Chapter 504 - 280: Ancient Dragon Bone (2)

He had built the Bihai Sect with his own two hands, witnessing its journey from inception, from weakness to prosperity.

His early efforts had since paid dividends many times over.

Truth be told, if not for the Bihai Sect—his personal Treasure Basin—Lü Zhong would likely be worrying about Spirit Stones right now. He would be forced to act like other Core Formation cultivators, either traveling to Outer Realms like the Nether Abyss Continent to search for precious Spirit Medicines or participating in expeditions to Ancient Secret Realms, living a life of danger and thrills.

Perhaps because he was in high spirits, he lectured until dusk.

"Today’s preaching concludes here. A transcription will be sent to the Inheritance Hall afterward. Furthermore, I expect you all to continue your diligent cultivation. Do not disappoint the Sect and its painstaking efforts to nurture you!"

With that, he transformed into a streak of rainbow light and departed.

The disciples below had been listening, utterly captivated. Upon hearing that the Preaching Conference was over, they couldn’t help but reveal looks of disappointment.

Soon, they sat down cross-legged one after another, closing their eyes. Some even sealed their five senses to better comprehend and internalize the knowledge the patriarch had just imparted.

Occasionally, someone would even have a breakthrough right then and there.

This immediately drew a flurry of envious gazes.

...

The Bihai Sect’s prosperity brought with it many benefits.

As soon as Lü Zhong announced the land expansion decree, Southern Barbaric Clans responded one after another, expressing their desire to relocate their entire families to the Bihai Island Group. The response was enthusiastic, avoiding any awkward silence.

However, Lü Zhong did not accept all of them indiscriminately.

Times had changed.

In the past, to populate Bihai as quickly as possible, he had accepted all comers. It didn’t matter if they were a branch of a major clan, a minor family with a history of misdeeds, or even a family of spies sent by a Southern Barbarian Sect. He took them all in, no questions asked about their origins.

This policy had led to considerable trouble in recent years.

Lü Zhong had to maintain his public image as a wise and powerful patriarch, so he could only let Yu Feng’Er play the role of the enforcer. Only after she had annihilated several treacherous families in a row was the unhealthy trend nipped in the bud.

Now, with another large-scale influx of people, it was necessary to vet these families carefully to avoid similar problems.

The same held true for Loose Cultivators.

The prosperity of the Bihai Island Group was an opportunity for unlanded Loose Cultivators. Renting a Spirit Vein to grow Spirit Rice and Spirit Medicines or to raise various Spiritual Beasts were all good ways to build a fortune. Yet, some inevitably chose to pursue illicit means, forcing the Bihai Sect to expend great effort cracking down on them.

If such practices were allowed to spread, it was only a matter of time before Demon Cultivators began to infiltrate their ranks.

To that end, Lü Zhong went ahead and established the Independent Cultivator Association.

The association could regulate the conduct of Loose Cultivators. While cracking down on lawbreakers, it also protected those who were law-abiding, allowing them to focus on their work in peace.

Rapidly increasing the yield of Spirit Rice and Spirit Medicines was a great boon for both the Loose Cultivators and the Bihai Sect.

...

「One day.」

Lü Zhong finished his daily cultivation session.

Just as usual, his cultivation had barely changed.

This was why many cultivators gave up on advancing. The despair of seeing no progress for years on end, combined with the harsh reality that resources were becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, eventually forced them to abandon any thought of further advancement.

Fortunately, Lü Zhong wasn’t short on resources at the moment, or else he might have started to have an existential crisis himself.

After his midday meal, he returned to the Quiet Chamber to continue his cultivation.

The stars were not visible during the day, making it unsuitable for practicing the Star Devouring Technique. His best option was to cultivate the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra.

This technique had recently shown signs of a breakthrough. He figured that if he refined a bit more of his blood and qi, the opportunity to advance would present itself. Then, with the advantage granted by the Gray Mist Space, he could break through to the twenty-second Acupoint.

’My cultivation is progressing so slowly. Switching to this Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra is a good way to pass the time. It lets me experience what it feels like to be a genius,’ Lü Zhong thought.

He pushed the thought aside and began to circulate the Body Refining Technique.

