Almost Done For

Chapter 33: Nearly Finished

To Chu Xiaotian, practicing the Soaring Dragon Spear was not a particularly difficult task. The only peculiar thing was the circulation path of the spiritual essence required for the technique. Unlike the essence of the Soaring Dragon Spear itself, which emphasized an unstoppable, forward-charging momentum, this circulation path was incredibly circuitous. It required two streams of spiritual essence to surge out from the Sea of Qi Acupoint, enter the meridians of both arms, and then twist and turn through the acupoints within those arms. In total, the essence had to pivot nine times, passing through eighteen acupoints before finally erupting from the Laogong Acupoint in the palm to be injected into the spear, unleashing a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering strike.

Of these eighteen acupoints, Chu Xiaotian had only opened half; nine remained blocked. To master the first move of the Soaring Dragon Spear, his first step was to force open the remaining nine.

Human acupoints each possessed their own unique functions; forcing them open recklessly could lead to unpredictable consequences, or even death. Chu Xiaotian dared not act blindly, but since the Soaring Dragon Spear manual specifically pointed out these acupoints, it proved they were meant to be opened. Therefore, after a moment of contemplation, Chu Xiaotian began to assault those points.

Having gained experience from opening his Sea of Qi Acupoint, Chu Xiaotian could be considered quite familiar with the process. This time, his efforts were focused solely on the requirements of the Soaring Dragon Spear, ignoring all other meridians and focusing only on the specified path.

The first acupoint was opened with ease. He felt only a needle-like prick of pain as the spiritual essence surged from that point into the second one he had previously opened. When it surged out from that second point, Chu Xiaotian could clearly feel that the spiritual essence had doubled in strength. This discovery filled him with immense joy, but immediately after, a problem arose. The doubled spiritual essence surged along the meridians from the second acupoint toward the third, sounding like a bursting dam, with a low, rumbling roar that he could almost hear.

His meridians were already beginning to throb with pain. The spiritual essence smashed through the third acupoint with the force of a bamboo-splitting strike, sending a sharp, stinging pain ten times more intense than before into Chu Xiaotian's brain, nearly causing him to scream aloud.

However, this was only the beginning; greater agony awaited him. As the spiritual essence surged out of the fourth acupoint, it grew even thicker, now three times the volume of the original stream. The throbbing pain in his meridians was already severe, as if they were about to burst at any moment. The fifth acupoint had been opened previously, so the essence passed through it without pain, but upon exiting the sixth, it grew even more powerful.

Chu Xiaotian now understood why the circulation path of the Soaring Dragon Spear was so convoluted. For every two acupoints passed, the spiritual essence doubled in strength. After eighteen acupoints, the essence would be ten times its original strength. One could only imagine the terrifying power of a strike unleashed after such a tenfold amplification. The might of the Soaring Dragon Spear was evident from this alone.

But the problem now was whether his meridians could withstand a tenfold increase in spiritual essence, and whether the agony of opening each subsequent acupoint was something a human could endure. The pain increased tenfold with every point; perhaps the first few were bearable, but later on, even if his meridians held, he might be pained to death.

Chu Xiaotian grew panicked. At this rate, even if he didn't die, he would surely be flayed alive. He wanted to stop and withdraw his spiritual essence, but the result only deepened his dread: the essence was no longer under his control. It was now following the essence of the Soaring Dragon Spear, charging forward with an unstoppable momentum.

Cold sweat began to bead on Chu Xiaotian's forehead. He knew he had been too impulsive, practicing a technique without understanding its risks, and now he had brought this upon himself. However, it was too late for regrets. If he couldn't find a way out while he could still endure, there would be only one outcome: either he would be pained to death by the multiplying agony, or his meridians would be ruptured by the surging essence, leaving him a complete cripple.

Thoughts raced through his mind as he discarded one plan after another. Finally, a flash of inspiration struck: the Corpse Poison within his body. This substance could strip him of his consciousness; once his consciousness was gone, he would no longer feel pain and would not be pained to death. As for whether his meridians could withstand the tenfold increase in spiritual essence, that was beyond his control. It was a case of treating a dead horse as if it were alive—if he survived, he would soar to the heavens; if not, he would be reduced to nothing.

