Since Zong Shou's Confluent Meridians were forcefully twisted into a spiral shape by the Pulse Spirit Pill, his speed in practicing the Begging Wood technique surged several times over.

He no longer needed to expend much effort coordinating the conflicts within his body's meridians. The agonizing pain that shot through his lungs and heart whenever his true qi circulated also seemed to have lessened considerably.

With just a slight stirring of his will, the aura within his Wheel Meridians began to transform. The true qi in one meridian resembled an ice mountain, frigid and misty, while the other turned into a pulsating flame. They intertwined and unfurled in a spiral.

Having already established the foundation of the Seven Meridians of the Body Wheel, his subsequent cultivation of the World-Shaking Spirit Art felt natural, like water flowing into a channel. With effortless grace, the mist and fire aligned, subtly embodying the World-Shaking True Might of the Purple Thunder.

It took only a few hours for him to cultivate from the Fetal Wheel and Breath Wheel all the way up to the Intelligence Wheel.

Upon just reaching the seventh meridian of the Body Wheel—the Viscera Wheel—Zong Shou immediately stopped. The methods for cultivating further he had yet to figure out himself. The Eighth and Ninth Wheels were critically important and exceedingly complex. One misstep could injure the five major and six minor viscera. Zong Shou still lacked a complete solution for this.

However, although the Viscera Wheel could not yet be modified, the dawn of a breakthrough in his realm was visible!

Zong Shou’s gaze sharpened, and two colors, red and blue, flashed in his eyes, reminiscent of the Ice Array Blue Pupils. All the vital energy within his body surged like a massive tide, swirling as it impacted the Viscera Wheel!

Having gained the innate essence from the Thunder Phoenix Egg, Zong Shou’s physique had certainly improved immensely, giving him the potential to assault the Black Tortoise Sect, or even a Heavenly Rank Martial Ancestor, within a short time. Yet, the innate vital energy deposited within his body had also severely exacerbated the blockages in his meridians. The difficulty of opening them had increased severalfold as well.

But now, with his vital energy spiraling, those blocked meridians and major acupoints of the Wheel Meridians were almost forcibly blasted open.

Even when occasional blockages occurred, Zong Shou would unleash all eighteen Ethereal Cloud Divine Destruction Sword Intents, gathering them at one point, and a slight forward thrust was enough to shatter the obstruction.

A string of "gurgling, sucking" sounds echoed from within his chest and abdomen.

Half an hour later, when Zong Shou opened his eyes again, he felt as if his entire body was covered in black sweat, expelled as if from a sewer—it smelled utterly foul.

This phenomenon always occurred whenever he made a breakthrough in body refinement or cleared a Wheel Meridian, but today was distinctly different. Not only was the stench overwhelming, but the black liquid also carried hints of brownish-red.

This was because the Viscera Wheel meridians had been opened one by one, expelling most of the toxic, malevolent energies and stagnant blood deposited within the five major and six minor viscera.

This meant he had now entered the realm of an Eight Meridian Martial Master, just one step away from the peak of the Body Wheel.

Zong Shou sniffed his body, immediately frowning, and tossed his clothes out the window. He then cast a Dao Talisman to purify his body back to pristine cleanliness.

That was still insufficient. Zong Shou formed another hand seal, invoking the Gentle Wind Art to sweep all the odors he had emitted out the window before finally stopping.

When Zong Shou looked inward at his meridians again, he saw strands of elemental energy circulating within the Viscera Wheel.

Here, the effect of his Pulse Spirit Pill was minimal, and the spiral meridian structure was not obvious. True qi flowed relatively slowly, and conflicts among vital energies were frequent.

However, he could observe threads of innate essence seeping from this area into the five major and six minor viscera, gradually improving his internal organs and physique.

"The benefit of absorbing that Phoenix Egg essence lies here. Aided by the innate vital energy, once the Wheel Meridians are opened, it will only take a short time to complete the improvement of the physique and the restoration of true qi. I estimate that in just another month, I can make all the viscera incredibly robust—"

The most tangible manifestation of powerful viscera is toxin resistance. Even if an innate master consumes something poisonous, as long as the toxicity is not overwhelmingly potent, the viscera can resist and expel it on their own.

Another manifestation is appetite. After opening the Eight Meridians of the Body Wheel, Zong Shou could swallow an entire ox in one meal without any issue.

Through food, he could absorb spiritual energy, which was intrinsically linked to the surrounding meridians—it could strengthen his origin, invigorate his blood and qi, and even enrich his marrow.

"My amount of true qi has nearly doubled. Currently, less than half of the 252 opened Wheel Meridians and major acupoints, and the 132 external extraordinary acupoints across my body, are filled. The next step is to open the Outer Wheel, after which I will need some time to accumulate before I can assault the Innate realm."

As for the most difficult part to train—the skin, fascia, and membranes—Zong Shou was completely unworried. For anyone else, this would require over a year of constant, arduous cultivation.

But he now possessed so much Phoenix Egg essence within his body, constantly enhancing his physique every moment.

He wouldn't even need to deliberately refine it much; in a few months, the fascia and muscles across his body would be strong enough for him to charge into the Outer Wheel without reservation and ascend to the realm of an Innate Martial Master.

However, no matter how fast his martial cultivation progressed, it could not outpace his soul power.

With a slight sigh, Zong Shou's divine sense entered the Divine Heaven Acupoint once more.

The Sea of Souls within was still a massive vortex. It had grown considerably in just these few days.

However, all the soul power felt as if it were burning. The Seven-Tailed Sky Arc and the Purple Thunder Phoenix at the center showed little change.

And now, at the core of the Sea of Souls, there were some minuscule runes.

