Cultivation Advancement

Chapter 27: Cultivation Advancement

Deep into the night, the moonlight was cool as water and all was silent. Only a few insects chirped now and then from the nooks in the grass.

In the room, a stick of sandalwood incense burned quietly, its refined fragrance filling the space and bringing peace to the heart. Zhang He wore only a pair of shorts, sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. His breath was long and steady, already blending into the tranquil surroundings.

At last, the incense burned down, and its gray ash fell into the burner. Zhang He slowly opened his eyes, calm as the darkness.

"Burning incense and bathing, to calm and quiet the mind!" Zhang He opened the porcelain bottle and gently tipped it over. A translucent blue pill, as large as a longan, rolled out: the Void Insight Pill! Tonight, Zhang He would take this Void Insight Pill and break through the final stage of the Force Martial Realm, advancing straight to the True Martial Realm. Though his mind was calm, he had a feeling that he would definitely break through tonight!

He opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbed, and Zhang He swallowed the Void Insight Pill in one gulp. As the pill entered his stomach, he immediately felt a stimulating force erupt within him, like a ball of gunpowder suddenly exploding inside his body. The force was intensely potent and seemed almost sentient as it instantly burrowed into his limbs and bones, every meridian and blood vessel, and every gap between his muscles.

At that moment, his bodily sensations became incomparably acute!

"Rumble!" It was the sound of his heart contracting violently and pumping blood into his blood vessels. Such a faint sound now rang in Zhang He's ears like thunder. It was a strange sensation. He felt as though he had gained control over his entire body, every subtle movement within it laid bare in his mind.

He discovered a slight pain in his abdomen. There was no visible injury on the surface, but beneath his skin, there seemed to be an internal wound. Zhang He understood at once. "This is where Wu Xuan stabbed me with the back of his sword. The clothes were pierced, but it clearly didn't cut my flesh. I never expected the force from his sword to penetrate my body. Luckily, he hasn't cultivated Sword Qi yet. Otherwise, that blow would have split me open."

Wu Xuan was at the second level of the True Martial Realm, the Body Protection Realm. Once he reached the third level, the Possession Realm, he would be able to attach his true qi to a weapon and form Sword Qi. If Zhang He had been struck by Sword Qi, he would have suffered a serious injury. But the damage caused by this mere force was no problem at all. Even without treatment, it would heal on its own in a few days.

The Void Insight Pill's medicinal power surged through Zhang He's body.

The true qi within him was also stirred. Had Zhang He not kept it under control, it would have run wild the moment the Void Insight Pill entered his body. Now, the pill's medicinal power had washed through his body, and the time was ripe. Zhang He immediately released the true qi within him.

Whoosh~

The true qi entered his meridians and began circulating wildly.

"In the Force Martial Realm, true qi can only travel through the main meridians. It can't reach many of the finer meridians in the body. After reaching the True Martial Realm, true qi can circulate through a much greater area. It can even enter some especially fine meridians, allowing it to temper the body more deeply."

A major difference between the True Martial Realm and the Force Martial Realm was that the former's true qi could temper the body more thoroughly.

"The sign of the first stage of the True Martial Realm, the Blood Qi Realm, is that the true qi takes on a blood-red color as it circulates. After entering the True Martial Realm, true qi can reach beneath the skin, where there are many tiny capillaries. The blood shining through them gives the circulating true qi a crimson hue."

At that moment, Zhang He's true qi raced through his meridians, crisscrossing his body. Normally, it was extremely difficult for him to control his true qi and guide it into those fine meridians. They were extremely fragile, and the slightest miscalculation could burst them under an excessive flow of true qi. But now, with the Void Insight Pill's help, his meridians were stimulated and had become more resilient. His senses were also incomparably keen, allowing him to clearly control every movement of his true qi.

With proper control, he could easily guide his true qi beneath the surface of his skin.

Time passed second by second.

"Boom!" The final barrier in his meridians was broken through by a stream of fine true qi. The meridians beneath his skin were now all clear. His true qi immediately flowed unhindered into the fine meridians beneath his skin. A warm, swelling sensation spread through him, like soaking in a hot spring with its waters wrapped around his whole body. It felt wonderful.

His true qi flowed on without end, racing through the meridians beneath his skin. As it circulated, it continuously tempered his body. Zhang He felt himself undergoing a constant transformation. At the same time, a faint reddish hue appeared beneath his skin.

"Blood Qi Realm!"

True qi taking on a blood-red hue as it circulated was the sign that he had entered the True Martial Realm!

"Hm? The way my true qi is circulating, it seems like it can reach the surface of my body!" Zhang He suddenly froze. He discovered that as his true qi circulated beneath his skin, it seemed to be moving outward. In the Blood Qi Realm, true qi could only circulate through the meridians beneath the skin. But in the Body Protection Realm, it could leave the meridians and circulate directly over the skin, forming an armor of true qi that ordinary blades and swords could hardly wound!

Advancing from the Force Martial Realm to the True Martial Realm was extremely difficult!

