"Here, one for each person."
Because he hadn't taken the one from before, Chen Junting had a total of thirteen Qiankun Creation Pills on hand, and there were eleven of them, so there was no need to worry about anyone not getting one.
Thus, under everyone's expectant gaze, the moment the gourd lid was opened, a strange fragrance drifted out. This fragrance wasn't rich, but it was extremely penetrating.
Everyone smelled it at the very first moment; a tingling sensation on their scalps followed, and then a refreshing feeling as if all the pores in their bodies had opened up. Even Ning Tian and Chen Junting, who had experienced it once before, were no exception.
Soon, one pill per person was distributed into their hands. However, for Xiao Xiao, Nan Qiuqiu, and Jing Ziyan, besides the pill, Chen Junting also took out three jade bottles.
"What are these for?"
Seeing that all three of them were given a jade bottle, Xiao Xiao and the other two couldn't help but feel puzzled. As the one who refined the pills and had tried them beforehand, Chen Junting naturally provided an explanation.
"The Qiankun Creation Pill is refined from more than forty types of heavenly treasures, and its medicinal efficacy is absolutely domineering and terrifying. Back then, when Xiao Tian and I were fortunate enough to share one due to the divine trials, we didn't dare take it lightly either. So, for the three of you—Xiao Xiao—because your cultivations are lower, I must require you to take this pill in batches. Otherwise, being unable to contain the medicinal power and causing it to leak would be a minor issue; the main worry is that the massive energy contained within will directly burst your bodies."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the rest of the group.
"As for the rest of you... whether you take the whole pill or take it in batches, it's up to you. Anyway, my advice is that unless your physical strength and your body's frequency of absorbing energy have both reached the level of a Super Douluo, it's still better to take it in batches."
Since he had put it this way, everyone naturally made their own judgments. Gu Tianchen, Wu Feng, Huo Yuhao, and Ye Guyi didn't make a move; on the other hand, Dugu Xin and Ji Juechen, after thinking for a moment, took out jade bottles from their respective storage soul tools.
So next, the five who chose to take it in batches filled their jade bottles with enough clear water and dropped the Qiankun Creation Pill into them. To prevent the medicinal efficacy from dissipating, after dropping the pill in, they immediately covered the lid. It wasn't until the pill had completely dissolved, presenting strange scenes within the bottles, that they hurriedly opened them, completing the actions of swallowing and closing their mouths at the fastest speed, without the slightest delay, for fear that even a little bit of medicinal power would leak.
Seeing this, Gu Tianchen and the other four also put the pills into their mouths. The pills were bland and tasteless but melted instantly upon entering the mouth, quickly flowing down into their stomachs.
It seemed that the speed at which it flowed into their stomachs was too fast; before they even had time to further feel it, almost instantly, they all felt a scorching aura rise up, instantly spreading throughout their bodies.
After clearly feeling the medicinal efficacy, they immediately sat down cross-legged and began to meditate, trying to use their soul power to stimulate the medicinal power.
But before they could act, Chen Junting's reminder clearly came to their ears, "Don't choose to use your soul power to resist or guide it; that's completely useless. Just meditate and enjoy it."
Although they didn't understand, everyone subconsciously did as they were told.
In less than a second, they immediately understood what Chen Junting meant. Indeed, there was no need to use their soul power to stimulate it at all; after that medicinal power was suddenly released, it was simply everywhere. The terrifying medicinal power domineeringly assaulted their meridians, and all everyone could see was a sea of gold.
As temporary bystanders who chose not to take the Qiankun Creation Pill with them in order to stand guard, Chen Junting and Ning Tian saw their changes most clearly.
After everyone drank the medicinal liquid or took the pill, a faint golden light emerged on each of their bodies. This golden light was not soul power, but an intermittent airflow.
Moreover, within the entire courtyard, the medicinal fragrance that had leaked out when the gourd was opened earlier did not fade because they had taken the pills. On the contrary, the fragrance became even richer. And this time, the fragrance was being released outward from everyone's bodies.
Seeing this, Chen Junting waved his right hand, and array patterns instantly locked down the entire courtyard, completely isolating it from the outside world. No matter how much the medicinal fragrance permeated the air, not a single trace could be allowed to leak out; it could be used to benefit everyone.
Even if they couldn't use it, there were still the sect disciples.
Such a good thing couldn't be wasted at all.
