Chapter 227: Crack

The stream flowed through the mountain gully, its waters striking the rocks and producing crisp sounds.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged on a bluestone by the stream, his eyes slightly closed. His breathing seemed to become incredibly faint at that moment.

The Origin Qi within his body began to slowly flow along the meridian pathways described in the “Hollow Transformation Art.”

This particular Origin Art primarily required opening up 108 acupoints. At this point, Zhou Yuan needed to sense the location of the first acupoint, a task he had to accomplish independently. Even with the “Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune,” which allowed him to discern flaws in Origin Arts, he still needed to initiate the process.

Without the first acupoint as a starting point, how could he use the “Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune” to locate the second?

The Origin Qi within his body circulated along the meridians repeatedly. The process was exceptionally monotonous, yet Zhou Yuan remained unperturbed, his mind steadfastly focused on sensing any subtle irregularities where the Origin Qi flowed.

This sensing process continued for most of the day.

Only then did Zhou Yuan truly grasp how difficult cultivating the “Hollow Transformation Art” was. Merely locating the first acupoint had taken half a day; it was hard to imagine how long it would take to discover and open more acupoints through independent exploration.

Fortunately, after the Origin Qi had circulated along the “Hollow Transformation Art’s” meridian pathways for over three hundred cycles, Zhou Yuan finally detected a faint anomaly.

The moment that subtle irregularity appeared, Zhou Yuan, who had been waiting in intense concentration, immediately circulated his Origin Qi. It abruptly surged from his meridians and forcefully impacted the source of the anomaly.

A faint, subtle tingling sensation emanated, followed by Zhou Yuan feeling an acupoint within his body being opened. As soon as it was breached, the Origin Qi flowing along the “Hollow Transformation Art’s” path began to seep into it.

A subtle sensation arose within him.

This confirmed to Zhou Yuan that he had found and opened the first acupoint.

“Next, I need to refine this acupoint with Origin Qi, and finally temper it with Cloud Mist Essence,” Zhou Yuan murmured, quietly exhaling in relief. He once again circulated his Origin Qi, channeling it meticulously into the acupoint, and began to refine it using a specific technique.

Inside the acupoint, threads of Origin Qi condensed, forming into rollers that rotated in circles at a unique frequency, polishing the acupoint.

This refining method was the true essence of the “Hollow Transformation Art,” as only through it could the polished acupoint fully merge with the Cloud Mist Essence.

Zhou Yuan carefully controlled the Origin Qi, refining the acupoint. Though he was initially unskillful, he gradually grew accustomed to it, and the refining speed increased significantly.

Thus, after approximately two hours, Zhou Yuan felt the acupoint become noticeably smoother.

The refinement was successful.

With a smile, Zhou Yuan lightly tapped his Qiankun Pouch, and a transparent jade bottle appeared in his hand. Inside, milky-white cloud mist swirled.

The mist within this jade bottle was the so-called Cloud Mist Essence.

This Cloud Mist Essence was formed in a rather mystical way: during the transition between day and night, the mist in the clouds would condense with the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi.

Naturally, Zhou Yuan hadn't collected it himself. He had acquired it from the Linglong Pavilion by trading two Origin Jades for this single bottle of Cloud Mist Essence.

“This should be enough for three days...” he mused.

As he murmured, a wisp of cloud mist rose from the jade bottle, turning into white smoke that drifted in with Zhou Yuan’s breath.

The moment the Cloud Mist Essence entered his body, Zhou Yuan controlled it, guiding it along his meridians. This essence contained very little Origin Qi and could easily be absorbed and dissolved by the Origin Qi within his body. Therefore, Zhou Yuan had to maintain intense focus to protect it, ensuring it slowly permeated the newly refined, smooth acupoint.

A soft hiss!

As the Cloud Mist Essence flowed into the acupoint, it drifted and slowly merged within.

As the Cloud Mist Essence continued to merge, Zhou Yuan began to feel subtle, wondrous sensations emanating from the acupoint. A faint, ethereal feeling subtly spread.

Another hour passed in this manner.

Zhou Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. A faint mist seemed to linger within them before fully dissipating a moment later.

A look of joy appeared on his face.

Of the “Hollow Transformation Art’s” 108 acupoints, he had finally successfully cultivated the first!

He looked up at the sky, realizing that this first acupoint had taken him nearly an entire day. At this rate, completing the first stage of the “Hollow Transformation Art” would likely take almost a month.

The “Hollow Transformation Art” had three stages, with each successive stage requiring the opening of 36 acupoints.

“But fortunately, I have the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune!”

Zhou Yuan smiled faintly. Now that the first acupoint was established, he could use the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune to directly locate the second, thereby skipping the most tedious sensing process.

With this thought, Zhou Yuan didn’t hesitate. With a mental command, the ancient Saint Rune, faintly visible on his brow, descended and merged deep into his eyes.

“Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune!”

As a low voice sounded, the Origin Qi within Zhou Yuan’s body once again circulated along the “Hollow Transformation Art’s” meridian pathways. His pupils seemed to penetrate his own flesh, ultimately focusing on the location of the first acupoint.

A marvelous ripple seemed to spread outwards.

It was the power of the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune.

