Li Mengze placed the Breaking Boundary Pill, which condensed his painstaking effort, into his mouth.
The moment the pill entered, it did not dissolve into a warm flow like ordinary pills. Instead, it erupted like a blazing flame, exploding violently within his dantian!
He quickly gathered his mind and sat cross-legged, guiding this overwhelming energy to wash through his meridians repeatedly, following the mental route of the Evergreen Formula.
The sensation was indescribably marvelous.
If before, his cultivation was like using a tiny teaspoon to scoop water into a large vat one spoonful at a time,
then now, it was as if someone had directly lifted the sky’s lid, pouring a refreshing flood of enlightenment over him!
The once impenetrable barrier of the peak second stage of refined energy suddenly began to crack under the surge of medicinal power, emitting crisp “crackling” sounds as tiny fractures silently spread across the barrier.
“Now’s the time!”
Li Mengze’s heart stirred, pushing his spiritual sense to the extreme.
He chose not to ram through with brute force, but instead transformed that medicinal power into countless threads of energy thinner than hair, like embroidery needles. Following the fractures, they infiltrated every crevice without fail.This was the pill-refining fire control technique he learned from Teacher Su, emphasizing a "silent nourishment" approach.
When applied to breaking through bottlenecks, it yielded a similarly exquisite effect.
Under the combined attack of these countless energy threads, the barrier began to disintegrate bit by bit.
At the same time, his soul seemed to be pulled into a profound realm by this energy.
The swirling magic force in his dantian’s qi sea, once fierce, now spun wildly at an unprecedented speed, each rotation becoming denser and purer.
His spiritual sense transformed into a tangible eye, hanging low beneath the qi sea, sensing the subtle changes brought by every flow of magic force.
The absolute control over his own power intoxicated him deeply.
“Break!”
After a short moment, accompanied by a roar that seemed to come from the depths of his soul, the barrier that had troubled him for so long finally shattered.
The surging magic force burst through the blockage, flowing into a broader network of meridians, forming a more stable but faint minor cycle.
Li Mengze felt his entire body grow heavier, a difficult-to-describe comfort and subtle strength rising from every corner of his body.
Though no external change was visible, the power contained within his body had become worlds apart from before.
The Insight into Good and Evil talent also ascended at that instant.
In a flash, many “voices” flooded his mind—disciples complaining about trivial matters, minor servants fretting over petty troubles, even birds eyeing food greedily.
He could simultaneously perceive powerful emotional light points belonging to the same group, “hearing” genuine inner thoughts. This meant Li Mengze could instantly sense everyone’s movements within his immediate vicinity.
.............
In the following days, Li Mengze’s life was intense.
Every day, besides going to the pill hall to consult Teacher Su about alchemy, he returned to his courtyard to consolidate his newly broken realm, getting used to the surging magic force and spiritual sense.
Since the last meal at Moonview Pavilion, the pill hall had vanished without a trace and never appeared again.
But in his heart, he knew this was the calm before the storm.
A petty man like Huang Teng, who always repaid insults in kind, would never let it go.
Sure enough, one afternoon, a shocking piece of news dropped like a stone into a still lake, stirring a thousand waves.
“Did you hear? Zhang Ao got beaten up!”
“What? Zhang Ao? Isn’t he the disciple Master Chen values? Who dared do this?”
“I heard it was people from the Huishan Martial Arts School, right in the alley outside the academy. They ambushed him and broke the bones in his right palm!”
“Huishan Martial Arts School? That’s run by the Huang family, right? That’s way too arrogant! This is a disciple from our academy!”
At the moment the news arrived, Li Mengze was in the pill hall, studying a newly acquired herb with Su Qingxue.
He froze slightly when hearing the words “Zhang Ao” and “Huang family” while holding his teacup.
“Teacher, I want to go out and see.” He put down the cup, his voice calm, but a cold gleam flickered deep in his eyes.
How could he not guess the reason behind this?
Since Huang Teng couldn’t touch him directly, he had vented his rage on Zhang Ao, who was close to Li Mengze.
This was a classic tactic—shaking the mountain to scare the tiger, killing the chicken to warn the monkey.
Su Qingxue sighed softly as she looked at him: “Go, but don’t act rashly.”
Li Mengze hurried to Zhang Ao’s residence. Before entering, he heard Zhang Ao’s pained groans from inside.
Pushing the door open, he saw Zhang Ao lying on the bed, pale, his right hand wrapped in thick bandages. Several familiar disciples stood around, furious but helpless.
“Mengze, you’re here...”
Zhang Ao tried to sit up but gasped in pain from the wound.
Li Mengze approached the bed and silently examined the broken hand.
Zhang Ao shook his head hoarsely: “I was careless. I lost control during the fight...”
Zhang Ao was straightforward by nature, and Huang Teng had deliberately sent people to provoke him, goading him to strike. Those martial arts disciples were all masters of combat. As a low-level spell cultivator, Zhang Ao was no match for them.
Within a few moves, they used the excuse of “losing control” to break his palm bones.
Afterwards, the Huang family only sent the most ordinary healing medicine arrogantly, clearly looking down on Zhang Ao, who had no background.
