My Cultivation Starting from Archery

Chen Sansi thought.

Since the residual material extracted from a person's stomach after feeding them medicine pills had extraordinary medicinal effects,

then wouldn't burning Spiritual Grain into plant ash at high temperatures be somewhat useful as well?

Thinking this,

he picked up a small handful of Spiritual Grain and stacked it together with some pine needles for kindling, then smeared a very small amount of lamp oil on top.

Not daring to get too close,

Chen Sansi held a lit stick far away and carefully approached the lamp oil.

"Boom——"

The red flames erupted loudly.

In an instant, the Spiritual Grain and the pine needles were burned to ash.

Chen Sansi waited until the flames died down and carefully collected the grass ashes.

"I need to conduct a live experiment."

He cleaned up the house and then quietly climbed over the wall and headed straight for Second Layer Mountain.

It took a great deal of effort not to harm the game before catching a rabbit.

"Come, eat!"

Chen Sansi pried open the rabbit's mouth and poured a little bit of grass ash into it.

The next second,

the rabbit started thrashing wildly as if injected with chicken blood, and its strength increased significantly.

But it didn't last long before the rabbit, like a deflated ball, breathed its last.

Chen Sansi carefully examined the body and saw no signs of darkening in the veins on the surface.

But the skin beneath the fur was burning hot and red, as if blood was about to gush out from the inside, appearing as though an overly potent medicine had harmed the internal organs leading to bleeding.

"Was it too weak to withstand the medicinal effect?"

"I need to try it on something bigger!"

He searched in the forest.

It didn't take long to find a jungle inhabited by cheetahs.

The cheetah charged straight at him but was thwacked on the head by the long spear's shaft, leaving it dazed and seeing stars.

With the strength from his Bone Strengthening Skill, Chen Sansi could easily subdue the fierce beast.

He pried open the cheetah's mouth with the spear tip and poured in the grass ash: "Eat!"

"Roar!!!!"

The same reaction as the rabbit.

After consuming the Spiritual Grain, the cheetah became extremely agitated; after about five minutes, its symptoms subsided. Although it did not die immediately, it lay on the ground bleeding profusely, obviously not going to live much longer.

"It indeed lasted longer than the rabbit."

"But internal bleeding occurred as well."

"If combined with cultivation practice, could the potency of the medicine be controlled?"

"It seems animals won't do; I need to experiment with a live person."

Chen Sansi's eyes flashed fiercely.

"You can capture villagers for experiments, so why can't I capture you?!"

From eavesdropping on Liang Zhan's conversation, not one of the Four Great Martial Arts Schools was innocent.

From the reactions of the leopard and the rabbit, there wouldn't be uncontrollable drastic changes happening in an instant; capturing a disciple with lower skills to test wouldn't be a problem.

Moreover, Second Layer Mountain had many medicine gardens.

Even if they dared not capture more live humans, they would definitely still have disciples guarding the medicine gardens.

Chen Sansi moved through the forest like a ghost.

After staking out for two hours, he successfully captured a disciple from Zhao's Martial Arts Academy skilled in Blood Refining Technique and brought him to a secluded cave.

No severe torture was needed; the Martial Arts Academy Disciple confessed everything.

"Eat!"

He forced the disciple to consume a small amount of grass ash and then practice his sect's cultivation technique.

Chen Sansi observed from a distance with a bow in hand.

As expected.

Not only did the Martial Arts Academy Disciple not die, but he also performed a set of boxing techniques vigorously, clearly showing the utility of the medicine.

"It seems my guess was correct!"

With his goal achieved, Chen Sansi ended the experiment by shooting the disciple dead with an arrow.

"If he could eat it and be fine, I definitely will be too."

Adhering to a cautious principle, he picked up a very small amount of grass ash with his fingertip and sprinkled it into his mouth.

The moment it entered his mouth, an indescribable sensation began spreading from the oral cavity, then swept through his entire body.

This feeling was different from anything he had experienced with beast hearts or medicine.

After ingesting it, it did not get digested and absorbed by organs but turned automatically into a strange form of "energy" that integrated into his body, flowing not only in his blood but also being stored in another "system."

This was...

Meridians?

Meridians and tendons are two different concepts.

Tendons are organs, visible human organs that can be seen when flesh and blood are cut open.

But meridians are a mystical existence.

Neither blood vessels nor tendons, but another "system" within the human body.

Chen Sansi didn't know much about this.

