Breaking Through the Meridians

Chu Xiaotian had previously cultivated the Mad Battle Blade Art Ba Dao had given him. Following its methods, he had absorbed spiritual energy into his body in strands no thicker than hairs. But now, as he cultivated according to the Heavenly Corpse Art, each strand of spiritual energy entering his body was more than twice as thick as the energy he'd absorbed through the Mad Battle Blade Art.

This was a fact that filled Chu Xiaotian with immense joy. The spiritual energy he absorbed was more than twice as thick as before, which meant the Heavenly Corpse Art would let him cultivate more than twice as fast as the Mad Battle Blade Art. Chu Xiaotian understood this simple truth after only a moment's thought. He didn't know why his Heavenly Corpse Art was twice as fast as Ba Dao's Mad Battle Blade Art, but that didn't stop him from feeling elated.

What Chu Xiaotian didn't know was that, though everyone cultivated on the Moon-Refining Continent, their cultivation methods differed vastly. Cultivation methods on the Moon-Refining Continent were divided into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Human, with Heaven being the highest and Human the lowest. Each grade was further divided into low, middle, and high tiers. The higher the tier, the faster the cultivation speed; the lower the tier, the slower it was. The Mad Battle Blade Art Ba Dao had given Chu Xiaotian was at the bottom of the cultivation-method rankings on the Moon-Refining Continent: a low-tier Human-grade method. Naturally, a method like that couldn't cultivate very quickly. The grade of Chu Xiaotian's Heavenly Corpse Art was still unknown, but the fact that it had dominated the ancient era made it clear that it had to be at least Earth-grade, if not Heaven-grade. So it was only natural that the Heavenly Corpse Art cultivated so much faster than the Mad Battle Blade Art.

Of course, Chu Xiaotian didn't know any of this yet. All he knew was that if he kept cultivating at this rate, his body would soon grow even tougher. Perhaps by the time the Greenwood Three Tigers recovered, he would be strong enough to face them without fear.

Yang energy filled the valley, but some yin energy was bound to remain. The Heavenly Corpse Art cultivated by absorbing that trace of yin energy. Chu Xiaotian knew full well that outside the valley, he would absorb yin spiritual energy much faster. But he feared that if he left, he wouldn't be able to suppress the Corpse Poison in his body, so he had chosen the relative safety of the valley.

The yin spiritual energy flowed through his pores and merged with the Corpse Poison in his body, then coursed through him, strengthening every shred of flesh and blood. After the Corpse Poison completed its first full circuit, Chu Xiaotian's body underwent an obvious change. His yellow skin vanished completely, turning a cold purple that gave him an eerie appearance.

Of course, this didn't mean Chu Xiaotian had truly entered the Purple Corpse realm. He had only stepped halfway into it. His meridians were still blocked, and the Corpse Poison was only moving through his flesh and blood, not yet entering his meridians or dantian.

Cultivation methods on the Moon-Refining Continent all began with Body Refining, then gradually opened the meridians and dantian. The ancient cultivation method from the world where Chu Xiaotian had once lived was as different from the methods of the Moon-Refining Continent as heaven was from earth. In that world, cultivators of every realm had to open their meridians and dantian as soon as they began cultivating.

This way of cultivating was more difficult at first, but once the initial breakthrough was achieved, the rest of the cultivation path was far easier than it was for cultivators on the Moon-Refining Continent. Opening the meridians and dantian also made the spiritual energy in the body more concentrated, making one's attacks far more powerful than those of cultivators on the Moon-Refining Continent.

Chu Xiaotian knew this well. So when he noticed his skin had turned purple, he didn't look pleased. Instead, he gathered the Corpse Poison in his body and began attacking his meridians. Since he had only just begun cultivating, opening all the meridians in his body was impossible. For now, he only needed to open the four Shaoyin Meridians in his limbs and connect them to the Sea of Qi Acupoint in his dantian. That would mean he had truly stepped onto the path of cultivation.

But opening meridians was no trifling matter. A single mistake could damage them and cause irreparable harm, leaving a person unable to make any further progress for the rest of their life. In ancient times, disciples of the various sects had experts protecting them while they cultivated, or were given pills that could shield their meridians, allowing them to open them with as little damage as possible. Chu Xiaotian had neither of those advantages. He could rely only on himself.

The Hand Shaoyin Meridian began at the Shaoshang Acupoint at the tip of the thumb, while the Foot Shaoyin Meridian began at the Rangu Acupoint at the front of the sole. The four meridians extended from their respective starting points and converged at the dantian, with Yunmen and Chongmen as their endpoints. The Heavenly Corpse Art recorded the most detailed and effective methods for opening meridians, saving cultivators the trouble of figuring it out themselves. Following its instructions, Chu Xiaotian first guided all the spiritual energy in his body to the area around the Shaoshang Acupoint in his right hand and wrapped it tightly. Then he shaped the energy into a sharp cone and thrust it fiercely at the acupoint.

