The nature of the purple elixir was profoundly mystical. During its passage, the elixir spun relentlessly, nourishing and expanding the taut, furnace-like meridians. Though the path was painful, no actual injury occurred.

As the purple elixir moved past, the meridians contracted, yet they were substantially wider than before.

To force the purple elixir through the meridians was a brute-force method, unreasonable perhaps, but astonishingly effective. Once the elixir passed, the meridians opened up, transforming from narrow sheep tracks into broad pathways.

This result was utterly incomparable to the slow, gentle nourishing and strengthening achieved by regular internal energy circulation—it was like comparing mud to the clouds.

He redoubled his efforts, circulating the elixir for several more cycles.

The purple elixir moved faster and faster, and the resistance from the meridians grew weaker. By the end, the passage was incredibly smooth, completing a full cycle in the blink of an eye, almost matching the speed of normal internal energy transit.

Satisfied, he concluded his practice, feeling an extraordinary lightness throughout his body, as if a mere gust of wind could lift him away.

He opened his eyes, extended his right palm, and gently pushed. The purple elixir instantly swirled, and a burst of internal energy shot out. With a soft whistle, like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, it lifted the bead curtain two feet away.

"Zhanran, you're awake?" Xiaoyuan lifted the curtain and entered, feigning annoyance. "What did the curtain ever do to bother you?"

Li Muzhan retracted his palm and smiled. "Xiaoyuan, what time is it?"

Xiaoyuan hopped onto the carriage and nudged him backward.

A faint, lovely fragrance reached his nose. He shifted back slightly and laughed, "How long was I in seclusion?"

"Seven whole days!" Xiaoyuan pouted, leaning in close to sniff him.

Li Muzhan flinched and gave a wry smile. "Seven days... what was I doing?"

Xiaoyuan chirped, "The last time you secluded yourself for this long, it was terrifying! You put me and Miss through such an ordeal. This time is better; at least you haven't started to stink!" Li Muzhan chuckled, "Let's get something to eat."

"Mm, I’ve been waiting for you. I cooked some porridge." Xiaoyuan lightly hopped down again.

Li Muzhan shook his head with a bittersweet smile. These past days, he had been consumed by practicing the Gazing at Heaven and Illumining the Spirit Scripture. Upon waking, he immediately began circulating the purple elixir, as if possessed. Now that he was awake, seven days had vanished.

Xiaoyuan soon returned, carrying a small bowl of white fungus congee, the aroma instantly filling the carriage.

"You just woke up, you can't eat much. Just this one bowl," Xiaoyuan instructed.

Li Muzhan felt the carriage was still moving. He took the small bowl and smiled, "Haven't we reached Fengming City yet?"

Xiaoyuan replied, "Miss says we’ll be there in another two days."

Li Muzhan began eating with the spoon. It was soft, glutinous, and delicately fragrant, dissolving the moment it touched his mouth. He looked up and smiled, "Xiaoyuan, your porridge is unparalleled!"

Xiaoyuan beamed with delight. "Hee hee, I made a fresh bowl every day, waiting for you to wake up. This is the sixth bowl I've made!"

"What about Miss and Senior Sister Gong?" Li Muzhan asked as he ate.

Xiaoyuan said, "Miss and Sister Gong are in the other carriage. They didn't want to disturb your cultivation."

Though Li Muzhan's meditative skills were profound, these seven days had taken a massive toll. Waking up suddenly, he felt intensely starved. This single bowl of porridge was like sweet dew after a long drought.

Xiaoyuan took the empty bowl and left the carriage, quickly returning with a vermilion lacquered wooden box. She hopped back onto the carriage and sat in front of Li Muzhan. "Zhanran, this is the set of arrows Miss prepared for you."

Saying this, she opened the wooden box, revealing a pile of short arrows, about forty or fifty in total. They were only half the length of standard arrows, but their tips gleamed with cold light.

"Miss took such care," Li Muzhan smiled, picking up an arrow. A small, pure white bow slid from his sleeve. He nocked the short arrow onto it and pointed toward the curtain outside.

