Nine meridians opened, Qingyang's overwhelming might!
Seated cross-legged beneath a huge rock by the river, Qingyang Huan's body rumbled as though a great river of blood Qi were surging within him.
Beside him, pale golden blood Qi streamed from the two golden-scaled Dragon Whisker Fish like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, entering his body through his pores and instantly spreading through his limbs and bones.
Crystalline, dawnlike radiance manifested, wreathing the surrounding rocks in mist. Almost at once, all the blood Qi in his body was stirred into motion, boiling like a furnace.
Dragon Whisker Fish barely qualified as variant beasts, but their blood Qi was purer than that of ordinary fierce beasts of the same rank. Once drawn into his body, it became tiny blood dragons that roamed through all his bones.
At Blood Refining, the third step of Body Casting, blood Qi penetrated the meridians. The human body had twelve major meridians, and its smaller blood vessels were beyond counting. This was why many warriors remained at this level for a considerable time.
Even without refining everything to the most minute degree, tempering all the blood in the body's vessels required no small amount of time and effort.
At this moment, Qingyang Huan grew utterly still. He drained all the blood Qi from both Dragon Whisker Fish and stored it in one place within his body, preparing to break into the depths of his meridians in a single push and refine the blood within.
Boom!
A sound like a fierce beast's roar howled out of his body. A surge of blood Qi swept through him, and crystalline blood Qi shot toward the heavens.
The blood Qi he had set in motion gathered into a great river and surged straight toward his main meridians. Crystalline as a rainbow, it carried tremendous power.
Listening to the roars constantly issuing from Qingyang Huan's body, the Grand Elder's eyes gleamed. His expression was deeply excited as he watched him without pause, even with a measure of anticipation.
Rumble!
A rumble rang out as an entire meridian was forced open by the blood Qi. Surging blood Qi essence fused with his blood, becoming his body's own blood Qi and generating strength. At that moment, a howling rose within the meridian, and strands of impurities were flushed from his body.
Boom, boom, boom!
Thunderous rumbling followed throughout his body. One meridian after another opened, and blood Qi essence fused with his blood to become bodily strength, tempering the impurities out of his meridians.
Six!
Seven!
Even now, the presence emanating from Qingyang Huan remained imposing, seemingly far from exhaustion.
The Grand Elder's face blossomed with joy. In the Great Wilderness, every warrior's experience upon entering Blood Refining was different. Those of poorer aptitude found opening their meridians exceedingly difficult.
Those with outstanding talent had fewer impurities in their meridians and could quickly open all the meridians in their bodies. Once those were open, they would draw in blood Qi essence from fierce beasts and pour it into their meridians, fusing it with their blood Qi to complete Blood Refining.
And what had he just seen!
He had seen Qingyang Huan open his eighth meridian in a single sustained push, with no sign of stopping. Moreover, as he continued opening his meridians, some of the pure blood Qi was already blending with his blood.
This showed that Qingyang Huan's meridians were exceptionally clear. Of course, this was partly because he was cultivating anew, but even so, it was enough to leave anyone aghast.
Boom!
When the ninth rumble of blood Qi sounded, Qingyang Huan's boiling blood Qi began to weaken until it subsided. At that moment, he opened his eyes.
Nine meridians opened!
It was not that he could not open any more. First, the blood Qi from the two Dragon Whisker Fish had been exhausted. Second, he needed time to consolidate. Opening the meridians was only the first step; the blood within them had yet to be nurtured. Only when his blood fused with pure blood Qi and generated strength would Blood Refining truly be complete.
As Qingyang Huan ended his practice, the hovering blood-colored radiance vanished as well.
"Let's go. We'll bring our copper ore back!"
The Grand Elder spoke immediately afterward, then took him straight up above the ancient forest, heading north like a great bird.
To the north, in the buffer zone along the border between the Qingyang Clan and the Inkstone Mountain Tribe, burly men in leather armor stood guard around a semicircular mountain hollow. Inside, heaps of broken rock and earth lay everywhere.
Amid the heaps of rock and earth was a pitch-black cave, with warriors' figures appearing and disappearing within. The sound of chiseling stone came from its depths, and from time to time, warriors climbed out carrying wooden baskets on their backs.
They dumped all the stones from their baskets outside, and warriors soon came over to pick out the pieces gleaming with a purple-gold luster.
The copper ore was distributed extremely unevenly, and some had solidified together with ordinary stone, making mining difficult. These warriors picked the copper ore out of the rubble and earth, overlooking not even a fingernail-sized piece.
Some distance from the mine, another cave had been excavated into the mountainside. An old man presided there, and all the copper ore mined was delivered to this cave.
By now, it had accumulated into a small mountain, shimmering with a crystalline purple glow and weighing no less than several tens of thousands of jin.
At this moment, the Grand Elder had already brought Qingyang Huan outside the mountain hollow, and they strode brazenly toward it!
"Who goes there? This is restricted ground of the Inkstone Mountain Tribe. Trespassers will be killed!"
Three li from the hollow, the two were spotted by the Inkstone Mountain Tribe's concealed sentries. They were members of the tribe's Yanshan Guard, warriors of the Divine Treasure Realm.
Thud! Thud!
Yet the Grand Elder simply struck down with his great hand from a distance. Blood flew, and the two Yanshan Guards blocking their path were sent hurtling away, their fate unknown.
Such was the terror of a Spirit Seizing Realm expert. Having nurtured divine sense, they controlled everything around their bodies down to the finest detail, wielding every thread of strength with perfect ease.
They continued forward just like that. In a mere three li, nearly ten Yanshan Guards fell, though this had naturally drawn the Inkstone Mountain Tribe's attention.
"Bastard! Qingyang Rong, are you trying to start a war between our two tribes?"
A figure lunged at the Grand Elder, blood Qi swirling around him and taking the form of a mighty fierce beast.
"Yan Muya, you've occupied our Qingyang land for so long. Isn't it time you returned it?"
Violent blood Qi erupted from the Grand Elder's body. Behind him, a phantom resembling a mighty lion likewise manifested, its presence instantly overwhelming Yan Muya's.
Boom!
In an instant, their palms collided with a tremendous crash. Yan Muya grunted and was sent flying sideways, the web of his hand split open by the impact, blood dripping freely to the ground.
Thud, thud, thud!
Only after being hurled more than a dozen zhang did he halt his retreat. Horror filled his eyes as he looked toward Grand Elder Qingyang Rong.
Pfft!
He had just been about to speak when he spat out a mouthful of blood instead!
"Grand Elder!"
The Inkstone Mountain Tribe's soldiers instantly paled in shock. Crying out, they surrounded Qingyang Huan and the Grand Elder. Though Qingyang Rong's presence was terrifying beyond measure, they did not retreat, firmly shielding Yan Muya behind them.
"Old ghost Yan, these young brats of your Inkstone Mountain Tribe aren't bad. They're much easier on my eyes than an old thing like you!"
The Grand Elder laughed loudly and charged straight ahead with Qingyang Huan.
Boom, boom, boom!
His other great hand struck down repeatedly. The Inkstone Mountain Tribe soldiers blocking his path spat blood and flew away one after another, crashing to the ground before Yan Muya.