Chapter 202: Making a Clean Break

The Eight Desolates Returning Essence Scripture covered the principles of heaven, earth, wind, thunder, water, fire, mountain, and lake—encompassing nearly all things in Heaven and Earth.

It could be cultivated in any environment.

In a great desert, for instance, there might be no Water Essence Qi, but Fire Essence Qi would be abundant.

Even in the most extreme environments, like the deep sea where there was no wind, thunder, fire, mountain, or lake, one could still cultivate using Water Essence Qi.

But the strongest part of this Ultimate Skill lay in its Heaven and Earth Chapters.

Whether in Cultivation or the Martial Dao, only by breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm, Refining Spirit and Returning Void to cultivate a Primordial Spirit, could one communicate with the heavens and the earth, allowing their spirit to roam beyond.

But the Eight Desolates Returning Essence Scripture began to siphon Heaven and Earth Essence Qi as early as the Innate Realm!

Although its efficiency was far from that of a Primordial Spirit absorbing Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, this point alone was enough to place it above all other Innate Realm Techniques.

The Innate True Qi it cultivated might not be the strongest among its peers.

But because of its terrifying cultivation speed, this Ultimate Skill was known as the number one Innate Skill!

It was now nighttime.

Cultivating the Fiery Sun Technique would yield almost no improvement.

But at this moment, Lu Bai began to circulate the Eight Desolates Returning Essence Scripture. In an instant, eight different types of Innate Essence converged upon his body.

Lu Bai’s body seemed to transform into a massive vortex, devouring the heavens and the earth as it frantically absorbed and refined the eight types of Innate Essence, converting them into Innate True Qi before integrating them into his blood.

Lu Bai had barely cultivated the Martial Dao recently.

During the day, he went out to run his stall, and at night, he studied the Piercing Fire Chapter.

His Cultivation Realm had stagnated at three open meridians.

But now, after circulating the Eight Desolates Returning Essence Scripture for no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Lu Bai broke through his fourth meridian!

Lu Bai decided not to sleep tonight and continued to cultivate.

The speed of breaking through the fifth meridian clearly slowed down.

Lu Bai cultivated until the dead of night before he finally opened his fifth meridian.

Of the Twelve Meridians, the later ones were progressively harder to break through, requiring a greater accumulation of Blood Qi.

Forcing open meridians as hastily as Lu Bai was doing was actually very risky. It could easily lead to a cultivation deviation.

The Twelve Meridians were not independent but interconnected, forming their own system. They also had a symbiotic relationship with the Internal Organs.

Each time he opened a new meridian, he had to expend more energy to maintain the operational balance of all the opened meridians.

Having opened five meridians, Lu Bai now had to maintain the operation of those five even as he tried to break through the sixth.

The consumption of Blood Qi increased exponentially.

The slightest carelessness could cause his Blood Qi to reverse its flow and fall into disarray, leading to major problems!

Furthermore, breaking through so quickly meant his True Qi was constantly battering the meridian walls, which was a huge test of their endurance.

Fortunately, Lu Bai had used two Ultimate Skills during his Root Bone Stage and Inner Strength Realm to forge an exceptionally solid foundation.

Not only were his meridians tough and his Internal Organs strong, but even the power within his blood far surpassed that of other Martial Artists at the same level.

Lu Bai opened his eyes, took a breath, and got out of bed to walk around for a bit. Then he returned to his bed, re-entered meditation, and continued to assault the sixth meridian.

「Before he knew it, the night had passed.」

The sixth meridian remained sealed.

Lu Bai opened his eyes, took a moment to recover, sat quietly for a while, and then resumed his cultivation.

It was not until past noon that Lu Bai’s body jolted. All six meridians in his arms were now fully open.

At the same time, the Blood Qi inside his body underwent a qualitative change!

Previously, when his Blood Qi circulated through his meridians, it was as thin as a single thread.

But now, his Blood Qi had grown stronger, like a trickling stream.

If one listened closely, one could even hear the faint sound of Blood Qi flowing through his meridians.

His Blood Qi was like a creek!

The more meridians one opened, the stronger their Blood Qi became.

But for the Blood Qi to undergo a qualitative change depended on the power it contained within itself.

