CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 0031: GREAT PROGRESS IN CULTIVATION LEVEL_1

Zhang Bin sat cross-legged in the cave hall, frantically breaking through his meridians. This process involved commanding his True Qi to clear the meridians.

Clearing the meridians was no easy task. One had to wait until reaching the peak of the Lianqi Realm, when their Dantian could no longer expand or accommodate any more True Qi. Only then was there a chance of success.

Zhang Bin felt like a Great General, and his True Qi was an army of countless soldiers. He was now commanding his troops to charge, battling to carve a passage through the obstructed meridians.

Countless soldiers sacrificed themselves, their "corpses" falling along the path only to be devoured by the meridians themselves. As a result, Zhang Bin’s True Qi steadily dwindled.

Hurry, hurry, hurry... Zhang Bin urged them on frantically in his mind. His True Qi soldiers continued to press forward without regard for their own "lives," seizing one fortress after another and opening passage after passage without pause.

Any pause would mean failure. The newly opened meridians would close again, making the next attempt just as difficult.

BOOM!

Finally, Zhang Bin managed to clear a meridian. He actually heard a thunderous sound erupt from his Dantian as it suddenly expanded to twice its original size.

The remaining True Qi swam back and forth through his meridians and Dantian like joyful fish, seemingly celebrating their newfound space.

"Hahaha! I’ve finally cleared a meridian—the Lung Meridian of Hand Taiyin! I’ve reached the Rushing Pulse Realm!" Zhang Bin laughed with joy. "Now I can be considered a doctor. I can treat people’s illnesses!"

He took out his phone to check the time and was surprised to discover that three hours had passed.

Damn, that took three hours. It was so difficult, Zhang Bin lamented internally.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

The Little Fox hadn’t disturbed Zhang Bin’s cultivation at all. Now that he was awake, she pointed at a pile of fruit on the ground and chittered loudly, clearly wanting him to eat.

"My dear Xiao Qian is so good," Zhang Bin praised her, devouring the fruit without hesitation. They were so delicious he nearly swallowed his tongue.

He walked out of the Cave Mansion and began Qi gathering in the forest.

To his delight, he found that after reaching the Rushing Pulse Realm, his ability for Qi gathering had improved dramatically. He could now gather Spiritual Energy from all the plants within a five-meter radius.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t use that much himself, so he let the Little Fox absorb her fill.

He then began to ponder. He realized he had to clear several more meridians. After all, he now had the miraculous Gathering Qi Pills. They could rapidly fill his Dantian with True Qi, which would enable him to clear a second meridian.

Because his Dantian had expanded, it needed to be completely filled with True Qi to build enough pressure to have any chance of clearing a second meridian. He still had seven Gathering Qi Pills left, so it was definitely worth a try.

So, Zhang Bin took another Gathering Qi Pill and began to meditate. The True Qi in his Dantian increased rapidly. Once he became as thin as a twig, he would stop to gather Qi and replenish himself. After replenishing himself, he continued to meditate. There was still some medicinal power remaining from the pill, so his True Qi continued to increase rapidly.

Finally, his Dantian was completely full of True Qi and could hold no more. He then proceeded to break through the second meridian.

He kept at this until the next evening, and by then, he had successively cleared seven meridians in total: the Lung Meridian of Hand Taiyin, the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand Yangming, the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming, the Spleen Meridian of Foot Taiyin, the Heart Meridian of Hand Shaoyin, the Small Intestine Meridian of Hand Taiyang, and the Urinary Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang.

His Dantian had expanded many times over, now resembling a small pond filled with golden True Qi.

Unfortunately, all the Gathering Qi Pills were gone. Not a single one remained.

"Xiao Qian, are there any more Gathering Qi Pills?" Zhang Bin asked, his face full of hope.

The Little Fox shook her head, staring at Zhang Bin as if he were some kind of monster. After all, an ordinary cultivator would have no way to consume Gathering Qi Pills continuously unless they had Spirit Stones or a large amount of Spiritual Medicine to replenish themselves.

"Then do you know how Gathering Qi Pills are refined?" Zhang Bin asked again.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

The Little Fox ran out and returned a moment later, carrying a cylindrical piece of jade the size of a fingertip from the small cave. She placed it in Zhang Bin’s palm.

"What is this?" Zhang Bin asked, looking at it with a puzzled expression.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

The Little Fox pointed to her own head. What could that mean?

Could this jade cylinder contain secrets? Does it have instructions on how to refine elixirs? Zhang Bin murmured to himself.

The Little Fox nodded vigorously.

Zhang Bin’s eyes lit up as inspiration struck. He released his spiritual power, enveloping the jade cylinder. He then felt a flood of information rush into his mind. It contained not only a Cultivation Method but also several Pill Recipes and their Refinement Secret Methods.

The Cultivation Technique was called the Three Purities Secret Technique, left behind by Daoist Elder Taiqing. Unfortunately, this technique could only take a cultivator to the Golden Core Realm and required the use of Spirit Stones, Spiritual Medicine, Spiritual Energy, and Elixirs to practice.

Naturally, it couldn’t compare to his Qingmu Longevity Technique.

However, Zhang Bin still treasured it like a precious gem, as he had obtained several Pill Recipes. While they might be of little use to other cultivators, they were priceless to Zhang Bin, who could perform Qi gathering. He could use Spiritual Energy to cultivate the necessary medicinal herbs and then refine them into Elixirs for his cultivation. If all went well, he had a real hope of reaching the Seed Condensing Realm.

"Hahaha! The gains this time are tremendous!" Zhang Bin laughed joyfully.

Then he asked, "Xiao Qian, where is the Pill Furnace for alchemy?"

The Little Fox walked over to the stone door that wouldn’t open and started chittering.

Zhang Bin immediately understood. Daoist Elder Taiqing hadn’t passed away in the kitchen, but in his Pill Room. Since Daoist Elder Taiqing didn’t think the Little Fox was capable of alchemy, he hadn’t considered leaving the Pill Furnace to her. He then passed away in the Pill Room, sealing the stone door behind him.

Should I force the stone door open to get that Pill Furnace? Maybe he has other cultivation treasures on his body, Zhang Bin wondered, preparing to shatter the stone door.

But the Little Fox grew furious. She desperately blocked the stone door, baring her teeth at Zhang Bin, ready to fight him to the death.

What a loyal fox, Zhang Bin sighed, giving up on the idea. Fine, I’ll just make a Pill Furnace myself later. He relented, abandoning the Pill Furnace and any other treasures inside.

The Little Fox immediately cheered up. She jumped onto Zhang Bin’s shoulder, stuck out her tongue, and affectionately licked his face.

"Wait until you turn into a beautiful woman to kiss me," Zhang Bin said with a mischievous smile, grabbing the Little Fox and setting her down.

A blush actually appeared on Xiao Qian’s furry face. She raised her paws to cover it, looking as if she were too ashamed to be seen.

"Hahaha!" Zhang Bin roared with laughter, amused by the Little Fox’s adorable antics.