Mountain and Sea Demon Martial Arts, Starting with Vertical Pupils

After watching Chen Luo leave, the woman turned to Pharmacist Xu and smiled, saying, "I didn't expect that someone as stingy as you would actually be willing to give the bone-tempering medicine to that young man."

"It's just a bag of medicine, it's useless to keep it." Pharmacist Xu sneered. "Besides, even if he takes the medicine, whether he can temper his bones is another matter."

"Is there something wrong with the medicine?" The woman frowned immediately. "Husband, although that young man was indeed a bit reckless, there was no need for him to act like this."

"No, that's not it. I, Xu Dafu, would never resort to such methods," Pharmacist Xu smiled at the woman. "Madam, please rest assured, the medicine is indeed bone-strengthening medicine, it's just that the pain-relieving Qing Shui Lan hasn't been added yet."

"You didn't mix in the Light Water Orchid?" the woman asked, somewhat surprised. "Then doesn't mean..."

"That's right, I'll make him suffer to death."

Pharmacist Xu sneered, "Consider this punishment for trespassing into the martial arts school. If he dares to use this bone-tempering medicine, he will suffer unbearable pain. If he doesn't dare to use it and instead dares to sell it to others, I will just fabricate a charge of theft and ask the authorities to lock him up for a few years to teach him a lesson."

"But," the woman still worried, "if we don't use the pain-relieving Qing Shui Lan, will it damage our health?"

"It's alright. The pain of bone tempering is still within the limits of the human body, and it shouldn't cause any problems." Pharmacist Xu shook his head.

"That's good." The woman was relieved and couldn't help but smile. "Actually, if you didn't like him, you could have just rejected him directly. There was no need to go through all this trouble."

Pharmacist Xu hummed in agreement, "I really am a little reluctant to part with it."

The woman was puzzled. "You can't bear to part with it?"

"Our Qingyun Martial Arts School has stood here for so many years, and everyone knows that this is a place for martial arts advancement. There are even rumors that immortals live in this martial arts school, but no one has ever dared to come in to seek an opportunity. This young man is the first."

As Pharmacist Xu spoke, a hint of interest flashed in his eyes, "He also said that he has no hope of repaying me now, but doesn't that mean he's confident he'll be qualified to repay me in the future? Such arrogance and audacity, while not endearing, is indeed quite interesting."

The woman glanced at him. "Just like when you had nothing, yet you shamelessly begged my father to let you become his apprentice?"

Pharmacist Xu chuckled.

"By the way, how much silver did you get for the bone-tempering medicine you sold to Licheng Martial Arts School last time?" the woman asked.

"Thirty taels," said Pharmacist Xu, then suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead. "That makes a hundred taels! We must send it to Xi'er quickly; we can't let her suffer in Shang County!"

The woman shook her head and smiled as she watched him run away in such a hurry.

On the other side, in the western suburbs of Qingshan County.

Chen Luo returned home, rested his chin on his hand, and stared at a piece of solid black mud in front of him, lost in thought.

This black mud is the so-called bone-tempering medicine in the red bag. It has no smell and doesn't look like medicine at first glance.

He was a little excited at the martial arts school before, and hadn't thought too much about it.

But now that I think about it, something seems off.

You have to understand, he actually had no chance of getting the bone-tempering medicine; the difference in their social status was too great, and there was really no good way to get it.

But he was still unwilling to give up, so he had no choice but to use the simplest method: he went directly to their door to ask for the medicine.

That way, even if I get rejected, it's okay. I've already done my best, so I can just consider it a consolation to myself.

So he didn't have any hope at all; he was completely resigned to his fate and didn't even prepare any thank-you gift.

But surprisingly, he actually got it.

It was so simple it was almost unbelievable, which made him hesitant to touch the black mud.

Chen Luo didn't understand why the pharmacist, Xu, was willing to give him medicine when he had initially treated him quite badly.

"There must be something wrong with this medicine," Chen Luo muttered to himself, the only plausible explanation he could think of.

But it's not entirely reasonable. If that pharmacist wanted to harm him, why would he give him problematic medicine? He could have just taken him to the authorities or simply not given him the medicine at all.

"I can't possibly poison the medicine," he muttered, but then he thought again that didn't make sense. Not only would Pharmacist Xu have no reason to poison it, but there was absolutely no opportunity to poison the medicine at that time.

Furthermore, the woman appeared perfectly normal when she gave him the medicine, so he guessed that the medicine was most likely not fatal.

"Forget it, let's give it a try first."

Chen Luo gritted his teeth and, following the instructions of Pharmacist Xu, took eight parts of the black mud, then boiled water and poured it into the bathtub before throwing the mud into the water.

But the medicine dissolved immediately upon entering the water, and the bathwater quickly turned murky black, accompanied by a strong, strange fragrance.

Without this fragrance, it would be like a puddle of sewage.

"Why are all the medicines in this world so unappealing?" Chen Luo thought to himself, recalling how the deer antlers and velvet he had used to boost his qi and blood were the same.

Once the water temperature dropped, he didn't hesitate any longer and immediately took off his clothes and soaked in it.

