Chapter 81: Breaking Through the Tongmai Realm!

Qin Shuo returned to the relay station.

Lin Feng and Wang Guanshi had been waiting for him for a long time.

As early as three days ago, the medicine procurement team of the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall had already purchased the medicines needed for this trip.

It was only because the Song family sent a letter saying that Qin Shuo was in seclusion, asking them to wait a few more days, that they waited until now.

When Lin Feng heard that Song Yan was not returning to Black Water City with them, he showed great surprise.

However, after hearing Qin Shuo's explanation, he ultimately chose to accept it.

Lin Feng had also heard something about Song Yan's elopement, and now that he learned she had dissolved her engagement and regained her freedom, he sincerely rejoiced for her.

"Senior Brother, since everyone is already prepared, let us set out." Qin Shuo proposed.

"Good."

Lin Feng nodded, then had Wang Guanshi greet everyone to depart.

A group of dozens of people set out mightily from the prefectural city.

Because the cart could not hold all the medicines, the return speed was nearly half that of the outward journey; after walking a full day, the group had only covered over a hundred li.

With nothing to do, Qin Shuo sat on horseback silently reciting the Diamond Sutra.

According to the saying of Monk Ku He of Dongling Temple, Master Jueming of Black Water City had painstakingly studied Vajra Buddhist Dharma for decades, and his insight into Vajra Buddha Nature far surpassed that of the abbots of other temples.

When he returns to Black Water City, the first thing he will do is go to Mingwang Temple to meet this Master Jueming.

If he can obtain from him a Buddhist bead bracelet or other item containing Vajra Buddha Nature, then the final condition for refining the Longxiang Relic will also be fulfilled.

Refining the Longxiang Relic requires Small Success of Vajra Body, Small Success of Longxiang Intent, and Small Success of Vajra Buddha Nature.

Currently, Qin Shuo's Longxiang Golden Body has reached the level of Small Success, so the first two conditions are naturally met, and now only Vajra Buddha Nature remains.

According to the hint from the Taotie Cauldron that day, refining Monk Ku He's Buddhist bead bracelet requires reciting the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Shurangama Sutra ten thousand times.

From this, he infers that his future refinement of Vajra Buddha Nature will likely require similar conditions, so he must prepare in advance.

Otherwise, after obtaining the Buddhist bead bracelet containing Vajra Buddha Nature, he would have to slowly refine it, consuming considerable time.

At this moment, bored on the journey, reciting the Diamond Sutra is just suitable.

The caravan proceeded neither hastily nor slowly.

Qin Shuo recited the Diamond Sutra on horseback during the day, and at night began refining the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl, absorbing its mysterious substance to temper his tendons, bones, flesh, and blood, accelerating the process of Inner Strength transforming into Qi.

Qin Shuo's mind sank into the Taotie Cauldron.

When his thoughts touched the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl inside the cauldron, a dense mysterious substance overflowed from it, spreading throughout his entire body.

Boom!

Qin Shuo's body sank, as if he had suddenly shouldered a great mountain.

The ground beneath his feet was depressed by his steps, leaving deep footprints; even millstone-sized stones were shattered by his tread, unable to bear his weight.

"This gravity is probably already more than tenfold." Qin Shuo marveled inwardly.

As the mysterious substance spread, Qin Shuo felt the gravity his body bore growing stronger and stronger.

At last, it nearly pressed him directly to the ground; his muscles and bones crackled, as if they would shatter at any moment.

Fortunately, he soon learned to control the diffusion speed of the mysterious substance within his body, thus keeping the gravity he bore within an acceptable range.

Thud!... Thud!... Thud!...

Qin Shuo practiced punches while walking on stakes in the forest; every movement felt as if he were carrying a great mountain, extremely arduous.

Although he was not currently in the Yuan Magnetic Grotto, the pressure he bore was still more than double that inside the grotto.

All this was caused by the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl.

As the mysterious substance spread within his body, a super-strong miniature Yuan Magnetic Field formed around him.

This field radiated only to his body surface, making every one of his movements bear a gravitational pressure exceeding tenfold.

Such high-intensity weight-bearing training consumes qi and blood extremely horrendously.

Fortunately, he now has more than ten bottles of Blood Qi Pills and one bottle of Spirit Blood Pills, so he need not worry about insufficient qi and blood.

As qi and blood are consumed, the strength within his body, under the compression of the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl, continuously condenses into strength-qi, warm and warm, like a mass of warm air flow coiling in his dantian, making his whole body feel comfortable and at ease.

"Try Charging the Pass!"

