Absorbing Qi

Then when all the ruckus ended, Old Lao then removed the massive rock he had placed on the lid of the cauldron to prevent Ji Min from fleeing, and when he looked inside the cauldron, the water was once again transparent;

Apparently, Sensei had gone a step further to use the harmful pitch-black slurry within the cauldron to strengthen Ji Min's resistivity further.

A pitch-black-looking Ji Min then stepped out of the cauldron and wobbled in his stance, as the twins saw something standing as straight as a domineering flag on his lower half.

Though this pole was covered in a pitch-black membrane, it still didn't stop the twins from knowing what it was, as they fled the scene with beet-red faces.

Old Lao on the other hand, froze in shock when he realized that there were no residues within the clear water in the cauldron.

He then stared at Ji Min who was now covered in black, smelly, and oily membrane, and thought to himself;

'What exactly happened in there?'

[Young Lord, I must admit; I have truly underestimated the exact level of your pain tolerance.] Sensei praised in a sincere tone that caused Ji Min to smile slightly.

Old Lao who was looking at Ji Min; who was now looking like a devil that had just crawled out of hell, saw Ji Min's white teeth and marveled at the stark contrast in his appearance.

'It seems everything turned out well.' He thought to himself with a relieved sigh.

But just as Ji Min took a step forward, his leg suddenly turned into jelly as he wobbled and fell, but Old Lao was faster and caught him.

Old Lao then wrapped Ji Min in a fresh sheet before carrying him out of the hut to his room.

Ji Min slept for about five hours more bringing the time he had spent today to about half a day.

"You should clean up yourself first, and when you are done, wear a short and go take a dip in the lake." Old Lao instructed before leaving his room.

Ji Min had to bathe thrice before he could finally scrub off every last bit of the putrid membrane off his body.

He then used a perfumed ointment that Old Lao had provided for him before stepping out to look for the trio.

Ji Min found the trio at the gazebo at the center of the lake; they were all waiting silently for him, and the moment he arrived, he dove straight into the lake and sat at the bottom.

The water within the lake was clear and filled with potent life energy which soothed all his muscles and joints which had cramped up during their refinement.

Ji Min released a pleasurable sigh that bubbled up to the surface of the lake before stepping out about an hour later.

Once he stepped into the gazebo, Old Lao threw a robe at him which he wore before joining the twins who were already seated cross-legged, looking at him with different expressions flashing across their faces.

"Alright, this is the final part of the treatment..."

"I will activate the Qi Inducing formation carved on the floor; you don't have to do anything, just allow the Qi to enter your body just like when I was checking your condition earlier; your body would handle the rest by itself." Old Lao instructed as Ji Min joined the twins.

Ji Min observed the complicated runes that made up the Qi Inducing Formation and wondered who the expert that carved them was.

Old Lao then crouched to the ground and placed his palm at the center of the formation, before pumping his QI into it.

The runes within the formation then began to light up one after the other as Old Lao's face turned a shade paler with each rune that lit up.

Then once the formation was active, Old Lao stepped out of the gazebo and left to recover.

A slight breeze suddenly washed over the gazebo before gradually increasing in strength.

The entire herb garden trembled when the breeze abruptly turned into a raging wind that sucked everything atop the plateau toward the gazebo.

All the natural energy within the entire domain then began to gather and surge toward the gazebo, carrying the scents of the many herbs in the garden and their medicinal properties toward the trio sitting within it.

Then just like the solution had behaved, the Qi also followed the same path, nourishing every weakened and starved cell within Ji Min;

But this time, he felt a very fulfilling sensation spread through his entire being as his cells hummed with joy, devouring every bit of Qi that came their way whilst leaving only a tiny bit for the twins who were oblivious to the situation.

About five hours later, Ji Min opened his eyes and realized he was alone, but that didn't bother him as Sensei urged him to make full use of the formation which already had about a few dozen of its runes returned to normal.

[It seems Old Lao's cultivation can only support the formation for seven hours.] Sensei speculated as Ji Min's body continued to insatiably absorb the incoming Qi.

Then just as Sensei had guessed, the formation went off on the seventh hour exactly as Ji Min opened his eyes and released a deep putrid breath.

"To think your body would absorb Qi for so long; even with my Peak Qi Sea stage cultivation, I can only absorb the energy for five hours at most." Old Lao spoke from behind Ji Min who gazed at the royal physician and his two attendants.

Ji Min then stood up and bowed deeply;

"I can't thank you enough for the care you've given me." He said with deep respect whilst Old Lao simply told him to rise with a wave of his sleeves.

"Don't worry, the time to thank me will naturally come; but for now, eat something first and remember that this treatment would be repeated in seven days." Old Lao added as he began to walk back to his abode.

Ji Min then looked toward the twins and noticed that they were staring at him with their mouths wide open.

"Eh, what happened; is there something on my face?" He asked as he took out a mirror from his pouch and took a look at himself.