Shattering Your Crown of the Head

As one's inner force cultivation deepens, the time required for practice inevitably increases.

However, for most martial artists, honing martial skills is also a slow process that consumes more time the further one progresses.

At this point, the martial artist must decide whether to prioritize inner force cultivation or martial skill training.

If talent is insufficient and energy is limited, a choice must be made between the two.

[Cultivating inner force mental technique, Achievement Points +1.]

A prompt message reappeared before Gu Shao'an, just as he finished nourishing his meridians and guiding his inner force back to his Dantian. He glanced at Zhou Zhiruo, who was still cultivating opposite him, and picked up a medical book to read.

Gu Shao'an's mind became completely immersed in the medical principles described in the book.

At the same time, Gu Shao'an's proficiency as a physician was steadily increasing at a consistent pace.

He didn't even notice that the carriage he was in had already re-entered the official road, his entire focus captivated by the contents of the medical book in his hands.

It wasn't until the carriage wheel hit a pothole, causing a noticeable jolt, that Gu Shao'an's thoughts were interrupted.

[Studying medical book, Achievement Points +20.]

[Current Achievement Points: 1002]

Seeing the prompt message before him, Gu Shao'an's eyes lit up.

"Finally, enough Achievement Points."

It had been five days since the mountain bandits were dealt with.

At this very moment, Gu Shao'an had finally accumulated a thousand Achievement Points.

With a thought, the lucky draw wheel immediately appeared in Gu Shao'an's mind.

As his Achievement Points, which had just reached four digits, dwindled to a mere fraction, the lucky draw wheel before him began to spin.

A few breaths later, as the wheel stopped spinning, a prompt message popped up before Gu Shao'an.

[Congratulations to the player for drawing a twenty-year Cultivation Card (Superior Bone Structure).]

The moment this prompt message appeared, the hand holding the medical book trembled involuntarily.

"A Cultivation Card, and a twenty-year one?"

Gu Shao'an hadn't expected that just a few days ago, Abbess Miejue had given him the Bodhi Exquisite Pill to increase his cultivation by two years, and now he had drawn a twenty-year Cultivation Card.

Once used, Gu Shao'an's cultivation would skyrocket by twenty years.

Keep in mind, Gu Shao'an was only eleven years old.

What did it mean for an eleven-year-old child to have over twenty years of cultivation?

See these little hands?

With one palm strike, twenty-two years and two months of cultivation – are you scared or not?

Your crown of the head would be smashed to bits.

At this moment, Gu Shao'an felt like a person who had been poor for a long time suddenly received a ton of gold, his emotions surging uncontrollably.

But looking at Abbess Miejue and Zhou Zhiruo, who were sharing the carriage and meditating, Gu Shao'an could only forcibly suppress the urge to use the Cultivation Card immediately.

After all, twenty years of cultivation, once it appeared within his body and was refined, the surge of inner force fluctuations would inevitably be detected by Abbess Miejue beside him.

If Abbess Miejue then probed his body with her inner force and discovered that her eleven-year-old disciple's cultivation had suddenly reached over twenty years, she would likely be terrified on the spot and question her life.

It wasn't until evening, when they passed through a town and checked into an inn, that Gu Shao'an, after locking the doors and windows, leaped onto the bed, sat down cross-legged, and with trembling excitement, brought up the Cultivation Card he had drawn during the day.

As his thoughts willed it, the word "Use" seemed to carry a mysterious power.

The next moment, an unimaginably vast, yet completely different from the volcanic eruption-like ferocity of the Bodhi Exquisite Pill earlier that day, a gentle and mellow energy, like a waterfall of moonlight from the heavens, suddenly appeared within Gu Shao'an's body.

This energy was warm, pure, vast, and powerful, carrying a sense of peace from the sedimentation of time.

It felt less like an external forceful infusion and more like a sweet spring naturally welling up from the depths of his life essence.

There was no tearing pain as anticipated, only a feeling of near-fullness and a warm current that instantly filled his limbs and bones, causing every cell in Gu Shao'an's body to seem to emit a sigh of comfort.

