Chapter 44: Bribing the Mysterious Mirror

After Shen Chen's voice fell silent, he became completely still, his consciousness tightly focused on the ancient mirror in his mind.

Shen Chen was waiting for the mysterious mirror to respond. He was well aware that the spiritual energy he had previously refined or absorbed was merely a drop in the bucket for this seemingly damaged mirror. For the mirror to be fully restored, the amount of spiritual energy required would likely be unimaginable.

During his last breakthrough to the fourth level of the Blood Fusion Realm, the mysterious mirror had unexpectedly let him off, not taking away the vast amount of energy he had refined. Later, Shen Chen learned that this was because the mirror had also sensed his excellent condition at the time and was unwilling to ruin his opportunity for a great leap forward.

From this, Shen Chen could easily guess that the mysterious mirror, though seemingly quiet, must have a powerful consciousness. The reason it was ignoring him was probably due to its severe damage and weakened state.

However, Shen Chen knew that the mirror could definitely sense everything he said and did. This was precisely why he placed his hopes on the mysterious mirror.

He still had lingering fears about the background of the elder from the major sect. The old man could produce a cultivation technique like the *Spirit Concentration Inquiry Technique* of unknown depth, so Shen Chen did not believe that he lacked powerful martial skills. His only hope now was that the mysterious mirror, which had taken over the old man's body, would be willing to make a deal with him.

This was the last method he could think of to help Wang Yue. If it didn't work, he would have to flee with Wang Yue in the middle of the night...

"Hum..."

Fortunately, the mysterious mirror did not disappoint Shen Chen. It seemed to really need a vast amount of spiritual energy to repair its cracks.

Faced with the temptation of two to three thousand Body Tempering Pills, the mysterious mirror finally showed some movement. A white light flashed, and a ripple spread through Shen Chen's mind.

"So, Brother Mirror, you agree? Great, I'll start refining the Body Tempering Pills right away. When you feel your condition is good enough, help me obtain some martial skills!"

Shen Chen was overjoyed. Without further ado, to show his sincerity, he grabbed a large handful of emerald-green Body Tempering Pills from his pocket, put them in his mouth, and began to refine and absorb them using the *Spirit Concentration Inquiry Technique*.

The emerald-green pills quickly dissolved in Shen Chen's stomach, and a dense flow of spiritual energy continuously poured into his dantian.

"Hum hum..."

During this process, the mysterious mirror moved, glowing all over. A black vortex appeared on its surface, forcibly drawing the spiritual energy from Shen Chen's veins.

This time, the mysterious mirror did not hold back. Every Body Tempering Pill that dissolved in Shen Chen's stomach was completely devoured by it, not even a trace was left for Shen Chen.

As Shen Chen had said earlier, this was a transaction. The mirror's spiritual awareness was clearly not weak, so it did not hesitate.

"I'll swallow, I'll swallow with all my might!"

With the cooperation of the mysterious mirror, Shen Chen no longer held back, stuffing large handfuls of Body Tempering Pills into his mouth.

The last time he nearly burst from the spiritual energy, Shen Chen still vividly remembered the ordeal. However, this time, the same tragedy did not occur.

With the mysterious mirror's bottomless consumption, even without relying on the *Spirit Concentration Inquiry Technique* for refinement, his meridians and dantian remained in balance.

However, as time passed, Shen Chen also suffered. The Body Tempering Pills contained dense spiritual energy, but more importantly, they were made from various herbs. The medicinal power Shen Chen could resolve on his own, but the taste of the Body Tempering Pills... Shen Chen was truly at a loss.

In this world, most herbs are bitter and pungent. The Body Tempering Pills, though highly sought after by the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect, tasted terrible—bitter and pungent. Swallowing a few at a time was manageable, as most people focused on the benefits of the pills.

But as time went on and the quantity increased, it became unbearable!

After about half an hour, Shen Chen was already feeling nauseous, almost ready to vomit. The ordeal was no less painful than the risk of being burst by spiritual energy. Even someone as resolute as Shen Chen was struggling.

There's a saying: "No matter how skilled you are, you can still be defeated by a kitchen knife." Even a martial artist is human. Unless their cultivation is so advanced that they transcend the mortal realm, some basic human instincts cannot be avoided. You can ask a strong person to endure a knife or even lose an arm, but if you ask them to eat animal feces, they would rather kill themselves!

Moreover, as time passed, an even more tragic situation arose. Shen Chen gradually noticed that his lower abdomen was getting larger. At first, it wasn't noticeable, but as time went on, it became more and more swollen, like a pregnant woman.

This made Shen Chen want to bang his head against the wall. He realized that the mysterious mirror seemed to only consume pure spiritual energy, disregarding the medicinal power and residue of the Body Tempering Pills.

Shen Chen resolved the medicinal power himself, but the residue of the Body Tempering Pills... unfortunately, all remained in his stomach.

