Chapter 31: The Real Nine Yin Blocked Meridians (2)
Chapter 31: The Real Nine Yin Blocked Meridians (2)
Now, it was time to begin the process in earnest: clearing the meridians and absorbing the Yin energy.
Patrick poured every ounce of his energy into the girl’s body, beginning to scour her internal pathways.
“Ugh…”
A painful groan escaped the girl’s lips.
Pain was an unavoidable part of the process when forcing open blocked meridians. However, immediately following the agony, the girl experienced a sensation that was entirely foreign to her.
It’s warm.
Even in her hazy, half-conscious state, she felt a heat that thawed her frozen body. It was a warmth she had only ever felt in her mother’s arms when she was very young. Though she didn't realize it herself, a small tear trickled down her gaunt cheek.
I’m… I’m going to die. I’m seriously going to die.
One, two, three, four…
Patrick had already melted four meridians and absorbed the Yin energy that had been clogging them into his own body. As a result, his Dantian was on the verge of exploding, unable to handle the sudden surge of power.
No. If it bursts, we’re all dead.
He had already absorbed a massive amount of Yin energy. What would happen if it detonated? It wouldn't end with just him and the girl dying. Given the dense concentration of mana in this world, this Yin energy would use the external mana as a conductor to spread far and wide.
Anyone caught in the blast would naturally have frigid energy settle in their bodies. In severe cases, it could cause organ failure in the heart or brain, leading to death.
Ah, so that’s why they call it a curse.
Unlike in the Central Plains, the Nine Yin Blocked Meridians in this world scattered Yin energy in all directions upon the host's death, harming those nearby. To outsiders, that would certainly look like a curse.
That guy earlier wasn't a total quack after all.
His understanding of Qi was just primitive. The doctor had simply been doing his job. Thinking that made Patrick feel a tiny bit guilty, but the priority now was figuring out how to organize this energy.
I have no choice. The Supreme Purity Mental Method can’t handle this.
The internal energy method Patrick had been practicing since his reincarnation was the Supreme Purity Mental Method—the same one he had taught the soldiers as the "Basic Blessing." It was a foundational technique of the Wudang Sect, known for having few side effects and, most importantly, being easy to convert into other types of energy later on.
But it wasn't enough to control this much Yin energy. To tame such a monstrous force, he had to circulate the most superior yet temperamental technique he knew.
Sigh… I really have no choice.
Patrick pulled his hands away from the girl’s body and began striking his own major pressure points.
Geomun, Danjung, Cheondol, Gyeonjeong, Indang, Baekhoe.
After quickly suppressing the major meridians leading from his lower Dantian to his upper Dantian, he brought both hands toward the energy residing in his lower Dantian. Then…
“That crazy bastard of a Founding Patriarch!”
With that single shout, he shattered his own lower Dantian.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Naturally, it hurt like hell.
* * *
The Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method.
As is the case with most grandiosely named techniques, this was the ultimate high-level cultivation art that only the Sect Leader of the Twin Dragon Sect and his direct successor could learn. Well, since the time of the Founding Patriarch, the Radiant Dragon Hero Jincheon was the only one who had actually mastered it.
Once upon a time, a certain martial artist had a thought.
Why must we only create one Dantian?
It is said that when one becomes a master, the middle Dantian opens, and when one reaches even higher, the upper Dantian opens, allowing one to reach the realm of a half-immortal. But until then, everyone relies on a single small Dantian in the lower abdomen.
Wouldn't it be much more efficient to have two?
Double the energy accumulation.
Double the output.
The risk of Qi Deviation would also double, but wouldn't it be worth it?
Normally, such a thought would end as a ridiculous delusion, but the problem was that the man who had this delusion was a peerless genius of martial arts. He actually succeeded in creating a cultivation method that formed two Dantians in the lower abdomen.
That was the Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method, created by the Founding Patriarch of the Twin Dragon Sect.
