After Chu Li had finished his meal, he left the Flavorful Tower with Xu Jingya.

　　The two of them strolled leisurely to let their food digest while they chatted.

　　“Junior Brother Zhao, it isn’t without reason that you have such poor popularity,” Xu Jingya said while shaking her head. “How is it possible for others to not find it upsetting when you’re treating Junior Sister Mo like this? She’s a weak lady and a rather beautiful one. All of the male disciples will hate you.”

　　“So be it!” Chu Li muttered with a scoff. “I don’t care whether or not they hate me!”

　　“That may not matter to you now, but it can indirectly affect you in the future.” Xu Jingya shook her head.

　　“A crane can never fit in among chickens. I won’t be able to get along with them because they’ve already made it clear that I don’t belong here. Why should I force myself to fit in anyway? A person should live their life in whatever way they want to!” Chu Li replied nonchalantly. “Don’t tell me I should compromise for the sake of the common good?”

　　Xu Jingya stared at him and shook her head in resignation.

　　“Senior Sister Xu, thank you for your kind advice,” Chu Li said. “However, even if I were to tuck my tail between my legs and try to get on their good side, I doubt they’ll accept me as one of them!”

　　“…That’s true.” Xu Jingya nodded quietly.

　　She stared at his unattractive face and then sighed to herself. This Junior Brother Zhao was a very clear-headed person, given his ability to observe others and understand his own situation with such cool detachment.

　　Despite his unattractive appearance, he had incredible martial arts skills. On top of that, he used to be just a small-town boy. Having such a background was enough to make the other disciples want to distance themselves from him and secretly discriminate against him.

　　Regardless of his strong martial arts skills, the other disciples had no respect for him whatsoever. Thus, they would not let go of any opportunity to make fun of him.

　　On the contrary, Qin Huaichuan was highly respected by the other disciples. Since he is very good-looking and skilled at trickery, others found his tactful yet vicious personality quite admirable.

　　Back then, Chu Li had decided to use Zhao Dahe’s identity and personality to enter the Li Dynasty precisely because he had intended to make fewer friends here. By trying his best to lessen the number of friendships and connections here, it would make it easier for him to deal with the Holy Church of Light in the future.

　　Therefore, his current situation was unfolding exactly according to his plans, although he might seem like a failure to others.

　　After he returned to the Spirit Medicine Nursery, he entered his house and sat on his bed.

　　The energy of the Glory’s Will Tree pervaded the ravine and spurred the growth of the spirit herbs. Then, as the Life and Death Scripture directed the energy from the Glory’s Will Tree to enter into his body, he felt it continuously strengthening his body.

　　A stillness gradually settled over him as he entered the void of his mind.

　　Then, he tried to get the Earth Matrix Buddha to chant the scripture in reverse starting from the very last word.

　　Red lotuses drifted out of the Buddha’s mouth and floated around in the void, but as the lotuses fell upon the Buddha’s body, they suddenly came ablaze. Immediately, the body of the Buddha began to burn all over as though it had turned into a ball of flames. It felt like the Buddha’s body had now become his own body as he could feel the searing pain from the fire very distinctly.

　　“Puff!” He abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood.

　　He opened his eyes and lowered his gaze to his body but saw that he was not on fire. However, he could still feel an invisible flame burning his entire body. Although he had stopped chanting, he was unable to get rid of the burning sensation.

　　A moment later, he spat out another mouthful of blood.

　　“Junior Brother Zhao!” Xu Jingya was knocking on his window from outside.

　　Chu Li said gravely, “Come in!”

　　When Xu Jingya opened the door and came in, she saw the terrible state that he was in. His face was pale white, with a trickle of fresh blood at the corner of his lips. There were also two pools of blood on the floor. “Are you okay?”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “Sure enough, it cannot be cultivated in reverse!”

　　“How are you feeling?” Xu Jingya anxiously asked. “You haven’t succumbed to internal demons, have you?”

　　She could feel the force in Chu Li’s body growing increasingly weaker like a candle in the wind that would go out at any moment.

　　Chu Li smiled. “I won’t die.”

　　“Puff!” He sprayed a mouthful of blood again.

　　Xu Jingya’s expression fell, and she immediately rushed forward to hold him up. She sent a strand of her inner energy into his body to carefully examine the condition of his injuries before she found that his vital organs were rapidly deteriorating. A strange force was circulating within his body and her inner energy vanished instantly when it encountered this strange force.

　　She was taken aback. She no longer dared to channel and examine him any further. “What should we do?”

　　This was a clear sign that he was starting to succumb to internal demons, and his life might even be at risk. If the situation were to go on like this, he would not be able to hold himself together for too long.

　　Chu Li laughed weakly. “It’s okay.”

