Chapter 52: The Eight Extraordinary Meridians, Connecting Vertically and Horizontally
In the douluo world, research concerning the Eight Extraordinary Meridians was essentially a black box.
Someone must have successfully opened the Eight Extraordinary Meridians before, yet no one had ever clearly explained how it was done, what would happen after the meridians were opened, or what sequence and state should be used to open them in the most reasonable way.
"Don't worry. Do your best to break through. I will help you," Zhang Peng said softly from behind Chen Ming, stabilizing his Spirit.
"First open the Girdling Meridian to change my spirit power, then open the Penetrating Meridian!"
Chen Ming gritted his teeth and began mobilizing his spirit power along the route that had been washed open time and time again, pouring it toward the Girdling Meridian, which had never before been included in any Meditation Method.
Compared to the broad and regular Twelve Primary Meridians, every one of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians was far too strange.
Chen Ming's Girdling Meridian was relatively narrow even among the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and the speed at which spirit power passed through it was also slower.
Every time the meridian was expanded, it caused damage.
If the vitality within his body had not been able to rapidly repair that slight damage, Chen Ming would never have dared to continue.
Because he could not yet incorporate the Girdling Meridian into a proper circulation, Chen Ming could only inefficiently force his spirit power through it again and again, wasting a huge amount of energy with every attempt.
If he had been relying on himself alone, his energy would have been exhausted long ago.
But with Zhang Peng's support, Chen Ming could recover a little each time before immediately beginning the next wash.
After spirit power circulated through the Girdling Meridian dozens of times, the Girdling Meridian was finally opened in the true sense.
Almost naturally, after the Girdling Meridian appeared, the Scorpion Tiger Meditation Technique inside Chen Ming's body began to shift.
Its original structure started to collapse, and the spirit power in his body surged involuntarily toward the Girdling Meridian, then scattered outward from various places.
The more exquisite something was, the more it feared error.
The Scorpion Tiger Meditation Technique demanded precision.
The sudden appearance of an additional meridian naturally brought devastating destruction to the entire Meditation Method.
After several failed attempts, Chen Ming had no choice but to switch to the most basic and primitive Foundation Meditation Method to restrain the spirit power in his body.
He slowly guided his spirit power through the Twelve Primary Meridians, then carefully diverted it into the newly opened route of the Girdling Meridian, observing the changes in the nature of his spirit power.
It was said that the Foundation Meditation Method had existed for tens of thousands of years. It was one of the oldest Meditation Methods in human history and the ancestor of all Meditation Methods.
It was so ancient that it did not even truly follow a meridian system. Instead, it used the Spirit Origin and Dantian as the core to absorb and refine spirit power.
In both efficiency and precision, it was far inferior to the Meditation Methods of the current era that relied on meridians.
Even the elementary Meditation Method Zhang Peng had taught Chen Ming when they first met was more efficient than the Foundation Meditation Method.
Chen Ming had only read about its history in books before. He had never imagined that one day he would actually have to use this ancient relic.
But it was precisely because this method did not rely on the meridians and instead directly used the Spirit Origin and Dantian to move spirit power that Chen Ming was able to quickly stabilize his own spirit power after the operating path inside his body collapsed due to the opening of the Girdling Meridian.
After gradually stabilizing himself, Chen Ming immediately continued charging toward the Penetrating Meridian.
The opening of the Girdling Meridian had changed the circulation path of his spirit power and also increased the speed of its circulation.
It increased Chen Ming's cultivation speed and recovery speed while slightly reducing the amount of spirit power he consumed.
The Twelve Primary Meridians located in the limbs no longer needed to be driven one by one. Instead, with the Girdling Meridian as the central hub, they could now be mobilized more quickly.
Gradually, Chen Ming began trying to open the Penetrating Meridian.
Yet the reaction of the Penetrating Meridian was completely different from that of the Girdling Meridian.
If the Girdling Meridian was narrow and clogged, then the Penetrating Meridian was simply too broad and too violent. It was an inherently existing path that independently mobilized qi, blood, and energy, almost like a surging torrent already flowing within the body.
Every attempt Chen Ming made to open the Penetrating Meridian and bring it under his control caused his qi and blood to surge wildly.
If Zhang Peng had not been suppressing him firmly from behind, Chen Ming would have long since suffered Qi Deviation from the reversal of qi and blood.
Every failed attempt to open the Penetrating Meridian caused some of Chen Ming's qi and blood to dissipate.
The weaker his qi and blood became, the easier the Penetrating Meridian seemed to control, but at the same time, the weakening of his qi and blood also caused his condition to decline further.
The more he failed, the closer it seemed to success. The closer he came to success, the more dangerous it became.
Chen Ming fell into a strange cycle, repeatedly opening the Penetrating Meridian, trying to bring this meridian, which governed the qi and blood of his entire body, under his control.
Finally, after an unknown number of attempts, Chen Ming at last broke through the Penetrating Meridian and brought this current of qi, blood, and spirit power under his control.
The Girdling Meridian and the Penetrating Meridian intersected, one horizontal and one vertical, linking Chen Ming's entire body from top to bottom and side to side.
As spirit power circulated, Chen Ming could feel his condition rapidly improving.
Just after the meridians were opened, the speed of energy circulation in his body had already increased by more than 30 percent compared to before.
When Chen Ming opened his eyes and slowly regained consciousness, his vision suddenly went dark. A fierce wave of dizziness surged over him, and Chen Ming fainted on the spot, instinctively releasing his Spirit Possession.
At that moment, what appeared before Zhang Peng was a gaunt, skeletal child.
The child's skin was shriveled, thick dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and the aura of life on his body had become faint and weak.
"Sigh..."
Seeing this scene, the somewhat weary Zhang Peng did not know what to say.
He could only take out a small jar from his spirit tool, open it, mix a single drop of highly concentrated fresh Spirit Beast blood with water, and pour it into Chen Ming's mouth.
What Zhang Peng had given Chen Ming was the essence blood of a Spirit Beast that he himself used either for cultivation or for rapid recovery in critical moments.
Every single drop contained considerable vitality and energy.
As the diluted fresh blood flowed down Chen Ming's throat into his stomach, his stomach and intestines immediately began operating at high speed, breaking down this energy and supplying it to a body that was so dried out it had nearly reached its limit.
Chen Ming had accomplished something that could almost be called unprecedented in the douluo world. At Rank 20, he had opened two of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
But the price he paid was equally severe.
If Zhang Peng had not been helping him, Chen Ming might not even have found the right moment to open the meridians, or he might have died from Qi Deviation during the process.
Even in worlds where internal meridians had been systematically researched and the methods for opening them were clear, many people still stumbled and fell at this hurdle.
Even those who survived by luck often suffered terrible aftereffects.
As for Chen Ming, he had simply forced his way through, using an extremely inefficient conversion method to achieve the opening of the meridians.
The additional expenditure during this entire process was far greater than that of a normal meridian breakthrough.
.....
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