Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Lu Cheng pushed open the door to the Pill Hall, and Chen Ping followed him inside.

The front hall smelled strongly of medicine. Seven or eight workers were busy at their own pace, and the dull thud of pestles hitting the copper mortar echoed throughout the room.

Someone carrying a stack of account books half a person's height hurried through, without even looking up.

Chen Ping carefully observed these people, noting their hands, postures, and gaits.

The Bone-Corroding Pill can suppress qi and blood, but the posture and habits of martial arts practiced for many years cannot be changed. The four people were squatting in the corner with their bodies hunched over, so he could not see anything.

But if these people have problems, it will be obvious.

Qian Yaoguan was weighing a pinch of cinnabar on a small scale when he saw the two men enter. He put down what he was doing and shouted at the top of his lungs towards the tall medicine shelf behind him, "Xiao Ding, come out and wipe the counter clean!"

A timid voice responded from inside.

A thin boy emerged from the shadows of the medicine shelf and began tidying up the scattered medicine bottles on the counter with a rag.

He looked up and saw Chen Ping. He forced a smile and said, "Brother Ping, you've come to get the medicine?"

Chen Ping shook his head expressionlessly, not even glancing at him, and followed Lü Cheng straight to the back hall.

Xiao Ding lowered his head and went to put the medicine bottles away again.

Reaching the entrance to the back hall, Chen Ping paused slightly and casually asked Qian Yaoguan, "By the way, when did this Xiao Ding come in?"

"He's been here for almost two months." Qian Yaoguantou didn't even look up as he fiddled with the abacus. "Ding Xun sent him here. He said he's a distant relative from the countryside, not very bright, so he's leaving him here to do odd jobs and learn some basic pharmacology. He's usually very quiet and honest."

Chen Ping hummed in agreement, asked no further questions, and followed Lü Cheng into the back hall.

In the alchemy room in the backyard, the aroma of medicine was even stronger. Several furnaces were burning, and Rouge Tiger was standing in front of one of them, adding firewood. When she saw Lü Cheng come in, she straightened up, glanced at Chen Ping, and said nothing.

Lu Cheng stepped forward, took out the poison powder, and handed it over: "Do you recognize this insidious stuff?"

Rouge Tiger took it, unfolded it, and the emerald green powder shimmered with an eerie luster under the light. She glanced at it, and her expression changed slightly.

"Jade Powder."

Lu Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly: "Are you sure?"

"I saw it a few years ago." Rouge Tiger refolded the paper package. "This poison comes from the Hua Sect. This stuff is specifically effective against martial artists below the Refining Realm. As long as you inhale it, your blood and qi will flow backward, and your muscles and bones will become as soft as mud."

Lu Cheng briefly recounted what happened last night: four Tendon Refining Pills, Bone Corrosion Pills, Blood Explosion Pills, and that tattered fish-scale soft armor.

After listening, Rouge Tiger said in a deep voice, "Are you saying that the Hua Sect is behind this?"

Lu Cheng shook his head slightly: "It's unlikely. Although Prefect Qian usually doesn't concern himself with gang fights, if any sect dares to intrude into his territory to make a quick buck, he will definitely not stand idly by. Huai'an Prefecture is, after all, the imperial court's Huai'an Prefecture, not his backyard as a江湖人 (jianghu person, a term referring to people from the martial arts world)."

"Since it wasn't a sect involved, then it must be someone from the Hua Sect who took on a private job," Rouge Tiger coldly replied.

"Hmm." Lu Cheng's eyes darkened. "Behind the sect's back, he secretly helps the White Gang. I just can't understand when Yan Hai got involved with the Huamen Sect."

Chen Ping suddenly spoke up: "Did Bai Gang promise you huge profits?"

Lu Cheng glanced at him: "Perhaps."

Rouge Tiger turned and walked to the medicine shelf, took out a white porcelain bottle with a red label, and threw it directly to Chen Ping: "This is a freshly made Bone Tempering Pill, enough for you to finish tempering the rest of your bones."

Chen Ping reached out and caught it steadily, feeling the weight of the porcelain bottle before putting it in his pocket.

Lü Cheng: "Come on, I'll take you to your new place."

The new house is right next to Li Yuan's steward's courtyard, separated by only a wall.

Push open the courtyard gate.

This courtyard is completely different from the previous dilapidated one.

The ground was made of thick bluestone slabs, with the seams between the stones completely sealed with molten iron.

This is a training ground specifically for martial artists to demonstrate their skills; no matter how much you step on it, it won't budge.

In the corner of the courtyard is a well made of blue bricks, and in the center stands a neatly trimmed soapberry tree, with not a single fallen leaf on the ground.

