Chapter 28

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Chen Xun carefully lay in the snowbank, using a bone shovel to dig through the ice and snow. He dug out two frozen ground chrysanthemums, ice and all. With this, he had all sixteen herbs needed to refine the Black Python Pill.

Chen Xun had long been familiar with the method of refining the Black Python Pill, having learned it from his grandfather Zong Tu. However, he needed to cultivate his savage soul to the point where divine radiance could be emitted externally before he could use it to blend the medicinal power and refine the pill.

These two ground chrysanthemums had thirteen leaves each, and the four or five leaves at the base had turned deep purple, indicating they had been growing in the depths of the lake for over forty or fifty years.

Chen Xun had only ventured about two hundred miles into the lake marsh, and the herbs he found were all several years old. He thought that the pills he could refine this time would be far superior to ordinary Black Python Pills.

Chen Xun moved to a new spot, dug a snow cave, and crawled inside. He put down his basket, took out a small knife, a stone pestle, and a stone mortar. He ground the sixteen herbs in sequence, mashed them into a juice, and filtered out the residue with a double-layered hemp cloth. He then mixed the green liquid with the black python saliva in a bronze medicine furnace.

The bronze medicine furnace was only six inches tall, with three legs and two snake-headed beast ears on the sides. It was exquisitely crafted, with bird and beast patterns and ancient characters carved on the belly, exuding a mysterious aura. It was a treasured heirloom of the Black Python tribe.

In the Black Python stone hall, there were only two bronze medicine furnaces, one large and one small.

After Chen Xun offered the excess armor to the village, Zong Tu gave him the smaller bronze medicine furnace.

Nan Liao, Zong Sang, and the others had no objections. Although the bronze medicine furnace was a treasured heirloom of the Black Python tribe, the heavy spears, black sheaths, iron bows, and scale armor were even more precious and urgently needed by the Black Python tribe. They couldn't accept so much from Chen Xun without giving something in return, so they exchanged the small bronze medicine furnace for it.

Chen Xun crawled out of the snow cave, checked that there were no abnormalities around, and then crawled back in, sealing the entrance with snow. He placed the bronze medicine furnace on a pile of charcoal and lit a fire to boil the mixture.

When the medicinal liquid became thick, Chen Xun held a Yuan Gathering Pill in his mouth, sat cross-legged, and visualized the Nine Abyss Savage Soul. Black divine radiance emanated from his hands, forming a black, substantial lotus petal-like aura.

The liquid in the bronze medicine furnace, which had been still, suddenly began to boil vigorously, as if it were about to overflow.

Chen Xun carefully inserted his hands into the furnace, enduring the scalding heat, and watched as the black divine radiance from his hands gradually merged with the thick medicinal liquid.

When the thick medicinal liquid could no longer absorb the savage soul's divine radiance, Chen Xun closed the bronze lid and simmered it over a low flame.

A strange medicinal fragrance filled the snow cave, making it seem as if it contained some rare treasure, like a spiritual cave. Some of the medicinal aura seeped through the snow and ice, causing Chen Xun to worry if it might attract fierce beasts.

However, he only had three Yuan Gathering Pills left, and he planned to stay in the lake marsh for another half a month before returning to the village. He could only refine the pills in the icy wilderness to sustain himself for the next half a month.

When the medicinal liquid had thickened into a paste and the medicinal aura was completely absorbed, Chen Xun sighed in relief, knowing that the pills were successfully refined.

The paste was dark green, with strange and profound patterns naturally forming on its surface, indicating that it was indeed far superior to ordinary Black Python Pills.

This wasn't because Zong Tu was incapable of refining the Black Python Pill, but because the Black Python tribe had been collecting herbs within a hundred miles of the village for thirty years, leaving few potent herbs to refine.

The Black Python Pill and the Yuan Gathering Pill made by the Su family were both considered the lowest level of spiritual medicines, with limited medicinal aura. They would form a paste when refined, not a pill.

Chen Xun extinguished the charcoal, carefully lifted the paste, and placed it in a small bronze bottle. He left a small amount on his fingers, which he put in his mouth. He felt the medicinal power turn into a warm current, spreading through his body, almost making his blood boil.

Indeed, the medicinal power was more than twice as strong as ordinary Black Python Pills. However, this small bottle of paste, not a pill, and its dark green color, resembled the Yuan Gathering Pill made by the Su family.

Perhaps it should be called Yuan Gathering Paste, Chen Xun thought to himself.

This small bottle of Yuan Gathering Paste, though not much, was enough to sustain him for another half a month in the lake marsh.

Visualizing the savage soul and fighting enemies were extremely draining, even more so when using the Reverse Scale technique, which drained his blood and qi. However, cultivating the savage soul required using the divine radiance to refine the body, integrating it into the muscles, bones, and skin, a process that was very slow.

Without the assistance of the Black Python savage statue, which could devour beast souls, Chen Xun needed about a day to fully refine a Yuan Gathering Pill through visualization of the savage soul.

