Hu Changfeng ran like the wind, and it didn’t take long for him to arrive at the inner courtyard. As for Hu Chang’an and Hu Changbi, they stayed in the inner courtyard during this period as much as possible. This was because Gu Zuo could summon them at any time. As a matter of fact, the brother and sister rushed out from the inner courtyard’s medicine refining room right at this moment, and hurriedly spoke: “Changfeng, is it really—”
After gasping for breath, Hu Changfeng spoke hastily: “Exactly! Big Brother Ah Zuo’s almost done refining the medicine. He asked me to tell big brother to come over.”
Hu Chang’an was beside himself with joy. He didn’t dare to be careless, and promptly followed behind Hu Changfeng. He was practically itching to go faster as they moved towards the outer courtyard.
Soon, just when they arrived, they smelled a dense medicinal fragrance. Although it seemed somewhat pungent and acrid, after reaching his nose, Hu Chang’an could also sense that the bone pearls within his body were becoming restless.
Gu Zuo’s voice promptly echoed out from the side room: “Brother Chang’an, come in quickly!”
Hu Chang’an sucked in a deep breath, and rushed straight into the medicine refining room.
In this place was a large bath tub. Gu Zuo was right in the middle of pouring a black medicinal liquid into it, and the hot water inside that bath tub suddenly bubbled with a cloud of black mist. Immediately following that, Gu Zuo poured in an amber-colored fluid. The instant it mixed with the black liquid, the two stimulated each other — After a whooshing sound, there was a surge of qi waves, and the solution inside the tub became an extremely beautiful icy-blue color. It seemed to be emitting a faintly cold qi.
Gu Zuo’s spoke rapidly: “Brother Chang’an, take off your clothes and jump in.”
Hu Chang’an paused, and then the true qi within his body burst forth. In a split second, he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. While this level of nudity would truly leave one embarrassed, the instant that his clothes disintegrated, he had already used his fastest speed to plunge into the bath tub!
Gu Zuo blinked his eyes.
Just then, he only felt that there were stars in his eyes, and this person had already passed by. On the contrary, he hadn’t seen the specific details of Hu Chang’an’s naked body… This was for the best. Casually gawking at other people’s bodies, even if they were men, was harmful to the eyes.
As for Hu Chang’an, his entire person was soaking inside the icy-blue medicinal decoction. When only his head remained on the surface, his whole face immediately grimaced.
Hiss—
He had never experienced such pain before!
But this still wasn’t the end of it. Gu Zuo saw that his posture was correct, and immediately slapped the side of his pill cauldron. In a split second, a medicinal pill leaped out and was grabbed by his extended hand. Following which, Gu Zuo stuffed the pill into Hu Chang’an’s mouth.
When the pill entered his mouth and melted, Hu Chang’an felt miserable from the bottom of his heart.
The medicinal power of this pill resembled a raging inferno. It was like it wanted to burn his internal organs to a crisp. However, the decoction on the outside was bone-penetratingly cold. He was hot on the inside and cold on the outside. This amalgamation of fire and ice was truly terrible!
Unfortunately, Gu Zuo also warned: “Brother Chang’an, you need to endure. Otherwise, if you faint, then the awakening will fail.”
Hu Chang’an: “…”
He would certainly endure it!
&#k2026;Yet, it wasn’t going to be that easy to bear.
Although he heard that the pain was going to be severe prior to the medicine refinement, he didn’t expect that it was this bad.
The structure of language was built upon the foundation of words. The characteristic feature of the Myriad Leaking Body was that the bone pearls had small holes. As such, if one wanted to smoothly awaken the Myriad Leaking Body, those small holes, which were previously treated as bone-rotting disease and were blocked up with medicinal power, had to be opened again.
Once the treatment began, the pain would be like silk threads that burrowed into the bone marrow. It was frighteningly painful.
Moreover, because this Myriad Leaking Body couldn’t awaken during childhood, Hu Chang’an was already lagging far behind other Myriad Leaking Bodies. It could be said that it was incredibly troublesome to awaken it. In addition, for the sake of bone pearl compatibility, his body developed many internal injuries while practicing martial arts. Gu Zuo could naturally resolve these problems for him, but the resolution method was seated within the decoction mixed with all kinds of medicinal liquids. Likewise, it was also the source of Hu Chang’an’s agony.
