nChapter 044 Another Step

nRegular Chapter

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nJun Xie walked steadily back to his room. When Little Ke saw Jun Xie’s current state, she nearly burst into tears. With trembling hands, she took off his clothes for him and carefully cleaned him with clear water. All the while, Jun Xie remained standing. Based on the amount of exhaustion he had to endure, he knew that if he were to lose his balance and fall, then he would instantly fall unconscious! However, as long as he was able to get pass this hurdle, of restoring his body strength while maintaining his consciousness, then he would have succeeded in exceeding one of the limitations of his body!

nAfter Little Ke finished cleaning his body, he had her move away while he continued standing, delving deep into himself. Through his spiritual awareness, he observed as the energy channels of the Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune began to sluggishly awaken.

nTo Jun Xie’s surprise, he found that the seven coloured exquisite pagoda within his sea of consciousness was rotating at a higher speed compared to the past. In addition, the white Worldly Spiritual Qi exuded by it was also much thicker compared to before. The spiritual qi slowly entered Jun Xie’s meridians, flowing along the pathways. Each time the spiritual qi reached an area, it would give Jun Xie a cool and comfortable feeling. This feeling was akin to a person who was thirsty to the utmost limit who suddenly found cool springs in the mountain. This feeling was simply indescribable.

nThe misty spiritual qi continued entering Jun Xie’s meridians at a higher rate. Jun Xie’s body, which was tired to the extreme, began to slowly rejuvenate itself and at the same time, his entire body gradually became itchy. This was especially so for the injured areas where the itch was extremely unbearable. Jun Xie exerted strict control over the desire to scratch the itchy areas, directing the full concentration of his mind to enter a state of meditation. Slowly… he entered a state of disconnection from self and others…

nAs time passed, all the injured areas of Jun Xie’s body began to discharge a clear sheen of fluid, which gradually coagulated, forming into scars…

nBit by bit, the scars on Jun Xie’s body began to wrinkle up before hardening. In the end, it turned into powdery crumbs as it fell down…

nA thin layer of skin fragments progressively accumulated around Jun Xie’s feet. As for the skin on his body, it had returned to its former white smoothness. The only difference was that it had become more flexible…

nOn the other hand, his tensed muscles that had undergone one whole day’s worth of high-grade exercise unconsciously exuded a crystal clear watery glow while quivering lightly. After the quivering ended, the muscles slowly loosened down as it was restored to its former relaxed state before undergoing the training. Next, a wave of unbearably tingling itch washed over him before finally relaxing down…

nJun Xie who had entered a state of meditation did not realize what was happening at all. After having overcome the extreme state of exhaustion, the feeling that followed was a serene feeling of relaxation. His spirit felt as though it had stepped upon an ethereal realm. This feeling was akin to the comfortable feelings of a person who was travelling in a tour through the vast ocean. Enjoying the gentle billowing waves of the seas as it slowly surged forth…

nWithin his sea of consciousness, the mist exuded by the colourful exquisite pagoda became denser and richer. Waves of pure Worldly Spiritual Qi flowed like water through Jun Xie’s body, coursing through his every meridian, his every muscle fibre, his every tendon…

nJun Xie could clearly feel that the fine flow of qi within his meridians was slowly growing bigger after having received nourishment from the waves of the spiritual qi. Even though the degree of growth was not great, it was still growing non-stop. In addition, his sense of thought seemed to have become ethereal in nature, no longer able to feel exhausted. At this moment, his spiritual essence seemed to have merged harmoniously with the little pagoda within his sea of consciousness. Even though Jun Xie was a man with the nerves of steel, this profound feeling of comfort caused him to feel intoxicated.

nSuddenly, the colourful Hongjun Pagoda stopped spinning, no longer radiating as brilliantly as it just had. This event startled Jun Xie’s awareness within his sea of consciousness and he began to awaken from the ethereal realm. Even his spirit was instantly returned back to the mortal world. As for the misty white spiritual qi flowing within his meridians, it retreated back like the receding tide. Jun Xie could feel that this whole body was filled to the brim with strength. Slowly, he opened his eyes, which revealed a sharp gaze filled with a divine glow!

nJun Xie gently flexed his body, causing the joints throughout his body release popping sounds. Instantly, his body returned to its ideal and smooth state while his state of mind was also surprisingly in an excellent state. As the soft moonlight gently spilled down, Jun Xie moved towards the windows. The moon hung in the sky like a plate, the surrounding clear blue skies spread out for thousands of li.

nThe Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived. In his original world, the Mid-Autumn Festival would be held on the 15th of August. But here, there was only the Autumn Festival held on the 20th of August.

