Chapter 22 : Strip!
In the blink of an eye, when Yan Zhen regained his senses, he found himself in the crystal space “Fire-Refining Starry Sky.” The massive celestial pillars towered endlessly into the sky. Gazing past the gaps between the pillars revealed numerous blazing stars, an incredibly brilliant sight.
At the center of the plaza formed by the pillars stood a five-colored altar, upon which Chen Xi maintained a crossed-legged, closed-eye meditation posture. Sensing Yan Zhen’s arrival, she opened her eyes in an instant.
“Zhen’er, come here quickly.”
As soon as the words left her lips, a small formation array unfolded beneath Yan Zhen’s feet at the distant plaza entrance, instantly transporting him before Chen Xi.
Yan Zhen had grown accustomed to such teleportation. After steadying himself, he respectfully greeted her:
“Greetings, Master.”
Chen Xi slightly nodded, taking the initiative to ask, “Did you prepare all the materials I asked you to?”
“I have prepared them all.”
As the Young Lord of the city, Yan Zhen at least had a holding ring. With a flash of light from his finger, the medicinal ingredients and that large bucket of water were neatly arrayed before him.
“Blooddrop Grass, Magnolia Blossoms, and Water Wave Pearls, they’re all here.”
“Then Zhen’er, wait a moment.”
As Chen Xi spoke, she stretched out her jade-like white hand, lifting it in the void. All the medicinal ingredients before her became enveloped in mystic forces, gently levitating.
Haaah.
The mystic forces enveloping the ingredients transformed into pure, five-colored flames, beginning to scorch the ingredients within under Chen Xi’s control.
As the flames ignited, Yan Zhen’s gaze also brightened.
These were not ordinary flames but the ultimate flames born from nature itself – the “Heavenly Earthly Extreme Flames.”
Each of the extreme flames was a sovereign king of fire, immensely powerful and noble, extremely difficult to tame.
Yet once tamed, they became a tremendous boon for mystic cultivators, especially alchemists.
The one in the beautiful senior-apprenticed sister’s hands was named the “Starlight Glazed Flame,” renowned as the most beautiful extreme flame. It also possessed healing powers, ranking among the top ten in the legendary “Extreme Flame Ranks.”
In the later part of the story, the beautiful senior-apprenticed sister even passed down this “Starlight Glazed Flame” that had accompanied her for many years to Yan Zhen, assisting him in making further breakthroughs.
She was truly an exceptional master, so he would never “ride her ancestor”!
After a pot of tea’s time, the three ingredients had been refined into a paste-like state, then swiftly mixed together, their medicinal properties fusing under the flames’ continued scorching.
As the medicinal paste rapidly spun, it gradually took on the shape of a pellet.
However, this time it was not for pellet refinement, but rather the creation of a medicinal liquid.
Before long, Chen Xi stopped, the five-colored flames gradually extinguishing to leave behind a sphere of blue-green medicinal liquid hovering in mid-air.
“Go.”
With a flick of her finger, Chen Xi sent the liquid into the large wooden tub, instantly dyeing the water a beautiful blue-green while causing it to furiously boil.
“With this ‘Meridian-Protecting Precious Liquid,’ the pain from opening your mystic gates will be reduced to the minimum, while also minimizing the drain on your physical energy,” Chen Xi smiled faintly. “Alright, Zhen’er, strip off your clothes and soak in it.”
“Yes!”
Yan Zhen swiftly stripped off his clothes, leaving only his boxer shorts. He approached the tub and stared at the boiling medicinal brew with some trepidation.
It was boiling, right? At standard atmospheric pressure, that’s 100 degrees Celsius. If he soaked directly in it, wouldn’t he be cooked alive?
He carefully extended his hand to test the water temperature and found it comfortably warm.
It seemed the boiling was just a special effect of the medicinal liquid, not actual boiling.
Just as Yan Zhen was about to step into the tub, Chen Xi stopped him.
“Wait, Zhen’er, you haven’t taken off all your clothes yet.”
