Chapter 100: Chapter 96: Opening the Qi Sea

After completing his tendon training, Zhao Lin had perfected the Power Realm. His next goal was naturally the Qi Realm.

To enter the Qi Realm, one first had to open their Qi Sea.

This step involved painstakingly extracting the Qi Strength accumulated in the Power Realm from one’s skin, flesh, and tendons, gathering it to strike the Qi Sea Acupoint.

"Train the muscles, bones, and skin externally; train the ’single breath’ internally." Opening the Qi Sea was the source of this "single breath."

The method was simple, but the process was extremely difficult.

The Moisturizing Pill combined various potent medicines that enhanced Qi and Blood, formulated with the precision of a general deploying troops. It used this medicinal power to stimulate one’s Qi Strength and carve open the Qi Sea, saving a great deal of time.

This was also what made the Moisturizing Pill so precious. At its core, martial arts was a race against time.

Zhao Lin had already mastered the Sea Return Skill and had memorized the body’s main meridians and their related acupoints until he knew them like the back of his hand.

His only concern was that after breaking through to the Qi Realm, his Qi and Blood would become abundant and his Qi Strength would be released externally, making him easily detectable to martial artists of the same or higher realms.

This would surely expose him to many uncertain risks.

After careful consideration, both Zhu Huaishan and Zhao Lin thought of the same person: Wen Gensheng!

To hide his identity as a Qi Realm martial artist, Wen Gensheng went so far as to forcibly channel the Qi Strength from his meridians into his muscles and bones.

Every time he wanted to restore his cultivation, he had to spend two to four hours retrieving his Qi Strength.

The master and disciple discussed it and decided to use the same method.

Although it was troublesome—the two steps of channeling and retrieving the Qi Strength alone would take up half the day...

But troublesome or not, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Once the decision was made, there was no need to delay any further.

This breakthrough would also take place in the underground training chamber. Zhao Lin specifically chose a day when the government office was closed for a holiday.

He bathed, changed his clothes, burned incense, and washed his hands.

Zhu Huaishan handed the Moisturizing Pill to Zhao Lin and said, "Don’t chew it. Swallow it whole."

"Understood."

Zhao Lin took the pill, put it in his mouth, swallowed it, and then sat cross-legged on the ground.

The Moisturizing Pill traveled down his throat, and its medicinal power was quickly released.

Zhao Lin finally understood why it was called the Moisturizing Pill. He felt a dense, refreshing, and spiritual energy emerge from within him. It was like a trickling stream, flowing along his meridians to every part of his body.

It was like basking in a spring breeze or drinking sweet Ganlu.

As the stream flowed past, the Qi Strength hidden within his body sprang forth like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

The Qi Strength poured into the stream, which gradually grew in power. After circulating several times, it had become a great river, gathering around the Qi Sea in his lower abdomen.

Zhao Lin knew the crucial moment had arrived. Following the mnemonic chants of his technique, he pushed his Qi Strength to squeeze and ram into his Qi Sea.

Once, twice, three times...

Each impact was more violent than the last.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a sharp, piercing pain emanated from his Qi Sea, and Zhao Lin’s brows involuntarily tensed.

"Go all out. I will act as your Guardian," Zhu Huaishan’s voice sounded in his ear.

Zhao Lin’s heart settled, and he struck at his Qi Sea with even greater force.

In just a moment, his sealed Qi Sea was like ice in spring. First, a crack appeared, then countless fissures spread out, and finally, it shattered completely.

The Qi Strength immediately poured in, and the Qi Sea expanded and enlarged under its pressure.

’Bigger! Even bigger...’

The barriers of the Qi Sea were most fragile during the initial opening. Every bit of effort he put in now would yield a tenfold return in the future.

Zhao Lin’s breathing grew heavy, and a fine layer of sweat beaded on his forehead as his Qi Sea continued to inflate like a balloon.

The process only slowed when he could no longer push it any further.

With that, the opening of his Qi Sea was complete.

