Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

There were only three people left in the room.

Lu Cheng sat in the chair, not in a hurry to speak.

Rouge Tiger leaned against the pillar, her fingers loosening from the wood and hanging down at her sides.

Chen Ping stood still, waiting.

Lu Cheng raised his eyes and looked Chen Ping up and down, his gaze unpleasant, from face to shoulders to feet.

After a moment, he spoke: "In just over half a year, I went from being a dockworker carrying loads to where I am now, and I've even mastered the Great Perfection Fist Technique at the Bone Refining Realm."

He paused.

"Li Yuan has a truly discerning eye."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a moment.

Lu Cheng spoke again, his voice calm: "The matter in Changshan was too sudden. You've revealed your talent again, and you've definitely caught the eye of those people. This is a considerable problem, but there's nothing we can do about it."

He paused. "I'm investigating who that expert is. Until I find out, you stay in town like everyone else and don't go anywhere."

He paused, then said directly, "You're only at the Bone Refining Realm now, that's not enough, you need to train."

After saying that, he turned to look at Rouge Tiger: "How much Tiger-Taming Grass do we have left in stock?"

Rouge Tiger straightened up from the pillar, her voice less menacing than usual: "The warehouse still has enough stock to refine about ten more."

Rouge Tiger turned to Chen Ping, took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, and handed it over: "This is a Bone Tempering Pill. Take it first. There are three pills inside. The effects will last for half an hour. The speed at which your blood and qi penetrate your bones will be more than twice as fast as usual. After half an hour, you can decide how to use it yourself. I'll send the rest to you after I finish refining it."

Chen Ping took the porcelain bottle, squeezed it, and nodded.

Lu Cheng gave Chen Ping one last look: "Did you understand?"

"clear."

Lu Cheng nodded and said nothing more.

Chen Ping stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and turned to walk out.

As soon as we left the alley, the sun had already risen over Qingkou Town.

The sound of boatmen's chants came from the direction of the dock, faint and indistinct, mixed with the sounds of the city.

As Chen Ping walked back, passing the west side of the market, he heard the clanging sound of blacksmithing in the distance.

With a steady rhythm and solid landing points, that's Lao Sun's hammer.

He slowed his pace and stopped at the entrance of the blacksmith's shop.

Inside the shop, Old Sun was facing away from the door, hammering a piece of red-hot iron on the chopping board.

Tie Niu was working the bellows nearby, while Shi Tou was squatting in the corner cleaning up scrap. When they saw Chen Ping, they nodded to each other without saying a word.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

Old Sun's hands never stopped.

Chen Ping went in and stood beside Lao Sun, waiting for him to finish his round of hammering.

The iron darkened in color, and Old Sun threw it into the quenching barrel, where it hissed and white mist rose up.

He turned around, glanced at Chen Ping, and said nothing.

"I probably won't be able to go to Shanyang City a month from now," Chen Ping said directly.

Old Sun picked up a rag from the side and wiped his hands. He didn't ask why, he just grunted in response.

Tie Niu glanced in this direction, then looked away.

Old Sun draped the rag back over the edge of the anvil, looked up at Chen Ping for a moment, and his withered lips moved: "Your hands now belong to a blacksmith."

He paused, then turned around to pick up more ingredients: "Come whenever you want."

Chen Ping didn't say anything, but cupped his hands in greeting and turned to leave the shop.

The clanging sound started again, ringing out behind me steadily, like a rock.

Back in the courtyard, as I pushed open the gate, a strange, fresh aroma wafted towards me.

It's not the usual stir-fry flavor; it's a rich, simmered flavor that comes from the very core of the dish. Although it has a slight river fishy smell, it doesn't make you feel nauseous. Instead, it fills your nasal cavity and inexplicably makes your mouth water.

Chen Ping paused for a moment.

The nostrils twitch to identify the source of the fragrance.

From the kitchen direction, steam was rising from the pot lid.

He walked over and lifted the pot lid.

The white broth was boiling, and a large fish lay horizontally in the pot. The fish was about half an arm's length long, its scales had fallen off, and the fish meat was slightly cracked from being cooked. The broth was a bright white color.

Chen Ping stared at the pot of fish, a strange feeling rising in his stomach.

It's not hunger, it's the body craving something.

"You're back?"

Old Liu came out of the house, carrying two rough porcelain bowls. Seeing Chen Ping standing at the kitchen door, he chuckled and said, "You can smell it?"

"What kind of fish is this?"

"It was caught this morning in Luhua Village." Old Liu put his bowl on the stone table, picked up a spatula and skimmed the foam off the surface of the pot. His voice was tinged with pride. "Scarface and his gang joined forces with the villagers and surrounded the river for most of the day before they finally caught this thing. They said it's a fish that's almost become a spirit, and its meat is very nutritious."

He ladled the fish out of the pot, the broth dripping down the rim of the bowl.

"Look, they said they couldn't invite you to dinner last time, so this fish is compensation. They brought it over without saying a word," Old Liu pushed the bowl in front of Chen Ping. "But I didn't take it for nothing. I gave them seven taels, which is 20% more than the market price. I told them that if they find this kind of fish again, they should send it here, and I will still buy it at this price."

Chen Ping sat down at the stone table and picked up his bowl.

As soon as the fish soup entered my mouth, a warm current rolled down my throat and into my stomach.

He picked up a piece of fish.

The fish meat is delicate and boneless. When chewed, it has an indescribable sense of solidity, unlike the thinness of ordinary fish meat. The rich and fresh aroma lingers on the tip of the tongue and slowly melts away with chewing.

A warm feeling spread through my stomach.

Chen Ping put down his chopsticks, took out the porcelain bottle containing the Bone Tempering Pill from his pocket, poured out one pill, and glanced at it in his palm.

It is round, brown, about the size of a thumbnail, and has no particular odor.

He put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it with the fish soup.

The medicinal effects dissipated quickly, and a warm current rose from the abdomen, mingling with the warmth from the fish and traveling along the meridians towards the shinbone.

The corpse core pressed against his chest, and the chilling aura seeped into his skin bit by bit. His blood and qi instinctively accelerated their circulation, pushing the chill outward.

The three forces, though moving in different directions, converged in one direction under his guidance.

Chen Ping sat at the stone table, closed his eyes, and quietly felt the dull, lingering swelling in his shinbone.

It feels much heavier than when I was refining my foot bones.

It felt like something was being stretched and filled little by little inside the bones.

He silently estimated it in his mind.

At this rate, it was originally estimated that it would take fifteen days to complete the calf bone tempering.

Now, it only takes less than ten days.

Chen Ping opened his eyes, picked up the bowl, and drank the rest of the fish soup.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was high in the sky, casting a short shadow on the courtyard wall.

A line of small print flashed across my retina.

[Skill: Stabilizing Water Stance (Minor Success)]

Current progress: 485/500

[Effects: Improves blood circulation, promotes tissue regeneration and wound healing, and enhances vitality]

So much time has passed.

I'm almost at the point of mastering the water-stabilizing stake technique.

At this point, the Qi and Blood generated in the Lesser Completion Realm are no longer sufficient. Each time you practice standing meditation, the small amount of Qi and Blood gained is negligible compared to the consumption of Bone Tempering.

I wonder what the scenery is like at the Dingshui Stake in the Proficient Realm.