Zhuqi Realm Second Layer

Time passed quickly.

The setting sun was slowly sinking behind the western mountains, and the clouds on the horizon were dyed a golden red, like thick, vibrant ink splashed across the sky.

[Zhaoxi Value +1]

The text prompt flashed before his eyes, and the semi-transparent panel emitted a faint glow in the twilight.

Host: Chen Xuan

Fate: Zhaoxi Bizheng

Root Bone: Upper-Middle

Realm: Zhuqi Realm First Layer (Pimai Initial Stage)

Martial Arts: Giant Whale Body Refining Technique/Ninth Layer, Mountain Crushing Fist/Great Success, Vajra Technique/Fifth Layer (Qi Meridians Opened: 36/72), Nine Shadow Killing Sword/Second Layer (Proficient)

Zhaoxi Value: 1

Let's test the effect of the Upper-Middle root bone.

Chen Xuan moved his consciousness.

He used the one Zhaoxi Value he had just obtained to accelerate his cultivation of the Vajra Technique.

Hum~~~

Chen Xuan's sea of consciousness trembled.

Memory fragments of practicing the Vajra Technique flooded into his mind.

Unlike before, his cultivation this time was much smoother, as if an invisible pair of hands were guiding his consciousness, allowing him to enter a state of cultivation rapidly. The changes brought about by the Upper-Middle root bone were reflected immediately.

Over a month.

It took him only a little over a month to open one qi meridian.

A year has twelve months.

After a year of bitter cultivation.

Chen Xuan had directly opened ten qi meridians.

Vajra Technique/Fifth Layer (Qi Meridians Opened: 46/72)

As the data for the Vajra Technique changed, Chen Xuan immediately sensed the transformation in his body. He looked down at his hands; the pale golden luster on his skin seemed to have deepened, his palms had become broader and more powerful, his knuckles were distinct, and every finger contained explosive strength.

He clenched his fist gently, and his bones emitted a crisp, long-lasting sound like clashing metal. His physical strength alone now exceeded ten thousand jin in a single arm.

He circulated his true qi.

In his dantian, pale golden true qi surged out like a spring, flowing along the forty-eight qi meridians at a speed nearly twice as fast as before.

The quantity and quality of his true qi had also improved significantly.

Now that my root bone aptitude has been raised to Upper-Middle, my cultivation speed has indeed increased quite a bit.

Chen Xuan felt pleasantly surprised.

At this rate, opening ten qi meridians a day, he would be able to open all seventy-two qi meridians by the day after tomorrow and break through to the second layer of the Zhuqi Realm.

There is indeed a significant gap between different levels of root bone aptitude.

In a major sect like the Guiyuan Sect, those with medium root bone aptitude who do nothing but cultivate for five years can basically reach the ninth layer of Body Tempering.

Those with Upper-Middle aptitude who do nothing but cultivate for five years, practicing day and night and choosing a standard Zhuqi Realm technique, can break through to the Zhuqi Realm within five years and become inner sect disciples.

Those with superior root bone aptitude are what people call geniuses, while those with top-tier root bone aptitude are rare geniuses who appear once every few decades and have the potential to surpass the Zhuqi Realm.

As for a Spirit Body with all meridians open.

That is a super genius seen once in a century.

Wait, I still have two Pulse Breaking Pills. Chen Xuan took out the porcelain bottle containing the Pulse Breaking Pills. If I refine these two pills and manage to open six qi meridians, then by the time the sun sets the day after tomorrow, I will be able to open all seventy-two qi meridians and break through to the second layer of the Zhuqi Realm.

The effect of the Pulse Breaking Pill is different from that of the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

The Marrow Cleansing Pill improves root bone aptitude, changing one's cultivation talent at the root, while the Pulse Breaking Pill assists in opening qi meridians. This pill can protect the qi meridians, allowing a martial artist to open them without having to be so cautious.

