Chapter 103: Essence Return And Brain Tonic To Cross The Third Calamity
After obtaining the soul nurturing spirit medicine for nourishment, Fang Shu did not eagerly use it immediately.
Instead, he consulted various classics to see if this kind of medicine had other great uses, and whether it was related to spiritual sense.
This was not because he was overly cautious or distrusted the Dojo Master, but because this medicine was precious, and he actually still had treasure medicine available in his hand; the soul nurturing secret medicine was not his only choice for passing the tribulation.
It must be known that the mushroom treasure medicine obtained from the medicine cave, after helping Fang Shu fully cultivate the Second Tribulation, still had more than half its amount remaining, and its medicinal power was extremely strong, the strongest medicinal power Fang Shu had ever seen.
Therefore, Fang Shu secretly and quietly compared that soul nurturing spirit medicine with the mushroom treasure medicine.
The result surprised him: the medicinal effects of the two were hard to compare, equally matched, with one biased toward the soul and the other toward healing.
But this also proved that the mushroom treasure medicine Fang Shu obtained from the medicine cave truly had extraordinary value!
Since they were hard to compare, and the Dojo Master had said that the earlier the soul nourishment, the better, Fang Shu no longer dwelled on it.
After much preparation, he formally began passing the Third Calamity!
This day.
At the bottom of the quiet room, sheets of yellow paper were pasted in the well mouth as if money were no object, densely packed, moving without wind like the scales of a snake, rustling and trembling.
Fang Shu sat cross-legged in the exact center at the bottom of the well, silently waiting for moonlight to descend.
The shadow on his body became increasingly shorter under the slowly rising white moon.
Finally, a silver-white full moon appeared above Fang Shu’s head, and the moonlight was drawn by his qi, falling like scattered snowflakes, transforming into strands of white qi that poured into his mouth and nose.
The moment had arrived.
Fang Shu, sitting cross-legged, did not lift his eyelids; he merely flicked his fingers, shooting a flint from his fingertip that struck the quiet room wall.
Puff!
At first, there was the smell of nitrate gunpowder, then the yellow papers pasted on the quiet room walls ignited, and thick strands of smoke, instead of rising, descended from the yellow papers, burying most of Fang Shu’s body in the blue smoke.
In an instant, Fang Shu seemed to be in the clouds.
At this time, a wisp of pale blue, fine dense smoke finally rose from all around him, falling among the numerous white and yellow paper smokes, standing out like a crane among chickens.
As this smoke rose, the air in the quiet room seemed to become still.
It was precisely the Whalebone Spirit Nourishing Net given by the Dojo Master; it had ignited, releasing rich medicinal power.
According to the Dojo Master’s instructions, this kind of spirit medicine was best taken in small sips, otherwise it was easy to get drugged, wasting medicinal power and burdening the lungs, causing damage.
But according to Fang Shu’s known experience of passing the tribulation, passing the tribulation sought to do it in one go, with one burst of energy—how could it be done sip by sip!
After weighing the pros and cons, he decisively chose to abandon sipping it, instead setting up a smoke formation all around at once, dividing the spirit nourishing net into eight portions, igniting them all at the same time, and taking the medicine all at once!
Anyway, he still had plenty of mushroom treasure medicine in hand, and dao talismans to monitor his physical body at all times; even if the physical body suffered some damage, it could be nourished back.
In the quiet room, as Fang Shu continued to sit quietly.
Those eight strands of pale blue spirit smoke were quite mystical, unexpectedly condensing in mid-air into the illusory image of a whale.
It tumbled in the thick paper smoke, as if swimming between sea and sky, faintly carrying a bit of spirituality.
Just as it was swimming happily, Fang Shu suddenly opened his eyes.
His gaze like a torch stared straight at the whale illusory image formed by the spirit medicine; after a flash of amazement in his eyes, he unhesitatingly sucked it all into his abdomen like a whale taking in water.