Li Mengze was furious and ashamed.
This was no longer simple bullying—it was a blatant provocation, using Zhang Ao’s immortal path to warn and humiliate him!
“Does the teacher know about this?”
“Teacher has gone to them.” Zhang Ao smiled bitterly. “But Huishan Martial Arts School insists it was ‘losing control,’ so the teacher is powerless.”
Li Mengze fell silent, knowing Zhang Ao was right.
In this prefecture, power spoke through fists and background.
Ultimately, Zhang Ao’s misfortune was because of him.
He stepped forward and carefully peeled back the bandages on Zhang Ao’s hand.
The right hand hung limp, bones shattered. Worse, a gray-black aura lingered around the wound, continuously corroding Zhang Ao’s vitality.
“It’s poison from the Bone-Dissolving Powder.” Li Mengze’s face darkened. “Such a cruel method.”
This poison was not lethal immediately but penetrated the marrow, preventing the wound from healing. Over time, the arm would become completely useless, and the poison would slowly invade internal organs, severing his immortal foundation.
This was a hundred times more poisonous than killing him outright.
“Mengze, can you help?” Zhang Ao looked at his grave expression, his last hope flickering.
“I’ll find a way to cure you, no matter the cost.” Li Mengze said. “Do you trust me?”
Zhang Ao nodded heavily: “I trust you!”
“Good.” Li Mengze said no more. Turning, he told the surrounding disciples: “Please leave for a while. I need a quiet place to treat Zhang Ao’s injury.”
Everyone left the room.
Once alone, Li Mengze slowly spoke, revealing the entire conflict with Huang Teng at Moonview Pavilion and his own suspicions.
“This all started because of me. I’ve dragged you into it.” Li Mengze’s face showed deep guilt. “Don’t worry. I will settle this debt for you.”
Zhang Ao listened quietly. His expression changed from shock to understanding.
He looked at Li Mengze and shook his head, laughing bitterly with a hoarse voice: “No, Mengze, it’s not your fault. Without you, with my personality, I would have sooner or later offended Huang Teng, or Li Teng, or Wang Teng. That’s just how this world works—weakness is the original sin.”
He looked at his ruined hand, eyes devoid of pride for the first time, replaced by piercing clarity.
“I always thought being a dual-element upper-grade spiritual root made me invincible, but before true power, that so-called talent is a joke. Masters can only scold a little—what can they do?”
Zhang Ao looked at Li Mengze, speaking each word deliberately: “I remember today’s humiliation. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late. The Huang family, Huishan Martial Arts School—I won’t spare a single one. When I am strong enough, I will repay them a hundredfold!”
This disaster, which nearly destroyed his immortal path, transformed the once arrogant youth overnight into a clear-minded, reborn man.
Li Mengze nodded. “Good! I’ll help you!”
This promise soothed the heart more than any pill.
To cure the Bone-Dissolving Powder, ordinary antidote pills were useless. Only a first-grade mid-tier pill called the Muscle Regrowth and Bone Renewal Pill could help.
Its formula was a secret within the academy, exchanged only by disciples who had made great contributions or had outstanding alchemy talent, using Contribution Points.
Without hesitation, Li Mengze went straight to the academy’s Scripture Repository.
The pill formulas were guarded by Elder Wang, a strict and old-fashioned man.
“Muscle Regrowth and Bone Renewal Pill?”
Elder Wang lifted his eyelids and glanced at Li Mengze. “This is a first-grade mid-tier formula, requiring one thousand Contribution Points to exchange. You’re a new disciple—do you have enough points?”
One thousand Contribution Points!
Such rare formulas rarely produced finished pills, so the benefit was limited, but the cost in points was the same as common formulas.
Li Mengze frowned. Academy disciples earn only about fifty Contribution Points for ordinary tasks. That was a far-off dream.
“Elder,” Li Mengze said humbly, pulling out a jade bottle. “Though I’m unworthy, I recently refined a new pill called the Pure Source Pill. I offer it to the academy to contribute to alchemy research.”
Elder Wang showed a hint of disdain.
What could a new disciple refine? Probably just some flashy nonsense.
But when he opened the bottle, smelling the pure, exquisite medicinal aroma, and seeing the pill’s five glowing pill patterns, he was moved.
“You made this?”
“Just a lucky success,” Li Mengze remained modest.
Elder Wang studied the pill for a long time. “Good, good, good! The young have hope!”
He stroked his beard, smiling slightly. “This pill’s toxicity is minimal, with mild and mellow effects. It’s truly an exceptional first-grade pill! Using this formula to exchange for Contribution Points is more than enough!”
He waved his hand and gave Li Mengze the Muscle Regrowth and Bone Renewal Pill formula.
“Kid, I’m rooting for you.” Elder Wang patted his shoulder on the way out. “Work hard. Don’t embarrass our academy.”
.............
With the formula in hand, Li Mengze felt troubled.
“Jade Bone Flower, Dragon Blood Vine, Kirin’s Gallbladder...”
Looking at the long list of ingredients on the formula, his head ached.
