Second-Order Gene Lock

After browsing the pill exchanges, Shuofang Si made his decision.

"Main God, I want to exchange for a paper copy of the Nine Revolutions True Dragon Alchemy Manual."

[Paper copy of the "Nine Revolutions True Dragon Alchemy Manual," originating from the broader xianxia worlds of Renegade Immortal and Mortal-type settings. A comprehensive synthesis of alchemy across myriad worlds, accommodating all schools. Exchange price: one C-rank side plot, 800 reward points. Confirm exchange?]

"Confirm."

A light flashed, and an alchemy manual with an antique finish landed in his hands.

Nine Revolutions True Dragon Alchemy Manual-the lettering on its cover was ink-black, with faint golden patterns glimmering beneath it.

A faint medicinal fragrance wafted from the manual. He opened it to find a densely packed table of contents.

From basic medicine preparation at the beginning to advanced true dragon alchemy at the end, each of the nine revolutions came with a complete set of pill formulas and refining techniques.

To his pleasant surprise, he even found runes within this cultivation art. When it came to bypassing gene locks in the Main God Space, Rune Analysis was the designated crutch for the third order.

Although this alchemy manual cost the same as the Nine Yin Manual, one line in the Main God's description deserved a closer look.

"Originating from the broader xianxia worlds, it accommodates and integrates all kinds of alchemy."

In other words, not only could he use this manual, but any alchemy he learned in Battle Through the Heavens later could also be incorporated into its system.

There was also a secret method in the manual that particularly tempted Shuofang Si. By tempering his body with the blood of a true dragon and combining it with the alchemy chants and mental discipline, he could force a breakthrough-a shortcut that would let him grasp the manual's basics in a very short time.

And the shortcut to the second-order gene lock was the dragon blood bypass. Wouldn't practicing this alongside it let him quickly master the Main God Space's core technology?

Upon reading this, Shuofang Si immediately exchanged for another NZT-48 pill.

He had already unlocked the first level of his gene lock. With true dragon blood to help force the next breakthrough, perhaps he could unlock the second level in one push as well.

Under the effects of NZT-48, Shuofang Si quickly studied the alchemy manual. Combining it with the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art and Nine Yin Manual he had already learned, he discovered that he could also use dragon blood to strengthen his body.

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Art already emphasized physical tempering, and his body had undergone the dual transformation of the Muscle-Tendon and Bone-Forging Chapter and Golden Bell Shield. Naturally, it could withstand dragon blood quite well.

Two birds with one stone.

He promptly exchanged for true dragon blood from the ingredients section. Compared with the other ingredients, this purchase was genuinely rather expensive.

Beneath the Great Light Sphere, a specially made bathtub supplied by the Main God held crimson blood. It radiated an ancient, primeval pressure, steam rising from its surface.

Now I only have one C-rank side plot and a little over twelve hundred points left.

Shuofang Si stripped off his remaining clothes and leaped straight into the bathtub.

The crimson true dragon blood rose over his shoulders. In that instant, he felt as though he had stepped not into a tub of blood, but into molten steel.

Every inch of his skin hurt, and every pore contracted. Scalding dragon blood surged into his body through every pore, making him feel as though countless fire dragons were rampaging inside him.

His muscles began to spasm violently. The pain made him clench his teeth and let out a low growl.

Soon, amid the agonizing pain, his consciousness began to blur. The lingering effects of NZT-48 crumbled before that agony.

Gritting his teeth, he could only circulate the mental discipline of the Nine Revolutions True Dragon Alchemy Manual with everything he had, trying to guide the violent energy of the dragon blood along its prescribed routes.

Within the sea of qi in his dantian, his accumulated true qi began colliding head-on with the incoming power of the dragon blood. Every impact made Shuofang Si suck in a sharp breath.

But he could not stop. The core of the manual's accelerated method was to pit the dragon blood's power against his own energy, achieving a breakthrough through this unorthodox approach.

If he stopped now, the dragon blood would run completely out of control and burn his insides to charcoal.

Still, he had the Main God's healing as a safety net. Once the dragon blood finished condensing his acupoints and his gene lock opened, he could have all the damage to his body repaired.

But if he could not endure the dragon blood's tempering, this plan would amount to nothing, and he would merely waste points on treatment.

Shuofang Si's body convulsed in the scalding dragon blood. His muscles tore, and his breathing grew rapid.

The power contained in true dragon blood was far too great. Even so, his mind was clearer than ever.

At last, he felt it: he had broken through the barrier of the Nine Revolutions True Dragon Alchemy Manual in a single push.

He had grasped the basics of the Nine Revolutions True Dragon Alchemy Manual in one breakthrough.

And now he could faintly sense the shackle deep within his flesh-the barrier he had barely touched when he unlocked the first-order gene lock.

Under the combined assault of the dragon blood's power and his own true qi, that barrier gave off a series of brittle cracks that only he could hear.

Like ice splitting beneath his feet, it activated the instinctive gears within his body and forced them to turn.

Opening a gene lock required the awakening of instinct at the boundary between life and death, and right now, he was struggling on that very boundary.

The devastation of dragon blood tempering was itself the perfect catalyst. There was no need to seek out a desperate situation on a battlefield.

Every second, his body was being destroyed over and over by the dragon blood. Yet Shuofang Si firmly believed he would not lose this war of attrition.

He sank his consciousness into his body and deliberately reached for that tottering shackle.

The first-order gene lock had given him control over his instincts.

The dragon blood suddenly accelerated within him. Shuofang Si opened his eyes, their gaze turning vacant, filled with a hazy, chaotic blankness.

Second-order gene lock, open.

Control over his body. Control over the contraction of ninety percent of his muscle fibers. Control over the rhythm of every heartbeat.

At that moment, his latent potential awakened as well. All his basic physical abilities were greatly enhanced, and he could even forcibly control the flow of true qi within his body to a certain extent.

His physical instincts took over everything. His body began adjusting itself within the dragon blood, the pores in his skin opening and closing as they continuously drew its essence into him.

The power of the dragon blood, which had previously required sheer willpower to guide, was now completely tamed by his body's instincts, flowing through him according to his wishes.

His muscles no longer spasmed, and his breathing was no longer erratic. Even his heartbeat gradually settled. The vitality carried by every pump of his heart became ever clearer to him.

The dragon blood's energy continued pouring in. The second-order gene lock allowed him to guide it, while his heightened senses gave Shuofang Si the opportunity to connect with his innate apertures.

His eye apertures were already open. Next came his ear apertures.

There were nine innate apertures: the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and the two lower openings. Before opening any of them, he first had to refine the associated acupoints with true qi, then nourish the aperture with true qi until it opened.

Normal cultivation would have taken months or even longer. Shuofang Si had only recently begun cultivating; his true qi still circulated inefficiently, and his meridians were not yet resilient enough.

But now he was soaking in true dragon blood, with abundant energy inside him. Naturally, there was no need to worry.

Shuofang Si did not need to worry about running short of true qi. As long as his body could withstand this method of forcing a breakthrough, it was entirely feasible.

He was currently in the second-order gene lock state, so his body's instincts would naturally guide him. And with the lingering effects of NZT-48, he could go even further.