Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path

"What about this one?"

Zhou Ping'an pointed to an orange-yellow pill contained in an intricately made semi-transparent jade vial, and asked.

He clearly remembered that among the three jade vials in his arms, there was this type of yellow pill.

There were also two other types: brown and green.

The Fiery Flame Messenger of the Red Lotus Army, despite being a great master well-versed in martial arts, and following a path of strength and ferocity,

shouldn't be expected to carry any poison.

Of course, he wouldn't be carrying any cheap stuff either.

It didn't suit his status.

However, no matter how one might guess, the items in his arms were tonic pills.

Without a clear understanding of their effects, Zhou Ping'an dared not use them.

Even more so, he didn't dare to ask anyone in the Lin Residence.

Raising suspicion without cause could lead to unnecessary trouble.

If it weren't for the "Tidal Breathing Technique" training this time, which greatly depleted his body and clearly lacked nutrition, he wouldn't have made himself noticeable by coming to the Precious Pharmacy.

Given his status, being here was somewhat "odd."

"You're talking about the Bone Tempering Pill? This thing is very beneficial for martial artists at the Bone Tempering Realm.

If used in combination with the Muscle Transforming Pill, it can even rapidly enhance the strength of muscles and bones...

It's just that this medicine is quite expensive, you get what you pay for,"

the woman explained, then pointed to the brown pills beside her.

Clearly, this was the "Muscle Transforming Pill."

With a smile that was not quite a smile, she didn't even bother to mention the price of these two pills.

Obviously, she did not think that Zhou Ping'an could afford them.

Being in the Precious Pharmacy, one naturally couldn't have poor discernment.

She could roughly tell Zhou Ping'an's level of strength.

Pale-faced and oddly thin, he hadn't even properly trained his flesh, let alone talk about Bone Tempering or Muscle Transforming...

If the strength wasn't there, one's status wouldn't be high, and naturally, he wouldn't have much silver.

Quoting a price now would just be a slap in the face, wouldn't it?

'Bone Tempering Pill, Muscle Transforming Pill...'

Zhou Ping'an's heart skipped a beat.

I have these two things.

Regrettably, the purple pill he had acquired from the Fiery Flame Messenger was not to be found in the Precious Pharmacy.

Perhaps it was not a product of the Lin Family's Precious Medicine Pharmacy.

The one that could be found here and that was most helpful to his current situation, the pill that could quickly replenish Qi-Blood and train skin and muscles, was the "Blood Fortifying Pill."

Yet he couldn't afford it.

His thoughts were a mix of various emotions.

Zhou Ping'an's face showed the appropriate hint of regret.

Reluctantly, he bought two packets of Qi Blood Powder, each costing five taels of silver, and left the Precious Pharmacy.

He felt rather dejected.

Having come all this way, it wouldn't make sense not to buy anything.

Besides, the Qi Blood Powder, although much weaker than the Blood Fortifying Pill, could still somewhat replenish his depleted Qi-Blood.

This could be inferred from the price of these medicines.

Even the most meager cultivation medicines weren't accessible to ordinary folk.

Ordinary people wanting to succeed in martial arts either had to trade their lives for it, or painstakingly invest time enduring hardship.

They might even end up harming themselves in the process.

...

The world was always like this, the strong take everything while the weak endure immense hardship.

What's the use of saying "Even a prince or general has to be born into their rank?"

There actually is something to it.

Being reborn is the greatest skill.

Those stories about "a golden phoenix flying out of a chicken coop" are sung of for ages.

Because they are so exceedingly rare...

...

He found a restaurant, ate hurriedly.

On his way back, he saw a candy vendor's stall.

Zhou Ping'an thought it over and bought a small sugar rabbit.

It was well past noon, and Little Jiu Girl was likely to be playing around and might even run over to his courtyard.

If she knew he had left the residence and hadn't brought her something back, she would definitely be upset.

...

Passing by a narrow alley, Zhou Ping'an paused and subtly swayed his body to hide behind a large sophora tree on the side of the road.

His sense of smell had always been rather sensitive.

Just now, carried by the wind, he caught a whiff of a nauseating scent of blood.

It was a smell he was intimately familiar with.

Only a few days ago, he had smelled it on the battlefield.

Encountering such an incident on his first shortcut back to the Lin Residence, Zhou Ping'an sighed inwardly, held his breath, and hid to the side.

He didn't want to meddle in any messy affairs.

He had already made out that the direction from which the stench of blood came was the small courtyard opposite the large locust tree...

"Tell me, who sneaked into Qingyang City originally? After the Fiery Flame Messenger was defeated, who was in charge of scavenging the battlefield within the city?"