Hu Chang’an was twitching all over from the pain.
Hu Changfeng watched on with whitened knuckles and clenched fists. Hu Changbi, this young girl, originally would’ve stayed away, but because she didn’t care about anything else and was determined to remain behind, her heart was now breaking. However, they had long heard Gu Zuo mention that there would be a very large reaction. Right now, they didn’t dare to say a word or move a muscle. They could only silently keep their eldest brother company.
Upon seeing this, Gu Zuo thought about something for a little bit. Then, he waved a hand, and collected the remaining couple of medicinal pills inside the cauldron. He split the pills into two batches, stored them into two jade bottles, and gave Hu Changfeng and Hu Changbi one bottle each.
The sister and brother took them, and looked at Gu Zuo in puzzlement.
Gu Zuo smiled and said: “Give Hu Chang’an one pill every two hours. There can’t be any mistakes.”
This was considered diverting their attention, right?
It was as if Hu Changbi and Hu Changfeng suddenly received a big mission. They nodded their heads seriously: “We certainly won’t make any mistakes!”
Sure enough, once they finished speaking, their attentions were diverted. Although their worry just now hadn’t scattered, they were preoccupied even more with caution and prudence.
Gu Zuo nodded his head in satisfaction. He took out the prescription he previously wrote down, and prepared the second stage’s medicinal ingredients.
In fact, if one wanted to awaken Hu Chang’an’s Myriad Leaking Body, there were three courses of treatment. And after that, what one needed in order to nurture this Myriad Leaking Body were other prescriptions.
At the present time, Gu Zuo only needed to let Hu Chang’an awaken. As for the nurturing later on… He directly handed over the prescriptions to allow Hu Chang’an to slowly grow.
After all, he had always wanted to find his big brother. Gu Zuo couldn’t accompany Hu Chang’an by his side and make plans on his behalf.
Hu Chang’an saved his life once, so he would help Hu Chang’an awaken. Gu Zuo wouldn’t let him ultimately degenerate and die due to “bone rotting disease”. This was regarded as returning the favor.
The three courses of treatment couldn’t be interrupted, but when everything was added up, it could be completed in two full days.
With great difficulty, they had reached the third course of treatment. As before, it was a medicinal decoction and medicinal pills. Obvious changes had also occurred throughout Hu Chang’an’s body — The most easily noticeable one was that his stature was no longer portly. The fat was reduced, and had been transformed into mounds of strapping muscle. It caused his entire person to appear robust and healthy. Hu Chang’an’s outline had become clear. The good-natured pacifist and his average and unassuming face had unexpectedly revealed a somewhat handsome silhouette.
With Hu Chang’an in the center, the medicinal decoction inside the bath tub formed a whirlpool. During the continuous rotations, Gu Zuo could see that each and every pore of Hu Chang’an was creakingly emitting small quantities of true qi. Countless, tiny vortexes roved across the surface of his body, and his aura was constantly rising.
Hu Changbi said with amazement: “Big brother, what’s happening?”
Gu Zuo was calm and collected: “Brother Chang’an awakening was delayed. Currently, he has just been given a lot of medicinal power, and he can use this opportunity to break through to the Immortal Realm in one stroke.”
Although Hu Changfeng was young, he also knew that the Immortal Realm wasn’t something that was so easy to break through to. He immediately furrowed his brows: “But all of the clan’s younger generations need to go to the restricted area if they’re going to break through…”
This time, it was Gu Zuo’s turn to furrow his brows: “If it’s like this, then it’ll be detrimental to Brother Chang’an’s awakening. Little young master, Brother Chang’an still can’t come out of the bath tub. If he really needs to go to this restricted area, you guys need to call someone to carry both him and the bath tub into it.”
Originally, it wasn’t necessarily a guarantee that it would awaken, so he didn’t mention this. This was to avoid giving Hu Chang’an hope and taking it away. Now, it looked like the Myriad Leaking Body could awaken, but Gu Zuo discovered that there was a bit of a setback. Who knew whether this would cause adverse effects?
Hu Changfeng spoke without the slightest hesitation: “The restricted area only permits the clan’s children to enter. Big brother will be carried by me!”
