Chapter 1934: The Importance of Meridians

Sizzling! Spiritual energy surged into his acupoints and entered his meridians.

Crack! Crack! His meridians, as if injected with mercury, developed cracks once more. His entire body felt incredibly heavy. He quickly tried to repair them with his Heaven's Path zhenqi, but his face grew increasingly red. A moment later, his pupils constricted, and blood spurted from the corner of his mouth.

“It’s no use…” Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly and stopped.

He had thought that with his improved cultivation, he could now absorb this power, but it seemed he still couldn't. Forcibly absorbing it would completely shatter his meridians and collapse his dantian. Not to mention refining it into zhenqi, his soul might be suppressed to the point of immobility and complete collapse.

“What a pity the vines are gone…” He was filled with regret.

If he still had the vines from the Void Gourd, he could have used them to modify his meridians, allowing him to adapt to this power. Unfortunately, they had been completely used up.

“Wait, no. Two out of ten Otherworldly Demonic Tribesmen can absorb this, and that formidable figure from back then also absorbed this power without dying…”

Just as he was about to give up, an idea suddenly sparked in his mind. Ancient Sage Yan Qing had conducted experiments showing that two out of ten Otherworldly Demonic Beasts could absorb this power without dying. And the ruthless man from back then had also succeeded without using vines to modify his meridians.

What if he transformed his zhenqi into Slaughter Qi, and then, combined with his modified meridians, the effect would be better?

“I’ll try it!” He had no cultivation technique to refer to at the moment, so he acted on his thought. As his zhenqi circulated, Slaughter Qi surged from his acupoints, and he instantly transformed as if into a supreme Otherworldly Demonic Emperor.

With his zhenqi power altered, he reopened his acupoints and slowly began to absorb again.

Sizzling! The spiritual energy re-entered his body, no longer feeling heavy. Instead, it gave him a warm, comfortable sensation.

“Just as I thought…” Zhang Xuan clenched his fist, filled with excitement.

Although Liu Yang had become the Otherworldly Demonic Emperor and possessed dense Slaughter Zhenqi, his meridians had not been altered; they were still human meridians, so he likewise couldn't absorb it.

He was different. When the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe fought against the 'deities,' he was shaken until only his skeleton remained. When he was reborn with the aid of a special aura, his meridians were thoroughly transformed to better align with the Great Dao.

In this way, absorbing the mercury-like spiritual energy became incredibly smooth.

After absorbing for a while, he, like Zhao Ya, indeed felt the power of the barrier.

“Breakthrough!” He focused his mind and calmed his breath, his consciousness fully immersed in the Spring and Autumn Grand Ceremony within the Library. Time accelerated, and the sky-full of mercury-like spiritual energy descended like a tornado, pouring into his body.

Zhao Ya, Kong Shiyao, and the others were all startled and uniformly retreated. After their teacher emitted the aura of an Otherworldly Demonic Tribesman, he could absorb this spiritual energy for cultivation. But… wasn’t the speed a bit too terrifying?!

With such ferocious power, the high platform might not even withstand it and could be directly crushed.

With the amplification of the Spring and Autumn Grand Ceremony, Zhang Xuan’s cultivation speed was extremely fast. Even so, it took him nearly a day to completely transform the power within his body and consolidate his cultivation to the critical point.

Boom! Another half-day later, his power exploded. Like Zhao Ya, he took the final step, reaching the initial stage of Void Shattering.

After reaching this realm, just as she had said, no matter how much he absorbed, he couldn’t advance even a bit further. It seemed his dantian and meridians had reached a saturated state, unable to absorb even a tiny bit more power.

“What a pity!” Zhang Xuan shook his head and stood up.

His cultivation advancement gave him a deeper understanding of this mercury-like spiritual energy.

Human meridians are too weak and indeed cannot adapt. The Otherworldly Demonic Tribesmen not only have more advanced meridian maps than humans but also possess excellent meridian resilience. It was therefore natural that they could absorb this spiritual energy without dying.

“Teacher, can… can we cultivate this?” Seeing both their Senior Sister and their teacher break through to Void Shattering, Zheng Yang, Kong Shiyao, and the others could no longer suppress the fervor in their hearts.

If they could absorb it, did that mean the others could also succeed?

“Not yet for you!” Zhang Xuan shook his head. Zhao Ya succeeded because of the Void Gourd vines, and he succeeded because of the 'deity’s' healing aura. Without it, simply recovering from being reduced to a skeleton would take an unknown amount of time, let alone seizing the opportunity to modify his meridian map.

The others didn't have such opportunities, so success wouldn't be so easy for them.

Disappointment showed in everyone’s eyes.

“Normal humans truly cannot absorb this power,” Kong Shiyao explained with a wry smile. “Masters from the various Schools of Thought throughout history have conducted experiments, and not a single genius, no matter how formidable, has ever succeeded! When it came to understanding this power, even Zhang Xuan was not as knowledgeable as the experts of Kunxu Realm. Their ancestors had been guarding this seal for generations, having already understood this power to its very core. With so many extraordinarily talented individuals unable to achieve it, Zhang Xuan acknowledged that his own success, after only two days of exposure, was far from typical.”

“However, even though they haven't succeeded, with the passage of time, the duration for which they can withstand this power has increased!”

Zhang Xuan was startled.

“Yes, I’ve seen records from tens of thousands of years ago. At that time, ordinary people absorbing this power would have their meridians shattered or even die after just three breaths. But now, even uncultivated individuals can withstand it for over ten minutes!”

Kong Shiyao nodded.

Zhang Xuan frowned. “Let me see!”

If they were all ordinary people, they should be the same. Could it be because the people here have habitually consumed Green Sprout Wheat, strengthening their physiques and thus their endurance?

His divine consciousness spread downwards, instantly covering an area outside the Grand Confucian Hall, where many native-born commoners of the Kunxu Realm lived.

“Not only has their physique strengthened, but their meridians are also slightly different from those on the Master Teacher Continent…”

After observing for a while, Zhang Xuan was filled with surprise.

He had seen these people before but had never considered their meridians. Now, specifically observing them, he indeed found something unusual.

After tens of thousands of years of cultivation in the Kunxu Realm, the native human race had not only changed their physique, allowing them to reach the Master realm upon adulthood, but their meridians also showed a tendency to transform towards those of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribesmen. Although not completely altered, they were significantly different from ordinary people on the Master Teacher Continent.

No wonder they could withstand it for a longer time.

“If I could find a way to alter… the meridian pathways of Zheng Yang and the others, would they also be able to absorb this power and successfully break through to Void Shattering?”

An idea popped into his mind.

Since the strength of one’s physique was closely related to the meridian map, finding a way to modify their meridians should lead to a qualitative change, allowing everyone to successfully break through.

However… altering meridians involved shedding flesh and blood. Even if Zheng Yang and the others attempted it, the amount of Ancient Sage power needed for recovery would likely be massive, far beyond what he could provide.

Moreover, what if they shed their bodies and still couldn’t succeed?

“Kong Shiyao, where are Ancient Sage Yan Qing and the others…?” Zhang Xuan asked.