A Channel for Fencing Stolen Goods

In a place like Heavenly Gate, where cultivation was scientific research, the relationship between Divine Sense, the soul, consciousness, and cultivation had long since been examined in countless cultivation papers published in the Heavenly Gate Science Journal.

There had also long been an official explanation of the relationship between cultivation and Divine Sense.

It came down to two sentences-

First, Divine Sense was a qualitative transformation triggered when cultivation broke through a critical threshold, the direct product of spiritual power leaping from quantitative change to qualitative change.

Second, Divine Sense was a virtual channel connecting the three Dantians (a virtual meridian).

Hu Mang was very familiar with that parenthetical phrase.

It earned points and would be on the exam.

So it was practically impossible for a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator to possess the Divine Sense of someone at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Even a cultivator starting over, theoretically speaking, shouldn't have had it.

According to legend, certain heavenly treasures could forcibly raise Divine Sense.

But obviously, treasures of that caliber were almost nonexistent on a planet like Earth Star, with its harsh natural environment.

Perhaps even if they existed, someone at Hu Mang's level wouldn't have been able to get his hands on them.

Hu Mang had never expected to expose such a huge flaw here.

It hadn't even occurred to him that his Divine Sense had evolved.

Had that Yang Lightning been so powerful?!

"I'll buy an industrial-grade Divine Sense detector when I get back! Oh, and a Law Power detector too!"

Hu Mang's eyes flickered, and he immediately put on a delighted expression.

"What? Has my Divine Sense recovered? Doctor Sun, you're a miracle worker! Is electrotherapy really that effective?"

"..."

Now it was Doctor Sun's turn to be dumbfounded.

He rarely handled this kind of "industrial injury accident" either, and the question left him at a loss for a moment.

Could it be that when Turbid Qi had blocked the meridians, it had also sealed away part of his cultivation?

So once the meridians were unsealed, his cultivation had risen with the tide?

Still, he wasn't as easy to fool as Mama Hu and immediately asked:

"Where exactly have you been these past few days? Were you really in seclusion?"

"Of course I was. Actually, after my last course of treatment ended, I tried cultivating the 'Heavenly Gate General Qi Refining Instruction: Qi Meridian Supplement' you gave me. Then, for some reason, I suddenly broke through. I only woke up yesterday, and the day after I woke up, I called you."

"So you went into seclusion as a result of a cultivation breakthrough?"

"Right. Isn't that a normal cultivation phenomenon?"

Was it normal?

Doctor Sun was dumbfounded again. After a long while, he came to his senses.

"Tell you what. Once the hospital opens, go get a full physical, then send me the results. If I confirm everything's fine, there won't be a problem."

Seeing that he'd fooled him, Hu Mang let out a small sigh of relief.

"All right. But Doctor Sun, aren't you at the hospital?"

"No, I'm away on business at Songjiang Holy Land. I called you several times, but you didn't pick up, so I had to leave. In fact, if you hadn't answered again, I was going to send someone to your home to look for you."

"Oh, the Demon Metropolis? What are you doing there?"

"Defending my thesis. It's at my alma mater, Songjiang First Cultivation Hospital."

Hu Mang was taken aback. He pondered for a moment, then asked quietly:

"Doctor Sun, are you under investigation too?"

"What do you mean, I'm under investigation too?! When have I ever been investigated? I've been doing academic research and studying meridians honestly and diligently. I've lost I don't even know how many hairs, and after all that effort, I finally got some results. Why would I be investigated?!"

Doctor Sun was quite angry.

Only after his explanation did Hu Mang understand that this actually had something to do with him.

Ever since locating the "Demon Acupoint" at Hu Mang's wrist, Doctor Sun had devoted all his attention to researching it, barely finding time even for Hu Mang's electrotherapy.

After grinding away to produce a paper, he sent it in and finally won the approval of the experts reviewing it. The Demon Acupoint turned out to be far more valuable than expected.

Not only could it be included in journal materials as research into Demon Beast bloodlines, it also seemed to have potential for cultivation as an "artificial acupoint."

The two were completely different in nature.

The former was merely academic material; the latter could affect the development of Heavenly Gate's cultivation methods.

Heavenly Gate's current cultivation methods not only incorporated the various acquired acupoints of the human body, but also placed increasing importance on artificial acupoints.

And so, as the discoverer of the acupoint, Doctor Sun received a transfer order and headed straight for the Demon Metropolis with a pile of research materials.

In fact, if Hu Mang hadn't been "in seclusion," he had intended to take him along.

"...So that's the situation. Now that the Demon Acupoint 'Hidden Claw' has been found suitable for cultivation as an artificial acupoint, I may have to stay in the Demon Metropolis for a while longer. I can't come back until the new team gets on track."

Hu Mang nodded at first, then immediately realized something.

"Wait, if you're not coming back, what about my electrotherapy?"

"Haven't you already recovered your Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation? Why do you still need electrotherapy? Have you fallen in love with the thing?" Doctor Sun asked, puzzled.

"..."

Hu Mang cleared his throat and said:

"You have to see things through, right? Besides, I feel like there's still some Turbid Qi that hasn't been completely cleared out."

"...All right. Go find Old Zhou in my department and ask him for the formation key. I'll call him. You know how to use the Artificial Lightning Tribulation Tower anyway, and nothing went wrong when you used it alone before, so just keep using it."