For ordinary martial artists, especially those with lower aptitude, the Pulse Breaking Pill is a precious medicine for breaking through bottlenecks.

A single Pulse Breaking Pill can often save years of bitter cultivation.

Let's test the effect first.

Chen Xuan popped a Pulse Breaking Pill into his mouth.

The pill melted upon contact, turning into a stream of cool energy that flowed down his throat into his abdomen, then spread to his limbs and bones.

Unlike the warmth of the Marrow Cleansing Pill, the medicinal power of the Pulse Breaking Pill was gentler, like a trickling stream, nourishing things silently.

Chen Xuan immediately circulated the Vajra Technique, guiding his true qi to strike the forty-seventh qi meridian. That meridian had originally been blocked like iron, requiring a slow, grinding effort to open bit by bit; the slightest carelessness could damage the meridians and ruin all his previous efforts.

But now, wrapped in the medicinal power of the Pulse Breaking Pill, the walls of the qi meridian became soft and elastic, and the impact of the true qi was no longer so difficult.

Hum--

The true qi surged like a tide, washing over the blocked meridian again and again. Under the protection of the Pulse Breaking Pill, the meridian walls trembled continuously, gradually loosening, until finally, it was completely opened.

The forty-seventh qi vessel, open.

This process took about half an hour.

Chen Xuan did not rest, continuing to strike at the forty-eighth.

Another half hour passed, and the forty-eighth qi vessel was cleared; an hour later, the forty-ninth qi vessel was cleared.

By this time, the medicinal power of the Pulse Breaking Pill was completely exhausted; the potency of a single Pulse Breaking Pill had allowed Chen Xuan to clear three qi vessels.

The improvement in bone aptitude was comprehensive, not only increasing cultivation speed but also significantly boosting the efficiency and conversion rate of refining medicinal pills.

If he had inferior bone aptitude, a single Pulse Breaking Pill would have cleared at most one qi vessel, but since Chen Xuan now possessed upper-middle bone aptitude, he could better absorb the pill's medicinal power, thus clearing three qi vessels.

Chen Xuan struck while the iron was hot and refined the other Pulse Breaking Pill as well.

Vajra Technique/Fifth Level (Qi vessels cleared: 52/72)

The number of qi vessels he had opened reached fifty-two, like fifty-two rivers interwoven into a web within his body, allowing his true qi to circulate even more smoothly.

April 22nd, evening.

The sun set in the west, dyeing the horizon a golden red.

[Zhaoxi Value +1]

Chen Xuan did not hesitate to invest this Zhaoxi Value to upgrade the Vajra Technique.

Previously, he had already cleared sixty-two qi vessels.

Now, after another year of bitter cultivation, he had cleared ten more in succession, bringing the number of qi vessels cleared within his body to seventy-two.

Boom—

When the seventy-second qi vessel was cleared, it felt as if a floodgate had been opened within Chen Xuan's body; all seventy-two qi vessels trembled simultaneously, and his true qi surged through his meridians like a bursting dam.

Chen Xuan felt his body undergoing a qualitative change; his bones, muscles, and internal organs were all being continuously strengthened by the scouring of his true qi.

A pale golden light bloomed from the surface of his skin, like a small sun, illuminating the entire room.

Zhuqi Realm Second Layer, mid-stage Pimai!

Chen Xuan slowly opened his eyes, a flash of golden light flickering in his pupils.

He felt the surging power within his body, and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Three days.

It had only taken three days.

To break through from the first layer of the Zhuqi Realm to the second.

With his bone aptitude raised to upper-middle, Chen Xuan's cultivation in the Zhuqi Realm was much like the Body Tempering stage; he could advance a minor realm every few days.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he reached the ninth layer of the Zhuqi Realm.

Chen Xuan's goal now was very simple.

That was to first break through to the ninth layer of the Zhuqi Realm.

Then, he would find a way to obtain higher-grade ultimate arts, or even divine techniques, while simultaneously acquiring rare treasures capable of further improving his bone aptitude.