There were only a little over ten of them, arranged like a single treatise, suspended in the deepest part of the soul power sea.

These were indeed the origins of the True Strategy Spirit Restrictions, possessing the same nature as the Heavenly Talisman Spirit Seeds outside. The latter had been forcibly driven in, circulating independently, and Zong Shou could not refine them yet to truly make them his own. The former, however, he had painstakingly condensed himself over these past few days.

Runes speak the will of Heaven, and Strategies describe all phenomena under that Heaven—this is what is called Talismans and Strategies.

Beneath a single True Rune, there are often several dozen True Strategies composing it. And beneath the True Strategies are the Spirit Patterns.

Condensing True Strategy Spirit Restrictions with soul power is the method used by Spirit Masters of the Out-of-Body realm. It not only increases the spirit, but also uses these formations to purify the spirit. The primordial souls of some peak Spirit Masters have no other changes; they are pure Great Dao writings composed entirely of Talismans and Strategies.

When casting spirit arts that involve these True Strategy Spirit Restrictions refined within the primordial soul, or the True Talisman Spirit Restrictions condensed later, it saves magical power and vastly increases might.

Before the Out-of-Body realm, the talismans and strategies used by Spirit Masters were illusory. Only after reaching the Out-of-Body realm, when the soul can leave the body and experience the Heavenly Dao, can one truly grasp the true meaning of Talismans and Strategies. Only then does one truly step onto the path of spirit arts.

The mixing and integration of various spirit talismans and strategies is the origin of all spirit arts.

Zong Shou had managed to condense twelve True Strategy Spirit Restrictions in just over ten days, most related to the Lightning and Illusionary elements, the systems he was most familiar with, and thus the easiest to condense.

However, this level of talent could already be called unprecedented.

And by constantly using the Heavenly Mirror to illuminate his soul and gather the Grand Yin True Fire to scorch his primordial soul daily, his soul power, though not yet at the Returning Yang level, showed no sign of weakness under the daily, fierce impact of qi and blood from the Outer Wheel Meridians.

"In a few more days, once I condense three True Talismans, I can attempt to reach the Night Roaming realm."

The essence of the Thunder Phoenix Egg provided far less direct assistance to soul power cultivation than it did to enhancing true qi and physique.

Yet, Zong Shou’s state of mind and cultivation from his previous life were simply too high. And in this life, apart from the outer membrane of his primordial soul, every other aspect showed his aptitude for cultivating spirit arts was top-tier.

Therefore, his progress in soul power far outpaced his martial qi cultivation.

Zong Shou directed a sliver of his intent towards the twelve Heavenly Talismans swirling outside. As soon as three True Talisman Spirit Restrictions were condensed, he could attempt to refine the Heavenly Talisman Seed outside—a sudden ascent to godhood was not mere fantasy.

Although this process was incredibly arduous; shortcuts are difficult when seeking the Heavenly Dao.

Zong Shou pondered silently and continued trying to condense True Strategies within his spiritual consciousness. However, this time, he failed to succeed even after several consecutive attempts, instead causing ripples to spread through his Sea of Souls.

Knowing that continuing would yield no success, Zong Shou stopped immediately, feeling no great regret, and awoke from his meditation.

To condense True Talismans and True Strategies required not only control over his spiritual consciousness refined to the finest degree but also a genuine understanding of the true meaning of Talismans and Strategies.

He had thought that since he was a master of the Dao of Talismans in his previous life, condensing Spirit Restrictions for Talismans and Strategies should not be difficult now.

But he realized now that the process was unimaginably hard.

"Young Master!"

Accompanied by a silver bell-like laugh, Chu Xue’s head suddenly hung down from the carriage window, her body covered in feathers. Her flushed face was beaming, "Uncle Lian says those horses can barely run anymore and need to stop to rest and eat."

Zong Shou’s brow relaxed, immediately halting his intention to continue cultivating. Then, a gentle smile crossed his face; if the carriage stopped, Chu Xue wouldn't have to keep chasing those birds.

Over these past few days, Chu Xue had become deeply skilled at catching sparrows and small birds.

The speed of the Wind-Riding Steeds surpassed that of the Cloud-Treading Steeds by nearly double. They could gallop day and night without needing rest.

However, as long as they were flesh and blood, there would always be a time for fatigue. For long journeys, they required intermittent rest to replenish energy.

When Zong Shou alighted from the carriage, he saw that the surroundings were a dry stretch of woodland. There were still many mountains nearby, but they were no longer as steep and towering. He had clearly passed through the mountain ranges and reached the western fringe of the Sudian Mountains.

And just moments after Zong Shou's 'Cloud-Flipping Carriage' came to a halt, another red 'Cloud-Flipping Carriage' caught up behind them.

The three of them tacitly started their own fires, catching spirit beasts to roast.

When Xuanyuan Yiren alighted from the other carriage, she directly took out several large sacks of green beans from her pouch.

These beans were grown in the spiritual fields of major sects and naturally contained a certain amount of spiritual energy. If ordinary people consumed them year-round, they would not only strengthen their bodies but also benefit their cultivation of qi refinement.

However, at this moment, Xuanyuan Yiren was only using them to feed the horses, showing no stinginess or favoritism. The pouches seemed inexhaustible; she took out ten or more sacks, roughly twenty-four dou, just enough to feed the thirty-six Wind-Riding Steeds, before finally stopping.

Zong Shou did not look at the spirit beans; instead, he stared intently at Xuanyuan Yiren’s waist. He was intensely envious.

That was a Minor Qiankun Pouch. He had seen it countless times in the game.

During a fierce struggle early on, after countless kills, he had managed to acquire one, which he had treasured ever since.