I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 177: Qi Nourishing Pills

’With the Bursting Fire Steps already at 79%, I’ll continue to pour my attention into it in the remainder of the twelve days,’

Yi Chen thought to himself.

"In the ruins, evasion will definitely play a huge role, so that makes it even more necessary for me to focus particularly on this one."

Yi Chen muttered to himself while glancing at the other two cultivation arts. The Crimson Fire Arts was still at 70% and would take a lot of effort to improve, even with his 10x comprehension buff.

As for the Myriad Fire Swords, which were at 33%, he didn’t even consider them, given his circumstances.

A second later, he removed his shoes at the side of the courtyard and walked with bare feet to the middle. It was time to practice the Bursting Fire Steps.

Unlike usual, where he used to depend solely on comprehending the technique by analysing his skill book, he chose to do it while practising.

’With how slow the progress has been after breaching the 75% mark, maybe this would be more effective...’

Yi Chen thought and began executing the Bursting Fire Steps one after the other.

Burst!

Burst!

Burst!

.

.

Normally, he refrained from this method because of the continuous need to replenish his Qi pool again and again, which made the entire process feel jarring.

After executing thirty-three bursts, Yi Chen took out a pill bottle containing blue pills from his storage ring.

These pills were the main reasons why he had gone out of his way to try this method. He hoped to utilise them to quickly fill up his Qi pool and keep practising the Bursting Fire Steps.

"Qi Nourishing Pills...it’s time to show your worth," Yi Chen muttered while taking one blue pill out of the bottle and swallowing it whole.

Gulp.

The next second, a cooling sensation completely engulfed his stomach. It felt as if he had eaten a giant piece of ice all of a sudden.

"This..."

Yi Chen muttered with a subtle frown as he sat on the ground cross-legged to feel more comfortable.

The intense cold didn’t last for long as the Spiritual Qi, which was being let out by the pill, had started to be absorbed by the stomach’s lining.

A while later, through the stomach’s lining, it entered the Qi pool where, after being processed by Yi Chen’s spirit root into innate fire qi, it finally settled.

Feeling the changes in his body, Yi Chen opened his status panel and saw his Qi Pool filling up at a rapid pace.

23...

78...

145...

It kept rising and rising, and in just ten minutes, his Qi pool was completely filled.

Qi Pool: 330 / 330

"Amazing..." Yi Chen muttered in admiration, seeing this.

What would have normally taken him almost three hours with Low Grade Spirit Stones was done in just ten minutes, thanks to this one pill.

"This is even faster than directly absorbing from a High-Grade Spirit Stone!" he exclaimed at this discovery as his admiration for alchemy grew severalfold.

’Alchemy...I’ll have to give it a try someday,’ Yi Chen thought to himself while licking his lips. A strong minty taste spread all over his mouth the next second.

It was obvious to him that this strong absorption rate had only become possible because of the several herbs which were used to make this pill. Otherwise, even a High Grade Spirit Stone possessed a lot of Qi, but even that couldn’t match such a rapid absorption rate.

Now that his Qi pool was back to full, Yi Chen didn’t waste any more time and immediately began practising his Bursting Fire Steps.

Sharp bursts echoed in the courtyard for the next few minutes and finally stopped when his Qi Pool was depleted once again.

Glancing at his status panel, Yi Chen saw his comprehension rise by one per cent.

[Bursting Fire Steps: 80%]

Seeing this progress, he swallowed another pill and, ten minutes later, again focused entirely on the Bursting Fire Steps.

Time passed, and soon an hour and a half had elapsed.

The continuous execution of the technique had taken a toll on his body. As a result, he was completely covered in sweat.

By now, he had executed the Bursting Fire Steps almost two hundred times and had emptied an entire bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills.

All this hard work wasn’t in vain, as his comprehension percentage had increased to 82% by now.

Although it might look like only a small increase, Yi Chen knew that it wasn’t.

’If I were to do it by my regular method, I would need to spend more than six hours in order to understand the depth and intricacies of the technique...’

Yi Chen thought while turning the empty bottle in his hand to cinders by utilising the Crimson Fire Arts.

’It’s best that I don’t waste these pills anymore. With such a fast absorption rate, they are bound to be of great help inside the ruin,’ Yi Chen thought to himself while also noting in his mind to buy a few more of these pills later.

Since the night was still young, instead of going to sleep, he practised his swordsmanship for another couple of hours before finally calling it a night.

The next morning, Yi Chen woke up early and began his day by focusing on comprehending the Bursting Fire Steps. He sat cross-legged in front of the skill book and started analysing and mulling over it.

Not wanting to waste the pills, he went back to his usual way of comprehension.

An hour later, he was roused by the sound of utensils in the kitchen and went to help Qin Yao with the breakfast preparation.

After breakfast, Qin Yao busied himself with his own cultivation, and meanwhile Yi Chen practised his swordsmanship in the courtyard and kept switching between comprehending the Bursting Fire Steps to keep things from feeling monotonous.

Knock! Knock!

An hour before noon, his attention was drawn by a knock from the residence’s gate.

’Who?’

Yi Chen wondered and, since he was already at the courtyard, decided to open the gate.

The next second, a surprised expression formed on his face.

"Yi Chen! So, you were training even today. Good! Good!"

Feng Haoran, who had been waiting outside the door, said the moment his eyes fell on Yi Chen’s sweat-drenched figure.

"Patriarch..." Yi Chen’s eyes widened as an uncomfortable feeling welled up in his heart, seeing the man waiting outside the gate.