Although Gao Zhen had said it would take him at least a year and a half, or even two, to master it, he was able to do so in only six months!

Now, with his understanding of the Spirit Guiding Technique, he could choose to form the first Qi Sea inside his head at any moment and officially enter the Qi Absorption Stage.

However, he didn’t choose that option. There was still something he needed to do before entering the Qi Absorption Stage.

Yi Chen opened up the details of his cultivation stage the next instant.

== Meridian Refinement Stage ==

Level: Ninth [40/ 40]

Mortal Meridians: 360 / 360

Godly Meridians: 0 / 160

Progress: 360 / 520

===========================

"Godly Meridians...I need to be able to find them first before I can even think of refining them." He muttered to himself with a bitter smile.

In the last six months, he had attempted several times to find the entrances of these meridians inside his Qi pool.

Even after all that, he still failed to find any of them. As a result, he had chosen to focus entirely on the Spirit Guiding Technique before coming back to it later.

Now that he had fully mastered the Spirit Guiding Technique, it was time for him to focus on finding the Godly Meridians. However, there was one problem with it. He still had no idea where to start looking...

DING!

A familiar sound rang in his head the very next instant, and a panel opened up in front of his eyes.

===== MISSION ======

Task: Gain Understanding of the Frozen Ice Realm

Time Limit: One year

Reward: Means to Refine the Godly Meridians

Failure Penalty: Path to Godhood blocked.

Progress: 18%

=====================

"...This?"

A confused expression formed on Yi Chen’s face when he saw the new mission.

"Gain understanding of the Frozen Ice Realm?... so that’s what this place is called?" he muttered to himself as a frown on his face intensified the next instant, "...But why does it show only 18%? Does it make any sense? There’s nothing much to this place except for the stone tablet...it’s basically a cold desert..."

He was unable to wrap his head around the low progress percentage shown in the system.

To catch fish, he had explored the waters extensively over these two and a half years.

Therefore, the system’s progress percentage appeared very misleading to him.

However, after thinking over it a little more, he muttered to himself with an expression of curiosity.

"Now that I think over it a bit more...I’ve only explored the waters nearer to the shore, I’ve yet to go to the ends or explore its depths.

It’s the same in land as well. I’ve only been taking the familiar two-and-fro route from the campsite to the shore and back... I’ve yet to explore the entire expanse of land."

He paused after finishing those words. His gaze turned unfocused, and it looked as if he was debating something in his head.

The next second, glancing at the mission reward, a firm glint appeared in his eyes, "Yes, let’s do it then."

With that said, he soon left his tent.

He planned to choose a different direction than usual and explore it fully until he reached the coastline.

"Where are you going?" Gao Zhen, who was sitting next to the stone tablet, asked when she noticed his actions.

"I think I’ve hit a plateau...so I’m going to explore the place to freshen my mind a little," Yi Chen answered while scratching the back of his head.

"Plateau?" she repeated with a frown. This was the first time such a word had come out of his mouth, and she couldn’t help but feel taken aback.

However, on second thought, it indeed made sense.

’In the end, he too is only human...’ she thought to herself and said with a nod, "There’s no need for you to hurry. You’re already extremely fast.

Once you’ve comprehended one-fourth of the Spirit Guiding Technique, you can easily form your first Qi Sea and enter the Qi Absorption Stage without worries."

"I’ll keep Madam Gao’s words in mind. Thank you." He thanked her with a smile. He could guess her good intentions.

As for the fact that he had already mastered the Spirit Guiding Technique, he naturally decided to keep it to himself.

Gao Zhen smiled at those words and replied, "Yes, just take your time outside. Later, if you still feel lost, you may ask me for help anytime."

"I will."

Yi Chen answered with a nod before leaving in a random direction, different from the one he always took.

Seeing this, Gao Zhen closed her eyes and focused her attention back on mastering the Qi Absorption Art. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

A few hours later, Yi Chen had explored a 100-kilometre stretch of land using the Bursting Fire Steps and was expecting his progress percentage to increase by at least ten per cent.

However, the results weren’t what he expected.

[Progress: 18% ->18.2%]

"...Just what else is there to explore in this fricking place?" He muttered with a confused expression. It wasn’t just the small increase in progress that confused him.

From this little increase, he was able to estimate that even if he were to explore the entire landmass like this, the progress percentage would still be small.

"But still...even if there are other things, I’ll still have to explore this place eventually in order to complete this mission. Moreover..."

As he said those words, he glanced at the Mission’s time limit.

"...If it were easy, then I wouldn’t have been given a one-year time limit."

Therefore, even if the progress rate was low, he still decided to continue with what he had been doing until he had fully traversed the entire landmass on foot.

Half an hour later, he returned to the campsite. It was nearing late evening, a couple of hours after their usual dinner time.

"You’re finally here. I was on the verge of starving while waiting for you here, you know?" Gao Zhen said with a soft chuckle when she got out of the tent, hearing his footsteps.

"Sorry about that...I travelled farther than expected." Yi Chen answered while scratching the back of his head.

"I see..." Gao Zhen nodded and, noticing his expression, which still seemed as lost as before, asked, "Were you able to relax?"