Staring at the two fist-sized red pills with a metallic sheen, two wriggling, almost-living flesh pills, and two decayed, pungent black pills before him, Leo Blaze nodded in satisfaction. He had included everything he could think of. With this much put in, it would undoubtedly be lethal, leaving no trace of vitality behind. <br><br>Nearby, an incense stick had been set aflame, symbolizing the time left in the year. According to his made-up cultivation technique, the timing had to coincide with the year's end to absorb the Heavenly Spiritual Energy descending from above. <br><br>Sitting cross-legged, Leo Blaze picked up a fist-sized red pill, his heart calm despite the looming death. <br><br>Yes, he had no contingency plan whatsoever. <br><br>Leo Blaze understood clearly—he would have to consume these Elixirs himself. If he didn’t, Master Dan certainly wouldn’t. <br><br>As affable as Master Dan had seemed earlier, chatting amiably at the New Year’s feast, his claim of “achieving eternal life together” was nothing more than a ruse to use Leo Blaze as a trial subject for the pills. <br><br>But Master Dan had gravely miscalculated, never realizing that Leo Blaze didn’t care about his own life. <br><br>Leo Blaze had long since come to terms with life and death; he never truly belonged here anyway. <br><br>His sole purpose in clinging to life was to watch this repugnant trash, Master Dan, be led into his grave through his own machinations. <br><br>Across from him, Master Dan also sat cross-legged, similarly picking up a red pill. <br><br>As the incense stick’s flame dwindled, both men observed intently. <br><br>When the incense was nearly burned out, Leo Blaze took a deep breath and swallowed the pill in his hand whole. <br><br>Meanwhile, Master Dan paused in his actions, his eyes fixed on Leo Blaze. <br><br>Leo Blaze, now showing a hint of exhilaration, ignored the stare. He swallowed the remaining two pills in quick succession, closed his eyes, and placed his hands in a mystical gesture on his knees. <br><br>Sweat trickled down his face as his body trembled in meditation, yet an uncontrollable ecstasy emerged on his face. <br><br>“I have so much innate spiritual energy! This... this is... I understand now, I finally understand!! I’m about to Ascend to Immortality~!” <br><br>Hearing this, a trace of urgency flashed in Master Dan’s eyes. Yet he still refrained from consuming the pills. Only when he saw white smoke curling up from Leo Blaze’s head did he finally devour all three pills ravenously. <br><br>Closing his eyes, Master Dan began circulating his Microcosmic Orbit and Macrocosmic Orbit techniques as he sat cross-legged. <br><br>Leo Blaze, however, slowly opened his eyes, his grin growing even broader as he gazed at his Master. <br><br>When he saw black substances crawling through Master Dan’s veins, spreading across his entire body, just as his own head began emitting white smoke, Leo Blaze uncrossed his legs. Clutching his excruciatingly painful stomach, he burst into frenzied laughter. <br><br>“Hahaha, patchy scalp! Patchy scalp!! You’ll never become immortal now! You’ll only become a ghost. Let’s be companions on Naihe Bridge, hahaha!!” <br><br>It seemed Master Dan heard him, but he gave no response. Clenching his teeth and keeping his eyes shut, he continued frantically operating his Inner and Outer Grand Circulation technique in place. <br><br>“You’re still cultivating? All of it was made up! I copied it straight out of fantasy novels, hahaha. Ugh, my stomach hurts so much, hahaha.” <br><br>Leo Blaze crawled over to Master Dan, laughing maniacally. He raised a trembling right hand and slapped Master Dan’s face. “Hey, are you deaf? The boss is talking to you.” <br><br>With another slap, Master Dan still didn’t react. <br><br>Leo Blaze, hands shaking, retrieved another pill and swallowed it. His veins bulged, and he felt a surge of strength coursing through him. <br><br>“I said stop cultivating! Didn’t you hear me?” Leo Blaze punched Master Dan’s face, flattening his prominent jaw and nose. <br><br>Master Dan, now with blood streaming from his mouth, suddenly opened his eyes and glared at Leo Blaze with venomous intensity. With a flick of his robe, he sent Leo Blaze flying. <br><br>“Get out of my way! You heart demons can’t stop me from becoming immortal!! I’m about to become a deity! The Venerable Lord is about to welcome me!” <br><br>Lying on the floor where he’d landed, Leo Blaze didn’t get up. Instead, he stared at Master Dan and muttered to himself, “He’s gone crazy, completely driven mad by his obsession with immortality. Ugh, my stomach really hurts.” <br><br>One sat cross-legged, the other lay prone, as time crept by. The pain in Leo Blaze’s abdomen grew more intense, forcing his body into a curled, shrimp-like position. <br><br>“Ah, why does it hurt so much? How long do I have to suffer? I really regret not bringing a knife to end it,” Leo Blaze groaned, writhing in agony. <br><br>Overwhelmed by the pain, Leo Blaze’s consciousness began to blur. In his haze, he once again saw Anna Yang’s face. “Anna Yang, have you come to take me away?” <br><br>Anna Yang’s face quickly melted, rearranging itself into the visage of his attending physician. “Patient in Bed 14 is unconscious. Preliminary diagnosis: food poisoning! Quick! Bring the electric suction unit for gastric lavage!” <br><br>Leo Blaze slowly closed his eyes, a faint whisper escaping his lips. <br><br>“Gastric lavage...My ass...It’s a psychiatric hospital...Where would you...Get a lavage machine...Can’t your hallucinations...Be logically coherent...At least...” <br><br>With those final words, Leo Blaze’s consciousness faded, losing all sense of the world around him. <br><br>For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt at ease—his stomach no longer hurt. <br><br>He sensed his body plunging downward, endlessly, unable to find the bottom. <br><br>“Leo, hold on, you promised me!” a woman’s faint, urgent voice exploded in his ears. <br><br>Time passed in a blur until suddenly, Leo Blaze’s eyes shot open. Propped on his hands, he vomited violently. <br><br>A grotesque mass of malformed flesh, mixed with black liquid, strands of hair, dumpling fragments, and bits of internal organs, spewed out of his mouth. <br><br>The lump of flesh in the black liquid twitched a few times before growing motionless. <br><br>Staring at the scene, Leo Blaze froze. Was he still alive? How could this be? If he was alive, then Master Dan must be—! <br><br>Cold sweat broke out on Leo Blaze as he instinctively turned his head. His jaw dropped open in horror. “Oh my God, has he become some kind of deity...or what?” <br><br>His so-called Master’s body had completely mutated. Three monstrous mouths stretched grotesquely from his head, each bearing rows of disgusting yellow teeth, gnawing at the air. <br><br>His body had also undergone drastic changes. Asphalt-coated feathers, resembling sharp spikes, forcefully jutted out from his flesh. <br><br>“What the hell is this? Crown of Three Energies? Ascend to Immortality?” <br><br>As the thought crossed Leo Blaze’s mind, the three mouths opened wide, simultaneously emitting the voices of Master Dan as a youth, an adult, and an elder. “I see it now. I see it! Hahaha!!” <br><br>“Boom!!” With an earth-shattering explosion, Master Dan’s grotesque body blew apart, splattering blood and flesh all over the elixir chamber. ")
