Chapter 526: Plentiful Peace Hall
Drenched in sweat!
Xia Fei had known that learning the Law of Energy Purification would not be easy, but he had not expected it to be this difficult!
As the pattern took form in his seventh brain region, silver threads of energy began to weave to and fro like a b.u.t.terfly dancing amid flowers, drawing out a profound and complex design.
At the start, none of this was too different from cultivating the Law of s.p.a.ce. Although the energy expenditure was high, this was no obstacle to Xia Fei.
When this pattern reached about one-fifth completion, the situation suddenly changed!
Those threads of energy began breaking free of Xia Fei’s control! It was as if some invisible power was preventing Xia Fei from forming the pattern.
This was not even the most difficult part. What was most difficult was that his body had become scalding hot, his body temperature rapidly rising. Xia Fei felt like he was in the middle of lava and his organs were burning!
His cells began to work faster, and sweat started seeping out of his forehead and from his armpits.
An immense pain caused Xia Fei to almost lose his mind!
Incredible endurance pushed Xia Fei forward, but just because he endured the pain did not mean that there was no pain. Excessively suppressing one wave of intense pain would only mean that the next wave was stronger!
His face went ghastly pale!
Xia Fei had no other choice except to stop cultivating.
Lighting a cigarette, Xia Fei undid his clothes to let himself cool down.
“This isn’t a question of endurance. I’m confident that no one in the path of cultivation has a tougher resolve than you. It feels like your method has been wrong from the very beginning,” Phantom said.
Xia Fei replied, “I understand that too. Using the wrong method to cultivate will often have one stray from the path, that’s why I stopped. It seems that it’s not for naught that Energy Masters are the most brilliant existences in the Law Realm. The Law of Energy Purification is clearly much more difficult to cultivate than the Law of s.p.a.ce or Law of Primal Chaos.
The Law of s.p.a.ce, the Law of Time, and the Law of Matter were known as the Three Great Laws!
There were several dozen levels to them. One started at a level 1 Law Warrior, and when one cultivated to level 9, one could advance to a Law Sovereign; after which, one had to work from level 1 Law Sovereign again until they became a Law Emperor.
The Law of Primal Chaos and Law of Energy Purification were considered special laws. There were nine levels in all, and at level 9, one’s cultivation was complete.
Not even the Law of Primal Chaos that Xia Fei had received from the G.o.ds of Black and White had caused him this much pain when cultivating; the first Primal Chaos pattern had very naturally formed in his brain.
Of course, his attempts to cultivate to level 2 after had been at least ten times more difficult! Therefore, his speed had plunged.
Any law that was infused with primal chaos energy would be twisted, and one’s fighting power would be multiplied by two or three times. One might even be able to change the nature of matter itself!
Given how powerful the Law of Primal Chaos was, Xia Fei could accept the slow progress he was making with it. While he could at least make out the way ahead with the Law of Primal Chaos, he had actually made zero progress with the Law of Energy Purification at all. There was this fundamental difference between the two.
Phantom frowned. “I know of one method that can greatly lower the pain caused by the burning in your body, but the forming of the Law pattern will depend on your efforts.”
Xia Fei was stunned. That burning sensation alone had almost burned his body to ash. If there really was a way to lower his body temperature rapidly, that was a good thing. Currently, he had to deal with the two problems of managing his internal body temperature and the fine control of drawing the pattern. If he could resolve one, he had a chance—a chance to become a supreme Energy Master!
Without the heat worrying him, Xia Fei could entirely focus on forming the Law.
“Can you really control my body temperature?” Xia Fei hastily asked.
Phantom smugly smiled. “Why would I lie? I learned a drug-concocting method ten thousand times better than the one from my previous life from Sentinel G.o.ddess Sophie’s databanks. Controlling body temperature is a minor matter for me.
“My method can be considered fine and delicate. If you can find an extremely cold place to cultivate, while the external temperature is very low, your insides will still be burning up. You won’t be able to resolve the problem of the heat produced from your cells working too quickly.
“If you take the drug I prescribe, your body’s temperature will remain identical to the external temperature without a problem.”
Xia Fei firmly nodded. He did not easily believe others, but he trusted Phantom entirely. After all, this unfortunate a.s.sa.s.sin had already become a part of him.
“Alright, we’ll go out shopping for the ingredients tomorrow!” Xia Fei declared.
…
The city Xia Fei resided in was built for basic Law Warriors to cultivate in. It was a small city with few stores. If he wanted to buy something actually, he would need to go to the Yu family’s main city.
The main city was home to six to seven hundred thousand people and congregated the vast majority of the clan’s resources. It was a modernized city in the truest sense, home to stores, amus.e.m.e.nt parks, libraries, theaters… It could even compare to the bustling cities found in the Alliance.
Still, the buildings here were rather interesting. Skysc.r.a.pers could be next to elegant old-fas.h.i.+on parks, and next to the parks could be a modern seven-story overpa.s.s.
The fusion of ancient and modern gave off an indescribably bizarre feeling.
Xia Fei had felt the same way when he had gone to the Mu family’s main city. It was as if the Law Realm was a place where the ancient and modern day were brought together.
