Chapter 47: Break Word Formula

Danding Peak.

"The most crucial thing for us alchemists is to learn to break free from the constraints of conventional thinking. A pill does not necessarily have to enhance the internal strength of the consumer, much like this 'Ten-Bull Strength Pill' of my own creation." Wu Ming spoke with fluent eloquence within the Danding Academy, explaining the profound principles of alchemy in simple, accessible terms.

Below the stage, the disciples hastily scribbled notes; these precious insights into the Dao of alchemy were exceedingly rare to come across in the outside world.

Alchemists of the broader world guarded their inheritances fiercely—the classic belief being that teaching the apprentice meant starving the master—which made attempting to learn the art of alchemy out there an endeavor fraught with endless difficulties.

Danding Peak, however, was entirely different; they wished for nothing more than to pour out everything they knew, eagerly thrusting all their unique concepts upon the newly arrived junior brothers and sisters.

External alchemists adhered rigidly to tradition, holding that the ancestral methods must never be altered, and thus, getting the outside world to comprehend the alchemical theories of Danding Peak was a task beset by insurmountable obstacles.

Seeing his junior brothers and sisters listening so intently to the lecture, Wu Ming felt immensely pleased with himself.

The Wendao Sect had not merely recruited the five of Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, Mangu, Tao Yaoye, and Li Haoran in this session; it was simply that those five possessed such overwhelming talent that they completely dominated the spotlight within the sect, causing people to subconsciously overlook the rest of the newcomers.

Aside from those five, there were many others endowed with dual spiritual roots, triple spiritual roots, or unique extraordinary talents, all of whom represented the future backbone of the Wendao Sect.

The ones currently attending the lecture were precisely those among the new disciples who had chosen to master their craft under Danding Peak.

They had been studying on Danding Peak for over a year, and were still groping their way through the intricate thresholds of alchemy.

"Many cultivators possess the habit of consuming pills right in the heat of battle to ignite a sudden burst of power several times their own, catching their opponents completely off guard with that instantaneous explosiveness to secure victory."

"Winning is fine and well, but such a practice forces a torrent of multiplied power to surge violently through the meridians. The meridians are only so wide; recklessly forcing such a rush causes severe trauma to them, and in grave cases, damages one's foundation, which is highly detrimental to future cultivation."

"The duty of us alchemists is to heal the sick and save lives; we must do our utmost to eliminate such situations."

"To this end, I put my heart and soul into research, even visiting a close friend next door who is a master of summoning arrays, until I finally developed this Ten-Bull Strength Pill."

"The pill contains a miniature summoning array. Upon consumption, it uses the body as a medium to summon ten water buffaloes out into the open to aid in slaying the enemy."

"Senior Brother Wu, where exactly are these ten water buffaloes summoned from?" an adorable junior sister asked, having listened with rapt attention.

Wu Ming smiled faintly and replied, "They are called forth directly from the spiritual fields."

Most of the food found in the cafeteria and restaurants was grown right within the Wendao Sect's own spiritual fields.

To cultivate crops and grains of such superb quality, the requirements for soil, fertilizer, and farming techniques were exceptionally stringent.

Laboring tirelessly in those spiritual fields was the clan of the Blue-Eyed Water Buffaloes. The Blue-Eyed Water Buffalo clan possessed boundless physical might and formidable strength, with members ranging from the Qi Condensation stage all the way to the Nascent Soul stage, and there was even a terrifying, ancient Ox King at the Soul Formation stage.

When the Third Elder was young and full of hot-blooded fervor, he had once gone down to the spiritual fields, shoved the cattle aside, and plowed the earth himself for an entire night; the cattle mentioned in that tale belonged precisely to this Blue-Eyed Water Buffalo clan.

The Blue-Eyed Water Buffaloes loved nothing more than clashing against one another with their horns, so Wu Ming had contacted their clan to see if they could be summoned to battle, a proposal to which they had readily and joyfully agreed.

"As alchemists, you must be like me—adopt a shift in perspective. Stand in the shoes of the pill-consumer, ponder why they need to take the pill, whether the pill carries any side effects, and if there is a better alternative solution."

Wu Ming had compiled the fruits of his labor concerning the Ten-Bull Strength Pill into a thesis and submitted it to 'Danhuo', a prestigious and authoritative publication in the alchemical world. The editor of Danhuo was so utterly shocked by Wu Ming’s wildly unrestrained creativity that they immediately redirected it to a leading journal in the summoning world.

By now, it had been successfully published.

Wu Ming also understood that his concepts were far too advanced for the current era and that cultivators required some time to adapt. For this reason, he set the price of the Foundation Establishment grade Ten-Bull Strength Pill incredibly low, requiring a mere one hundred contribution points.