These materials were all extremely rare. The main ingredient, Jade Bone Flower, was a true spiritual material, mainly to dispel the poison entwined in the wound.
He had no choice but to seek out the pill hall senior brothers he was closest to.
“Junior Brother Li, you want to detoxify Zhang Ao?”
Senior Brother Wang, who was friendly with him, was stunned hearing his request. “The Muscle Regrowth and Bone Renewal Pill is extremely difficult to refine and requires many spirit materials. You...”
“Senior Brother, spirit stones aren’t a problem.”
Li Mengze clasped his fists sincerely. “This concerns my closest friend’s immortal path. I hope you can help. Whether success or failure, I’m grateful. Here are three mid-grade spirit stones—though not much, please accept them.”
Senior Brother Wang wanted to refuse, but seeing the spirit stones and Li Mengze’s determined eyes, he sighed and accepted.
“Alright, alright, I can find the other materials for you, but the Jade Bone Flower...”
He lowered his voice. “Though rare, I heard from the teacher that the last plant grows in the academy’s Back Mountain ‘Myriad Herbs Garden.’”
“Thanks for the tip, Senior Brother!”
Li Mengze rejoiced, immediately rushing to the Myriad Herbs Garden. Spending many Contribution Points and spirit stones, he almost exhausted his alchemy assets to obtain three petals of the Jade Bone Flower.
That meant he only had three chances to succeed in refining.
Everything was ready except for the crucial factor.
Holding the formula and materials, Li Mengze calmed his mind.
He returned to the pill hall and began a relentless closed-door refinement.
The difficulty of refining the Muscle Regrowth and Bone Renewal Pill exceeded even the Breaking Boundary Pill. The hardest step was perfectly merging the medicinal power of the Jade Bone Flower with dozens of auxiliary herbs without damaging its vitality.
This process demanded insane consumption and control of spiritual sense.
Li Mengze didn’t rush to use the main ingredient. Instead, he repeatedly familiarized himself with the properties of the auxiliary herbs, turning the expensive materials into piles of blackened charcoals.
He was not discouraged. Each failure deepened his understanding of pharmacology and mastery of timing.
On the seventh morning,
when the first morning light filtered through the pill hall window, while refining the second Jade Bone Flower petal, a strong medicinal fragrance full of vibrant life slowly drifted from the pill furnace.
When the furnace lid opened, a pill of pure green, as if carved from the clearest jade, quietly lay at the bottom. Above it floated a faint Jade Bone silhouette, coiling endlessly!
“Zhang Ao’s hand can be saved!”
Li Mengze looked at the pill, wearing a tired but brilliant smile.
Without delay, he took the pill to Zhang Ao’s bedside.
“Zhang Ao, quickly, take this!”
As the pill entered his body, a gentle yet overwhelming life energy instantly coursed through Zhang Ao’s limbs.
His previously swollen and bluish palm began visibly to reduce swelling and regain color.
Black poison strands were forced out from his palm and immediately purified by the pill’s mighty power.
Within half an hour, Zhang Ao slowly opened his eyes. He moved his right hand—the once shattered palm, deemed “immortal path ruined,” had recovered perfectly, even stronger and more resilient than before!
“Mengze!”
Looking at his hands and feeling the regained power, the proud youth could no longer hold back tears.
He got out of bed and hugged Li Mengze tightly without saying a word of thanks.
“Brother!”
A thousand words left unsaid.
This debt, Zhang Ao would never forget.
From now on, whatever Li Mengze said, he would go through fire and water without a single frown!
From then on, Zhang Ao grew calmer. No longer arrogant or competitive, he devoted all his time and energy to intense cultivation.
He and Li Mengze became the academy’s well-known “diehard brothers.”
.............
Su Qingxue could not remain indifferent.
Though she disliked conflict, she fiercely protected her own.
The Huang family’s actions were no longer a simple disciple dispute.
They had personally exposed this matter outside the academy.
The academy was troubled.
The Huang family was influential in the prefecture, and her father was an official in the court. Without concrete evidence, the academy could not afford to confront them openly, lest other academies accuse them of bullying with power and corrupting academic integrity.
Under the academy’s mediation, the Huang family compensated Zhang Ao with many pills and spirit stones. Zhang Ao accepted without refusal.
The turmoil seemed to have settled for now.
Huang family.
“So, that brat has been very obedient lately?”
“Yes, Young Master. Very obedient.”
A family servant hurriedly reported, “Since the last time you reprimanded him, that Li Mengze has been like a turtle hiding in its shell, staying in the pill hall all day, never stepping out. Even Zhang Ao now avoids our people when he sees them!”
“Hahaha! That’s how it should be!”
Huang Teng smugly waved his wine glass. “I told you, dealing with these country bumpkins requires cruelty!”
He drained the cup, feeling all his anger vanish.
“Pass my orders down.”
A cruel glint flashed in his eyes. “Keep an eye on the Hundred Herbs Hall. Any business involving the Pure Source Pill—smash it! I want to see how Li Mengze will refine pills without spirit stones!”
He wanted not only to frighten Li Mengze but to impoverish him, to make him like a dog wagging its tail, begging him.