As time passed, different situations arose as everyone refined the medicinal liquid or the pill. Nan Qiuqiu and Jing Ziyan, perhaps because they swallowed a bit too much medicinal liquid in one gulp, coupled with the fact that their cultivations were the lowest among the group, were in a somewhat bad situation. The golden light all over their bodies was extremely intense; on their exposed skin, one could vaguely see golden light flowing within their blood vessels, and their bodies were trembling violently.
In short, the domineering medicinal power of the liquid was running rampant within them, wreaking havoc wildly. Although it was constantly improving their meridians and elevating their soul power, it was also dealing a massive impact to them. Their entire bodies even swelled up a size, like a bomb that could explode at any moment.
Therefore, to prevent accidents, Chen Junting and Ning Tian acted as firefighters—one responsible for Nan Qiuqiu, the other for Jing Ziyan—protecting their meridians and guiding the medicinal power.
"Xiao Tian, Ziyan is yours, I'll handle Qiuqiu."
"Okay."
Ning Tian agreed readily, then took the initiative to summon her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. First, a few buffs rained down, strengthening all aspects of the two girls, thereby ensuring the stability and robustness of their bodies.
After doing this, Chen Junting and Ning Tian then placed their palms against the two girls' backs respectively. Based on their own previous experience of absorbing the medicinal liquid, they directly used their respective soul power to wrap around the girls' meridians and, on the premise of ensuring they wouldn't be torn apart by the medicinal power, began to forcefully guide the domineering medicinal power of the Qiankun Creation Pill.
This action instantly caused the medicinal power to go into a "stress response"!
As it violently dashed about, "Hmph—" ×2.
Both Chen Junting and Ning Tian's faces turned pale, and they let out muffled groans.
"Serves you two right for being greedy."
Regardless of whether they could hear him or not, Chen Junting scolded them first. Of course, his hand movements were not slow either.
If the medicinal power was domineering, his soul power was even more domineering. Like tens of thousands of divine swords, it constantly encircled and wiped out the medicinal power of the Qiankun Creation Pill within Nan Qiuqiu's meridians, forcing it to rapidly circulate along the route mapped out by Chen Junting.
And this was the reason he chose Nan Qiuqiu. At the very least, a soul master who possessed a Sub-Dragon species Martial Soul and majored in her Martial Soul would have much better physical constitution than Jing Ziyan, a soul engineer who possessed a weapon-type Martial Soul and majored in soul tools.
Otherwise, Nan Qiuqiu wouldn't have been able to accept Chen Junting's help and would have had to wait for Ning Tian. Because compared to Chen Junting's domineering and fierce soul power, Ning Tian's soul power nature was the warmer and gentler kind. Especially after receiving the God of Love's inheritance, her soul power's approach to the medicinal power was more like persuading it to run quickly along a fixed circulation route, rather than driving it from behind with swords and blades.
As time passed minute by minute, the medicinal power within Nan Qiuqiu and Jing Ziyan also began to calm down. It was also instinctive; the two girls let out a sigh of relief from their mouths, their own soul power began to flow within their bodies again, and the medicinal power was rapidly absorbed by them.
Of course, the medicinal power was inevitably depleted by a fraction.
A few minutes later, seeing that Nan Qiuqiu and Jing Ziyan's situations had basically stabilized, Chen Junting and Ning Tian withdrew their palms and continued to observe the changes in the others.
Gu Tianchen, who had just reached Level 96 a few days ago, broke through again, directly reaching Level 97, and his momentum didn't decrease, continuing to climb toward the Level 98 tier; the Level 94 Huo Yuhao directly broke through to become a Super Douluo, his chilling aura and spiritual power beginning to overflow uncontrollably, but he was locked down by Ning Tian, who was closest to him; Wu Feng naturally received the same treatment, as the aura of Ultimate Fire directly caused the temperature to soar, and fearing she would affect the others, Chen Junting directly locked her down, letting Wu Feng stay by herself in what was practically a steamer; Ye Guyi, on the other hand, was fine—her breakthrough didn't have the same commotion as Huo Yuhao's and Wu Feng's, but her whole person was rendered in a quiet and peaceful state, and of course, not lacking in a sacred meaning.
As for Ji Juechen and Dugu Xin, under the effect of the medicinal power, the two directly replicated the method of breaking through to Titled Douluo from ten thousand years ago; relying on a massive accumulation of energy, they broke through directly to Level 90 without condensing a soul core, just one soul ring away from becoming a Titled Douluo. As for Xiao Xiao, she also began advancing toward Titled Douluo, but because she was cautious and swallowed less than half of the medicinal liquid, she plateaued at Level 80-nine.
