Chapter 29: Breaking Through the Bottleneck

Hearing Mu Yuanfei’s angry curses, Mu Xian’s heart tightened. Could it be that the family warehouse no longer had even Blue Rockwood and Scarlet Flame Fruit?

Mu Xian naturally knew who Mu Yuanfei was cursing and understood the meaning behind his words.

Originally, the Mu Family did not have an Elder Council. In fact, as a small family, there was no need for an Elder Council system. The Wang Family and Li Family in Shitang Town did not have an Elder Council system either; they operated entirely under a patriarchal system where everything was decided by the Family Head.

When Mu Yuanshan became Family Head, because both he and Tang Qiluo had seen a broader world, they knew that a patriarchal system was not suitable for the family’s long-term development. So, they introduced the Elder Council system, allowing branch families to participate in the family’s decision-making and operations. They selected those from the branch families with the highest cultivation and moral standing to reside permanently in the main family as part of the Elder Council. Mu Deyu, Mu Deguang, Mu Siping, and Mu Guitu were the heads of the branch families and also served on the Mu Family’s Elder Council.

After the Mu Family introduced the Elder Council system, its cohesion and combat power greatly increased, leaving the formerly comparable Wang and Li Families far behind. At the same time, the Mu Family’s branch families also flourished by sharing the main family’s information and resources.

However, while the Elder Council system brought convenience to the Mu Family, it also left behind a significant hidden danger.

If the main family’s strength surpassed that of the branch families, and the Family Head’s personal cultivation and combat power held an absolute advantage, the flaws of the Elder Council system would not be apparent. But when the main family’s strength fell behind the branch families, and the Family Head’s cultivation and combat power were inferior to those of the Elders in the council, the system’s drawbacks would be fully exposed.

When Mu Yuanshan’s cultivation was crippled, if not for Xiao Tianhan’s secret assistance and Mu Yuanshan and Tang Qiluo’s careful planning and iron-fisted measures, Mu Yuanshan would likely have been directly ousted from his position as Family Head. Even so, after that incident, Mu Yuanshan’s prestige within the family greatly declined, while the branch families gained even more development.

Later, when Mu Yuanshan and Tang Qiluo were traveling everywhere to sustain Mu Xian’s life, the Elders in the council engaged in all sorts of underhanded schemes and obstruction. Not only did they refuse to hand over their due income shares to the main family, but they also seized the opportunity to carve up many of the main family’s interests.

Over more than a decade, because of Mu Xian’s burden, the main family’s development nearly stagnated, while the branch families developed rapidly. They had already established substantial businesses in Guyun City, the main city of Yunmen County. If not for the branch families’ insufficient cultivation levels, they might have already established their own separate faction in Yunmen County.

Even so, the branch families’ ambitions expanded enormously. They could no longer tolerate handing over high profits to the main family year after year. In their view, the main family’s existence greatly hindered their development, so they planned to replace it, leading to the previous forced abdication incident.

“Uncle, is the family warehouse completely empty?” Mu Xian asked nervously.

“Huh? Xian’er, didn’t you used to hate dark places like the warehouse the most? What brings you here today?” Hearing Mu Xian’s voice, Mu Yuanfei awkwardly scratched his head, then suddenly realized, “Oh, I forgot. You’re now a Spiritual Pharmacist. Are you here to get Spiritual Medicine? Choose whatever you need. I just came to organize the warehouse myself and don’t know exactly how much Spiritual Medicine is left.”

Hearing Mu Yuanfei’s words, Mu Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the warehouse wasn’t completely looted, it was fine. Otherwise, he would have to go out and buy Blue Rockwood and Scarlet Flame Fruit.

“Is the loss of Spiritual Medicine in the warehouse severe?” Mu Xian casually asked, then stepped into the warehouse.

When Mu Xian saw that most of the medicine cabinets were empty, and the remaining ones only had a few herbs left, his expression instantly turned very grim. Less than one-tenth of the Spiritual Medicine remained in the warehouse, and what was left was mostly worthless. It was no wonder his uncle was angry.

“Severe? It’s downright disastrous. Those bastards really went all out, sweeping the warehouse so clean. The family warehouse’s stock had already been mostly depleted over the years, and after their raid, it’s completely empty.” Mu Yuanfei sighed bitterly, cursing angrily. Then he remembered Mu Xian’s purpose for coming and exclaimed, “Ah! Xian’er, what Spiritual Medicine do you need? Is it in the warehouse? If not, I’ll go with you to the market.”

While talking to Mu Yuanfei, Mu Xian had already scanned the entire warehouse and found Blue Rockwood and Scarlet Flame Fruit.

Perhaps because Blue Rockwood and Scarlet Flame Fruit were not very valuable, Mu Deyu and the others had not taken much of these two Spiritual Medicines. As a result, these two had the largest remaining stock. Mu Xian even found Blue Rockwood over a hundred years old and high-quality Scarlet Flame Fruit among them.

