"Dad, Dad, come out quickly, Brother Lin has hit a fox bear."
Little Tiger was circling the fox bear’s corpse, shouting loudly, while Little Piglet had already started running into the house with his short legs, yelling loudly.
Upon hearing the noise, Uncle Taro also came out of his room. He was extremely surprised to see the huge fox bear’s corpse, especially noticing the single wound on its head, which shocked him.
"What amazing archery, passing through the eye socket without damaging the fur at all—none of the best hunters in our Lower River Village have this kind of archery!" Uncle Taro sincerely praised.
But when he turned his head to look at the other mutant beast’s corpse, he was stunned, watching as white mist rose in the sunlight.
"Ice? How can there be ice in the heat of summer?"
"This... this prey looks so strange. It... seems to have two heads?"
Uncle Taro was extremely startled, almost jumping up as he pointed at the ice-covered two-headed mutant beast’s corpse.
Zhong Lin smiled and said, "Uncle Taro, don’t be afraid. Just a minor trick. You go ahead and handle the fox bear first."
"Is this... the means of a martial artist?"
"Got it, understood."
Having traveled far himself, Uncle Taro naturally knew of some martial artists with extraordinary abilities. It’s said that some powerful ones can fly through the sky and escape through the earth, but he never imagined that Zhong Lin, who claimed to be practicing martial arts, would be so formidable.
Without asking further, he found a rope, hoisted the fox bear’s corpse, and started skinning with his tools.
Dinner was naturally stewed bear meat. Uncle Taro had excellent skills, and everyone ate until they were covered in grease.
"Uncle Taro, tomorrow I’ll head to Black Mountain County first, then send someone with a carriage to pick you up."
Uncle Taro put down his bowl and chopsticks, quickly waved his hand, and said, "No need, no need. I can just push a wheelbarrow there, no need for a carriage."
Zhong Lin smiled and said, "The journey is long. Little Tiger and Little Piglet are still young. Who knows what dangers might be encountered on the road? And the two-headed mutant beast in the room is quite troublesome. It needs special transport. Just listen to me. Don’t worry about it."
Hearing Zhong Lin’s firm tone, Uncle Taro nodded and did not refuse anymore.
After dinner, Zhong Lin added another layer of ice to the two-headed mutant beast’s corpse and returned to his room to meditate and cultivate.
The "Five Elements Mixed Essence Skill" circulated, and the surging inner breath instantly coursed through the entire body, with those parts manipulated by Zhong Lin transforming into silk threads heading towards the Wind Pond Acupoint.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhong Lin suddenly opened his eyes, filled with curiosity.
He had speculated that after merging many of the Heavenly Grade skills into the "Five Elements Mixed Essence Skill," not only would its power greatly increase, but it would also have significant advantages for unblocking meridians and breaking acupoints. Nevertheless, he did not expect it to be so effortless.
In just a quarter of an hour, the Wind Pond Acupoint on the Yin Qiao Meridian was directly opened, the speed beyond expectations.
The Twelve Layers of Unblocking Meridians, apart from the hand and foot meridians, include the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
Yin Qiao Meridian, Yang Qiao Meridian, Yin Wei Meridian, Yang Wei Meridian, Dai Meridian, Chong Meridian, Ren Meridian, Du Meridian.
Compared to the enhancement of martial arts techniques by the Yin and Yang Three Meridians of the hands and feet, each unblocking of one of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians brings a qualitative change to the inner breath in the Dantian.
The Twelve Layers of Unblocking Meridians, the initial four layers are straightforward, following the steps can unblock them one by one. However, the latter eight layers of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are different. Each unblocking leads to a significant leap in strength, and the difficulty grows exponentially. Of course, the corresponding danger increases as well.
After all, if the meridians on the hands and feet are injured, at most it results in disability, but any damage to the Eight Extraordinary Meridians will not only hinder strength advancement, but could also lead to losing one’s skills or even immediate death.
At least eight out of ten Second Grade martial artists are stuck at the fifth layer on the Yin Qiao Meridian, let alone the Ren Meridian and Du Meridian thereafter.
Master Yin Daoyan is currently at the eleventh layer’s Ren Meridian. He has spent a full eight years and still cannot unblock it, only able to slowly grind away.
Without any hesitation, Zhong Lin continued to close his eyes and circulate his inner breath, unblocking the meridians and breaking the acupoints.
As dawn approached, Zhong Lin exhaled a long breath, although he couldn’t hide his exhausted look, the excitement was evident.
In just one night, Zhong Lin unblocked all the acupoints on the Yang Qiao Meridian, meaning he unblocked one meridian overnight, completing the Sixth Layer of Unblocking Meridians to perfection. Next was to begin cultivation on the Yin Wei Meridian.
Feeling the surge of inner breath in his Dantian once more, a sense of power surged in his heart.
"The ideas behind the ’Five Elements Mixed Essence Skill’ were indeed correct. If I can also integrate the wood attribute, it shouldn’t be long before completing the Second Grade’s meridian unblocking, surpassing my master’s martial arts cultivation."
Zhong Lin was greatly excited.
Bidding farewell to Uncle Taro and his family, Zhong Lin mounted his horse and headed straight for Black Mountain County.
The familiar mountains and forests, the familiar journey, but walking it again now brought a completely different state of mind.
Previously, he was a child leading a smaller child, filled with danger and trepidation along the way. But now, as a Second Grade expert, the former dangers along the road seemed only like different scenery now.
Looking at the green stone ahead that resembled a crouching green ox, Zhong Lin’s face showed a mysterious expression.
He had passed by here years ago, but was scared away. Later, he learned from the bandits that all the villagers in Fu Niu Village had been slaughtered.
As the sky grew dark, Zhong Lin didn’t plan to sleep in the forest, instead urging his horse leisurely into the village of Fu Niu.
Fu Niu Village was not large, with only four or fifty households before and now had become a desolate village.
Scatterings of white bones lay on the ground, dressed in coarse cloth and linen, with a quick glance showing one skull’s cavity clearly smashed, obviously killed by someone smashing in the skull.
He casually selected a relatively good house to settle in, but upon entering found the interior in complete disarray.
The table was smashed, stools overturned, pottery shards everywhere, with dense white spider webs in sight, and a moldy smell in the air.
Casually tidying up a bit, he fed a Military Food Pill to the horse, while Zhong Lin himself swallowed a Fasting Pill.
These two items were a huge help along the journey. Without the Military Food Pills, given the exquisite nature of the horse under him, it would probably have become skin and bones long ago.
Horses, especially warhorses, have very refined dietary requirements — hay, beans, eggs, grains... nothing can be omitted, and they even require a midnight snack, or else they wouldn’t perform well.
Traveling often means camping out in the mountains, with no time to prepare all that, but fortunately, there’s the Military Food Pill, one of which is enough to meet the day’s needs for a warhorse.
The Fasting Pill too comes in handy, sparing the hassle of carrying condiments and engaging in wild cooking.
As night fell, the dead silent village became even quieter.
Zhong Lin continued unblocking meridians and breaking acupoints, accelerating his cultivation, not wasting a single moment.