Chapter 38

Currently, Zhang Ruochen has nineteen meridians in his body, which is already quite outstanding among martial artists.

With the cultivation of the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm, he can contend with martial artists who have reached the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm.

If he can open up twenty-seven meridians when breaking through to the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm, how powerful would his combat strength be?

After taking the first batch of bone-washing elixir, he spent half an hour to open up the twentieth meridian.

After taking the second batch of bone-washing elixir, he spent two hours to open up the twenty-first meridian.

After taking the third batch of bone-washing elixir, he spent four days to open up the twenty-second meridian.

After taking the fourth batch of bone-washing elixir, he spent half a day to open up the twenty-third meridian.

The more meridians he had in his body, the harder it was to continue opening new ones.

After continuously opening four meridians, the true qi in Zhang Ruochen's qi pool was almost depleted, and his whole body ached, feeling utterly exhausted.

He temporarily stopped and did not immediately try to open the twenty-fourth meridian.

He took out a Three Pure True Qi Pill, swallowed it, and used the pill's energy to restore the true qi in his body.

After a quarter of an hour, the true qi in his qi pool was completely restored, and he felt full of energy again.

Zhang Ruochen placed the meridian diagram of the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture" in front of him and studied it carefully.

The thirty-six meridians and their circulation routes in the diagram had been memorized by Zhang Ruochen so firmly that he could visualize them clearly in his mind even with his eyes closed.

In his previous life, Zhang Ruochen had only managed to open thirty-three meridians, and he could not open the remaining three no matter what.

Those three meridians were the Wheel Meridian, the Blood Spirit Meridian, and the Soul Meridian.

These three meridians were all incredibly mysterious, surpassing the understanding of ordinary martial artists, even transcending martial arts. Otherwise, with Zhang Ruochen's talent in his previous life, it would have been impossible for him not to be able to open them.

The Wheel Meridian is the year ring of a martial artist.

Ordinary people only know that trees grow annual rings, but after cultivating the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture," Zhang Ruochen knew that martial artists could also cultivate annual rings.

Only martial artists who open the Wheel Meridian in their skin can cultivate annual rings.

Each layer of annual rings is a layer of armor.

For every year of cultivation, an additional layer of annual rings is added, and the defensive power of the skin increases accordingly.

The annual rings of a martial artist are incredibly thin and invisible to the naked eye.

Even after a hundred years of cultivation, with a hundred layers of annual rings, the thickness of the skin would not differ much from that of an ordinary person. However, the defensive power of the skin would reach an incredibly terrifying level, making it impervious to blades and flames.

The Blood Spirit Meridian refers to the meridian connected to the blood.

Blood is liquid, and cultivating a gaseous meridian in liquid blood is beyond the understanding of ordinary people. Even Zhang Ruochen doubted whether the Blood Spirit Meridian really existed.

The Soul Meridian is even more mysterious. According to the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture," it is a meridian that exists in the soul of a martial artist, connecting the physical body and the soul.

Once the Soul Meridian is cultivated, a martial artist can see their own soul and even project their soul out of their body. With a single thought, the soul can fly a thousand miles away and see what is happening there.

The Wheel Meridian, Blood Spirit Meridian, and Soul Meridian are so mysterious and beyond the understanding of ordinary martial artists that Zhang Ruochen could not open them in his previous life.

In this life, Zhang Ruochen could not afford to miss any opportunity to improve himself. If he could open these three meridians, his constitution would definitely be even stronger than in his previous life.

"The Wheel Meridian is the most likely to exist among the three meridians. Perhaps there is a chance to open it successfully."

Zhang Ruochen stared at the meridian diagram, fully focusing on the "Wheel Meridian," trying to open it in his skin.

After nine days, Zhang Ruochen had some insights and tried to channel true qi into his skin, but he failed and ended up with injuries all over his body.

"Could it be that the Wheel Meridian doesn't exist?" Zhang Ruochen was drenched in sweat, soaking his clothes.

A voice sounded from the Heavenly Earthly Divine Wood Map, saying, "Young man, the Wheel Meridian does exist, but your method is wrong."

"My method is wrong? What method is correct?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

"Release me, and I will tell you. Don't worry, I have no ill intentions. Even if I wanted to harm you, wouldn't the Heavenly Earthly Divine Wood Map still suppress me? With a single thought, you can put me back into the map," the voice said.

Zhang Ruochen's mind moved, and the Heavenly Earthly Divine Wood Map immediately flew out from his forehead.

Holding the map in his hand, he injected true qi to unlock the seal and released the black giant cat.

"Now you can tell me! How can I open the Wheel Meridian?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

The black giant cat said, "The answer is in your hand."

