Raise a sword!

The withered old man raised his eyebrows slightly.

"You, a mere mortal, know about cultivating immortality?"

Jiang Peng smiled bitterly, "I've only ever seen it in stories before, and I used to think it was just the author's daydream. But now... alas, I've been swept into this prison by a black wind. How could I not know that cultivating immortality is real?"

The old man remained noncommittal, merely looking Jiang Peng up and down for a moment before finally shaking his head slightly, his interest waning.

"I am Hao Qian, a disciple of the Cangshan Sect. You may call me Elder Hao."

Jiang Peng quickly stood up and bowed, still addressing him as a senior.

"Senior Hao."

Old Hao didn't seem to mind, but sighed softly, "You do know your manners. What a pity. I know why you asked about my cultivation level. I suppose the pill you just received gave you some amazing benefits, which is why you had the idea of ​​escaping, right?"

The Demon Lord Dan captured Dan Nu to test medicine in order to restore the ancient elixir formula. If the experiment is successful, the Demon Lord Dan will eventually have to take the elixir himself.

Jiang Peng survived the pill, naturally benefiting from its effects. Old Hao quickly realized the reason after a moment's thought.

But he didn't think Jiang Peng had a chance to escape from Dan Laomo's grasp.

"Even with my seventh level of Qi Refining cultivation, I was utterly defeated before that Old Demon Dan. How could you, a mere mortal, possibly escape?"

"That's why I need to ask for your guidance, senior. I hope you can teach me how to cultivate." Jiang Peng was of course not going to give up.

Old Hao shook his head again.

"Even if you possess spiritual roots and can cultivate, that Old Demon Dan can see through your cultivation level at a glance! He didn't restrict you because you were a mortal, but if you had cultivation..."

At this point, Mr. Hao pointed to himself.

"Even with my late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, I was tormented to the point of unbearable pain by a single restriction from Old Demon Dan, and I couldn't even unleash half of my full abilities."

Jiang Peng remained silent.

Old Hao's words do make some sense.

As a prisoner, becoming a cultivator would not escape the eyes of Old Demon Dan, and escaping would become even more difficult.

"Senior, is there a way to conceal one's cultivation level?"

"Yes, but I won't," Elder Hao said frankly. "As a disciple of this sect, I act with integrity and uprightness; why would I need to hide anything?"

Jiang Peng pursed her lips, remaining expressionless.

When Old Demon Dan came just now, he was so afraid of being tortured by Old Demon Dan that he quickly pushed a scapegoat out. He was really quite upright and honest.

Old Hao then asked, "What are the benefits of that pill just now? Tell me about it."

Jiang Peng didn't hide anything, and there was nothing to hide about it anyway.

"I just feel a bit stronger."

Old Hao nodded.

"It seems that Old Demon Dan is already preparing for Foundation Establishment... Such evil cultivators have unstable cultivation levels and need a stronger physical body to withstand the spiritual energy impact during Foundation Establishment."

As he spoke, Old Hao suddenly remembered something.

He waved to Jiang Peng.

"Come here."

Jiang Peng approached, puzzled, and then saw Old Hao suddenly raise his hand and touch his forehead.

The next moment, several blurry figures flashed before Jiang Peng's eyes, seemingly forming a single, coordinated movement.

Old Hao loosened his grip, his face growing even paler.

"Cough cough... It's so difficult just to leave a slight impression in the minds of mortals."

He waved for Jiang Peng to step back, then weakly curled up.

"What I just taught you is the body-refining technique 'White Ape Strength'. If you master this technique, you will be able to hold your own against a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator with just your physical body."

"But achieving mastery of body refinement is extremely difficult; you can just practice for fun."

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Hao seemed to fall into extreme exhaustion and soon drifted off to sleep.

Jiang Peng kept recalling the set of movements that constantly challenged the limits of the human body in his mind. Only after he had memorized them completely did he stand up and give a slight bow to Old Hao.

There's still no clue how to escape, but at least there's been some progress in my cultivation.

"Sigh, let's practice for now."

...

The White Ape Technique was much harder to master than Jiang Peng had imagined.

With the help of the pills, he tirelessly worked for several hours, stretching almost every muscle in his body, before he could barely execute the movements in his mind.

"Phew." Jiang Peng let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Although it hurt a lot during the process, I actually felt much more relaxed after one round, and the medicinal effects in my body were completely neutralized."

Jiang Peng experienced the benefits of "White Ape Strength".

Judging that he still had energy left, he rested for a while and then began his second round of cultivation.

Having stretched his muscles and bones the first time, Jiang Peng performed the "White Ape Strength" routine with unparalleled smoothness the second time.

"My physical body seems to have improved." Jiang Peng didn't expect that in just a few hours, he would actually experience the benefits of cultivation.

This is just body tempering, not true Qi absorption cultivation.

Jiang Peng became addicted and began cultivating tirelessly.

When Jiang Peng was practicing for the fifth time, she suddenly saw a green figure appear outside the cage.

The sudden appearance of Dan Laomo made Jiang Peng's heart jump into her throat.

"Interesting. Not only did he not die, he even mastered the basics of body refinement."

The expected thunder did not fall. Instead of being angry, Old Demon Dan looked at Jiang Peng with great delight.

As soon as he raised his hand, Jiang Peng felt a suction force. When he came to his senses, he found that Dan Laomo had grabbed his arm through the cage.

"Excellent, excellent! Your physical body has indeed improved. Adding the Poison Dragon Flower to the pill formula was the right move! The formula is only missing a highly poisonous ingredient to neutralize the medicinal power; only when Yin and Yang are balanced can the pill be successfully formed!"

Dan Laomo muttered to himself, then suddenly took out another pill and tossed it to Jiang Peng.

"I'm impressed."

This time, after Jiang Peng accepted the pill, the text prompt appeared once again.

[Heart-Devouring Pill: Mid-grade Tier 1, Chronic Toxin, Small Amount of Spiritual Energy]

Purification and Refinement

Jiang Peng's eyes flickered slightly, and she had some guesses in her mind.

You must come into contact with the elixir to see the prompt.

"Hurry up!" Old Demon Dan urged impatiently.

Jiang Peng could only pretend to put the pill in her mouth and then purify it, just like last time.

[Unknown Pill: Mid-grade Tier 1, Small Amount of Spiritual Energy]

After Jiang Peng consumed the purified pill, the process of refining the pill reappeared in her mind.

Unfortunately, Jiang Peng didn't recognize the alchemy materials yet, nor did she know how to control the fire; she could only memorize them.

Outside the cell, Dan Laomo nodded in satisfaction when he saw that Jiang Peng had taken the pill.

"Very good, you can have Fellow Daoist Hao teach you cultivation."

After saying that, Old Demon Dan left on his own.

Jiang Peng turned around in confusion, only to see that Old Hao had opened his eyes at some point.

However, Old Hao's expression was not good, and his eyes were full of regret.

"That's the Heart-Eating Pill," Old Hao sighed. "If you don't take the antidote within three days, you'll die from the poison... I told you not to waste your energy falling into this man's hands; you'd be dead for sure."