A moment later, Henry Carter once again had a bead-like object in his hand, holding it together with the Cleansing Pill. After comparing the two for a while, Henry Carter picked up the Cleansing Pill and swallowed it.

As soon as the Cleansing Pill entered his mouth, Henry Carter felt a surge of warmth gushing through his heart. Driven by this warmth, the newly formed Blood-Congealing True Qi was once again set in motion. The moment the Blood-Congealing True Qi began to move, Henry Carter sat cross-legged on the stone again, circulating his True Qi according to the cultivation method.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles... As the True Qi circulated, the warmth from the Cleansing Pill slowly merged into the True Qi. The Blood-Congealing True Qi, which had just reached the third grade, gradually formed a blood-red current as thick as a chopstick during this process.

This blood-red current circulated continuously within Henry Carter's body, growing stronger with each cycle. As the True Qi flowed, Henry Carter felt that his Blood-Congealing True Qi, which had just reached the third grade, was now actually breaking through toward the fourth grade!

At the fourth grade, Qi and blood become one. Once this breakthrough is achieved, the cultivator's strength can double, and the True Qi can even be projected outside the body, injuring others invisibly.

While cultivating the Python-Ox Qi, Henry Carter had always been thinking about breaking through to the fourth grade, but how could such a breakthrough be easy?

This was an opportunity, so no matter what, he could not give up. Henry Carter focused all his mind on the circulation of his True Qi, afraid of missing this once-in-a-lifetime chance. One cycle, two cycles, three cycles...

When Henry Carter's True Qi reached the sixth cycle, and he was almost able to break through the barrier between the third and fourth grades, the medicinal power of the Cleansing Pill, that surging warmth, suddenly disappeared!

If there had been another Cleansing Pill at this moment, it would have definitely allowed Henry Carter to break through from the third to the fourth level. Unfortunately, although Henry Carter should have had three Cleansing Pills, now he had none left.

Don't give up, don't give up! Henry Carter, desperately persisting, kept circulating his True Qi, but all he could do was maintain the steady flow of his True Qi; the momentum for breakthrough was growing weaker and weaker.

To fail like this—I can't accept it! Henry Carter felt a bit crazed inside. At the moment when the momentum weakened further, he suddenly grabbed the bead he had obtained from the black gourd and shoved it into his mouth!

Chapter 10: Fourth Grade

"Pop!" The moment the bead entered Henry Carter's mouth, it suddenly dissolved, and a burst of icy coldness rushed into Henry Carter's body as the bead broke apart. This cold current was at least half as weak as the warmth from the Cleansing Pill.

The instant the cold current entered his body, Henry Carter suddenly realized he might have made a mistake. But at a time like this, he couldn't give up easily. He clung tightly to his clarity of mind, guiding his True Qi to keep moving within his body.

What Henry Carter didn't expect was that not only did the cold current not harm him, but at the very moment it merged with the blood-red True Qi in his body, it actually fused into his nearly exhausted True Qi!

With the addition of this cold current, Henry Carter's faltering breakthrough was suddenly revitalized for no apparent reason!

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Henry Carter slowly circulated his True Qi. As his heart followed the flow of True Qi, he gradually entered a state of complete absorption. He didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually Henry Carter felt his body shift, and his previously unstable blood-red True Qi had now become incomparably solid.

The fourth grade of cultivation was achieved at this very moment! Now, he could even project his True Qi outside his body. This unexpected breakthrough was an enormous surprise for Henry Carter.

Compared to the breakthrough itself, Henry Carter gained even more. When he finished his cultivation, the first thing he did was not to test his new strength, but to dig out his dark gourd from the weeds. Looking at this increasingly mysterious gourd and thinking of the bead he had obtained from it, Henry Carter suddenly felt that a new path had opened up before him.

To improve one's strength, what is most important? In the past, Henry Carter might have said cultivation was most important, but now, Henry Carter felt that pills were just as crucial as cultivation. A long-standing bottleneck was broken through in one go with the help of two pills. If he could get enough pills, wouldn't his cultivation advance by leaps and bounds?

Although Henry Carter was always thinking about fighting Samuel Reed to the death, he knew clearly that his chances of winning were slim. But the fact that this bead-like thing could actually improve his cultivation gave him newfound confidence. As long as he could collect more souls, as long as he could get more of these beads, defeating Samuel Reed might not be impossible!

Holding the black gourd and pondering, one clear thought after another appeared in Henry Carter's mind, prompting him to keep sifting through his options...

"Henry Carter, get out here right now!" At some point, dawn had already broken, and a sharp voice came from the cave entrance. The voice was rude and overbearing, calling Henry Carter as if ordering a household servant!

"That brat Henry Carter, if you don't get out here, I'll break your legs in a minute!" Another rough voice shouted as well.