Quick! Quick! Quick!
Ning Xiaochuan drove the blood in his body to its limit and fled for his life, darting through the forest. Blood from his back soaked through his clothes and dripped ceaselessly to the ground.
Xiao Li gave chase at incredible speed. The distance between him and Ning Xiaochuan rapidly closed to thirty yards, twenty-seven yards, twenty-four yards...
The sword qi he unleashed could already strike the Profound Fortification Protective Shield enveloping Ning Xiaochuan.
Once he closed the distance to nine yards, the sword qi he struck out would be able to shatter Ning Xiaochuan's Profound Fortification Protective Shield.
"Whoosh!"
Ning Xiaochuan heard the sound of rushing water beside his ears. Below the slope ahead was a great river with surging waves. It gave the despairing Ning Xiaochuan a glimmer of hope once more.
He was only ninety yards from the river now. As long as he could cross those ninety yards, there was hope of escaping alive.
Ning Xiaochuan swiftly took out an Intermediate Pill and stuffed it into his mouth, then charged down the slope at top speed.
"Boom!"
The Intermediate Pill's medicinal power and profound qi exploded within his body, raising his speed by a great deal. Yet Xiao Li was still a fraction faster, drawing ever closer.
Ning Xiaochuan let the Intermediate Pill's medicinal power course through his body. His eyes remained fixed on the distant river, while a deep chill spread across his back. Sweat covered his entire body, and the sound of wind tearing behind him grew stronger and stronger.
"Bang!"
A streak of sword qi shattered his Profound Fortification Protective Shield.
Ning Xiaochuan was only one step away from the river, but his Profound Fortification Protective Shield had already broken. If he forced himself to leap into the river now, it would only be a dead end.
At this life-or-death juncture, Ning Xiaochuan forcibly twisted his body around, circulated all the Martial Dao Profound Qi in his body, and condensed a Profound Qi Sword. "Profound Qi Sword Five-Hit Combo!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Ning Xiaochuan struck out five times in succession.
Xiao Li also struck out five times in succession. All five streams of sword qi slashed into Ning Xiaochuan's chest, sending him flying. With a splash, he fell into the great river.
Xiao Li arrived at the riverbank and looked at the muddy-red water. He lightly touched his neck with his fingers, where a faint line of blood marked his skin.
This had been inflicted by the fifth strike of Ning Xiaochuan's Profound Qi Sword Five-Hit Combo.
That fifth strike had been exceptionally powerful. Even Xiao Li had failed to guard against it.
Had that sword qi been even slightly off course, Xiao Li's throat would have been cut open. Then, he would have been the one to die.
"A Heart Nourisher at the Profound Qi Ninth Level nearly killed me. How hateful."
Xiao Li knew that Ning Xiaochuan definitely was not dead. Though all five streams of sword qi had struck his chest, he had avoided the vital areas. The wounds were not fatal.
Martial artists possessed powerful vitality. They were not so easily killed.
Xiao Li followed the river downstream, searching for Ning Xiaochuan's trail.
More than ten miles downstream, Ning Xiaochuan clutched some water grass and crawled out of the river. His entire body was covered in blood, and his face had been soaked pale.
"Pfft!"
Ning Xiaochuan spat out a mouthful of river water mixed with blood.
Having lost too much blood, Ning Xiaochuan's mind was muddled. Darkness flashed before his eyes, and he toppled head over heels into the water-grass marsh, gasping heavily.
After a long while, he struggled to sit up again. Enduring the weakness and pain in his body, he circulated the Martial Dao Profound Qi within himself and sealed his wounds, temporarily stopping the loss of blood.
"Thankfully, I took the Intermediate Pill beforehand. It allowed me to hold my breath underwater for half a shichen. Otherwise, I would definitely have died today. Hm? Why are there three extra blood vessels inside my body?"
Ning Xiaochuan discovered three additional blood vessels within his body. They were all extremely thin, almost invisible to the naked eye, and could only be seen through Inner Vision.
The first blood vessel began at the Martial Heart Palace, led directly to the cerebral cortex, then returned from the cerebral cortex to the Martial Heart Palace. It was the shortest blood vessel.
The second blood vessel began at the Martial Heart Palace, passed through the five viscera and six bowels, then returned to the Martial Heart Palace.
The third blood vessel began at the Martial Heart Palace, flowed through his limbs, then returned to the Martial Heart Palace. It was the longest blood vessel.
The three blood vessels were each independent, separate from the other vessels in his body, flowing along bizarre routes.
This was something Ning Xiaochuan had never dared imagine before. It simply surpassed all common sense.
"Could these be the Three Hidden Meridians within my body?"
These three Hidden Meridians had been stimulated by the Intermediate Pill, revealing themselves from within his body.
However, none of the three Hidden Meridians had been opened yet. At present, they were all blocked "dead meridians."
Only by opening all three Hidden Meridians and transforming them into "living meridians" could a martial artist turn an ordinary body into something miraculous, transform into a Divine Body, awaken the treasure trove of divine abilities hidden within the body, and thereby give birth to all kinds of unimaginable mystical arts.
Now that the Hidden Meridians had revealed themselves, things were much easier!
Ning Xiaochuan began to assault the Hidden Meridians. He directly chose the third one—the one that connected the Martial Heart Palace to his limbs!