Thus, for the next half a month, Chen Xun would hunt and gather herbs during the day and, at night, dig a snow cave to refine the Yuan Gathering Paste, visualizing the savage soul.

Although the snow cave protected him from the cold wind, the extreme cold at night penetrated his bones, slowing his cultivation compared to when he was in the village.

The divine radiance and the cold aura clashed deep within his bones, making the refinement process more thorough and dense. It seemed that a trace of the cold aura was slowly integrating into his bones.

The cold aura, which ordinary people could not endure and which ordinary savage warriors dared not let into their bodies, was considered by the Greenwood Daoist in the "Residual Interpretation of Dao Essence" to be a form of celestial qi.

Before reaching the Celestial Savage stage, ordinary savage warriors could not directly draw celestial qi to refine their bodies. However, in extremely cold environments, they would naturally be affected by the cold qi. If controlled properly, they could use it to refine their bodies.

Of course, if not controlled well, the cold qi could penetrate the body and damage the internal organs, causing severe and incurable injuries.

The Black Python savage warriors trained even harder in extreme heat or cold, for this very reason.

Chen Xun knew this and did not rush to return to the village after gathering the herbs. Instead, he treated the herb-gathering trip as a period of intense cultivation.

In the spiritual sea of his mind, the cold aura was not invisible but appeared as a faint green radiance, though not as intense as the six-armed giant demon's moonlight. It clashed with the savage soul's divine radiance in his bones, and Chen Xun could clearly feel his bones being refined and becoming denser.

If this process continued, his bones might one day become as hard as diamond.

However, after half a month, when Chen Xun continued to refine his bones in the snow cave, he found that there was no further progress.

Before reaching the Celestial Savage stage, the refinement of the body by the savage soul's divine radiance had its limits. This indicated that he had reached the peak of the fifth level of savage warrior.

Chen Xun wondered if different savage warriors, even at the peak of the fifth level, had varying degrees of body refinement. Was this solely due to individual talent?

Chen Xun tried to guide the savage soul's divine radiance with his mind, pushing the cold aura to the surface of his skin. In the areas he thought were already maximally refined, the divine radiance and cold aura slowly seeped into his flesh, being absorbed and integrated.

Indeed, this was the case.

Chen Xun recalled his previous training, where he pushed his body to its limits. He realized that refining the body with the savage soul's divine radiance also required constant pushing of limits for the refinement to become more pure.

Chen Xun originally planned to return to the village after reaching the peak of the fifth level of savage warrior. However, he now realized that his refinement of the skin and muscles was far from its limit. As the temperature dropped further, the cold aura in the air became more intense, and his bones still had room for further refinement.

Chen Xun decided not to rush back to the village and used the herbs he had gathered over the past half a month to refine another batch of Yuan Gathering Paste.

When the paste was complete, Chen Xun was exhausted in the snow cave. He saw a faint light penetrate the snow layer and enter the cave, realizing that another night had passed.

Just as Chen Xun was about to push the snow covering the entrance, he suddenly felt a chill, paralyzing his limbs. He immediately understood that a powerful beast was prowling outside the snow cave.

Chen Xun did not dare to open the bronze bottle. He visualized the Great Peng Fist in his mind,收敛气息，灵识散出，"观见"几匹巨大的狼形凶兽正围着雪洞外警惕地嗅来嗅去……

青狼！

而且每一只青狼散发出的气息，都像一团熊熊燃烧的狼形青焰。

随着修为的精进，陈寻的灵识感应越发敏锐，二十米之内，即便是蝼蚁的气息也能敏锐感应，更不要说这几只青狼散发出的凶焰，旺得像夜中的明灯。

一定是刚才炼药散溢的灵气，将这几只青狼引来了。

陈寻在蟒牙岭深山处遇到的那两头青狼，有牛犊大小，他现在的修为，对付一两头青狼不成问题，但雪洞外的五头青狼体大如牛，像铁胎弓一样弯起的背脊，能有一人高矮，这他娘的叫他怎么对付？

幸亏早一刻心生警觉，不然从雪洞里走出去，跟这五头青狼大眼瞪小眼，那真是连抹鼻子大哭一场的机会都没有。

药成，灵蕴药气就极少溢出，陈寻敛住气息，雪洞之上覆盖着厚厚的雪层，虽说不能完全遮住气味，但五头青狼或许以为冰雪里是头冰死的鸟兽，嗅了一圈，不见其他异常，冲着北方长声嗥吼……

狼吼渗骨，陈寻并没有五头青狼掉头南下，就轻松下来。

过不久，就有千军万马奔腾而过的狼蹄，震动冰雪，从北往南而来。

狼群！

刚才五头青狼，只是狼群的前哨。

冰雪震塌下来，陈寻被埋在雪洞里，就觉有千万匹青狼从他身上踏过。

陈寻心里骇然，这边离蟒牙岭就三四百里。

这么庞大的狼群，几乎都不用一天时间，就会抵达蟒牙岭的外围丘岭，要是乌蟒石寨叫狼群一头撞上，该如何是好？

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