Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 3 - Chapter 3 – Testing the Pill for a Breakthrough

Early in the morning, Li Yu woke up at the crack of dawn.

He had barely slept all night. Staring at the milky-white jade bottle in his hand, he hesitated.

He now had the Qi-Gathering Pills, but he wasn’t sure if that demoness had tampered with them.

After all, she was a member of the demonic path and couldn’t be trusted completely. What if she thought that, after two years, Li Yu still hadn’t gathered Qi and was just a worthless piece of trash, not worth cultivating—possibly even a potential risk? Then these pills could be her way of eliminating loose ends. If he swallowed one and dropped dead on the spot, wouldn’t he be digging his own grave?

It wasn’t that Li Yu was naturally suspicious—it was just that, in his past life, when he worked for a criminal organization, the higher-ups dealt with useless or exposed spies in exactly that kind of way: ruthless and efficient.

For the sake of this hard-won second life, it was better to be cautious.

Li Yu poured out a single lustrous, white pill, and thought to himself: Should I find something to test the pill on first?

The first name that popped into his head was naturally Jiang Li.

No helping it—he was Li Yu’s only friend in Baiyun Temple.

But the idea passed quickly. He dismissed it right away.

Li Yu had lost his parents young. In this world, Jiang Li was his only friend—practically his closest family. Jiang Li always thought of him whenever something good came his way. To use him as a lab rat now would just be inhumane.

After pondering for a while, Li Yu got up and left his room.

A short while later, in the back mountains of Baiyun Temple.

The temple sat in the Chen Dynasty, backed by the vast Baiyun Mountain Range that stretched for hundreds of miles. The range was remote and sparsely populated. Other than cultivators venturing in to search for spiritual herbs, the place was mostly inhabited by wild beasts.

Li Yu didn’t venture too deep into the mountains. It was said that in the deeper parts, there were already monsters that had developed intelligence and could absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth to cultivate. Right now, he might be able to handle wild beasts, but if he ran into such a monster, he’d be nothing more than food.

He needed to test the pill given to him by the demoness. Last night, he had shamelessly begged for two extra pills—this was precisely why.

The best test subject, of course, would be a human. Second-best would be a large animal of similar size—tigers, leopards, wolves… even a deer would do in a pinch.

Unfortunately, Li Yu’s luck wasn’t great. After wandering around a mountain valley for nearly half an hour, all he managed to catch was a pheasant and a rabbit. If he tested the pill on them, even if the pill wasn’t poisoned, the immense spiritual energy inside might cause their bodies to explode from within.

Coincidentally, Li Yu was getting hungry too. He walked over to a creek in the valley, skillfully cleaned the two wild animals, gathered some firewood, then flicked his finger.

With a pop, a fireball materialized out of thin air. Before long, the aroma of roasting meat filled the air.

Fireball technique was ridiculously convenient for barbecuing.

Too bad there was no cumin or chili—Li Yu had to make do.

He tore off a rabbit leg and brought it to his mouth. Just as he was about to take a bite, the nearby bushes suddenly rustled.

The next second, a head poked out from within.

It was a big cat, with black and white markings on its head and a pair of large dark eyes that stared intently at the rabbit leg in Li Yu’s hand. Its gaze was full of longing, but also mixed with wariness and fear.

Li Yu was startled when he saw the tiger cub in the bushes and instinctively reached for his waist. But he quickly relaxed.

He might not have a gun anymore, but he also wasn’t the same Li Yu as before. This was just a tiger cub—he could easily handle even a full-grown one now.

Seeing the hunger in the cub’s eyes, Li Yu paused for a moment, then casually tossed the rabbit leg over.

The tiger cub pounced from the bushes, catching the leg mid-air, then began devouring it ravenously. In just a few breaths, the leg was gone.

It then looked up at Li Yu again, eyes gleaming. The fear and caution were much diminished.

Without hesitation, Li Yu tore off another rabbit leg and tossed it over.

But clearly, two rabbit legs weren’t enough to satisfy a starving tiger. When it looked at him again, Li Yu simply threw over the entire pheasant and the remaining half of the rabbit.