The process was surprisingly simple. First, you create a Dantian using a normal cultivation method. Then, you destroy it. This is the process usually referred to as "crippling" one's martial arts.
However, destroying the Dantian doesn't mean the energy in the body vanishes instantly. It takes about fifteen minutes for the energy to dissipate completely. Before that happens, one must gather the scattering energy and reform it into two separate Dantians in the lower abdomen.
Normally, this would be impossible. But in the moment the Dantian is destroyed, the "vessel" that held the energy also loses its shape. In other words, that is the only moment when the nature of the energy can be altered.
If successful, a martial artist with two Dantians in their lower abdomen is born. From that point on, the efficiency of accumulating and manifesting energy doesn't just double—it skyrockets. The resonance between the two Dantians moving in tandem far exceeded even the expectations of the Founding Patriarch who created the technique.
Of course, there was the minor issue that if you missed that split-second window when the Dantian broke, you would simply lose all your martial arts and become a cripple.
[Hahaha! Who among my descendants could possibly fail at something so simple? Surely they can all manage this much,] the Patriarch had laughed it off.
And now, across time and space in the Schneider Territory, Patrick ground his teeth and spoke.
“Who would do something this crazy? You absolute lunatic! Seriously, not a single one of them is sane. Not one.”
Even his Master, who always preached about respecting one's ancestors and keeping their will in mind, hadn't dared to do this. The only one who had ever attempted this madness was the Radiant Dragon Hero Jincheon, who had gambled his life to revive the Twin Dragon Sect.
Dammit, I’m doing this twice now.
At this point, he figured he didn't have the right to call the Founding Patriarch a lunatic. They were just birds of a feather.
Regardless, perhaps because he had succeeded once before, Patrick managed to pull the scattering energy together and finally succeeded in forming two vessels in his Dantian. The result was even more perfect than in his previous life.
The size of both Dantians is perfectly identical. In my last life, the right one was larger, which made it a pain to manage.
To use two Dantians stably, the energy drawn from both sides had to be exactly the same. But in his previous life, the energies were unbalanced. Because of that, the Radiant Dragon Hero Jincheon had never once been able to use his full power in his entire life. Even if the left Dantian exerted 100% of its power, the right one always had to stop at around 70%. If he didn't, he would have fallen straight into Qi Deviation.
Jincheon had never gone all out until the moment he died, but things were different now. With Dantians of perfectly equal energy, a person had finally been born who could truly and perfectly utilize the Twin Dragon Primordial Chaos Heart Method. It was the first time since the first Sect Leader.
“Alright. Shall we get started?”
Patrick licked his lips as he looked at the shivering girl before him. Half of the Yin energy had been removed, but the remaining energy was now rampaging as it tried to fill the empty spaces, causing her pain again.
“I’ll fix you up in no time.”
Taking a meditative stance once more, Patrick placed his hands on the girl’s back. And then…
“You Yin energy bastards are dead meat.”
Now, he was even picking fights with inanimate energy.
* * *
When the girl opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was…
“Goddess?”
“Oh. Are you awake?”
“Am I… in heaven? Is my mother here too?”
At the girl’s words, Ava spoke with a troubled expression.
“You aren't dead, dear. This is the residence of the Baron Schneider family.”
“Pardon? But I…”
The girl was confused. She wasn't dead? She was alive? Then why did her body feel so good? The bone-chilling cold that had pierced her to the core was gone, replaced by a sense of health. No, she felt even better than she had back when she was healthy. Furthermore…
“Are you… really not a goddess?”
“I’m not. I am Ava Schneider, the wife of Baron Schneider.”
“But… you’re so beautiful.”
In the girl’s eyes, Ava was definitely a goddess. Her soft, flowing brown hair, her flawless skin, and her perfectly proportioned, beautiful features—it felt unnatural for someone with such looks to claim to be human.
Ava smiled brightly at the girl’s compliment.
“Thank you. But you’re quite cute yourself. You’ll be a beauty when you grow up.”
