Chapter 267: Zhang Yu's Spiritual Meridian Pass

Chapter 267: Zhang Yu’s Spiritual Vein Pass

Zhang Yu felt the martial intent, as tangible as solid matter, rushing toward him, threatening to burn his skin, flesh, internal organs, bones, soul, consciousness—everything about him—to ashes.

In the very first moment of contact, Zhang Yu experienced a sensation of near-death. The gap between them was simply too vast.

At the same time, the voice of Starfire Zhenren exploded in his ears.

“Activate your cultivation techniques! Use your will to resist my martial intent!”

Zhang Yu channeled all his strength into the Remnant Ox Sacrificial Heart Art. Accompanied by the roar of a white ox in his mind, surges of fighting spirit welled up from within him.

Scenes from the past flashed through his mind—desperate struggles, life-and-death resistance, and fierce battles against Wang Yin.

On the other side, Starfire Zhenren watched the two of them gritting their teeth and stubbornly holding on under the assault of his martial intent. He gave a slight nod and temporarily withdrew his intent.

“Rest for thirty seconds, then we continue.”

Thirty seconds later, a violent intent erupted once more from Starfire Zhenren’s body.

This time, what Zhang Yu felt was no longer an all-consuming inferno, but an overwhelmingly domineering pressure. It was as if the air had suddenly become a thousand, ten thousand times heavier, threatening to crush his bones and force him to his knees.

Starfire Zhenren said coldly, “Hold on. Don’t kneel.”

Gone was the gentle, mentoring demeanor of the elder. After beginning to guide Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen in their training, Starfire Zhenren exuded an aura of authority, like a general on the battlefield. Every instruction, every reminder, seemed utterly unyielding.

In the time that followed, Starfire Zhenren repeatedly assaulted the two with his martial intent, forcing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to channel their cultivation techniques and resist with all their might.

Each time, the martial intent Starfire Zhenren released was different.

Sometimes Zhang Yu felt as if he were being burned by fire; other times, as if he were being crushed by the atmosphere. At times, it was like being pierced by ten thousand swords; at other times, as if his thoughts were frozen solid...

A myriad of martial intents rushed toward him, and Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel inwardly, “How many cultivation techniques does this old man know?”

“To switch between them so naturally… doesn’t he risk splitting his mind?”

In the process of tempering his Dao heart and cultivation techniques, Zhang Yu felt like a longsword, with Starfire Zhenren’s martial intent acting as a whetstone. Through repeated grinding, the sword grew sharper, more refined, and more tempered.

Zhang Yu could clearly sense that this kind of training… was indeed several times more effective than practicing cultivation techniques alone in ordinary times.

Dao Heart: Level 11 (0.3%) → (0.5%)

Remnant Ox Sacrificial Heart Art: Level 11 (3/110) → (35/110)

Starfire Zhenren looked at the two of them, their faces pale and on the verge of collapse, and halted the release of his martial intent.

He said calmly, “Alright, you’ve nearly reached your limit for today. Any more, and you’ll damage your spirit.”

“But keep your cultivation techniques circulating. Especially remember the feeling of resisting pressure just now.”

“Maintain that feeling, keep that tension. It will help you improve your Dao heart more efficiently in your daily practice.”

As Starfire Zhenren left, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen slumped to the ground. Despite not having moved much physically, they felt utterly drained.

In the days that followed, Starfire Zhenren would occasionally summon Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen for training sessions.

His method of guiding them was, as he had said, primitive yet highly effective.

If Zhang Yu were to describe it… it was a cost-effective training method for the poor.

But this cost-effectiveness was built upon Starfire Zhenren himself.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “If Starfire Zhenren charged for this, who knows how much it would cost? Bai Zhenzhen and I definitely couldn’t afford it.”

He deeply remembered the kindness of this Golden Core Zhenren, who was willing to spare time to guide them for free.

He thought inwardly, “Thank you, old man. When I rise to the top in the future, I’ll make sure your name resounds throughout Kunxu.”

Under Starfire Zhenren’s guidance, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s Dao hearts and physical strength improved steadily day by day, far surpassing the efficiency of solitary cultivation.

As for spiritual power, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had other arrangements.

…

On this day, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen arrived at the protected area. One after the other, they passed through the main gate by facial recognition.

Familiar with the route, they made their way to the foot of a mountain, as if they had been here many times before.

The mountain peak before them was one of the important spiritual vein nodes in the protected area—a place that had once been utterly unreachable and unimaginable for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

But now, not only could they breathe freely within the protected area, they could even enter the mountain to cultivate.

However, before each entry into the mountain, Zhang Yu had tasks to complete, needing to deliver goods as required by Director Long of Red Tower.

Watching Zhang Yu enter the nearby restroom, Bai Zhenzhen waited outside and began her breathing exercises.

But after waiting for what felt like an eternity, Bai Zhenzhen finally couldn’t help but urge, “Are you done yet?”

She said with some dissatisfaction, “Why does it take longer each time? I’ve been waiting for almost half an hour.”

Zhang Yu’s somewhat embarrassed and annoyed voice came from inside, “Almost done… Why are you rushing me?”

“Think about who it is that makes sacrifices again and again so you can cultivate in the spiritual vein?”

Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and suggested, “Then next time, can’t you finish at home and bring it with you?”

Zhang Yu said, “Do you think I don’t want to? Red Tower Company requires it to be fresh!”

After waiting another ten minutes or so, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, “This guy Yu… even after reaching Foundation Establishment, he still hasn’t severed the root.”

“After Foundation Establishment, physical strength improves comprehensively. Wouldn’t that vile root grow even larger, further nourished and strengthened?”

