Chapter 174: Supreme Learning Level Great Qi and Blood Circulation

"Hah!"

"Hah!"

Inside the Red Fusion Cave, Li Yuan stood in the Soldier Body Stance; the breathing of the Nine Soldier Forms transformed and shifted, yet this did not affect his mental contemplation and refinement.

With Inner Fortification fully accomplished and Wu Gong integrated into his body, his mastery of breathing methods had already become extremely deep; though not yet instinctive, he could now maintain it naturally for short periods.

"To the destined, the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing descends from heaven; to the undestined, they meet without recognition. The Xieshen Sect may have obtained some technique from that 'Burdened Hall Spirit Turtle,' but it must be extremely harsh, otherwise they would not still be hiding after six years."

The more Li Li Daoye guessed, the more he felt he was the type of person who excels at grasping grand trends.

Of course, it might also be that, knowing the Xieshen Sect's purpose, it was not difficult to guess.

As his thoughts scattered, he even felt that the news of Lord Master Gongyang Yu's great victory might have just spread; perhaps he had already returned and was preparing to fish?

Judging others by himself, he felt that if he were Lord Master Gongyang Yu, forced to abandon the sect's various territories, he would not make no gesture at all.

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing that Dead Man's Stele within the Soldier Space.

On the palm-sized stone stele, strange patterns covered the surface, along with various fresh bloodstains that appeared crimson like blood in his eyes.

"There are many good things on this stele, but it is far too chilling..."

Li Yuan sensed carefully.

Over this past year, he had obtained many things related to the Xieshen Sect; this Dead Man's Stele was of the highest rank and the most sinister.

Every time he sensed it, he felt a chill in his heart, as if lying in a pile of corpses.

"Su Su Wanxiong is likely searching for this stele, but if this stele is so important, how could it be in Zhao Zhao Yunsheng's hands?"

Li Yuan pondered in his heart.

The Zhao family's extermination had been nearly a year ago; in that year, he had handled this Dead Man's Stele many times, yet gained nothing.

Regarding these blood-colored weapons, he had always held a sense of dread.

"Bai Shen Fa..."

After a long while, Li Yuan opened his eyes, took out a 'Store Spirit Small Return Pill' and swallowed it, then took out the heavy hammer and pushed it lightly.

He applied the 'Fundamental Diagram of the Spirit Ape Spear Technique' and the 'Five-Step Spirit Snake Waist Belt' to his control, took out the heavy hammer, pushed it lightly, and began the alteration of his bone structure.

Inside his abdomen, a furnace seemed to arise, with wisps of heat rising from his internal organs.

For a moment, his entire body felt warm.

Closing his eyes slightly, Li Yuan seemed to 'see' his body's many organs, with the flowing blood greedily devouring the heat.

Under the effect of the medicinal power contained in the pill, the Qi and blood and internal strength throughout his body began to circulate faster and faster, and the heat spread to his entire body.

"This bone structure alteration is more difficult than before; the Spirit Ape?"

Heat surged throughout his body; under Li Yuan's perception, his hands and feet were the hottest, followed by his waist and abdomen. As the heat steamed, he felt his ears burning intensely.

Does this Spirit Ape bone structure involve both ears?

"Ugh!"

The soreness and pain of the bone structure alteration arrived late but surely; Li Yuan let out a muffled groan, all stray thoughts vanished, and he endured the excruciating pain to begin altering his bone structure.

Buzz!

The heat tide surged, and the numbness throughout his body grew even more intense.

Li Yuan endured for a long time but could not hold back; he threw off his clothes, rushed into the Red Fusion Underground Tunnel, and used the intense heat to resist the internal soreness, numbness, swelling, and pain in his body.

"Hah!"

No one knew how long passed before Li Yuan struggled out from the entrance of the Red Fusion Underground Tunnel, threw himself into the cold pool water vat, and panted heavily.

Buzz~

He struggled to raise both hands, feeling only that the blood vessels and meridians from his arms to his five fingers were trembling constantly.

