Chapter 3058 — The Third Tier of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art

What Wei Zhao did not know was that Kang Zhaoming had begun scheming again, this time to sabotage his pill business. As for Wei Zhao, he had no time to spare for such things now: the herbs required to fortify his meridians before cultivating the third tier of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art were finally all in hand, and he was ready to begin decocting them.

With the experience of last time behind him, Wei Zhao went about it with practiced ease, yet without any haste, boiling the medicine strictly according to the method set down in the silk scroll.

When everything was ready, Wei Zhao summoned Huo Shaoyun and Wu Chengtian. He had originally meant to discuss the matter of the Inheritor with Huo Shaoyun, but he was too impatient to complete the meridian fortification, so he decided to leave it until afterward.

"Chengtian, Shaoyun, I am about to begin the meridian fortification, which requires a period of seclusion. The whole process may not take long—a few hours at the fastest—but during that time I cannot move, so I will have to rely on you two to stand guard for me," Wei Zhao said. Though this was different from cultivation, and if something truly happened he could force himself out of the medicinal bath, the effect would be ruined and the medicine wasted!

These were herbs Wei Zhao had gone to great trouble to obtain. For the sake of one vital and exceedingly rare ingredient, he had even killed the elder of the Dongfang family. How could he possibly let it go to waste over some ordinary matter?

"No problem, Chief. We will sit right by the door and wait for you to... finish that whatever-it-is, the meridian fortification..." Huo Shaoyun was the first to speak up. Though he had no idea what meridian fortification actually was—for all his status and knowledge in the ancient sect, he had never even heard of such a thing—every cultivation method had its own secrets, so curious as he was, he did not feel it proper to ask.

Wu Chengtian, by contrast, was already well versed in guarding Wei Zhao. He did not need to say a word; he simply nodded and sat down in the hall to keep the door for him.

Back in his own room, Wei Zhao prepared the medicinal liquid according to the instructions on the meridian fortification prescription. After taking a dose of the oral medicine, he stepped into a basin of dark green liquid set on the floor!

In an instant, a burning sensation spread across his skin, as though he had leapt into a basin of boiling water! In truth, when Wei Zhao stepped into the liquid, he had already braced himself against the cold, because the last time he had tempered his body, the moment he entered the bath, he had been struck by a bone-deep chill!

But this time, what Wei Zhao had not expected was the heat! It caught him completely off guard. Fortunately, his constitution was strong and his resistance to heat considerable; otherwise, he truly would have leapt right back out of the basin!

Gritting his teeth, Wei Zhao endured it in silence. This was a trial he had to pass through before setting foot on the third tier of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art; only by seeing it through could he cultivate the third tier smoothly.

The meridian fortification took a different length of time from body tempering. Body tempering required twenty-four hours, whereas the meridian fortification needed only four. So, all in all, this time would be easier for Wei Zhao to endure than the last.

As Wei Zhao had expected, the dark green liquid grew paler and paler as time passed. Wei Zhao knew his body was absorbing it. It had been the same last time: once his body had absorbed the medicinal liquid, it began expelling the impurities within, completing the body-tempering process.

This time, however, what surprised Wei Zhao somewhat was that the liquid simply kept growing lighter—it was not like body tempering, where absorption was followed by the expulsion of toxins. This time, it seemed to be absorbed entirely into his body!

No wonder the meridian fortification took less time this round: it was purely a process of absorption, with no expulsion of toxins! After about four hours, the liquid in the basin had turned completely clear, and Wei Zhao clicked his tongue in amazement!

The burning sensation, too, grew fainter and fainter until at last it vanished without a trace. Wei Zhao climbed out of the water in comfort, feeling that his meridians had grown considerably thicker than before, able to circulate more vital essence and true qi in the same span of time.

"Phew..." Wei Zhao let out a long breath. This feeling was entirely different from before. He sensed that his cultivation realm had undergone another qualitative leap. It was likely that whether he was compressing true qi bombs or recovering vital essence and true qi, he would now be faster than before!

At that thought, Wei Zhao took out the copied silk scroll of the third-tier heart method of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art and began carefully pondering it in silence.

"The Third Stage of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art—Metamorphosis..." In truth, Wei Zhao had already studied the heart method of the third tier many times in silence before the meridian fortification, and knew it by heart long ago. He brought it out now only for fear of some mishap!

He had already suffered a qi deviation once before. This time, following the principle that caution never goes amiss, Wei Zhao recited the third-tier mnemonic once more, and only after confirming there was nothing wrong did he enter the jade pendant space and prepare to try circulating the third-tier mnemonic.

"Xiao Yi, your meridian fortification was quick this time!" Jiao Yazi was somewhat surprised at how swiftly Wei Zhao had completed it. Everything seemed to have gone smoothly!

"Elder Jiao, you weren't hoping I would run into some trouble again, were you?" Wei Zhao said, exasperated.

"Haha, how could I!" Jiao Yazi gave a dry laugh. "So you are preparing to attempt the heart method of the third tier of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art?"

"Yes!" Wei Zhao nodded. "Since the meridian fortification is complete, it is time to try cultivating it! Time is pressing, and our enemies grow stronger by the day!"

"Heh, a sense of urgency is a good thing," Jiao Yazi said with a nod.

"By the way, Elder Jiao, what lies behind the fourth stone door?" Wei Zhao asked, curious.

"I do not know." Jiao Yazi shook his head flatly, then added: "And even if I did, I would not tell you. If you set your hopes on it and recklessly speed up your cultivation, haste would make waste. That is a principle you understand well enough."

"Fine." Wei Zhao was utterly helpless before Jiao Yazi. About certain things, until he himself reached that level, no amount of asking would get an answer—or rather, if Jiao Yazi's memories had not yet been unlocked, asking was as good as asking nothing.

Calming his mind, Wei Zhao began to try circulating the third tier of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art within his body!