The longer a Hidden Meridian was, the longer it took to open. Under ordinary circumstances, Ning Xiaochuan would certainly have chosen the first Hidden Meridian, the one connected to his brain. That Hidden Meridian was the shortest and required the least time.
But these were extraordinary times. A powerful enemy could come to kill him at any moment, so Ning Xiaochuan could only choose the third Hidden Meridian.
If the third Hidden Meridian were opened, his Martial Heart Palace could directly channel profound qi into his limbs, making his legs faster and his arms stronger.
Though Hidden Meridians were concealed blood vessels, what flowed within them was not blood, but Martial Dao Profound Qi.
Naturally, Martial Dao Profound Qi was also needed to assault the Hidden Meridians.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
After repeatedly failing to break through, Ning Xiaochuan hurriedly calmed his mind and steadied his breath. He no longer blindly hurled all his profound qi against the Hidden Meridian. Doing so would only leave him with internal injuries.
Ning Xiaochuan controlled the profound qi in his Martial Heart Palace, drew out a single thread, condensed it until it was as fine as a needlepoint, and slowly pierced it into the tip of the Hidden Meridian.
"Bang!"
The profound qi pierced a short distance into the Hidden Meridian.
He had succeeded! Though it was only a tiny segment, he had at least carved out an entrance.
The Hidden Meridians were as thin as hair and completely blocked.
Ning Xiaochuan now had to open the Hidden Meridian and allow profound qi to flow through it.
Ning Xiaochuan controlled the Martial Dao Profound Qi and advanced inch by inch. Every fraction it moved forward intensified the pain in his body by another degree.
When the Martial Dao Profound Qi had opened one-tenth of the Hidden Meridian, Ning Xiaochuan was in so much pain that he nearly fainted. Beads of blood seeped from his pores.
Ning Xiaochuan hurriedly controlled the Martial Dao Profound Qi to retreat back into the Heart Palace. He let out a deep breath and washed the bloodstains from his body with clean water.
Though he had not successfully opened the first Hidden Meridian, this was still something well worth rejoicing over.
"To open one-tenth of a Hidden Meridian on my first attempt is already quite good. As long as I have three days, I should be able to open the first Hidden Meridian. By then, my speed should not be any slower than Xiao Li's."
Ning Xiaochuan suddenly sensed something. He gently parted the water grass and glanced toward the opposite bank of the river. A youth in white stood on the distant shore, his gaze searching everywhere, his eyes viciously sharp.
Even with an entire river between them, he could see everything on the opposite bank with perfect clarity.
That youth was Xiao Li! He stood by the water's edge, using his vision to search for Ning Xiaochuan's trail. Martial artists of the Divine Body Realm possessed terrifying eyesight; from a thousand meters away, they could see the patterns on a mosquito's wings.
"I've already seen you. You're on the other side of the river. I'm coming to take your life now!" Xiao Li laughed loudly.
Ning Xiaochuan's heart jolted. He nearly exposed himself by rushing from the water grass to flee.
But he immediately hid back down. I nearly fell for it. Xiao Li is probably only testing me. If he had truly seen me, he would have silently crossed to the other bank and killed me already. He would never say this and alert the snake in the grass.
Ning Xiaochuan held his breath and waited for a while. Sure enough, Xiao Li had merely been testing him and did not cross the river.
Ning Xiaochuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"This cannot go on forever. Xiao Li will find this place sooner or later. I have to leave."
Only after night had fallen did Ning Xiaochuan climb ashore from the marsh thick with water grass, then flee into the forest.
But before long, Xiao Li caught up with him again.
"How can this be? How could you possibly know my whereabouts?" Ning Xiaochuan fled at top speed, his heart full of confusion.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Xiao Li leaped from tree to tree, rapidly closing in on Ning Xiaochuan. With a cold sneer, he said, "My Martial Heart Palace is a Variant Beast-Shape Heart Palace, and it is exceptionally sensitive to an enemy's aura. It would have been fine if you had stayed in the water, but once you left it, the aura on your body spread out. It is only natural that I could track you."
Ning Xiaochuan finally understood why Xiao Li had tested that stretch of river during the day. His variant Martial Heart Palace must have detected Ning Xiaochuan's aura, but since Ning Xiaochuan had been hidden in the marsh, Xiao Li had been unable to pinpoint his position.
That was why he tested Ning Xiaochuan.
He must have remained guarding that stretch of river all along. The moment Ning Xiaochuan came ashore, he had immediately given chase.
Since Ning Xiaochuan understood the reason, he immediately stopped and fled once more toward the river.
Xiao Li sneered. "Do you think you still have a chance?"
Xiao Li spread his arms, condensing five Profound Qi Swords that revolved around his body. Then he directed them, transforming them into five sword phantoms that simultaneously slashed toward Ning Xiaochuan.
"Profound Qi Sword Six-Hit Combo!"
Ning Xiaochuan struck out six times in succession, each strike stronger than the last as waves of sword energy surged layer upon layer.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The six layers of sword waves shattered all five of Xiao Li's swords.
"Just wait until I break through to the Divine Body Realm. Then your day of death will come." Ning Xiaochuan snorted coldly, his body racing away as he vanished into the forest.
"He actually grew stronger again!" Xiao Li's gaze turned icy as he pursued him once more.
During their first clash, Ning Xiaochuan had been completely unable to withstand his five swords and had suffered grievous injuries.
But this time, Ning Xiaochuan had actually shattered all five of his swords.
In just one short day, his improvement was far too great.