Pretty Boy

Having swallowed the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit, the damage to his foundation had completely healed, yet Qin Sang's brows remained tightly furrowed. In the dim cave dwelling, Qin Sang looked down at his sea of qi, silent for a long time. His foundation had recovered, but his sea of qi and meridians were locked by the restrictive talisman. Spiritual power could neither flow out nor enter, making it impossible to circulate his cultivation method and replenish that missing trace of spiritual power. Ingesting spirit pills or absorbing spirit stones also could not breach the restrictive talisman's seal, blocked entirely outside the sea of qi. It was equivalent to expanding a bottle's capacity while welding the cap shut. If he attempted Core Formation first and waited for the spiritual power infusion—by which time his golden core would already be near completion—to break the talisman and replenish the missing spiritual power afterward, would it adversely affect the golden core? The order of operations was likely not something he could be careless about. Moreover, Qin Sang was far from certain that the spiritual power infusion would even guarantee breaking the talisman. After several fruitless attempts, Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then opened his Qianjun Ring and retrieved the jade vial containing the Three Light Jade Liquid. If Yunyouzi had not exaggerated before, the Three Light Jade Liquid was beyond comparison to any ordinary elixir. The Spirit-Gathering Alms Bowl gathered the essence of heaven and earth to produce the jade liquid, which nourished the origin from the inside out. Providing an extraordinarily boundless vitality that operated at the foundational origin level, it ought to be able to bypass the restrictive talisman's seal. The Three Light Jade Liquid was exceedingly precious; before finding the Spirit-Gathering Alms Bowl, it could never be replicated. Qin Sang had only this small half-vial, a portion of which had to be saved for the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid. With every drop used, there was one fewer drop remaining. Such a divine medicine was meant to save his life in a critical moment. Now, standing at the crux of Core Formation, his situation was hardly different from a life-or-death juncture. Without breaking through, he had no future; no matter how reluctant he was to part with it, he had to give it a try. *Pop!* The vial was uncapped. More carefully than he had ever been in his life, Qin Sang slowly tipped out a single drop from the jade vial. The green liquid radiated an extraordinarily rich life force. Inhaling just a wisp of its scent, Qin Sang felt thoroughly invigorated throughout his whole body. At that moment, in a corner of the cave dwelling, several blades of green grass grew between the cracks in the stone. One that had withered and drooped swiftly straightened its stalk and leaned toward the center of the cave, seemingly yearning for it. The other grasses grew even more vibrant and lush with vitality. Sensing the aura of the Three Light Jade Liquid once more, Qin Sang could not help but marvel. Wrapping the single drop with his spiritual sense, he finally drew it into his mouth. *Boom!* The moment the jade liquid entered his body, dense vitality exploded outward. "Ah..." Qin Sang let out a low groan, almost tempted to dance with joy. He felt as though every cell in his body was leaping in delight, restored to its optimal state. An unprecedented sense of comfort washed through his entire being. The feeling surged so swiftly and fiercely that he was caught completely off guard, utterly intoxicated and unable to tear himself away. Qin Sang steadied his mind and immediately used his inner vision to examine his sea of qi. To his pleasant surprise, after the Three Light Jade Liquid entered his body, the spiritual power in his sea of qi inexplicably grew by a sliver, replenishing the deficiency. His sea of qi was now truly consummate! However, the effects of the Three Light Jade Liquid had not ended yet. Boundless vitality continued to roam within Qin Sang's body. Just then, Qin Sang suddenly felt an intense itch spreading from his left shoulder. Noticing the strange change in his left shoulder, Qin Sang hurriedly pulled his attention outward. Reaching over, he pulled back the clothing over his left shoulder, only to see shimmering green light flickering at the healed wound of the empty stump. That green light represented the power of the Three Light Jade Liquid! At this sight, Qin Sang's heart stirred. He quickly channeled a physical regeneration technique. The inexplicable obstruction at the wound vanished, and buds of fresh flesh began to squirm and grow. At the same time, the gathered power of the jade liquid inside him finally found an outlet, surging toward his