Some Innate Martial Artists might not reach the state of "Blood Qi like a creek" even after opening all Twelve Meridians.

For someone like Lu Bai to have already achieved this after opening only six meridians meant his upper limit would only be higher.

Blood Qi was, by nature, a fusion of blood and Innate True Qi.

Although the White Tiger Stance and the Dragon Elephant Suppression Skill were not very useful in the Innate Realm, these two Ultimate Skills had allowed Lu Bai to be completely reborn, strengthening his muscles and marrow!

His blood contained the power of the White Tiger and the Dragon Elephant!

And his Innate True Qi came from the Ultimate Skill, the Eight Desolates Returning Essence Scripture.

The fusion of these two elements was what allowed Lu Bai to elevate his Blood Qi to such a level while only at the stage of the Innate Six Meridians.

Lu Bai got up from the bed.

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to achieve another breakthrough in a short amount of time even if he continued to cultivate.

It was time to settle some scores.

After cultivating for a full day and night, Lu Bai was drenched in sweat.

He went to the back to bathe and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

Lu Bai neatly folded the black Light Armor of the Evil Exterminator Guard and placed it in his room. Then, he gently set the Yin Soul Compass and the Evil Extermination Order on top of it.

He knew that after tonight, he would never have the chance to wear these clothes again.

Not only that, but there would likely be no place left for him in the entire Wu Dynasty.

In the future, he could only live as a fugitive.

"Lord Mo, Brother He, goodbye."

Lu Bai murmured softly, pushed open the door, and took one last, deep look at the room.

He hadn’t worked with Mo Tang and He Liangzhi for long, but they were both excellent people who had treated him very well.

They were about to part, and he might never have the chance to see them again. A sense of reluctance bloomed in Lu Bai’s heart.

In the end, Lu Bai took a deep breath, slung the Cyan Cloud Sword over his back, called for Ah Ming, and turned to leave.

Just as he reached the entrance, he happened to run into He Liangzhi.

"Brother Lu, heading out this late?"

He Liangzhi was a little surprised, then concerned. He said, "You’re already being watched by Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion. You shouldn’t go out at night."

Lu Bai smiled. "It’s fine. That young master from Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion has taken a fancy to Ah Ming. I’m taking Ah Ming over to him."

"That little whelp has gone too far!"

He Liangzhi’s face darkened, and he swore under his breath.

After a moment of thought, He Liangzhi said, "Lord Mo is still recovering from his injuries. I’ll go with you. If anything happens, we can watch each other’s backs."

"There’s no need."

Lu Bai shook his head, politely refusing. "Once I hand Ah Ming over, they won’t make things difficult for me anymore."

He Liangzhi thought to himself, ’Brother Lu is young and passionate. Back in Bluestone City, they called him Black Hand Yama—what a figure he was.’

’He cut down a Qi Refiner on the Martial Arts Discussion Platform and fought his way out of the County Government Mansion’s dungeon, full of heroic spirit. He eliminated Cultivators from the Corpse Refining Sect and slayed Water Ghosts—how magnificent! And now he has to suffer this kind of humiliation.’

But the moment he thought of Marquis Jingzhong, He Liangzhi was overcome by a sense of powerlessness.

’We’re just Evil Exterminator Guards. What can we do? What else is there to do?’

’There’s no choice but to compromise.’

"Sigh."

He Liangzhi fell silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh and patting Lu Bai on the shoulder.

"Brother He, I’ll be going now,"

Lu Bai said, and left the Evil Extermination Bureau.

He Liangzhi watched Lu Bai’s departing figure and shook his head to himself.

’A young man once full of passion, now forced to bow to reality.’

After leaving the Evil Extermination Bureau, Lu Bai made his way through Jingzhou City, originally intending to head toward Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion.

But on second thought, he abandoned that idea. Instead, he turned, left the city, and walked toward Fujiao Manor outside the city walls.

Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion was highly guarded and filled with experts.

The legendary Marquis Jingzhong was even a Nascent Soul True Monarch!

If he went into Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion, he might not be able to escape in one piece.

The Fujiao Gang, however, was a different story.

For a while now, Lu Bai had been sneaking out of the city every night to eavesdrop on the conversations of some Fujiao Gang members. He already had a rough understanding of the gang’s strength.