Mortal: Starting with the Seven Mysterious Sects, I proved my Dao through sacrifice.

Seven days later, Murong Fan went to Shenshou Valley to retrieve a two-month supply of "Marrow Extraction Pills." Upon returning to his courtyard, Murong Fan dismissed all the servants, closed the doors and windows tightly, and the room fell into silence.

He took out the heavy porcelain bottle from his pocket, uncorked it, and a strange, slightly fishy medicinal fragrance wafted out. Inside the bottle lay twenty black pills, uniform in size, with smooth surfaces, faintly emitting an ominous glow.

"The Marrow Extraction Pill, at the cost of overdrawing one's life force, in exchange for a temporary surge in power..." Murong Fan muttered to himself. Beneath Li Feiyu's seemingly advanced cultivation lay the hidden danger of his life force being quietly devoured, but he had no other choice.

Murong Fan can use the power of the altar to find a new way to improve himself by offering the Marrow Extraction Pill as a sacrifice.

Murong Fan sat cross-legged on the couch, took a deep breath, and used his mind to summon the altar.

In an instant, subtitles appeared scrolling on the purple-blue light screen:

[“Resources available for sacrifice detected. Should we convert them into cultivation opportunities?”]

"Yes," Murong Fan silently thought.

Should all of them be sacrificed?

"While these marrow-extraction pills are extremely useful, they are also very harmful to the body. Perhaps we should sacrifice them all," Murong Fan thought rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the purple-blue light screen displayed:

[The value of the sacrificial offerings is being determined...]

【Marrow Extraction Pill (20 pills): Rapidly increases cultivation and combat power, but depletes life force】

[3 boxes of ginseng: for healing, prolonging life, and enhancing cultivation.]

[Secular silver (one thousand taels of silver): All metals, used exclusively for barter.]

[Common-grade wound medicine (6 bottles): Mildly potent, specifically for treating external injuries.]

In an instant, the marrow-extracting pills, ginseng, silver, and wound medicine in the bottle all disappeared, and a soft yet dazzling golden light suddenly burst forth from the center of the altar. At this moment, the area above the center of the altar was frantically spinning, compressing, and refining.

"boom--!"

The golden light suddenly exploded, transforming into countless golden specks that surged and converged above the altar like a boiling galaxy.

"Buzz—" The altar emitted a deep hum once more, and the surging golden light suddenly contracted inward, finally condensing into a droplet about the size of a thumb, perfectly round, as if cast from the purest gold, which hovered above the altar, radiating a heart-palpitating pressure.

The surface of the droplet was covered with ancient and mysterious patterns, as if it contained some kind of profound truth from the beginning of the world. Just looking at it, Murong Fan felt his soul tremble slightly.

"This...this is..." Murong Fan's eyes widened, his breathing becoming rapid. He could sense that the energy contained in this drop of golden liquid was far greater and purer than that of the twenty Marrow Extraction Pills, and it contained absolutely no trace of the sinister energy that drained life force; on the contrary, it was full of vibrant life force and formidable energy!

Murong Fan's mind raced: what he lacked most right now was precisely the resources to offer as sacrifices at the altar. He bowed slightly and respectfully said…

The subtitles on the purple-blue light screen began scrolling again: [Sacrifice successful! Obtained special cultivation resource—'Golden Marrow Pill']

[Golden Marrow Pill: Contains the essence of the five elements of heaven and earth, which can cleanse the marrow and meridians, temper the body, and improve physical aptitude]

Murong Fan gazed at the drop of golden marrow floating in the air, his eyes gleaming with unprecedented light. He knew he had made the right gamble! This altar was indeed the key to defying fate! With this golden marrow pill, even if he was originally just an average cultivator, he could probably undergo a transformative improvement!

In the blink of an eye, the three words "Golden Marrow Pill" in the [Pill Area] stood out.

"You have two bottles of Golden Marrow Pills available for collection. Do you wish to collect them?" The purple-blue screen flashed with a message.

"Claim now," Murong Fan murmured.

Murong Fan reached out slightly and placed two bottles of "Golden Marrow Pills" in his hand. He counted them and found there were exactly 20 pills.