“Ah?” Yan Zhen was taken aback. “Do I need to strip completely? Leaving my underwear on shouldn’t affect things much, right?”
“It may not affect much, but there is still an effect!” Chen Xi’s brow furrowed slightly as her expression turned solemn. “In the art of alchemy, precision down to the smallest detail is required. Such an ambiguous attitude is unacceptable! If you wish to learn my alchemical ways in the future, you should start by correcting your attitude now. Strip!”
“Y-Yes!”
As a reincarnated science student, Yan Zhen naturally understood such principles.
But wait, the script did say he had kept his boxer shorts on, with the beautiful senior-apprenticed sister even telling him earlier, “No need to strip completely.”
It seemed the previous plot deviations had caused corresponding changes in the later details.
Yan Zhen took a deep breath and quickly removed his last layer of defense, baring his butt cheeks as he jumped into the large bathtub.
Plop, splashing up blue-green water droplets, the semi-transparent medicinal brew made his body appear visible yet obscured beneath the surface.
Glancing at the beautiful senior-apprenticed sister, he saw her maintain that aloof, elegant beauty. Yan Zhen felt slightly relieved, the blush on his face quickly fading.
However, Chen Xi had already secretly saved her disciple’s “sensual photo” in her mind, her ample bosom palpitating rapidly beneath.
A mix of shyness and guilt, yet not a hint showed on her face.
This was the breath control technique of a semi-sage!
She slowly rose and, dragging the invisible chains bound around her waist, approached the large bathtub. As she circled around observing Yan Zhen, her gaze seemed to stick to his body, never leaving for even a moment.
Yan Zhen felt rather uncomfortable under her scrutiny, thinking the beautiful senior-apprenticed sister must be observing the paths of his meridians and the locations of his mystic gates, as the script had described.
Yet what Chen Xi thought was: The color of the medicinal liquid was a bit too concentrated.
After observing for a while, Chen Xi pondered briefly before instructing, “Zhen’er, raise your arm.”
Yan Zhen immediately raised his dripping right arm.
Chen Xi grasped Yan Zhen’s right arm, squeezing here and there, then had him raise his other arm to continue squeezing.
Yan Zhen was confused. “Master, what are you doing?”
Chen Xi answered calmly, “Confirming the locations of your mystic gates.”
But according to the script, the beautiful senior-apprenticed sister was supposed to perceive their locations at a glance, as she was a Sage-realm alchemist!
Was this another detail deviation? In reality, the beautiful senior-apprenticed sister was more cautious and meticulous, which could also be seen as a way of caring for her disciple!
“Raise your legs too.”
“Oh.”
Yan Zhen covered little Yan Zhen with one hand while propping both legs up on the tub’s edge, and Chen Xi proceeded to squeeze along his legs as well.
After squeezing to her satisfaction—no, after confirming the locations of his mystic gates, Chen Xi retracted her hands and said, “That should be enough. Next, I will help you open all your mystic gates. Although the medicinal liquid will alleviate your suffering, you will still need to endure a portion of the pain yourself. You must persevere.”
Yan Zhen had actually found the squeezing quite pleasurable and wanted the master to squeeze some more. Hearing her words, he responded after regaining his senses, “I understand, Master. Please begin; I can endure it!”
Chen Xi did not say more. Pressing her fingers together, she formed a slender, five-colored flame needle between them.
With a gentle flick, the five-colored flame needle pierced Yan Zhen’s back.
The scorching mystic force contained within the needle seeped into Yan Zhen’s body in a relatively mild manner, then gradually accelerated through his meridians until gushing.
Intense, stabbing pain abruptly erupted, causing the previously composed Yan Zhen to widen his eyes.
—Sh*t! This is too much!
[Ding! System friendly reminder: The host can choose whether to skip over tedious, painful plotlines that do not affect subsequent cultivation.]
—What?!
Yan Zhen focused his gaze to see a dialog box had popped up on the system interface:
“Skip the process of opening the mystic gates?”
—No need to ask, skip it!
Yeah, knew she was gonna to nitpick on the boxers. 🤣