Advancing from the Blood Qi Realm to the Body Protection Realm was no easy feat either!

"I see. The Rejuvenation True Qi in my body is exceptionally abundant, and I have enough of it. Combined with the Void Insight Pill's effects, that's why my true qi can break through the meridians and circulate over my skin!" Zhang He immediately understood the reason. If he kept pushing, one more breakthrough would bring him to the Body Protection Realm!

Zhang He was overjoyed. He immediately urged his true qi to keep circulating, hoping to press on in one go and reach the Body Protection Realm. But moments later, his expression shifted. He suddenly felt as though his strength were giving out.

"Breaking through from the Blood Qi Realm to the Body Protection Realm requires a massive amount of true qi. Without enough, I can't break through. Sigh, I was just proud of how abundant my true qi was, and now I'm already running short!" Zhang He immediately understood what was happening. He refused to let this perfect opportunity slip away for lack of true qi. Such a chance was hard to come by!

A massive amount of true qi! Zhang He's eyes lit up, and he immediately took out two Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills.

"The Void Insight Pill's effects will last a while longer. During that time, I can keep circulating my true qi to stabilize my realm while absorbing the demon poison in the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills to build up my true qi. That way, I won't neglect either task." Zhang He decided to take this bold step, doing two things at once.

The Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills constantly radiated bone-piercing cold. White mist drifted around them, and a faint crimson glow shimmered across their surfaces in the darkness, lending them an eerie appearance.

"All of the Cold Flood Dragon's demon poison is stored inside these pills. The demon poison of a fourth-grade monster is terrifying if released." A fourth-grade monster was powerful enough to utterly defeat someone at the fourth level of the True Martial Realm. But Wang Jian and the others had used the Soul-Bewildering Guide on the Cold Flood Dragon, weakening its combat strength and giving them a chance to take it down. Otherwise, the three of them wouldn't have been enough to fill the Cold Flood Dragon's teeth.

Although he hadn't reached the Body Protection Realm and couldn't circulate his true qi throughout his whole body, he could still send it into his hands. Zhang He could circulate his Rejuvenation True Qi to his hands and use it to absorb the demon poison. Otherwise, he would have to break the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills into pieces and swallow them bit by bit. But if he did that, the bone-chilling cold would freeze and damage his internal organs.

The demon poison in the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills was bone-chilling!

He brought his hands together, holding a Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill in his palms.

The Rejuvenation True Qi touched the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill, and Zhang He immediately felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. The bone-piercing cold made him shudder. The Void Insight Pill's effects were at their peak, sharpening all his senses to the utmost. That meant the biting cold was magnified many times over, making him feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Yet the Rejuvenation True Qi was extremely active. The Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill's deadly poison stimulated it intensely.

"It's too cold!" Zhang He didn't dare hesitate. If this continued, he might freeze solid. His Rejuvenation True Qi enveloped the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill and began absorbing the demon poison from within.

The Rejuvenation True Qi couldn't penetrate deep into the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill, so it could only start absorbing from the outside, little by little.

Zhang He clearly felt two streams of icy energy merge into his Rejuvenation True Qi, then travel along the meridians in his arms and into his body. Everywhere they passed, he felt as though he were freezing solid.

"Rejuvenation True Qi, refine the demon poison!" As his Rejuvenation True Qi circulated, it wrapped around the Cold Flood Dragon's demon poison bit by bit, peeling it away like unraveling silk before absorbing it. Only by absorbing the Cold Flood Dragon's demon poison could the true qi in his body develop immunity to it and withstand its chilling cold.

The Rejuvenation True Qi continued circulating, drawing the demon poison out of the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills strand by strand and absorbing it.

"Sure enough, my Rejuvenation True Qi has grown considerably! The Cold Flood Dragon's demon poison is at least twenty times more potent than the Mad Heart Fox's!" Zhang He was delighted to discover that absorbing the Cold Flood Dragon's demon poison had increased his Rejuvenation True Qi by a full thirty percent. And he had absorbed less than a tenth of the total demon poison in the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills.

The Rejuvenation True Qi had also taken on an icy attribute. But after being in contact with the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills for so long, Zhang He's whole body was nearly frozen solid.

"I should recover first. If I keep this up, I'll freeze solid and damage my body." The Void Insight Pill's effects were fading. Time was precious. If he could gather enough true qi before its effects completely wore off, he would be able to break through to the Body Protection Realm. No one could resist such a temptation.

But Zhang He understood the need for restraint. Reaching the Body Protection Realm was certainly tempting, but if it meant harming his body, that wasn't what he wanted. So Zhang He decisively stopped absorbing the poison and set the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pills aside. Then he circulated his Rejuvenation True Qi. The Fire Qilin's demon poison came into play, releasing waves of warmth that coursed through his body and quickly restored him from his frozen state.

Zhang He was surprised to discover that the Fire Qilin's demon poison not only protected his body from frostbite but also tempered it as it circulated.