Chapter 78: The Ultimate Blood Glow

Despite the bloodline within his body still expanding and thickening, the power of the bloodline had already begun to increase more slowly. Shen Chen knew that he had now entered a bottleneck stage in his physical strength. To make significant progress beyond the 50,000 catties of bloodline power, he needed to break through his current cultivation level!

"Huff, huff..." After making his decision, Shen Chen sat down cross-legged again, began to meditate, and prepared to break through to the sixth level of the Blood Fusion Realm.

Previously, he had engaged in continuous bloody battles, which, while nearly costing him his life, also brought him considerable gains. He had long touched the threshold of the sixth level of the Blood Fusion Realm but had been deliberately suppressing it.

It wasn't that Shen Chen didn't yearn for increased strength; in fact, he yearned for it more than anyone. The scene of the Cloud Flow Sect being brutally slaughtered was still vivid in his mind. If possible, he would wish to immediately possess supreme abilities and then launch a powerful attack on the Netherworld Palace, sweeping through that demonic land.

However, many things couldn't be rushed. The process of breaking through to the Blood Fusion Realm in Blackstone Ridge had given Shen Chen great inspiration. The benefits of accumulating strength before a breakthrough were simply indescribable.

Many cultivators made rapid progress in the early stages but quickly stagnated at higher levels of the Blood Fusion Realm, never advancing again. This was mainly due to an insufficient foundation. Understanding this, Shen Chen dared not seek short-term gains. He had been accumulating strength for a long time, waiting for the best opportunity to break through.

And now, the opportunity had come!

A large amount of blackstone fish flesh had entered his body, and the blood qi capacity in his meridians far exceeded the requirements for breaking through to the sixth level. The previous battles had also provided Shen Chen with a lot of valuable experience. Now was the perfect time to accumulate and break through, advancing rapidly!

As he pondered, Shen Chen's mind quickly entered a state of spiritual clarity. The *Spirit Concentration and Inquiry Technique* began to circulate slowly. In the last meridian of his left arm, several major acupoints were being washed and cleansed by a vast amount of blood qi, gradually recovering and becoming unblocked from their previously almost completely blocked state!

This process was quite different from the usual method of cultivators breaking through to higher levels. Generally, when cultivators used blood qi to impact their meridians, they did it step by step, breaking through each of the nine major acupoints one by one.

Such a method not only had an element of luck but also easily damaged the body's foundation. Of course, the relative difficulty was the lowest, and it was widely adopted by most cultivators in the Blood Fusion Realm!

However, the path Shen Chen had discovered through the memories of the Old Ghost of the Dark Spring and his past experiences was different. At this moment, the nine unconnected major acupoints in the last meridian of his left arm were being washed and cleansed simultaneously, resonating with each other in a mysterious way!

At the same time, a new blood glow was gradually appearing on his left arm, becoming increasingly clear and distinct.

This was an extremely unconventional process. The blood glow appeared before the acupoints were unblocked and the meridians were smooth. If this scene were seen by ordinary cultivators, they would be utterly amazed. It was simply too incredible.

In fact, even Shen Chen himself didn't know that the path he was taking was the same one used by the talented descendants of major forces throughout history. Unlike the descendants of those major forces, who had terrifyingly powerful elders to guide them, Shen Chen had only relied on some clues from the past and the memories of the Old Ghost of the Dark Spring to find this path.

It had to be said that not only was Shen Chen's soul exceptionally powerful, but his cultivation talent was also terrifying. No wonder people like Liao Yan from the Cloud Flow Sect had called him a monster...

...

"Huff... So this is the correct path..."

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Chen slowly opened his eyes, a hint of joy on his face. All the major acupoints in his left arm were now unblocked, and all three meridians were fully open. From now on, he was a genuine sixth-level Blood Fusion Realm cultivator. If he were to fight Senior Brother Qi Zheng again, he would likely win decisively, rather than ending in a stalemate as before.

This breakthrough was a natural progression. Even though he encountered some difficulties, the overall direction always followed a certain rhythm, proceeding in an orderly manner, which was simply wonderful!

"Hmm, this bloodline seems a bit strange..." Subsequently, Shen Chen slowly lowered his head and soon noticed that the new blood glow on his left arm was much thicker and more solid than the previous two, no longer a faint green mist but more like a prominent green rainbow flowing through his arm.

Any discerning person could see that this new blood glow was clearly much more powerful than the previous five, including the one on his head. Exactly how much more powerful, Shen Chen couldn't determine without a sparring partner, but there was no doubt that more similar blood glows were better!