Zhu Huaishan’s voice sounded again. "You still have strength left, don’t you? Continue on and charge the six Yang meridians."

Opening the Qi Sea signified entry into the Qi Realm, but to make the Qi Strength truly effective, one still needed to open the meridians.

The human body has fourteen main meridians, known as the Fourteen Meridians. They consist of six Yang meridians, six Yin Meridians, and the Ren and Du Meridians.

First Layer of the Qi Realm: Open the six Yang meridians.

Second Layer of the Qi Realm: Open the six Yin Meridians.

Third Layer of the Qi Realm: Open the Ren and Du Meridians.

Zhao Lin understood this through the lens of his past life: opening the Qi Sea was like building a seaport complete with ships and cargo.

Opening the meridians was like dredging shipping lanes, allowing his cargo (Qi Strength) to travel smoothly to various docks (acupoints).

He had asked his master beforehand whether it was better to open one complete meridian first or to open all six at the same time.

Zhu Huaishan replied that either way was fine, and he should just let it happen naturally.

The Qi Strength surged, waves churning.

An unknown amount of time passed before Zhao Lin opened his eyes. The medicinal power of the Moisturizing Pill had been completely wrung dry.

"How did it go? How many acupoints did you open?" Zhu Huaishan asked immediately.

Zhao Lin was taken aback. "Master, let me count."

After opening his Qi Sea, he could gather and disperse his Qi Strength at will. Zhao Lin gathered it into a ball and sent it scurrying through his newly opened meridians like a little mouse.

Whenever the Qi Strength passed through an acupoint, the area would vibrate and heat up, which was quite magical.

Seeing Zhao Lin’s expression, Zhu Huaishan knew what he was doing. He wasn’t anxious and simply waited with a smile.

After playing around for a moment, Zhao Lin began to count the acupoints in his meridians.

"Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three..."

Zhu Huaishan’s eyebrows rose. He grew more and more astonished as he listened, and as Zhao Lin continued to count, his jaw dropped.

"Forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one... Mm, that’s all of them," Zhao Lin said, stopping.

"Incredible!"

Zhu Huaishan exclaimed in amazement, "The six Yang meridians have a total of one hundred and fifty acupoints. You’ve opened over thirty percent of them in one go."

Zhao Lin knew he had definitely exceeded expectations and was deeply satisfied.

Based on his initial experience, the physical changes from the Power Realm to the Qi Realm weren’t significant. The biggest difference was the ability to condense his Qi Strength.

Wherever his Qi Strength flowed, power would be generated. Offensively, it could enhance his attacks; defensively, it could protect his body.

He was only in the initial stage of the Qi Realm, so his Qi Strength could only surface on his skin. Later, as his cultivation increased, this Qi Strength could be projected outward, forming Fist Gang or Sword Gang.

"It’s getting late. Disperse the Qi Strength throughout your body," Zhu Huaishan reminded him at the right moment.

"I suppose this is the only way."

Zhao Lin felt a sense of loss but understood it was necessary. He reversed the flow of the Sea Return Skill, forcibly channeling his Qi Strength into his bones and flesh.

The process was painful, tedious, and very long. Since it was his first time and he was unpracticed, it took four full hours.

By the time Zhao Lin walked out of the study, the sky had already turned dark.

...

The next morning, a white-robed old man and a youth arrived at the main gate of the Liuhe Sect.

The white-robed old man looked up at the plaque, stroked his beard, and said, "The Liuhe Sect... this is the place."

"Zhu Huaishan and I were from different inner courts. We only met once back then. To think that after all these years, he’s actually founded the Liuhe Sect and even started teaching disciples."

Hearing the shouts of martial arts practice from within, the youth said with interest, "I hear the Liuhe Sect is quite famous in Qinghe County and has produced several disciples in the Qi Realm."

The white-robed old man nodded. "Speaking of which, this Liuhe Sect can be considered a branch of our Xingyun Sect. Enough talk. Let’s knock."

The youth stepped forward, grabbed the door knocker, and rapped on the great doors.