Although the Body Tempering Pills were considered precious by the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect, as the lowest-grade cultivation pills, they were not very pure. After consumption, many herbal residues were useless.

A few or even dozens of pills were manageable, but as the quantity increased, the amount of residue became extremely "significant."

"Stop, stop, stop! Brother Mirror, wait a moment, I need to go to the toilet!"

Shen Chen's face was green, and he clutched his stomach, looking extremely miserable. He called out to the mysterious mirror, not caring whether it heard him, and then rushed out of the door.

"Hey? Big Brother, why did you come out? Did you already get me a powerful martial skill?"

On the way, he ran into Wang Yue, who was aimlessly wandering around. Seeing Shen Chen, Wang Yue was immediately delighted and grabbed the corner of Shen Chen's clothes, excitedly asking.

"Powerful martial skill, my ass! Next time, don't come to me for such a miserable task!"

Shen Chen roared, shaking off Wang Yue, and continued to rush to the toilet. If he went to the doctor late, he would suffer more, but if he went to the toilet late, it could be fatal!

"Strange... Did Big Brother eat something bad? Sigh... It seems even the inner sect's food isn't safe..." Wang Yue stood there, scratching his head, completely puzzled.

...

A short while later, Shen Chen returned to the room, feeling completely drained.

"Ugh—"

As soon as he entered the room and saw the two large bags of Body Tempering Pills on the bed, Shen Chen's throat tightened, almost making him vomit.

"Brother Mirror, can we extend the time for this transaction? I'll take these pills over ten days. What do you think?" Closing the door, Shen Chen asked the mysterious mirror in his mind, his face twisted in pain. He felt that his reputation was completely ruined today. If this story got out, the entire sect would laugh at him.

However, perhaps because it was a critical time for repairing the cracks, when Shen Chen expressed his desire to back out, the mysterious mirror began to shake violently.

Wasn't the meaning of this movement clear enough? Shen Chen was almost in tears. This was a non-negotiable reaction!

Shen Chen had no choice but to force himself to continue, returning to the bed and grabbing handfuls of Body Tempering Pills, swallowing them one after another. Each time he swallowed a handful, he felt like dying. He would rather fight ten iron-armored rhinos than endure this torment.

That night, Shen Chen made three trips to the toilet. By morning, he was lying motionless on the bed.

Shen Chen was not injured, but he felt like a pile of mud, not knowing how he had survived the latter part of the night. In his mind, the ancient mirror was floating, no longer as dim as before.

If Shen Chen had observed carefully, he would have noticed that one of the dozens of cracks on the mirror had completely healed. The last time such a significant change occurred was when the old man from the major sect tried to use Shen Chen as a human furnace to refine medicine, and the mysterious mirror suddenly exerted its power, devouring the old man.

However, after that, although the mirror had healed one small crack, it remained silent for a long time until Shen Chen came to the Flowing Cloud Sect...

"Click!"

With a light sound, Wang Yue quietly entered the room. He had waited outside all night and only entered when he heard no movement inside.

"Big Brother, are you okay?"

Wang Yue was immediately startled by the scene inside. The room was in chaos, with empty jade bottles scattered everywhere and traces of vomit.

What shocked Wang Yue the most was Shen Chen lying on the bed. At that moment, Shen Chen looked like someone who had spent several nights in a brothel, completely drained and far from the tough, unyielding person Wang Yue remembered.

Relatively speaking, the disappearance of thousands of Body Tempering Pills did not catch Wang Yue's attention.

"Ugh... The martial skill is on the table. I've copied it onto the pages of that book. Take it and practice hard," Shen Chen weakly opened one eye and pointed to the nearby table.

On the redwood table, a blue book was placed, the ink still wet, and the air filled with the scent of ink.

This was the martial skill that the mysterious mirror had obtained, which Shen Chen had copied with his last bit of strength.

"What level of martial skill is it...?" Wang Yue scratched his head, then walked over with some doubt.

When Wang Yue picked up the blue book, he was immediately stunned, his eyes full of shock.

"Roaring Moon Lone Wolf Slash... a lower-grade Earth-level martial skill, this...?" Reading the annotations on the blue book, Wang Yue's mind was blown, almost suffocating.

An Earth-level martial skill?

He had never even dreamed of it in his life.

"Take it. Don't mention this to anyone else. Time is running out, Wang Yue, you need to practice hard." Shen Chen still sounded weak, his tone very different from his usual demeanor. There was no choice; the night had been too painful.

"Okay!" Wang Yue nodded vigorously, his eyes red, deeply moved by the precious item in his hands and the weakened Shen Chen on the bed. He did not want to ask about the process, only feeling grateful.

However, as he tidied up the room and was about to leave, Wang Yue suddenly paused.

He turned around, looking at Shen Chen in