Late at night, under the bright moon.
"The second refining is complete," Du ke sighed in relief in the storeroom, exhausted in body and mind yet also overjoyed as he looked at the nine beansized pills that had just come out of the black cauldron.
The pills looked like mercury pills. They were dense and heavy in texture, looking more like coagulated heavy metal toxins rather than medicine pills.
But in fact, according to the pill scriptures, the Mercury Blood Silver Marrow Extreme Realm Pill with extremely strong medicinal effects was just like a mercury pill.
"Each mercury pill falls on the jade dish" described the Extreme Realm Pill with extremely strong medicinal effects.
Now, not only did Du ke manage to concoct the Mercury Blood Silver Marrow Extreme Realm Pill with a potency of ten, he even put it through a second refining, greatly removing impurities and increasing its potency.
Now, even though one Mercury Blood Silver Marrow Extreme Realm Pill was only the size of a bean, its weight was comparable to three freshly refined pills from the first refining.
With pills refined by other alchemists, one pill could be worth tens or even hundreds of pills. It wasn't impossible.
"Although I want to cultivate now, my essence, energy and spirit haven't reached their peak. Forcing cultivation may have the opposite effect. I should wait until I've rested before attempting it!" The cat yawned and jumped onto its bamboo basket, curling up into a ball before falling into deep slumber.
And this sleep lasted until the next evening.
When Du ke woke up, he felt extremely hungry, with fiery hunger gnawing at his heart and stomach.
The white cat jumped down from the bamboo basket without a second thought, leaving the storeroom.
Old Li was currently sitting in the yard washing dishes. Seeing Du ke emerge, he said lightly, "I've kept some food for you, it's on the kitchen stove."
"Thanks, I'll go eat now," Du ke yawned and slowly walked towards the kitchen. Arriving at the kitchen door, he stopped and asked Old Li, "By the way, where is Qian Sui?"
"There have been several cases of missing infants in the city recently. Qian Sui went with the people from the lord's manor to investigate the matter."
"How could something like this happen!" Du ke's eyes widened, looking incredulous. After all, he had been cooped up in the small courtyard for several days without going out, cut off from any news from the outside world.
Upon hearing the news, Du ke immediately cursed, "I don't know which bastard did this, actually kidnapping children."
"What are they going to do with babies?"
"Despicable scumbag!" The cursing cat then slipped into the kitchen. Seeing the white cat's reaction, Old Li smiled, "You're showing some righteous indignation!"
"But your strength is still too weak. Without attaining the Dao, without embarking on the path of cultivation, you will only ever be an insignificant ant, a speck of dust."
Having said this, Old Li also tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, and brought them into the kitchen.
Old Li, who had just entered the kitchen, saw Du ke peering at the rice jar and flour jar, eyes shifting around.
"You little monkey, what are you up to this time?"
"Nothing much, just seeing how much rice and flour is left. Can't let you old folks go hungry can we," Du ke looked up with a flattering smile. Old Li shook his head without interfering further, and returned to his room.
Seeing Old Li leave, Du ke immediately stretched his paws into the rice jar.
"Although I don't have blood to concoct the Blood Food Pill, rice and flour should work too. Maybe it'll even fill my stomach better."
"I'll just borrow some for now. I'll replenish it later!" While Du ke took half of the rice and flour and threw it into the black cauldron's dimensional space to concoct pills, he also nonchalantly slipped out of the kitchen.
Old Li, who was standing by the window, immediately felt something amiss upon seeing the white cat's demeanor. He hurriedly put down what he was holding and returned to the kitchen.
Opening the rice and flour jars, Old Li roared in anger.
"You damned white kitten!"
In the yard, Du ke's ears drooped. He hurried into the storeroom, calling out as he left, "Don't get anxious, I'll refill them later."
Old Li emerged from the kitchen, wanting to roar again, but held himself back.
"Ah, this little rascal."
"But," Old Li suddenly laughed, "it reminds me of when Qian Sui, Meng Hu and Si Er were young."
"They were all the same."
