Wang Hong directly brought the pill to He Yuan's mouth.
"Swallow it! Whether it works or not, you'll only know after you take it."
He Yuan had no choice but to swallow the pill as instructed.
This snow-white, crystal-clear pill was refined by him using Jade Marrow Mushrooms over six hundred years old, mixed with some other spiritual herbs.
This type of pill was also a creation of Wang Hong's after a long time. The pill's effects, when spoken of, were somewhat embarrassing; it was even less effective than consuming Jade Marrow Mushrooms directly.
Since Jade Marrow Mushrooms were so potent, creating a pill that surpassed them was no easy task.
There were existing pill recipes for mature Jade Marrow Mushrooms, but currently, the mushrooms were not mature, and he lacked additional spiritual herbs.
His main purpose in refining it into a pill was to make it unrecognizable as Jade Marrow Mushroom, to avoid envy from others.
After taking the pill, He Yuan felt different from the previous healing pills he had taken.
Although it was slow, it finally gave him hope.
He Yuan wondered if Wang Hong had more of these pills; they seemed very precious and probably not in abundance.
"There are nine more pills in this bottle. After you finish them, I will figure out what to do depending on the situation."
Wang Hong's original intention was to adjust the alchemy formula based on the recovery, to improve the quality of the pills.
He Yuan, however, took it as there were only nine pills left, all for him to use. Once finished, Wang Hong would find more of these pills for him.
He Yuan was so moved that he was on the verge of tears. If only he could move and get out of bed, he would have kowtowed in gratitude.
"Alright, rest and recuperate. I will avenge you and also find a way to heal your wounds."
After staying for a while, Wang Hong left; another injured person was waiting for his attention.
Luo Zhongjie's injuries were slightly better than He Yuan's, but his cultivation level was too low, and his recovery ability was not as good as He Yuan's.
Wang Hong chatted with He Yuan for a while and left a bottle of Jade Marrow Mushroom pills before departing.
Two days later, the Gao Family challenged him again through the Life and Death Platform, and Wang Hong decisively accepted.
Now, even if he encountered a powerful Foundation Building daoist in the later stages, he had the ability to protect himself and didn't have to worry about losing his life.
Perhaps the Gao Family was arrogant, thinking there were no experts on Wang Hong's side.
Or maybe they were afraid to send a mid-stage Foundation Building daoist, as it might intimidate the other side.
In any case, the daoist sent by the Gao Family for the challenge was only at the third level of Foundation Building.
The next day, the area under the Life and Death Platform was packed with spectators. A life-and-death battle between Foundation Building daoists was not a common sight.
Even before the main characters appeared on stage, the audience below was already buzzing with discussion.
Especially some daoists who considered themselves well-informed were actively spreading what they knew or imagined.
A daoist with a ruddy nose, short and chubby, with a greasy face, was currently bragging to a young man about his knowledge.
"The Gao Family's participant this time is Gao Ru. Although Gao Ru is only at the third level of Foundation Building, he is an old and strong fighter. It's said that he has been in the Foundation Building stage for over fifty years."
"Ah, over fifty years, and still only at the third level of Foundation Building?"
The young man listening intently exclaimed in surprise.
"Gao Ru reached the third level of Foundation Building twenty years ago, then hit a bottleneck. For thirty years, he has been unable to break through."
The short, chubby daoist also felt sorry for Gao Ru.
"Once a daoist encounters a bottleneck, no matter how much they cultivate, they cannot progress. Some people spend years, slowly enduring and can break through. Others might need decades, a hundred years, or might never break through in their lifetime.
It's said that Gao Ru wants to use this life-and-death battle to try and break through his current bottleneck."
The short, chubby daoist seemed to know quite a lot.
"Isn't a bottleneck something that a small Breakthrough Realm Pill can solve?" asked the young man.
The chubby daoist glanced at the young man and said:
"You must be new to Foundation Building. These small Breakthrough Realm Pills are not so easy to come by. Even if one occasionally becomes available, it gets priced sky-high, and ordinary people can't afford it."
"Oh, I see, thank you for the lesson!" the young man said, bowing in gratitude.
"It's just unfortunate for Gao Ru's opponent."
The chubby daoist sighed when he saw the young man divert the topic and said,
This successfully piqued the young man's curiosity, who couldn't help but ask, "Why would his opponent be unfortunate?"
"Think about it, Gao Ru has been at the third level of Foundation Building for over thirty years. Can you imagine how deep his accumulation is and how many hidden cards he has?
