Meridian Opening Method, Qi Gathering Instruction

Zhou Ning sent in a thread of spiritual power, picked up the Storage Bag, and tipped it out with a clatter. A pile of things instantly covered the ground.

A small red sword, seven or eight Spirit Stones, three jade bottles, a stack of talismans, several Jade Slips, a thick pile of miscellaneous books, and odds and ends such as robes...

Zhou Ning was somewhat dissatisfied. "He was a great Foundation Establishment cultivator, at least. Was this paltry collection all he owned?"

He picked up the jade bottles and pulled out their stoppers. Two were completely empty. The remaining bottle, labeled "Primordial Origin Pill," contained a pale blue pill that gave off a rich concentration of Spiritual Qi.

Zhou Ning didn't know what it did and didn't dare eat it recklessly, so he planned to find someone to identify it later.

He picked up the talismans next, but he couldn't understand them either.

As for the Jade Slips, they were probably Cultivation Methods or the like. He would have to reach the Qi Refining Middle Stage and develop Divine Sense before he could examine them. He was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer, so he would set them aside for later.

Zhou Ning picked up the small red sword and channeled a little spiritual power into it. The blade lit up with a red glow, and a sharp presence washed over him.

Gripping the sword, Zhou Ning said with delight, "Good stuff!"

It was a Law Artifact. Though he couldn't judge its grade, its appearance alone told him it was extraordinary.

After two swings, Zhou Ning felt as though his whole body had been hollowed out. He hurriedly stopped.

"Alas, my cultivation is still too low."

Having obtained a rare Law Artifact, Zhou Ning was already perfectly satisfied.

Only then did he take his time leafing through the books.

"My aptitude was ordinary, but I was fond of cultivation from childhood... At sixteen, I opened my six meridians and gathered a strand of 'Wind Qi Among the Reeds' on the rear slopes of Rising Sun Peak Mountain, becoming a Qi Refining cultivator. At thirty-one, I reached Qi Refinement Perfection and gained a lifespan of two hundred years."

"Foundation Establishment is difficult; failure means death. I let twenty-seven years slip by, never daring to attempt it. One day, a sudden inspiration struck me. I went out and encountered a group of Meridian Opening cultivators fighting, so I intervened and killed them. To my surprise, I obtained 'Profound-Piercing Wind.' If I master the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction Secret Method, Foundation Establishment should be within my reach! Alas!"

Zhou Ning kept reading until dawn the next day. Only then did he put the books down, realization dawning on his face.

Six meridians, Qi gathering, Secret Methods... Though that world was a cultivation world, it was completely different from the lands around Cuiwei Lake.

When Zhou Ning came to the Su Household, he had chosen a Cultivation Method and started cultivating. The cultivators around him had all done the same.

In that world, however, one first had to open the six meridians and form a complete circulation, then gather a strand of Qi from heaven and earth before becoming a Qi Refining cultivator.

Chai Dingchun and the people who had besieged him weren't Foundation Establishment cultivators, but Qi Refining cultivators.

There, Qi Refining cultivators could already soar through the air in their physical bodies, ride clouds and mists, and cultivate all kinds of Secret Methods.

"Qi Refining is that powerful?" Zhou Ning was stunned. The various Secret Methods were also quite bizarre, a true eye-opener.

He had once heard that the Su Household's Foundation Establishment Ancestor had lost only one arm in a fight, yet had been left with no hope of Core Formation for the rest of his life.

Chai Dingchun had cultivated until even his physical body was gone, yet he still had hope of advancing?

It was immediately clear which was stronger and which was weaker.

What was more, the man had reached Qi Refinement Perfection at thirty-one. What kind of speed was that? It probably wasn't inferior to an Earth Spirit Root!

Thinking of how quickly others cultivated, then considering his own middle-grade aptitude, he would thank heaven and earth if he reached Qi Refinement Perfection at eighty-one, let alone thirty-one!

For a poor man like him to pursue the great path of Foundation Establishment, he would have to undergo a mutation.

Most importantly, Qi Refining cultivators elsewhere actually had two hundred years of life!

Zhou Ning's gaze flickered, and a thought sprang unbidden to his mind. Since I can use a Law Artifact from that world, can I cultivate its methods too?

"Rather than cultivating step by step, I might as well take the shortcut of Meridian Opening."

He immediately began searching through the miscellaneous books in Chai Dingchun's Storage Bag.

Half an hour later, Zhou Ning held a copy of the Spiritual Pivot Meridian-Unblocking Instruction and read it with relish:

"Heaven and earth have apertures through which spiritual Qi flows; the human body has meridians within which true essence resides..."

The morning light shone brilliantly.

