Chapter 0011 – One Day is Enough – The Absolute Return

I picked up the elixir that had fallen out of the iron ball, took a closer look, and was stunned.

Surprisingly, it was a magic essence elixir!

The Devil Essence Pill, a secret elixir of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, could only be made in ten years, and was of great benefit to those who practiced demonic arts.

After taking the Demon Essence Pill, one was able to significantly increase one’s cultivation level, the exact amount of increase depended on one’s physique and the technique one practiced.

I sighed in my heart, this Demon Essence Pill, was certainly precious, but what I admired even more was the ingenuity of the person who designed this mechanism.

If the iron ball was split with the sword astral, the high temperature generated would destroy the medicinal properties of the elixir and render it useless.

The only way to get this elixir was to use ordinary sword techniques and split the iron ball.

This is, the best reward for those, who can sink their teeth into it, think hard and study hard.

And what I, right now, lack the most, is inner strength.

This Demon Essence Pill is like a blessing in disguise for me.

“What a heavenly help! Thank you, Father!”

Without hesitation, I sat down on my knees and took the Magic Essence Pill and swallowed it.

The Devil Essence Pill instantly melted in his mouth, and a cool aura instantly spread throughout his body.

I felt that my meridians, all of them, were expanding, and my dantian, too.

I hurriedly ran my gongfu and absorbed the medicinal power of the Demon Essence Pill.

In my previous life, I had taken many pills, so absorbing the medicinal power wasn’t difficult for me.

Moreover, my “Divine Martial Body” allows me to absorb more medicinal power.

I was immersed in my cultivation, and before I knew it, two hours had passed.

The medicinal power of the Demon Essence Pill had been completely absorbed by me, and my internal power, too, had risen by a large margin.

I stood up and swung my fist a few times.

“Hoo Hoo ……”

“Bang!”

My punching style, more severe, my power, more powerful.

“Hahaha ……”

I couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh and my heart was filled with joy.

“Could it be that my father, in the mountains, taught me the secret art of ‘Extension of Qi’ just so that I could, in fact, find that stripe on the iron ball?”

Perhaps my father split the iron ball in the same way, and that’s why he left the words “Don’t be in a hurry”.

But I quickly dismissed the idea; no matter how powerful my father was, he couldn’t have foreseen that I would be imprisoned in a small heavenly cave.

“Perhaps, he just wants me, to get this Demon Essence Pill.”

“Or, he just wants to help the Blood Heavenly Blade Demon and save face.”

In any case, I should be grateful to my father, who, in turn, gave me this opportunity.

“Thank you, Father.”

I calmed my excitement and continued toward the next level.

……

I arrived at the third level of the trial site.

Here, too, there was a stone tablet with the trial written on it:

I. Distinguish between life and death.

Second, if you fail, after five days, you can challenge again.

Third, when you’re ready, stand in the red circle.

To distinguish between life and death?

What’s that supposed to mean?

And, this time, the break is only for five days.

I felt vaguely uneasy in my mind.

I walked to the center of the square and stood into a red circle.

“Ka!”

A stone table that rose from the ground, and on the stone table, there were ten medicinal herbs.

I understood at once that this level, was to test our, ability to recognize herbs.

The jianghu is a dangerous place, and in addition to being wary of the elderly, children and women, the one thing you should be most wary of, is poison.

Don’t accept food and drink from others easily, and if you have to eat, test the poison with a silver needle first.

Therefore, every person in the jianghu is instinctively wary of poisons.

But how many people, really know about poisons, about poisonous herbs?

Those who are well versed in the art of healing will be delighted, while those who know nothing about it will have a headache.

I, on the other hand, fall into the former category.

I once said to Ghostbusters:

“When it comes to climbing, swimming, diving, and camping, I dare say I’m a connoisseur in this area, and I can draw a map of the Central Plains with my eyes closed.”

In order to search for the ten thousand year old fire carp, I have traveled all over the hills and mountains of the Central Plains, and I am not only well versed in wilderness survival techniques, but I also know a wide variety of medicinal herbs and poisonous plants.

I can close my eyes and tell the difference between their types and their effects.

So I don’t even need to read the hints my father left.

I confidently picked up an herb that was the only one of the ten that wasn’t poisonous.

“Ka!”

The stone table slowly descended, and then, another stone table rose, and on it, there were still ten medicinal herbs, but the types, were different from the previous ones.

“So it is!”

In order to prevent anyone from getting away with it, this level, twice in a row, requires that the right herb that is not poisonous be chosen.

I can imagine how difficult this level, for others, is.

With ten herbs, only two were not poisonous, and the probability of picking the right one twice in a row was just too low.

If one just picks randomly, then most likely, one will not be able to pass this level for the rest of one’s life.

“Looks like it’s going to have to be the dumbest way possible.”

I know that the right answer to this hurdle is, well, to try it yourself.

The toxicity of those herbs is not fatal, but if you take them wrong, it can make you feel bad for days.

But it is also, the safest way.

If you are lucky, you will soon find herbs that are not poisonous, if you are not lucky, then you will have to try slowly.

I picked up an herb and put it in my mouth, savoring it.

“Well, there’s no poison.”

I picked up an herb again and put it in my mouth.

“Well, it’s not poisonous either.”

Twice in a row, I chose the right herb that wasn’t poisonous, and the stone door to the next level, opened.

I don’t know if there is anyone else out there, who has been able to get through this in one sitting, as I have.

Those who are proficient in the art of poison may be able to, but most of them, should be here, wasting a lot of time.

I walked over to the wall to check out the messages left by the challengers.

“Damn! I’m turning into a poisoner!”

“Which asshole, came up with this kind of trial? Usually, how do we have access to these poisonous herbs?”

“There must be clues that can help us find herbs that aren’t poisonous, we should look into it.”

“I can’t remember, how many times I’ve failed, I really want to, eat all these poisonous herbs, and die once and for all! When I see the Rescue Pill now, it all feels like poison.”

“I should have planned this better, in the first place, I really trust my instincts.”

“I tried ninety-six times before I finally made it, I’m so hard!”

“I ate so much poison ivy my hair fell out ……”

……

At the very end, I found a message from my father.

“Bunch of idiots! Don’t believe in luck.”

I know that my father, from the very beginning, chose the safest method; he tried every poisonous herb, once, and then, memorized their characteristics.

Relying on luck, he knew, would not work.

He said he was in the little sky cave, for two months.

It seemed that even he had spent a lot of time at this level.

Perhaps, he usually studied poisonous herbs, so he was able to find non-poisonous herbs faster.

“Luckily, we, father and son, both kept our hair.”

……

The fourth and final level.

On the stone tablet, it is written:

One, in the phantom array of life and death, survive.

Second, death in a formation is real death.

Third, when you’re ready, stand in the red circle.

I was surprised to find out that this level, in fact, kills people!

The Life and Death Phantom Formation, was an extremely dangerous formation, where death in the formation was equal to true death.

This time, the messages on the wall were all left by those, who had successfully passed the trial.

“It’s so hard, I almost died in it. When I become a Heavenly Demon, I will definitely kill that, the person who designed this formation!”

“It’s horrible, it’s painful ……”

“Damn! Who designed this damn formation?”