The pure white bow was inscribed with two small characters: "Wugou" (Immaculate). Li Muzhan felt the name suited it perfectly.

He was holding the Wugou Bow, testing its draw weight, contemplating where to shoot, when a jade-like face suddenly appeared outside the curtain—delicate brows, phoenix eyes, dignified and cold beauty. It was Mei Ruolan.

Li Muzhan slowly lowered the bow and gave a slight bow. "Miss, thank you very much."

Mei Ruolan smiled and shook her head. Gong Qingyun stood behind her; her gaze flickered and met his, and Li Muzhan felt the warmth of her concern.

"It seems your martial arts have advanced greatly. Congratulations," Mei Ruolan said with a smile.

At this moment, Li Muzhan's spirit and vigor were completely withdrawn; the previous sharpness was gone. He now appeared as if he knew no martial arts at all—this state was the ultimate return to simplicity.

Li Muzhan smiled and invited them in, offering to step out himself. Mei Ruolan waved her hand gently. "Forget it. We'll leave this carriage to you. Rather than walking, you can practice cultivation in here. Qingyun and I have another carriage."

Li Muzhan did not press the issue and thanked her with a smile.

Mei Ruolan said no more, arranging for Xiaoyuan to stay and look after him, then turned and left with Gong Qingyun, returning to the carriage in front.

As she turned away, Gong Qingyun glanced back at him once more.

Xiaoyuan settled beside him, watching him peruse a Daoist scripture. She leaned over and giggled, "Zhanran, is that Ziyang Stele really that amazing?"

Li Muzhan put down the book and smiled slyly. "Do you want to try cultivating it?"

Xiaoyuan looked a bit hesitant and shook her head. "That wouldn't be right... Sect Leader Lin gifted that to you. How could I possibly try it?"

Li Muzhan let out a soft laugh. Xiaoyuan's pretty face flushed red, and she shot him an annoyed look.

Li Muzhan chuckled, "Xiaoyuan, although this technique isn't as difficult as the Indestructible Golden Body skill, achieving mastery is still no easy feat."

"Then why did you let Miss try it?" Xiaoyuan pouted.

Li Muzhan explained, "Miss has exceptionally high aptitude and quick comprehension. Perhaps she can succeed."

In his heart, however, he was not optimistic about Mei Ruolan; the Ziyang Stele was simply too hard to master.

Xiaoyuan's bright eyes widened. "I see! You're criticizing me indirectly. You think I'm the slowest one, don't you? Don't you?"

Li Muzhan roared with laughter, provoking a flurry of playful punches from Xiaoyuan.

Xiaoyuan ultimately practiced a reluctant, hesitant session of the Ziyang Stele technique, trying to cultivate it as Li Muzhan had shown, but nothing stirred within her. She finally gave up with a sullen expression.

The essence and spirit needed to gather in the Dantian, requiring a long process of gestation and transformation before thunder and wind could manifest. His spirit was powerful, which aided the process; those with weaker spirits would require significantly longer. If one's spirit was weaker, the incubation time would stretch, yet the weaker the spirit, the shorter their period of sustained meditative stillness. To truly master the Ziyang Stele would be impossible for them.

After Li Muzhan explained this to her, Xiaoyuan reluctantly ceased, sulking for a full hour.

Night descended, and they made camp in a wilderness area.

Li Muzhan sat alone in his carriage, silently circulating his energy. Earlier, when they were setting up camp, Xiaoyuan had been teased a few more times by Li Muzhan, leaving her quite irritated. In defiance, she sat down next to him and began to cultivate, challenging the Ziyang Stele fiercely.

The moonlight was like water, and the surroundings were utterly silent. Everyone had eaten and settled down; the horses stood still, languid and unmoving.

Suddenly, Li Muzhan opened his eyes and let out a long cry toward the sky.

The cry surged like a tide, rolling through the night air. The guards were startled awake, instantly grabbing their swords and observing alertly, though they maintained their formation, remaining frozen in place, four to a group.

Li Muzhan whispered, "Xiaoyuan, bring my arrows."

