That "Thunderfire Tiger" did not notice the strange changes in its body. It was still bouncing about in high spirits, cheerful as ever.
Meng Haoran paid no heed to the Thunderfire Tiger's delight. He bent down, scooped it up, held it in his arms, and examined it closely.
The beast markings on the Thunderfire Tiger's body had begun to shimmer faintly, while its fur felt soft and smooth, yet carried a trace of hardness.
"To think such a change would occur—I truly never imagined it!"
Meng Haoran recalled the scene when he had purchased this Thunderfire Tiger and laughed. "So the Heavenly Cauldron's initiative in sending me that hint, telling me to buy this Thunderfire Tiger, was because of the Ancient Bloodline Power behind it!"
According to the records in the books, every Spirit Beast possessed a type of Ancient Bloodline Power. Only when a Spirit Beast reached a certain stage of growth would it accidentally awaken the Ancient Bloodline Power within its body, thereby gaining a portion of its ancestral beast power and becoming an even more powerful Spirit Beast!
The Thunderfire Tiger Spirit Beast Meng Haoran had bought in the Black Market not only possessed Ancient Bloodline Power, but had also encountered Meng Haoran when it stood on the brink of death.
Meng Haoran had not only spent a great number of Spirit Stones for the Thunderfire Tiger to absorb and refine, but had also fed it the unfathomable Cauldron Liquid from within the Heavenly Cauldron.
He gently stroked the Thunderfire Tiger's fur and smiled. "I've awakened the Ancient Bloodline Power in this Thunderfire Tiger ahead of time. The books once said that one year after a Thunderfire Tiger is born, the power of lightning and the power of fire will emerge within its body. If I continue raising it this way, will I be able to make it awaken its lightning and fire powers in advance as well?"
Meng Haoran set the Thunderfire Tiger on the ground, patted its little tiger head, and said gently, "Little Tiger, following me truly means you've fallen into good fortune. Tell me, in Xinghua Village, or even in Qingyang County Town, whose family's child could spend so many Spirit Stones and such high-quality Cauldron Liquid to raise you?"
The Thunderfire Tiger dodged Meng Haoran's palm, half-crouched on the ground, raised its front paw, and wildly high-fived him.
After playing with the Thunderfire Tiger for a while, Meng Haoran placed it outside the door, shut his room, and began his cultivation for the day.
Everyone possessed meridians within their bodies, yet no two people were born the same, and their meridians naturally differed as well.
Some people were born with thick, sturdy meridians. When absorbing and refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, both their speed and capacity far surpassed those born with frail, narrow meridians.
The emergence of Cultivation Methods could make up for the difference between the two.
What was more, high-grade Cultivation Methods could even disregard the advantage held by those born with naturally thick meridians.
Even those born with frail, narrow meridians could, so long as they possessed a high-grade Cultivation Method, accumulate their efforts over time and catch up to those with naturally robust meridians.
The Forging Yin Refining Yang Method passed down through the Meng Family for hundreds of years was a ninth-grade Cultivation Method. Though it was considered the lowest grade among Cultivation Methods—
—for hundreds of years, it had continued to draw the attention of the Lin and Chen Families of Xinghua Village. At every moment, they thought of how they might obtain the Meng Family's Forging Yin Refining Yang Method.
Yet this Forging Yin Refining Yang Method had always been of paramount importance to the Meng Family. From beginning to end, the Meng Family guarded it with the utmost vigilance and had never allowed it to leak outside.
A few days ago, when Meng Haoran broke through from the Third Layer of Qi Refining to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, the Forging Yin Refining Yang Method he cultivated had naturally broken through to the fourth level as well.
"The Forging Yin Refining Yang Method emphasizes using yin and yang qi to improve the unfavorable state of a cultivator's meridians. By absorbing and refining the yin and yang qi of heaven and earth into the body, it drives changes in the cultivator's own yin and yang qi, thereby improving the thickness of the cultivator's meridians."
Meng Haoran frowned slightly. "However, the Forging Yin Refining Yang Method inherited by our Meng Family is only ninth-grade. Its ability to improve one's meridians is limited. If I want to increase the thickness of my meridians more quickly, I still have to rely on a higher-grade Cultivation Method!"
Several roars from the Thunderfire Tiger came from outside. Meng Haoran suddenly recalled the Heavenly Cauldron within his body.
"Fortunately, though, I possess the divine Heavenly Cauldron. During my cultivation, it can produce that mysterious Cauldron Liquid. After I consume it, it quietly alters the meridians within my body without a sound."
Meng Haoran continued, "The Forging Yin Refining Yang Method works from without, while the Heavenly Cauldron's Cauldron Liquid works from within. When the two become one—one inside and one outside—they should greatly increase my cultivation speed!"
The Qi Refining Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm, and Golden Core Realm were the first three major realms of cultivation, also known in the cultivation world as the "Lower Three Realms."
The path of cultivation was like constructing a towering building upon level ground.
The foundation of that tall building was the Qi Refining Realm, while the person constructing it was naturally the cultivator themself.
If one failed to build a solid foundation when constructing the base of the building, then when the cultivator had built the tower halfway up, the unstable foundation would cause the entire structure to collapse midway.
When an ordinary building in the mortal world collapsed, mortals could still start over and build another tall building from scratch.
But once a cultivator's towering building collapsed, the chance to start over was exceedingly slim.
Time, energy, and cultivation resources would no longer allow a cultivator to begin cultivating again from the Qi Refining Realm.
The Qi Refining Realm did not merely require cultivating the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It also required using that energy to improve one's own physical body, so that upon breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, one could build a Dao Foundation of respectable quality!
As Meng Haoran cultivated the Forging Yin Refining Yang Method, he thought, Now that the Meng Family's Spirit Plant Field is on the right track, I only need to follow the established order and cast Daoist Magic, then scatter Cauldron Liquid. If I get the chance, I should also see whether the Black Market has any other cultivation methods of better quality.
Having firmly committed this matter to heart, Meng Haoran calmed his mind and entered meditation to cultivate.
The days passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.
During these days, Meng Haoran had lived a life of three points and one line.
The Meng Family's Spirit Plant Field in the rear courtyard, Xinghua Meng Pavilion in Qingyang County.
Xinghua Meng Pavilion in Qingyang County, the Meng Family's Spirit Plant Field in the rear courtyard.
Though such a life was somewhat monotonous, its effects were exceptionally clear.
When Meng Haoran had followed Meng Bohai to the Black Market in Chiyang County, his cultivation had only just broken through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.
Now, not only had he used the invisible Human Dao Spiritual Energy within Qingyang County Town to thoroughly stabilize his cultivation at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, he even had energy to spare to continue improving his cultivation.
This gave Meng Haoran something of a feeling of finding joy amid bitterness.
Just as Meng Haoran was sensing the cultivation within his body, a hurried set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
"Brother Haoran, this is bad! Something happened!"
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