Chapter 36

The hot spring spewed pungent mist, gurgling, and Wei Shizhi, stripped naked, plopped into the hot water, his body turning red from the heat, and he moaned in comfort.

His pores relaxed, and his muscles loosened. Wei Shizhi felt the heat of the hot spring, and in his heart, he secretly planned. If the poison from the pill really flared up a hundred or eighty times, it would last about two years. The beauty python’s flesh in the Penglai bag would last at most half a year if he was frugal. He had to obtain enough demon flesh within this half a year.

His only choice was the Ghost Gate Abyss.

Wei Shizhi was self-aware. With his somewhat strong body and a bit of military combat techniques, he wouldn’t stand a chance against a seasoned old demon like Grandma, let alone the dead old bear in Black Pine Valley. He urgently needed to enhance his strength, get a divine weapon, and learn a martial arts manual.

The *Taiyi Foundation Building Scripture* is the introductory cultivation method for sword practitioners, divided into three steps: the first step is to open the acquired orifices, the second step is to connect the meridians, and the third step is to form the Dao embryo. Wei Shizhi had already opened five "acquired orifices" with the incomplete *Howling Moon Technique*, which was equivalent to the first step of the *Taiyi Foundation Building Scripture*. The second step of connecting the meridians was still far off.

Wei Shizhi stayed in the hot spring for over a month, enduring five outbreaks of the pill’s poison, and finally opened the sixth "acquired orifice" — the Dazhui point. The Dazhui point is located at the highest protrusion of the seventh cervical vertebra, where yang energy is abundant and solid, like a mallet. It is a crucial point where the three yang meridians of the hands and feet meet the Governor Vessel.

With this, Wei Shizhi had connected the six orifices of the Governor Vessel: Dazhui, Taodao, Shenzhu, Shendao, Lingtai, and Zhongyang. The earth qi of the艮 (Gen) element flowed continuously, forming the first complete tidal cycle, lasting for three full hours.

During these three hours, Wei Shizhi felt the earth qi ebb and flow like tides, experiencing every subtle change in his body, completely absorbed and moved to tears. The *Taiyi Foundation Building Scripture* never mentioned the "qi tidal cycle," and the *Howling Moon Technique* is a body-refining method. After opening the acquired orifices, he had taken a completely different path.

As the sky gradually brightened, Wei Shizhi felt his energy surging, and he jumped out of the hot spring, assuming a stance to practice combat techniques. With every movement, each strike produced a sharp sonic boom. His fists, feet, elbows, knees, shoulders, waist, and back all moved with perfect ease. After practicing over ten times, the sonic booms gradually became lighter and eventually silent, but the power of his strikes was far greater than before.

Wei Shizhi finished his practice, stood tall, and the essence of the combat techniques flowed through his heart like a clear stream. He knew that with time, as the *Howling Moon Technique* continued to refine his body, his striking power might continue to improve, but the combat techniques had already reached their peak and would not advance further.

It was time to venture into the Ghost Gate Abyss.

Wei Shizhi made up his mind, bent down to pick up his clothes, and before he could put them on, he heard a light footsteps behind him, followed by a scream: "Senior Brother, you... you... you... why aren’t you wearing clothes!"

Wei Shizhi remained calm and said, "I just soaked in the hot spring, and I haven’t had time to get dressed yet." He slowly put on his clothes, turned around, and saw Qin Zhen facing away from him, her neck slightly flushed.

Wei Shizhi walked up to her, leaned in, and kissed her on the cheek. Qin Zhen let out a scream, jumping aside like a startled deer, covering her face and opening her eyes wide, her lips trembling, unable to speak.

Wei Shizhi took her hand and led her to the side, tilting his head to look at her, smiling without a word. Qin Zhen’s heart pounded, like fifteen buckets of water being drawn, seven up and eight down. Her mind was filled with only one embarrassing thought: Senior Brother’s physique is really good...

"I’ve opened another orifice, and I’m feeling great."

Qin Zhen stammered, "C... Congratulations, Senior Brother."

"How about your progress?"

"I’m still stuck at the Tianjing point, with no improvement." Talking about cultivation, Qin Zhen gradually calmed down. She had opened the "Zhigou," "Huizong," "Sanyangluo," and "Sudu" points, achieving them all in one go, but she hit a bottleneck at the Tianjing point and had been stuck for a long time, unable to break through.

Wei Shizhi hesitated for a moment and told her about the Ghost Gate Abyss and Xun Ye’s intentions, suggesting she think carefully about whether to take the chance.

Qin Zhen blinked her eyes, her lashes like black feathers, and asked, "Senior Brother, are you going to the Ghost Gate Abyss?"

Wei Shizhi didn’t hide it from her and said, "Going to the Ghost Gate Abyss is risky, but it’s also an opportunity. I have a reason I must go."

Qin Zhen found it a bit strange. Senior Brother’s affinity is with earth, and the Ghost Gate Abyss is filled with intense fire qi, which is not conducive to his cultivation. Why take the risk? But then she thought, Senior Brother said he must go, so there must be some hidden reason. She didn’t ask further and said, "Alright, I’ll go with you."

"Have you thought it through? This trip might mean you can’t come back."

"Wherever you go, I’ll go." Qin Zhen’s eyes sparkled. She reached out and hugged Wei Shizhi’s arm, holding it tightly to her chest, her heart full of joy, thinking, does this count as sharing life and death?

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