Chapter 31: Breaking Through

## Chapter 31: Rushing the Orifices

Returning to the small spirit garden, Ye Chen immediately sequestered himself within his room.

His recent acquisition of snow jade orchid flowers was substantial, and he resolved to refine them all into jade spirit liquid, a crucial step in preparing for his breakthrough to the fifth layer of the Condensing Qi realm.

Casting forth his True Flame, he fed spirit grasses into the fiery embrace, one by one.

He toiled tirelessly, refining until the descent of night. After consuming a bottle of the newly refined jade spirit liquid, he resumed his labor.

The night passed in quiet dedication, and in a flash, dawn arrived.

Today, the Heng Yue Sect buzzed with unusual activity. More precisely, the back mountain of the Heng Yue Sect was particularly lively.

Yesterday, disciples from Tian Yang Peak and Ren Yang Peak had been soundly thrashed in the back mountain. This provoked the sudden ire of Old Taoist Zhong and True Person Qing Yang, who issued strict orders to their disciples to be vigilant against the other two peaks. Within their pronouncements, there was also a subtle encouragement for their disciples to act as they saw fit.

As Ye Chen had predicted, the back mountain of the Heng Yue Sect had become the secret battlefield for the three main peaks.

Indeed, a peculiar phenomenon arose: any disciple venturing into the back mountain carried a black iron club in their arms.

"You clubbed me? Even if I die, I'll club you back!"

Almost every disciple who had been clubbed harbored this sentiment.

A silent loss could not be endured in vain. The pent-up fury in their hearts demanded release. Regardless of whether the culprit was known, they would strike without hesitation, seeking to vent their suppressed rage.

Ah.....!

Ah....!

Screams akin to slaughtered pigs echoed through the back mountain from dawn till dusk, leaving the disciples and elders of Heng Yue Sect utterly bewildered.

"Are these three main peaks trying to overturn the heavens?"

"From now on, the back mountain is not a place to enter casually. Who knows when you might be clubbed?"

"Let them club whoever they want, as long as it's not me."

Throughout the day, any disciple who dared to enter the back mountain emerged with tales of woe. Many clutched their heads, others bore bruised faces and swollen noses, some were covered in footprints, and still others were riddled with injuries. They truly became a striking spectacle.

The secret skirmishes in the back mountain grew increasingly intense.

And as time marched on, the secret conflict gradually escalated into open warfare, the battlefield shifting from the back mountain of the Heng Yue Sect to the sect's Wind Cloud Platform.

"Kong Le of Tian Yang Peak, get out here! I await you at the Wind Cloud Platform!"

As soon as the sky brightened, a disciple from Di Yang Peak issued a challenge. His defiance seemed to ignite a chain reaction, and challenges resounded continuously.

"Yue Kang of Ren Yang Peak, I'll be waiting for you at the Wind Cloud Platform!"

"Zhao Long of Di Yang Peak, you son of a bitch, I will not rest until one of us is dead!"

"Stop playing dirty tricks! If you have the guts, come to the stage and fight!"

There had always been private animosity between the disciples of the three main peaks. The incident of being clubbed truly became the spark that ignited their war. The Wind Cloud Platform was ablaze with conflict throughout the day. Their mutual challenges transformed the already lively Wind Cloud Platform into a true gathering place of the wind and the clouds.

"Such a grand spectacle has probably not occurred since the establishment of the Heng Yue Sect."

"Why are the three main peaks fighting so recklessly?"

"The accumulated grudges were already deep. Even without the clubbing incident, they would have come to blows sooner or later."

And the root cause of all this, Ye Chen, was at this moment in the small spirit garden, refining jade spirit liquid without haste.

The entire small spirit garden was saturated with a fragrance of medicine that permeated the heart and spleen.

"It smells so good!"

Tiger Cub's large eyes blinked as he stood outside Ye Chen's room, greedily inhaling the fragrance that wafted from within.

"Jade spirit liquid."

Having once been an elder of the Heng Yue Sect, Zhang Fengnian was intimately familiar with the fragrance of medicine.

There was still a hint of surprise in Zhang Fengnian's eyes. Jade spirit liquid was typically cool and gentle, yet the fragrance emanating from the room was hot and steaming, clearly indicating freshly refined jade spirit liquid. This led Zhang Fengnian to stroke his beard with a knowing air.

Deep in the night, Ye Chen's room door finally opened.

A disheveled Ye Chen emerged, his hair messy, his face tired, and stubble adorning his chin.

With a forceful stretch, his body crackled with sounds.

Two days and three nights. He had refined over a hundred bottles of jade spirit liquid. His control over the fire and his refinement of jade spirit liquid had become increasingly skilled.

*Quack!*

*Quack!*

The small eagle-like giant bird seemed to still be awake. It flapped its wings and came over, its furry head rubbing against Ye Chen's body incessantly.

Its injuries had not yet fully healed. To fly in the air, it would need at least another month of recovery.

"Hungry?"

Ye Chen gently stroked the small eagle's furry head.

