Although the Six Spirits Throne Saber Art was a technique of flying knives, some of its secret precepts and crucial points proved remarkably effective when applied to other weapons and hidden projectiles. A slight alteration, a simple disguise, was all that was needed.

Countless schools and streams of martial arts philosophy circulated throughout the world, yet in the end, all streams must converge into the river, and all rivers into the sea. Many fundamental principles were universal.

In his past life, Zong Shou had already grasped this profound truth. His thinking soared freely, untrammeled by the conservative martial arts dogmas of yesteryear.

Every morning, true qi was poured into the sword body, circulating exactly forty-nine times before he could stop. After each session, the sword was washed with pure water and then coated with animal oil.

Zong Shou called this the Sword Cleansing Art. This method was not his sole invention; he had learned it from a friend renowned for his swordsmanship. He had since improved it, incorporating certain profound essences from the Six Spirits Throne Saber Art.

This process could purge impurities, temper the blade, and awaken the talisman sword's sentience.

However, whether it was the talisman knife or the wind sword, though specially prepared as lethal tools for self-defense, they did not actually consume much of his time.

For five days, Zong Shou focused more intently on his own cultivation. With his Qi Sea and Fetal Wheel opened, the door to Martial Cultivation had completely swung wide.

Inside the carriage, a gentle breeze stirred. It did not come from the window, but rather from the ‘fist wind’ Zong Shou generated, though his voluminous sleeves billowing accounted for much of it.

Treading strange steps, synchronized with an equally peculiar rhythm of breathing, Zong Shou constantly moved within the confined space of less than forty square meters.

His fists danced wildly, sometimes as rapid and fierce as a raging storm, sometimes soft and utterly devoid of force, seemingly following no discernible pattern.

While it appeared somewhat eccentric, only Zong Shou himself could feel the blood and vital energies within him surging like tidal waves.

Perhaps if Yin Yang had been present, he might have discerned the anomaly. Even if he couldn't identify its origin, he would have known this was certainly not something achievable by the Qiantian Mountain or the Linhai Academy.

Chu Xue, however, merely thought Zong Shou was practicing those strange movements again, no different from the preceding days, just a bit odder. Occasionally, when she returned to the carriage, she would only spare him a brief glance before dismissing it. Due to the incident that day, the girl had been hesitant to spend time alone with Zong Shou these past few days.

Little did she know that this peculiar set of fist techniques would later become renowned throughout the universe, known as the Fetal Breathing Spirit Fist—the secret, unshared method of the great sect Xueyi Temple in the Shaba Realm, the pinnacle technique for refining the fetus!

Martial arts are divided into internal and external. Cultivating the wheel meridians and true qi is internal, while this set of fist techniques constituted external martial arts. The guidance technique he devised himself was of the same nature.

Within the Body Wheel, there were nine wheel meridians in total: the Fetal Wheel, Breath Wheel, Marrow Wheel, Bone Wheel, Blood Wheel, Wisdom Wheel, Organ Wheel, Viscera Wheel, and Exterior Wheel.

For a martial artist, opening the Body Wheel meant practicing fetal breathing, tempering bone marrow, refining heart blood, training the five viscera, strengthening the six bowels, hardening skin and muscle—ultimately, the process of strengthening the physical body.

From the inside out, until the Body Wheel was broken and connected with Heaven and Earth. The process thereafter was a reversal: borrowing the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, from the outside in, to further refine the physical body—this was the Nine Wheels of Earth Meridians.

But even after the wheel meridians were opened, the body could not suddenly strengthen overnight. It required the passage of time for the effects to manifest gradually, enhancing physique piece by piece.

At this point, external aids were needed to accelerate this process. This is how external martial arts came into being.

This Fetal Breathing Spirit Fist, transmitted from the Shaba Realm, was a supreme method for refining fetal qi and fortifying the foundation, capable of building an unparalleled root base!

After practicing the fist for a short while, Zong Shou already felt a faint warmth emanating from his chest and abdomen.

The twenty-four acupoints of the so-called Fetal Wheel all encircled the navel, forming a perfect ring. They were considered the beginning of life, the source of qi. Later generations verified that this was indeed the case.

Having practiced the Fetal Breathing Spirit Fist for only five days, some effect was already apparent. When he cautiously tested his strength yesterday, even without using true qi, he was more than twice as strong as a few days prior.

It was not entirely due to the fist technique; his unique physique was also a contributing factor. Inheriting two top-tier bloodlines was not without its benefits.

It was a pity that he could still only practice this fist technique for the span of one hour.