Xu Qinghou was also a retainer of the Su Household. He had risen later than usual, and only when he reached the lakeside did he discover that his neighbor Zhou Ning's fishing boat was still moored by the shore. He paused. Zhou Ning was known as the most diligent among their batch of retainers.

He called out, "Zhou Ning, time to go fishing!"

Only then did Zhou Ning come to himself. He put the books into the jade space, shouldered his fishing spear, and set off.

The morning was bright, and the lake's surface was like a mirror, making Zhou Ning narrow his eyes slightly.

The sight before him was no different from usual, yet he felt as though he had broken free of a cage.

"Zhou Ning, some people on the lake are willing to pool their spirit rice to buy a trawl net and hunt Fuluo Eels together. Would you like to join?" Xu Qinghou asked.

"A trawl net? Will it work?"

Fuluo Eels were born fierce, with sharp jaws and teeth. Ordinary fishing nets couldn't hold them at all; they tore straight through.

The Su Household's retainers had tried many methods, but in the end most chose to hunt them with fishing spears.

Xu Qinghou explained, "Yuan Dahu brought a net the day before yesterday. I looked at the material, and it wouldn't have any trouble holding ordinary Fuluo Eels. He just doesn't have enough spirit rice, so he's looking for people to chip in."

After some thought, Zhou Ning still declined. "Forget it. May your fishing venture prosper!"

He didn't want any extra trouble now. He only planned to devote himself to Meridian Opening and improving his strength. By then, he would be able to catch Fuluo Eels with his bare hands.

Besides, problems cropped up too easily in partnerships. If things went badly, the partners could turn against each other.

Xu Qinghou didn't try to persuade him further. His aptitude was even worse than Zhou Ning's, and over the past year, he had only progressed a little over halfway through the Qi Refining Second Layer.

If he didn't find a way soon, he really would lag behind others for the rest of his life.

Thinking back to the time he had traveled with Zhou Ning and the other cultivation seedlings to the Azure Mystic Sect's mountain gate, Xu Qinghou couldn't help tightening his grip on his fishing spear.

Those he had looked down on had tested as having Earth Spirit Roots and become True Disciples, while he, who had prided himself on being no weaker than anyone, had only a Low-Grade Spirit Root.

One mountain gate, two different fates!

Xu Qinghou left.

Zhou Ning watched him go and couldn't help feeling a little emotional. The aloof Scholar Xu of the past had actually begun joining hands with others to make a living.

As usual, Zhou Ning used the Spirit Eye Technique to observe the lake. Whenever the number of Fuluo Eels in the nearby waters increased, he had to report it to the Su Household, who would take charge of hunting them.

The Spirit Eye Technique consumed a considerable amount of spiritual power. The glare off the water was especially severe, and watching for too long not only depleted his spiritual power but did even greater harm to his eyes.

Half a year ago, a retainer's vision had gone blurry, and he had accidentally missed his footing and fallen into the water, where an adult Fuluo Eel had torn him apart alive.

Yet even for work like this, Rogue Cultivators scrambled to take it.

At one point, Zhou Ning caught sight of a dark shape swimming in the water. He thrust his fishing spear at it, but missed.

He then sat cross-legged in the small boat, pondering the matter of Meridian Opening.

Last night, he had tried practicing the Spiritual Pivot Meridian-Unblocking Instruction, and sure enough, it had worked.

Meridian Opening required him to circulate the meridian-unblocking instruction, mobilizing the Qi and Blood throughout his body to assault the blocked meridian gates.

But he had toiled at it all night with little to show for it. It was hardly any faster than cultivating his Cultivation Method-a task that required slow, patient effort.

Zhou Ning had originally wondered whether this Meridian Opening Instruction was too ordinary. After looking into it, he discovered that unlike Qi Refining Realm Cultivation Methods, Meridian Opening methods were much the same, with almost nothing to distinguish their quality.

To shorten the time, he could only rely on outside resources. Chai Dingchun had once used Qi and Blood Pills, Body Tempering Paste, and other such Qi and Blood resources to aid Meridian Opening.

"It's rather like body cultivation." Zhou Ning had once borrowed texts from the Su Household's library. In High Antiquity, there had been cultivators known as body cultivators, whose physical bodies were strong enough to move mountains and overturn seas. But tempering the body was too difficult, requiring one to endure tremendous pain and expend vast quantities of resources.

In the present age, body cultivators were hardly ever seen.

"Things that replenish Qi and Blood..."

As he pondered, a streak of spiritual light suddenly drifted over from the horizon.

Zhou Ning's heart tightened. He immediately used his Law Technique and pretended to be hard at work.

Su Yunjin's delicate brows were slightly knitted. She had now reached the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, but her household's circumstances were growing increasingly difficult.

