The Innate Purple Qi Technique, which he had practiced for over a decade without the slightest sensation, actually... reacted the very instant he began to circulate it!
An incredibly fine stream of energy started from the Huiyin Acupoint of his Ren Meridian. It traveled along the Qugu, Middle Extreme, Shen Que... Central Courtyard, and Tiantu, all the way to the Chengjiang Acupoint. Although the stream was as thin as a hair, and even broke off intermittently where his meridians were congested, it charged forward with an unstoppable momentum, breaking through every single acupoint along the Ren Meridian!
Although Qin Li's expression was incredibly strange, the Innate Purple Qi Technique didn't slow in the slightest. He was like a man on the verge of dying of thirst after wandering the desert for ages who suddenly spots a spring. No matter how shocked he might be, his first reaction would be to lunge forward and drink his fill.
And that was exactly what Qin Li did. He didn't stop to consider if this would harm his body, nor did he do the cliché thing of pinching his thigh to see if he was dreaming. Grinning from ear to ear, Qin Li guided the flow of energy and recklessly charged toward his Du Meridian...
The scriptures say, "Following the flow leads to mortality, reversing it leads to immortality." This means energy in the Du Meridian travels up, while energy in the Ren Meridian travels down. As long as the cultivation method is correct, the practitioner can manipulate their body's innate energy. Women focus on cultivating the Ren Meridian to enrich their blood, while men focus on the Du Meridian to enrich their qi. By starting with "regulating the heart-mind" and "entering stillness," the "river chariot" can be reversed, thereby solidifying and nourishing the body and ensuring the free flow of energy through the Ren and Du Meridians. This is the so-called dual cultivation of body and spirit.
But how could Qin Li possibly understand any of this? The old Daoist master certainly did, but he had never believed the boy he'd picked up was cut out for cultivation. Why would he have bothered explaining all this to him?
So, Qin Li had always believed that once he broke through the Ren and Du Meridians, he would become a peerless expert. With his naturally bold yet meticulous nature, and a clear understanding of the body's acupoints, he circulated the Innate Purple Qi Technique. Just like that, lying on his bed, he managed to break through both the Ren and Du Meridians completely in less than thirty minutes!
If anyone were to find out, they would surely cry out that he was a monster!
Qin Li had more or less stumbled into this with extreme luck. Normally, what true master who had opened their Ren and Du Meridians wasn't over a hundred years old? To dream of opening all of one's meridians without decades of cultivation and countless Heavenly and Earthly Treasures was something that could only happen in stories.
This Qin Li of the Celestial Essence Continent had a nickname within the Qin Family, one that the original owner of this body had found deeply humiliating: Basic Master!
That's right. Not only was Qin Li's external physical foundation superb, but his internal foundation was also excellent. This was all thanks to a very common manual in Qin Hanyue's possession called *Basic Techniques*. This Cultivation Technique was ordinary in the sense that it was so simple anyone who could read could understand and practice it. It was extraordinary, however, because this book was the only thing Qin Li's father, whom he had never met, had left for his mother!
It wasn't a gold hairpin or a Jade Bracelet. Almost no one would imagine a man would give such a thing to his lover, telling her so solemnly, "If you have a child, have him practice this. Don't pay any mind to what others say. You just do as I've told you. One day, I will come for you both!"
It was because of that promise that for thirteen years, Qin Hanyue had endured endless ridicule, raising Qin Li all by herself through great hardship. She never left the Qin Family, afraid that if she did, the man she was waiting for would never be able to find her.
Sometimes, a single belief is enough to sustain a person for a lifetime. For Qin Hanyue, this was her truth.
Years ago, some members of the Qin family had taken the Cultivation Technique to study it, only to toss it back like garbage. 'Basics?' they'd scoffed. 'If basics were so useful, what would be the point of Advanced Yuan Power Heart Methods? What would be the point of High Level combat techniques?'
And the fact that the previous Qin Li had been provoked to the point of coughing up blood and dying was directly related to this!
But this Qin Li was not the previous one. Having cultivated the Innate Purple Qi Technique, he knew better than anyone that this new body of his was, in the old Daoist master's words, a perfect Tripod Furnace—a physique born for cultivation!
Whether he could become an immortal, Qin Li didn't know. But he was sure that as long as he kept cultivating like this, becoming a peerless expert before the age of twenty would be no problem at all.
He thought of the resentment and grief buried deep within his new memories. He thought of the life Qin Hanyue had been forced to live for the past thirteen years. He thought of how cruelly the entire Qin Family had treated him and his mother.
'The world is a cold, heartless place, and family ties are as thin as paper!'
Qin Li climbed out of bed and couldn't help but roar with laughter!
'From this day forward, anyone who messes with me, I'll break their damn legs! Anyone who dares insult my parents, I'll smash their foul mouths shut!'
'I've never been short on guts! I can lie low and be patient, too. But if you're not afraid of me watching you from the shadows like a wolf, ready to tear out your throat at a moment's notice... then by all means, bring it on and provoke me!'
In the courtyard, Qin Hanyue was cooking when she suddenly heard her son's wild laughter. She hastily dropped what she was doing and rushed over. The door was already shattered. Outside, she saw Qin Li standing barefoot on the floor, giggling foolishly. An immense wave of sorrow washed over her. 'Am I truly so ill-fated? My son... has he actually gone mad?'
"Li, tell Mother what's wrong," Qin Hanyue asked softly, not daring to upset him in the slightest. She was terrified that his sensitive, fragile mind would snap.
Qin Hanyue wrinkled her nose. As a well-bred lady from a noble family, even in her fallen state, she kept their humble home spotlessly clean. But now, she smelled a foul, strange odor, like the rotten, sour stench of a beggar who had never bathed.
This shocked Qin Hanyue. Her son had been bedridden for several days, and she had been washing him daily. Where could this smell be coming from? Her gaze swept discreetly around the room, but she saw nothing out of place.
Just then, the smell wafted over again, and she was certain it was coming from her son. This discovery made Qin Hanyue even more heartbroken. 'If his body is inexplicably giving off this kind of smell,' she thought, 'is there any hope for him to get better?'
At that thought, Qin Hanyue no longer cared that the stench was strong enough to make her faint. She pulled Qin Li into a tight embrace, the pain in her heart finally becoming too much to bear, and burst into sobs. Thirteen years of injustice, thirteen years of bitterness, thirteen years of forbearance... All the emotions pent up inside her came pouring out in that single moment.
Qin Li stood there, stunned, letting Qin Hanyue hold him. He was completely at a loss. 'What's going on?' he thought. 'Everything's fine. Why did she suddenly burst into tears?'
He wanted to say something but didn't know where to begin. Having absorbed the original memories, Qin Li was well aware of how much his mother had suffered over the years. 'From a medical standpoint,' he mused, 'suppressing emotions for too long without any release can make a person sick.'
'So, letting it all out with a good cry is probably good for her.'
"Well, well, what have we here? Speak of the devil. What a touching display of motherly love! Tsk, tsk. My eyes aren't deceiving me, are they? Is that really our high and mighty 'great lady'? Don't tell me... you're trying to use this little act to weasel your way out of taking responsibility for your crimes? What a clever idea!" A sharp, piercing female voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard gate.