For the remaining step to Level 90, she could either choose to continue taking the medicinal liquid to forcefully break through, or she could directly prepare to condense a soul core to break through. After all, for her, it was almost enough.
As time passed, the process of everyone completely absorbing the medicinal power and fully waking up seemed to take a full day. Among them, the four who had swallowed the whole Qiankun Creation Pill took the longest, followed by Dugu Xin and Ji Juechen, who had swallowed two-thirds of the medicinal liquid, and then Xiao Xiao and the rest.
By the time everyone's situation had stabilized, Nan Qiuqiu and Jing Ziyan's cultivations had reached Level 80, and they began to advance toward the official Soul Douluo realm using either the method of self-condensing soul rings or the method of soul spirits granting soul rings. After finishing absorbing their soul rings, their cultivations settled at Level 80-two and eighty-three respectively.
"Eh—, why am I so sticky."
Nan Qiuqiu woke up leisurely, but at the first moment noticed something wrong with her body. But before she could figure out what it was, a figure next to her suddenly jumped up, almost startling her, who was completely unprepared.
"What's going on?"
Just as the question left her mouth, she heard Ning Tian's voice, "After entering the door, turn left on the first floor; that room is a bathroom specially prepared for staying guests, there are new towels and toiletries inside."
Hearing this, Nan Qiuqiu looked in the direction, but only saw Jing Ziyan's back.
Because the medicinal power of the Qiankun Creation Pill had forced out all the impurities in her body, her whole body was covered in a layer of filth, constantly emitting an unpleasant smell.
Presumably, it was because in the past in the Sun Moon Empire, she would usually rely on the power of pills during cultivation, coupled with an irregular schedule due to researching soul tools... under the superposition of various factors, the "toxins" accumulated in her body were naturally far greater than others.
So this time, it could be considered a thorough cleansing for her.
As for Nan Qiuqiu and Xiao Xiao, their situations were better, just a bit sticky. So after saying goodbye to Chen Junting and Ning Tian, they couldn't wait to return to their residences, preparing to wash up first, and then consolidate their gains this time; Xiao Xiao, in particular, was preparing to condense her soul core as soon as she recovered her state.
The remaining few also wanted to go back to wash and then consolidate their cultivations. Gu Tianchen directly reached Level 98, Huo Yuhao stepped up to Level 97, and Ye Guyi and Wu Feng even reached Level 96. It was just that Ye Guyi's aura was much thicker, seemingly not far from Level 97, whereas Wu Feng seemed to still have quite a distance to go before Level 97.
As for Ji Juechen, he had already broken through smoothly, and relying on the self-condensing soul ring method, condensed a vicious beast-level soul ring. His cultivation was only a step away from Super Douluo; roughly, once he condensed his soul core, he could reach Level 95.
In contrast, Dugu Xin was interrupted by Chen Junting. Therefore, he was also the first to wake up after Xiao Xiao and the others.
"How do you feel?"
After everyone else had left, including Jing Ziyan who had washed up right here, Chen Junting looked at Dugu Xin and asked with concern.
A smile tugged at the corner of Dugu Xin's mouth. "Very good."
Just then, Ning Tian brought out tea from inside the room and poured a cup for each of them. After Chen Junting picked it up and took a sip, he looked at Dugu Xin, who was still blowing on his tea. "You should know why I interrupted you when you were about to condense your soul ring, right?"
"Of course."
Saying this, Dugu Xin recalled what happened a few years ago. To be honest, if it hadn't been for Chen Junting's interruption, he would have almost subconsciously been unable to resist condensing his soul ring, throwing the words from a few years ago to the back of his mind. If that had happened, it would have caused trouble all over again.
"Then let's talk about your ninth soul ring next."
Chen Junting beckoned with his hand, and patterns manifested one after another, drifting toward Dugu Xin. Dugu Xin reached out, letting these patterns fall into his palm, and then listened attentively.
He heard Chen Junting say, "These patterns were reversed by me based on the Youxiang Qiluo Fairy Herb's effect of being immune to all poisons. If you can engrave them onto your ninth soul ring, perhaps your poison will be able to absorb all poisons. Secondly, I hope your ninth soul ring is condensed by tracing back your bloodline."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Dugu Xin suddenly felt doubtful.
Why was that?
Because he was confident that among his ancestors, almost none could achieve his level of accomplishment. Of course, this so-called accomplishment was not limited to cultivation and realm, but the power of soul skills, the power of the Martial Soul, the power of attributes...
To this, Chen Junting simply asked in return, "Do you know that ten thousand years ago, Dugu Bo had a soul skill called 'Time Freeze'?"
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