As the ripples expanded, after approximately several minutes, Zhou Yuan’s mind abruptly quivered. He detected an unusual fluctuation at a specific location within his body.

He unhesitatingly activated his Origin Qi, directing it to impact that spot.

The familiar subtle tingling sensation returned as an acupoint was directly breached.

The moment this acupoint was breached, Zhou Yuan felt wisps of Origin Qi extending from the first acupoint, immediately establishing a connection with this new one.

This clearly indicated that it was indeed the location of the “Hollow Transformation Art’s” second acupoint.

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes, which were filled with ecstasy. Sensing the first acupoint had taken a significant portion of a day, but with the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune, he had shortened that time by an immeasurable amount.

Furthermore, the later acupoints were progressively harder to sense, but this would clearly pose no obstacle for Zhou Yuan.

“What an incredible Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune!” Zhou Yuan murmured. Only now did he fully grasp how miraculous this Saint Rune truly was. With it, he would be able to cultivate any Origin Art with twice the efficiency, achieving results far beyond what ordinary people could hope for.

Flames burned in Zhou Yuan's eyes. He then let out a light chuckle and declared, “Zhu Yue, I’m going to show you that even without your guidance, I, Zhou Yuan, can still successfully cultivate this Hollow Transformation Art!”

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes once more, and began to refine and temper the second acupoint.

While the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune enabled him to locate the acupoints, the subsequent refinement still depended on his own effort.

For the next three days, apart from his daily, unwavering cultivation on Origin Mountain, Zhou Yuan dedicated all his remaining time to practicing the “Hollow Transformation Art.”

Under his tireless cultivation, forgetting both sleep and food, he managed to open a remarkable eighteen of the “Hollow Transformation Art’s” 108 acupoints in just three days!

The first stage of the “Hollow Transformation Art” was now within reach.

However, while Zhou Yuan was engrossed in his cultivation, ripples of news began to spread throughout the outer mountain, astonishing many disciples.

Surprisingly, the source of these disturbances was a group of lecturers from the back mountain of the Scripture Storage Pavilion. These lecturers held considerable status in the outer mountain, partly due to their identity as inner mountain disciples, and partly because they instructed other disciples in cultivating Origin Arts, naturally setting them apart.

However, it was rumored that this time, many lecturers had secretly spread word that Zhou Yuan was forbidden from attending their lectures on Origin Arts.

These rumors immediately caused quite a stir, and many disciples felt deep sympathy for Zhou Yuan. No one had expected him to provoke these lecturers in such a manner.

Normally, Chen Yuan, as the outer mountain manager, should have intervened to halt such behavior. Yet, for some unknown reason, he seemed to turn a deaf ear, allowing the matter to spread like wildfire and become a lively topic of discussion throughout the outer mountain.

“It’s said that Zhou Yuan angered Zhu Yue,” whispered one disciple. “Zhu Yue is an inner mountain disciple and has many connections. Naturally, the other lecturers don’t want to offend him for the sake of Zhou Yuan, which is why they announced they wouldn’t teach Zhou Yuan any Origin Arts.”

“That Zhou Yuan is truly too arrogant, daring to offend Senior Brother Zhu Yue.”

“Indeed. Now that he has no lecturers to teach him Origin Arts, what can Zhou Yuan possibly achieve by fumbling on his own? Heh, if things continue like this, he’ll likely have no hope for the Selection Ceremony three months from now.”

“He certainly deserves it. Now that he’s been boycotted by all the lecturers, let’s see what he’ll do.”

Similar whispers spread throughout every corner of the outer mountain. Clearly, many were reveling in Zhou Yuan’s misfortune, as there were still many who coveted his status as a top-tier disciple.

The Scripture Storage Pavilion, Rear Mountain.

Inside the hall, Zhu Yue stood with his hands clasped behind his back. In front of him, disciples like Gu Hongyi and Zhu Feng sat cross-legged on futons, their eyes closed in concentration.

Suddenly, Gu Hongyi opened her bright eyes, a hint of joy flashing across her lovely face. “I’ve sensed the sixth acupoint!” she exclaimed.

The others, hearing her, also opened their eyes and looked at Gu Hongyi with envy.

Bloodstains still visible on his face, Zhu Yue smiled and nodded calmly. “There’s no need to be envious,” he said. “Hongyi’s talent surpasses yours, so this level of efficiency is to be expected.”

“That’s also thanks to Senior Brother Zhu Yue’s guidance,” the other disciples said, flattering him with smiles.

Gu Hongyi hesitated for a moment, then cupped her fists towards Zhu Yue in thanks.

Zhu Yue waved his hand as if unconcerned, but the slight smirk at the corner of his lips betrayed his self-satisfaction.

He clasped his hands behind his back, raised his gaze, and looked into the distance, a sneer suddenly appearing on his face.

He wondered how many acupoints Zhou Yuan had managed to open by now. Probably not even enough to get started, he mused.

“Zhou Yuan, Zhou Yuan, with no one to teach you now, you must be regretting it, aren’t you? Hmph, but even if you were to kneel and beg me now, I still wouldn’t teach you!”

“You’ve offended me, Zhu Yue, and I’ll make sure you understand what it means to be utterly doomed!”