Opening the meridians and entering the path is a necessary step for becoming a martial artist.
Generally, a person can automatically awaken their spirit veins at the age of sixteen. However, there are also exceptions. Some can awaken as young as twelve years old, and others may rely on external forces to awaken their spirit veins.
After spirit vein awakening, as long as it is not a wasted spirit vein, the person can soak in medicinal liquids to completely open the internal spirit veins. This prepares for the penetration of spiritual energy into the body, storing energy in the body, and gathering at the Dantian.
This stage is called "opening the meridians".
The stage referred to as "entering the path" comes after the opening of the meridians. The human body has eight spirit veins: Ren Meridian, Du Meridian, Chong Meridian, Belt Meridian, Yang Wei Meridian, Yin Wei Meridian, Yin Qiao Vessel, and Yang Qiao Vessel. Once all eight spirit veins are fully opened, one can enter the path and officially become a nine-rank martial artist.
Each person's talent is different, and those with extraordinary talent only need to soak in medicinal liquids for three or two times, and they can fully open the eight spirit veins. For those with average talent, it may take ten, twenty, or even thirty times.
Chen Guang, the second son of the Chen family, falls into the category of those with lesser talent. Initially, he had to soak in medicinal liquids for 25 times before he could barely open all eight spirit veins. During this period, he spent a considerable amount of silver, which caused Chen Dewang to directly deduct three-quarters of his allowance for being thrifty with money.
The stage of opening the meridians is the most costly for ordinary people, to the point that even Fu Bo, who is not a waste vein and had some talent in his youth, didn't have enough money to open his veins. As a result, at over sixty years old, he is still an ordinary person.
Fu Bo had two buckets of medicinal liquids prepared. He gazed at the two buckets for a long time, lost in thought, and remembered his difficult youth, feeling a sense of heartache.
If he had met a master like the third young master at a young age, perhaps he would have had a different life.
"Master, the medicinal liquid has been prepared."
Fu Bo stood up, supporting himself on his knees, and called out outside.
Hearing this, the two women who were blushing with embarrassment after being teased by Chen Mo, without hesitation, hurriedly escaped by claiming to soak in medicinal liquids.
Fu Bo walked out from inside, wiping the sweat from his forehead, gave a glance at the little dink, and then told her to follow him inside. The latter, after hearing this, skipped and ran in after him.
"The medicinal liquid has been prepared, but if you let them open their spirit veins without testing them first, Master, are you not being too hasty? Moreover, the Little Bean has only twelve years old, it is uncertain whether she has awakened her spirit veins or not..."
Fu Bo stood respectfully in front of Chen Mo and asked.
Chen Mo waved his hand, motioning for the busy Fu Bo to sit down, then said calmly, "Their identities are not suitable for the awakening platform. I'm not clear on what grade of spirit vein Miss Su has. Even if it's a waste vein, one can tell from that one time of soaking in medicinal liquids; I'm not short of money for this one session. As for Wu Xin, although she is only twelve years old, her spirit veins have already awakened. So, there is no need for you to worry about that, Fu Bo."
In Chen Mo's memory, Liu Wuxin possesses a celestial-grade spirit vein. If she goes to the awakening platform for a spirit vein test, it will certainly cause a sensation across the nation.
As the saying goes, "people fear fame as much as pigs fear fattening up." Without a strong backing, it's easy to perish halfway through if you expose your talent too early. There are not a few such examples in the history of the Tianlong Empire.
Chen Mo's thoughts turned, and he curiously asked: "The little bean is only six years old, so she probably hasn't awakened her spirit veins. Have you also prepared the medicinal liquid for her, Fu Bo?"
Fu Bo shook his head, "Yes, the medicinal liquid was prepared, but it's not for opening the meridians; it's the one from last night."
"What does that mean?"
Chen Mo was puzzled.
"I checked the medicinal liquids for the three of them this morning. There were poisonous insects in the liquids of Miss Liu and Miss Su, which I assume have been cleaned out, but not in the little bean's. Although I don't know why, I thought she should try again."
Chen Mo's face turned serious. The poisonous insects in the little bean's body could not be drawn out, which was not a good thing. If the poisonous insects were to infest her body again, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The sun set on the west hill, and the sky grew increasingly dark.
When the three girls of Li Wu Xin completed the soaking of medicinal liquids, Chen Mo inquired about the progress of the two girls, and the result still satisfied him.
Li Wu Xin opened five spirit veins in one go. As the future empress of the demon cult, her talent is unmatched, and it's no wonder that even Zhang Long, who has already become a martial artist, is envious.
Although Su Yumeo is not as good as Li Wu Xin, who opened five spirit veins, she still managed to open three, which is enough to make Zhang Long envious. After all, when he first started training, he could only open two spirit veins.
Opening the meridians should not be too frequent. After one session, the shortest interval is seven days before the next soaking and opening of the meridians. Otherwise, it will cause irreversible damage to the body. The more times the meridians are opened, the longer the interval will be.
For example, Chen Guang, who successfully opened his meridians after 25 attempts, spent an entire four years.
Chen Mo did not hurry to let Liu Wu Xin and Su Yumeo continue to open their meridians. Instead, he let them follow Zhang Long and learn how to let spiritual energy enter their spirit veins during this time. He also went with Fu Bo to check on the little bean.
Several hours later, the little bean was having a lot of fun in the medicinal liquid. When Chen Mo came, she still giggled and splashed the medicinal liquid on him.
Chen Mo helplessly tapped her little head, then shifted his gaze to the bucket inside, still without any trace of poisonous insects.
"Fu Bo, what's going on here?"
Chen Mo's expression grew increasingly serious.
"I don't know either, old man. Perhaps, after the struggle among the hundred insects inside the little bean's body, there is only one left, which indeed cannot be drawn out."
"Is that dangerous for her?"
Fu Bo shook his head, "Unknown."
"Brother, are you wanting the bugs to come out? If so, Xiao Douding can make them come out."
Xiao Douding happily shouted.
"What?"
Chen Mo and Fu Bo exchanged a look with each other, both looking in surprise at Xiao Douding, "Can you really make it come out?"
Xiao Douding nodded slightly, and raised her chubby little hands. Suddenly, three different-looking bugs crawled out from her palm. Chen Mo and Fu Bo looked in amazement.
In that moment of coming out, the three bugs crawled back in immediately, not giving Chen Mo and Fu Bo any chance to react.
"The bugs said, the medicinal liquid smells so bad."
Xiao Douding retracted her hands, and Chen Mo and Fu Bo were still in a state of shock. Bugs actually listened to her? What's going on here.
"Little bean, since the bugs listen to you, why do they still want to hurt you?"
Chen Mo took a deep breath and asked, somewhat puzzled.
"That's because there are other bugs. They want to hurt me, but last night, I ate all of them with the three bugs on my body. They said they wouldn't hurt me, but I have to give them good food..."
"Is this a bug cultivation technique?"
Chen Mo was taken aback and then suddenly understood.
"Master, what is bug cultivation?"
Fu Bo was somewhat confused.
Chen Mo was slightly taken aback. In this era, there were very few types of martial artists, and bug cultivation had not yet appeared. It would only be several centuries later when the era of diverse martial arts and a flourish of various styles would come.
Thinking about how to explain it to Fu Bo, a loud scream suddenly made Chen Mo and the others alert.