"This form of the Spirit Ape..."

Relying on the perception enhanced by the Five-Step Spirit Snake Waist Belt, Li Yuan keenly detected a difference from the past.

The alteration of this Spirit Ape bone structure was far more intense than before, even resembling the transformation felt when completing six, nine, or thirteen forms.

It was just that, relatively speaking, it was much weaker.

"The difference between ordinary beasts and spiritual beasts?"

Li Yuan soaked in the water vat, enduring the lingering effects of the bone structure alteration, and recalled the records in the Bone Structure Theory.

"The form of ordinary beasts, the form of spiritual beasts, the form of heaven and earth's nature... According to logic, these distinctions should only exist after the form alteration, right?"

Li Yuan forced his spirit to stay alert.

According to Old Han's words, the best bone structure is thirteen forms; there is no obvious distinction between thirteen forms of ordinary beasts and thirteen forms of spiritual beasts.

But his feeling could not be wrong...

"When Old Han left his book, had he not yet touched upon spiritual beast bone structures?"

Li Yuan thought for a long time until the bone structure was completely altered; only then did he climb out of the water vat, with water droplets all over his body evaporating into steam.

The Qi and blood and internal strength within his body were also nearing exhaustion.

"Hah!"

Li Yuan took a deep breath, did not waste this opportunity, and moved a wisp of blood Qi upward, passing through his neck to his head.

Over these past few months, after every bone structure alteration, he had attempted to guide the blood Qi upward to his head.

At first, he simply tried out of curiosity about the Bai Shen Fa, but later, upon learning that the Qi and blood circulation of a Supreme Learning Wu Gong covers the skull, his motivation to try became even stronger.

He practiced many Wu Gong, and his understanding of Qi and blood circulation was also very deep.

Blood Qi circulation, fundamentally, relies on the flow of a person's own Qi and blood, and there is no saying that a person's Qi and blood does not reach the skull.

"If it flows, there is no pain; if there is pain, it does not flow. The heart supplies blood to the brain; Qi and blood circulation should also complete the brain; this is the true Great Qi and Blood Circulation."

"Alas, I only regret not reading more medical texts back then; otherwise, I could have figured out the Great Qi and Blood Circulation covering the brain myself."

"Now, I can only try bit by bit; fortunately, there is no lack of gains..."

Li Yuan, guided by the idea that "pain means blockage, and flow means no pain," tried hundreds of times over several months, consuming countless pills.

The remaining Divine Restoration Pills are now only nine, yet his gains have certainly been substantial.

Of course, what truly propelled his progress was the enhanced perception granted by the Five-Step Spirit Snake Skin Belt.

"This path won't work, neither will this one…"

Li Yuan carefully guided his blood-qi while avoiding previously failed routes.

Wu!

Suddenly, Li Yuan's eyelids snapped open—he felt a thread of warmth pierce through his nasal bridge, traveling from his left eye to his right!

This time, he felt no pain.

Then…

"It's open!"

Li Yuan's heart surged with joy, but his composure had matured—he held onto that inner tremor, guiding the thread of blood-qi downward.

It flowed once more into the Great Blood-Qi Circulation.

"Success!"

Li Yuan could no longer suppress his wild elation.

With this thread of blood-qi flowing, he was now only a matter of patient refinement away from achieving the full Great Blood-Qi Circulation across his entire body!

He, through sheer perseverance and extraordinary insight, had independently forged the complete Great Blood-Qi Circulation—something only found in Supreme-Level Wu Gong!

"Awesome!"

Li Yuan leapt to his feet; the months-long barrier had shattered. He clenched his fists and burst into laughter.

"Now I finally understand those geniuses from my past life—solving a problem feels amazing!"

After riding the high for a while, Li Yuan calmed down. He didn't let excitement cloud his mind—he suppressed his fervor and held himself back.

His blood-qi had recovered by more than half; drawing in another thread was now extremely difficult.