He only knew that traditional Chinese medicine studied it.

Before refining organs, people practicing martial arts don't need to concern themselves with this concept.

What's happening?

After consuming the Spiritual Grain, it turned out to have a direct effect on the meridians.

If one wasn't a martial artist, their body simply couldn't withstand it, no wonder small animals would die explosively.

Even for martial artists, the capacity to endure was limited, they needed to expend it in time.

Chen Sansi hurriedly began practicing his spear technique inside the cave.

He then discovered that the Spiritual Grain was surprisingly helpful for cultivation.

Practically every repetition of spear technique practice substantially increased his proficiency by much more than what a medicine bath could provide.

[Cultivation Technique: Undying Golden Snake Spear - Upper (Entry Level)]

[Progress: 88/500]

[Utility: Dragon Elephant Blood, Nine Dragon Living Veins]

An afternoon's improvement was equivalent to several days in the past!

Moreover, the Spiritual Grain also had healing effects.

That substance, like a gas, would repair injuries while circulating inside the body.

No wonder the old master of Tai Lei Martial Arts Academy hadn't died.

However, it still contained toxins.

The gas mixed and tangled within the meridians, remaining there unless the energy was expended simultaneously flushing out the toxins.

Yet, the toxin in the meridians metabolized very slowly.

Unlike ordinary supplemental medicine, where vigorous cultivation could quickly expend it.

Chen Sansi didn't know whether it was because his realm was still low or because his cultivation technique did not involve the meridians.

Regardless, only practicing movements in the air made the absorption efficiency of the Spiritual Grain extremely low.

If he consumed too much, leading to the "energy" lingering too long in the body, the meridian toxin would undeniably cause irreversible damage to his body.

"Perhaps it would be more effective if I had a sparring partner."

"Real combat would definitely be better."

Chen Sansi recalled battling Old Song, blood surging with all his might!

If he could maintain that state, surely it would increase the speed of absorbing the Spiritual Grain.

"Unfortunately, there aren't that many opportunities for real combat."

"Let's take it slow."

"The current effects are already astonishing!"

After mastering the use of Spiritual Grain, Chen Sansi was full of confidence.

According to the original speed, by March in spring, the fastest he could achieve was mastery of Bone Strengthening Skill, but now, he had a high chance of refining internal organs!

That is just four more months.

Even he felt it was a bit exaggerated.

Two months for Bone Training, four months for Refining Internal; in total, just six months.

The height that took Xiang Tingchun half a lifetime to reach, he only needed six months, and what's more, he was practicing a superior Breathing Skill.

Immortal Treasure indeed was a treasure!

"But in reality, I'm also a maverick."

Chen Sansi guessed that a complete Immortal Treasure would likely be a set of alchemy equipment.

It included formulas, a container capable of withstanding temperatures, and most importantly, the lamp oil that could produce a red flame!

Then connecting to the Emperor's quest for immortality...

Once everything is assembled, wouldn't it be possible to concoct the legendary Immortal Pills?!

No wonder even the Old Emperor had sent people over.

He must have heard some rumors!

Chen Sansi suddenly realized the significance of the matter.

If people found out, no amount of lives would suffice to atone.

But wait.

What did it have to do with him?

The Immortal Treasure was in Xiang Tingchun's hands!

This guy had even declared it outright, afraid that the Four Great Martial Arts Schools wouldn't believe him.

Alright then.

It seems, as long as he was careful, they couldn't trace it back to him.

Chen Sansi disposed of the Martial Arts Academy Disciple's body and headed home down the mountain.

During this period, he hadn't stopped running up and down the mountain, continuously practicing his skills.

[Skill: Concealment (Small Achievement)]

[Progress: 405/1000]

After dinner at night.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Chen Sansi began perusing the Medical Books he had acquired from Medicine Valley.

There were several volumes of Medical Books.

From basic theories, to treating various diseases, to different medicine formulas, including those needed for martial arts practice, all were recorded.

Just reading the books would only improve his reading proficiency.

[Skill: Reading (Small Achievement)]

[Progress: (395/800)]

"It seems I need to learn a new skill."

Although the effects of Spiritual Grain were good, the metabolism of the meridian toxins was slow, and the usage of various supplements and medicine baths couldn't be stopped.

Fortunately, there was a Medical Officer in the military, merely requiring some time to learn.

Speaking of time.

The assessment period for new recruits ends tomorrow.

I wonder how many among the hundred will prove truly useful.