Meridian Casting Mid-stage

The night passed quietly without any disturbance, and Zhang Tie slept soundly. The next morning, he got up early and went to the External Affairs Hall first. Due to the special nature of the token he possessed, the procedures were handled very smoothly. His identity registration, disciple robes and token, and cultivation resources were all quickly processed.

As soon as Zhang Tie returned to his cave dwelling, he saw a young attendant standing at the entrance. Upon seeing him, the attendant hurried to say, "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang. Patriarch Miao sent this to you." With that, he respectfully handed a storage bag to Zhang Tie. The attendant then took his leave and quickly departed.

Zhang Tie knew this was likely spirit beast blood, but he was still surprised by how quickly it had been delivered. He didn't open the bag immediately, choosing to put it away first. Afterward, he took out two formation disks and dozens of formation flags and began setting them up inside and outside his cave dwelling. These were the cave dwelling protection formations he had just received. One was a defensive formation, and the other was an isolation formation.

The defensive formation could withstand attacks from Core Formation true experts for up to an hour without issue. The isolation formation, on the other hand, could effectively prevent anyone from probing the interior of the cave dwelling with their divine sense or treasures. As for divine sense, it was a transformation of consciousness that occurred after breaking through from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhang Tie spent over an hour, finally completing his first array formation. A small sense of excitement surged within him. He channeled his spiritual power, cast a few hand seals, and a path one person wide instantly appeared in the mist before the cave dwelling. Zhang Tie walked in steadily, waved his hand lightly, and the path disappeared, returning the area to its misty state.

Zhang Tie entered the training room and sat down on a meditation cushion. He reached out and took the storage bag that had just been delivered. Upon opening it, he couldn't help but feel a jolt of surprise. Inside the storage bag lay ten bottles of second-tier mid-grade spirit beast blood, ten bottles of second-tier high-grade spirit beast blood, and three bottles of third-tier low-grade spirit beast blood. As expected of the Hundred Refinements Sect, their foundation was far beyond what the Flowing Cloud Sect could compare to.

Next, Zhang Tie opened the storage bag containing the cultivation resources for direct disciples. The amount provided was for one year, which included six hundred low-grade spirit stones and twelve bottles of Pure Yang Pills. Ordinary direct disciples were required to complete one sect mission each year. However, Zhang Tie's situation was special; he only had one mission for the next three years: to cultivate diligently, improve his Body Cultivation realm, and participate in the Secret Realm Grand Competition three years later.

Following this, Zhang Tie prepared to continue cultivating the second revolution of the "Nine Revolutions Undying Body," aiming to break through to Meridian Casting and then reach the Aperture Opening realm.

Meridian Casting, in essence, involved casting new meridians within the body. These were divided into sixteen meridians for the five organs, six viscera, head, and limbs. Once these meridians were successfully recast, the surrounding vital energy and blood would instantly converge at a single point. When all sixteen meridians were recast, one could gather the body's vital energy and blood to any part of the body instantaneously.

Before these sixteen meridians existed, when exerting force, one could only mobilize nearby power. However, once possessing these sixteen meridians, it was as if the body truly became one, capable of gathering the strength of the entire body in one place, achieving it in an instant. Whether for attack or defense, the power was tens of times greater than in the Body Tempering Realm.

Therefore, the key to the second revolution was to use consciousness to guide the energy from the absorbed spirit beast blood and open up these sixteen meridians within the body. Opening the meridians of the limbs achieved the early stage of Meridian Casting; opening the meridians of the five organs signified the mid-stage of Meridian Casting; and opening the meridians of the six viscera marked the late stage of Meridian Casting. Once all sixteen meridians were recast, one could begin preparing to break through to the Aperture Opening realm.

The human body has three hundred and sixty-five acupoints. The so-called Aperture Opening realm is the process of developing these three hundred and sixty-five acupoints. Once opened, vital energy and blood can be stored within them and mobilized instantly when needed. Therefore, the more acupoints opened and the larger they are, the stronger one's combat power becomes.

After the age of five, innate vital energy dissipates, and all acupoints automatically close. Thus, only after completing Meridian Casting can one mobilize the body's vital energy and blood to impact the acupoints. Once the first acupoint is officially broken through, it signifies entering the early stage of the Aperture Opening realm. The acupoints opened in the Aperture Opening realm can not only store vital energy and blood but also nourish the surrounding flesh and blood, enhancing strength and defense.

A single acupoint can store one-tenth to three-tenths of the body's total vital energy and blood. Once an acupoint is successfully opened, strength and defense are enhanced, and opening subsequent acupoints becomes increasingly difficult, with the difficulty almost doubling for each subsequent one. This is the reason why Body Cultivation is so arduous.

Zhang Tie meticulously recalled the cultivation technique in his mind. Then, he took out the second-tier mid-grade spirit beast blood, swallowed half of it in one gulp, and began circulating the second revolution technique.

Time flies when cultivating, and the years pass like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, a year had gone by. On this day, the formation of Zhang Tie's cave dwelling suddenly activated, and a robust young man emerged from it. His posture was upright, his bearing vigorous, and his presence imposing. This was Zhang Tie, who had just emerged from seclusion after a year of cultivation.

During this past year, with the help of the Undying Pearl, Zhang Tie had refined and absorbed all ten bottles of second-tier mid-grade spirit beast blood and six bottles of second-tier high-grade spirit beast blood. To recharge the Undying Pearl, which had exhausted its energy for the first time, Zhang Tie had used almost all the spirit stones he possessed and the Pure Yang Pills he had received.

Currently, Zhang Tie had successfully entered the mid-stage of Meridian Casting, completing the recasting of the meridians in his head, limbs, heart, and lungs. His body's strength and defense had surged significantly. Zhang Tie had a faint feeling that he should be able to deal with cultivators in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and it was even possible for him to survive against cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection stage.

At the same time, Zhang Tie also felt that he had underestimated his own mediocre aptitude. He had a premonition that even if he used up all the remaining second-tier high-grade spirit beast blood and third-tier low-grade spirit beast blood, he would at most reach the peak of the mid-stage of Meridian Casting. Even with exceptional luck, he would at best barely enter the late stage of Meridian Casting, and certainly not reach the peak of the late stage.

Therefore, in addition to needing a large amount of spirit stones and pills to recharge the Undying Pearl, Zhang Tie also urgently needed a large quantity of spirit beast blood. However, only one year had passed, and he absolutely could not go asking for more spirit beast blood, as it would undoubtedly arouse suspicion. After all, ordinary Body Cultivators would not dream of reaching such a realm without eighteen to twenty years.

Thus, the time to aim for the late stage of Meridian Casting and even the Aperture Opening realm should be set within the secret realm. Before entering, he would absorb the remaining spirit beast blood and then fully charge the Undying Pearl. Before entering the secret realm, he would ask the sect for more third-tier spirit beast blood. As soon as he entered the secret realm, he would find a place to hide, absorb all the spirit beast blood, and then proceed with exploring the secret realm. This way, not only would his chances of survival greatly increase, but upon exiting, he could also lie and claim he had a fortuitous encounter in the secret realm, which explained his rapid cultivation progress.

Zhang Tie made his plan. He leaped up, his body flying out hundreds of feet like a cannonball. As soon as he landed, he disappeared into the distance with another "whoosh." He needed to go to the External Affairs Hall to collect this year's cultivation resources, and then find his master to ask for spirit stones.