Chapter 28

After Qin Zhen opened the first acupoint, she couldn't stop. Within seven days, she opened three more acupoints, and the four "acquired acupoints" were connected. The *Taiyi Foundation Scripture* reached a minor level of completion, and the fire qi emanating from the boiling spring was no longer sufficient to support her in continuing to open the fifth acupoint.

In stark contrast, Wei Shizheng struggled with all his might to refine the demon core given to him by Xun Ye. He endured great hardship and barely managed to open the "Supreme Yang" and "Body Pillar" acupoints.

On one side, the seven innate acupoints, cultivated with the *Taiyi Foundation Scripture*, could be practiced anywhere. By finding a place with a dense concentration of fire qi, one could absorb primordial qi and open acupoints. In less than a month, four acupoints could be easily opened. On the other side, the acquired impurities, cultivated with the incomplete *Howling Moon Technique*, required eating hundreds of pounds of meat, refining two demon cores, and enduring both tree collisions and severe beatings. It took nearly a year to barely open the four "acquired acupoints." The gap between the two would only widen as time went on.

The only consolation was that Wei Shizheng's method of forcibly absorbing primordial qi and opening acupoints caused continuous damage to his meridians, blood, and flesh, which were then repaired by earth qi. This repeated process of tempering his body made him stronger and more powerful, closer to a demon cultivator than a sword cultivator.

However, even if he tempered his body to the extreme, he could not withstand a full-strength strike from a sword cultivator.

Both of their cultivation had hit a bottleneck. Rather than wasting time, it was better to seek new opportunities. On this day, it was the White Dew, the weather turned cooler, the dew was crystal clear, and the green mountains were charming. Wei Shizheng and Qin Zhen left the boiling spring and descended Tian Du Peak along the mountain path.

They were not in a hurry to leave the mountain. As they walked, they enjoyed the scenery along the way. Qin Zhen had never been so relaxed, and her mood had never been so pleasant. Looking at her senior brother's broad back, she secretly rejoiced that she had not missed him in the vast sea of people.

At noon, the two returned to the base of Tian Du Peak. The stone room was empty, and the surroundings were desolate. They didn't know where everyone had gone.

Wei Shizheng went to the woodshed to scoop a gourd of water, drank a few sips to quench his thirst, and poured the rest outside. Qin Zhen checked each stone room, all of which were empty. The mountain wind was fierce, and the forest waves roared. She shivered and felt a bit uneasy.

"Senior Brother, could something have happened?"

Wei Shizheng walked out of the woodshed, looked up at Xian Yun Peak, squinted his eyes, and said, "They've gone to Xian Yun Peak and are on their way back." Qin Zhen walked to his side, tiptoed, and followed his gaze. She saw a line of tiny black dots slowly moving on the path halfway up the mountain. In the sunlight, a spot of apricot yellow was particularly eye-catching.

That was Zhang Jinghe in the yellow robe.

After about an hour, Lu Shizhong and Zhang Jinghe led the trial disciples back to the base of Tian Du Peak. Seeing Wei and Qin, Lu Shizhong, as usual, said nothing, while Zhang Jinghe smiled and said, "The sect leader has emerged from seclusion today. You two missed it."

Wei Shizheng said, "Ah, missing this, I don't know when we'll have another chance to meet the sect leader."

Qin Zhen looked around and didn't see Qi Yunhe. She mustered the courage to ask, "Uncle, where is Master?"

"Qi Shixiong never goes to Chang Ying Temple. You won't be able to wait for him."

Qin Zhen found it strange that her master would be absent from such a significant event as the sect leader's emergence from seclusion.

Lu and Zhang led their respective disciples away. The Song brothers came forward to greet their senior brother and greet their junior sister. Yue Zhilan whispered to Wei Shizheng, "Master hasn't come for over ten days."

"Have you asked Uncle Lu and Uncle Zhang?"

"They said Master is in the back of Xian Yun Peak, locked in his room, and hasn't come out."

This seemed suspicious, but since Lu and Zhang didn't see a problem, it wasn't their place to worry. Wei Shizheng thought, "Could it be that the bond between fellow disciples becomes weaker as one cultivates?"

It wasn't until late at night that Yue Zhilan and the others, sitting by the crescent pond, saw Qi Yunhe stagger out to meet them.

He was still the same old self, disheveled and rolling his eyes, casually calling his disciples over and answering their cultivation questions one by one.

Wei Shizheng felt that Qi Yunhe's gait was somewhat familiar. He racked his brain and suddenly remembered a movie called *The Green Snake*. The way Bai Niangzi and Xiaoqing swayed, their waists twisting as if boneless, was very similar.

He immediately drew a sharp breath.

The Song brothers had already passed the three minor stages of "perception," "inspection," and "entry into the body" and were now working on opening acupoints. Qi Yunhe gave them some pointers, which seemed appropriate.

When it was Qin Zhen's turn, Qi Yunhe hit the nail on the head. The fire qi from the boiling spring was not dense enough, and she needed to find a better place to cultivate, or her cultivation would stagnate. However, he didn't mention where to find such a place.

Wei Shizheng noticed that Qi Yunhe spoke without hesitation and spoke fluently, but his doubts grew. Observing him closely, the tone and words of Qi Yunhe were subtly different from before. The person in front of him might be an imposter, but upon closer inspection, there were no flaws in his appearance.

"Wei Shizheng, how far have you progressed in your cultivation?"

Qi Yunhe always called him "Shizheng" and never by his full name. Wei Shizheng was clear in his mind and gave vague answers, taking the opportunity to ask about the problems he encountered while cultivating the *Howling Moon Technique*. Qi Yunhe spoke knowledgeably about it.

The *Howling Moon Technique* refined the body, with the essence of moonlight being the best. When the meridians, blood, and flesh were refined to the extreme, they became "crystal clear." Earth qi was the second best, becoming "adamantine." Wood qi was the third best, becoming "iron sandalwood." Water qi was the fourth best, becoming "jade crystal."

The progress of the *Howling Moon Technique* was slow. Opening acupoints and refining the body consumed a large amount of primordial qi, leaving little in the "acquired acupoints." Each step forward required several times the effort. If one's aptitude was poor, it would take even longer.

The complete *Howling Moon Technique* should refine the twelve main meridians and eight extraordinary meridians, opening a total of 365 acupoints, achieving "crystal clear," "adamantine," "iron sandalwood," or "jade crystal." As a second choice, refining several meridians completely was also sufficient to dominate for a time.

However, Qi Yunhe had never mentioned these "body refinement" methods before.