, Lin Hui returned to the temple to temper his body and cultivate.

With the final body tempering process nearing completion and the special effects within reach, his enthusiasm grew even higher.

To his delight, the day after he returned, Tao Xuehai presented him with a box of the Illusionary Dragon Lotus he had been taking, under the guise of a discipleship ceremony.

"I'm sorry, Master, the Wonderful Talisman Pills in our family are not to be passed on to outsiders. I can only try my best to allocate some more Illusion Dragon Lotus to offer to you."

Tao Xuehai bowed and presented the white jade box in his hand, placing it on the table in Lin Hui's study.

"The Illusionary Dragon Lotus is far too precious!" Lin Hui exclaimed.

"Compared to the kindness of my master in passing on his skills, these mere external resources are insignificant!" Tao Xuehai said solemnly. "Once my master has used them up, I will send them back when my annual quota for this item is reached."

"Oh, you're so thoughtful," Lin Hui said, reaching out to open the box. Inside, there was a note with instructions on how to use it and any precautions.

A row of ten medicinal herbs, resembling dried chrysanthemums, were neatly arranged inside.

"How well have you mastered the Qingfeng Sword?" Lin Hui asked with satisfaction, looking up at Tao Xuehai.

"I've already reached the second rank in body tempering, but the progress slows down considerably after that. According to my estimate, it will probably take at least two years to complete the process," Tao Xuehai replied in a deep voice.

“Under normal circumstances, the tempering of the Perfect Breeze Sword is much more effective than the previous Seven-Section Fast Sword, greatly improving your movement and sword speed,” Lin Hui said.

With such a quick-witted disciple, he naturally became even more attentive to him.

"Yes! This disciple has already experienced a tremendous improvement in movement technique!" Tao Xuehai became visibly excited upon hearing this. The stronger the Qingfeng Sword's enhancement, the more profound his speculation about Lin Hui's strength became.

Based on his current estimation, although Master Lin Hui is only an internal energy martial artist on the surface, his actual combat strength has far surpassed that level.

Judging from his previous record, including a draw with Zhou Tian, ​​it's clear that the teacher's strength is far more than what it appears to be.

With the teacher's comprehension and talent, he must be improving rapidly and becoming stronger at an alarming rate!

At this moment, Qingfeng Temple had become, in his mind, a mysterious, foggy ruin in the outer city.

Master Lin Hui's strength, like the powerful creatures within the Fog Zone Ruins, is unpredictable and impossible to estimate.

Absolutely, not just Zhou Tian!

Tao Xuehai has practiced until now and firmly believes in this point.

He had only mastered the second-grade body tempering of the Qingfeng Sword Technique, yet he had already significantly increased his original strength, not to mention his master Lin Hui, who had already perfected the body tempering of the Qingfeng Sword Technique.

"Alright. You may leave now. Focus on your cultivation. Once you've mastered the Qingfeng Sword Body Tempering Technique, don't forget to exchange for the two secret techniques from the sect. These two techniques can greatly enhance your combat strength," Lin Hui instructed.

"Yes! This disciple will remember!"

After Tao Xuehai left.

Lin Hui picked up the box and gently opened it.

'Is this the thing that can greatly enhance one's energy and spirit, allowing one to forgo sleep and continue cultivation?'

He picked up the slip of paper and read the instructions. All he needed to do was bite off a small piece and hold it in his mouth.

It cannot be swallowed; it must be held in the mouth at all times for the medicine to take effect.

He picked up a plant and gently bit off a small piece.

The internal force constantly surrounds and covers the mouth, ensuring that if the substance is poisonous or causes an allergic reaction, it can be directly wrapped up and carried out of the body.

After a while.

Lin Hui's eyes lit up, and he picked up another piece and took a bite.

Before his eyes, below his field of vision, in the evolution progress of the blood seal, the Black Emperor Pill formula, which previously had more than a year left, suddenly began to rapidly reduce its remaining time.