Not long after, Zong Shou collapsed onto the soft couch, drenched in sweat. His weak physical stamina had not increased even slightly from beginning to end.

He resumed handling a willow-leaf flying dagger, turning it over and over in his hand. Once his labored breathing subsided, Zong Shou straightened up, sat cross-legged, and held a green crystal stone in his palm.

The injury to the meridian points in his lower abdomen had completely healed the previous day. For the sake of absolute thoroughness, he had deliberately delayed until today, waiting until his Fetal Breathing Spirit Fist had achieved minor success and could directly affect the primary fetus.

With the Devouring Origin technique, he exerted force in his palm to draw in, and another wisp of vital essence was devoured into his body.

However, instead of directing it toward his lower abdomen, he channeled it toward his right shoulder. The evening before the day before yesterday, he had used the Golden Needle Meridian Probing technique to locate the position of another extraordinary meridian point outside the standard channels—it was the Wind attribute spiritual aperture.

First, all the vital energy was refined and condensed into the shape of a needle, which forcefully pierced into this strange aperture. Once deep inside, he detonated it.

The process was violent and simple; Zong Shou was now quite familiar with it. Yet, the moment the wind-attribute strange aperture was opened, the consciousness in his mind nearly dissolved. The muscle spasms and non-humanly endurable agony made him wish to lose the sense of pain forever, or simply pass out on the spot.

But in just a few breaths, he forcibly recovered. He then took two more beast crystals, swallowed them for essence transformation. Combining this with the residual vital energy in his body, he charged toward his lower abdomen.

Instantly, a wave of pain, no less intense than the previous one, assaulted every nerve in his body.

Zong Shou's face turned pale, and he took several deep breaths, but the pain showed no sign of abating.

He decided to ignore it entirely and, while still conscious, peered inward beneath his abdomen again.

The crystals used this time were top-grade specimens he had selected from dozens of wind-element beast crystals. The vital essence absorbed was nearly double that from five days ago, yet he had only opened six acupoints across two fetal wheels. For a martial cultivator, every step taken was exponentially more difficult than the last.

Those points of light had already begun to outline themselves within his body. Distributed around the umbilical aperture and Qi Sea, they resembled a small wheel ring.

The qi circulating within them already exceeded the previous amount by more than double.

“This injury is rather severe; the next time will have to wait eight days. Hah! I still underestimated this dual-meridian body—”

The qi flow churning within the meridian points remained agitated for a long time, and the sensation of pain persisted.

Just as Zong Shou’s consciousness blurred, nearing unconsciousness, a sudden explosion echoed deep within his mind.

In an instant, countless fragments of memory flooded madly into his consciousness. Innumerable frames flashed before his eyes in rapid succession.

The thirteen years of memories contained within this body erupted completely in that moment.

Then, those memory scenes abruptly froze. A man of magnificent stature and unparalleled handsomeness appeared within his consciousness. Far beyond comparison with anyone like Zong Yu, he smiled gently, yet his aura was so immense it could swallow mountains and rivers!

Zong Shou’s pupils constricted to pinpricks.

With the memories of those thirteen years, he finally recalled exactly who the father of this body truly was!

He should have remained obscure, yet it turned out he was none other than the Blood-Crazed Demon Sage, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox—who, at his peak, slew thirteen Heaven-Rank powerhouses to avenge his son's death—

The Undetermined Spirit Emperor Art—no wonder he was so familiar with it!

Next, the four words 'avenge his son's death' lingered in his consciousness for a moment. Zong Shou suddenly burst into loud, unrestrained laughter. His body tilted sideways, and he completely lost consciousness.

Just as the laughter abruptly ceased, two figures rushed into the carriage, one slightly ahead of the other.

Yin Yang arrived second but was faster, catching Zong Shou steadily first. He immediately placed a hand on his pulse.

A moment later, his expression was a mixture of joy and sorrow.

“The Young Master’s wheel meridians are open; the Fetal Wheel is complete!”

As the words left his lips, there was a mix of excitement and melancholy.

Su Chuxue let out a soft breath, then seemed to recall something. She stared intently at Zong Shou, her gaze filled with immense pity.

“The ancients said a tiger father begets no dog son; their words are true. The Young Master’s perseverance is extraordinary; he managed to endure pain like this. However, he was far too reckless this time!”

With a slight sigh, Yin Yang carefully withdrew a medicine vial from his sleeve. As he took out a pill, a cold snort escaped him.

His eyes shot a chilling glint toward the outside of the carriage window.

“They are fast—”