"Hiss... that feels good!"
In a rear-courtyard room, Gu Chenfeng sat cross-legged on his bed, having just swallowed a Clearheart Pill.
The pill dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, becoming a clear stream that flowed straight into his dantian.
Then a cool sensation spread throughout his body.
It felt like someone utterly exhausted plunging into a pool of icy water.
First came an intense shock, then his body sprang to life, bringing an inexplicable feeling of bliss.
Before this, Gu Chenfeng had thought himself brimming with energy, his mind not tired at all.
But now, as the Clearheart Pill medicinal power spread through him...
A deep-seated exhaustion finally revealed itself, and his body greedily drank in the medicinal power.
The human body could deceive its owner.
Some people squeezed themselves dry day after day, yet outwardly seemed no different from anyone else.
Over time, when the damage finally surfaced, their bodies would rapidly collapse, beyond all hope of rescue.
Many emperors throughout history had ruined their bodies this way, too.
Under the medicinal power's stimulation, Gu Chenfeng felt more relaxed than ever before.
About an hour later...
As the cool sensation faded and his body grew warm...
White light flickered between his brows.
The next moment...
Gu Chenfeng entered a mystical state.
He felt as though his body had split in two.
One body remained seated cross-legged on the bed.
The other was already amid a bank of mist, with a Jade Lotus Platform beneath him.
It was as though there were two versions of him in parallel worlds.
I really got in!
Entering the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins once more, Gu Chenfeng felt greatly reassured.
Now that he knew people wanted to harm him-not only the major lineages of the Imperial Capital, but even people far away in the Northern Frontier...
Gu Chenfeng's sense of danger had multiplied, and he desperately wanted to grow stronger.
He could hardly spend his whole life under his eldest sister's and the Gu Lineage's protection.
Besides, the Gu Lineage was already being buffeted by wind and rain.
If the old man in seclusion kicked the bucket, the lineage would probably be finished.
While the old man's lingering power prestige still holds and the Gu Lineage hasn't lost its standing, I have to grow stronger as quickly as possible!
Gathering his thoughts, Gu Chenfeng immediately began circulating the Heaven-Opening Creation Art.
A faint glow rose from the lotus platform, enveloping him.
In an instant...
Heaven cleared, earth brightened, and his thoughts flowed freely!
That sensation of resonating with heaven and earth, his comprehension soaring, returned.
Source qi gathered from every direction and entered the acupoints throughout his body.
Gu Chenfeng's blood qi seethed, his five viscera resonated, and his cultivation rapidly rose...
About an incense stick's worth of time passed.
Boom...!
A rumble erupted inside Gu Chenfeng. He felt his blood surging and his meridians swelling.
The boiling blood within him rushed through his entire body like a flood released through suddenly opened gates.
His blood qi surged like a dragon, driving source qi through his body and hastening its absorption into his five viscera and six bowels, sinews, bones, skin, and membranes.
At the same time, a mighty power filled his entire body.
"The Meridian-Opening Realm!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Gu Chenfeng's eyes.
He knew he had broken through nine-star body tempering and entered Meridian-Opening Realm One Star.
Unlike the body tempering realm, which merely involved drawing qi into the body...
A meridian-opening realm warrior's meridians were clear, and circulating blood qi drove the source qi drawn into the body through a complete cycle.
The degree to which the body was tempered increased dramatically.
His strength and speed had also surged considerably.
Keep cultivating!
With the Enlightenment Platform's assistance and the Clearheart Pill's support, Gu Chenfeng naturally intended to keep improving.
And so he cultivated for another stretch of time.
Whoosh!
Blood qi and source qi surged, and his meridians sang.
"Meridian-Opening Realm Two Stars!"
After reaching this level, Gu Chenfeng already felt a trace of exhaustion. The Clearheart Pill's medicinal power was nearly depleted.
He cultivated a little longer, but before he could reach Meridian-Opening Realm Three Stars, exhaustion came surging like a tide.