Its reduction rate is even faster than that of consuming Ganoderma lucidum!
Lin Hui continued to gnaw on the Illusionary Dragon Lotus, taking another bite whenever the process slowed down. This continued until the Black Emperor Pill formula had completely evolved, leaving the Blood Seal idle.

The Illusionary Dragon Lotus in his hand was also mostly gone.

After a rough estimate, he discovered that a single Illusionary Dragon Lotus could provide the energy needed for one to two years of Blood Seal evolution!
"What a treasure! What a treasure!!" Lin Hui was overjoyed. "Even a single Spirit Mushroom only provides four months' worth of energy, shortening the duration by just four months. This Illusionary Dragon Lotus can shorten it by one to two years! This disciple is definitely worth taking on!"

With the help of the Illusionary Dragon Lotus, Lin Hui stopped sleeping and spent the entire night tempering his body.

Now that he has reached the final stage of body tempering, the noise he causes during his cultivation is minimal, and he no longer needs to go to a wide-open space outside.

The next day, he immediately began refining the Black Emperor Pill. The key rare ingredients in the new formula were replaced with common ones, although the overall refining process was much more complicated.

But Lin Hui tried refining one batch and actually succeeded. Moreover, the cost was only a few hundred thousand coins per batch, and if everything went smoothly, he could get about five to seven pills.

*
*
*
Inside the pharmacy.

Lin Hui and pharmacist Chen Meng were studying the newly produced Black Emperor Pill together.

A dozen or so cages containing different animals were placed to one side, including rats, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and sheep.

"The medicinal ingredients are about half as strong as those of Ganoderma lucidum, and there are also some side effects. It should not be taken more than three pills a month." Chen Meng concluded the efficacy of Black Emperor Pill through comparative experiments.

"That's enough." Lin Hui estimated that he was currently taking all sorts of random medications. If he added the Black Emperor Pill, he could achieve the same results in one month as he did in six months of Blood Seal evolution!
"Forgive my bluntness, Abbot, but you can no longer increase your monthly medication dosage. Your body is already showing signs of drug toxicity. If it continues to worsen, even with your high cultivation level, the drug toxicity will cause various side effects," Chen Meng earnestly advised.

She's doing very well at Qingfeng Temple now, earning three times her previous salary. With such a generous boss as Lin Hui, her life is much more comfortable than before.

She didn't want anything to suddenly happen to Lin Hui, causing him to lose his current life.

She went on a blind date a few days ago with a handsome man from a wealthy family, and things seemed to be going well, so she couldn't afford any mishaps.

"Understood, I'll be careful," Lin Hui nodded. He knew he was taking too much medicine; outsiders might not know, but Chen Meng, who assisted him in processing herbs and refining medicine, couldn't be kept in the dark. He spent over three million a month just on medicine.

It's only because the profits from Qingfeng Temple and Baihua Sect are sufficient that he can maintain this rapid reduction in evolution time.

Having confirmed the efficacy of the Black Emperor Pill, Lin Hui left the pharmacy.

'The issue of elixirs has reached its limit; we'll pause for now. Next, the Blood Seal should choose a new evolution target.'

He walked slowly, passing the training ground. He paused for a moment, looking at the many disciples outside practicing their swordsmanship, before continuing on his way.

After leaving Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui did not linger, but wandered casually through the streets and alleys.

It was morning, and the fog had only just lifted when stalls of varying sizes began to appear on the street.

Among the customers scattered in twos and threes in front of the stall, at least half were dressed in the white outfits of Qingfeng Temple.

Clearly, the disciples and students of Qingfeng Temple brought a large influx of visitors, attracting surrounding businesses and trade.

Lin Hui casually walked up to a barbecue stall.

The stall owner was an old man with a missing front tooth. When he saw that it was Lin Hui, a bright smile immediately appeared on his face.

"What would you like, Abbot Lin, to do today?"

Lin Hui often buys food at the entrance of Qingfeng Temple, and the vendors there are already familiar with him.