After devouring the food, the tiger cub strolled over to the stream, extended a pink tongue, and lapped up the cool, sweet water. Then it flopped down by the water’s edge, gazing lazily and peacefully at Li Yu.

At that moment, Li Yu held out his hand once more. In his palm was a milky-white pill, gleaming under the sunlight.

As he took out the Qi-Gathering Pill, a faint medicinal fragrance spread through the air. At first, the cub didn’t react, but suddenly it twitched its nose, then perked up, eyes fixed on the pill, and padded slowly toward him.

Li Yu flicked the pill into the air. It arced gently—and landed right into the tiger’s open mouth.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Since it had eaten his food, it would have to do something in return.

Li Yu watched intently as the little tiger swallowed the pill. At first, there was no obvious change—just a slight drowsiness. The cub swayed over to his feet and lay down, motionless.

He crouched beside it and noticed it was still breathing steadily. It seemed to have just fallen asleep.

From the current signs, the pill didn’t seem harmful. But Li Yu wasn’t in a rush. He decided to observe it for a while longer. As time passed, dark, oily impurities began to seep out of the cub’s skin, accompanied by a faint stench.

This reassured Li Yu even more. According to books, after taking a Qi-Gathering Pill, the body would be washed by spiritual energy, expelling impurities. This process not only strengthened the body but also had life-extending effects.

An hour later, a lazy growl sounded. The cub stretched, braced itself on all fours, sniffed the air, looked at its own body, let out a low roar, and leapt into the stream to clean itself.

Seeing the cub fully awake and full of energy, Li Yu finally relaxed. It looked like the demoness’ pill was safe after all.

After observing the cub a while longer and finding no abnormalities, Li Yu took out another pill. After a brief hesitation, he placed it in his mouth.

The pill melted instantly. He didn’t taste anything, but a warm current flowed through his body, making him shudder slightly. Every inch of his limbs and bones buzzed with energy…

Visible to the naked eye, black, foul-smelling gunk oozed from his pores. Just one whiff made his brain go lightheaded.

“Urgh…”

He gagged and, without hesitation, jumped into the stream, tore off his clothes, and scrubbed himself clean for half an hour. Only after the stench was completely gone did he dare to breathe deeply again.

Sitting naked in the stream, Li Yu looked down and noticed his skin seemed fairer. The face reflected in the water also looked more handsome, like a refined young nobleman.

He eagerly drew in the surrounding spiritual energy and was thrilled to find that, unlike before, it didn’t dissipate quickly but lingered inside his body—

This meant he had successfully gathered qi. He had officially entered the Qi Refining stage.

Now, three months from now, he wouldn’t have to leave Baiyun Temple. With some luck, he might even become a full disciple of Kunlun. And all of this… was thanks to that single Qi-Gathering Pill.

“Thank you, demon girl,” Li Yu thought to himself.

“Awoo—”

A cheerful cry from the riverbank brought him back to reality. He looked over and saw the little white tiger running around excitedly. After taking the pill, its fur gleamed, and its eyes sparkled with new intelligence.

Li Yu did feel a bit sorry about using up another pill, but at least now he had peace of mind.

Walking naked to the riverbank, Li Yu looked at his clothes, now stained and reeking, and shook his head helplessly.

Those clothes were beyond saving. Just getting near them made him want to vomit. Left with no choice, he searched for some broad leaves from nearby trees and began weaving a crude grass skirt to cover his essentials.

While sitting by the water weaving his skirt, the little white tiger circled around him, occasionally staring curiously at a certain part of his anatomy…

Li Yu gave it a sideways glance, “What are you looking at? You don’t have one?”

Of course, the tiger didn’t understand. But after everything, it had grown quite close to him. It affectionately rubbed against him like a giant kitten. Li Yu couldn’t help picking it up and giving it a few pats—until he accidentally flipped it over and froze for a second…

Then, silently, he put it down and tied the grass skirt firmly around his waist…

He still had some sense of decency. Even if it was just a tiger… it was still a tigress.