The Gu Chenfeng on the bed hurriedly took out another Clearheart Pill and swallowed it.
Much of that exhaustion immediately receded, and his mental energy began recovering.
The Gu Chenfeng on the Enlightenment Platform continued cultivating.
This time, he pushed straight through to Meridian-Opening Realm Four Stars.
Feeling exhaustion return, Gu Chenfeng swallowed another Clearheart Pill.
He had thought he could keep taking pills and send his cultivation soaring all the way to the source qi realm.
Unexpectedly, after he swallowed the third Clearheart Pill...
Although Gu Chenfeng's mental energy began recovering and the Enlightenment Platform's abilities had not faded...
He discovered, to his astonishment, that his blood qi could no longer increase.
Huh? What's going on?
Gu Chenfeng stopped cultivating and quietly examined himself.
He discovered that his dantian and meridians were filled with blood qi and source qi.
His body was like an inflated balloon, with a faint, distending ache.
Soon, Gu Chenfeng deduced why his cultivation had stalled.
My cultivation must have advanced too quickly, and my body's transformation hasn't caught up.
The body's evolution could not happen in a single leap.
Even if nourishment from blood qi and source qi could accelerate its transformation...
The process still took time.
For the vast majority of warriors, cultivation was a slow process.
Often, their bodies would first transform to a certain limit, and only then would their cultivation advance.
Gu Chenfeng was the exact opposite.
With the Enlightenment Platform's tremendous boost to his comprehension, his cultivation advanced so quickly that his physical condition could not keep up.
This left Gu Chenfeng in something of a predicament.
If my body can't keep up, am I supposed to just wait?
The Imperial Capital is full of hidden dangers now. Everywhere I turn, someone wants to come after me.
Will they wait for me?
The answer went without saying.
As worry filled his heart, a thought suddenly struck Gu Chenfeng.
Right! If my body can't keep up, why not take the initiative and strengthen my physique?
He thought of the Iron Elephant Art his eldest sister had given him that day.
Isn't strengthening the physique directly exactly what external cultivation arts do?
He acted on the thought at once.
Gu Chenfeng immediately took out the Iron Elephant Art and began reading.
Although it was an external cultivation art, it still required comprehension, especially when practicing this Stance Training.
As the saying went, "A hundred exercises cannot match a single standing stance!"
Without grasping the essence, an incorrect stance-training posture meant being off by a hair at the start and a thousand miles at the finish.
Mastering external cultivation was by no means easy.
Yet Gu Chenfeng's comprehension was terrifyingly powerful now.
One look, and he understood; one attempt, and he mastered it.
He quickly grasped the essence of these stances, then rose and began practicing stance training on the Enlightenment Platform.
With his Meridian-Opening Realm Four Stars cultivation as a foundation, Gu Chenfeng achieved twice the results with half the effort in his stance training.
After holding the stance for only a short while, he felt it.
Heat spread through his body, and the blood qi that had been settling down became scorching and turbulent once more.
Although his blood qi still showed no signs of growing stronger, his sinews, bones, skin, and membranes, along with his five viscera and six bowels, seemed to awaken.
His body actually began actively drawing in and releasing blood qi, strengthening itself faster.
It really works!
Gu Chenfeng was overjoyed.
This way, his physical condition would soon catch up to the strength of his blood qi.
Not only could his cultivation continue soaring, but he could cultivate both within and without!
At that thought, a cold smile involuntarily rose to his face.
Heh heh heh. This young master will lie low and build himself up first.
Once I'm strong enough, I'll slap every last person secretly trying to harm me to death!
Smack!
Deep within the Rare Beast Garden, inside an elegant pavilion...
Zhang You, who had only recently regained consciousness, had a bloody welt slapped across his face.
"Idiot."
A young man wearing a bamboo hat and holding a Jade-Bone Folding Fan sat upright in a Grand Tutor's Chair, his bearing graceful and unworldly.
