Apotheosis Begins with Tai Chi

Chen Cheng then retrieved some herbs from the medicine room to stew with the Cyan Ink Treasure Snake.

Wu Ziyu had previously mentioned the nine required herbs and their corresponding ratios. Chen Cheng remembered everything, and as it happened, they had all the ingredients at home, saving him a trip to the apothecary.

Thanks to his long and unceasing practice of Health Tai Chi, his Health-Preserving Traits nourished his Divine Marrow day after day, and his memory had subtly improved a great deal.

While he was still a long way from having a photographic memory, he could easily recall a mere nine herbs and their ratios.

Meanwhile, his mother got busy.

Chen Cheng didn’t stay idle either. He immediately went to the inner courtyard to begin practicing his Foundation Establishment Tai Chi.

As he practiced, he didn’t forget to grab and chew on some herbs that enhanced his poison resistance.

Of course, there was a natural limit to how much he could increase his poison resistance this way. It was impossible to become immune to every deadly poison in the world with this method alone.

But with the Unyielding Attribute, that limit no longer existed.

Every day, new, more poison-resistant cells would be generated. The amount was small, but as long as this process continued, becoming immune to every poison in the world was only a matter of time.

After dinner.

Chen Cheng still spent an hour soaking in his medicinal bath.

Tonight, however, he didn’t practice the Four Gods Profound Body while soaking. Instead, he lay all the way down, letting the water completely cover his head, and used this position to practice the Wandering Dragon Technique.

This underwater Skill didn’t necessarily require active swimming. As long as he was in the water, he could increase his training progress simply by circulating his Blood Qi and exercising his Inner Breath and lung capacity according to the Technique.

Chen Cheng had only just reached the Entry Level, so there was immense room for improvement in all aspects, including his swimming speed, how long he could hold his breath, and his ability to use Water Manipulation for momentum.

Once his training progressed and all these abilities were enhanced, he was fully confident he could take on the so-called Iron-Bone Crocodile Eel by himself.

Once that obstacle was removed, the Wu Family’s waterways would be clear, and their stable supply of Treasure Fish could resume.

Besides, the Iron-Bone Crocodile Eel was itself a powerful tonic.

The members of the Zhou Family had mentioned before that the meat of this vicious fish was comparable to Exotic Tiger Meat from the mountains—valuable but with no market, something that a thousand pieces of gold couldn’t buy.

If Chen Cheng could really take it down and turn it into jerky, it would probably last him for a year or two.

At this thought, Chen Cheng made a firm decision: from now on, he would extend his daily medicinal bath by an hour to practice the Wandering Dragon Technique.

...

「The next morning arrived in the blink of an eye.」

Chen Cheng hadn’t slept all night, having spent even more time practicing his Thunder Treading Skill and Four Gods Profound Body.

Yet even when the sky was fully lit, he didn’t feel the slightest bit sleepy. More importantly, his body wasn’t tired at all.

This was clearly thanks to the Snake Gallbladder.

’If I had a steady supply of these,’ he thought, ’I would permanently delete sleep from my daily routine. As long as the grind doesn’t kill you, grind yourself to death.’

”Cheng, Young Master Cao is here, waiting for you outside...”

His mother’s voice drifted in from the front courtyard:

”He seems to be in a hurry and said he won’t come inside. Hurry out, don’t keep the man waiting.”

Chen Cheng called out in acknowledgment, set down the Celestial God Hidden Dragon Painting he was halfway through studying, and left the inner courtyard, striding quickly toward the main gate.

”Senior Brother Cao, has something happened?”

The moment Chen Cheng saw Cao Zhao, he noticed the anxiety on his face.

”The Captain’s Mansion has an urgent assignment. I have to leave as soon as I give you this.”

Cao Zhao said, handing a small porcelain vial to Chen Cheng and speaking rapidly.

”When I told my grandfather you condensed the Sixth Pillar of Blood Qi, he was overjoyed. He immediately gave me all six Red Jade Blood-Nourishing Pills he had on hand.”

”He said you should use these for now, and he’ll figure out a way to get you more cultivation resources later. He also mentioned that if you’re interested, he’d like to recommend you to some of the great families.”

”Recommend me? For a nominal post?”

Chen Cheng asked, confused.

”There’s no need to trouble Master Cao with such a small matter, is there?”

”Of course not. It’s for matchmaking. If you’re chosen, you’ll have the chance to be taught a great family’s secret arts... If you’re interested, find some time to visit my grandfather in the Upper Courtyard to discuss it. I really can’t delay any longer. I have to go!”

The urgency on Cao Zhao’s face intensified, and with that, he turned and strode quickly down the street.

Watching his rapidly retreating figure, Chen Cheng guessed that the Captain’s Mansion was most likely dispatching troops to attack the Bai Family’s stronghold outside the city again.

Over the past month, the Captain’s Mansion had attacked time and again, yet they couldn’t even conquer Cangying Hunting Manor—a place that was nearly out of supplies. What’s worse, they suffered heavy casualties with each attempt.

’As for this time...’

Chen Cheng sighed to himself.

’Unless the official family can get a true master to anchor the assault, they’ll probably just suffer more losses and return empty-handed, same as before.’

In the afternoon.

The stout, dark-skinned Zhou Yonglu, accompanied by Zhou An, paid a personal visit to Chen Cheng.

”Brother Chen! I, Yonglu, have no way to repay you for saving my life yesterday. Please, accept my bow of gratitude!”

Chen Cheng had just invited them into the courtyard when Zhou Yonglu immediately tried to kowtow.

”There’s no need for that.”

Chen Cheng reached out and easily stopped Zhou Yonglu, propping him up. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t kneel, and in the end, he had to give up.

”Senior Brother Zhou and I are from the same school; it’s our duty to help one another.”

Chen Cheng said, then pointed a finger toward the large black vat in the middle of the front yard. ”And you and I, Young Master Zhou, have a connection of sorts. Saving you was convenient, so just consider it me returning a favor. There’s no need for thanks.”

”A connection is a connection, but thanks are still due!”

As Zhou Yonglu spoke, his gaze also fell on the large black vat.