*Quack!*

*Quack!*

The small eagle was quite intelligent. It seemed to understand Ye Chen's words and shook its head.

Ye Chen smiled slightly, brushed his hand over his storage bag, and took out a large piece of meat, offering it to the small eagle.

The small eagle's eyes instantly lit up like snow. It ate with gusto.

"Let me help you a bit!" Ye Chen stroked the small eagle's head again, then sent a bottle of jade spirit liquid into the small eagle's body.

As the jade spirit liquid entered its body, the small eagle suddenly felt a surge of heat. A powerful force supported its body, causing it to involuntarily lift its head and look at Ye Chen. There was still some fear in its eyes, a fear that its body might explode from the surge of power.

"Don't worry, I'm here." Ye Chen smiled, his True Flame already cast out.

Seeing the flames, fear welled up in the small eagle's eyes. It seemed to know the terror of Ye Chen's True Flame, to the extent that its body involuntarily trembled.

"Don't be afraid." With a slight smile, Ye Chen used his True Flame to envelop the small eagle's entire body, then sent it surging into the small eagle's interior, helping it refine the bottle of jade spirit liquid.

*Quack! Quack!*

There was no burning pain. The small eagle felt warm all over. Its trembling body also involuntarily returned to normal. The refined jade spirit liquid, with its surging spiritual power, nourished its injuries.

In less than fifteen minutes, the small eagle flapped its wings and jumped a bit, able to barely fly in mid-air.

*Quack! Quack!*

This spirit bird seemed very happy. Being able to fly again made it reluctant to land. It flapped in mid-air for a long time before finally descending. Perhaps it was tired, for it then fell asleep.

"Sleep! Everything will be fine tomorrow." Ye Chen stroked the small eagle's head with a smile, then turned and walked into Tiger Cub's room.

Tiger Cub, honest and simple, lay in bed sleeping soundly, as if he hadn't noticed Ye Chen enter.

Approaching the bed, Ye Chen carefully examined Tiger Cub's body.

He discovered that this child's innate spirit orifices were blocked, and several large meridians were unopened. Not to mention the opening of his Dantian. With such a constitution, if he didn't encounter a fortuitous opportunity, he was destined to never become a cultivator.

Under normal circumstances, a person with smooth meridians could open their spirit orifices. The spirit orifices are the gateways leading to the Dantian. Only when the spirit orifices are opened and the Dantian is unblocked can one attract the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body and become a true cultivator.

However, if a person's meridians are innately blocked, to become a cultivator, someone must open all the meridians for them.

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, then injected a stream of True Flame into Tiger Cub's body.

That's right, he planned to use the True Flame to temper Tiger Cub's body, then open his meridians, open his spirit orifices, and finally open his Dantian.

Soon, a look of pain appeared on Tiger Cub's face. He wanted to wake up, but Ye Chen's sedative fragrance sent him back into a dream.

Controlling the True Flame, Ye Chen carefully and cautiously tempered Tiger Cub's body, fearing that the powerful True Flame might harm the child.

It wasn't long before he was dripping with sweat.

However, his efforts were not in vain. Through the tempering of the True Flame, Tiger Cub's meridians became tougher, and the blocked meridians also loosened. They were slowly opened by the stream of True Energy injected by Ye Chen.

This process was very time-consuming.

Not until dawn did Ye Chen manage to open all of Tiger Cub's meridians. And through the tempering of the True Flame, the impurities within Tiger Cub's body all seeped out through his pores. One could vaguely see a comfortable smile on his face as he slept and dreamed.

*Huff!*

He exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, and Ye Chen's tense body relaxed.

"Next, it's time to open the spirit orifices." Ye Chen smiled slightly. He had already succeeded halfway.

"It will be a little painful, bear with it." After a brief rest, Ye Chen again cast forth his True Energy and poured it into Tiger Cub's body. Then, letting it flow through Tiger Cub's meridians, he began to impact the barrier leading to the Dantian.

Uh....!

With the first impact, a look of pain appeared on Tiger Cub's small face.

Again.

Ye Chen proceeded step by step, not daring to be careless, for one slip-up could harm Tiger Cub's life.

The True Energy he poured into Tiger Cub's body was like a sharp sword, constantly impacting, the force of the impact gradually increasing from weak to strong. Tiger Cub's small face was already covered in sweat, his face pale as paper. If not for Ye Chen's sedative fragrance keeping him asleep, he would surely have woken up in pain.

"Persevere, your fate may change because of this." Ye Chen continued to control the True Energy, impacting that layer of barrier.

The sky was already approaching dawn. Even Ye Chen's face was somewhat pale.

*Pop!*

When such a sound echoed from within Tiger Cub's body, the spirit orifice leading to the Dantian was truly opened by Ye Chen.

Suddenly, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth fluctuated, rushing towards Tiger Cub's body and gathering, forming a vortex of spiritual energy. It seemed to have found a vent, pouring into his body through every pore.

"Heaven does not disappoint those who have heart." Ye Chen exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, involuntarily wiping away a handful of cold sweat.