Chapter 7: Second Heaven

The next morning, it was still dim, the sun had not yet risen, and the team was already ready to set off.

Shi Yan was mixed among the drug slaves, his expression calm, showing no signs of abnormality. He silently followed the team forward. Johnson, who had been prepared to see his ugly side, was taken aback when he saw him return to his calm state.

In recent days, every drug slave who had taken the Intestine-Cutting Powder would have a pale face and a weak body after a night. Those with weak bodies could not even walk, and even those with strong bodies would show signs of pain and fear.

However, Shi Yan walked steadily, his face rosy, clearly not injured. This left Johnson full of doubts.

After observing for a while, Johnson, upon confirming that Shi Yan was indeed unharmed, frowned and went to the front of the team to report Shi Yan's condition to Mo Yan Yu and Kalu.

"There's no need to worry about him," Kalu said calmly. "Since that boy is a martial artist, he won't show any abnormalities so easily. Once the essence in his body is depleted, he will be like the others. I know the effects of the Intestine-Cutting Powder well."

"Right, you go ahead, just keep a close eye on him," Mo Yan Yu instructed indifferently.

Seeing that both of them were so relaxed, Johnson didn't say much more and returned to the back of the team, continuing to closely watch Shi Yan, afraid that he might make any abnormal moves.

"Master, how long do you think it will take for him to suffer?" After Johnson left, Mo Yan Yu hesitated for a moment and asked Kalu. She wished Shi Yan would roll on the ground in pain right now, which would make her feel better.

"Don't worry, it should be about right by tonight."

The day passed, and the moon quietly hung in the night sky.

After the team set up camp, Kalu and Mo Yan Yu walked together to Shi Yan. They saw Shi Yan sitting on the ground, his head lowered, eating heartily, seemingly unaware of the poor quality of the food in his hands.

"Master, this guy doesn't look like..." Mo Yan Yu hesitated, Shi Yan's eating manner was not commendable, but he didn't seem to be in pain at all.

Kalu's face slowly turned grim, and he coldly snorted, "Are you doubting my alchemy skills?"

"I dare not," Mo Yan Yu shook her head. "Master has already proven the effectiveness of the Intestine-Cutting Powder on other drug slaves. I'm just curious why... he is unharmed. Could it be that Master accidentally left out some ingredients in the last bowl of Intestine-Cutting Powder?"

"Miss Mo, I, Kalu, may not be a high-level alchemist, but I wouldn't make such a mistake in this matter," Kalu was clearly displeased, his face stern. "If you don't trust my abilities, we can part ways right now."

"Master, please calm down. Yan Yu didn't mean it that way. I'm just curious. Please don't misunderstand..." Mo Yan Yu smiled apologetically.

"Hmph!" Kalu ignored Mo Yan Yu, his figure darting like lightning towards Shi Yan.

Shi Yan lowered his head, pretending not to see Kalu, but he was secretly amazed by Kalu's speed, grateful that he hadn't acted rashly the previous day, or he would have been completely at Kalu's mercy.

Besides being an alchemist, Kalu was also a martial artist who had reached the innate realm, while he was just a Second Heaven martial artist who had just begun to control the essence in his body. The gap between them was like a chasm, and there was no hope of victory. Acting rashly would only lead to his own death.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

Kalu's figure flew over, and a strange sound echoed in the air. In an instant, Kalu was in front of him.

Shi Yan calmed his mind, put down the food in his hand, and looked up at Kalu.

Kalu's gaunt face was full of coldness. He moved like lightning, grabbing Shi Yan's left arm with his bony fingers. A thread of pure essence, like an electric current, suddenly rushed into Shi Yan's arm, traveling through the meridians and into his body, circling his intestines before slowly returning and disappearing back into Kalu's fingers.

Kalu's essence was extremely powerful. As it traveled through Shi Yan's meridians, they swelled and ached.

"Hmm..." Kalu frowned in confusion, muttering to himself, "That's strange. The effects of the Intestine-Cutting Powder are still there, so why does he still have essence left? His intestines aren't even damaged. He's just a low-level martial artist, so he shouldn't have such pure essence to last this long..."