Gulp gulp!
As the spirit smoke entered his abdomen, from mouth and nose to throat and then to chest, everywhere suddenly rumbled, as if what he had swallowed was not smoke, but hard, large gold and iron blocks.
Coincidentally, Fang Shu’s mouth and nose at this time were indeed filled with the cold, metallic smell of gold and iron.
The paper smoke coiling at the bottom of the well was burned from talisman paper secretly coated with lead and mercury; every strand of smoke was full of lead and mercury aura, and also carried the scorched smell of insect blood.
The method Fang Shu used today for passing the tribulation no longer favored either Lead Skill or Insect Skill, but used both, only seeking to pass his Third Calamity thoroughly!
Thus, under the enhancement of various medicinal herbs and various secret techniques, his qi and blood burned fiercely, momentarily turning the quiet room at the bottom of the well into a chimney-like scene with rolling thick smoke and blazing red light.
His whole body was scalding hot, hard as iron blocks from top to bottom, especially in his chest and abdomen, as if startling thunder was rumbling hotly, making him want to howl several times to vent all the restless heat in his body.
But Fang Shu held back.
He did not move at all, tightly closed his teeth, did not scatter his spirit and qi, and unlike the previous two tribulations where he either stood in Lead Skill or performed boxing, he directed all his intent inward, sending all his qi, blood, and essence throughout his body rushing toward his brain.
This process was the most difficult and dangerous step in passing the Third Calamity.
It was called “Refining Essence to Supplement the Brain”.
Many people, when passing the Third Calamity, did not even dare to use this step, viewing it as a crooked path or a risky act.
All because if this act was mishandled, qi and blood rushing straight to the brain could easily burst the tiny vessels in the brain, causing qi and blood to overflow and the cauldron to topple.
At that point, forget about serious injury; even ending up as a living dead would be considered fortunate.
Quite a few young and vigorous immortal cultivators suddenly perished in this step, causing sighs of regret.
And for someone like Fang Shu, manipulating qi and blood to rush straight to the brain—if seen by others, they would be greatly shocked, thinking he was seeking death.
But if seen by someone with more insight, they would discover that although Fang Shu was driving all his qi and blood straight to the brain, his qi and blood was divided into eight streams, each under his strict control, occasionally adjusted.
The reason he could do this, aside from the recent preparations, was even more because the flesh insect on his forehead was blooming with light, assisting him in inhaling and controlling his whole body’s qi and blood.
In Fang Shu’s eyes, the qi and blood around him was extremely clear, like viewing palm lines.
Being able to clearly see the flow of qi and blood meant his refining essence to supplement the brain was already more than half successful.
Moreover, besides this, he had dao talismans on him, monitoring his physical body inside and out at all times; any problem would be reminded by the dao talisman.
In this way, Fang Shu’s mad act of reversing qi and blood upward seemed terrifying but was actually bold yet cautious, not risky.
With such an action, the effect was naturally excellent.
In just a short hundred breaths, a cracking sound rang in his two ears, like bubbles bursting.
Fang Shu immediately felt his body light and spirited, as if the whole body had been unblocked, with qi and blood flowing smoothly without obstruction, penetrating top to bottom.
The world in his two eyes also instantly brightened much, the dim quiet room whitening for a moment.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Strands of qi and blood were continuously pouring into his brain, increasing his brain power, transforming into soul foundation, and making it seem as if something was stirring in his skull.
At this moment, text also appeared in the dao talisman:
【Realm: Third Calamity Refining Essence Human Immortal】
The immortal cultivator’s Third Calamity, Fang Shu had now successfully leaped over in one bound.
From this day on, he could have sharp hearing and sight, multitask, and no longer worry about mental confusion or senile dementia for life; he could also nourish and refine his brain, seek soul condensation, and promote the sprouting of true qi.
He was now only one step away from the immortal sect dao lineage, Qi Refining Spiritual Immortal!