Gu Zuo had a helpless expression: “But you…” He couldn’t help sizing up Hu Changfeng’s small body.
Hu Changfeng: “I still have a bit of strength.”
Gu Zuo understood. In any case, he had made all of Hu Chang’an’s medicine. Hu Changfeng felt that there weren’t any problems, so he wasn’t concerned about this matter.
After this, Gu Zuo tossed a gourd to Hu Changfeng. There were over a hundred Qi Accumulating Pills inside, and all of them were top grade medicinal pills that he had previously refined. When Hu Chang’an was running low on true qi, this would certainly help out in a pinch.
Hu Changfeng opened the gourd, and took a sniff. He felt that the quality of these medicinal pills was exceptionally good, and thanked Gu Zuo on the spot.
Then, he and Hu Changbi stood on both sides of the bath tub. They exerted their arms, and carried the bath tub out.
Gu Zuo thought about something, and followed behind them.
Two underaged kids were carrying a big bath tub. He really was a bit uneasy. While he couldn’t enter the restricted area, it would still be okay to escort them to the outside of the zone.
Just like this, the group promptly travelled toward the restricted area with hurried steps.
However, what Gu Zuo didn’t expect was that not only was his way barred, the three Hu Clan siblings were also obstructed.
Some people were keeping guard in front of the restricted area on top of several tall stone pillars. Sitting on each pillar was an Atomic Realm powerhouse. Their bodies looked withered and decrepit like their lifespans were reaching their ends. However, at this time, the ones who blocked the group weren’t these powerhouses. Rather, it was a few young martial artists wearing light armor. Their complexions were solemn, and their movements were efficient as they used their spirit weapons to bar the way ahead. As for the elderly folks sitting on those stone pillars, they kept their eyes closed and didn’t take notice of the matters down below.
Hu Changbi was considered to have the most suitable identity to talk. She spoke in a cold voice: “My big brother is going to break through to the Immortal Realm. According to the clan rules, he should enter the restricted area to advance. All of you should quickly step aside, and let my big brother in.”
Yet, those young martial artists didn’t move one bit. After exchanging ambiguous glances, one person with an expressionless face said: “Right now, the young lord remains unconscious, and can’t prove that he’s on the verge of breaking through. I can’t let you pass. Second young lady, the clan rules have their limits. You can’t make things difficult for us.”
Hu Changbi was flustered. How was she making things difficult for them? Didn’t she just explain the reason?
Hu Changfeng was also unhappy: “My big brother is going to have a breakthrough. Can’t you see the qi emissions? The clan rules state that big brother can go in, but you’re saying that the rules don’t permit it!”
The young martial artist was firm: “Pardon me, little young master. We haven’t sensed any differences in the young lord’s qi emissions.”
Hu Changbi wished she could claw at them: “We can all sense it! Are you guys saying that you can’t?”
The young martial artists were inflexible: “The young lord’s qi emissions have indeed risen, but it’s only at Xiantian stage nine. He certainly can’t break through to the Immortal Realm so quickly. I ask for the second young lady’s understanding. We are loyal and devoted to the clan.”
In short, these martial artists wouldn’t allow them to pass!
Hu Changbi was out of options. She tried calling out to those elders on the stone pillars, but it was like those elders had turned into statues. They weren’t even willing to open their eyes. Clearly, they didn’t intend to make any decisions.
At this moment, Hu Changbi couldn’t help falling into despair somewhat.
It wasn’t easy for her eldest brother reached this step. If he couldn’t enter the restricted area, and had to make a breakthrough outside, wouldn’t that be a mockery? A direct descendant who couldn’t break through in the restricted area was usually weaker than the other younger generations. Her eldest brother was originally their pillar of support. But now, could it be that he was going to sink down into mediocrity?
Hu Changfeng was anxious, but he was even younger and was even less capable.
On the other hand, there was Gu Zuo. Although he didn’t say anything, there were some suspicions in his mind.
He heard that those young martial artists were following the rules, but now that their young lord was right in the middle of a critical juncture, they were obstructing him… Why didn’t this seem like the treatment of a young lord? What’s more, rules weren’t alive, but people were. Under these circumstances would a normal clan really show such a rigid and inflexible display?
T/N: Thanks for the correction, Charysa.
Please don’t forget to support the original author.
