Immortal Martial Arts Son-in-Law: Having Too Many Wives Isn't My Fault

Chen Hao left the Su family's residence and walked along the corridor.

It is winter right now.

The icicles hanging under the eaves clattered together in the wind, like shattered jade striking each other.

He pulled his sleeves tighter, his fingertips touching the cool surface of the jade slip.

Mighty Bull Demon Skill, mid-level Spirit Rank.

Back when I was making a living among the rogue cultivators, even hearing a single word about this kind of cultivation technique was considered a stroke of luck, let alone touching it.

Those low-level rogue cultivators would fight to the death in the black market for a single inheritance.

And now, it lies quietly in his sleeve.

By the time I got home, it was already getting dark.

After the snow was swept away, the blue brick floor was revealed, and several yellow wintersweet bushes in the corner had already bloomed.

He pushed open the door and entered the room. Su Wanqing was holding the child and dozing off by the charcoal brazier.

"My husband is back. What does your wife want with you?"

"It's nothing serious."

Chen Hao sat down next to her and reached out to tease the child.

"They gave me a cultivation manual and told me to practice it properly."

He did not elaborate on Madam Su's admonishing words.

Chen Hao took his son in his arms.

"You've had a tough time these past few days. There's not even anyone to do anything for you in our hospital. You've only just recovered, and this can't go on forever."

Su Wanqing lowered her eyes and picked up the fire tongs to stir the charcoal.

"I'm not some legitimate daughter. I've been doing these things since I was little. I'm not that pampered."

Chen Hao shook his head.

"You've just given birth, how can you compare to before? In a few days I'll hire a maid, and she can take care of the chores like laundry and cooking, so you can have an easier time."

"Hiring someone personally is quite expensive. Our monthly allowance isn't much to begin with, and you're currently in the midst of a period of intense cultivation, requiring spirit stones for everything..."

"I know what's going on with the spirit stones. We also have 60,000 catties of spirit grain. If we sell them, it will be a lot of money."

Hearing Chen Hao's firm words.

Su Wanqing then said no more.

After playing with the child for a while, Chen Hao returned the child to Su Wanqing and went to the quiet room.

He sat down cross-legged and took out the jade slip containing the Mighty Bull Demon Skill.

The jade slip was warm to the touch, and he sent out a wisp of his divine sense to probe into it.

With a loud "boom" in his mind, a giant, pitch-black bull phantom appeared, stepping through the air.

When the giant bull landed on its four hooves, it splashed up a shower of light and dust. The bull raised its head to the sky and let out a low, deep moo.

Chen Hao grunted.

The Iron Rhinoceros Skill started operating on its own without him having to activate it.

Those originally crude and simple practice methods.

Guided by the aura of the jade slip, it began to expand and reshape itself little by little.

Chen Hao was overjoyed.

This Mighty Bull Demon Skill was even more compatible with him than he had imagined, and there were almost no barriers to switching to it.

But then, a dull pain surged up from the depths of his bone marrow.

He was prepared.

The Mighty Bull Demon Skill follows the path of overcoming skill with brute force, and has extremely demanding requirements on the physical body.

Chen Hao took out a warming powder and swallowed it. The burning, tearing pain immediately subsided.

An hour later, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of white air.

The white mist condensed and did not disperse, gathering into a small ball in the air.

It resembled a miniature bull's head outline, which gradually faded away after two or three breaths.

Chen Hao looked down at his arm; a faint bluish-black tinge had appeared on the surface of his skin, and when he pressed it, it was as hard as old cowhide.

He nodded in satisfaction.

At this rate, it will take at most another half month.

This will allow you to completely transform the foundation of the Iron Rhinoceros Kung Fu.

Then came the attempt to break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

He reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.

With the help of the Breakthrough Pill, he will soon be able to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.

Once a cultivator reaches the late stage of Qi Refining, both their lifespan and combat abilities will increase significantly.

For the next three days, Chen Hao did not leave the quiet room.

Aside from eating and drinking, he spends all his time practicing his cultivation techniques.

Su Wanqing knew that he had reached a crucial moment in his cultivation, so she did not disturb him.

