Chapter 4

Li Mo, why would he care about a few top-grade pills? What he needed was a constant supply of medicinal herbs. So he casually said, "Then I'll give you four top-grade Guiyuan Pills every month."

Li Bo's spirit was instantly lifted, and he was so excited that his hands trembled.

Actually, even one top-grade pill per month was a treasure he could only dream of. He never expected Li Mo to casually offer four pills a month.

The alchemists exchanged glances. With their abilities, it was already a luxury to refine one top-grade pill. Four pills offhand—what kind of skill was that?

Then, Li Mo instructed Li Bo not to reveal that he knew alchemy. Li Bo readily agreed.

Afterward, Li Mo selected a cartload of medicinal herbs, which the shop assistant delivered to his home. Li Bo sent him off with a smile, not at all regretful, and couldn't help but praise his son a few times, acknowledging a good friend.

Li Gaoyuan was utterly confused. His childhood friend had suddenly become a third-grade yellow-level alchemist. However, he didn't bother to think too much about it; after all, this was a great thing.

When the cart arrived at the door, it immediately alarmed Li Mo's parents.

By the time Li Mo's parents reached the courtyard, the assistant was busy unloading boxes of medicinal herbs.

"Mo, what's going on?" Li Wendeng frowned, his face, in his forties, showing a simple honesty.

"Right, where did you get so many herbs? Did you steal them?" Li Mo's mother asked anxiously.

Li Mo smiled and replied, "These are herbs from Uncle Li."

"What? From my brother? He would give you herbs for free?" Li Wendeng was even more puzzled.

At this point, the assistant had finished unloading and left. Li Mo then explained that he was a third-grade yellow-level alchemist and the deal he had with Li Bo.

Li Wendeng and his wife were greatly surprised. Then Li Mo's mother exclaimed in delight, "Mo, you're really a third-grade yellow-level alchemist?"

Li Mo nodded and said with a smile, "Don't look at me running around every day; I've been quietly practicing alchemy, hoping to bring glory to the family one day."

Though they weren't his biological parents, he owed them his body and life. Therefore, making their lives comfortable was a way to repay their kindness.

"Too good, too good."

The unexpected joy made Li Wendeng extremely excited. He had never had high hopes for his son, only wishing him a peaceful life. He never expected his son to work so hard and become a third-grade yellow-level alchemist.

Moreover, his usually stingy brother's willingness to send so many herbs proved that his son's words were true.

"Bang—bang—"

Half a month later, in the early morning, the small courtyard echoed with dull sounds. One by one, the wooden stakes shattered under Li Mo's sword.

He moved like a snake, weaving between the thick wooden stakes.

Each time his sword fell, a wooden stake was shattered.

The rough and simple Ling She Sword, when wielded by Li Mo, transformed into a thousand variations, resembling a fierce python's attack, with power comparable to high-level sword techniques, and its essence was even more profound.

With the help of Guiyuan Pills and Taiyuan Pills, his physique had become much stronger, and his eyes glowed with a piercing light.

When Li Mo sheathed his sword, the ground was covered with broken wood, but he was not even out of breath.

He nodded slightly and said calmly, "Finally, I have entered the early stage of the Condensation Qi realm. Now I can refine my meridians."

The path of martial arts is divided into nine realms: Condensation Qi, Solid Rock, Iron Bone, Steel Soul, Golden Body, Profound Origin, Spirit Aperture, Earth Yang, and Heaven Dome.

Each realm is a world, and each realm is further divided into early, middle, and late stages.

The ninth realm, Heaven Dome, is said to allow one to glimpse the secrets of the universe and enter the realm of cultivation.

Having entered the early stage of the Condensation Qi realm, Li Mo had also laid the foundation for the Dao Tian Refining Fire Technique.

At this point, he could begin to practice the first level of the Dao Tian Refining Fire Technique: refining the meridians.

Years ago, a destitute young man came to Li Mo's residence to seek medicine for his seriously ill father.

He was poor but claimed that his ancestors were alchemists. This book was a rare find by his ancestor, described as a miraculous alchemy book. Although the family had never had a qualified successor to practice it, they still passed it down as a family treasure.

With the family's decline, he was willing to exchange the book for medicine.

At the time, Li Mo didn't think much of it. Moved by his filial piety, he refined a batch of pills for him. A year later, when he casually flipped through the so-called miraculous book, he was greatly surprised.

Most alchemy techniques were purely fire control methods used only for refining pills.

However, the Dao Tian Refining Fire Technique could be used as a cultivation method, with nine levels, each level a world. It could refine a Dao Tian Fire Body, reaching the peak of martial arts.

After unexpectedly obtaining this technique, he treasured it like a gem. To lay a solid foundation, he studied many methods to cultivate the first level, ultimately settling on the Sanxuan Liuhuo Pill.

To refine the Sanxuan Liuhuo Pill, he needed a rare herb called Yanjin Stone.

With his mind made up, Li Mo immediately went to Li's Herbal Shop.

