In the quiet room, Tang Hao sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes half-closed as if immersed in some profound contemplation.
In the palm of his right hand rested a smooth, round medicinal pill, shimmering with a faint luster like a pearl. He gently popped the pill into his mouth, and it immediately dissolved into a warm current that slipped down into his abdomen.
"Is this what they mean by dissolving the moment it touches the tongue?" Tang Hao marveled inwardly, his face betraying an unmistakable look of shock.
"Kid, you really are fortunate," Xingchen Patriarch's voice echoed in the space. "This Marrow Cleansing Pill is of saint-grade quality. Throughout the entire world, there are very few who can produce such a pill."
Hearing this, a trace of bewilderment flashed in Tang Hao's eyes. "I've never heard The Old Man mention this grade before."
He remembered The Old Man once explaining to him that medicinal pills only had four grades: lower, middle, upper, and top-tier. A saint-grade pill completely exceeded the scope of his understanding.
Xingchen Patriarch seemed to perceive Tang Hao's confusion. He curled his lips and explained with unconcealed pride, "That's just because your old man's cultivation wasn't high enough. Saint-grade pills can never be refined by ordinary alchemists; it requires immense fortune."
Hearing this, Tang Hao couldn't help but marvel at the profundity and wondrous nature of alchemy. He knew well that his own attainments in this field were still far from sufficient, which made him cherish this rare opportunity all the more.
"Focus on refining the pill within your body. Because this pill is of such a high grade, its effects are extraordinary—and of course, the pain you will endure from it will also increase exponentially." Xingchen Patriarch's voice rang out once again, reminding Tang Hao of the challenge ahead.
Tang Hao took a deep breath, adjusted his state of mind, and began to circulate his internal energy with all his might, attempting to tame the terrifying medicinal power within the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
However, as those powerful currents of energy dispersed throughout his body, an indescribable wave of agony instantly swept over him.
"What is going on?" Tang Hao cried out mentally. He mobilized his internal energy to suppress this force, but found that the energy was as unruly and untamable as a wild horse breaking free from its reins.
As the medicinal potency continued to volatilize, the heat inside Tang Hao's body grew increasingly intense, as if an invisible steamer were roasting his internal organs. He groaned in pain, feeling as though he had been driven to the brink of madness.
"I have to find a way!" Tang Hao chanted inwardly. He calmed his mind and began attempting to mobilize the power of his dantian, using true qi to suppress these rampaging energies. At this critical moment of life and death, he had to give it everything he had to get through this ordeal.
Nourished by the true qi, the previously violent energy seemed to gradually stabilize. However, this was merely a temporary calm; the chaotic energies were still violently battering Tang Hao's body, as if determined to tear him apart.
Faced with this predicament, Tang Hao's mood grew exceptionally heavy. He knew all too well that if he failed to effectively suppress these energies, his fate would undoubtedly be death.
"Is there no other way?" Tang Hao called out anxiously in his heart. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. "Right, the Exquisite Heart!"
He immediately executed the heart-control incantation taught by The Old Man, mobilizing the power of the Exquisite Heart. As the incantation was chanted, a strange wave of energy emanated from the Exquisite Heart, quietly spreading to every corner of his body.
Upon encountering this ripple, those previously unruly energies were seemingly pacified and began to steadily stabilize. Tang Hao let out a soft breath, a glimmer of hope welling up in his heart.
Seeing this, Xingchen Patriarch couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile. "You're a lucky kid," he said. "Having this Exquisite Heart to suppress the potency of this saint-grade pill—anyone else would have collapsed long ago."
Tang Hao nodded silently, pouring his full concentration into wielding the power of the Exquisite Heart to continue suppressing the volatile energies.
As time passed, under the influence of the Exquisite Heart, those energies gradually grew docile, slowly merging into Tang Hao's limbs and bones, transforming into tiny specks of starlight that embedded themselves into his skeletal frame.
With the continuous influx of energy, the process of cleansing his marrow and remaking his bones officially began. Bit by bit, this energy altered his innate constitution, allowing his body to gradually adapt to this formidable power.
The process was long and agonizing, but Tang Hao clenched his teeth, regulating his breath with all his might as he struggled to stabilize these changes. He knew this was the critical moment of his metamorphosis, and he could not afford the slightest slackness.