“Thank you, Uncle. I just came to get a piece of Blue Rockwood and a few Scarlet Flame Fruits. Thankfully, they must have known I needed them, so they left plenty for me.” Delighted, Mu Xian carefully selected the oldest piece of Blue Rockwood and the best-quality Scarlet Flame Fruit, placed them in his robe, and joked with a smile.

Seeing Mu Xian treat the Blue Rockwood and Scarlet Flame Fruit like treasures after getting them, Mu Yuanfei rolled his eyes. “Xian’er, the family warehouse has been robbed like this, and you can still laugh?”

“By the way, are you refining medicine or pills this time? What exactly do the pills do?” After chiding Mu Xian, Mu Yuanfei asked absentmindedly. Seeing that Mu Xian took the two cheapest Spiritual Medicines, Mu Yuanfei could hardly believe Mu Xian could refine any good pills.

“It’s hard to say now. It might give you a big shock later. Keep busy; I’m going back to refine pills.” Seeing his uncle’s distracted expression, Mu Xian knew his mind wasn’t on the conversation. He offered a vague reply and hurried away.

Although he knew the family’s situation was difficult, Mu Xian had no mind to dwell on it now. In fact, without sufficient strength, paying too much attention to these matters would be useless.

Mu Yuanfei saw that Mu Xian paid no attention to the warehouse’s disastrous state, even joking about it, and then hastily left after taking two Spiritual Medicines without even a polite farewell. He shook his head with a bitter smile and continued counting and organizing the types and amounts of Spiritual Medicine in the warehouse.

Mu Xian did not know Mu Yuanfei’s thoughts about him. Returning to the East Courtyard, he immersed himself in the intense work of pill refining.

This time, refining the Bone-Forging and Organ-Tempering Pill was much easier than refining the pill primarily made of Ironwood Forest Leaf in Shenduan Mountain to address his Inherently Blocked Veins. On one hand, he did not have to worry about safety distractions. On the other hand, the Bone-Forging and Organ-Tempering Pill was a pill Mu Xian had often refined in his previous life. He could almost do it with his eyes closed without making mistakes.

Half an hour later, a gleaming golden pill appeared in Mu Xian’s palm. At the same time, a refreshing, enticing fragrance spread throughout the South Courtyard.

The pill was about the size of a baby’s fist, with a shimmering, seemingly alive surface. Astonishing Spiritual Power overflowed from it, emitting intense energy fluctuations.

Mu Xian stared at the Bone-Forging and Organ-Tempering Pill for a moment, a glimmer of anticipation flashing in his eyes. Then, with a flick of his right hand, the golden pill flew into his mouth.

After swallowing the pill, Mu Xian quickly removed all his clothes and sat cross-legged on the floor, completely naked. He closed his eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and began absorbing Spiritual Power from the outside to cleanse his inner meridians.

Soon, a scorching heat rose from Mu Xian’s Dantian, rapidly spreading throughout his entire body.

As the scorching heat spread, fine beads of sweat emerged all over Mu Xian’s body. His face twitched continuously, and his eyelids trembled uncontrollably, as if he were enduring extreme torture.

Suddenly, a crisp crack sounded in the room. Mu Xian’s previously still body shuddered violently. His mouth opened wide, and his eyes widened like copper bells.

That crack was the sound of his relatively fragile bones directly breaking under the pill’s impact.

After entering his body, the Bone-Forging and Organ-Tempering Pill seemed to transform into a raging flame, fiercely burning Mu Xian’s bones and internal organs.

Although this flame burned inside Mu Xian, he seemed to smell a scent of roasting meat. This immense pain was far more intense and excruciating than being roasted over a fire.

Wave after wave of fiery, intense pain tore through Mu Xian’s body, like a blunt knife piercing his heart.

Mu Xian clearly felt his bones turning to ash and shattering under the burning of that raging flame. Without the support of these bones, Mu Xian could barely sit up straight. But to successfully break through the bottleneck, he had to clench his teeth and persevere with sheer determination.

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans sprang from Mu Xian’s body like bamboo shoots after rain. A faint mist even rose from the top of his head. The intense pain made Mu Xian gasp repeatedly, but there was no hesitation on his face—only firm resolve.

Under the medicinal power’s cleansing, the ashen and shattered bones quickly became crystal clear, then reassembled and grew anew.

Clumps of foul, greasy filth were expelled along with sweat, filling the room with an unbearable stench.

At the same time, thin streams of blood trickled from the corners of Mu Xian’s mouth, and he could not help but emit pained groans.

When all the bones in his body had been reassembled and became crystal clear, Mu Xian gritted his teeth and used his Spiritual Power to wrap the remaining medicinal energy, directing it straight toward his even more fragile internal organs.

Awooo… The moment the flame reached his internal organs, Mu Xian involuntarily gasped, and a hysterical scream escaped his throat.

Mu Xian’s face suddenly turned beet red, his eyes seemed to bulge out, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Abruptly, Mu Xian’s mouth opened, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out. His body swayed unsteadily, and his face turned as pale as gold paper.

“Xian’er, what’s wrong?” In his dazed state, Mu Xian faintly heard a voice full of concern.