By the evening of the third day, the Iron Rhinoceros Skill had been 70% transformed.

But the remaining 30% began to become stubborn.

It's not a big problem, but it's like a hidden reef in a river; the water can pass through, but it doesn't flow smoothly.

Chen Hao frowned and thought for a moment, then took out a dusty book from his sleeve.

The Medical Classic of the Green Bag.

Chen Hao turned to page thirty-seven and his gaze fell on a prescription for medicine.

"Tiger Bone Strengthening Pill, Grade 1, Mid-grade, made primarily from the spine of a tiger-type demon beast, supplemented with blood vine, ox hyssop, etc..."

The description of this prescription is a perfect match for Wenmai Powder.

Warm Pulse Powder heals hidden injuries and nourishes the meridians, while Tiger Bone Strengthening Pulse Pills strengthen bones and muscles and widen the meridians. The two are used together.

One is for nurturing, and the other is for strengthening; this perfectly suits his needs when he switches to cultivating new techniques.

More importantly, the Tiger Bone Strengthening Pill is potent and domineering, which is highly compatible with the Mighty Bull Demon Skill's approach of overcoming skill with brute force.

Chen Hao had made up his mind.

He had hyssop and blood vine in the yard.

He had all the other auxiliary materials on hand, but the main material required was the spine of a tiger-type monster of rank one or higher.

He doesn't have any of this on him.

He stood up, wiped the herbal stove clean and put it away, then pushed open the door of the quiet room and went out.

It was still early outside; the sun had just risen over the eastern ridge, casting a golden glow on the snow.

The market town at the foot of Qingzhu Mountain was run by the Su family; it was neither too big nor too small.

Chen Hao was preparing to go and find some tiger bones.

At this time of day, the streets would already be bustling with activity.

But today, something's not quite right.

The streets are too quiet.

Chen Hao walked out of the alley and stood on the main street, his brows slowly furrowing.

The doors of several shops were tightly closed, with wooden signs reading "Closed" hanging at the entrances.

Occasionally, a few monks would walk by on the street, all with their heads down.

There was an indescribable smell in the air.

Chen Hao sniffed.

It's the smell of a corpse.

It was faint, suppressed by the cold wind, but it couldn't escape his nose.

He walked along the main street toward the center of the neighborhood, and after turning a corner, he suddenly stopped.

A pile of corpses lay on the street corner.

"Spirit rice, six spirit stones for one hundred catties."

His eyelid twitched.

Six spirit stones weighing one hundred catties.

Last autumn, a hundred catties of spirit rice cost just over two spirit stones.

Even a few months ago, it would only cost three or four spirit stones, but now it has risen to six spirit stones.

This isn't just a price increase, this is cannibalism.

It should be noted that he held the position of head guard in the Su family, and his monthly salary was only ten spirit stones.

"Fellow Daoist, why has the price of spiritual food increased so much?"

Chen Hao found a middle-aged man next to him and casually asked him a question.

"You must have connections, right?"

The middle-aged man smiled.

"During this year's autumn harvest, there was a pest infestation, and large areas of the rice withered and died."

"The land around Qingzhu Mountain is considered good; the soil is fertile, and we harvested some crops."

"Many areas in the Eastern Wilderness suffered complete crop failure. In addition, the independent cultivators in the mountains didn't have much savings to begin with, and once winter came, the price of grain skyrocketed to this level."

Chen Hao stood there in silence for a long time.

He walked a little further on.

The closer you get to the city center, the more corpses you'll find on the streets.

Although the Su family has already started disaster relief, it is clear that there are too many monks and not enough porridge, and they cannot provide enough relief.

Next, Chen Hao asked three shops in a row if they had fresh tiger bones.

But the answers were all the same.

The Great Snow Mountain has been closed for half a month, making it difficult for cultivators who hunt demons to find it.

Not to mention the demon tiger's spine, even ordinary demon beast materials were mostly broken.

One of the shopkeepers even chimed in, saying that he had heard a few days ago that the Su family's hunting team had hunted a tiger in the south of the mountains.

But that was a second-tier item, which had already been sent to the main hall.

