From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

It was midnight.

Moonlight streamed through the window, falling on Zhu Hong's sweat-drenched back.

He focused his mind and practiced the Crouching Tiger Fist in the small room, sweating profusely. As time passed, powerful energy rose from his dantian and flowed throughout his limbs and bones. It traveled from the "Foot Yangming" tendon in his torso to the "Foot Shaoyang" tendon.

Finally, just as it was about to rush towards the "foot sacrum", it suddenly stopped.

This meridian runs along both sides of the spine on the back, from the shoulder blades down, through the lumbar region, to the sacrum. It is the thickest "keel" on the back of the torso, covering the entire back, and connecting with the fascia of the arms and legs, serving as a "transfer station" for the fascia throughout the body.

The medicinal effects surged forth.

Zhu Hong suddenly felt a blockage in his blood and qi, and a throbbing, splitting pain.

"No destruction, no construction!"

He let out a low shout, suppressing all his composure and guiding his blood and qi to rush towards the blocked area.

Suddenly...

All the constraints on his body shattered, like solid ice breaking open, a torrent bursting forth from the valley, and the powerful heat of true energy surged endlessly within his body.

Article 9.

The fascia is loose.

First, I felt warmth in my shoulder blades, as if someone had applied a hot towel to them. The warm current spread down my spine, paused briefly at the lumbar region, and then suddenly flowed through, making a "buzzing" vibration, all the way to my sacrum.

soon.

The warm current meanders up the spine and then returns, converging again at the shoulder blades.

It repeats itself endlessly, forming a cycle.

Zhu Hong shuddered violently, feeling fine beads of blood seeping from his pores. These blood beads were then transformed into wisps of white vapor by the rising energy within his body, rising gently like smoke swirling around a beam.

In a short time.

He could clearly perceive:

The waist and back are already like iron chains, interlocked segment by segment, and every vertebra of the spine is as lively as a dragon.

I suddenly felt as light as a swallow.

"The Foot Taiyang Tendon has finally been successfully refined." Zhu Hong was initially overjoyed, then focused his mind and pondered, "The medicinal power still has 20% remaining. I wonder if I can refine the Foot Jueyin Tendon as well?"

now.

With nine meridians connected, the strength is at least eight stones or more.

It's only two stones away from the ten strengths touted by those who have achieved minor mastery of tendon refining. Moreover, this is the strength of someone who hasn't even truly entered the realm of tendon refining.

really.

In the path of cultivation, innate talent and physical constitution are paramount.

Suddenly, the moment his mind wandered, the remaining medicinal power in his body became uncontrollable, rampaging wildly and unruly through his meridians.

Zhu Hong's mind sharpened, and he thought to himself:

"Let's give it a try."

He immediately drew upon the medicinal power, directing it towards the depths of his lower abdomen, intending to break through the tenth Foot Jueyin Meridian.

This meridian originates in the lower abdomen.

It travels along the inner thigh, communicating with the Qi of the liver and kidneys.

Unlike the previous meridians, which are thick and prominent, it is hidden deep in the abdomen, like the roots of an ancient tree planted deep underground. It is difficult to touch, and even touching it requires mental and physical exertion, yet it is connected to the very foundation of one's vital energy.

The medicinal effects collided violently!

But it felt like hitting an invisible barrier.

The barrier was thick and tough; the force of the medicine struck it like an egg hitting a rock, and it was instantly bounced back. Zhu Hong felt a sudden contraction in his lower abdomen, and a surge of suffocating air rushed into his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

But he did not stop there.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Hong forcefully twisted the scattered medicinal power into a single force and slammed it into the barrier once more.

This time.

The medicine finally managed to penetrate a sliver of light.

But once it falls into those meridians, it vanishes like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

"Again."

Zhu Hong focused intently on maintaining his spirit, thus activating the remaining medicinal power.

He exerted all his strength, gathering the remaining medicinal power into a torrent, and slammed it fiercely into that meridian barrier.

