Chapter 15: The Medicine Liquid

At this moment, the flame beneath the alchemy cauldron had completely extinguished, and the various medicinal herbs inside the cauldron had all disappeared, replaced by a pool of emerald green liquid. These droplets of liquid were now swirling around inside the cauldron.

As for the legendary pills, not a single one was in sight.

"What's going on here?"

Du Fei's facial muscles twitched slightly, his gaze fixed on the droplets of liquid.

"Could this be the so-called pills? But it doesn't seem right..." After mumbling to himself for a moment, Du Fei took a deep breath and said, "System, what's going on here?"

"Beep... Question clear, system searching... Answer: Due to an irreversible error, the alchemy failed!"

The cold electronic voice calmly echoed in Du Fei's mind, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch again.

This is over a thousand gold coins! Just like that, it's gone?

For a moment, Du Fei felt both amused and frustrated, but he still sighed and said, "What do you mean by an irreversible error?"

"Beep! According to the alchemy procedure, when using true qi to refine the fire, the pill can only be formed at the final step. If not, the alchemy fails!"

"You didn't even remind me!"

"Without the master's command, the system cannot activate itself!"

In the face of the unreliable system's remarks, Du Fei was momentarily speechless. However, according to what the system said, alchemy requires true qi to refine the fire. Since he currently had no true qi, it meant that this alchemy attempt was a complete failure.

"Indeed, being an alchemist is not that easy!" Sighing, Du Fei shook his head slightly and his gaze fell back on the alchemy cauldron.

"I wonder... what would happen if I took this failed product?"

This thought flashed through his mind, and even Du Fei himself was startled. However, after hesitating for a moment, he slowly extended his hand to scoop up the medicine liquid.

Strangely, when Du Fei's fingers touched the liquid, part of it turned into tiny droplets the size of grains of rice, sticking to his fingers. The touch was extremely cold, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

"Let's give it a try!"

A thought emerged from somewhere, and although Du Fei knew it was extremely unreliable, the desire to become stronger kept growing in his heart... At a certain moment, Du Fei finally clenched his teeth and quickly put the drop of medicine liquid in his mouth, swallowing it without hesitation.

"Boom..."

The moment the medicine liquid entered his mouth, Du Fei felt a sudden explosion in his mind. Immediately, a bone-chilling coldness spread from his dantian to his entire body, rapidly eroding through his meridians. In just a breath, a thin layer of ice formed all over his body, and the temperature in the entire inner room dropped significantly.

"This... I've really messed up this time!" Du Fei sighed helplessly with a bitter smile, but the moment he exhaled, the breath instantly turned into ice flowers in front of him.

"Beep... Sensing a low-level crisis, the system kindly reminds you that the Body Forging Fist can resolve this crisis. Should the system activate itself?"

When Du Fei was at a loss, the system calmly reminded him again.

"This unreliable system is finally being reliable once!" Du Fei was overjoyed and instantly rejected the self-activation command. His trembling body, driven by his willpower, slowly assumed the stance.

"Clap... Clap clap clap..."

Following Du Fei's movements, the initially stiff and clumsy Soft Fist slowly began to unfold. At first, each movement caused a bone-chilling coldness that made his entire body ache, but as he continued, although the coldness remained, the pain gradually lessened. By the time he finished the set of Soft Fist, the pain had almost disappeared, but the bone-chilling coldness still lingered.

Du Fei exhaled slightly, just as he was about to withdraw his stance, another wave of bone-chilling coldness spread from his dantian.

"Damn! What's going on!"

Du Fei cursed under his breath and had to quickly resume the Soft Fist... The gentle moonlight shone through the window, reflecting off the ice on the ground, creating an unusual glow.

In the room, Du Fei, bare-chested, stood in the center of the room, his hands constantly changing movements. With each movement, his steps moved forward and backward, appearing ethereal and bizarre.

With each movement, a layer of ice would form on his skin, but as he made the next move, the ice would quickly fall off.

This process, like a snake shedding its skin, was extremely strange.

The ice was not pure white; there was a faint blackish hue in it, though it was so light that it would not be noticed unless one paid close attention.

"Ha..."

With a low shout, Du Fei's body slightly contracted, then he punched forward. With this punch, the air in the room was stirred, forming a spiral of air that struck forward.

After this strike, the ice that had been slowly falling off instantly disappeared, and Du Fei's skin flashed with an unusual luster. At the same time, a series of bone-cracking sounds echoed.