"One skewer of each, please: lamb, pork, beef, dog meat, and rabbit. You've got too many varieties again? Give me some more cauliflower, grilled green peppers, and some black mushrooms." Lin Hui quickly ordered a bunch of things, all of them already grilled and ready to eat.

The old man could tell he didn't want to wait, so he quickly packed up the skewers and handed them over.

When Lin Hui tried to pay, he waved his hand repeatedly.

"It's my honor that the abbot is here to eat, Old Zhao. This meal is on me, Old Zhao!"

"That won't do, rules are rules." Lin Hui smiled, left behind the smallest denomination banknote, picked up the paper bag, and turned to leave.

Back at the mansion behind Qingfeng Temple, Lin Hui waved away the disciples guarding the gate, picked up the skewers from the paper bag, and took them out one by one.

He wasn't going to eat these skewers; he planned to test the evolution of the Blood Seal.

He still remembers the evolutionary branch that the chicken leg generated when he first used the Blood Seal.

Now, he's going to give it a try.

First came a skewer of roasted lamb.

The pieces of mutton skewered on bamboo sticks were marbled with fat and lean meat, glistening with oil, and exuding a rich, smoky aroma.

The blood-stained pattern twisted under his gaze and quickly transformed into a rhombus.

At the same time, a new line of text appeared below his field of vision.

'Grilled lamb skewers: A common food for replenishing qi and blood, shelf life three days, excellent quality.'

'Looks like I can go to Lao Zhao's place often; his kebabs are pretty good.' Even Blood Seal rated it as excellent, so the ingredients must be top-notch.

Lin Hui nodded inwardly and continued reading.

Evolvable branch: 3.

'1—Dream of the River Styx Lamb Skewers.'

'2—Prehistoric subterranean lamb skewers.'

'3—Hellfire Ram Skewers.'

"...Can this thing be eaten after it evolves?" Lin Hui was speechless, looking at the three options and hesitating.

"Firstly, the name itself sounds dangerous, and anything associated with the River Styx probably wouldn't work on a living person like me. The description of the Blood Seal, based on martial arts principles, is accurate and straightforward, without any exaggeration."

For safety reasons, Lin Hui temporarily ruled out the first one.

Then the second and the third.

'What the heck is this "prehistoric subterranean lamb skewers"? Could it be that there's a creature called "prehistoric subterranean sheep"?' Lin Hui thought it was quite possible.

He hesitated for a moment, then looked at the last branch, the Purgatory Ram. He had seen the word "purgatory" many times before.

'Let me check out the description first.'

He quickly controlled his mind and opened the detailed descriptions of the three evolutions one by one.

'1—Styx Dream Lamb Skewers: One of the famous delicacies of the underworld. Eating them will induce a deep sleep, and upon awakening, the person will be reborn as a lamb.'

"." What the hell is that?

Lin Hui continued to look at the second one.

'2—Prehistoric Earth Core Lamb Skewers: Legend has it that before the advent of civilization, before the records of history, there once existed a mysterious lamb skewer. It has existed for countless years, yet it remains unchanged, indestructible, neither increasing nor decreasing in value. Even the bamboo skewers used to make it cannot be worn down in the slightest. Billions of years later, a powerful historian discovered it on an altar in a crypt deep within the ruins of a planet. Clearly, it had been worshipped as a god by the planet's primitive civilization for a very long time.'

"..." Lin Hui began to think that the Blood Seal's evolution might not be an evolution at all, but rather a stolen and modified version of something that had been taken from somewhere.
He then looked at the third one.

'3—Hellfire Ram Skewers: Skewers made by the Hellfire Ram clan are one of the most beloved delicacies of the Hellfire Demons, capable of enhancing the purgatory's fiery energy within the body.'

This is the most normal.
Yes, compared to the other two, Lin Hui actually felt that the third one was the standard food.
So, which one should we choose?
His eyes flickered, and he raised his hand.

(End of this chapter)