When the internal qi in his body gathered to a certain extent, Qin Shuo withdrew his mind from the Taotie Cauldron, controlling the airflow in his dantian to begin Charging the Pass.

Charging the Pass in the Tongmai Realm means using internal qi to blast open one closed mystical gate after another, thereby creating a high-speed highway for internal qi to circulate within the body.

Inner Strength martial artists refine strength from all parts of the body.

Whereas the Tongmai Realm gathers these strengths into one place, opens exclusive circulation channels, and then connects them throughout the body.

Only then can one truly achieve "where the heart directs, the strength follows."

The first gate of the Tongmai Realm is to open the Ren and Du meridians, forming a small heavenly circulation of internal qi.

Opening any one of these meridians counts as entering the Tongmai Realm, and one can be called a master of the Tongmai Realm.

Just like Fang Lin that day, who with one burst of energy shattered the Twelve-Story Building and opened the Ren Meridian, thus entering the Tongmai Realm.

If both the Ren and Du meridians are opened, it is called Small Accomplishment of the Tongmai Realm.

Tian Bai's father, Tian Zhan, is a master of Small Accomplishment of the Tongmai Realm.

However, when he entered the Tongmai Realm, he was not young, his qi and blood had declined, and the internal qi he condensed was extremely loose, which is why Qin Shuo easily broke through his defense.

If it were Song Tianhao, even if he were also at the Small Accomplishment level of the Tongmai Realm, Qin Shuo would find it difficult to inflict serious injury on him.

After opening the Ren and Du meridians comes opening the Twelve Standard Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

For each additional meridian opened, strength increases by one degree.

When all twenty meridians are opened, one must then condense a Heavenly Meridian to connect heaven and earth, draw heavenly and earthly power into the body, merge it with fleshly qi and blood, and condense True Essence.

Thereafter comes the Condensed Truth Realm.

Now, what Qin Shuo needs to do is open the first meridian, the Ren Meridian, to enter the Tongmai Realm.

However, unlike Fang Lin, his physical body was too strong, his meridians and acupoints were extraordinarily resilient, making them extremely difficult to open up.

Therefore, he could not, like Fang Lin, break through the Ren Meridian in one go; he could only open up one acupoint at a time.

Previously, in the Earth Cave, he had already cleared the Shenque Acupoint; now, he was attempting to charge through the Zhongwan Acupoint.

As his mind sank into the dantian, that fist-sized mass of Inner Qi began to radiate brilliance, like a golden pearl, slowly rising.

The golden pearl easily passed the Shenque Acupoint, but upon nearing the Zhongwan Acupoint, it encountered what felt like a ceiling and could go no further upward.

Qin Shuo understood this was due to the narrowness of the Zhongwan Acupoint's gate, which could not allow a large flow of Inner Qi.

He could only gradually wear it down, using Inner Qi to cleanse the impurities accumulated in the acupoint, widen the meridians, and sweep clean the mystical gate.

All through the night, Qin Shuo remained immersed in charging the pass, until the next morning, when the Zhongwan Acupoint was finally fully cleared, allowing unimpeded circulation of Qi.

After exhaling a long breath of turbid air, Qin Shuo rose, ate breakfast with the herb-gathering team, and then continued on the journey.

Time, meanwhile, slipped away slowly during the tedious journey.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

That night, Qin Shuo, after condensing Inner Qi with the aid of the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl, immediately began charging the pass.

After these days of effort, he had already broken through several passes.

As long as he broke through the Twelve-Story Building tonight, he would be a true master of the Tongmai Realm.

Boom!

Like the golden sun emerging from the sea, golden Inner Qi rose along the Ren Meridian and finally arrived beneath the Twelve-Story Building.

Unlike his previous slow and careful refinement, Qin Shuo this time directly mobilized Inner Qi for a fierce charge forward.

If it were an ordinary martial artist, they would naturally not dare to be so reckless, for forcibly impacting the meridians easily causes meridian damage.

But Qin Shuo was different; his meridians, having been tempered by the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl, had already become extraordinarily resilient.

Moreover, from these days of experience in opening the mystical gate, he found that his meridians were far less fragile than he had imagined, fully capable of withstanding such a degree of Inner Qi impact.

Crack!

As if some kind of bottleneck and obstruction had been shattered.

Immediately afterward, a mighty aura emanated from his body—deep and heavy, like a great mountain, giving a sense of oppression and unbearable weight.

"Finally broken through!"

Qin Shuo's eyes shone brightly, as if a rising sun blazed in their depths, dazzling and awe-inspiring.