Chapter 59

On the ground, over a dozen bottles of Crimson Gold Pills were lined up, a display of extravagance.

Xiao Shou had already prepared himself, but he was caught in a dilemma.

Through the "Breathing Technique," he could drastically reduce the refinement time from about a month to just two or three hours.

Last time, he practiced this way, but back then, his "Breathing Technique" was at Level 6.

After various attempts, he had basically deduced that each passive skill would undergo a qualitative change when it broke through to the innate level.

So, would the "Breathing Technique" also become controllable when it broke through to the innate level?

For example, could he control the amount of scorching energy he could absorb in one breath?

If so, it would clearly greatly reduce the pain and risk.

However, what if the qualitative change was not in that direction, but in the direction of pleasure?

Xiao Shou's body suddenly shuddered; this was too terrifying.

He looked at the red interface again. Among the three major skill sections, six passive skills, five were already at the innate level.

The only one still at the acquired level stood out glaringly.

Xiao Shou was a mild obsessive-compulsive person...

"Let's go for it. I can't let a single bad experience ruin everything. I still need to rely on it for future upgrades!"

Xiao Shou gritted his teeth and decisively spent five skill points, directly on the "Breathing Technique."

"Breathing Technique (Acquired Level 7)."

"Breathing Technique (Acquired Level 8)."

"Breathing Technique (Acquired Level 9)."

"Breathing Technique (Acquired Level 10)."

"Breathing Technique (Innate Level 1)."

The information bar refreshed quickly. The first few updates didn't seem to change much, and Xiao Shou felt fine.

When the last update appeared, Xiao Shou's body suddenly jolted.

He felt himself turn into a spirit array, attracting spiritual energy, which formed a mist on his skin.

In the next moment, all his pores opened, and every part of his skin began to absorb the spiritual mist.

His nose was even more exaggerated; just one breath created two small whirlwinds of spiritual mist.

The amount of spiritual energy absorbed in just this instant was equivalent to a whole night's sleep!

Xiao Shou felt terrible. He clenched his hands, which were resting on his knees, and his expression twisted, as if he was trying to endure something...

"Ugh!"

His body trembled slightly.

"Oh!"

Xiao Shou gritted his teeth.

"Ahh... Hah!"

Xiao Shou struggled, determined to endure as a man should!

He suddenly jumped up, punched out, and the spiritual energy force directly blew open the door.

After a deep breath, all his pores closed, and Xiao Shou looked like he had survived a disaster.

"Good, good, no big problem. I can continue to practice on my own in the future."

He had personally tested that the pleasure had increased several times, but after previous training, he had developed a strong resistance, and the situation was still within his control.

Xiao Shou took out a spirit crystal...

He thought for a moment, put it away, and replaced it with a Spirit Refinement Pill.

"Let's do it directly, the sooner the better!"

He stretched his hand as far as it could go, pulled his head back, and inhaled slightly through his nostrils.

"Whoosh!"

The Spirit Refinement Pill disappeared.

Xiao Shou: ???

He stumbled, his head spinning. He had held it so far away...

There was no time to think; the terrifying spiritual energy had already rushed into his dantian, and the pleasure quickly spread throughout his body.

"Oh~"

Xiao Shou's solemn expression lasted only a second before it melted away. He clamped his legs, flipped his wrists, and fell to the ground like a fairy.

"Mmm..."

His body convulsed, and waves of pleasure hit him, unstoppable.

Xiao Shou, like a dead fish, bounced around on the ground, but every time his body touched the ground, it became even more sensitive...

"Ugh!"

"Feels so good!"

"Help, help!"

...

A short while later.

Xiao Shou finally returned to normal. He looked at the bottle of pills on the ground with lingering fear.

He had personally tested that the pleasure from absorbing the Spirit Refinement Pill had increased by about three to four times. He didn't continue the test, but he imagined the Crimson Gold Pills would be similar.

Xiao Shou had figured it out.

For pills like the Spirit Refinement Pill and the Crimson Gold Pill, even though the pleasure increased due to the higher level of the "Breathing Technique," the increase was limited.

A pill contained only so much spiritual energy. Xiao Shou was already at the Eighth Realm, and he was no longer at a level where absorbing a couple of Spirit Refinement Pills could lead to a breakthrough.

Well, at least a dozen...

But that wasn't the main point. His current cultivation breakthrough was already quite fast, and he didn't need to rush.

The key was that Xiao Shou discovered that the pleasure from similar-grade pills was limited.

For example, the pleasure from the Spirit Refinement Pill had increased by three to four times, but Xiao Shou could feel that this was its limit.

Even if it could get stronger, it probably wouldn't exceed five times...

And this range, Xiao Shou could endure.

Of course, it was inevitable to release emotions through sound...

Well, a real man sometimes needs to let go.

This was a significant piece of information that could be used as a reference for future absorption of other pills.

Not only that, he also discovered that the "Breathing Technique" at the innate level had a qualitative change in that it was no longer limited to breathing through the nose.

Every pore on his body could now absorb and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

This was terrifying; his cultivation speed had increased by more than ten times!

The idea of freely controlling the amount of absorption, which he had previously considered, was slightly realized...

That is, Xiao Shou could control his pores to decide whether to open or close.

When fully open, he could even form a spiritual mist on his skin; when using only his nose, the cultivation speed increased by only two to three times.

"Great!"

Xiao Shou looked at the six innate-level passive skills in his mind and smiled in satisfaction.

If he considered these as spirit techniques, he was a master with six innate spirit techniques, and there was still unlimited potential for growth!

"Everything is ready, only the wind is missing."

"Next, I need to get rid of this thing!"

Xiao Shou looked at the "Ashen Flame Seed" above his dantian. He had endured this for a long time, making it impossible for him to even get into bed, forcing him to sleep on the floor.

Not to mention just a flame seed, even a fire walnut would be crushed!

He casually picked up a Crimson Gold Pill and held his breath.

In the next second, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his neck tightened.

With intense pain, a faint red mist, tinged with a bloody smell but mostly a scorching odor, sprayed from his skin.

This was the new "Breathing Technique," using the body to... exhale!

Xiao Shou's eyes flashed with joy. When he used his body to exhale instead of just his nose, the pain was greatly reduced!

He didn't even need the Crimson Gold Pill; the damage was immediately repaired by the omnipresent "Endless Life."

Xiao Shou gritted his teeth, "Come back to me!"

His body's absorption power was fully activated, and the red mist that was about to dissipate was reabsorbed. This time, it was completely suppressed by the "Breathing Technique" and immediately converged into the dantian.

This efficiency...

Was more than twice as high!

Xiao Shou remembered that when he reabsorbed the scorching energy before, it had to circulate through his meridians and cause damage for a full cycle, but now it was completely skipped!

Truly, the innate-level "Breathing Technique" had more benefits than drawbacks!