A cold voice reached his ears.

"This..."

Zhou Ping'an's heart shook.

"It was the City Guards, Tian Baoyi's personal troops, and the Lin Residence Family Generals, leading the charge..."

The voice drifted on the wind, thick with a local accent, making it hard for Zhou Ping'an to catch it clearly.

He heard the cold voice ask a few more questions, and the smell of blood in the air grew even thicker.

He waited a long time, until no more sound came from within the courtyard walls.

Seeing that there was no one around, Zhou Ping'an moved lightly on his feet, his mood heavy as he headed towards Lin Residence.

...

"Is this for me?"

As soon as Zhou Ping'an entered the East Cross Courtyard, he spotted an orange tiger head hat.

The little girl's hat was askew, a few strands of black hair escaping, as she stood with her head lowered, kicking at the foxtails growing in the corner of the wall.

When she heard footsteps and turned her head to look, her sullen face immediately bloomed into a smile.

She was clearly delighted at the sight of the rabbit-shaped candy in Zhou Ping'an's hand.

Taking the "sugar bunny," Xiao Jiu stuck out her tongue, licked the figure, and said with a candy-filled, muffled laugh, "Sister won't let me go out these days, I was so sad.

Couldn't eat candy or listen to old man with the white beard tell stories."

"It's good Brother Ping'an remembered to buy me candy..."

As she spoke, the little girl suddenly stopped.

She looked carefully at Zhou Ping'an, her mouth gaping open as her eyes filled with sadness.

"It's okay, it's okay. I became much stronger after practice yesterday, maybe a bit thinner, but my spirit..."

Zhou Ping'an quickly reassured her.

His current appearance made it obvious to anyone that he was sick.

And not just a little sick.

He truly didn't know that practicing the Tidal Breathing Technique would scour his bones and marrow, burning up his essence.

As for the little girl,

She likely didn't know that some people practicing breath control techniques had no elixirs to replenish their Qi-Blood.

It was not common knowledge to her.

Usually, people around her, including the little girl herself, would grow stronger as they practiced the Tidal Breathing Technique; it was normal not to consider this aspect.

"It's all my fault."

Xiao Jiu seemed to remember something.

Dropping the sentence, she turned and ran off.

After a while, she returned, slightly out of breath, and said with a wide grin, "Here, the red one is a Blood Fortifying Pill, used for strengthening, good for replenishing Qi-Blood. The green one in this vial, now that's something fierce."

The little girl was somewhat proud.

"Last time I overheard my sister say this is called the Blue Wave Pill, good for consolidating the foundation. It's very beneficial for breaking through to the Blood Exchange Realm.

My sister took just two pills and already completed her Blood Renewal. She's preparing to break through to an even higher level soon..."

Unintentionally revealing some of her sister's secrets, Xiao Jiu felt a bit embarrassed and stuck out her tongue.

She didn't continue but urged him instead.

"Hurry up and eat it, there might just be this one Blue Wave Pill left. If you don't eat it, my sister might give it to that chatterbox Lin Ziqi."

While talking, the little girl, like an adult, poured out the green pill, held it in her hand, tiptoed, and reached out to feed it to him.

She also scanned around like a thief, worried that someone might jump out and snatch her elixir.

"No, this, Xiao Jiu, you didn't steal this, did you?"

Zhou Ping'an was feeling somewhat embarrassed, despite his thick skin.

He had glanced over and seen that there were as many as ten Blood Fortifying Pills in the half-transparent Jade Vial, the kind sold in the Precious Pharmacy for fifty taels of silver each.

The green pill, with its extraordinary fragrance, was placed in an even more exquisitely crafted bottle.

It was obviously far more precious.

Not just compared to the Blood Fortifying Pills, but even to the Bone Tempering Blade and Muscle Transforming Pills, they were likely incomparable.

Didn't the little girl just say? Her sister took just two pills and achieved Blood Exchange Mastery.

She is even preparing to advance to a higher level.

"I didn't steal it, I found it by my bed."

Xiao Jiu was upset.

With a pout, she said indignantly:

"If you're not going to eat it, then I don't want your rabbit candy either."

She reluctantly took the red bunny candy from her mouth, offering to give it back to Zhou Ping'an.

"Eat, I'll eat it, okay?"

Watching the tears starting to well in the little girl's eyes, as she looked ready to sever ties,

Zhou Ping'an's head throbbed in pain.

But his heart was melting.

He had no choice but to take the green pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Whether it was precious or not wasn't really the point.

In any case, he owed too much.

He'll repay it later.