However, when he completed his final strike and withdrew his stance, another layer of ice appeared, though this time it was much less than before.

Du Fei seemed to smile bitterly, but he did not hesitate and began another set of Body Forging Fist, causing the temperature in the room to drop even further.

"Phew..."

With the final punch, no more bone-chilling coldness emerged from Du Fei's dantian. After taking a deep breath, he slowly opened his eyes and scanned the room, unable to suppress a bitter smile.

However, after a moment of slight movement, Du Fei's face lit up, and he muttered to himself, "This medicine liquid, although its potency is fierce, seems to have some remarkable effects... Just one drop, and I can already feel myself approaching the fifth level of Body Forging so quickly?"

Saying this, Du Fei's gaze fell on the alchemy cauldron in the room, covered in ice, and he looked at the remaining few drops of medicine liquid, his eyes flashing with a strange light.

Without mentioning anything else, just the fact that the medicine liquid caused this room to be filled with ice... ordinary ninth-grade pills should not have this effect. Perhaps I have unintentionally created something extraordinary!

Finding a crystal bottle in the inner room, he carefully poured the remaining medicine liquid into it. Seeing that more than half of the bottle was filled, Du Fei felt a slight joy.

If my luck holds, consuming all this medicine liquid should allow me to reach the seventh level of Body Forging, right?

Seventh level of Body Forging!

This is my current goal. Only by reaching the seventh level of Body Forging will I have the strength to compete with Du Qing in the clan competition!

Du Fei firmly believed that if he reached the seventh level of Body Forging, even without any martial techniques, he would have a high chance of defeating Du Qing!

"The next step is to continue training!"

Sighing slightly, Du Fei quickly tidied up the inner room. After the ice and snow had mostly melted, he found a piece of clothing to replace the one that had been shattered during his training, and then slowly walked out of the inner room.

"Master, you're finally out! If you didn't come out, I was going to barge in!"

As soon as he stepped out of the inner room, Xiao Ai, who had been sitting in the room with a worried expression, relaxed and said.

Du Fei walked a few steps closer, reached out to ruffle Xiao Ai's hair, and smiled, "What? Worried after just a little while?"

"Just a little while!" Xiao Ai looked surprised, "Master, did you go crazy with alchemy? You've been in the inner room for a whole half-month! If I hadn't been able to sense your aura, I would have burst in! By the way, Master, when did you become a monster, going without food or drink for fifteen days and still being so energetic?"

"Half a month?" Du Fei was slightly stunned, his face showing a hint of shock.

My alchemy took no more than half a day, so the rest of the time, I was training?

The potency of that medicine liquid is so fierce! I spent a whole half-month to fully refine that one drop of medicine liquid!

No wonder I have a faint feeling of breaking through to the fifth level of Body Forging!

For a moment, Du Fei felt a sense of wonder, once again deeply realizing that he might have stumbled upon a treasure.

"By the way, Master, did you successfully create the pill?" Xiao Ai looked up, puzzled.

"Let's say it's done," Du Fei hesitated after thinking for a moment. The potency of the medicine liquid was too strong, and he didn't dare give it to Xiao Ai, "But, it might need more practice before it can be consumed."

"Whatever, as long as Master is fine!" Xiao Ai said softly.

"If I create a real pill, I'll definitely let you try it first!" Du Fei touched his nose, feeling a bit awkward, "By the way, has anyone caused trouble in the past half-month?"

"No, but the incident at the market seems to have reached the clan. The Great Elder sent a message asking if I'm interested in becoming his disciple and continuing my training." Xiao Ai hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.

Hearing this, Du Fei's eyebrows raised slightly. The Great Elder of the Du family, Du Zhen Shan, was said to have been a high-level eighth-grade martial artist for many years, likely reaching the middle stage of the eighth grade. Such a powerful person showing interest in Xiao Ai? After thinking for a moment, Du Fei understood. Xiao Ai, at just over a dozen years old, had already reached the ninth level of Body Forging, making him a top genius by any standard. It was natural for the clan to value him so much.

Moreover, the Great Elder taking a disciple was probably not just about taking a disciple, right?

Thinking of this, Du Fei sneered and said calmly, "Xiao Ai, handle this as you see fit. Since we are living under others' roofs, accepting or rejecting it directly might cause trouble. At this time, we need to be patient... But believe me, in the near future, you won't have to endure it anymore!"

Hearing this, Xiao Ai also showed a look of understanding.