Sensing the changes in Tang Hao's body, Xingchen Patriarch couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "Kid, although your innate constitution was poor, this pill of mine is of saint-grade quality. It is fully capable of converting all of your Five Elements False Spiritual Roots into solid ones. Once that happens, the gap between you and ordinary cultivators will also shrink drastically."
Though Tang Hao was unable to respond to Xingchen Patriarch's words at the moment, his heart was filled with gratitude. He knew that this elderly predecessor had not only cleansed his marrow and remade his bones, but had also reshaped his foundation, granting him a renewed chance to step onto the path of immortality.
"If you have the opportunity in the future," Xingchen Patriarch continued, "you might even get the chance to completely transform your spiritual root aptitude. However, all of that will depend on destiny."
Through Xingchen Patriarch's words, Tang Hao felt boundless anticipation and hope. He knew that although his path of cultivation was fraught with obstacles, as long as he pressed forward bravely, he would one day welcome his own moment of glory.
Xingchen Patriarch knew that the efficacy of that pill was limited. He understood that if Tang Hao wanted to step from the secular world into the realm of immortality, he would need to forge a different path—and that was already beyond his own capabilities.
"Old Ancestor, thank you for your guidance." Tang Hao felt grateful in his heart, yet he also understood that the real challenge had only just begun.
Xingchen Patriarch smiled and said nothing more, knowing that Tang Hao had already grasped his intentions.
As time ticked away, the bones within Tang Hao's body began to undergo a quiet transformation. Intermittent creaking sounds echoed, as if his bones were telling the story of a wondrous metamorphosis. This transformation persisted for four or five hours, until the cleansing of his marrow and reshaping of his bones was thoroughly complete.
Once the bone-cleansing and marrow-washing concluded, Tang Hao felt a lightness in his body unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Every single bone felt completely unobstructed, and his constitution underwent a thorough transformation at that very moment, shifting from his original Five Elements False Spiritual Roots into solid spiritual roots belonging to a true cultivator.
Having Five Elements False Spiritual Roots meant that all five elements were essentially crippled, making such a root a massive obstacle on the path of cultivation. Had it not been for his Exquisite Heart and body-tempering assistance, Tang Hao would likely have found it difficult to ever embark on the path of cultivation.
Yet now, all of his Five Elements spiritual roots had been converted into solid ones. Although a gap still remained compared to the legendary Immortal Spiritual Root, this was already a monumental leap forward.
The Immortal Spiritual Root, also known as the Variant Spiritual Root, was the pinnacle among spiritual roots. Only those possessed of an Immortal Spiritual Root could truly pursue the Dao of Immortality and step onto the celestial path.
With his spiritual roots altered, Tang Hao decided to seize this opportunity to cultivate with all his might, aiming to break through his current cultivation level.
Following the "Qi Guidance Technique" taught by The Old Man, he began to mobilize the true qi within his body, absorbing the spiritual energy fluctuations of the external world as well as the massive energy released by the volatilized medicinal potency, preparing himself for a breakthrough.
At present, Tang Hao was an Internal Martial Arts practitioner at Qi Refining (Level 5). If all went smoothly, he stood a strong chance of breaking through to Qi Refining (Level 6) tonight.
Recalling his cultivation journey over the past few years, Tang Hao couldn't help but be filled with deep emotion. His aptitude for cultivation was unremarkable, and it was only through years of arduous effort that his cultivation had reached this level. Had he not made notable achievements in body-tempering and hidden weapons, he probably would have met an untimely end abroad long ago.
Even so, Tang Hao's reputation remained formidable overseas. Whenever his codename, "Cold Blade," was mentioned, it never failed to strike terror into people's hearts.
The overseas organization he belonged to, "Shadow," was also an exceptionally renowned assassination syndicate. Its leader was hailed as the top assassin in the killer underworld, bearing the codename "Blood Shadow."
It was precisely under Blood Shadow's meticulous guidance that Tang Hao had matured into a true killer, embarking on this path fraught with challenges.
Yet, despite possessing such a background and strength, Tang Hao understood that he was not invincible. Following the failure of a mission, he had no choice but to bid farewell to his assassin career and embark on a brand-new journey as a bodyguard.