“If he continues body refining in the future and keeps nurturing this thing, who knows how much nutrition, vital energy, and spiritual essence will be wasted on it?” “Not to mention how much time and effort will be squandered… It’s practically a malignant tumor on the path of immortality.”

“But then again, this thing does have its uses. At least it lets us jump the queue to cultivate in the spiritual vein.”

“Once we ascend further, we’ll be poor again. It might even serve as our emergency fund at critical moments.”

After some thought, Bai Zhenzhen came up with a compromise: “What if we make it detachable for Yu? Like his eyes?”

“Attach it when needed, lock it away normally? That way, we won’t have to worry about this tumor consuming too much nutrition and vital energy, hindering Yu’s body refining progress.”

“We’re like family. If he can’t make up his mind, should I just help him out?”

Bai Zhenzhen believed Zhang Yu would understand.

“After all, I’ve noticed that every time Yu finishes, there’s a faint look of helplessness and regret on his face. He must want to resolve this trouble in his heart but hasn’t been able to make the decisive move.”

Just as Bai Zhenzhen was secretly planning how to help her brother, Zhang Yu slowly emerged from the restroom.

“All done, let’s go.” With a wave of his hand, Zhang Yu led Bai Zhenzhen through the entrance to the spiritual vein with a hint of pride.

A surge of spiritual essence rushed toward them, causing the spiritual roots within their bodies to tremble. An indescribably comfortable sensation washed over them from head to toe.

Zhang Yu felt that only when entering the spiritual vein to practice breathing exercises could his Dantian spiritual roots and Azure Vortex Qi Art truly shine, no longer feeling stifled as they usually did.

Yes, stifled.

Since stepping into Foundation Establishment, Zhang Yu had felt a sense of suffocation every day, as if the spiritual essence between heaven and earth were too thin, the air too stale.

“The spiritual vein is so much better.”

But then, thinking of the time he had just spent to gain entry, Zhang Yu also felt some self-reflection: “It really is a waste of time.”

“But it’s not entirely my fault. I’ve done my best.”

Glancing at Bai Zhenzhen beside him, Zhang Yu suddenly blushed and turned his head away.

Bai Zhenzhen, who was taking deep breaths, raised an eyebrow, sensing Zhang Yu's gaze, and asked curiously, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Zhang Yu stammered, "Actually... well... I thought of a way to speed things up."

Bai Zhenzhen asked curiously, "What way?"

"Hmm..." Zhang Yu blushed and turned his head away, finally taking a deep breath and saying, "No... nothing."

As Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen walked deeper into the spiritual vein, Fuki felt a bitterness she couldn't express: "You two, why don't you ask how I feel? Do you think it's fine for me to accompany Zhang Yu like this?"

"Damn it, you should pay me for watching."

"Damn, if I ask to follow Bai Zhenzhen, it’ll definitely raise Zhang Yu’s suspicions, making him think I’m up to something."

"Ah, might as well treat it like watching Animal Planet."

After arriving deep in the spiritual vein, Zhang Yu began circulating the newly cultivated Biwo Qi Gong.

This Foundation Establishment breathing technique could form vortices with spiritual power, continuously expanding the range of spiritual energy absorption through sustained breathing until reaching one's limit.

Now, combined with his Qi Sea Spiritual Root, it directly increased Zhang Yu’s spiritual energy absorption range to 100 meters around him.

At this moment, Zhang Yu was like a massive vortex, madly drawing spiritual energy from the spiritual vein toward him.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Although the Biwo Qi Gong can’t operate continuously like the Great Sun Qi Sea, practicing for a few hours in the spiritual vein with this method is equivalent to days of hard work with the Great Sun Qi Sea. Its efficiency is still higher."

"Especially since I haven’t pushed the Biwo Qi Gong to its highest level yet. The efficiency of refining spiritual power will surely become even stronger in the future."

Spiritual Power: 200.5

Biwo Qi Gong: Level 10 (1/100)

"Finally, Level 10."

Sensing the Biwo Qi Gong reaching Level 10, Zhang Yu could feel streams of qi vortices swirling around him, voraciously devouring the spiritual energy in the surroundings.

"After Level 10, the spiritual power vortices manifest externally, further increasing the range of spiritual energy absorption."

"Combined with my Qi Sea Spiritual Root, my spiritual energy absorption range has now expanded to 150 meters."

Not long after Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu entered the spiritual vein entrance, accompanied by the whistling of flying swords and the surging of combat spiritual roots, a fully armed security team arrived on a flying boat, surrounding the restroom Zhang Yu had just used.

Several staff members in protective suits entered the restroom and, moments later, emerged carrying a large armored case. Under the solemn gazes of the surrounding security team members, they loaded the armored case onto the flying boat.

...

While Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen immersed themselves in Foundation Establishment cultivation, wholeheartedly focusing on solidifying their foundations and improving their Dao Heart, spiritual power, and physical strength, some turbulence arose on the other side regarding the handling of the Oasis Group.

On this day, just after Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen received guidance from Master Xinghuo, they received a call from Yun Ni, the patrol captain.

Yun Ni said, "Remember when you were fighting with the Chi River group, and a mysterious expert suddenly ambushed Bai Zhenzhen?"

"After investigating, it’s now 100% confirmed that the expert you killed during the law enforcement operation was Zhou Yang from the Zhou family..."

Hearing this news, both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s expressions changed slightly. They both knew that the Zhou family was suspected of having ties to an evil god.

Yun Ni continued, "Next, the patrol team plans to thoroughly investigate the Zhou family. Since you two were involved, I wanted to ask for your opinions..."

Zhang Yu said directly, "A thorough investigation of the Zhou family? Can A Zhen and I go along?"

(End of Chapter)