With that thought, he hesitated no longer and channeled the remaining spiritual essence in his Dantian toward his brain. This was a gamble; if the Corpse Poison invaded his mind too deeply, he might permanently turn into a mindless zombie that knew only how to kill. Fortunately, after such a long period of cultivation, his control over the Corpse Poison was, if not perfect, at least mastered in its essentials. He knew how much poison was needed to suppress his consciousness and how long it would take to recover. The daytime was filled with intense masculine energy, and the Jade Pendant around his neck could suppress the poison once it subsided. Of course, there was a risk of error, and he dared not imagine the consequences of such a mistake.

The effect of the Corpse Poison entering his brain was immediate. Chu Xiaotian felt the scenery before him shift violently, his vision plunged into darkness, and all sensation in his body vanished. When he finally regained consciousness, everything was over. Aside from a slight lingering ache in his arms and a large hole in the ground in front of him—a foot deep and half a meter wide—nothing had changed. After sensing the state of his arms, Chu Xiaotian finally saw the result he had hoped for.

All eighteen acupoints were cleared, and his meridians had not been ruptured by the tenfold increase in spiritual power; instead, they had become much wider than before. This result filled him with immense joy. Taking a deep breath, he repeated the process to clear the acupoints in his other arm. With both arms fully opened, Chu Xiaotian let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and collapsed onto the ground to catch his breath.

This session of cultivation had been far too perilous. Had he not had the Corpse Poison to dull his consciousness, or had his meridians not been tough enough to withstand the tenfold surge of essence, the outcome would have been entirely different.

Chu Xiaotian felt that such a serious matter should have been recorded in the Soaring Dragon Spear manual; otherwise, it would surely kill many people. He picked up the manual and read it carefully once more. He found no such record, but he did notice traces of torn paper between the first and second pages, proving that a page had once existed there. The problem must have been on that missing page. Chu Xiaotian wanted to curse; what kind of heartless wretch would tear out such an important warning? Did they not know it would get people killed?

He wanted to destroy the object, but after a moment's thought, he tucked it away. To destroy such a peerless spear manual would be a grave sin. Besides, now that he knew the secret, he could simply record it himself later.

Thinking that he was now capable of practicing this peerless technique, all of Chu Xiaotian's frustration vanished. He picked up the long spear from the ground, ready to formally practice the Electric Dragon Spear. This weapon had been prepared by Huang Nian for his own use, but in the end, it had fallen into Chu Xiaotian's hands. He weighed the spear in his hand; it was about sixty pounds. The shaft was forged from an unknown refined metal, silver in color, cool to the touch, and possessed excellent flexibility. The size was perfect—neither too large to be slippery nor too small to lack feel. The spearhead shimmered with a cold light, its sharpness needing no description.

Chu Xiaotian flicked his wrists, performing a few practiced flourishes, and nodded with satisfaction. This spear was beyond reproach; he couldn't find a single flaw. In truth, it was only to be expected—a weapon prepared by the young master of one of the two great families of Yufeng Prefecture could hardly be inferior.

With his acupoints cleared and his weapon ready, Chu Xiaotian took his stance and began to practice the peerless technique. He believed that once he mastered the Electric Dragon Spear, even if five more people like Huang Nian came along, he could easily dispose of them all. Chu Xiaotian had previously thought his attack speed was fast enough, but after starting his practice, he realized his speed was far too slow.

He couldn't even perform the basic form of the Electric Dragon Spear yet; his speed was so sluggish that he couldn't fully integrate his internal spiritual essence with the spear technique. Fortunately, this was within his expectations. If such a peerless technique were easy to master, it wouldn't be worth much. Therefore, even after practicing for half a day without results, Chu Xiaotian was not discouraged and continued to train with all his might. He even reached a state of self-forgetfulness, stopping only when he was hungry, and resuming immediately after a quick meal.

Xia Xue watched Chu Xiaotian's desperate efforts with a mix of worry and joy. She knew he wanted to gain the strength to protect her as quickly as possible. Of course, that wasn't his only motivation, but it was at least half of it. Chu Xiaotian had given the dozen porcelain bottles and medicinal herbs to Xia Xue, which had delighted her for quite some time. These pills were all second-grade, and the herbs were materials for refining second- or even third-grade pills, all of which were incredibly valuable.

While Chu Xiaotian practiced his spear technique in the valley, Greenwood Town was in an uproar. A direct descendant of the Huang Family had gone missing, and the family was furious, dispatching a team to investigate. Almost everyone in the town was dragged in for questioning; those who couldn't explain themselves clearly were met with kicks and punches before being bound, with the investigators claiming they would decide their fate only after the investigation was complete.