Opening a single acupoint wasn't difficult with the amount of spiritual energy Chu Xiaotian had. He felt a stab of pain at the tip of his thumb, then saw that all the spiritual energy gathered around the Shaoshang Acupoint had disappeared. This didn't mean his spiritual energy had been used up by the attempt. It meant that the spiritual energy in his body had entered his meridians from his flesh and blood.

The greatest difference between cultivation on the Moon-Refining Continent and Chu Xiaotian's method was that one cultivated from the outside in, while the other cultivated both inside and out. Cultivators on the Moon-Refining Continent only began opening their meridians at the second realm. The Heavenly Corpse Art, however, opened them from the very start. As it drew spiritual energy from heaven and earth to strengthen the body, it also continually opened the meridians, laying a better foundation for future cultivation.

The first acupoint in the first meridian had been opened. Next, he needed to guide the spiritual energy from that acupoint through the entire meridian and open it. This was much more difficult than opening the first acupoint. The key was having enough spiritual energy to open the whole meridian in one go. Otherwise, if he failed and had to start over, it would be much harder.

Chu Xiaotian glanced around. The valley was filled with Yang energy. Although there was enough yin spiritual energy for cultivation, there was almost no chance he could open his meridians using it. To do that, he would have to leave the valley and find a place outside where yin energy was more abundant.

He had stayed inside before because he feared he couldn't control the Corpse Poison in his body. But now, circumstances forced him to leave the valley. After a moment's thought, Chu Xiaotian took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and headed out. Compared to temporarily losing his mind, he would rather open his meridians and reach the first level of the Heavenly Corpse Art.

The moment he left the valley, so full of Yang energy, the Corpse Poison that had previously appeared only when summoned by the cultivation method suddenly turned berserk. It rampaged through Chu Xiaotian's body, clouding his mind as a violent aura burst from him. Fortunately, he could now control the Corpse Poison in his body with ease. With the Jade Pendant around his neck suppressing it as well, he quickly brought all the poison under control and set it flowing along its proper path.

Chu Xiaotian sat cross-legged on the ground and controlled the Corpse Poison in his body as it attacked the Taiyin Meridian in his arm. At the same time, he began drawing yin energy from heaven and earth into his body, providing the Corpse Poison with an endless supply of energy to break through the acupoints.

As he worked to open his meridian, Chu Xiaotian discovered another fact that sent him into raptures. Outside the valley, the yin energy he absorbed through the Shaoshang Acupoint was ten times thicker than what he'd absorbed inside. Now he could clearly see a stream of black spiritual energy, almost as thick as a chopstick, flowing continuously into his body through his fingertip.

If his spiritual energy ran low, opening his meridians could become difficult or even fail. But at this rate of absorption, that wouldn't happen. Chu Xiaotian could open his meridians without the slightest concern. He didn't stop to wonder why this was happening. Instead, he focused all his attention and began opening his meridian with everything he had.

With an endless supply of powerful spiritual energy, breaking through the meridian became incredibly easy. He advanced without a hitch, surging ahead like a galloping horse and smashing through obstacles like a splitting bamboo. In just five minutes, half the meridian had already been opened. This was six times faster than the half hour recorded in the Heavenly Corpse Art, filling Chu Xiaotian with immense joy. In less than ten minutes, he successfully opened the Taiyin Meridian in his right arm. Pale-purple Corpse Poison glimmered with a faint, icy light as it surged through the meridian.

Since opening the meridians had proved so easy, Chu Xiaotian didn't follow the Heavenly Corpse Art's instructions to open the other three. Instead, he immediately drove the spiritual energy in the meridian toward his dantian. Opening the dantian was far harder than opening a meridian. Normally, one had to open all four meridians first, then attack the dantian from four directions at once for the best chance of success.

But Chu Xiaotian's circumstances were different. He was absorbing enormous amounts of spiritual energy, enough to open his dantian on its own, so he didn't need to follow the usual order. After all, opening the dantian first and then opening the other three meridians would be much easier than the method he'd been instructed to use.

Chu Xiaotian took a deep breath and controlled all the spiritual energy in the meridian of his right arm, slamming it into his tightly sealed dantian.

A thunderous boom burst in his mind, as if he'd been struck by lightning. A stab of pain spread from his dantian throughout his body. Chu Xiaotian's vision spun, and his sight went black. He nearly fainted. But the sensation lasted only about a single breath before vanishing completely. The world before his eyes had changed beyond recognition.