Second-tier demonic tiger.

Upon hearing this, Chen Hao remained outwardly calm, but his heart sank.

Even ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivators cannot withstand a second-tier demonic beast.

Materials of this grade are extremely rare.

But since that thing is in the Su family, it doesn't necessarily require spending spirit stones to buy it.

With that in mind, Chen Hao walked towards the Su family's shop in the center of the market.

The Su family's general store is located in the middle of the main street, with three storefronts.

While the other shops were deserted, this place was bustling with activity, with several cultivators lined up at the entrance, all there to buy grain.

Chen Hao didn't go that way; he went straight into the main hall of the general store.

The shopkeeper was an old cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining. Since Chen Hao married Su Hanyan, he had become quite a celebrity in the Su family.

As soon as he saw Chen Hao enter, he immediately came out from behind the counter to greet him.

"Young Master Chen, what brings you here?"

Chen Hao doesn't beat around the bush.

"Brother Su, do you have the spine of a tiger-type demon beast in your shop? Something of rank one or higher."

Su Ba was stunned for a moment.

"Tiger bone? What does the son-in-law need that for?"

"For practicing martial arts."

Su Ba hesitated for a moment, then turned around and went to the shelves in the inner room to look through the account books.

After a moment, he looked up and said.

"Young master, to be honest, with the Great Snow Mountain sealed off, all supplies have been cut off. We did have one first-tier demon tiger bone last month, but it was bought by Steward Liu from the second branch. There is one left in the warehouse... but it's not a second-tier one."

"Second-order?"

"Exactly."

"The Shannan Hunting Team just captured a fully grown Iron-Spine Demon Tiger last month, a mid-grade second-tier beast. That beast had wreaked havoc on many people in Shannan; it took the Third Elder and the Fifth Elder working together to subdue it."

Chen Hao nodded: "What's the price?"

"The whole thing costs three hundred spirit stones."

Three hundred spirit stones.

Moreover, in order to stockpile spirit food, he spent almost all the spirit stones that he and Su Wanqing had.

He only has about twenty or thirty yuan on him at most.

"If the son-in-law is using it himself, he doesn't need to buy the whole skeleton. The spine costs ten spirit stones per pound."

Ten spirit stones per pound.

Chen Hao estimated that the pills used in this alchemy would weigh at least ten jin.

More than a hundred spirit stones.

He still couldn't produce it.

Chen Hao remained silent for a few moments, then raised his eyes.

"Brother Su, do you buy pills at your shop?"

Su Ba's smile faltered for a moment, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He asked, "Son-in-law...you know alchemy?"

"I know some."

Chen Hao didn't explain further, and took out two small porcelain bottles from his sleeve.

One bottle contains herbal remedies for promoting flowering and the other contains warming herbal powder.

Su Ba picked up the bottle containing the herbal peony, uncorked it, and poured out two peony seeds into his palm.

The pills were pale blue, round and plump, with a faint sheen of water on their surface.

He picked it up, brought it to his nose, and smelled it. His expression suddenly changed.

He didn't speak, but turned and quickly walked into the inner room.

Chen Hao stood there and waited.

A short while later, the curtain to the inner room was lifted, and a person came out.

It was an old man wearing a blue cloth robe.

He was Su Henian, the third elder of the Su family. He held a very high position in the Su family and rarely showed his face.

Su Henian walked to the counter, and without exchanging pleasantries, picked up the pills and examined them for a long time.

"Young Master Chen, did you refine this elixir?"

"Yes."

Chen Hao nodded.

"Just a beginner."

Su Henian didn't speak, but opened another bottle of Wenmai Powder and smelled it.

After smelling it, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were confirming something.

After several breaths, he slowly spoke.

"Water-based alchemy?"

Chen Hao's heart stirred slightly.

That old man has a really sharp eye.

"It's a water-based method."

He did not deny it.

"The elixirs inherited from the water-based method are milder in nature, with more than 20% fewer impurities than those from the fire-based method. Although your Herbal Blossoming Elixir is only a low-grade first-tier elixir, its final quality is already close to that of a mid-grade elixir."