This time, Li Songchi did not dare to be negligent and welcomed him respectfully.

But when he heard about the Yanjin Stone, he shook his head and said, "We don't have this herb in the warehouse. Perhaps the county city has it, but with the recent heavy rain, it might take ten days to get it from there."

"Too long," Li Mo shook his head. He couldn't wait a day, so he asked, "Do you know where I can find this Yanjin Stone?"

Li Songchi hesitated for a moment and replied, "Perhaps Ping'an Herbal Shop has it, but that shop is owned by the Zhang family, who have always been at odds with our Li family. Even if they have it, they might not sell it."

Li Mo, hearing this, turned and walked toward East Street.

In no time, he arrived at Ping'an Herbal Shop.

In terms of scale and busyness, it was no less than Li's Herbal Shop. Several doctors were busy diagnosing patients in the hall.

On one side, an old man who looked like a manager was talking to a young man in white.

As soon as Li Mo stepped inside, the young man shouted, "Isn't that the Li family's useless son? Out so early in the morning, the sun must be rising in the west."

This remark caused the shop assistants and patients to whisper and snicker.

A bad reputation spreads far and wide. The Li family were prominent figures in Green Mountain City, and the younger generation were mostly outstanding, skilled in martial arts and swordsmanship. Only Li Mo, with his extremely weak constitution, was a laughingstock.

Ignoring the jeers, Li Mo glanced at the speaker. The young man was about thirteen or fourteen, tall and strong, but with a flat nose, narrow eyes, thin lips, and an unattractive face.

A quick search of his memory revealed that this was Zhang Shijiu, the young manager of Ping'an Herbal Shop.

In childhood, Zhang Shijiu had often bullied Li Mo, once even throwing a brick that left Li Mo with a bloody head.

The memory flashed by, and he said calmly, "So it's Young Master Zhang. Does your shop have Yanjin Stone?"

Seeing that Li Mo was there to buy herbs, Zhang Shijiu laughed and whispered a few words to the old manager.

The old manager then sent an assistant into the back room. Soon, the assistant returned with a stone.

The stone was about the size of a fist, with many honeycomb-like holes and blood-red veins, which was the Yanjin Stone.

This size was just enough, and Li Mo finally smiled, asking, "How much silver for this piece?"

Zhang Shijiu laughed and mocked, "This Yanjin Stone is a great tonic, used only by the seriously ill. They say you, Li Mo, have a weak constitution, and it seems you're as weak as a seriously ill person. In the future, everyone should stay far away from Li Mo to avoid him suddenly collapsing and dying, causing trouble for everyone."

His mockery of Li Mo's weak constitution made the shop assistants and onlookers laugh loudly.

The surrounding passersby also laughed, treating Li Mo as a laughingstock.

Despite the continuous jeers, Li Mo remained calm and said, "Just tell me the price. If I can't afford it, I'll leave."

Zhang Shijiu, however, didn't let go of the opportunity to tease Li Mo. He laughed and said, "Our families have a deep friendship, talking about money is too hurtful. I'm afraid you might not be able to handle this thing, and if you die, your parents will come to our shop, causing us trouble."

Everyone laughed again, and more people gathered.

Li Mo remained composed and said, "Young Master Zhang is truly kind. How do you think I can buy it?"

Zhang Shijiu grinned and said, "If you can stand up after taking one punch from me, it means your constitution is not bad. I'll give you this Yanjin Stone for free!"

"Take a punch from you?" Li Mo smiled, and his eyes suddenly flashed with a cold light, emitting a chilling aura.

Zhang Shijiu was startled by the ferocity in Li Mo's eyes, his body trembling involuntarily, a chill running from his feet to his head, making him feel icy cold to the bone.

But he couldn't believe that the Li family's useless son could be his match, and Li Mo's eyes only made him angrier.

He pointed at Li Mo and shouted, "Do you dare or not!"

"Come on," Li Mo replied calmly.

A boy who hadn't even grown a beard dared to bully him.

And he, a late-stage Condensation Qi realm practitioner, would not be scared by such a junior.

When Li Mo agreed, everyone was surprised, and the jeers continued.

"This Li Mo is too overconfident. He doesn't even know a single move. If Young Master Zhang puts some strength into his punch, Li Mo won't be able to get up for ten to fifteen days."

"Young Master Zhang is clearly bullying him, and he still goes to him. He must be stupid."

"A piece of Yanjin Stone probably costs over ten taels of silver. How can it be so easy to get for free?"

Everyone was talking, and no one had any faith in Li Mo.

Seeing that Li Mo dared to accept, Zhang Shijiu clenched his fists and said arrogantly, "Years have passed, and you've grown a bit brave. Fine, let me show you the power of the Zhang family's boxing."

He walked up to Li Mo, swung his fist, and shouted, "Fall down for me!"

Amid the jeers, his fist hit Li Mo's chest steadily. The onlookers thought Li Mo would be knocked down and beg for mercy.