Under the tree stood a solid wood weapon rack covered in copper, with several extremely heavy black iron stone locks casually stacked next to it.

Clean and neat.

This is a place only those in management positions can afford to live in.

Lu Cheng stood at the courtyard gate and glanced inside: "Your master is right next door. Just call out if you need anything."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Chen Ping put the bundle inside the house and stood in the courtyard for a moment.

This time, it's four tendon-strengthening exercises.

He killed the four Tendon Refining cultivators, but he knew it wasn't because he was so strong, but because the other party made a mistake in decision-making, allowing him to take advantage of the situation.

If the other party knew his background, and four of them surrounded him, he might not be able to escape unscathed.

If there is another assassination attempt, it will definitely not be a Tendon Refining expert; it is very likely a Blood Refining expert, or even a Dirty Refining expert.

He suppressed the thought in his mind, turned around, strode out the door, and pushed open the gate of the neighboring courtyard.

Li Yuan was wearing a loose blue robe and sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, slowly drinking tea.

When Chen Ping pushed the door open and came in, he only slightly raised his eyelids without saying a word.

Chen Ping walked to the table and said bluntly, "I want to know just how strong the Refining Realm is."

Li Yuan paused slightly in her teacup, put it down, and glanced at him: "Why did you think of asking that?"

Chen Ping calmly said, "I killed those four martial artists at the Tendon Refining Realm, but I don't know what it feels like to be at the Dirty Refining Realm, I don't know where the difference lies, and I'm not confident."

Li Yuan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly stood up and strolled to the center of the courtyard.

He turned around and said, "Come here. I won't use any martial arts strength, just the purest physical foundation of the Refining Realm, to push out a palm strike. You must catch it with all your might."

Chen Ping walked into the training ground, took a deep breath, felt his blood boil, and planted his feet firmly on the ground, assuming a fighting stance.

Li Yuan stood three steps away, his left hand behind his back, and his right hand slowly and casually raised.

The next moment, Chen Ping heard a very faint sound coming from Li Yuan's body, deep and long, like something resonating.

The five internal organs resonate!

Before he could react, the palm had already been pressed out.

It looks extremely slow.

It was like an old man doing his morning exercise casually pushing the air forward.

But the moment that force came crashing down on him, Chen Ping felt as if something was pressing down on him from all directions at the same time.

He frantically urged the movers to unload the parts.

The remaining force, like a flood overflowing a dam, completely overwhelmed his posture.

boom.

Chen Ping was sent flying backward, his back slamming into the courtyard wall, causing a crack to appear in the wall and brick fragments to fall down.

He sat up abruptly, his back burning, his clothes torn, blood seeping from his skin, and a slight stinging pain in his upper body.

Li Yuan stood there with his hands behind his back, looking calm and composed.

"With this palm strike, I only used a fraction of the strength from my refined physical body, without exerting any real power."

Chen Ping took a couple of deep breaths and looked up: "What if I break through to the Tendon Refining Realm?"

"Can hit a three-pointer."

"Blood Refining?"

Five points.

"Dirty?"

Li Yuan said calmly, "At that time, you will be able to fight me with all your might. If we rely purely on physical strength, with your martial arts skills, I am no match for you."

Chen Ping wiped his mouth, paused for a moment, and then asked, "What about the Transformation Realm?"

"The difference between refining dirt and transforming internal energy lies not in the physical body, but in internal strength." Li Yuan paused, "That's a different level altogether, and it's pointless to explain it now."

He walked over and patted Chen Ping on the shoulder: "You were able to kill four Tendon Refining cultivators while you were in the Bone Refining Realm, something I couldn't do back then."

Chen Ping stood up, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Thank you for sharing your knowledge."

Li Yuan turned around and walked towards the courtyard gate.

"I'll go for a walk around the streets and, while I'm at it, chase away those homeless people squatting against the walls around here, so that you won't have rats squeaking outside while you're sleeping."

The footsteps faded into the twilight.

Chen Ping returned to his courtyard, sat down cross-legged under the locust tree, and calmed his qi and blood.

The dull pain in my chest gradually subsided, but the force of that palm strike was still pressing down on my body, dissipating very slowly.

Even a small contribution.

Although he struggled to receive this force, the power did not reach his internal organs. Li Yuan, a master of internal energy transformation, did not use his internal strength, but through years of cultivation, his physical strength was certainly stronger than that of ordinary martial artists who had refined their internal organs.

Once he completes his bone tempering, if he encounters someone in the Refining Realm, he should be able to escape from them with his perfected [Walking] skill, and might even be able to kill them with the help of his magical artifact.

He calmed his mind, took out a Bone Tempering Pill, put it in his mouth, and began to practice standing meditation.