left arm and accelerating the severed limb's regrowth. For cultivators at or above the Foundation Establishment stage, physical regeneration was not difficult to achieve. Before this, however, Qin Sang had tried various flesh-regrowth arts and consumed an assortment of healing pills to no avail. Qin Sang had known that the repercussions of the Bodily Mutilation Avatar Puppet Secret Technique were bound to be exceedingly intractable and impossible to resolve overnight, so he had given up. Old Man Dique had been a Core Formation master with surely far more methods than him, yet he too had been unable to regenerate his limb, earning the epithet "Dique." As expected, the Three Light Jade Liquid could neutralize the lasting repercussions of the Bodily Mutilation Avatar Puppet Secret Technique! Delight showed on Qin Sang's face, yet he was not overly surprised; he had already possessed an inkling of this before. However, he had never intended to use the Three Light Jade Liquid to heal his left arm. He was not a body-refining cultivator, nor did he currently possess a suitable body-refining technique. An incomplete set of limbs had little impact on his overall strength; missing an arm was just missing an arm. A mere severed arm was hardly worth wasting a precious drop of Three Light Jade Liquid, which was why Qin Sang had never considered it before. Had it not been for this bottleneck in his Core Formation, he might have only regenerated this arm far in the future, if he ever faced a life-threatening crisis that forced him to consume the liquid. The regeneration of his left arm was an unexpected pleasant surprise. Supported by the copious life force, the regrowth proceeded swiftly, producing a fair, tender arm. During the process, flecks of green luminescence drifted outward. The wild grass in the cave benefited from it and began to grow rampantly, their stems and leaves turning exceptionally thick and robust. Among them, a spirit plant known as the Blue Dan fruit even sprouted branches and leaves at breakneck speed, nearly brushing the cavern's ceiling, before ultimately bearing dozens of fruits. The abundant fruits weighed down the branches, dangling from above. The Blue Dan fruit was a decent spirit fruit that could aid Qi Refinement disciples in their cultivation and was also favored by demonic beasts; it was likely that the black eagle had eaten some and spat out the seed here. Just then, an abrupt change occurred. Having reached their zenith, the wild grasses suddenly declined; their life force dissipated, turning them withered, yellow, and dead—including the Blue Dan fruit tree. In a single breath, they had traversed the seasons, experiencing full bloom and complete decay. Qin Sang noticed the anomaly with the weeds, his gaze narrowing slightly. He looked up at the Blue Dan fruit tree, reached out to pluck a fruit, and took a bite. It was as sweet as ever and bursting with juice, but devoid of medicinal potency—an empty shell. It seemed that only spirit herbs nurtured by the immortal restrictions in the Xuanpu Garden of Ziwei Palace could withstand the forced maturation of the Three Light Jade Liquid and undergo true transformation. Qin Sang shook his head, cleared away the debris in the cave dwelling, and raised his newly restored left arm, trying to clench and unclench his fist. The new arm felt somewhat unfamiliar. Although he had not cultivated any body-refining methods, progressing from Qi Refinement all the way to the False Core stage and undergoing repeated breakthroughs in cultivation had naturally tempered and enhanced his physical body as well, even if it fell far short of a dedicated body cultivator's prowess. His regenerated left arm was as tender as an infant's, showing a clear contrast with his right arm. Qin Sang conjured an ice mirror before him and discovered that the skin on his face had also become exceptionally fair and supple. He looked twenty years old at most, and once he formed his core, he might look even a few years younger. Whatever faint marks the passage of time had previously left on his face were now completely erased. This was partly due to the Three Light Jade Liquid, and likely also due to the full restoration of his foundation. "I've turned into a pretty boy," Qin Sang chuckled self-deprecatingly. The arm was not a major issue; it would only take tempering it with spiritual power for some time to make it match his right arm completely. It just so happened that recovering his spiritual sense would also take time, so he could handle both matters concurrently during this period. His foundation had fully healed, and his severed arm was regenerated. All preparations were complete, lacking only the east wind. With the gloom in his heart entirely swept away, Qin Sang settled his mind once again into meditation, focusing wholeheartedly on his recovery.