Chapter 54: Undead, or the True Body?
Zhang Peng was also paying close attention to Chen Ming's conclusions.
After all, even as a Super Douluo, Zhang Peng had never opened any of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
If he could open those meridians, his strength should be able to rise another step.
Although Zhang Peng was already over 100 years old, in terms of a Super Douluo's lifespan, he was still in his prime.
Furthermore, he still had room to continue increasing his Rank, only being held back by insufficient comprehension.
If he could hold on for a few more decades, reaching Rank 97 would not be a problem for Zhang Peng. But Rank 98 would be extremely difficult.
He truly had no chance of becoming a Limit Douluo.
Even though Chen Ming had only barely succeeded by luck, Zhang Peng still wanted to see whether opening these special meridians could help him achieve another breakthrough.
However, when he recalled how Chen Ming had only barely succeeded even with his assistance as a Super Douluo, Zhang Peng could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.
After all, at his level, forcibly blasting open meridians with raw energy was no longer realistic.
Not to mention the terrifying amount of energy it would require, just controlling that amount of energy alone...
Although Zhang Peng did not say it out loud, helping Chen Ming had actually consumed quite a bit of his strength.
The energy expenditure itself was still manageable, but it put a tremendous strain on his mind.
It was only because Zhang Peng's foundation was deep enough. If it had been an ordinary Titled Douluo, they would have needed several days of recovery afterward.
If Zhang Peng truly wanted to force it, he would probably have to bring the High Priest and the Grand Elder together to assist him. Otherwise, he could not imagine how he would survive the process.
"Xiao Ming, how is your condition now?"
"Master, my condition is very good. The boost from opening these 2 meridians is much greater than I imagined."
"Although my Rank hasn't increased, I feel like the foundation I established after awakening my Spirit has improved by at least 40 to 50 percent."
"The Girdling Meridian, the one below my ribs, mainly strengthens my spirit power. It links and restrains my Hand Three Yin and Hand Three Yang Meridians, allowing spirit power to circulate rapidly through the hand meridians."
"Its main effects are reducing spirit power consumption, increasing recovery speed, increasing accumulation speed, improving the quality of spirit power, and slightly enhancing my physique."
"As for the vertical meridian, it runs from the top of my head to my legs, opening my body from top to bottom."
"That meridian is more focused on driving and stimulating qi and blood, thereby enhancing my physical strength and vitality. Its increase to spirit power is smaller..."
"Speaking of which, Master, mine is an undead martial soul. Leaving vitality aside, is increasing the power of my qi and blood really all right?" Chen Ming finally voiced the doubt in his heart.
"That is a good question. It is good because you've asked the core of the problem." Zhang Peng gathered his thoughts and began to explain. "Undead Spirits are not all the same."
"For example, is a Skeleton a kind of undead martial soul? Theoretically, yes, but in reality, not entirely."
"How do you distinguish the framework of a true body Spirit from the Skeleton of an undead martial soul? The answer is simple. It lies in three words: vitality."
"A Skeleton Spirit is a Tool Spirit that can affect the body, while a bone skeleton martial soul is the true body itself."
"When a Skeleton Spirit grows stronger, it enhances the bones. But when a bone skeleton martial soul grows stronger, it can strengthen the entire body."
"A Skeleton Spirit is an external object. If it is damaged, the consequences are not too severe."
"But a bone skeleton martial soul is the true body. Once it is damaged, there will be major problems."
"It is said that under certain extreme circumstances, an undead martial soul like a Skeleton Spirit can be stimulated into gaining vitality and become an Acquired true body Spirit."
"And similarly, a Spirit Master with a bone skeleton martial soul is not incapable of cultivating it along the path of a Skeleton Spirit."
"In the Holy Spirit Cult's history, there are records of true body Spirits based on blood, bones, or shadows becoming powerful Evil Spirit Masters."
"After all, appearance matters to many people. Some people always judge good and evil based on the manifestation of a Spirit, which has led to some fellows with merely strange-looking Spirits being treated as Evil Spirit Masters..."
"There is someone like that among the High Priests. But he has truly become an Evil Spirit Master now."
"If he had not joined as a High Priest from the beginning, then his identity would not have changed so easily. Otherwise, he might now be the Second Elder or Third Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult."
"I've gone off topic..."
"Simply put, the same logic applies here."
"The reason a Zombie Spirit is not a true body Spirit is because it lacks vitality. But a true body Spirit can also be cultivated as a Zombie Spirit."
"It is only that we have never encountered such an Evil Spirit Master."
"Your Abomination is a special kind of zombie."
"Generally speaking, undead-type Spirits can be divided into 3 categories: the Spirit type based on the soul, the Bone type centered on the skeleton, and the Flesh type centered on flesh and blood."
"The Holy Spirit Cult also has dedicated texts recording how to choose and walk the path for these 3 branches."
"The Abomination Spirit is rather special. Strictly speaking, Abomination itself is also just a classification."
"If one were to divide it more carefully, there are types like patchwork monsters stitched together from many different pieces of flesh, and there are types like yours, which are based entirely on yourself."
"It was only later that I gradually discovered that your Spirit is somewhat different from the Abomination Douluo's."
"Your Abomination was not stitched together from many different parts. It awakened within you under the plague."
"So where does the source of this Spirit come from? The answer is yourself. Your Abomination Spirit is your own self, the one who should have died in the plague and turned into an undead creature."
"Your Spirit is dead, so it cannot be considered a true body Spirit. But you yourself are alive, and your vitality can nourish your Spirit."
"Once the Spirit attaches to you, life and death will overlap, and you will enter a state that is neither alive nor dead, constantly decaying at the boundary between life and death, yet stubbornly refusing to die completely."
"And your attribute is less like poison and more like a more specialized plague."
"If you can control the degree between life and death, it will be of tremendous benefit to you."
"Neither alive nor dead, neither rotting away nor truly immortal..." Chen Ming already had some understanding of his Spirit, but only after Zhang Peng's guidance did he truly grasp the full picture.
The path he needed to walk was not purely one of evil, poison, or death. Hidden within it were other changes and characteristics.
"All things decay, yet all things endure..." Chen Ming muttered to himself.
"Master, does this count as me passing the test?" Chen Ming asked after thinking for a moment.
"This... let's count it as passing for now." Zhang Peng waved his hand and did not dwell on the details.
He had wanted Chen Ming to experience the world and develop some street smarts by living as an ordinary Spirit Master, and Chen Ming's performance could indeed be called insightful.
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