As the days went by, the Lian tribal clan's back mountain was dotted with Yi Yun's footsteps.
Yi Yun would refine the bones at night, peek at the warrior preparation camp in the morning, and then spend the rest of the day in the back mountain cultivating. Only at dusk did he return home to sleep for two hours.
Yi Yun's cultivation was extremely tough, but it also caused his strength to jump leaps and bounds.
The back mountain was separated a distance from the herb mountain, and since his location was very far from the village, few people ever came here in the day. At night, there wasn't even a shadow, so Yi Yun could train at ease.
Fifteen days later—
"Ha!" Yi Yun roared, as his body shot up like an arrow into the sky. He had leaped past a ten-meter-high rock!
With the air ringing in his ears, every joint in Yi Yun's body cracked loudly like a dragon or tiger's roar!
"Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain!" Yi Yun kept his body taut with his feet pressed against his hip, before sending a punch flying out!
"Twang!"
Yi Yun's body emitted a clear sound; it was the sound of a strong bow's twang. Yi Yun's tendons had made the noise! Compared to Yao Yuan, this sound was even more intense!
"Ka-cha!"
A huge rock crumbled in front of Yi Yun as he smashed through it with a punch!
Spider web-like cracks appeared throughout the rock!
This was no ordinary rock, but one made of black ironstone. It was stronger than ordinary rocks, but today it had been smashed by Yi Yun's punch.
"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!" In the forest, several birds flew away in fright. All the bugs and frogs quieted immediately due to the shock!
At that moment, the entire mountain was silent. Only leaves and bird feathers fell to the ground, or onto Yi Yun's head and shoulders.
Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock!
My fists have reached such a state!
Currently when Yi Yun exerted all his energies, his joints would crack loudly like the sound of thunder. As for Surprise Bow Drops Flock, it would only be possible for a lone injured goose. Because even a nine-shi strongbow would have trouble intimidating a flock to drop.
A casual movement of Yi Yun's body issued "Ka Ka Ka" sounds. His bones were well forged like metal and his tendons were as strong as dragon ribs!
"My current level has been fully consolidated. It's time to attempt at opening my channels, and enter the fourth realm of Meridians!" The human body had meridians, but ordinary people did not have their meridians opened, so they were unable to complete a circulation to accommodate the Yuan Qi from the Heaven and Earth.
When a warrior practiced the arts, he would attempt to clear his meridians after his body was completely trained. It was the first step on the path of martial arts.
A human's channels consisted of twelve regular meridians and eight special meridians.
The twelve regular meridians spread throughout a person's limbs. They were the three arm yin meridians (lung, pericardium, heart), three arm yang meridians (large intestine, triple burner, small intestine), three leg yang meridians (stomach, gall bladder, bladder), and three leg yin meridians (spleen, liver, kidney).
As for the eight special meridians, they spread throughout the body. The most two important special meridians were the conception and governor vessels.
The position of the conception and governor vessels is in the central axis line of a person, and will be seen as a straight line from the front.
The conception vessel is located in the front, while the governor vessel is in the back. The two lines circle into a bundle in a person's body, passing through the dantian and huiyin. Like two ropes that passed through a person's crotch, they held up a person's body.
There were broken channels between the conception and governor vessels. When the conception and governor vessels were opened up, the broken channels would heal up, forming a central expressway for a person's energy to fully circulate. So to be able to open up the conception and governor vessels was an important step to opening up the entire body's meridians.
In the wuxia novels that Yi Yun had previously read, there were multiple ways to open the conception and governor vessels.
For example, in the famous novel, 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber', Zhang Wuji used the 'Heaven and Earth Great Shift' to open up his meridians. On the other hand, Xuzhu opened up his meridians by inheriting the powers of Li Qiushui and Tonglao.
Including the ancient medical books, there were multiple records on how to open up the conception and governor vessels. The moment the conception and governor vessels were opened, a person would be rejuvenated, and enjoy a boost in power.
The perfect outcome of the meridians would pave the way for a higher realm of martial arts in the future.
Yi Yun crossed his legs and sat down. He began to accumulate his energies to open up his meridians!
As long as he opened up his meridians, Yi Yun's strength would be about the same level as a peerless expert from those wuxia novels.
In ancient China, he would be able to walk up walls, settle any grievances, and behead the general of an entire enemy division.
There were two ways to open up the conception and governor vessels. One was to rely on external help, while the other was to depend on him.
In the novels, there would be peerless experts helping the protagonist to open up the conception and governor vessels, causing the protagonist to increase in strength. This was also known as "power transfer".
It may be fast, but it was not the proper way. It was better to cultivate by himself.
Of course Yi Yun chose the second method of opening up his meridians by himself.
Written in the "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist" was a way to open up the meridians. By sitting cross-legged, every breath should be made as long as possible.
Once a warrior reaches the third level of Mortal Blood, their breaths would mix with the energy accumulated in their body causing a circulation that spread like fire!
