After Zhang Yan swallowed the Xuanzhu, he immediately sat down to operate his cultivation and begin refining it.
Inside the cave mansion, Luo Xiao paced around a few times. Her gaze fell on Du You, recalling that when this man collapsed earlier, he seemed to want to take something out. This sparked her curiosity.
She walked over to Du Youâs side, bent down, and searched him for a while. From his sleeve, she pulled out a Qiankun Pouch.
"Hmph, Iâve heard that the Du Familyâs influence spans across three major sects in the East Splendor Continent. As expected, they are indeed extravagantâactually using a Qiankun Pouch for a disciple who hasnât even opened his meridians yet."
The Qiankun Pouch is a Dharma Treasure belonging to Xuanmen sect practitioners, typically used to store personal items. In a sect, only those at the Ming Qi Stage cultivation level or higher, and who have made significant contributions, are eligible to receive it. Even the Xuan Guang Stage disciple she had killed before didnât possess one, yet here Du Youâwithout even having opened his meridiansâalready had one.
She rummaged through the pouch. Initially, she didnât have much hope, merely thinking she might find some elixir pills and console herself, but what she discovered truly surprised her.
First, she pulled out a jet-black inkstone, then she found a Cloud Pattern Red Pen.
She exclaimed in astonishment, "Huh, could this be that scoundrel Du Deâs âSoul-shattering Inkstoneâ and âProclamation Penâ?" She kicked the unconscious Du You with hatred, spitting contemptuously, "Pah, lucky for me I acted quicklyâotherwise, I mightâve fallen prey to you, brat."
She toyed with the Dharma Treasures for a while, a sly grin forming at the corner of her lips. "Who wouldâve thought this brat had actually refined these two treasures? Hmph, such precious treasures in someone elseâs hands would make me hesitate to seize them, but youâa mere child who hasnât even opened his meridiansâare a different matter altogether."
With a rough swipe of her hand, she brutally erased the remnants of Du Youâs blood and essence on the two Dharma Treasures, rendering them ownerless. Although this action would slightly reduce their power, she didnât care. As long as they could be of use to her now, she could refine them again later.
"With these two treasures in hand, if I were to fight Du Bo, even if I couldnât defeat him outright, I could at least retreat safely."
After storing the two Dharma Treasures, she resumed her exploration of the Qiankun Pouch, only to uncover yet another surprise. "Huh, a Cloud Perching Flying Boat? What a fine item!"
"Wuxuan Golden Dagger? In your hands, itâs truly like casting pearls before swine!"
"Great Origin Pills? And so many of them? What a generous young brat..."
"This is... Evil Salt Powder... Pah!"
Luo Xiao, as if disgusted by the thought of touching something filthy, tossed a package of medicine powder to the side. She continued rooting through the pouch, extracting a messy array of items and eventually pulling out a stack of Daoist Books. Her gaze settled on one particular book.
"Taiyin Golden Book?"
Luo Xiao was taken aback. This was an extremely famous cultivation method among human cultivators. It was said that once mastered, even at the Ming Qi Stage one could dissolve metal and forge it into swords. If cultivated all the way to the Xuan Guang Stage, the Xuan Guang emitted from oneâs body could rival Flying Sword Magic Treasures.
This time, Du You had come to Open Meridians, ensuring a foolproof preparation: Daoist Books, elixir pills, magic artifactsânone were lacking. The Taiyin Golden Book, in particular, was something his mother Du Luo had painstakingly requested from a renowned elder using many of the Du Familyâs connections.
Du You treasured this Daoist Book, gifted to him by his mother before his departure. He kept it close to him at all times.
Luo Xiao glanced at Zhang Yan, who was now deeply immersed in meditation, and chuckled slyly. She remarked, "Daoist Zhang, this Young Master Du certainly has been generous toward you. Even I, this humble maiden, am envious of your fortune. This is a Ming Qi Stage cultivation method only suitable for upper middle-grade meridian types. Itâll depend on whether fate grants you the opportunity after you open your meridians this time."
Zhang Yan was now completely sealed off from perceiving the external world, paying no attention to Luo Xiaoâs words.
The cultivation method recorded in the Xuan Yuan Inner Secrets was exceptionally perilous. Even though Zhang Yan had carefully practiced it using the Broken Jade beforehand, he still didnât dare let his guard down. He cautiously guided the Qi Mechanism through his meridians.
Once the Xuanzhu entered his abdomen, a cool current like eternal ice sank into his dantian, chilling and contracting the blood vessels in his limbs and bones, sending frosty energy directly to his crown. Shortly thereafter, the Xuanzhu yielded a wave of scorching heat that flowed downward from his chest to his abdomen, surging to the soles of his feet.
The two streams of Qi Veinsâone Yin and one Yangâoccupied opposite ends of his body. Instead of originating from a common source, they seemed like opposing forces, locked in a stalemate, each encamped on its own side.
Zhang Yan understood that this was because the Xuanzhu, formed from the union of two Shell Kings, hadnât yet reached its Perfect Realm. However, this was precisely the time it was most suitable for swallowingâif delayed even slightly, the Yin and Yang would merge and the Shell Prince would break out from the pearl, and then all hope would be lost.
The first step in Opening Meridians required careful guidance to unify the two streams of Qi Veins, ensuring that the essence within the Xuanzhu would be fully absorbed and utilized.