Level Up in Martial World

Lu Zhen and Jiang Xue, along with everyone from her force, traveled through the forest.

"We're heading back to my city, Phoenix City," he called out. "Do you know the way, Jui Luli?"

"Umm, actually, I don't," she replied.

"I know, brother-in-law!" Yin Li raised her hand, her face lit with excitement.

"Oh? You're certainly enthusiastic. Fine, then, you can lead the way. As for me, I have something important to take care of, so I'll head to the carriage," Lu Zhen said, waving his hand.

"Okay! Have a good rest."

Yin Li chuckled proudly, thumping her chest with confidence.

"No, Yin Li, you can't do this, you only just recovered from your injuries," Jui Luli interrupted, a frown on her face.

"It's fine. I absolutely can do this and I will."

She spoke proudly, a hint of arrogance in her tone. "Besides, Brother Lu Zhen gave me a pill that not only completely healed my injuries, but also boosted my cultivation a bit. So now I can fight as much as I want."

"Is that true, Lu Zhen?"

"Yeah," Lu Zhen replied with a shrug, then turned and walked into the carriage, settling into a cross-legged position.

He closed his mind and calmed his heart, recalling everything from the beginning. The reason Lu Zhen hadn't used his formula earlier was because it might have prompted that Separation and Unity Martial Artist to change his mind—and uncover a secret.

After all, in the face of greater benefits, few could truly remain calm. Better safe than sorry, right?

Lu Zhen then took out the stone. He had only unlocked sixteen of its seals, many still remaining.

'Sigh… when will I finally unlock everything this stone holds?' he wondered.

Lu Zhen took out the ring he had received from the Alchemist. These were the only two sources of power he currently possessed that might have even the slightest chance of removing the accursed force from his body.

He raised his hand and pointed in front of him, channeling his plant Qi from deep within. The energy flowed to his palm in a precise, intricate pattern.

"Formula Twenty-Two: Absolute Resonance," he uttered.

In response, glowing green words materialized from his hand and drifted slowly toward the ring.

Puff!

Lu Zhen suddenly coughed up blood and nearly collapsed on the spot. That invisible power surged again, punishing him with a vicious backlash for using his Qi.

But at the same time, the bindings on the ring snapped open.

"Finally," Lu Zhen muttered.

Still on his knees, he looked at the ring with a flicker of excitement and picked it up to examine its contents. Raising the ring to his forehead, he let it touch his skin.

A strand of plant Qi stirred within him, and in an instant, Lu Zhen could see everything stored within the ring, his brows lifted in surprise.

"Oh, I hit the gold mine."

It didn't just contain pill formulas, nearly everything one could imagine was stored inside.

Lu Zhen couldn't help but exhale a breath of cold air as the sheer scope of the contents unfolded before him.

Guiding another strand of energy, he withdrew a book from the ring and began to read.

It was a recipe for a Death Pill.

Once consumed, the pill would allow the user to unleash all of their potential and strength in a single burst, their power reaching terrifying levels. However, once the effect wore off, the user would be as good as dead.

Lu Zhen only glanced at the book for a moment before shaking his head with a tired sigh.

"Even retrieving things from the spatial ring is getting difficult now…"

"I remember that when I was first injured by this, I could still use some of my Qi without much backlash, but now, things have only gotten worse."

His frown deepened at the thought.

"This energy inside me… it's not fading. It's growing the longer it stays."

Clenching his teeth, Lu Zhen immediately got to work.

First, Lu Zhen took out all the pill recipes stored in the ring and began contemplating a solution for his injuries.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, a week had already gone by.

Their caravan finally came to a stop at a new location.

Jui Luli stepped out of her carriage and glanced around at the surroundings, her expression unreadable.

"What's wrong, Big Sis?" Yin Li asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing," Jui Luli replied coldly. "Call that person. He's been holed up inside the carriage for too long."

"Oh."

Yin Li grinned from ear to ear. "So that's why Big Sis has been in such a sour mood, huh? I get it now."

As they were talking, a tall man stepped out of the carriage, Lu Zhen, dark circles shadowed his eyes.

"Eh? Brother Lu Zhen!" Yin Li's eyes lit up, and she quickly walked over with a cheerful smile. "Brother, what happened to you?"

Lu Zhen had spent the entire past week immersed in the Alchemist's knowledge, devouring every journal, memorizing every technique, and refining every theory on pill crafting. Now, he stood at a level equal to that mysterious alchemist.

"No... I'm stronger," he muttered, shaking his head. "I have a 100% success rate with any pill."

He hadn't actually crafted any of the pills yet, but his confidence stemmed from his unique skill, a cheat that allowed him to receive the assistance of heaven itself to refine it.

"I've already thought of the perfect solution," Lu Zhen murmured to himself, "but to achieve it, I'll need to use plant Qi."

A frown tugged at his thoughts.

"Shouldn't we enter now, Brother Lu Zhen?" Yin Li's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

He looked ahead. A small city lay in front of them, smaller than the last one, almost comparable in size to his own Phoenix City.

"Why are we stopping here?" he asked.

"Shouldn't we rest and stock up?" she replied.

"No. We're heading straight to our hometown," Lu Zhen said firmly, shaking his head with resolve.

"But… but—"

"No buts. We can rest and stock up all we want."

With that, Lu Zhen turned and walked into the carriage. One by one, he began pulling out supplies and resources, stacking them with methodical precision.