Yi Yun consciously sent that energy to his dantian, and compressed it!
Again and again, Yi Yun's body was filled with energy. His breaths increased in speed, but each breath was deeper than the last.
Obtaining the essence of the Sun and Moon, and breathing in the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi!
If someone looked from a distance, they could see Yi Yun's body engulfed in a thin layer of faint light.
Especially Yi Yun's chest there was a purple light concentrated there, which slowly spread throughout his body.
This was the light the Purple Crystal Origins emitted after absorbing the Yuan Qi from the surroundings. When Yi Yun breathed out, the Purple Crystal in his heart would absorb the energies from the surroundings, helping to finish Yi Yun's effort towards opening his meridians.
Slowly, the purple light surrounding Yi Yun grew denser. This purple light resembled the ancient Chinese legends of "Purple Air Comes From The East", a symbol of a saint!
With the energy accumulated time and time again, Yi Yun's body began to make sounds resembling the roars of dragons and tigers. His blood flow was like a mighty stream, flowing without restraint!
With each breath, the air around Yi Yun swirled rapidly. It was as astonishing as a whale sucking in water.
"Phew–Phew–Phew–" Yi Yun's breaths became heavier and heavier. Every breath would muster up his body, his body was like a boat being roughed up by the waves.
As his body moved up and down, the energy in Yi Yun's body began to condense.
His tendons began to emit twang-like sounds, while his skin was like blown up leather. His bones emitted popping sounds.
When this accumulated to its extremes, Yi Yun felt his body about to explode. He controlled his energy and sent the heat flow towards his dantian, wave after wave, as if they were crashing on the rocks!
Yi Yun slowly began to approach his limit. When the small vessels on the surface of his body were about to burst, he heard a "boom". With Yi Yun in the center, energy exploded out. The rock Yi Yun was sitting on cracked, and the trees in a five-meter radius broke!
Yi Yun felt his body go limp. His nostrils, ears were all bleeding. But this wasn't fresh blood but black blood. Including Yi Yun's pores, a greyish sweat pulp oozed out.
It's done.
Fourth level of Mortal Blood—Meridians!
Yi Yun knew that he had finally opened up his meridians, and had become equal to a hero from a wuxia novel.
When Yi Yun read wuxia novels in his youth, he had often dreamed of becoming a handsome gallant, walking up walls, upholding justice and settling grievances.
As for today, he had finally obtained that power.
However, in this strange world, the energy was much richer than on Earth. Opening up the conception and governor vessels on Earth would make one a peerless master, but that would be because Earth did not have the "Heaven Earth Yuan Qi".
But in this world, not only was there Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, there was also Power of Desolates, psychic powers and other mysterious energies Yi Yun was still unable to understand. These energies were as powerful as the nuclear powers on Earth.
These energies could be used by him, so the fourth stage of Mortal Blood, Meridians, was just infant steps on the path of martial arts.
Yi Yun leaped up from the ground. He could clearly see and feel his surroundings. He knew everything that occurred within a ten-foot radius, every rustle of the leaves and every squirm of a worm was heard loud and clear.
He could count the number of leaves that had dropped in front of him with a glance. There were thirty-two leaves!
With a clear awareness and a sharp mind, many martial artist experts had an eidetic memory. This was a result of their meridians opening up resulting in an improvement of their brain's capabilities!
After all, the conception and governor vessels cycle through the brain. With energy passing through the brain, it improves a person's memory and reactions.
"It feels awesome. So awesome!" Having undergone a body transformation, Yi Yun was extremely delighted. He had perfectly broken through into the fourth level of Mortal Blood's Meridians. Not only that, he had experienced another round of marrow cleansing.
Mortals eat all sorts of grains causing their bodies to be filled with impurities. Before reaching the Purple Blood realm, it was a necessity to undergo a round of marrow cleansing.
The more thorough a marrow cleansing was, the better it was. Yi Yun having gone through it twice, had less dirt than the previous time.
Yi Yun undressed himself and jumped into the plunge basin for a bath. He dived dozens of meters deep, and held his breath underwater for about twenty minutes before swimming back up.
"Puah!" Yi Yun emerged out of the water like a giant carp, creating an explosion of water droplets!
He was buck-naked. Without any change of clothes, Yi Yun wore his old damp clothes.
This set of clothes was soaked with water. It stuck to Yi Yun's body, clearly outlining the firm curves of his body.
After days of arduous practice, Yi Yun's muscles had grown firmer, and his body shape was getting better by the day. He had also grown taller, becoming a handsome young lad.
Yi Yun gave off a brand new aura after breaking into the Meridians realm. He stood on a large rock, with his body like a sheathed sword. He had an overpowering presence. Under the soft moonlight, it illuminated Yi Yun's delicate skin, making it shimmer like mercury.
Such a young lad no longer looked like a poor kid who had nothing to eat.
He was like a diamond in the rough, but had already shown the inkling of his beautiful luster. The clothes he wore could only be described as "rags", but it could not conceal his shimmering aura.