“No, I’m…”
The girl looked down at her own emaciated, skin-and-bones body, then back at the beautiful noblewoman. Even though she was just a young girl, she couldn't help the sigh that escaped her from the surge of inferiority. How could two humans be so different? Surely, this woman was a goddess.
Just then, the door opened and a young boy walked in.
“Is the kid awake?”
“You’re here, Patrick. She just woke up.”
“That’s good. I brought some soup, so try to feed her.”
“Alright, I will.”
Seeing the boy enter with the warm soup, the girl spoke without thinking.
“An angel?”
“Huh?”
Patrick looked around the room, and after confirming no one else was there, he pointed to himself.
“Me?”
“Yes. Well… that is…”
“Wow. You’ve got a good eye. Yeah, with my personality, I should at least be called an angel. Hmm, as expected of the real Nine Yin Blocked Meridians. Your insight is incredible.”
At this moment, it wouldn't have been strange if every angel in heaven had collapsed, coughing up blood.
Patrick handed the thin soup to the girl.
“How is it? Can you eat by yourself?”
“Yes, I’m okay. But…”
“It’s fine. I’m not going to ask you for money later, so just eat. Kids shouldn't worry about things like that.”
“……”
But you look younger than me, Mr. Angel…
The girl kept that thought to herself. Instead, she bowed her head in thanks and tried to lift a spoonful of soup. Or rather, she tried to.
“Whoops, you’re spilling it all. Hey, hey. This won't do.”
The girl didn't even have the strength to hold a spoon properly, and she was spilling most of the soup. Seeing this, Patrick took the spoon himself and scooped up some soup.
“Give it here.”
“You don't have to do this.”
“How is it okay if you can’t eat? Just eat.”
“……”
The girl shyly lowered her head but accepted the soup as if she had no choice.
“There we go, good girl. Eat slowly. You’re severely malnourished, so you shouldn't eat too fast.”
Patrick carefully fed the girl spoonful by spoonful. Watching him, the girl thought to herself:
How… how can someone like this exist in the world?
To show such unconditional kindness and gentleness to a complete stranger? The girl felt she could truly believe he was an angel now.
Hehehe. That’s it, eat well and grow up strong. My little Heavenly Martial Body.
Well, there’s no way to know what’s truly in a person’s heart…
After finishing the soup, April fell asleep. Patrick made a special request to Ava.
“Mother, please take good care of her.”
“Is it alright to leave her to me?”
“Yes. Since she had the same constitution as you, I think it would be best if you looked after her.”
In Patrick’s mind, April was already confirmed as the future Knight Captain of the Schneider Territory and his closest confidant. If anyone asked what he saw in a scrawny little girl to envision such a future…
She’s a Heavenly Martial Body. A Heavenly Martial Body! These are the kids who reach the Transcendent Realm even if you only teach them the Three Talents Sword Method. What couldn't I teach her?
The Transcendent Realm—the stage of manifesting Sword Qi—was equivalent to the 7-Star realm in this world. With Patrick’s guidance added to that, there was no telling what kind of monster she would become.
I have to secure her, no matter what.
Right now, she was just a skinny girl, but if he raised her well, he could add an incredible force to the territory in the future. That was why he had entrusted her care to Ava—the wife of the lord and the highest-ranking woman in the territory—to start building a bond early.
Hehehe. This will create a debt of gratitude, she’ll view our territory as her savior, and then she’ll become my loyal right hand.
“Hehehehe…”
“Son, why are you laughing so strangely?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Anyway, I’ll leave her to you, Mother. Please treat her as if she were your own daughter.”
“My own daughter… I see. So that’s what you mean.”
Huh? What? What do you mean, ‘that’s what I mean’?
“Alright, I understand. If that’s how you feel, I won't oppose you.”
“Yes… well… okay.”
He didn't quite understand what she was talking about, but since his mother was smiling warmly as if she understood everything, he just let it go.