Even while reprimanding someone, his voice remained detached from worldly concerns, exuding calm composure.
Meanwhile, Zhang You, whose gauze-wrapped body resembled a sticky-rice dumpling, felt his face burning with pain.
Yet he dared not get angry and repeatedly apologized.
"Young master, I failed to handle the matter properly. I never imagined Gu Chenfeng would be so lucky.
"Not only did he avoid falling into debt, but he also fleeced me!"
"You think that's what I'm talking about?"
Beneath the thin veil, the young man's icy gaze fixed on Zhang You, carrying a bone-deep chill.
"That day at Great Wilderness Ridge, who told you to act on your own and push Gu Chenfeng off a cliff?
"I told you, Gu Chenfeng could be injured or crippled, but he could not die.
"We only intended to use this to probe the Right Chancellor's condition.
"Otherwise, if Gu Beiwu isn't dead and the Gu Lineage loses its heir, it will become a fight to the death.
"When that happens, not only will the many lineages and factions of the Imperial Capital be dragged into it...
"You and I will both have to accompany Gu Chenfeng to the grave!"
Hearing this, Zhang You shuddered, cold sweat pouring down his back.
Gu Beiwu, a veteran statesman who had served three reigns, a First-Rank Duke.
The former Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces, now the Right Chancellor of the Court, and one of the Four Grandmasters.
Even though rumors said his old ailment had returned and he had little time left...
The mere mention of his name still weighed on Zhang You like a mountain, leaving him unable to breathe.
If Gu Chenfeng truly died, while Gu Beiwu emerged alive from seclusion...
Zhang You dared not imagine what terrifying consequences the Right Chancellor's fury would bring.
Coming back to his senses, Zhang You looked aggrieved again.
"Young master, I've been wronged!
"That day at Great Wilderness Ridge, I followed your instructions.
"I only secretly agitated Gu Chenfeng's horse, intending to make him fall and get injured.
"Who knows what possessed that horse? It charged straight off the cliff a hundred zhang away."
Hearing Zhang You's explanation, the young man pondered briefly.
"So you didn't try to kill him.
"But my investigation found that after Gu Chenfeng fell off the cliff, two assassins went to silence him.
"Gu Yanshuang arrived in time and killed both assassins."
"What?!"
Zhang You was greatly shocked.
Gu Chenfeng had actually been targeted for assassination.
If the Gu Lineage connected this incident with his attempt to make Gu Chenfeng fall from his horse...
Wouldn't he become the prime suspect? How could he possibly survive that?
"Young master, I wasn't the one who sent those assassins! You have to save me!"
Zhang You was so frightened that his face went white.
He could not afford to take the blame for openly attempting to assassinate the young master of the Chancellor's Residence.
The young man said calmly, "Why are you panicking? Of course I know you didn't do it. Someone must be trying to kill with a borrowed blade.
"After all, we aren't the only ones in the Great Li Dynasty hoping to see the Gu Lineage fall.
"And since the Gu Lineage hasn't moved against us, they clearly have no solid evidence."
Only then did Zhang You gradually calm down.
"Young master, what should we do next? In this state, I'm afraid I won't be much use."
He had failed two missions in a row. This time, he had nearly lost his life, and even his hip had been dislocated.
Zhang You felt there was something uncanny about Gu Chenfeng. He did not want to face him again.
The young man slowly rose, gently waving his folding fan. "Gu Chenfeng managed to turn danger into safety twice. That did catch me somewhat by surprise.
"Still, we must get our hands on that item in the Right Chancellor's Residence.
"We also need to probe the Right Chancellor's true condition.
"I already have a detailed plan. Focus on recovering for now. When the time comes, you need only assist from the sidelines."
Hearing this, Zhang You felt a weight lift from his heart.
"A brilliant plan, young master! That good-for-nothing Gu Chenfeng will never escape the palm of your hand!"
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