Chapter 51: Mutual Generation and Restraint, Life and Death Intertwined
The melted whale glue had the texture of thick lotus starch, carrying both fragrance and a faint bitterness.
As the whale glue rushed into Chen Ming's abdomen and its medicinal power began to dissolve, sweat poured from his forehead, and his skin rapidly turned bright red.
Ever since his Spirit Awakening, other than hunger, Chen Ming had rarely felt stomach pain. But this whale glue truly gave him a feeling of agony, as if his stomach were being burned apart.
In the original story, the whale glue Huo Yuhao had obtained by chance at the treasure appraisal meeting was only from an ordinary whale type Spirit Beast. It had merely been a 10,000 year whale glue that was poorly preserved and had already lost much of its medicinal strength. Even so, Ma Xiaotao had still judged it to be quite good.
Yet what Chen Ming was eating now was a chunk of Evil Orca whale glue. Even though it was only one fifth of the whole, its medicinal power still far surpassed the piece Huo Yuhao had eaten.
The violent medicinal strength erupted, flowing through Chen Ming's body like molten lava and seeping into every inch of his flesh and bones. His skin turned crimson, and sweat poured out like a flood bursting through a dam. He curled up on the ground like a boiled lobster.
Why was it that, in this era, whale glue could enhance a Spirit Master's physique and raise the upper limit of the age of Spirit Rings they could absorb, yet so many people from great noble families and major sects still only had yellow second Spirit Rings?
Because the normal way to consume whale glue was to eat 100 year whale glue, or to use 1,000 year whale glue as the main ingredient in medicinal decoctions, stabilizing its medicinal strength and slowly strengthening the body. Only in this way could one ensure both safety and a steady improvement in physique.
The medicinal strength of 10,000 year whale glue could kill low level Spirit Masters. That was not an empty claim, but something that truly happened.
Although he had already once walked the line between life and death before his Spirit Awakening, Chen Ming still felt his consciousness beginning to scatter, making it harder and harder to suppress his instincts.
In the original story, after Huo Yuhao survived the Ice Empress Spirit Fusion, he also fainted after consuming whale glue. Everyone knew why, but for now, things were set up this way here as well.
Seeing this, the hidden Zhang Peng could no longer hold back. He immediately appeared, pinned Chen Ming down, stuffed Spirit Beast meat into his mouth, and pressed a hand against Chen Ming's back, pouring in spirit power to guide him, stabilize his condition, and help the violent medicinal power of the whale glue disperse into every corner of his body.
For an ordinary Spirit Master, doing this would have been extremely difficult. But Zhang Peng was not only a Super Douluo, he was also a Spirit Master skilled in mental type abilities. He quickly helped Chen Ming stabilize his mind.
Although the physical pain remained intense, under Zhang Peng's assistance, Chen Ming's inner heart became as cold and calm as if it had fallen into an ice cave. Guided by Zhang Peng, he used all his strength to fuse the medicinal power into his body to the greatest extent possible.
Chen Ming's body swelled like a balloon, transforming into a massive Abomination form. But on his usually hideous face and twisted features, there now appeared an indescribable softness.
An Abomination was a type of undead, and the Abomination Martial Soul was likewise an undead Martial Soul. But Chen Ming himself was a living person, and the medicinal power of the whale glue also contained extremely pure Yang Qi and abundant life force.
Life force flowed through Chen Ming's limbs and bones like a stream, while the Death Qi within his body was pushed forward by that power of life.
Chen Ming's meridians were first destroyed by his own Death Qi, then repaired by the life force and Yang Qi, becoming tougher than before. His Death Qi was further refined in the process of repeatedly destroying his body, and a large amount of impurities in his body were also expelled during this cycle.
Zhang Peng used his own spirit power as Chen Ming's support, dissolving part of his own pure spirit power into Chen Ming's body to help him refine the medicinal power and complete the transformation. Backed by this constant stream of energy, a continuous cycle also began forming within Chen Ming's body.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Peng, who had been assisting Chen Ming's cultivation, raised his head, transmitted his voice to drive away those who had come near the room, and then continued helping Chen Ming stabilize his condition.
The Filth Qi Chen Ming had accumulated in his chest and abdomen was completely dissolved in the process and fused into his Origin. Meanwhile, the Death Qi gained the support of earth energy and became more stable.
At the same time, complex energy fused into Chen Ming's life Origin. This part of the energy did not diminish the intensity of his life force. Instead, it merged with certain hidden traits within his body. So much so that Chen Ming even faintly sensed that he could nourish the evil Qi in his chest and use it as a weapon.
From the day of his Spirit Awakening, Chen Ming's body had already become a breeding ground for viruses and plague. It was only because he had consciously restrained it according to the methods he had learned, and because his strength had not yet been high enough, that it had never fully manifested.
But today, the mixed and complicated energy that entered his body, together with the Yang Qi and life force brought by the whale glue, made his body even more active from within.
Chen Ming felt a strange sensation, as though his body had entered some mysterious state. But as the energy inside him gradually stabilized, that condition also slowly quieted down again.
Zhang Peng, meanwhile, was the one who saw everything clearly. With one hand, he maintained Chen Ming's condition. With the other, he kept stuffing Spirit Beast meat into Chen Ming's mouth. Seeing that Chen Ming was still not adapting fast enough, he split his attention even further, took out the remaining whale glue, cut off another small piece, refined it, and stuffed that into Chen Ming's mouth as well.
With Zhang Peng's assistance, Chen Ming was finally able to carefully sense the changes in his Spirit and Origin. And as the energy inside his body continued to accumulate, his own spirit power did not actually rise further.
Instead, the powerful energy circulated continuously through his body. After passing through his meridians dozens of times, part of his spirit power began to disperse within them. This caused Chen Ming to vaguely sense that a portion of it had gathered elsewhere.
One part of the spirit power flowed vertically, running from head to toe and driving the qi and blood throughout his body. Another part flowed beneath the ribs, moving horizontally and driving the many meridians of his body.
Vertical or horizontal?
Chen Ming could sense that the state he was currently in was probably only enough to open one meridian, and he immediately hesitated between the Girdling Meridian and the Penetrating Meridian.
The Girdling Meridian was a horizontal meridian located beneath the ribs, wrapping around the body like a belt. That was why it was called the Girdling Meridian.
Chen Ming was not entirely sure what effect opening the Girdling Meridian would have. But because he had once seen the meridian charts Zhao Sanjin had shown him, he knew it was roughly related to regulating the body's condition by restraining the meridians to a certain degree, generally reducing expenditure and increasing recovery speed.
The Penetrating Meridian, on the other hand, was a vertical meridian that ran from head to toe. It could be considered a meridian that passed through the whole body and governed qi and blood. If this meridian were opened, it should increase qi, blood, and bodily strength.
As for exactly what kind of effect it would have, Chen Ming was not sure. After all, most of the knowledge he currently possessed was only what he had retained from his previous life.
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