She couldn't help recalling how, when she was young, her second uncle had been sent to the Azure Mystic Sect to cultivate and attach himself to its upper ranks in search of protection.

Ever since the household's ancestor had been injured, the clan had made more compromises.

Recently, there had been talk that the weapon-refining Duan Household had a vigorous fire vein, which would greatly benefit the cultivation of her high-grade fire-attribute Spirit Root. If she succeeded in Foundation Establishment in the future, her fighting strength would be outstanding.

For someone as determined to improve as she was, going to the Duan Household to cultivate naturally suited her wishes and would also ease relations with the Duan Household.

Her Su Household had built on the achievements of seven generations before becoming the overlord of Cuiwei Lake. As a member of the clan, she could not refuse.

Yet whenever she thought of leaving her loved ones and living under another's roof, she felt a faint worry.

She was not the sort to brood in private, so today she had simply taken an assignment and come out over Cuiwei Lake to clear her mind.

Su Yunjin made no attempt to conceal herself. She rode a vermilion flying boat across the sky like a streak of red silk, drawing the upturned gazes of countless cultivators.

"Are you Zhou Ning of Bamboo Creek Island?"

Hearing a voice like a stream in a mountain ravine, Zhou Ning finally lifted his gaze from the lake and looked at the woman in the sky.

She wore a white dress with a moon-white silk sash at her waist. Her delicate face was oval-shaped, her clear, bright eyes seemed to hold firelight, and her hair was tied in a high ponytail that gave her a heroic air.

"I am. Eldest Miss Su has come in person. What instructions do you have?"

Zhou Ning was puzzled. The Su Household was powerful, but its direct line numbered only a handful, so he naturally recognized Su Yunjin.

But the person who usually patrolled the surrounding area wasn't her.

Su Yunjin gave a slight nod. An envelope descended onto Zhou Ning's boat as though supported by a cloud.

She said, "A letter was sent by the Azure Mystic Sect. I'm delivering it on their behalf today."

"Thank you, Eldest Miss!"

Seeing how conscientiously he carried out his work, Su Yunjin thought of the retainers she had seen along the way, most of whom had been going through the motions. She encouraged him:

"Though you are a retainer, don't let yourself fall into decline. My Su Household has always been fair in its rewards and punishments. Our ancestor was once only a commoner, yet he went on to earn the title of a great Foundation Establishment cultivator."

She would not remain at home much longer. Feelings of parting rose in her heart, stirring her emotions; on an ordinary day, she would never have said such things.

Zhou Ning took a sip of duck soup, unconvinced.

But he still put on the appearance of someone who had learned a great deal, and the words sprang from his mouth. "Eldest Miss Su is beautiful and kind, with eyes sharp enough to see the finest detail. I see a heavenly sign of a golden phoenix being born in the Su Household. For me to join the Su Household is truly one of the great fortunes of my life. From now on, I will surely forge ahead with determination!"

Su Yunjin said, "...?"

She froze for a second, the corners of her lips twitching slightly before she pressed them together again.

Suddenly, she glimpsed a dark shape in the lake. She raised a fair hand and summoned a vermilion ring, flames flowing over its entire surface.

With a light tap from her, the ring flew from her hand, swelled in the wind, and spun toward the lake's surface.

The instant it touched the water, white mist rose as though the lake had been brought to a boil, reflecting a red glow across the surface.

Surprise showed in Zhou Ning's eyes. Though Eldest Miss Su's display was not as strange and shocking as that of the Qi Refining cultivators from the Qi-gathering world, it had a power all its own.

The ring plunged into the water and slipped perfectly around a Fuluo Eel. It abruptly tightened, trapping the creature fast.

The next moment, the dark shape, a full half a zhang long, was hauled out of the water and slammed onto Zhou Ning's boat, rocking it violently.

Su Yunjin's expression remained calm. With a beckoning gesture, she sent the vermilion ring spinning like a sharp blade to decapitate the Fuluo Eel.

Overjoyed, Zhou Ning hurriedly bowed his head. "Eldest Miss Su's martial prowess is unparalleled, her Law Power boundless. With a single move, she settles heaven and earth..."

When he raised his head again, Su Yunjin was already gone. Only a streak of red light remained in the distant sky.

Xu Qinghou and the others nearby rowed over to see what had happened and discovered an enormous Fuluo Eel on Zhou Ning's boat.

Zhou Ning looked at the crimson scorch mark on the eel's neck, as though it had been burned by a branding iron. Even its usually strong, bloody smell of Qi and Blood had faded considerably.

He couldn't help sighing with feeling. "The female cultivators of our Cuiwei Lake really are better!"

"Hm? Wait, Qi and Blood?" A thought stirred in his mind.