Chapter 350 - 81: Cyan Pill
Chapter 350 - 81: Cyan Pill
The Secret Snake Sect’s services, despite their horrifying appearance, actually followed a strict procedure. As long as one adhered to it, everything would be fine. The main challenge was overcoming the psychological discomfort.
Chen Chuan had no objection to this. He could see that after generations of selective breeding, these Exotic Snakes were fundamentally different from real snakes. They were purely biological tools meant to aid cultivation.
Following the illustrations, the text listed a series of important points. Not just anyone could receive this service; there were certain requirements.
First, the client themselves had to possess a certain level of strength. Someone at his level, with the power and potential he had demonstrated, was considered the most ideal candidate for the service.
Second, it was best to have a referral from within the sect. If not, someone of status had to act as a guarantor.
He glanced down. The fee was three thousand yuan per session. It didn’t seem cheap, but judging from the procedure, it involved consumable materials. If that was the case, the service was likely something that money alone couldn’t buy.
From what Cao Guiqi had said before, and from what he could infer, this service not only strengthened one’s muscles and bones but also fortified the internal organs. If it could truly deliver this twofold benefit, then the price wasn’t expensive at all; it was actually quite a bargain.
So, after finishing, he picked up the pen without hesitation and wrote his name in the client signature field. Then he pushed the document toward Zou Handan and asked, "Mr. Zou, when can the service be arranged?"
Zou Handan glanced at his signature, then picked up the Scroll and slowly rolled it shut. "Since you’ve agreed, Mr. Chen, we’ll begin making the arrangements. It will take half a month at most to coordinate, but the earliest will be the end of the month. We will notify you as soon as everything is ready."
Chen Chuan nodded. "I’ll leave it in your hands, then."
Just then, a faint light emanated from Zou Handan’s serpentine pupils. He seemed to be using his Realm Token to contact someone. After a moment, he said, "I have confirmed with the sect. The follow-up arrangements are now underway."
He stood up and extended his hand. "Mr. Chen, thank you for using our sect’s services."
Chen Chuan also stood up and shook his hand. He could feel that the muscles in the man’s palm and on the back of his hand were incredibly supple and strong, not at all as soft as his appearance suggested.
The moment their hands clasped, a new contact request appeared. He glanced at it and approved. The avatar was of a snake-eyed person in a red cloak, standing ramrod straight. Their gender was indeterminable. Behind the figure was an even larger snake eye.
Zou Handan also glanced at Chen Chuan’s avatar, seeming slightly surprised.
The Secret Snake Sect conducted a psychological evaluation of every client, and the choice of avatar was considered a valuable data point. Someone like Chen Chuan, who made no choice at all, was extremely rare. However, the decision not to change it was, in itself, an indication of a certain mindset.
After saying his goodbyes to Chen Chuan, he turned to Cao Guiqi, who was seated to the side, and said politely, "Mr. Cao, the service has been settled. I need to return to oversee the arrangements, so I will take my leave now."
Cao Guiqi gave a slight nod. "Take care, Mr. Zou. Uncle Ding, please see him out for me."
Uncle Ding stepped forward and gestured for him to proceed. Zou Handan gave Chen Chuan one last nod and followed Uncle Ding out, leaving a box behind on the table.
Chen Chuan’s eyes fell upon it.
Cao Guiqi took a sip of tea. "He left that for you. The Secret Snake Sect values every client and gives them a gift. The contents vary in quality and value. They don’t even know what’s inside when they hand them out. You can take it home and see for yourself."
’The Secret Snake Sect really knows how to do business,’ Chen Chuan thought. ’No wonder that of all the Old Faiths, only they have managed to establish a legitimate foothold in Central City.’
Cao Guiqi added, "The medicine from the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop has arrived as well. Since you’re here today, you can take it with you along with the Treasure Ointment. There are ten pills in total. The requirement is to finish them within three months, but don’t push yourself too hard."
Chen Chuan said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Cao. I will."
With his business concluded, he didn’t stay much longer. After Uncle Ding returned from seeing off the guest, Chen Chuan finished his tea and took his leave of Cao Guiqi, departing with the medicine from the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop, the Treasure Ointment from Celestial Hundred Herbs, and the gifted box from the Secret Snake Sect.
After leaving Motie Mountain and returning to the Profound Palace Building, he set the box from the Secret Snake Sect aside and took out the wooden medicine box from the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop.
He opened it with both hands. The first thing that met his eyes was an exquisite silk cloth embroidered with the image of a bluish-black pouch, as if dyed in ink. A red drawstring extended from the top, trailing in an elegant loop that blended into a cyan-white hue. The design was unique and pleasing to the eye.
This wasn’t the first time Chen Chuan had seen something like this, so he knew what to do. He scanned it with his Realm Token for a moment and was soon connected to the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop’s platform.