This energy was so immense, yet so gentle and obedient.

As soon as it entered his body, it seamlessly integrated with his own Emei mental technique's inner force, blending perfectly, indistinguishable from each other.

It was as if the memories of twenty years of arduous cultivation, along with the pure inner breath generated by bone structure cultivation, were all being packaged and delivered to him at this moment.

However, gentleness did not mean it was easy to bear!

Twenty years of cultivation was still too immense. Although there was no tearing sensation like when he took the Bodhi Exquisite Pill, his Dantian was still rapidly expanding under the sudden twenty-fold increase in energy!

It felt like an intensified version of needing to urinate in the middle of the night, a suffocating pressure.

Fortunately, the inner force within his body was gentle and pure. Coupled with the fact that Gu Shao'an had taken the Bodhi Exquisite Pill a few days prior, his inner force had significantly improved. With the second level of the Emei Nine Yang Skill operating at full capacity, the inner force within his body was quickly being refined into his own cultivation.

As this happened, the feeling of his Dantian being strained and bloated gradually eased.

With the continuous increase of inner force and the operation of the cultivation technique, the previously stable bottlenecks appeared incredibly fragile before this mighty torrent of inner force, like a raging river.

Following the circulation of the inner force, one by one, Hidden Meridians were also opened up by this powerful inner force.

In an instant, the circulation route of Gu Shao'an's second level of the Emei Nine Yang Skill abruptly changed, incorporating the few Hidden Meridians that had just been unblocked.

Following that, more Hidden Meridians were opened.

This caused the circulation route of the "Emei Nine Yang Skill, Second Layer" to change once again.

In a mere quarter of an hour, fueled by the immense inner force within his body, Gu Shao'an's "Emei Nine Yang Skill, Second Layer" had reached the Perfection stage.

As the core inner force technique reached Perfection for its current stage, the pathways for inner force circulation instantly became several times more complex.

His inner force, too, was continuously compressed, tempered, and purified due to the changes in the cultivation method.

Until all his inner force began to possess a more righteous and profound quality.

"Pop!"

Finally, at a certain peak limit, two sounds like bursting bubbles emerged from Gu Shao'an's body.

The Dai Meridian within the Eight Extraordinary Meridians was forcefully opened under the impact of the inner force.

Following closely were the Yin Qiao Meridian, Yang Wei Meridian, Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian, and Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian.

Once all three meridians and three channels involved in the first and second layers of the "Emei Nine Yang Skill" were opened, Gu Shao'an suddenly felt his body lighten!

An indescribable sense of smoothness, like a spring breeze sweeping over a frozen river, surged through his entire body!

Instantly, the torrent of inner force surged and roared along the unobstructed network of meridians, without the slightest obstruction!

Wherever the inner force passed, warmth and vitality bloomed.

Even his muscles, bones, and internal organs were subtly nourished and strengthened by this high-speed, refined flow of inner force.

After a long while.

The surging inner force, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, finally converged into the "lake and sea" of his lower Dantian, which had already been expanded to be vaster and deeper.

Gu Shao'an slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his dark pupils, a sharp glint seemed to flash, like a cold star in the night sky, fleeting but leaving behind a heart-palpitating trace of light.

The moment he opened his eyes, Gu Shao'an could even clearly see the almost imperceptible scratch on the wall.

The sound of cicadas by his ear was also several times louder than usual.

Even his sense of smell had become more acute.

These were the changes in his five senses brought about by the opening and nourishment of his meridians.

Feeling the flowing, heavy, condensed yet surging power like mercury within his body.

Gu Shao'an's expression was one of excitement.

He had done it!

Using the explanation from readers in the comment section, how powerful would Zhang Wuji be after achieving great success eight years later? Abbess Miejue would be 47 years old then, with roughly 40 years of inner force. Even holding the Heavenly Sword, she wouldn't be Zhang Wuji's match! The protagonist would then be 22 plus 8, meaning 30 years of inner force, which is still less than Abbess Miejue's 40 years. So it won't be too excessive, everyone can rest assured!