Chapter 45: Reborn Profound Veins

In the instant the crimson-black blood droplets sank into the translucent body of Yun Che, a network of dozens of dark-red veins, like bloodstained scars, erupted from the bloodstain on his chest and raced across his form with frantic fury. Before he could blink, they spread to engulf his entire being—his chest, hands, legs, face, temples, even the irises of his eyes—all etched with the grotesque patterns of blood-soaked runes.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh…”

At that moment, Yun Che felt as though a thousand blades had pierced his flesh. An unbearable agony surged through every fiber of his body, wrenching him into a violent spasm. His vision blurred, drowning in a searing tide of crimson.

A devouring force churned within him. Yun Che knew the human body’s anatomy as intimately as his own heartbeat. The consumed region was none other than his own crippled meridian. Meridians channel spiritual energy; even without them, one could live, yet never cultivate a single breath of qi. Though meridians did not determine life or death, their loss was a violation of the body’s very essence. The slow annihilation of his damaged meridian would surely rend his organs piece by piece, its torment inexpressible.

Jade had claimed those drops of indestructible demon blood would consume his old meridian and birth a new one. Now, as his meridian was devoured, her words were no lie. If this were possible, was such agony worth enduring?

The unspeakable pain persisted—a torment beyond language, beyond mortal endurance. It raged, raged, and raged. The meridian’s consumption was agonizingly slow; fully devouring it would take at least half a minute.

He did not crave the power of demons, nor a meridian stronger than common folk’s. If he could merely possess one equal to others—even slightly weaker—he would endure tenfold suffering without hesitation.

Yet terrifying pain wracked Yun Che’s body, his nerves convulsing violently. Inside, however, his heart remained calm. Utterly calm. Even euphoric.

When Jade pierced Yun Che’s flesh with that drop of demon blood, her lips curved into a grin—cruel, triumphant.

She knew, from the blood’s memories, that once it entered the body, it would forcibly consume the original meridian. To devour the meridian was akin to slicing it away, grinding it to powder—this was a fate worse than death, a torture fit to make even a legendary master beg for mercy.

You dared to defile my body with your eyes—did you think I’d spare you? This blood of demons will grant you a new lineage, but it will also exact the cruelest punishment from me!

Jade’s savage smile widened as she watched the crimson runes spread across his body, his eyes turning dark red, his frame convulsing, his face contorted in agony. Slowly, her smile began to fade, hardening into stunned disbelief.

His limbs trembled, his muscles clenched, his features twisted until they seemed to squeeze into his skull. Sweat poured down his forehead at a terrifying pace. Such was the magnitude of his suffering.

Yet after that first guttural cry, Yun Che never uttered another sound of pain—not a whimper, not a sob.

Minutes crawled by: one… three… five. Jade’s expression shifted to utter astonishment.

The meridian devoured—yet he never once screamed!

Sweat soaked his entire body, his flesh trembling with torment, yet his clenched teeth held no sound. Even his twisted face betrayed a flicker of… excitement.

He should have been broken, beyond living, let alone dying. How could he react this way?

A mortal with a ruined meridian—how could he wield such monstrous will?

Impossible. No human could endure such agony with such composure!

This common man—this vessel of the poison jewel—he was…

At that moment, Jade realized she had grossly underestimated him. His body was frail, his qi feeble, yet here he stood, defying all expectations with inhuman resolve. Why had the poison jewel, a treasure of the Celestial Emperor, chosen such a lowly host? She began to understand—it was not the jewel’s spirit that had vanished, nor gone mad.

Half a minute passed.

The crimson runes across Yun Che’s body flickered with scarlet light, his features slowly relaxing. The meridian’s devouring ended, and with it, the birth of a new one.

He felt the new meridian sprouting where the old had been, growing at a pace tenfold faster than its destruction. The void within him filled with a strange, vibrant energy, his pain dissolving like a receding tide. Sweat ceased, his muscles stilled, his face calmed. Yun Che shut his eyes, motionless. Even then, a faint smile tugged at his lips.

Within his stillness, he activated his inner vision, marveling at the newly formed meridian blooming in his body. No trace of doubt remained in his heart. The miracle of meridian rebirth was unfolding before him, vivid and real.

A human’s meridian grows slowly from birth, fully formed by fourteen. Yet Yun Che’s new one unfurled like bamboo after rain—complete in under two minutes.

Its structure, size, and shape matched every meridian he’d ever known. Through meticulous perception, he located the fifty-four meridian gates, their positions and sensations identical to a mortal’s.

All fifty-four gates opened—eleven activated. Slightly above average. No gates held demon energy, no demonic meridian traits, no trace of difference. Yet Yun Che’s heart roared with joy, his blood boiling with exhilaration. A whole, unblemished new meridian!

He would no longer be a crippled cultivator forever trapped at the Nascent Soul Level One!

Though his goal remained distant, his vow to make the entire Xiao Sect kneel in three years no longer seemed impossible.

Grandfather, auntie—I’m no longer useless. You’ll be so proud when you hear this. Wait for me. In three years, I’ll return to you, and those who tormented you will pay a hundredfold in blood!

Yun Che shouted into his heart.

The crimson runes on his body ceased flickering, vanishing entirely. Yun Che’s eyes snapped open.

“How does the new meridian feel?” Jade narrowed her eyes, studying him. She’d scrutinized him at length these past moments. Three years older, yet still a child. His looks were decent, but nothing else remarkable. Yet why this terrifying will? Had he walked through hell?

“It worked! It worked!” Yun Che clenched his fists, his voice brimming with excitement. Then, hesitating, he frowned. “But… are you sure this is the ‘Divine Meridian’? It looks no different from a regular one.”

“How many gates opened?” Jade asked, not answering.

“Eleven.”

Jade’s eyes flickered with disappointment. “The Princess paid a terrible price—nearly died—to grant you this. Yet it’s only achieved this much. Do you think divine power is something everyone deserves? To unlock the demon blood’s meridian, all fifty-four gates must open. If it can ‘naturally’ open over twenty, I could help you in thirty years. But with only eleven? Even a century, I couldn’t do it.”

“All fifty-four gates?”

To others, her words would’ve dropped their jaws. The legendary Divine Meridian—never in the thousand-year history of the Wind Emperor had anyone achieved it. Yet Yun Che merely stared, his expression oddly serene. “You’re certain fifty-four gates is all?”

He lifted his left hand, pressed it to his chest, whispering, “Poison… purify.”

The poison jewel erupted in emerald light, flooding into Yun Che’s body, reaching his new meridian.

A meridian’s natural gate count determined a cultivator’s lifetime potential. Post-natural gates were nearly impossible to open, requiring priceless elixirs, fortune, and chance. Forced openings carried immense risk—any misstep could cause permanent damage.

Ninety-nine percent of cultivators on the Tianxu Continent never opened extra gates.

But the poison jewel?

Its unparalleled purification power could unlock sealed gates as easily as breathing, with zero risk. At Lingyun City, he’d guided it into Summer Qingyue’s fifty-four gates, unlocking all of them, purifying her innate gates to perfection, cleansing her qi of impurities.

Yet Qingyue was another person—he’d nearly died guiding the jewel’s power.

Purifying his own meridian? Child’s play.

Under Yun Che’s guidance, the poison jewel’s power flowed smoothly through each of his fifty-four gates, their seals cracking open with a rhythmic “click-click-click.”

In under half a minute, all fifty-four gates burst open.

“Alright, now that all fifty-four are open—what next?” Yun Che said, relaxed.

He’d spoken, yet Jade remained silent. When he looked up, her pupils were wide as saucers, her gaze fixed on him like a grotesque beast.