A pleasant notification sound immediately chimed, welcoming him to the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop’s Medicine Tester program. It informed him that members were entitled to a discount on all Cyan Bag Jade Workshop medicinal products, redeemable anywhere.
He skipped past this information. The next section detailed how he should take the medicine and fill out the subsequent report forms.
The instructions required the Medicine Tester to use their Realm Token to record the entire process of taking the medicine and fill out a form detailing all their sensations. If they found that too troublesome, they could skip it by directly linking their Realm Token to the platform and verbally reporting their experiences in real-time.
In addition to these instructions, a complimentary Breathing Technique was included. It was noted that the Drug Tester was not obligated to learn it, but was forbidden from sharing it after viewing. Therefore, one had to sign a platform agreement before gaining full access.
This piqued his interest. He read the introduction carefully and discovered that a Fighter who understood the Breathing Method of Qi Breathing would find this new technique very easy to master.
With deep mastery, one could not only pinpoint the exact changes in their Mutated Organization after taking the medicine but also perceive subtle transformations in every part of their body.
It wasn’t mandatory, so Chen Chuan felt, ’Probably not many people will spend time practicing this.’
But he thought it was very useful. ’Especially since my Mutated Organization covers such a large area,’ he mused. ’Having a more detailed understanding of my own body would undoubtedly be a good thing.’
He then checked the Wuyi platform and discovered that this Breathing Technique was not in the Wuyi Academy’s database.
This wasn’t surprising. Wuyi wasn’t the only institution in the world that trained Fighters, so there were bound to be many unrecorded Breathing Techniques and Fighting Skills.
He promptly signed the viewing agreement. After a detailed look, he had a clear understanding of it. He spent a little time familiarizing himself, and thanks to his solid foundation, he had mastered the Breathing Technique by evening.
Now, it was time to officially take the medicine.
He put on the accompanying biofilm gloves, opened the medicine box, and took out one of the pills. It was meant to be taken orally. The surface was a pale cyan, and it gave off a peculiar, invigorating fragrance.
After a quick look, he activated his Realm Token’s Domain information recording function and swallowed the pill with water.
He didn’t feel anything at first, but after a short while, a wave of scorching heat surged through his body. His breathing quickened involuntarily, and his heart began to pound.
A few minutes later, his vision sharpened, a flood of scents rushed into his nostrils, and a cacophony of previously unheard noises emerged. His mind, too, became much clearer.
However, this state only lasted for about half an hour. Then, his muscles and bones began to ache, and his skin felt slightly swollen. An hour later, a numbing itch that seemed to bore into his very bones began, and the Mutated Organization all over his body throbbed with excitement. It reminded him of when he first started training, only far more intense.
He glanced at his Second Self. There were no signs of it turning ethereal, which indicated no damage. It was also possible that his body was now strong enough that some of the medicine’s side effects no longer had much of an impact on him.
This time, he didn’t shift his perception away, as this would allow him to provide better feedback. Since he had agreed to be a Medicine Tester, he was willing to cooperate as needed.
He remembered that the effects of the Treasure Ointment were more pronounced when combined with training, so he immediately stood up, grabbed his Snow Monarch Blade, and headed to his private training room.
Roughly three hours later, the sensation of being in a clearly enhanced state began to fade. He stopped practicing his forms and, following the prompts on his Realm Token, filled out the report form with his reactions throughout the process.
He could feel that the medicine did indeed have a significant enhancing effect on the Mutated Organization within his internal organs.
Like the Treasure Ointment, its effects were persistent. Based on past experience, he estimated they would last for about two to three days. If that were the case, taking the pills from one box back-to-back would last exactly one month. This meant the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop hadn’t just given him a random quantity; they had calculated the dosage period precisely.
His tolerance and dosage for such medicines were far greater than that of an ordinary person. Over time, this had given him a discerning judgment of medicinal effects that most people lacked.
As he had estimated, the distinct effects of the medicine lasted for exactly three days before becoming unnoticeable.
He felt it was indeed inferior to the Treasure Ointment from Celestial Hundred Herbs. By comparison, it was only about one-fourth or one-fifth as effective. But what it lacked in potency, it made up for in quantity. So, after three days, he swallowed the second pill. Three days after that, he took the third.
However, only one day after taking the third pill, he felt something was different.
Countless spots on his Second Self began to show signs of turning ethereal, all of them concentrated on his Mutated Organization and the surrounding tissues.
’It must be a side effect from the accumulated drug residue,’ he surmised. ’Continuous use must cause some kind of damage to the Mutated Organization. An ordinary Fighter would definitely be having a severe reaction by now.’
He stopped there. To remain plausible, he couldn’t appear too outrageously resilient. He truthfully recorded his sensations and the reactions in various parts of his body in considerable detail, then submitted the report to the Cyan Bag Jade Workshop.
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