Chapter 148: Chapter 147: Tongxuan
Three hours passed quickly. Two large copper cauldrons were used in rotation without interruption. This meant that Zhao Xuanqi had not rested at all in those three hours. Calculating based on one training session per Quarter Hour, that was a full twelve sessions.
And this was also roughly the limit of what Zhao Xuanqi could currently achieve.
During the stage from the peak of Cross-Training to Inner Cultivation, while his body’s foundation was already extremely strong, his internal organs had not actually undergone much training and were still very fragile. This prevented his digestive abilities from being fully utilized.
But even so, the amount of Secret Medicine he could consume in a day back then was about seven times that of an ordinary Martial Artist.
Now, his Inner Cultivation had deepened, his internal organs strengthened to the realm of Internal Organs Resonating. His visceral functions were comprehensively enhanced, compensating for the shortcomings in his digestion. This allowed the terrifying effects of his digestive abilities to be fully unleashed, and with the help of Rare Beast Materials, he had far surpassed the limits of his previous life.
At this rate, one day of his training was almost equivalent to more than ten days for an ordinary Martial Artist. In fact, due to the powerful effects of the Five Evils Technique, his progress was even more terrifying.
In his previous life, it took Zhao Xuanqi half a year to achieve Heart Tongxuan. But in reality, most of that time was spent figuring out the Five Evils Technique and recovering from injuries. The time actually spent on cultivation was probably only a little over a month.
Now, with the aid of Rare Beast Materials and the support of his past life’s experience, this timeframe had been drastically shortened.
Changing the body is, in fact, very simple. The hardest part is knowing *how* to change it. This is precisely the crucial point that stumps countless Martial Artists and hinders their progress.
In his past life, Zhao Xuanqi started from nothing, reached an insurmountable peak at twenty-five, and died in the desert at twenty-seven. In this life, his climb to the summit would only be shorter.
In the medicinal liquid of the copper cauldron, Zhao Xuanqi could feel his heart pounding violently and his blood surging wildly, delivering nutrients to every part of his body at an unimaginable speed. The frequency of the beats was so fast and the blood flow so intense that it even caused damage to his blood vessels and heart tissue.
However, the abundant nutrients would immediately begin to mend this damage, allowing his heart and blood vessels to rapidly repair themselves and grow even stronger.
Internal organs, unlike muscles, skin, and membranes, have an extremely poor self-healing capacity. This makes them very difficult to train and unable to withstand severe damage.
For Five Qi Tongxuan, the most critical step to making the internal organs perform beyond their limits is to unlock the restorative abilities of their cells through various methods.
Therefore, experts of Five Qi Tongxuan have exceedingly strong organ functions. Even if their internal organs suffer massive trauma, it won’t necessarily be fatal. They can even control their organs to contract and stop bleeding, repairing themselves quickly with the help of appropriate Wound Medicine.
Experts of Five Qi Tongxuan all possess immense vitality.
This was now the case for Zhao Xuanqi, who was training his heart with the Five Evils Technique. The restorative ability of his heart cells had been completely unlocked and activated, only a step weaker than that of his muscles, skin, and membranes. Even if his heart were to be stabbed now, as long as the wound wasn’t too large, he could completely control parts of his heart to contract and stop the bleeding, using the nutrients from his Qi and Blood to rapidly repair the wound and avoid a fatal injury.
The training session ended.
Zhao Xuanqi, still in the copper cauldron, snapped his eyes open. With a single movement, he leaped out of the cauldron. His skin vibrated, shaking off the water from his body.
At that moment, his skin was flushed crimson from the high temperature and the rapid flow of his Qi and Blood.
Then, the onlookers, Shi Huai’an and Fan Shiyan, witnessed a terrifying sight.
They watched as Zhao Xuanqi narrowed his eyes. The crimson color of his skin began to rapidly recede from the tips of his limbs, the change visible to the naked eye. Soon, his body returned to its original complexion, even looking somewhat pale.
The next moment.
DONG!!
A deep, muffled heartbeat, like the beat of a war drum, rang out. The sound was so powerful that Shi Huai’an and Fan Shiyan felt as if their own hearts had momentarily stopped.
Following that, they saw Zhao Xuanqi’s body rapidly turn crimson again, his pores opening and closing all over.
HISS!!
Sweat was expelled from his body by the instantaneous rise in temperature, carrying away the excess heat. Some of the sweat vaporized due to the high temperature, creating a shroud of steam around Zhao Xuanqi.
As the excess heat dissipated, Zhao Xuanqi’s body returned to its normal temperature, and his skin color went back to normal as well.
’His Heart’s Profound Ability is just monstrous...’
Shi Huai’an and Fan Shiyan exchanged a look, momentarily speechless.
’One week. I’ve completed the initial stage of Heart Tongxuan. Now I’ll need some time to consolidate and strengthen it. Plus, its abilities are still limited by the insufficient functions of my other organs, so my heart’s power can’t be fully unleashed...’
Zhao Xuanqi inwardly assessed his current condition.
The biggest problem with achieving organ Tongxuan through the Five Evils Technique was that the power of a single organ might exceed the limits of the entire visceral system. For example, with his current Heart’s Profound Ability, the excessively violent surge of Qi and Blood and the rise in body temperature were things his other, not-yet-advanced organs couldn’t withstand.
Only when all five major organs achieved Tongxuan would the true terror of the Five Evils Technique be fully revealed.
He took a step forward, emerging from the shroud of steam that surrounded him like an immortal god descending from the heavens.
His gaze fell upon Shi Huai’an and Fan Shiyan, and he said, "Care to lend a hand and test it out?"
He needed to get a rough idea of what his abilities had become. With Fan Shiyan and Shi Huai’an’s strength, they would undoubtedly be worthy opponents.
Hearing Zhao Xuanqi’s words, both Shi Huai’an and Fan Shiyan perked up, their faces showing great interest.
To be honest, watching Zhao Xuanqi train these past few days had left them feeling keyed up. They were also extremely curious to see what level of organ abilities could be achieved through such a terrifying training method.
"I’ll go first!"
Fearing that Shi Huai’an would beat him to it, Fan Shiyan took a step forward, his figure darting out to land in front of Zhao Xuanqi.
"Use your full strength. Don’t hold back."
Zhao Xuanqi said to Fan Shiyan.
"Of course. Against you, Elder Zhao, I don’t have the luxury of holding back."
Fan Shiyan said in a deep voice.
He wasn’t just being polite. His and Shi Huai’an’s strength was only roughly a step above Wu Yin’s from back then. Zhao Xuanqi had been strong enough to defeat Wu Yin, and now he had made a qualitative leap. He could freely use Gang Qi in his fighting techniques and could even gain the upper hand against an Elder. Their only hope of putting up a fight was to suppress Zhao Xuanqi with their higher cultivation realm.
Thinking about it carefully, a sense of terror welled up in Fan Shiyan’s heart. ’How long has it been since he defeated Wu Yin? His strength has already reached this level without anyone noticing. This rate of progress is simply too terrifying.’