Shaking his head, Old Li returned to his room, while also thinking about where to buy rice and flour more cheaply.
Du ke in the storeroom was unaware of Old Li's thoughts. He had only borrowed the ingredients and would find a way to replenish them later.
After the refined essence pills made from the rice and flour flew out from the black cauldron, Du ke also popped them into his mouth.
"These essence pills refined from rice and flour taste a bit bland compared to the Blood Food Pill. They're like eating steamed buns."
"But this isn't the time to fuss over that now."
After filling his stomach, Du ke gave a loud burp.
The essence pills refined from the rice and flour were indeed filling, but were a bit too strong, making him want to keep burping.
"Nevermind, cultivation is more important," Du ke forcibly suppressed his urge to burp and eliminated distracting thoughts. He then took out a second refined Mercury Blood Silver Marrow Extreme Realm Pill.
"Let's begin!"
Du ke swallowed the pill. After entering his stomach, it immediately stimulated rolling primordial energy, just like during his first cultivation session.
As the primordial energy stirred, Du ke swiftly performed the Tiger-Leopard Stance while visualizing the Catalogue of Demon Gods in his mind.
As Du ke began cultivating, demonic energy also rose from his body. As the demonic energy radiated out, Old Li frowned.
"Why has the kitten's demonic energy started acting up again?"
"Looks like I'll have to find a way to conceal his demonic energy. Otherwise, when he leaves Miao City in the future, with such turbulent demonic energy, he'll likely attract the pursuit of those who have attained the Dao."
"I remember I have a magic treasure that can conceal demonic energy. Where did I toss it to?"
While Old Li tried to recall where he had carelessly discarded his magic treasures, Du ke was currently feeling immense torment.
This was because the medicinal potency of the Mercury Blood Silver Marrow Extreme Realm Pill was affecting his bones.
Amidst the trembling of his entire skeleton, Du ke felt like his bones were being dismantled section by section.
He also had an inexplicable feeling of flesh being stripped from bone, as if only a bloody skeletal frame remained after being skinned and deboned.
The excruciating pain capable of causing loss of bowel and bladder control engulfed Du ke's body and mind. Yet Du ke persevered gritting his teeth.
This pain was much more agonizing than when he had trained in the Water and Fire Fairy Garment.
Creak creak.... creak creak.... creak creak.....
The ceaseless sound akin to crushing bones kept assaulting Du ke's eardrums. As the circulation of vital energy and blood throughout his body accelerated to more than ten times its previous speed, Du ke performed the Tiger-Leopard Stance while persevering with gritted teeth.
Feeling his primordial energy weakening, Du ke consumed a second Extreme Realm Pill.
With his primordial energy replenished, the snapping sounds from his bones rang out like popping beans.
Not only that, the tiger and leopard thunder voices in his body also began roaring wildly, madly plundering this influx of primordial energy to reforge his bones.
In just the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Du ke had already stuffed the third pill into his mouth.
It was also at the moment the effects of the third Extreme Realm Pill kicked in that one of Du ke's bones abruptly cracked with a snap, turning into shattered porcelain.
Fissures spread across the bone, as if it would disintegrate in the next second.
Yet Du ke knew this was the nirvana that accompanied the attainment of an Extreme Realm. The advent of nirvana signaled he was one step closer to mastering the martial path of Mercury Blood Silver Marrow.
He had experienced the uniqueness of attaining a martial Extreme Realm once before.
When Qian Sui had previously sealed all his martial attainments like vital energy and primal force with his aura, the cultivation of the Water and Fire Fairy Garment had not been affected.
And the more martial Extreme Realms he attained, the more it would benefit him when he embarked on the Dao.
The fissures within his body were still spreading, quickly covering his whole body and advancing towards his skull.
With his ears filled with the sound of shattering bones, Du ke also swallowed the fourth, fifth and sixth Extreme Realm Pills in one go.
Consuming three pills in one mouthful not only caused his primordial energy to violently surge by threefold, but also increased his cultivation speed several folds.