"As for this Warm Pulse Powder... the Warm Pulse Powder refined by those old fellows in my Su family's alchemy hall using fire techniques has more than 30% of the impurities in yours."

Su Ba listened in stunned silence, his mouth agape, but he couldn't utter a word.

Su Henian ignored his reaction and looked at Chen Hao instead.

"How long have you been studying?"

"Less than half a year."

Chen Hao answered truthfully.

Upon hearing this, even Su Henian's chiseled face showed a slight fluctuation.

In half a year, he refined a first-tier elixir using water techniques.

Moreover, its quality surpassed that of the old alchemists in the Su family's alchemy hall who had been practicing fire techniques for decades.

Although water has a natural purification effect.

But this talent is beyond what can be described as merely "good".

Su Henian stared at Chen Hao for several moments, then suddenly smiled.

He was probably not a person who smiled often; the muscles in his face moved very stiffly.

"it is good."

Then he turned to Su Ba and said, "Go to the storeroom and get that demon tiger's spine."

Su Ba paused for a moment, then cautiously offered a reminder.

"Third Elder, that spine is priced at twelve spirit stones..."

"Bring it here."

Su Henian repeated it again.

"Take my share."

Su Ba said no more and quickly went into the warehouse.

A short while later, he came out carrying a bloody spine.

The bone was about three feet long and as thick as a child's arm. It was extremely heavy, weighing at least thirty or thirty pounds.

Faint, fine lines could be seen on the bone, which were the unique bone patterns of the Iron-Spine Demon Tiger.

Su Henian picked up the two bottles of pills, poured half of each out, and placed them on the counter.

"The shop will take these two bottles of pills. The Herbal Blossom Pill costs eight spirit stones per bottle, and the Warming Pulse Powder costs ten spirit stones per bottle, for a total of twenty spirit stones. The remaining amount for the tiger bones can be kept on my tab; consider it a personal gift to you."

Chen Hao frowned slightly.

This price is already 30% higher than what you'd get from outside shops.

Moreover, this spine is worth at least a hundred spirit stones, and even if you include the pills, the difference is still considerable.

"Third Elder, this is inappropriate."

"There's nothing inappropriate about it."

"You are the son-in-law of the Su family. Although you don't share the surname Su, the Su family is never stingy with its members. Since you can refine pills, you are a member of the Su family. There's no need to distinguish between insiders and outsiders."

"By the way, the Su family's alchemy hall has a rule that for every batch of finished pills a member of the clan refines, they can exchange it for a corresponding amount of materials. You are not of the same surname, but this rule still applies to you. I'll have someone send the details to your courtyard later."

Chen Hao paused for a moment, then clasped his hands in a salute: "Thank you, Third Elder."

"No need to thank me." Su Henian looked at him with a meaningful gaze.

"Your ability to refine pills using water techniques is far more valuable than a tiger bone. Keep at it and don't waste your time."

Chen Hao didn't say anything more, put away the tiger bone, and turned to leave the shop.

After he left, the shop was quiet for a while.

Su Ba stood behind the counter, staring at the pale blue pills on the table, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.

"Third Elder... there are only a handful of lineages in the entire Green Bamboo Mountain region that specialize in water-based alchemy, right? Where did Young Master Chen, a rogue cultivator, learn it from?"

Su Henian did not answer him, but instead picked up a herbal hair growth pill.

"Pills refined using ordinary water methods do not have this kind of spiritual light on their surface. The spiritual light of his pill is condensed and does not dissipate, which is the kind of aura that only a superior inheritance can produce, and it is obvious that he has been immersed in it for quite some time."

"When I was young, I traveled to Qingzhou and witnessed a true master of water magic refining pills. When the pills were completed, water vapor rose from the furnace and condensed into clouds."

"Although the spiritual light in his pills is still weak, the method is correct. Given time, it may very well become a force to be reckoned with."

Su Henian paused for a moment.

"Born a rogue cultivator, he married into my Su family. He is at the fifth level of Qi Refining and knows how to refine pills using water techniques."

"It seems the Su family has struck gold..."

"It's just a pity that he's not a member of the Su family. If he were, we would use all our resources to push him to the top."