booktalesy Chapter 108 Mountain Valley Cave Star Advancement
Chapter 108 Mountain Valley Cave Star Advancement
"Let's break through to the next realm first." Chu Fan had calmed down from his excitement and pushed up his glasses. "There's a natural spirit-gathering array in the cave. With this spirit-gathering pill, you can break through to the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm."
He pointed to the floor of the cave dwelling; the seemingly decorative array patterns were actually a complete spirit-gathering array, with its core located beneath the futon. "Qin Hao and the others have definitely sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations from the cave's opening and won't let this go easily. Only when your strength increases can we cope with the upcoming crisis."
Lin Chen nodded without hesitation. He walked to the stone futon and sat down. The futon felt cool to the touch, but the moment he sat down, a gentle power surged from it, flowing along his meridians to his dantian, resonating with his Star Martial Core. This futon itself was a magical artifact used to aid cultivation; a thousand years ago, the Seventh Guardian had cultivated to the Earth Martial Realm while sitting here.
He took the Spirit Gathering Pill.
The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, without bitterness or burning sensation, only a cool liquid flowing down the throat into the abdomen, then surging into the dantian like a burst dam. The Star Martial Core spun at high speed, several times faster than usual, emitting a deep hum, like a long-starved beast finally getting its food, frantically devouring the surging spiritual energy.
At the same time, the middle volume of the "Star Origin Manual" is activated.
The circulation path of the middle volume is completely different from that of the upper volume. The upper volume is the basic meridian circulation, focusing on accumulation; the middle volume is the deep expansion of the meridians, focusing on breakthrough. Under his guidance, spiritual energy starts from the dantian, goes up along the main meridian to the dantian, flows into the eight extraordinary meridians, and then gathers at the qi sea, forming a complete great circulation.
To reach the Meridian Opening Realm, one must open twelve meridians. Lin Chen had already opened nine—the result of his arduous training day and night since entering the academy. The remaining three, the Yin Wei Meridian, the Yang Wei Meridian, and the Dai Meridian, are the most obscure and difficult parts of the body's meridians. Each one is thicker and tougher than the previous nine combined, like three rusty iron chains, firmly blocking the key nodes of true qi circulation.
The silvery-white star power, like an invincible iron army, repeatedly assaulted the blocked meridians. With each impact, a portion of the blocked meridians was cleared, and the star power surged in, washing away impurities from the meridian walls and making the meridians wider and more resilient.
"Click—"
A soft sound came from within his body, not the sound of bones breaking, but the crisp sound of meridians being opened, like iron chains snapping, like shackles breaking. The tenth meridian was opened. The moment the star power surged into the Yin Wei Meridian, Lin Chen felt his perception range double. Everything within a radius of dozens of feet was clearly imprinted in his mind—the rustling of Su Ling'er turning the pages of her book, the subtle sound of Chu Fan pushing up his glasses, the faint hum of the amplification runes on the Cold Edge Battle Blade, and even the tactile sensation of the evil poison writhing within Su Muyue's body. He was fully aware of everything.
The eleventh article follows immediately.
This impact was even more intense. The stellar energy was compressed three times within his dantian before being released, like a fully charged spring or a taut bowstring. The moment the Yangwei Meridian was opened, Lin Chen felt his strength increase several times over. The flow of stellar energy in his meridians was as fast as a galloping horse, and the power of every punch and every sword strike would far surpass what he had experienced before.
The moment the last meridian—the belt meridian—was opened, a burst of silver light erupted around Lin Chen.
It wasn't the soft halo from before, but a dazzling, piercing light, like the sun. Countless stellar energies converged from the void in all directions, forming a massive stellar vortex above his head. The center of the vortex was bottomless, as if connecting to another dimension.
The spiritual energy of the entire valley was stirred up.
Spiritual energy surged from every corner of the valley—from the cracks in the rock walls, from beneath the bluestone on the ground, from the petals of the Ice Soul Orchid, from the branches and leaves of the ancient trees—like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, like ten thousand birds paying homage to the phoenix, converging into a visible spiritual energy tornado that spun wildly around Lin Chen. The tornado reached a height of tens of feet, causing the luminous pearl on the cave ceiling to sway and clang loudly.
Lin Chen's clothes fluttered in the wind, his long hair dancing wildly. His eyes were closed, and the Star Martial Luck Mark between his brows shone with a dazzling silver light, like a third eye, like a burning star.
Late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm!
He slowly opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils burned a ball of silvery-white light, bright and intense, like a sun shrunk countless times. The light lasted for several seconds before gradually dissipating, revealing a pair of clear and resolute eyes beneath.
He stood up, stretched his limbs, and his bones crackled and popped, like a weapon being reassembled, every joint perfectly aligned, every muscle brimming with power. He clenched his fist, and silvery-white starlight surged from his palm, condensing and dancing at his fingertips.
After the breakthrough, his total star power increased more than threefold. If before it was a bucket of water, now it was a vat of water. The width and resilience of his meridians increased significantly, and their circulation speed was nearly twice as fast as before the breakthrough. He could unleash 70% of the power of the Star Sword Technique, and even against a powerhouse in the early stage of the Transformation Realm, he would have a fighting chance.
He looked at the sword technique diagrams on the stone wall—those previously obscure and difficult sword moves now seemed to make perfect sense. The beginning, development, transition, and connection of each move, and the power generation techniques of each move, were as clear as if they were engraved in his bones.
Just then, a series of noisy footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave.
It wasn't just one or two people walking; it was at least seven or eight people, their footsteps heavy and menacing. Someone shouted sharply, "Listen up, you inside! This cave was discovered first by our Wang family! Get out here immediately! Hand over all your treasures, or don't blame us for being impolite!"
Su Ling'er wrinkled her nose: "It's the Wang family! Wang Hu's cousin Wang Teng's team, the group that colluded with Qin Hao. They must have smelled the breakthrough and rushed over; their noses are sharper than a dog's."
Lin Chen stood up, stretched his limbs, and his joints made a slight cracking sound. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, not in a smile, but in something much colder.
"Perfect timing to test our strength after the breakthrough. Since they've come to us willingly, don't blame us for being impolite."
The five people walked out of the cave.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting golden dappled patterns on Lin Chen. He stood at the entrance of the cave, looking down at the person opposite him.
Eight members of the Wang family stood outside. The leader, Wang Teng, wore a brocade robe, his face sinister, his chin slightly raised, and his eyes filled with the arrogance typical of aristocratic scions. Wang Hu was his cousin, a direct descendant of the Wang family, and held a high position within the clan.