"In my hand?"

Zhang Ruochen looked at the Heavenly Tree in the painting and suddenly had an epiphany. "The Heavenly Tree?"

The black giant cat nodded, "If you see yourself as a person, you naturally cannot open the Wheel Meridian. If you see yourself as a tree, it might not be so difficult!"

Hearing this, a light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's mind, and he finally broke free from his previous blind spot. He immediately sat down, staring at the Heavenly Tree in the painting, imagining himself as the Heavenly Tree.

For two days, Zhang Ruochen remained motionless, like a ten-thousand-year-old divine tree, his breathing seemingly stopped.

At this moment, he had entered a mysterious state. Under the unconscious control, he swallowed a bottle of bone-washing elixir and immediately began to open the Wheel Meridian.

An hour later, a faint glow emanated from Zhang Ruochen's skin.

A white line flowed on his skin, like a large net enveloping his body.

"Really, he succeeded! Damn, the Wheel Meridian actually exists?" The black giant cat's eyes widened in surprise.

In fact, it didn't know about the Wheel Meridian and had just said it to get Zhang Ruochen to release it.

"Success!"

Zhang Ruochen was incredibly excited, having finally opened the Wheel Meridian.

A meridian like a ray of light coursed through his skin.

Whenever he circulated true qi, a layer of invisible armor formed on his skin. Even if he stood still, ordinary blades could not pierce his skin.

This was the twenty-fourth meridian!

Zhang Ruochen's confidence soared, and he immediately continued to open more meridians, aiming for the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm.

After four more days, he had opened twenty-seven meridians, finally reaching the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm.

After breaking through, the capacity of his qi pool expanded tenfold.

"Twenty-seven meridians, that's great! As long as I keep working hard, I will definitely surpass my previous life. With my current strength, I estimate that a single punch could send a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm flying."

Martial artists at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm can exert a force of twenty-five Newtons.

When Zhang Ruochen first broke through to the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm, he could exert a force of twenty-five Newtons with the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm. When his cultivation reached the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm, he could exert a force of thirty-six Newtons.

Now, having broken through to the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm,

Even without using the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, a single strike could exert a force of thirty-six Newtons. If he used the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, it could reach a force of forty-nine Newtons.

Zhang Ruochen's current maximum burst of strength is forty-nine Newtons, roughly twice the strength of an average martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm.

According to legend, the strongest force a martial artist at the Yellow Extreme Realm can exert is one hundred Newtons, known as the "Ultimate Force," and no one can exceed this limit.

No matter how powerful the martial technique or how strong the constitution, it is impossible to exceed this limit.

In fact, Zhang Ruochen had never seen anyone exert a force of one hundred Newtons at the Yellow Extreme Realm. They could get infinitely close to one hundred Newtons but never reach it.

In his previous life, at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm, he could only exert a force of ninety-four Newtons.

"Young man! I must say, you are almost catching up to me when I was young!" the black giant cat said boastfully.

Zhang Ruochen gradually calmed his excitement, glanced at the black giant cat, and said, "I can now engrave six of the eight basic spatial runes: point-type, horizontal-type, vertical-type, high-type, line-type, and flat-type. However, I cannot engrave the remaining two. Do you know why?"

"What? You can already engrave six runes? How is that possible so quickly?" The black giant cat shook its head, disbelieving Zhang Ruochen's words.

In fact, before breaking through to the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen had already mastered six of the eight basic spatial runes. Three months of practice could not have been without results.

Zhang Ruochen took out six sheets of spirit paper and quickly engraved the six runes on them, presenting them on the spirit paper.

The black giant cat crawled over, stared at the runes on the six sheets of spirit paper, and nodded. "Impressive! Indeed, they are the six basic spatial runes! Of the eight basic runes, you only have the 'expansion-type' and 'compression-type' runes left to master. It's normal, as these two are much harder to engrave. Young man, do you have any jade artifacts?"

"Jade artifacts?"

Zhang Ruochen was a bit puzzled but still took out a jade ring from his thumb and placed it in his palm, asking, "What do you need the jade artifact for?"

The black giant cat glanced at the jade ring and nodded. "The quality of the jade is decent, suitable for refining."

"Refining?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

"Exactly, refining. You have already mastered six of the basic spatial runes and can start refining the simplest spatial true martial treasure, a spatial ring. In the world, only you can refine it."

"What is a spatial ring?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

The black giant cat continued, "It's a ring that creates an independent space inside. If your mental power and cultivation are strong enough, you can even use the ring to contain a mountain or a world. Of course, with your current cultivation, being able to open a one-cubic-meter space is already impressive."