Soon, a warm sensation swept over my whole body, but it felt like a normal bath, and there seemed to be no problem.

But then, a wave of pain gradually washed over me.

At first, it was just a slight stinging pain, like ants biting, which Chen Luo didn't pay attention to. But soon the pain became more and more intense. In the end, it felt like his bones were being hammered, and the force was getting heavier and heavier. Only then did Chen Luo realize something was wrong and quickly jumped out of the medicinal liquid.

Although he managed to escape the liquid in time, the lingering pain still made him grimace.

"Why does it hurt so much..." Chen Luo was still confused amidst the pain, but then he suddenly realized, "Could this be the reason why that pharmacist Xu was willing to give me the medicine?"

He froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. The laughter aggravated the sharp pain in his bones, but he still couldn't help laughing. He looked somewhat comical and morbid. "Hahaha..."

Chen Luo had always been suspicious of why that pharmacist would give him the bone-tempering medicine.

It now appears that, for some reason, using this drug requires enduring inhuman pain.

But this also proves that the bone-tempering medicine is probably real!

As long as the medicine is genuine, his goal has been achieved.

As for this minor physical pain...

"It's just the sound of bone tempering and marrow cleansing!" He smiled again, found a piece of burlap to wipe his face, stuffed it into his mouth and bit down hard, his eyes showing a resolute look, and resolutely jumped into the bone tempering liquid.

Before long, the excruciating pain struck again, as if a hammer was smashing into every corner of his limbs and bones, the blows growing heavier and heavier, causing Chen Luo to almost faint from the pain. However, the bone-tempering medicine seemed to contain some kind of energizing substance that kept him conscious, allowing him to consciously endure the pain of almost every inch of his bones being crushed and rebuilt.

After enduring this torment for half an hour...

Perhaps as the medicine was gradually absorbed and the pain subsided, or perhaps he had become numb from the pain, when Chen Luo climbed out of the bathtub, his eyes were glazed, the whites of his eyes were half-rolled, and he staggered to the bed and collapsed. His body would twitch intermittently, as if he had suffered a stroke.

By the time he fully regained his senses, it was already dark outside.

"I'm still alive..." Chen Luo murmured in the darkness. At this moment, he understood the true meaning of the phrase "to die and come back to life" with absolute certainty.

This bone tempering is truly painful! It's like scraping the bone to remove poison, as if all the bones in my body are shattered and reassembled!

Even now, when Chen Luo recalls that feeling, he can't help but shudder.

Fortunately, we made it through.

After resting, he immediately checked his condition, but found that he did not have the same refreshing feeling as when his blood and energy were boosted.

Yes, there is only a kind of soreness after prolonged pain, like you've just finished a full-on massage.

He got up and went to the backyard to light a candle.

Under the dim yellow light, Chen Luo tried to use the Nine Yang Force and threw a punch.

"It's working smoothly!" he exclaimed in delight.

This punch was like a silted-up river channel being suddenly cleared, and the exhilarating feeling of the power flowing was indescribable.

This is different from seeing the big picture from small details. It is a proactive improvement through conscious control via insight, and it is not an improvement caused by the body returning to a perfect state, like the improvement of Qi and blood.

The improvement brought about by the strengthening of muscles and bones is more like a smooth and coordinated improvement of all the meridians and bones in the body.

He could feel that with each punch he threw, without him having to consciously control it, his arms naturally trembled and sluggish less. It was no longer a matter of him forcibly driving the swirling and condensing of energy through his will and flesh, but rather his tendons and bones began to exert force, like a lever, efficiently supporting and amplifying the power of his flesh and blood.

So that punch just now, rather than being smooth, made him feel a powerful, potential-filled foundation within himself.

Compared to the gains, the pain of this bone-tempering was obviously worthwhile. Chen Luo's face showed a joy like that of a bountiful harvest. He then practiced for a long time and began to understand more thoroughly the improvement of his muscles and bones.

"Actually, the improvement isn't that significant," Chen Luo muttered to himself. "After all, this is only the first day of the medicinal bath."

The only significant improvement was in his physical sensations, because his original physique was too weak.

Taking Song Ruokui as an example, if her foundation is 100 points, adding 5 points would make it 105 points, which is better than nothing.

As for himself, his original base was 1 point, and adding 5 points made it 6 points. Compared to the base number, the increase in his perceived strength was naturally significant.

However, if you really want to completely stabilize and improve your physique, you still need to continue with medicinal baths and consolidation.

Thus, Chen Luo spent the rest of his time on drugs.

He would wake up during the day to practice martial arts, take a bone-tempering medicinal bath at noon, and only regain consciousness in the evening. After waking up, he would occasionally go to the martial arts academy to meet the monks. After meals, he would eat deer antlers and deer antlers to replenish his energy and blood before practicing martial arts and digesting his strength.

This continued every day. As the bone-tempering medicine gradually ran out and the pain of bone tempering became less unbearable, Chen Luo knew that his bones and muscles had reached the limit that the bone-tempering medicine could improve.

Correspondingly, the blood-nourishing effect of the green deer was nearly exhausted, and his blood and qi had reached the limit that an ordinary person should have.

Half a month later, he broke through to the third level of strength.