Doctor Sun was quite accommodating, and even sounded somewhat apologetic.

"Well, according to our rules here, we should have named the new acupoint together, and there's some prize money too. But you were in seclusion at the time, so I could only make the decision myself-"

"It's fine. It's no big deal, and 'Hidden Claw Acupoint' sounds pretty good anyway..."

Hu Mang hurried to reassure him. The two of them were like a man fighting a wolf with a hemp stalk: both sides were afraid. Hu Mang had a pile of secrets, while Doctor Sun felt he'd treated him a little unfairly, so both were quite polite.

Just as Hu Mang thought he'd probably managed to fool him and was preparing to end the call, Doctor Sun suddenly let out a puzzled exclamation.

"Brother Hu, where are your blood markings?"

The next moment, the Divine Sense being used for their conversation swiftly swept over his entire body, especially the surface of his skin.

"The signal here is too poor! Maybe it's also because this Divine Sense software is only the first version and can't yet perceive things on a deeper level. Otherwise, I could just examine your body and see what was wrong. How did your blood markings disappear?!"

For some reason, Doctor Sun had shown intense interest in the changes to his bloodline.

Good thing you can't see!

If you could see, I'd be in big trouble!

Hu Mang considered for a moment, then said:

"Actually, that's also why I went into seclusion before. I suddenly shed my hair."

"Shed your hair? You mean your Demon Beast bloodline evolved after you recovered part of your cultivation?" Doctor Sun hurriedly pressed.

"Maybe. I suspect my cultivation recovered so quickly, and even the Foundation Establishment Late Stage Divine Sense you just mentioned, were probably caused by that bloodline evolution."

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?!"

"...I'm not in the habit of talking about shedding hair with men."

"Then your bloodline is well worth studying. Why don't you buy a ticket to the Demon Metropolis right now? I'll cover all your expenses, and if the research turns up anything, the prize money is all yours," Doctor Sun said eagerly.

"Haha, definitely next time, definitely next time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Mang ended the call and rubbed his forehead.

Sure enough, one lie took countless others to cover it up, and the more he patched it, the bigger the holes became.

Fortunately, the matter of the Artificial Lightning Tribulation Tower was finally settled. After all, it concerned charging the "fragment."

He scanned the few remaining missed calls. One number made him raise an eyebrow. After a moment's thought, he called it back.

The phone rang for a while before the call connected.

"Hello, Brother Heavenly Python?"

"Did you need something?" Hu Mang's tone turned cold, like a piece of iron just pulled from an ice cellar, without warmth or any superfluous emotion.

Just as he had been when he was still the "Heavenly Blood Python."

Meanwhile, far away in an acupoint cultivation room at Songjiang First Cultivation Hospital in the Demon Metropolis, Doctor Sun ended the call and fell into thought.

A moment later, he took out an "unpublished paper"-or rather, research findings that had yet to be proven.

It wasn't about the Demon Acupoint Hidden Claw, but another paper: the "Hypothesis of Acquired Acupoints" evolving within human Essence Blood.

This wasn't research he'd begun after meeting Hu Mang. In fact, it had been the subject of his graduation research.

Of course, all that research had come to nothing.

But Hu Mang's appearance had rekindled some of the embers of the thoughts he'd buried in his heart.

In particular, Hu Mang's "shedding," "recovered cultivation," and "Foundation Establishment Late Stage Divine Sense" had given rise to certain conjectures in his mind.

Could this be related to his own research?

But Hu Mang could have cracked his skull thinking and never imagined that Doctor Sun would have such thoughts.

If he had known, he would certainly have cried out at the injustice.

How did you make that connection?

Everything that's happened is the result of transmigration! It has as much to do with your research as wind and horses have to do with cattle!

Of course, Hu Mang had no way of knowing what Doctor Sun was thinking.

After ending the call, his expression grew calm once more.

The man who had called him "Brother Heavenly Python" was Sun Hu, a black cultivator Zheng Qingbo had once kept in the underground world. To put it bluntly, he was an enforcer. Later, his Dantian was injured in a magical duel, so he stepped back and began doing private jobs for Zheng Qingbo instead.

Zheng Qingbo was one of the major bosses of Port Surumai. He was said to have been among the group who went overseas during Heavenly Gate's most difficult years, and he was also Hu Mang's backer in the underground arena.

For quite a long time, Hu Mang had effectively been this man's Double-Flower Red Pole, and one of his best fighters at that.

The purpose of this call was none other than to bring Zheng Qingbo's greetings.

After all, from Hu Mang's exploration of the volcano and the severe damage to his foundation to his packing up and running away, it had all happened so quickly and efficiently that almost no one had time to react.

By the time Hu Mang returned to Heavenly Gate, Boss Zheng had only just learned the news.

His own Double-Flower Red Pole had taken to his heels and run!

Of course, no matter how powerful this overseas boss was, he couldn't possibly extend his tentacles into Heavenly Gate itself.

That would be courting death.

As long as Hu Mang wanted, he could go the rest of his life without contacting him.

Even Hu Mang himself had thought so.

But he had changed his mind.

He had obtained so many resources from the Azure Mysterious Realm, and he needed a channel to fence them, didn't he?