Opening All Meridians

Zhou Hao and Murong sat at opposite ends of the ice table, far apart. This dining arrangement was only suitable for romantics, certainly not for them.

After all, it was extremely difficult to make a woman who didn't even understand love experience romance.

So, this was the scene: Murong was eating, well… just eating normally, without speaking, clearly demonstrating the meaning of "eat without speaking, sleep without talking."

Zhou Hao naturally knew this wasn't how a couple should act, but the current atmosphere left him unsure of what to say.

He thought for a moment, cleared his throat twice, and said, "Um... should we say something?"

"What do you want to say?" Murong elegantly ate her steak. With a thought, a delicate pastry in the center of the ice table slowly floated to her, landing gently on her plate.

Zhou Hao's mouth twitched involuntarily. He inwardly grumbled, "Are you a competitive eater? You haven't stopped since you started."

He pondered for a moment, considering which topic to start with.

Before he could speak, Murong looked up at him and asked curiously, "Didn't you say we were going to eat? It seems you haven't even touched your chopsticks."

Three black lines ran down Zhou Hao's forehead. Was eating the main point? What one should do while eating was the main point.

However... looking at the delicious-looking dishes, he couldn't help but swallow.

He hadn't eaten much in a long time either. If he had a chance to eat a good meal, why bother with couple stuff? He'd eat his fill first.

So, he also started focusing on eating. It was harder than climbing to heaven to make Murong understand what a couple was, so he'd let nature take its course! He couldn't be bothered anymore.

Murong stared in astonishment at Zhou Hao, who had started wolfing down his food. She frowned in disdain and reminded him, "Watch your image."

Zhou Hao glanced at her, swallowed the food in his mouth, and then said, "I haven't eaten anything this delicious in a long time. I can't stop."

Murong was slightly taken aback, then nodded in understanding. However, she still reminded him, "Although I had the imperial chefs remove most of the energy from these dishes, it's still not advisable for you to eat too much in your current state."

When she asked the imperial chefs to prepare the meal, they had specifically considered Zhou Hao's tolerance level.

"What will happen if I eat too much?" Zhou Hao stopped his chopsticks and asked.

Murong looked at him with a smile in her eyes and pointed to his body.

"If you eat too much, you'll become like this, with your whole body turning red. The food inside you will condense into high-concentration energy, which will then act upon your body, and you'll feel pain."

As she finished speaking, Zhou Hao's reaction precisely verified her words.

"Ah—" Zhou Hao's whole body grew hot, and he shouted in pain. Gritting his teeth, he glared at Murong and roared, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Murong smiled. "I already reminded you in time. Your current intake is precisely at the critical point. As long as you endure the pain, your strength will undergo another qualitative leap."

"Ah—" Zhou Hao had no time to speak. He felt his body hurting more and more, causing him to writhe on the ground.

But along with the pain, the aura emanating from him grew stronger and stronger, his momentum steadily climbing.

Spirit Profound Sixth Stage, Spirit Profound Seventh Stage... he broke through to the Spiritual Consciousness Realm in one go. The realm increase hadn't stopped yet, not even slowed down.

Soon, he broke through Spiritual Consciousness First Stage, Spiritual Consciousness Second Stage, and only slowed down gradually at Spiritual Consciousness Fifth Stage. Finally, he stopped at the boundary between Spiritual Consciousness Fifth Stage and Sixth Stage, needing only a catalyst to break through again.

After successfully breaking through, Zhou Hao lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

Murong came before him, looked down at Zhou Hao, and simultaneously, the cold air from her body began to seep into Zhou Hao's body, helping to alleviate his pain.

Zhou Hao looked at her silently and said weakly, "Thank you."

Murong sat down on the ground next to Zhou Hao, propped up her chin, and asked, "Don't you blame me? For making you endure such great pain?"

Zhou Hao shook his head. "No blame. My meridians are all clear. Thank you."

He thanked Murong solemnly again. This time, the greatest gain wasn't the advancement of a major realm, but the clearing of all his meridians.

One had to know that clearing all the meridians in one's body was an achievement only attainable in the Divine Realm. This meant he had now laid the foundation for the Divine Realm.

From now on, his cultivation speed and combat prowess would both be significantly enhanced.

Murong let out a light laugh and abruptly asked, "Does this count as girlfriend behavior?"

Zhou Hao was stunned for a moment, then looked at her suspiciously. "You didn't help me clear my meridians just for this, did you?"

Murong shook her head. "That's not it. Helping you was actually for myself, or rather, for our future child."

Zhou Hao frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Murong replied seriously, "I've cultivated the Spirit-Womb Art. Under normal circumstances, the stronger our cultivation, the lower the possibility of having offspring. However, the Spirit-Womb Art combined with the Spirit-Womb Ring can keep my eggs in an active state, thereby increasing the possibility of me getting pregnant.

But there's a problem, and that's you. Your sperm must also reach the same level as my eggs. But because my strength is far greater than yours, my physical condition and yours are worlds apart. So, with the inequality between sperm and eggs, although there's a chance of conception, it's very slim. Only if you have a certain level of strength, or reach my current level, can the success rate be slowly increased."

Zhou Hao suddenly understood and nodded. "I get it."

He thought for a moment and said, "So, we don't need to be a couple anymore?"

For some reason, he felt a bit disappointed when he said this.

Murong shook her head. "No, not only do we need to be a couple, but we also need to be husband and wife."

"Huh?" Zhou Hao looked utterly bewildered. They had found a way to potentially conceive, so why continue with this unreliable method? Moreover, it had escalated – not just a couple, but husband and wife now.

Murong chuckled. "Let's try it. We have nothing to lose anyway."

Hearing this, Zhou Hao nodded gently. That was true. They had already been intimate countless times. From this perspective, being a newlywed couple wasn't inappropriate.

After thinking it through, he nodded. "Alright then! We won't be a couple, we'll be husband and wife."

Murong dispersed the cold air from Zhou Hao's body. "Alright, get up and walk around."

Zhou Hao cautiously pushed himself up. Huh? He noticed his body wasn't sore at all.

Murong smiled, stood up, and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Great," Zhou Hao replied with a smile.

It felt even better than after taking the Body-Reforming Pill.

Murong nodded in satisfaction, pointed to the food on the ice table, and instructed, "Put these dishes away. Don't eat too much at once, and don't eat them every day. Although most of the energy has been removed, it's still more than you can handle."

Zhou Hao accepted them without hesitation. These dishes were treasures, and they wouldn't spoil for a long time in his Storage Ring. It would be nice to satisfy a craving with them when he felt like it.