It's said that Gao Ru already has few opponents among early-stage Foundation Building daoists.
His opponent, although not much is known, seems to have just reached Foundation Building a few years ago, is at the first level of Foundation Building, and most importantly, is an Alchemist.
We all know the combat strength of Alchemists. A second-tier Alchemist becoming Gao Ru's sharpening stone, isn't that a pity?"
While they were talking, Gao Ru had already arrived, surrounded by followers. He walked in the middle, with a dragon-like stride and a majestic aura.
The spectating daoists quickly made way, creating a path for him.
"Hehe, I think it's more likely that the sharpening stone is too hard and might grind Gao Ru to death," the young man laughed.
"Shh! Don't let Gao Ru hear you say that, or you might offend him. But why do you say so?"
The chubby daoist stopped the young man and asked, sensing that the young man might have some inside information.
"Because, I am that sharpening stone!"
The young man revealed his white teeth in a smile. Wang Hong had already arrived and noticed that no one recognized him. Joining in the lively discussion, he thought it was better than doing nothing.
Wang Hong ignored the chubby daoist's surprised expression and made his way through the crowd towards the Life and Death Platform.
Wang Hong thought to himself as he squeezed through the audience, "If I can't get through, I might as well go home and let you all miss the show. I should have brought more people with me."
Gao Ru, standing on the Life and Death Platform with arms crossed, had been waiting for a while before Wang Hong finally emerged from the crowd.
Wang Hong leaped onto the platform.
"Humph! If you were afraid, you shouldn't have come. What a dilly-dallier for a man!" Gao Ru said discontentedly.
"Letting you live a bit longer, isn't that good?" Wang Hong said with a smile.
"Sharp-tongued and courting death!"
Gao Ru snorted coldly, conjuring two spiritual weapons, one for attack and one for defense.
He stood behind a large shield, completely covered.
Above his head, a splendid golden sword, about ten feet long and three feet wide, appeared, weighing thousands of pounds when activated.
Below, several experienced old Daoists commented, "As expected of an experienced veteran, he's using his full strength right from the start. His swordsmanship has improved a lot."
They spoke as if they were also talking about themselves, proud of their insights.
"It's like using full strength to hunt a rabbit. That's what an experienced daoist should do."
"Looking at the Alchemist, he seems to lack real combat experience. It took him so long just to draw out a Long Spear, and he hasn't even wielded it in the air yet. He's already lost the initiative."
"Alchemists aren't known for fighting. I just hope Gao Ru doesn't kill him. After all, any second-tier Alchemist is a rare resource."
Gao Ru's golden sword in the air emitted dazzling light, dazzling the audience below.
The sword, splitting the air with a whistling sound, swung down towards Wang Hong, seeming to split him in half.
However, Wang Hong didn't seem to dodge. Instead, he raised his Long Spear to meet the golden sword.
Some audience members, foreseeing Wang Hong's tragic end, covered their eyes, unable to bear watching.
With a loud clang, the sound of metal striking metal echoed, itching the ears of the onlookers.
Wang Hong still firmly held the Long Spear, while Gao Ru's golden sword was knocked aside, its blade chipped and covered in cracks.
"Just one strike, and with physical strength alone, he disabled a low-grade Spiritual Weapon. Is this really an Alchemist not skilled in combat?"
After deflecting the golden sword, Wang Hong didn't stop. His figure blurred into an afterimage as he pounced towards Gao Ru.
Gao Ru only saw a blur before hearing two soft "puff" sounds, followed by a pain in his chest.
He looked down to see a Long Spear piercing through his shield and his chest.
The audience below only saw a blurry afterimage on the platform.
When the afterimage stopped in front of Gao Ru, both he and his shield were impaled by the Long Spear.
Seeing that Gao Ru was not yet dead, Wang Hong lifted the Long Spear, nailing Gao Ru and his shield to the ground.
Gao Ru, pinned to the ground, twitched and convulsed.
Wang Hong, seeing this, prepared to inflict injuries on him similar to He Yuan's.
He stepped down on Gao Ru's trembling leg, and a "crack" sound of breaking bones echoed.
An old man in the middle stage of Foundation Building emerged from the audience, questioning, "Why so cruel at such a young age?"
Wang Hong glanced at the old man and asked, "And who are you? At your age, why so ignorant? Don't you know that on the Life and Death Platform, life and death are one's own responsibility?"
Wang Hong retorted in the same tone.
[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]