　　“You’re still being so stubborn!” Xu Jingya scolded. “I can’t allow this to go on. I’ll go and ask Elder Zhou to come over!”

　　While she was still speaking, she released Chu Li and left his place in a hurry.

　　Chu Li shook his head and smiled bitterly as the burning sensation in his body grew stronger. It felt like he was being burned at the stake. This invisible fire stuck to him so relentlessly that even channeling was rendered useless. The moment he channeled the Divine Light Technique, it caused the flame to grow stronger.

　　Then, a sudden inspiration struck him. Instead, he refocused his attention and entered the void of his mind again to have the Earth Matrix Buddha start chanting the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture once more. This time, the Buddha chanted the scripture in the right order. With that, numerous red lotuses appeared and gradually fell upon the Buddha’s body.

　　A warm and soothing feeling immediately entered his body. As every red lotus descended on the Buddha’s body, he felt a warm and moist sensation welling up in him, driving the searing pain away.

　　After he had chanted the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture twice, the red lotuses had completely put out the blazing flames inside him. His entire body felt inexplicably refreshed as if he was sitting in the evening breeze at the end of summer.

　　As he exited the void of his mind, the fresh and cool sensation still lingered within his body.

　　Through the Omniscient Mirror, he observed his body both inside and out to detect the changes that had occurred to it. While he had expected his body to become weaker and more fragile, he actually felt lighter, as though his body had turned into a feather that could float in the air. It was such a relaxing and refreshing feeling.

　　With a sudden urge, he entered the void of his mind again and chanted the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture in reverse. Thus, the red lotuses turned into balls of flames that burned his body once again.

　　As he cultivated the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture both in the right and reverse order, it felt as though he was quenching his body like a piece of metal by heating and cooling it rapidly. This process of quenching solidified his body and made it increasingly lighter.

　　Then, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Zhou Huang rushed into the house ahead of Xu Jingya and immediately started to scold Chu Li to his face. “You little brat, have you gone crazy? You’re not supposed to cultivate martial arts so recklessly. You’re seeking death by cultivating martial arts in reverse!”

　　Chu Li replied, “Elder Zhou, don’t be so anxious. It’s not that serious.”

　　“Look at the state you’re in right now. How is this not serious!” Zhou Huang yelled in anger. “You’ve allowed success to get to your head and overestimated your own abilities. Otherwise, no one would ever dare to cultivate any martial art in reverse. As far as I can tell, it’s because of your arrogance that Young Qin was confident enough to trick you like this!”

　　Chu Li nodded while he chuckled.

　　He was aware of Qin Huaichuan’s malicious intentions too. Nonetheless, Chu Li had profited greatly from this situation.

　　It was by blind luck that Qin Huaichuan had come up with such a useful idea. Sure enough, cultivating the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture in reverse had its extraordinary effects too. Unfortunately, no one had dared to try cultivating it in reverse. Qin Huaichuan would definitely not attempt it at all. Although he was the one who came up with the idea of reverse cultivation, he did not have the nerve to try it out himself.

　　When Zhou Huang touched Chu Li’s wrist to examine his body condition, he instantly withdrew his hand and stared at Chu Li in shock.

　　Chu Li smiled and said, “I’m not going to die, right?”

　　“You’re not going to survive this either!” Zhou Huang retorted in frustration.

　　He had detected an extremely destructive quality within the force inside Chu Li’s body. This was not a matter to be trifled with. The situation could turn bad very easily.

　　He took out a jade ceramic bottle from his inner pocket and poured out two pills before stuffing them into Chu Li’s mouth. “You better stop cultivating now. Get rid of your inner energy and let the spirit pills deal with the damage instead. With these spirit pills, you’ll be able to survive!”

　　Chu Li replied, “Thank you, Elder Zhou.”

　　“If you’re really grateful, then be more obedient and focus on chanting scriptures!”

　　“This won’t affect my chanting. I don’t need any inner energy when I chant.”

　　“That’s good. I’ll be leaving now,” Zhou Huang muttered and exhaled sharply. “You better not fool around like this again, young man!”

　　Those two spirit pills could save a person from the brink of death. So no matter how severe Zhao Dahe’s injuries were, he would be able to recover well. Therefore, Zhou Huang was no longer as worried as before. Nonetheless, Zhao Dahe was probably going to lose his cultivation entirely and would have to begin cultivating all over again. Considering how weak his body had become, it was hard to tell how long it would take him to fully restore his cultivation.

　　Zhou Huang shook his head as he walked out of the house. This young man was really going to suffer for what he had brought upon himself!

　　Chu Li smiled and said, “Senior Sister Xu, you should go back too.”

　　He was very grateful to Xu Jingya for her genuine kindness. She had guessed that he would try to cultivate the scripture in reverse, so she had been lingering some distance away from his house out of fear that something bad might happen to him.