Breakthrough

The heavy wooden door to the meditation chamber was tightly shut.

The lighting inside was soft. An ever-burning oil lamp in the corner quietly burned, its flame flickering.

Shen Yuan took out the Scarlet Blood Vine, Shattered Jade Grass, and Softroot Lingzhi. Without a high-grade pill furnace, he used an ordinary medicinal cauldron issued by the sect, with spirit stones as the heat source, and slowly simmered them over a low flame.

A faint medicinal fragrance gradually spread through the meditation chamber.

The medicinal properties of the three herbs merged together. Though their effects could not compare to an authentic Meridian-Coagulating Flower, they still carried a gentle, soothing aura.

After the medicinal broth was ready, Shen Yuan removed his outer robe and sat cross-legged in the wooden tub.

The warm brown medicinal broth rose past his waist. Threads of medicinal power seeped through the pores of his skin, slowly permeating his body and nourishing the tiny cracks in his bones.

A tingling sensation spread through his entire body.

While his physical body soaked in the medicine to nourish his bones, Shen Yuan's consciousness once again sank into the Martial Arts Heavenly Stele.

Even though he had obtained a compromise breakthrough plan, the risk caused by insufficient medicinal power still stood at fifty percent. He could not risk a direct breakthrough with his real body. Using the actual medicinal power of his available herbs as the standard, he had to conduct another massive number of simulations in the Martial Arts Simulation Space. Every stage—the strength of his blood and qi output, the intervals between vibrations, and the timing of true qi reflux—had to be refined to perfection.

[Detected that the medicinal power of currently available spirit herbs is equivalent to 60% of a Meridian-Coagulating Flower. Updating simulated body parameters. Beginning renewed iterative deduction of the Meridian Opening breakthrough process.]

The Heavenly Stele received the new data, and countless virtual incarnations appeared in the void once more.

This time, it was no longer deducing the overall route, but scrutinizing every minute point.

How much force should the first wave of blood and qi impact use? How many breaths should pass between two vibrations? At what moment should the true qi nourishing his bones flow back? Every tiny variable could lead to a completely different outcome.

The first simulation.

After the medicinal broth nourished his body for three days, he began striking the first meridian. The second vibration was slightly too strong, tearing at the cracks in his bones. The deduction failed.

The second simulation.

He reduced the force of the vibrations, but when striking the fourth meridian, his blood and qi could not sustain themselves. He became stuck at the bottleneck, and the breakthrough stalled.

The third simulation, the fourth simulation...

Failure after failure, his soul endured the pain of injury time and again.

In reality, the days outside passed one by one.

Wang Dong guarded the small courtyard without leaving even a step. Any outer sect disciples who came to visit were politely turned away by him. He constantly kept watch on the inner sect's movements, wary of Xiao Wuji sending someone over to harass Shen Yuan and disrupt his secluded cultivation.

Twice, inner sect attendants wandered near the small courtyard, looking around. Wang Dong immediately became vigilant and stepped forward to question them. Seeing how tightly guarded the courtyard was and finding no opening to exploit, they could only leave in frustration.

Inside the meditation chamber, Shen Yuan went back and forth between the medicinal broth and the Martial Arts Simulation Space.

His real body soaked in the medicine, continuously nourishing the cracks in his bones; his consciousness returned to the Martial Arts Simulation Space, constantly fine-tuning every detail of the breakthrough.

Five days quietly passed in reality.

Within the Martial Arts Simulation Space, the complete breakthrough process had already been simulated more than a hundred times.

Most simulations still ended in failure. Yet with each adjustment, the chances of success gradually rose from the original fifty percent.

Fifty-two percent, fifty-five percent, fifty-eight percent...

At the end of the fifth day, the Heavenly Stele provided the latest statistics.

[After 117 complete simulations, under current medicinal power conditions, the optimal parameter set has raised the probability of breakthrough success to 62%. There remains a 38% probability of old bone injuries recurring and causing permanent damage.]

A sixty-two percent success rate.

There was still considerable risk, but under the current circumstances, this was already the limit of what could be achieved.

Shen Yuan withdrew from the Martial Arts Simulation Space and stood up from the medicinal tub.

The color of the medicinal broth had already faded, with most of its medicinal power absorbed by his body. After five consecutive days of medicinal baths, the tiny cracks in his bones had been mostly filled by the medicinal power, bringing his body to its peak condition for this stage.

"It was time."

Shen Yuan put away the medicinal cauldron and the tub, then sat cross-legged on a stone cushion.

The abundant blood and qi of the Body Tempering Sixth Layer's peak were poised and ready.

One final time, he reviewed the entire breakthrough process in his mind.

First, draw upon the remaining medicinal power to protect his bones. Second, use seven rounds of minor vibrations to open the eight primary meridians one by one, without pursuing a violent charge. Third, after all eight meridians were opened, generate source true qi. Fourth, let the newly born true qi flow back and nourish the cracks in his bones, completing the cycle.

Every step and every degree of force was the optimal answer refined through hundreds of simulations.

Yet he still did not dare relax in the slightest. Simulations were simulations, after all. His real body could produce all manner of unpredictable variables. Should anything go wrong, there would be no return.

Just as Shen Yuan prepared to officially begin the breakthrough—

A faint golden glimmer suddenly flashed through the Martial Arts Heavenly Stele in his sea of consciousness.

Shen Yuan was slightly stunned.

During past deductions, the Heavenly Stele had merely carried out calculations in a cold, mechanical manner. Such an abnormal change was rare.

"What was going on?"

[Notice: The host is currently deducing the circulation of numerous human meridians and continuously analyzing the origin of life martial arts. There is an extremely small chance of triggering a hidden benefit from the Heavenly Stele during the simulated breakthrough process. If the breakthrough succeeds, the quality of the newly generated true qi may be slightly optimized.]

Shen Yuan's heart stirred.

If even the quality of the true qi born from his breakthrough could be improved, it would undoubtedly be like adding wings to a tiger when he later challenged the Azure Cloud Sword Formation.

But this was merely an additional benefit. It would not reduce the risk of breakthrough failure. The danger was still right there before him.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath and cleared every distracting thought from his mind.

He hesitated no longer.

His mind settled. He mobilized all the blood and qi within his body while drawing upon the remaining medicinal power in his flesh to protect the bones riddled with tiny cracks.

Rumble, rumble—

The blood and qi within his body began to slowly surge along the route established through the simulations.

The charge toward the Meridian Opening Realm had officially begun.

The flame of the oil lamp in the meditation chamber flickered between bright and dim, swaying violently.

Outside the door, Wang Dong stood solemnly in the courtyard, his expression taut and his fists clenched tight. He could vaguely sense a powerful wave of blood and qi rising within the meditation chamber.

Success or failure would be decided in this single attempt.