"puff!"

The effects of the medicine were still rebounding, causing his blood and qi to surge uncontrollably.

and.

It was at this moment.

A strange feeling suddenly arose in Zhu Hong's heart.

He suddenly realized that a small amount of medicinal power had quietly diverted as he was attacking his tenth meridian. Instead of following the meridian, the medicinal power traveled up his spine, through his neck and brain, and directly into the depths of his brow.

During the previous surges, this diversion was negligible.

However, after several repetitions, the medicinal power became increasingly greedy, devouring nearly half of the medicinal power, making it difficult for the already meager medicinal power to sustain the refining and breakthrough process.

"This is……?"

Zhu Hongwei was taken aback.

He traced the path of the medicine's loss, his mind finally settling on the depths of his brow.

The place where the soul resides:

Niwan Palace.

Upon peering inside, the palace was pitch black and gloomy, and thoughts drifted like sandstorms, making it impossible to discern directions.

Zhu Hong was immediately filled with doubt.

This was the first time he had touched the Niwan Palace with his divine sense. Generally speaking, the Niwan Palace is the "upper dantian" of a spiritual cultivator. It is the dwelling place of the soul and the house of the spirit. If one does not cultivate spiritual techniques, one cannot transcend the "mortal soul" and cannot calm the mind or look inward.

He had never felt this way before.

Suddenly, as my thoughts wandered aimlessly, a tiny light, as small as a bean or as bright as a firefly, appeared in the depths of darkness. The light was extremely faint, yet it stood out starkly against the vast darkness, like the first rays of dawn in an ancient night.

"Where does this glimmer of light come from?"

Zhu Hong's mind suddenly focused, and his thoughts involuntarily followed that point of shimmering light.

The closer you are, the clearer you can see.

That tiny glimmer of light flickered and swayed in the darkness, flashing several times, like a lone lamp in the wind, or a tender bud after the rain, so fragile that it could collapse at any moment.

Just as the thought was about to cross his mind.

next moment.

The light faded completely, and the space between his brows returned to chaos and emptiness. Countless distracting thoughts swirled like a raging sandstorm, and that glimmer of light just now seemed like a fleeting dream.

"It's dissipated..."

Zhu Hong frowned slightly.

As soon as the faint light went out, he was once again lost in this silent chaos.

However, this feeling only lasted for a moment.

A moment later, a powerful repulsive force suddenly surged up from within the Niwan Palace, grabbing his mind that had crashed in without warning, and violently throwing it back to its original position.

Zhu Hong stood there blankly for a long time before his mind slowly returned to normal.

He lightly touched his brow with his fingertip, a strange and indescribable feeling rising within him. The state of mind he had just experienced was one of clarity he had never felt before in his cultivation, a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

However, it didn't last.

"That's quite strange."

Zhu Hong murmured to himself, a slight frown appearing between his brows.

However, he had a vague suspicion that it was related to the White Yuan Fruit. The White Yuan Fruit has two medicinal properties: the yang energy helps martial artists warm their muscles and expand their meridians, while the yin energy can nourish the soul and greatly benefit cultivators by clearing their minds.

Can……

I have never heard of any martial arts practitioner who can absorb the medicinal power to nourish their soul.

"That's really strange, where exactly is the crux of the problem?"

After thinking for a long time, I was still limited by my limited perspective and couldn't figure out the mystery.

"I don't want to think about it anymore."

Zhu Hong suppressed his distracting thoughts, feeling frustrated: "I'll ask a knowledgeable cultivator for guidance when I meet one in the future." Then, he focused his mind and examined his body. The remaining medicinal power in his body was almost gone, so little that it could no longer even be gentle with the originally violent medicinal power. It was so weak that it would be fine even without any control.

However, this little bit of medicinal effect is all it has now.

His desire to cultivate a tenth meridian is undoubtedly a pipe dream.