But in this way, the Big Toad was really in for a hard time.

It never imagined that eating meat could actually become a bitter chore.

Watching as it gulped down a dozen Spirit Pigs in one go, its belly grew round and bulged, even a pleading look surfaced in its eyes.

Ji Yuan finally let it off the hook.

Mainly because Ji Yuan himself, having rested for most of the day, was about to break through.

Just buying the Spirit Pigs had taken so long already, and now that he'd finally gathered enough Quenching Acupoint Pearls, he couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Delay invites trouble.

Better to convert resources into strength while he could.

A thousand birds in the forest aren't worth one in the hand.

Ji Yuan stood up from the tree, gestured elaborately to the motionless Big Toad, and only after a lot of demonstration did the beast finally get it.

With it guarding him, Ji Yuan felt at ease about his breakthrough.

Half a stick of incense's time later, Ji Yuan, stripped to the waist, was already sitting inside the Cave Mansion. In front of him sat a jade plate piled high with over three hundred Quenching Acupoint Pearls.

Each pearl was a brilliant red, gathered together they looked just like a plate of cherry tomatoes—quite pleasing to the eye.

But remembering the pain from refining his acupoints last time, Ji Yuan didn't find these Quenching Acupoint Pearls adorable at all…

"Hu—"

He took a deep breath, focused his Heart Thought, and a single Quenching Acupoint Pearl flew into his mouth. Within just a few breaths, he grunted, jaw clenched tight.

Luckily, the pain lasted only a handful of breaths before receding like the tide.

But Ji Yuan did not indulge in peace after pain—one pearl followed another, relentless.

For the first dozen, the agony was near unbearable.

But after those first dozen, the pain seemed to ebb quite a bit.

After a few dozen more, the suffering was barely noticeable at all.

Past a hundred pearls—

Ji Yuan was already numb.

One after another he shoved them into his mouth without pause.

Gradually, his blood and qi became overly abundant, or maybe it was that the blood within was so forceful it squeezed out impure blood through the pores.

Ji Yuan's whole body turned a bright red.

He didn't bother about it; that wasted blood, once expelled, was quickly dried by the rising heat from his skin, turning into blood scabs.

But so it was, each time he took a Quenching Acupoint Pearl, he had to wait quite a while before the next.

As more and more pearls were swallowed, Ji Yuan felt a growing fullness in his body.

It felt almost as if… he might explode at any moment.

Eventually, he could only barely refine a single pearl per day, and so he stopped pushing himself further.

He couldn't continue at this rate; it was far too slow.

With forty or fifty pearls left, refining one a day would mean dozens of days more.

To quickly digest his blood and qi, the only thing Ji Yuan could think of was the Hammer Technique passed down by Isle Master Tie Chui.

Even without a hammer, training the Hammer Technique as a fist technique still worked.

With that thought, Ji Yuan immediately rose, tearing the blood cocoon from his body in one motion.

If anyone else was present, they'd see wisps of blood vapor swirling visibly on Ji Yuan's skin.

Ji Yuan felt a newfound strength—he reckoned a casual punch could kill the Big Toad… Well, maybe not quite yet.

He clenched his fists, even his exhaled breath was scorching hot.

"Ha—!"

He let out a low shout, punching out violently, and in the confined cave, the sound of fists flying echoed back and forth.

As soon as he exercised the fist technique, Ji Yuan felt his insides relax greatly.

It was like the satisfaction of a full meal, rapidly being digested.

So he both trained and ate at the same time.

The pace of acupoint refinement finally picked up again, so that in one day, he could refine several pearls.

After another half month passed, only three Quenching Acupoint Pearls remained on the jade plate, and Ji Yuan's refining speed dropped back to one a day.

But it didn't matter—the final few could be slower.

One day later, only two were left.

Two days later, just one remained.

Staring at the last pearl, Ji Yuan endured the swelling pain inside and swallowed it whole.

And the very last unrefined acupoint in his body was the Life Gate on his Governor Vessel.

The Life Gate was located on the lower spine, roughly level with the navel.

Because of its special location, Ji Yuan saved it for last.

But even the last one needed to be refined.

As the familiar stabbing pain surged, Ji Yuan felt his blood and qi everywhere come alive in his body.

He didn't even need to guide it—the blood and qi itself began to circulate throughout his frame.

Listening closely, he could hear the gurgling flow of blood in his veins.

His entire body's blood and qi roared like a mighty river!

Suddenly, a potent surge burst from Ji Yuan's body, shattering even the crusted blood scabs on the ground.

Ji Yuan, who'd had his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open, his gaze crimson and wild, like a savage beast on the brink of mayhem.

On Mist Island, the dozing Big Toad seemed to sense something, shivering in fright.

It quickly turned to peer toward Ji Yuan's Cave Mansion.

At first it was wary, then grew ferocious, as if ready to leap over. But as it perceived the full extent of that aura, it became joyfully excited.

It desperately resisted the urge to shout.

"Bang—!"

A dull, heavy sound rang out.

"Thud—!"

Ji Yuan, bare-chested and stepping out from the cave, glanced at the massive stone he'd effortlessly kicked into the Cloud Rain Marsh, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.

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