Shi Yan let him grab his arm without resistance.

"Master, what's the situation?" Mo Yan Yu walked over, curious.

"Let's wait another day and see," Kalu said with a grim face, still puzzled. He hadn't considered the possibility of a "martial soul" because it wasn't something ordinary martial artists could possess, and he hadn't heard of a "martial soul" that could heal the body.

Mo Yan Yu nodded, though she was full of doubts, she didn't say much more, just giving Shi Yan a few strange looks, perhaps thinking of some cruel plans.

The next evening, Kalu and Mo Yan Yu came again, checking Shi Yan's body. They found that his intestines were still not damaged, and Kalu's expression became even worse. He said they would wait another day and see.

The third evening, they came again, and Kalu checked, but still found nothing.

The fourth evening, Kalu came again.

This time, Kalu held two bowls of Intestine-Cutting Powder. When he reached Shi Yan, he had Johnson call a drug slave named Guro. He had Shi Yan and Guro drink the newly prepared Intestine-Cutting Powder together.

Shi Yan cooperated and drank the Intestine-Cutting Powder.

"These two bowls of Intestine-Cutting Powder were prepared in one go," Kalu said coldly after watching him drink.

Mo Yan Yu nodded, "As long as Guro's body rots, it will show that there's something wrong with this guy. Yan Yu understands Master's meaning."

"Right," Kalu nodded. "We'll come back at this time tomorrow and compare to see what happens."

That night, Shi Yan sat on the ground, his expression serious as he slowly circulated his essence.

The thread of essence in his body gradually extended, connecting to the main meridians. As his thoughts changed, the essence moved skillfully from one meridian to another, like a snake slithering through his body.

Gradually, the thread of essence traveled along his arm meridians to his right index finger. Shi Yan focused, and the essence slowly retreated to the meridians in his arm, then suddenly accelerated, rushing to his index finger with the speed of a rainbow.

"Zzzt, zzzt!"

A strange sound came from the tip of his index finger, and the pain intensified. The essence rushed into his index finger, causing it to tremble slightly, like the tail of a rattlesnake.

The essence gathered in his index finger, constantly colliding, but was blocked by the skin at the tip. No matter how hard he tried, the essence could not break through the skin, making it impossible for the essence to leave his body.

"Phew!"

Shi Yan took a deep breath, dejectedly retracting the essence back to his abdomen, muttering to himself, "Still no good..."

The Second Heaven realm of the postnatal stage has three levels. The first level is the cultivation of essence, the second level is the mastery of essence, allowing it to circulate with one's will, and the third level is the ability to release essence from the body, breaking through the skin's constraints.

Shi Yan could already control his essence at will, placing him at the Second Heaven level. Over the past few days, he had continuously cultivated and gathered more essence, trying to release it from his finger, hoping to break through to the Third Heaven. Unfortunately, after several attempts, he was always blocked by the skin at the tip of his finger, unable to break through.

"It seems that the cultivation of a martial artist is not something that can be achieved overnight. My essence is still not strong enough. I need to wait until it is further refined and strengthened before I can continue to break through," Shi Yan sighed, realizing that he had been too impatient due to the dangerous situation he was in.

He knew that at this time tomorrow, his body would still be unharmed, unaffected by the Intestine-Cutting Powder, but the drug slave named Guro would definitely have damaged intestines, possibly even affecting his internal organs.

Once Kalu made the comparison, he would know that there was nothing wrong with the Intestine-Cutting Powder and would realize that Shi Yan's body was different from others. This would likely lead to new troubles, and Mo Yan Yu might take action to eliminate him to avoid future problems.

It was also possible that Guro would show signs of poisoning early the next morning, and he might be in trouble then. At that time, the martial artists would not be focused on their cultivation but would be watching him closely, leaving him no chance.

Looking up at the starry sky, Shi Yan's expression gradually became resolute. He knew that if he wanted to escape, he had to act tonight!