Before long, the cat with bones crawling with fissures all over his body, as if he would crumble apart in the next second, also leaked blood from the corners of his eyes.
"Almost at the last step, endure!" Du ke growled lowly. With a stir of his mind and spirit, he swallowed the last three Extreme Realm Pills together.
Nirvana had already spread throughout his body, so he might as well directly charge towards attaining Mercury Blood Silver Marrow.
After three more pills entered his stomach, the circulation speed of the white cat's vital energy also started accelerating. In a short span of time, it exceeded the blood circulation speed of an average human by over a hundredfold.
As the flow of vital energy accelerated, Du ke sprayed out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Blood jetted out from the cat's mouth, instantly splashing the ground.
The color of the blood was dark, no longer fresh red, as if it was filthy blood.
Seeing this spray of fresh blood, Du ke's eyes showed no fear but delight. Mercury Blood Silver Marrow martial arts cultivation involved not only tempering the bones of the whole body, but also blood replacement.
Replacing all the blood in the body once meant the bones would regenerate and give rise to new blood, thus emanating stronger vitality and bursting forth greater vitality.
Thinking of this, Du ke vomited blood again, while all the pores on his body opened and began to ooze fresh blood outward.
In the blink of an eye, Du ke seemed to have fallen into a pool of blood, with seven or eight parts of his blood already gone from his body.
In contrast, a different kind of vitality was brewing inside Du ke's body, just waiting for the old blood to dissipate to nourish the new blood.
At the same time, the black cauldron in the space of Du ke's black cauldron also rumbled, and the flames inside the cauldron seemed to erupt like a volcano, spewing out into the void of the black cauldron space and flowing into Du ke's body.
In addition, the demonic energy emanating from Du ke's body also began to contract rapidly, integrating into Du ke's flesh and bones.
Under the double blessing of the cauldron fire and demonic energy, the remaining blood in Du ke's body was burned clean.
Before Du ke, whose body trembled, could react, the cracks on the surface of his bones were quickly flowed through by the flames.
In a flash as the flames passed, the cracks disappeared and were replaced by new bones harder than metal and stone.
In addition, mysterious patterns seemed to flow faintly on Du ke's bones, like undulating mountain ridges.
However, Du ke, who could not look inside himself, did not know this.
As soon as the new bones formed, Du ke's heart began to beat rapidly, and new blood also flowed through his whole body.
In the body of the cat that had completely changed its blood, there was the loud noise as if a flood was surging.
Not only was there a constant rumbling, the floor tiles under his feet and the floor of the storeroom sank down silently.
As the powerful aura like a dragon emanated, Du ke's eyes widened and he growled lowly.
"Become!"
The newborn blood aura in Du ke's body quickly fused with the power derived from the Tiger-Leopard Stance, and combined with the primordial energy in Du ke's body.
The moment the blood aura, power and primordial energy merged into one, Du ke's internal organs also shuddered, and streams of hot breath that he felt were scorching rapidly grew and circulated quickly in his body, linking up and revolving on their own.
This hot breath was inner power!
As soon as the inner power formed, Du ke roared up to the sky.
"Roar!"
The tiger-like roar shook the storeroom so much that the floor tiles and objects on the ground sank down silently. At the same time, Old Li, who had been asleep in bed for some time, was suddenly jolted awake.
Old Li got up and looked at the storeroom with a frown, sensing Du ke's aura.
After a while, Old Li's expression changed, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
"The aura is overbearing like a dragon, the inner breath scorching like fire, the inner and outer origins unified as one. This kid has entered the third stage of martial arts."
"He is really extraordinary!"
"The weakness of the Flesh Cat lineage's weak physique does not exist for him at all."
"Although he cultivates martial arts, demonic arts and aura perception side by side without interference. But this is only for now. If he doesn't give up any of them when it comes time to enter the Dao, and still wants to progress in all three, his Dao journey may be abruptly terminated, even endangering his life!"
Old Li furrowed his brows tightly, struggling with something in his heart.
"Should I give him a hand... should I..."