"Right, in the past, I always broke through one acupoint at a time. Although my cultivation level increased, it was only a basic breakthrough, and various potentials were inadvertently buried..." After some thought, Shen Chen suddenly realized. He had always been puzzled: logically, even among ten fingers, there are differences in length. How could the cultivation foundation of cultivators differ only in terms of realm?

Logically, even at the same realm and level, the combat power of cultivators should vary. Only then would it align with the "infinite possibilities" of the vast universe!

Now, Shen Chen finally understood. The principle was correct; he just hadn't understood the path of cultivation well enough before...

"Hehe, this blood glow is too conspicuous. It doesn't fit my style of being low-key in life but high-profile in action. Since I've made this blood glow so thick and solid, I can't treat it differently. I might as well re-baptize the six blood glows I've already opened..."

Shen Chen laughed shamelessly, applying the principle to find a way to significantly enhance his combat power. Immediately, he closed his eyes again, and the *Spirit Concentration and Inquiry Technique* began to circulate once more, starting to baptize the remaining six bloodlines in the same way.

This process was extremely draining, and each baptism of a meridian consumed a lot of blood qi. Even with Shen Chen's current bloodline capacity of nearly 60,000 catties, he could only baptize one meridian at a time.

However, Shen Chen wasn't worried about a lack of blood qi. Each time he exhausted the blood qi in his dantian and meridians, he would temporarily stop and then use the ancient mirror in his mind to wreak havoc on the blackstone fish in the underground dark river.

Such a crazy action treated the blackstone fish, known as a "rare treasure of the world," like ordinary pork or cabbage, which, if seen by outsiders, would likely make even a prince or a general spit blood in anger. It was extravagance beyond reason...

It took Shen Chen nearly four to five days to baptize the six meridians. The blackstone fish he consumed during this period could have bought several cities.

Moreover, Shen Chen was not ashamed. After baptizing the six blood glows to the same level as the one on his left arm, he continued to capture and consume blackstone fish for a long time, until the thickness and robustness of his bloodlines approached their limit and could no longer change, before he stopped.

This was also a crazy action. Others dreamed of a single blackstone fish to enhance their bloodline, but he had taken this path to its extreme, a rarity in history!

"I now have about 70,000 catties of bloodline power. It seems that breaking through the 100,000 catties limit when reaching the twelfth level of the Blood Fusion Realm won't be difficult!" In the endless darkness, Shen Chen was overjoyed. Being forced into this dire situation had truly proven the old saying: "After a dark path, there is always a bright village." The great opportunity he had gained in this dire situation was something others could never achieve in several lifetimes!

However, after the joy, Shen Chen gradually calmed down and began to worry about how to escape this endless underground dark river.

According to Shen Chen's rough estimate, he had been in the underground dark river for about a month, and there was still no sign of seeing the light of day. This was truly distressing for Shen Chen, as he did not want to spend his entire life trapped in this dark and desolate place.

On the other hand, although he had the blackstone fish, a "rare treasure of the world," as company, Shen Chen was still worried about his future food supply. If he were to be washed away to a desolate underground water area one day, he couldn't possibly eat stalactites or pebbles from the water, could he?

Shen Chen had a good appetite, but he wasn't so extraordinary as to be able to digest stones like the blackstone fish...

"Wait... stones?"

As he thought bitterly, a sudden flash of inspiration came to Shen Chen. After drifting in this water for nearly a month, he seemed to have overlooked something!

"Right, with so many blackstone fish nearby, could there be...?" In the next moment, Shen Chen's pupils suddenly constricted, and the name of a world-renowned treasure came to mind, making his breathing quicken.

"Whether or not it's nearby, surviving the fall into the underground dark river and encountering so many blackstone fish, if I don't search, even the heavens would look down on me. Hehehe..."

Shen Chen began to laugh shamelessly to himself. This place was so dull, it was as if no birds would defecate here. With a lot of free time, his old hooligan nature from his past life inadvertently showed through.

Immediately, Shen Chen stopped daydreaming and decided to take action. He kicked with his legs and swam with his arms, moving like a frog in the water.

The water barrier around his body, which was like a layer of bubbles, was very accommodating, changing shape to follow his movements no matter how he moved.

However, a new problem soon arose. Now that Shen Chen had reached the sixth level of the Blood Fusion Realm and had an extremely abundant bloodline, he didn't have to worry