Meridians Fully Open, Pulse Like A Dragon

In a daze, Yi Yun saw the woman standing close to him clearly.

Her skin was pale, her eyes like autumn water, and she exuded a fresh, delicate scholarly aura, like a young lady from a prominent family.

However, her clothes were not made of expensive silk, but of white hemp, washed clean and spotless.

In the Great Wilderness, such hemp clothing was worn by the poor.

Children from wealthy families only wore hemp clothes when mourning their elders, to show their frugality; this was known as wearing hemp and mourning.

The young girl before him, in terms of temperament and appearance, did not resemble a child from a poor family at all, yet she wore hemp.

Furthermore, with her slender figure and skin like jade, wearing hemp made her seem like a celestial being descended to the mortal realm, hidden in the mountains and wilds.

"You... you are..."

Yi Yun was somewhat confused. This woman was definitely not from the Lian Clan; was she an outsider?

Yi Yun looked at the sky. The sun was already high, and it had been midnight when he entered the water. Had he really stayed underwater for an entire night?

Suddenly, Yi Yun realized something and his heart trembled!

If he had truly stayed underwater for a whole night, it would have far exceeded the limits of a normal person.

Although Yi Yun had been unconscious, he knew that it was the cool energy flow from the Purple Crystal that sustained his life activities, preventing his physical body from dying of oxygen deprivation.

The Purple Crystal was his biggest secret.

When had this woman come to the edge of the pool? Did she know how long he had been underwater?

Fortunately, the girl's next words dispelled Yi Yun's worries.

"Why are you floating in the water? Did you drown?"

Floating in the water?

It seemed he had already surfaced when the girl appeared.

Yi Yun breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his fists. "Thank you, miss, for saving me, uh..."

Only then did Yi Yun notice that behind the young girl stood a chubby old man. This old man had silver hair and looked quite old, yet his facial skin was very smooth, not only free of wrinkles but also rosy.

This inexplicably reminded Yi Yun of a slogan – "White with a hint of red, unlike any other."

Yi Yun felt a chill run down his spine. That phrase was used to describe beautiful women; it felt awkward to describe an old man.

Yi Yun noticed that the old man was smiling at him, seemingly very interested.

His eyes were already small, and his face was fleshy. When he smiled, his eyes almost disappeared, yet these eyes seemed to see right through him.

Yi Yun instantly felt as if he had nowhere to hide in front of the old man, a feeling that made him very uncomfortable.

Could he... see the Purple Crystal in his heart?

However, the next moment, Yi Yun knew his worries were unnecessary. The chubby old man's gaze did not linger on his chest at all. He merely said meaningfully, "Young man, you are quite cunning for your age!"

"Hmm?" Yi Yun's heart tensed. What did this old man mean?

"You weren't drowning, yet you thanked us. We didn't save you at all, but you accepted it readily. Are you hiding something? Your eyes seemed a bit panicked just now."

As the chubby old man spoke, he smiled mischievously, a hint of playfulness in his eyes.

Yi Yun's heart skipped a beat!

Just then, the chubby old man's hand landed on Yi Yun's shoulder, making Yi Yun instantly tense. Damn it, he hated it most when people put their hands on his shoulder! The last time Lian Chengyu did that, it almost cost him his life!

"Don't misunderstand, this old man is not interested in the little secret you have."

The chubby old man said with a chuckle. Why would I, with my status, covet the secrets of a teenager from a small tribe in the Great Wilderness? To put it bluntly, it's like an emperor wanting to steal from a beggar.

How could that be!

Of course, this was the chubby old man's inner thought, but in Yi Yun's eyes, the old man's smile was... very lewd.

"This old man is just curious... you seem... hmm..." The chubby old man suddenly seemed moved, "You've actually reached this realm?"

The old man's words made Yi Yun slightly stunned.

It happened so suddenly. Yi Yun had just surfaced from the water and encountered these two, an old man and a young girl, and hadn't had time to check his physical condition. Now, he checked and felt his cultivation... Hmm? Why was he still at the Fourth Layer of Mortal Blood, Meridian Realm?

His cultivation hadn't improved, but something felt subtly different.

What's going on? I absorbed a lot of medicinal power from herbs and a small portion of the energy from the Savage Bones, going from a weakling to someone who had opened the Ren and Du Meridians. Last night, I absorbed all the remaining medicinal power from the Savage Bones in one go and digested it perfectly. I thought I might have a chance to break through to the legendary Purple Blood Realm, or at least reach the peak of Qi Induction. Why am I still stuck in the Meridian Realm?

He had consumed an entire Savage Bone, yet he was still at the Fourth Layer of Mortal Blood. That was too weak! That was enough energy for Lian Chengyu to attempt to break into the Purple Blood Realm.

Was his talent too poor? But... what did the chubby old man mean by saying he "actually" reached this realm?

Did the breakthrough to the Meridian Realm by a martial practitioner from a small tribe already make him incredulous?

The chubby old man looked at Yi Yun doubtfully and murmured, "All meridians open, pulse like a dragon, body refinement complete, bones and blood resonating. This shouldn't be. You, child, were born in Yunhuang, and should even be from this Lian Clan. How could you have achieved complete body refinement and a pulse like a dragon?"

The chubby old man glanced at Yi Yun's faded clothes and worn-out straw sandals, guessing Yi Yun's identity. Even disciples from prominent families who came to Yunhuang for training would wear brand-new coarse linen clothes, not something like Yi Yun's, which he had clearly worn for several years.

"All meridians open, pulse like a dragon, body refinement complete, bones and blood resonating?"

Yi Yun didn't understand the meaning of the chubby old man's words, but he could tell that this was definitely a good thing!

It seemed he had unintentionally gained a tremendous benefit?

"Teacher, you're saying this young man has reached Perfected Body Tempering?" The young girl was startled by the fat old man's words, filled with surprise.

This evaluation is clearly extraordinary!

"Mmm... if it were within those ancient families, it would be normal for their prodigies to achieve this. But in the Great Wilderness, it's truly rare for a child from a poor family to reach Perfected Body Tempering!"

The fat old man saw that Yi Yun didn't understand the meaning of this realm and intentionally explained it to him, "Although the Mortal Blood Realm has five layers, only the first four layers are actually related to body tempering. The fifth layer, Qi Induction, is the transition from the Mortal Blood Realm to the Purple Blood Realm."

"Cultivating the four layers of body tempering isn't difficult, but to perfect it, to temper every inch of flesh and blood and reach Perfected Body Tempering is not easy. Such individuals not only have all their meridians clear but also have thicker meridians than ordinary martial practitioners, brimming with vitality, as if a dragon were dancing within them! Furthermore, after complete body tempering, bone, flesh, and blood fuse perfectly, and with a single strike, bone and blood resonate!"

The fat old man's explanation brought Yi Yun a sudden realization. No wonder his realm hadn't progressed after absorbing the remaining energy of the Savage Bones; all that energy had been used for Perfected Body Tempering!

Although his realm had advanced quickly before, Yi Yun knew the principle of "haste makes waste." Rapid realm progression wasn't necessarily a good thing!

But this accidental slumber at the bottom of the water had eliminated this hidden danger!

"Eh, your bone structure is also ordinary." The fat old man's small eyes were incredibly sharp, far surpassing Zhang Yuxian's discernment.

At that time, Zhang Yuxian had used energy absorption to test Yi Yun's talent, and the result he obtained was actually the "talent" of Purple Crystal.

But this old man had seen Yi Yun's true aptitude with his own eyes. This made Yi Yun's heart tighten. This old man had clearly reached the legendary realm of the "Heavenly Eye"!