With each passing day of tempering, his physique grew increasingly inhuman, drawing ever closer to a Flood Dragon Physique. Now that he had opened twenty-one Acupoints, his bones had taken on a jade-like quality. Their strength was comparable to a Magical Artifact, yet they retained a degree of toughness, and his resistance to attacks was on a completely different level than before.

In addition to his bones, his muscles and internal organs had also been strengthened to varying degrees.

Although he hadn’t tested it, Lü Zhong could clearly feel their resistance to things like recoil and shockwaves had significantly improved. No longer would his Gang Qi block an attack only for his blood and qi to be sent into turmoil from the impact.

’It’s coming!’ Lü Zhong calmed his Heart and Spirit, striving to seize the opportunity for a breakthrough.

He had long established a standard procedure for the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra. The moment an opportunity for a breakthrough appeared, he would immediately begin simulating it in the Gray Mist Space. Once he found the correct path, he would test it in reality. After confirming the path was indeed correct, he would push through for the breakthrough all at once.

A while later, a layer of blood-red flames ignited around his body.

Lü Zhong’s figure blurred, and the very air around him began to distort, a result of his powerful Divine Sense interfering with reality. He silently recited the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra and, after completing his simulations in the Gray Mist Space, began to verify the results.

As if pouring oil on a fire, the blood-red flames around him suddenly flared up.

In an instant, the entire Quiet Chamber was bathed in a crimson glow.

The flames continued to swell until they reached a critical point. Then, they abruptly contracted, pouring back into Lü Zhong’s body. His skin turned as red as a boiled shrimp, and beneath it, a network of crimson veins became faintly visible, carrying a sea of blood and qi.

A massive amount of blood and qi converged on the Shenmai acupoint of the Yangqiao meridian.

The human body’s Acupoints are Innately open; there’s no such thing as a blockage to clear. The so-called ’opening’ of an Acupoint is actually the process of expanding its capacity.

In other words, it was like widening a tiny trickle into a torrential river—a process fraught with immense risk, where a single misstep could be fatal.

Aided by the results of his simulations, Lü Zhong was fearless.

There were no surprises.

The twenty-second Acupoint was opened!

Carefully sensing the changes within his body, Lü Zhong found that his physique hadn’t improved by much.

But this was normal. Cultivation was a gradual process, and since this wasn’t a major Acupoint, there was no qualitative leap in his physique. The most noticeable change was that his blood and qi felt slightly more abundant, and his stamina and strength had seen a considerable boost.

In terms of actual combat power, the increase from this breakthrough was negligible.

’My current Body Refining progress probably can’t match a Core Formation Mystic Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Seed level, but I should be able to surpass an ordinary one,’ Lü Zhong mused. ’Even if I fought them head-on with just my fists, I could gain the upper hand with my powerful physique and vast reserves of blood and qi. It wouldn’t be impossible to win.’

But for a Magic Cultivator, focusing on Body Refining to such a degree was, by all accounts, a deviation from his main path.

Pushing the stray thoughts from his mind, he rose and went out to the Waterside Pavilion.

The moonlight flowed like water.

A serving girl quickly brought out tea and refreshments.

Lü Zhong had barely sat down when Yu Feng’Er approached.

The two of them then watched the moon together, cherishing the rare moment. Before they knew it, dawn had arrived. To them, however, it felt as though only a short while had passed.

"Once you reach Core Formation, your sense of time really starts to fade," Lü Zhong remarked.

"It’s true. Years can pass, but I still feel like it all happened just recently." Yu Feng’Er deeply sympathized with his sentiment.

These days, a single session of closed-door cultivation for her could last for years.

It was nothing like her Foundation Establishment days, when she lived one day at a time.

Since they rarely had the chance to be together, they were not about to part so easily.

Lü Zhong’s recent breakthrough had made his blood and qi significantly more potent, which came with considerable side effects.

When he informed Yu Feng’Er of this, she lowered her head bashfully but still agreed. After all, cultivating the Ice Soul Spirit Body for extended periods meant that she, too, sometimes needed to... clear her channels.

Otherwise, she would revert to her previous state, becoming too cold and unapproachable.

「In the days that followed.」

The two focused their energies on resolving these "side effects." One worked on harmonizing his blood and qi, while the other soothed her body. Even their daily meditation and Qi Refining sessions were conducted together. Like an old married couple, inseparable as ever, they cultivated side-by-side, which added a unique charm to their routine.