"Spirit Monkey Arms—my physical strength has grown significantly. Hmm, much more agile than before."

With the hammer in hand, Li Yuan unleashed freely, feeling his movements flow more smoothly and his hammer art deepen further.

He swapped the Chen Shan Zhong Hammer and the Hunjin Da Xiyi Hammer into his Weapon Control Scroll; under the blessing of his hammer talent, his excitement surged.

The reduced cooldown interval between weapon switches made changing weapons far more convenient.

Bone transformation, training hammers, forging hammers—his gear setup was now more comprehensive, with no awkward waiting periods.

Hu~

Hu hu~

In the Red Melt Cave, Li Yuan swung his hammer, starting slow and light, then growing heavier and heavier.

The faint whooshing grew dull, then later, sharp and piercing.

His sixth-rank hammer talent had undergone a transformation—he could now sense his tendons and bones resonating with his hammer art.

With a hammer in hand, and a hammer in mind, his hammer art gained even greater fluidity and ease.

Qiang!

In one instant, the hammerhead broke the air with the sound of clashing metal.

Bang!

Beyond two zhang, the ancient, heat-baked earthen wall of the Red Melt Cave was blasted clean through—dirt and stone flew everywhere.

No shape-shifting, no transforming force into qi—and yet he struck two zhang away.

It was unmistakably the killing technique of the Weapon Dao: Dou Sha Hammer!

"The Weapon Dao: Dou Sha Hammer is perfected!"

Leaning the heavy hammer on the ground, Li Yuan's pores opened wide; sweat evaporated into steam from the heat, his eyes blazing bright.

Of the Five Inner Sect Secrets of Divine Weapon Valley, the Weapon Dao: Dou Sha Hammer was the hardest to master. Eighty thousand li of innate talent, and even he took nearly ten years to perfect it, another ten to complete it.

And he…

"At most one year, my hammer art will be complete! Hmph, between geniuses, there are still gaps—and they're even wider."

Li Yuan poured a bucket of cold spring water over himself, washing away the heat, his lingering doubts vanished.

Give him time, and he'd smash the Xieshen Sect to rubble with a single hammer blow.

Hu!

Relaxing his sinews and bones, Li Yuan's physique grew ever stronger, his bronze hue like cast copper and iron, every inch brimming with explosive power.

Thanks to the Red Melt Cave's heat, along with vast quantities of pills and spirit beast meat, his various Wu Gong—especially his hardening arts—advanced rapidly; the Seven-Star Hardened Body was now advancing toward perfect completion.

Ka ka ka~

Li Yuan flexed his fingers, feeling he could now swiftly kill Sun Zan, a Form Transformation cultivator, even without the Weapon Control Scroll's enhancement.

"It's not that I can't beat him head-on—it's just that ambushes offer better cost-effectiveness."

Master Li muttered to himself: one life, only one. He'd be a fool to chase after fighting above his rank.

Using every advantage against an enemy was the bare minimum respect for one's own life.

"Sixteen Forms now. Tomorrow, I need to borrow more Root Diagrams from the Inner Library—better take several."

Li Yuan wiped himself down, pulled on his pants and robe.

Though he had entered the Six Forms of the Ancient Elephant Hammer, without matching weapons or Root Diagrams, his progress was fast—but still far from bone transformation.

Fortunately, the merit earned from assisting Jing Jing Shuhu in wiping out the Remnant Spirit Temple granted him four entries into the Inner Library—Root Diagrams were not lacking.

…

…

The next day, Li Yuan returned to the surface once.

"Mm?"

Passing the Divine Weapon Pavilion, Li Yuan's eyelid twitched. After the Soldier Controlling Tome advanced again, the weapon glows within forty metres could be detected by him with but a thought.

Forty metres was already long enough, but outside the Divine Weapon Pavilion, he had not seen a single weapon glow above the level of a famed weapon.

"Has the Divine Weapon Pavilion been emptied out this much?"