The people of the Law Realm normally used energy bikes to get around. These bikes had smooth outer appearance like that of a beetle, and they came in different sizes. They relied on Origin Crystals for power, with a basic red stone able to power a bike for several months.
Xia Fei was a speed ability user, so he naturally did not need some method of transportation. To him, several hundred kilometers was the distance of a leisurely stroll, done in an instant. This was why so many people envied speed ability users. Distance essentially did not exist for them.
Apothecaries were an extremely ancient profession which also existed in the Law Realm, though there were few of them, and they were rather unremarkable existences.
But being unremarkable did not mean that apothecaries had a low status. After all, in the Law Realm, energy was in the mainstream. Making a living as an apothecary was extremely difficult, and one had to be extremely skilled to survive in the middle of energy masters and high-tech treatment centers.
Every apothecary of the Law Realm had their specialty, special skills that Origin Energy or modern medicine could not replace. Apothecaries were either complete unknowns, who spent their entire lives treating coughs and colds for the common folk, or heaven ascendants and masters of particular fields, who enjoyed both wealth and fame!
Xia Fei came to a small shabby four-story building in the city. This was the only medicinal ingredient store in the Yu family, and it was where several apothecaries saw patients.
The front courtyard was rather desolate. A golden signboard partially obscured by ivy declared that this place was called ‘Plentiful Peace Hall’.
Phantom pursed his lips. “To think that the apothecary profession had fallen so low in the Law Realm. My master Moonshadow is the most respected person in the sect precisely because his understanding of herbs is far more than an ordinary person can achieve.”
Xia Fei smiled and nonchalantly said, “This place isn’t the Alliance, and adepts rarely rely on drugs to advance. Instead, they use Origin Energy. Apothecaries can only serve as a support, so it’s understandable that their status is lower.”
Walking through the empty courtyard into the main lobby, he saw two old men chatting on a sofa. At the counter was a woman in her twenties, the only employee of Plentiful Peace Hall.
The old men glanced at Xia Fei as he came in. Few adepts in the Law Realm sought the aid of apothecaries, so Xia Fei’s appearance piqued their curiosity.
Xia Fei went up to the counter, and the woman behind it put down the magazine in her hand and calmly said, “Good sir, are you here to buy medicinal ingredients or seek consultation from an apothecary?”
Xia Fei replied, “Buying ingredients; I have a list.”
He took out his prepared list and handed it over. “If the names aren’t right, I’ve also added notes. Thank you for the trouble.”
Lightly stroking his spatial ring, Xia Fei took out a few fruits from Earth. “A small gift from my hometown. If you don’t want them, then please treat it as a mere jest.”
There was no problem with giving too many gifts. Xia Fei kept this principle no matter where he went, even when it came to buying medicinal ingredients.
The woman smiled sweetly. The candied fruits from Beijing’s Daoxiangcun had a tempting color, and all women liked eating snacks, this one being no exception. She naturally felt much friendlier to Xia Fei.
“Please wait a moment there. I will go to the storehouse to get the items you need.”
Xia Fei nodded and walked over to the sofa to wait.
There was a tea set and hot water on the coffee table. With nothing to do, Xia Fei brewed himself a pot of tieguanyin, sipping on it as he waited for his order to be filled.
Tieguanyin had a very thick aroma, and the two old men sitting on the side quickly sniffed it.
“What an alluring fragrance, strong and rich while not losing out on freshness. Kid, what tea is this?” A hawk-nosed old man peered over and asked.
“Tieguanyin, from my hometown. Would you two like to try some?”
“Oh, so you’re an Adept from the Alliance. Since it’s a product of your hometown, then we won’t stand on ceremony.”
The two elders invited Xia Fei to sit with them, and when Xia Fei heard that they were talking about pharmacology, he became very interested. He came over with the teapot and served the tea to them.
Tieguanyin had a very unique aroma, and the two elders were full of praise for it. Through their conversation, Xia Fei learned that these two men were called Zhuo Sen and Yu Kaixuan. They were both apothecaries, and because they did not have any business, they decided to sit and chat about a certain prescription.
After idly chatting for a while, the two apothecaries continued to discuss the problem that they had just been talking about, with Xia Fei listening on the side.
Let alone Phantom, even Xia Fei, a beginner when it came to pharmacology, could not stand to listen to them talk about this problem. If the method they were discussing were to be used to treat someone with a damaged seventh brain region, it was more likely to result in a kill than cure.
Xia Fei’s brain region had once been damaged, so he had a rather deep understanding of this field. In the field of medicine, it was not unheard of to use medicine that hurt as much as it helped, but it should not be used in such a haphazard and fantastical manner as they proposed, or else chaos would ensue.
“Gentlemen, the medicinal properties of the Hundred Pace Red is too fierce, and it’s not proper to mix it with the Sultan Gra.s.s. Why not exchange the Hundred Pace Red for seventy percent purity Small Net Red?”
Xia Fei spoke very politely, and the two elders were startled and began to ponder Xia Fei’s proposal.
Suddenly, an icy-cold voice came from behind them. “Hundred Pace Red switched out for Small Net Red extract? Are you trying to save someone or kill someone?”