One had to realize that even a single fried dough stick sold in the cafeteria cost a hundred and fifty contribution points.

Wu Ming had even clearly designated its effect on the exchange list as 'Consuming this grants the strength of ten bulls,' showing remarkably thoughtful consideration.

……

Lu Yang fell into a deep silence.

If one were to claim this pill was a fraud, it truly did allow the consumer to wield the power of ten bulls; the description matched the effect perfectly without the slightest exaggeration.

But if one were to claim this pill was genuine, there remained an unsettling sense that something was inherently amiss.

Where exactly lay the problem?

He simply could not fathom it.

The ten Foundation Establishment stage water buffaloes were sleek and heavily muscled, presents an immensely imposing aura as they charged in unison toward the tiger demon.

Faced with these brute beasts, let alone the fact that the tiger demon was merely at the half-step Golden Core stage, even if it were a true Golden Core entity, it would not dare to take a direct collision from such a herd of water buffaloes.

No matter how much the tiger demon excelled in physical power, it could never match the raw strength of bovine demons.

It came back to the old truth: though Danding Peak was highly unreliable, they never blundered when it came to medicinal efficacy. The ten summoned brute bulls were absolutely capable of overwhelming the tiger demon.

Seeing this, Mangu and Meng Jingzhou unconsciously let their guards down.

The battle was decided; the tiger demon was utterly powerless to turn the tide.

The tiger demon’s eyes bulged round in fury and its fur stood completely on end, seemingly aware that it stood no chance against these ten water buffaloes.

If that were the case, it would drag someone down to the grave with it!

Right at that moment, a resounding crash echoed out as the Mountain God Temple collapsed.

The temple had already been teetering on the verge of ruin, and a random jostle from the ten water buffaloes brought it crashing down entirely.

Instantly, dust and heavy rain mingled together, completely obscuring everyone's vision.

Seizing the opportunity, the tiger demon exerted all its strength into its four limbs, leaping high into the air to evade the buffaloes' charge, and lunged violently toward Lu Yang with a speed as swift as a crack of thunder!

This human, above all others, absolutely had to die!

The water buffaloes were lumbering of body and unsuited for jumping, failing to react in time to this sudden twist of events.

Mangu and Meng Jingzhou cried out in alarm; having relaxed their vigilance, it was already too late for them to rush to Lu Yang's rescue.

Everyone present was thrown into utter panic, save for Lu Yang, who remained perfectly composed.

He had long anticipated that the tiger demon would make a desperate, final gamble to perish along with him.

One must always remember that a cornered beast is at its most perilous!

Without dodging or shrinking away, Lu Yang invoked the spell 'Changcun', shrinking both his body and his sword simultaneously.

The tiger demon’s pounce met nothing but empty air, and Lu Yang, arriving directly beneath the beast, restored his original size. Azure spiritual energy flowed along the blade, ultimately concentrating entirely at the very tip of his sword.

"Break!"

Lu Yang unleashed the 'Break Character Formula.' The Azure Peak Sword became sharp beyond resistance, piercing straight through the tiger demon's thick hide, and with a sharp squelch, impaled its abdomen, the blood-stained tip erupting out from its spine.

This was a sword strike he had mastered during his time at Tianmen Peak; among all his techniques, its offensive power was the absolute strongest, capable of draining more than half of his spiritual energy in a single blow, meaning it could not be used lightly.

During the preceding clash, Lu Yang had already deduced the tiger demon's weakness—the very center of its abdomen possessed the weakest defense on its entire body.

Lu Yang unleashed his sword qi, and azure sword qi as fine as cattle hair erupted from within the tiger demon's body, resembling countless long needles piercing through it from the inside out.

A series of crackling pops, like firecrackers exploding, resounded from within the tiger demon, traveling all the way up its spine straight to the crown of its skull.

Bleeding from all seven facial orifices, the tiger demon collapsed heavily to the ground.

Gasping heavily from exhaustion, Lu Yang leaned against a remnant wall, gesturing for Mangu and Meng Jingzhou to assist Lanting in eliminating the remaining demon.

Seeing her mate's demise, the female tiger demon grew even more ferocious, intent on a desperate struggle to the death; Lanting found herself nearly unable to suppress this cornered beast.

Before Mangu and Meng Jingzhou could even hurl themselves into the new fray, the water buffalo demons wheeled around and charged directly at the female tiger demon.

Failing to dodge in time, the female tiger demon was trampled and gored by the buffaloes into a mangled blur of flesh and blood.

The battle was over.

Lanting parted her lips slightly, recalling all the bizarre and eccentric rumors regarding the Wendao Sect that her senior sisters had spoken of. Having previously doubted them, she now believed them at least seventy percent.