nNo matter which world he was in, the moonlight remained as gentle as water, spreading its splendour everywhere. Jun Xie sighed lightly, surprised to find that his heart was no longer filled with the emotions of lonely solitude. It was as though, somewhere along the way, his heart had become accustomed to it. The moon remained the same moon; the sky remained the same sky! Since the skies were the same skies, then he may as well just assume that this was… a change in working environment…

nJun Xie carefully rechecked his body and discovered that the injuries of the day had all been healed. Those injuries, which cannot be considered light, were all completely healed. In addition, even the scars had miraculously disappeared within the span of one night, his skin smooth yet flexible. Jun Xie could not help but stare at the result: I never expected that the restoration capabilities of the Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune would turn out to be so powerful!

nOriginally, Jun Xie had thought that after undergoing the brutal training, his body would become the bronze skin of his past life. Unexpectedly, even though the quality of his body had obviously been upgraded at a rapid rate, his skin had instead become smoother… disappointment! Thankfully, the transformation of his skin was towards the nature of flexibility. If his skin had instead become softer, then he would have no face to go out!

nJun Xie rechanneled the Art within his body and was suddenly overjoyed! After the day’s insane level of training and the exercise of the Arts in the evening, the effect obtained was extremely significant! The silky flow of qi within his body had grown at least double in size! If the original size of the flow of qi were comparable to a strand of hair, then the current size would be comparable to a strand of coarse mane on a pig… Jun Xie suddenly broke out in cold sweat. To say such a thing about himself, perhaps he was being overly masochistic on himself…

nIn addition, the speed of the qi flow had also increased. There was a sudden clarity within him: His cultivation of the first level of Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune had taken a huge step forward!

nTo his great surprise, Jun Xie also found out that he could now access the inner eye! This was something that only martial artists that had attained the Pre-Celestial stage could accomplish. This Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune was indeed a miraculous skill. Even though his current strength was far from the standards of the Pre-Celestial stage, he was already able to access the inner eye!

nIt seemed that this limit breaking training where the entire body’s physical energies were squeezed out to the extreme followed by the channelling of the Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune had produced some unexpected benefits.

nChecking his meridians, Jun Xie finally understood the mysterious aspect of the Xuan Qi within this world. The so-called Xuan Qi cultivation was, in fact not much different when compared to the practice of internal strength. It could be considered as a special branch of internal strength cultivation. Xuan Qi does not last as long as internal strength. In return, it possessed an explosive power that far surpassed internal strength. It was also due to the odd explosive power that the secretive nature of this mystical force became inadequate. Naturally, the endurance of the explosive power was even more inadequate. The higher a person’s cultivation in Xuan Qi, the external signs would become more significant. This was the main cause of the different glow of radiant colours from different Xuan Qi levels!

nThe method of cultivating Xuan Qi was almost the same as the practice of internal strength, which was to channel energy through a fixed set of meridian pathways. For example, there is one meridian line for the cultivation of the Ninth level and below. Regardless of whether it is the Eight Extraordinary Vessels or the Twelve Standard Meridians, there is only one path to follow, forming towards a channel, interconnecting through the inner cycle. When they have broken through to the Silver level, they can then open up another channel. That way, it would be possible to increase the flow of energy. However, the cycle of the flow remained within the same confines. The only difference would be that the limits have been increased greatly.

nTL: The Eight Extraordinary Vessels and Twelve Standard Meridians are part of the meridian system within the human body involving meridian channels and inner organs.

nThis may be due to the fact that the people in this world possessed a unique body. It was no wonder that every breakthrough in Xuan Qi cultivation would be accompanied by extreme pain, comparable to the moulting process of a snake. It was a process where the cultivator would forcibly open up a meridian pathway. How could that not hurt?

nThe later stages would follow the same steps. Once all the Twelve Standard Meridians and half of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels were open, then the cultivator would have successfully stepped upon the realm of Supreme Divine Xuan. There was however another requirement. Amongst the opened up vessels of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, two vessels were to be interlinked. Only after having accomplished this would one be considered to have achieved a genuine Supreme Divine Xuan rank! If a cultivator was able to open up four of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels but were not able to assign two of them to become interlinked, then that person could only be considered a False Supreme Divine Xuan ranked expert!

nThere was one aspect, which surprised Jun Xie. In the process of attaining the Supreme Divine Xuan rank, one must open up all the Twelve Standard Meridians that will serve as the main route of practice in Xuan Qi cultivation. The dantian served as the depository area for Xuan Qi. As for opening four out of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, the most difficult part was only the interlinking of two assigned vessels, after which one would successfully become the highest existence within this world. However, if one were to analyse this using the knowledge of martial arts, even though the highest achievement was the Supreme Divine Xuan, four vessels remained closed within their bodies.

nIn that case, could there be an even higher existence compared to the Supreme Divine Xuan?

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