"Someone's there?" Xiaoyuan opened her eyes and quickly fetched the wooden box.

Li Muzhan floated onto the roof of the carriage. Xiaoyuan followed, opened the box, and handed him a short arrow. Li Muzhan took it, nocked it onto the pure white Wugou Bow, and shouted long and loud, "Friends in the woods, why not show yourselves for a meeting?"

Mei Ruolan floated over gracefully, leaping onto the carriage roof. She whispered, "Who is it?"

She secretly marveled. Neither she nor the two Elders had heard any sound, yet Zhanran could detect them. Such a level of internal energy cultivation was truly astonishing; the Ziyang Stele was clearly formidable.

Li Muzhan shook his head, his arm moving slightly. The Wugou Bow trembled, and a faint purple light shot forth, piercing the air.

With a muffled thud, a sound came from the woods a hundred meters away.

When they made camp, they had already set precautions against surprise attacks, positioning themselves a hundred meters from the western woods. Any further, and the eastern terrain would be disadvantageous.

Xiaoyuan exclaimed, "There really is someone there!"

Li Muzhan shot her a sideways glance and huffed, "Arrow!"

Xiaoyuan stuck out her tongue, quickly handing over another short arrow. Li Muzhan took it, the Wugou Bow trembled, and the arrow transformed into a streak of faint purple light. In the woods, there sounded another "thud."

Li Muzhan’s face held a cold smile. He said no more, merely taking an arrow and shooting it, one after another. Streaks of purple light sliced through the night sky. Muffled groans, cries of pain, and impacts sounded continuously from the woods.

Xiaoyuan's face was flushed with excitement, her eyes glowing. She kept handing over the short arrows; in a blink, she had delivered ten of them.

"Stop!" A furious shout rang out, followed by a group of people rushing forward.

There were about two hundred of them. They stopped halfway, about fifty meters out, and an aged voice commanded, "Loose your arrows!"

The two hundred men instantly drew their bows and released their shafts. Suddenly, arrows rained down like dark clouds, enveloping the Mei Manor convoy.

The guards, working in groups of four, shielded the front of the carriages, their swords chopping down the incoming arrows. The clang sounded ceaselessly, like a torrential downpour hitting roof tiles.

Li Muzhan remained calm, stating indifferently, "Xiaoyuan, arrow!"

Xiaoyuan was stunned for a moment, then snapped back to reality, handing over a short arrow, which Li Muzhan transformed into a streak of purple light and shot forth.

"Thump!" A figure flew out from the crowd, as if struck by a massive log, traveling two Zhang [approx. 6.6 meters] through the air before crashing heavily behind the others, sliding another Zhang after landing.

Xiaoyuan stuck out her tongue, amazed that Li Muzhan’s small arrow possessed such devastating power.

At this sight, the morale of the attackers was greatly bolstered.

Li Muzhan’s expression did not change. He continued drawing and shooting; another person in the opposing group flew upward.

The Wugou Bow was inherently powerful, and now he infused it with the Arrow-Anchoring Art, coating the shafts with robust internal energy. When an arrow struck a person, even if it missed a vital spot, the released internal energy was irresistible.

At this moment, his internal energy was vast, his meridians wide, and the depth of his power had tripled. Imbuing the arrows with this energy was like upgrading weaponry—the power was incomparable.

Li Muzhan murmured, "Two arrows." Xiaoyuan quickly handed him two short arrows. He pinched one between his thumb and index finger, and the other between his pinky and ring finger, shooting the first one first.

"Whoosh!" Like the roar of a fierce tiger, a purple light erupted. The aged man at the front swung his saber, instantly shattering the first purple light, but the second streak of light was already upon him.

This second arrow moved silently. The internal energy from the first strike had already burrowed into his meridians, rushing toward his Dantian like a serpent. He was focused on resisting and trying to evade the first impact, leaving him unable to react to the second.

"Bang!" He was hurled away, flying far over the heads of the crowd.

"Deputy Hall Master!" the crowd cried out in alarm.

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