He sat cross-legged on the couch, took a deep breath, and put a Golden Marrow Pill into his mouth. The pill melted instantly in his mouth, turning into a stream of scalding heat that rushed down his throat and into his stomach.

In an instant, it was as if a raging fire was burning fiercely in his dantian, and the violent medicinal power surged uncontrollably, impacting the meridians of his limbs and bones.

"It hurts—" Murong Fan groaned, his forehead instantly covered in cold sweat. It felt as if countless tiny knives were haphazardly cutting inside his body, tearing pain shooting through his meridians.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and circulated the internal energy cultivation method personally taught by the sect leader, attempting to guide the violent medicinal power.

However, the Golden Marrow Pill was far more potent than he had imagined. It not only stimulated the growth of his internal energy, but also frantically extracted the life essence deep within his body.

Murong Fan could clearly feel his energy being rapidly depleted, and he was sweating profusely. But at the same time, the internal energy in his dantian was also surging at an astonishing speed. His internal energy, which had already reached the level of a first-class master, was now showing signs of breaking through to a higher level.

"Now!" A glint flashed in Murong Fan's eyes. He knew that this was the moment when the medicine was at its peak, and also the best time to activate the altar. He endured the excruciating pain that almost made him faint, and sank his mind into his sea of ​​consciousness to communicate with the mysterious altar of sacrifice for all things.

As he focused his mind, the altar in his sea of ​​consciousness slowly lit up, emitting an ancient and profound light. In the groove at the center of the altar, an invisible vortex seemed to form, frantically absorbing the surging internal energy within him and the life essence stimulated by the Golden Marrow Pill.

"Buzz—"

The altar emitted a deep hum, and dazzling golden light emanated from Murong Fan's body, illuminating the entire room as if it were daytime.

His body trembled violently, his face showing an expression of extreme pain mixed with ecstasy. His inner strength and vitality were swallowed up by the altar like a flood, while the altar returned to him an even purer and more powerful energy.

This energy is not simply internal force, but a strange marrow fluid with a golden luster. It flows through Murong Fan's meridians, and wherever it passes, the meridians that were originally damaged by the impact of the medicine are repaired and strengthened at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming more resilient and wider.

His bones were also making subtle "crackling" sounds, and their density and strength were quietly increasing.

Time passed slowly, and Murong Fan had consumed more than half of the Golden Marrow Pill in the porcelain bottle. His aura sometimes surged and sometimes waned, and his body strangely alternated between aging and rejuvenation. But his eyes grew brighter and more determined.

Murong Fan slowly stood up, feeling the unprecedentedly powerful force within his body. His every movement was now effortless, his inner strength flowing smoothly and naturally, as if it were innate.

He could clearly feel that his five senses had become more acute than before. He could perceive the spiritual energy flowing in the surrounding air, and even the subtle movements of birds and beasts in the distant mountains and forests more deeply than before.

He clenched his fist lightly, a muffled crack echoing from his bones, as an immense force coalesced at his knuckles. This was far beyond the reach of ordinary first-rate masters; even among the elders of the Seven Mysteries Sect, few could rival him!

"Although the Marrow Extraction Pill is potent, if it can be used as a catalyst to condense this golden marrow with the power of the altar, it will all be worth it!" Murong Fan felt the surging golden marrow within his body, and a confident smile appeared on his lips.

This golden marrow not only made his strength advance by leaps and bounds, but it also seemed to be subtly changing his physique, opening a door for him to a higher realm of martial arts.

Outside the window, the last rays of the setting sun streamed through the panes, casting a long shadow of him. Murong Fan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, his eyes filled with longing and ambition for the future. His era seemed to have just begun.

……

Twenty days later, a purple-blue light screen unfolded before my eyes, and words flowed like water:

[Host: Murong Fan]

[Spiritual Root: Heavenly Spiritual Root (Wood Attribute)]

[Strength: Mortal (Top-Tier Martial Artist)]

[Magic Treasure: First, offer sacrifices to all things at the altar, then exchange them for the heavens.]

With the aid of twenty Golden Marrow Pills, Murong Fan had already undergone a complete transformation. However, the prospect of living off his savings was the hardest thing for him to accept. "Now that I'm a top-tier martial artist, I have the strength to seek out even better sacrificial offerings from the outside world," Murong Fan secretly resolved in his heart.