With his brow relaxed, Zong Shou once again regulated his breathing. Seated within the medicinal tub, he continued to guide the power of the herbs within him, bit by bit transforming it into spiritual energy that flooded his viscera and every corner of his being.

What he was employing now was the Inner Breathing Guiding Technique, a branch of the broader Guiding Arts. Lacking the corresponding physical stances, it naturally could not utilize every wisp of spiritual energy to its absolute maximum, unlike the latter.

Chu Xue’s technique of meridian-point massage was clearly a superior, secret inheritance. Aided by her genuine qi, the speed at which the medicinal power was refined far surpassed his Guiding Technique by tens or even hundreds of times. However, in terms of uniformity and meticulous detail, it fell far short.

At this moment, Zong Shou was converting the yet-unassimilated medicinal essence within him into spiritual energy. He did not expect these herbs to cure his dual-meridian constitution, nor did he dare to further strengthen his bloodline origin, which would only worsen the root of his ailment. Thus, he could only strive to fortify his body.

These vital essences from the herbs were too precious to waste away idly.

It took only about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before Zong Shou had thoroughly washed and combed through nearly every corner of his limbs and bones. He stopped only when the throbbing pain within his meridians became almost unbearable.

While this medicinal bath could indeed strengthen the physical body and bolster qi and blood, it required a gradual progression, a slow improvement; one could not rush it. A session every ten days was the most appropriate interval for buffering.

Yet, when Zong Shou opened his eyes again, looking at the deeply fragrant liquid still surrounding him, he could not help but sigh once more.

He was immensely suspicious of whether that so-called ‘famous physician’ truly understood pharmacology. The formula for the Five Ginseng Blood-Nourishing Decoction was simply extravagant, using only rare and precious ingredients. However, less than a tenth of the medicinal power could actually be absorbed by the human body.

If he were formulating the medicine, the efficacy could be increased by at least threefold. And if his body were whole, without the affliction of the dual meridians, he could even use its power, combined with his self-created Inner Breathing Guiding Technique, to directly carve open a Wheel Meridian and step onto the path of Martial Cultivation.

“—Alas, I cannot even perform normal internal breathing and exhalation now. Internal qi simply cannot circulate within the meridians. If it were only pain, that would be one thing, but I fear the qi splitting through the dual meridians, conflicting with itself, which might easily lead to death. Is there truly no way?”

After thinking for a long time without resolution, Zong Shou prepared to rise from the tub. The moment he stood up, a passage of scripture suddenly resurfaced in his mind. It was not demonic script, but an ancient tally!

To observe the Way of Heaven, to discern the actions of Heaven; the Heavenly Way is constant, returning without fail. When the moon waxes and wanes, form is displayed; a moment of fortune can turn to disaster, a moment of disaster can be turned to use—

“Why is it the Devouring Origin Technique again?”

Zong Shou’s eyes snapped open, his body freezing in place. He was intimately familiar with this passage. It originated from the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Scripture.

It contained no martial arts, only obscure scriptures and martial secrets. For unknown reasons, this heretical and subversive scripture, which should have been utterly banned by all the sacred lands, had somehow circulated within the God-Emperor Game, albeit on an extremely small scale, leading to millions of player deaths over three years.

Zong Shou had fortuitously obtained a copied version of the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Scripture. He dared not practice it rashly, instead spending his time probing for methods to modify and perfect it, but gained little. He could only borrow fragments of its essential meaning and integrate them into other martial arts. Over time, the very thought of creating martial arts solely relying on this scripture had faded.

However, in these past few days, perhaps due to his utter despair regarding his current condition, Zong Shou found himself recalling this scripture intermittently, unable to resist the urge.

“—The Way of Heaven diminishes the excess and replenishes the deficient. My current state of dual meridians operating concurrently, with a weak body and feeble qi, perfectly aligns with this Way. If I practice this technique, I must surely ascend like that man, leaping straight to the blue clouds, reaching the heavens in a single step!”

The core essence of the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Scripture was to seize the primordial power of others for one's own use, devouring the essence of heaven and earth to benefit the self. This grasping and seizing was most abhorred by martial cultivators and spirit masters throughout the world. Yet, Zong Shou felt no burden regarding this.

The tool serves the wielder; if used well, it is good! If used wickedly, it is evil!

Against mortal enemies, one must use any means necessary. Zong Shou certainly would not casually strip the vital energy from innocent people.

“Leaping straight to the blue clouds, reaching the heavens in a single step? A nice way of putting it! That man reigned supreme for a time, but what was his end? In just three short years, his body tore itself apart and he died. It is less a downfall from the combined assault of those top-tier powerhouses, and more a death brought on by himself. If you practice this method, how will you regulate your qi channels, and how will you fuse those alien true qi essences? It seems like a shortcut, but it is actually a path to the grave. With mixed true qi, transcendence after death and entering the gate of Martial Ascension will be impossible—”

“Have you not spent years painstakingly gathering fellow practitioners and creating your own Guiding Technique precisely for this grand art? Regulating the qi channels and devouring essence is not impossible to achieve. Furthermore, this Devouring Origin Art has already been improved significantly. Although its might is reduced, the danger of internal energy running rampant is gone.”

“But that Guiding Technique is not yet complete! And the Heaven-Swallowing Transformation still has flaws. Moreover, if this dual-meridian body cannot be improved, practicing this method will only be like this Five Ginseng Bone-Strengthening Soup—”

Two voices argued incessantly in his mind, and Zong Shou’s expression flickered between dark and light, shifting unpredictably.

After a long while, Zong Shou suddenly smiled and sat down again.

His mind was perfectly clear; self-preservation came first. If time permitted, he would naturally prefer to cultivate the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Scripture only after perfecting it. But how much choice did he have now?

Even though Chu Xue and Yin Yang both assured him there was no need for worry, it only increased his unease. If some calamity truly befell him, he needed some means of self-protection.

Moreover, if the Devouring Origin Technique were used only to absorb the essence of these medicinal herbs, it should not create any hidden dangers.

Having made up his mind, Zong Shou immediately began circulating his qi and breathing. He had analyzed this Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Great Art countless times and simulated various scenarios in his mind.

Circulating the technique now was almost frictionless, flowing smoothly as he guided the medicinal power in the water into his body—this first step was ‘Heaven Swallowing.’

Next, using the Inner Breathing Guiding Technique, he controlled the streams of warm energy within his body, transforming them into vital essence and spiritual energy. Then, enduring the pain, he followed the mental mantra, making them circulate continuously, compressing and purifying them step by step—this was the second step, ‘Primordial Transformation.’ Simple in description, yet the process was extremely complex. A single misstep meant total failure.

When seven-tenths of the medicinal liquid in the tub had been absorbed by him, Zong Shou felt as if his abdomen was about to explode. It was as if countless rats were ramming and surging uncontrollably within his body. Cold sweat drenched him, and all his Wheel Meridians felt as if they were splitting open.

Instead of fear, Zong Shou rejoiced. His expression turned solemn, his eyes gleaming with sharp light. He let out a sudden, sharp shout, uttering the word, ‘Open!’ He forcefully directed the elemental spiritual energy, which he had purified countless times, toward a spot half an inch below his navel.

Then he felt a violent twisting pain in his abdomen, accompanied by a deafening explosion in his ears. Blood and qi suddenly surged backward, his consciousness blurred, and a wave of dizziness overcame him.

When Zong Shou regained clarity, a trace of joy immediately appeared on his face.