Chapter 160 - The Truth Dyed in Red (Final) (Patreon)

“Benefactor,” Wang Chen said through gritted teeth as he sat down with Lucian's hand still piercing his abdomen. “Aren't you scared?”

Sitting cross-legged, Lucian frowned at the sudden question, momentarily wondering which one of them was bleeding through the penetration.

“It's rare for me to feel fear,” Lucian said, answering the strange question nonetheless.

“But...” Wang Chen gulped down a mouthful of blood, struggling to keep his eyes open as he felt his blood moving beyond his control. “I've... thought about it... Those people were targeting you. They wanted to kill you.”

While Wang Chen had barely understood what happened during the battle in the Broken Maze, he had spent some time with Bai Xiaomeng reflecting on everything. After all, he had arrived at the Sailor School worse for wear, so she had bombarded him with questions.

Throughout their conversation, and combined with Bai Xiaomeng's observations, he had concluded that Lucian had walked straight into a trap!

An assassination attempt, to be more precise.

Yet now, despite everything that had happened, Lucian acted as though it were nothing unusual. In fact, they had entered a cultivation session without talking about the subject at all!

Hearing Wang Chen's broken sentences, Lucian shook his head.

“You worry too much, kid. They caught me by surprise, taking advantage of my lack of information and my narrow perspective. That’s all.”

Wang Chen opened his eyes in surprise at Lucian's honesty.

“But what if they try again?” he asked, fearing that strangers would barge into the annex and kill them the next second. Wang Chen knew he would be a target as well, because the witness couldn’t survive.

Lucian felt he had almost completed the pathway of Wang Chen’s eighth meridian and said, “They can try. A life in contempt would be far too boring. I can't get too rusty in dealing with them.”

Dismissing the countless memories of assassination attempts during his reign as the Vampire Ancestor, Lucian's eyes turned crimson as he manipulated Blood Essence, finishing the Lesser Yang Ascendant Meridian.

Qi naturally flowed through Wang Chen's body, just as it did through everything that followed the natural order. In his case, however, wisps of gaseous Qi also accompanied the blood through his meridians, nourishing the vessels that were filled with Blood Essence.

Circulating through Wang Chen's artificial meridians, the Qi caused the young man to exhale softly and close his eyes, almost as if he had fallen asleep, seemingly unconcerned by the pain of Lucian's hands embedded in his abdomen.

Without any sound or outward reaction, Lucian felt Wang Chen unlock the meridian. He didn't rejoice loudly, but inwardly, he was glad. Then, when he proceeded to carve the ninth meridian, Wang Chen drew a deep breath and muttered in a trance,

“The warmth of the Heavens embraces the ascendant's shell after the Heavenly Tribulation, dispersing the fog and bringing light to the truth through the Lesser Yang Ascendant Meridian.”

Furrowing his brows, Lucian committed every word to memory, knowing this enlightenment would be of immense value later.

Meanwhile, the ninth meridian atop Wang Chen's head, called the Governing Crown Meridian, was carved. With a shudder, he groaned, his muscles tightening as the meridian opened with greater difficulty, and blood trickled from the corners of his eyes.

Narrowing his own eyes, Lucian pressed onward. He wanted to see whether Wang Chen could open the tenth meridian and reach the peak stage of the Qi Gathering Realm.

As the process continued, Wang Chen spoke again, a content smile spreading across his lips, while blood tears smeared his cheeks.

“The azure sea houses the spirit, cleared of fog and mortal shell. The Governing Crown Meridian connects the Heavenly Daos to the one blessed by the Heavenly Mandate,” he said, his voice rougher at each sentence.

When Wang Chen finished reciting his enlightenment, a shadow suddenly loomed over Lucian's mind. For the briefest instant, Lucian sensed something observing both him and Wang Chen.

Then, just as suddenly, the sensation vanished, as though a mighty river had surged through and swept the presence away.

Having almost reached Wang Chen's tenth meridian, Lucian briefly considered stopping.

Then he smirked and pushed forward.

The stranger the phenomena surrounding Wang Chen became, the more Lucian wanted to hear the enlightenment. With a grunt, Lucian reinforced the Blood Essence, carving the meridian originating from Wang Chen's liver, his eyes gleaming as he felt a powerful force resisting its opening.

Nonetheless, that resistance weakened with each passing second. It reached a stage where Wang Chen needed one final push to have another breakthrough.

Smiling broadly, Lucian said with a dark chuckle, “Persevere, Wang Chen! Or Bai Xiaomeng will be nothing but a pink skeleton before you ever see her again!”

That was enough.

Wang Chen vomited blood, his fat and muscles trembling violently as his mind buzzed.

Then, the tenth meridian was unlocked.

Suddenly, Wang Chen opened his grey eyes and looked up at Lucian. He carried a murkiness that had never been there before, his mind clouded by the breakthrough.

“The Absolute Yin Wood Meridian gives meaning to the natural order. The Heavenly Mandate merges with our spirit, giving birth to all living things, Heaven's essence balanced within.”

Finishing those words, Wang Chen closed his eyes and slumped backward into a deep sleep.

Removing his hand from Wang Chen's abdomen, Lucian wiped the blood from his arm. Then, using Blood Essence to stop Wang Chen's bleeding, he shouted, “Bring the medicine!”

A moment later, three servants entered, accustomed to treating Wang Chen's battered body, carrying medicinal pastes and herbal concoctions.

Watching them for a moment, Lucian nodded before walking to the opposite side of the indoor training hall. Sitting cross-legged, he smiled to himself.

That young man has already reached the peak of the Qi Gathering realm. After the eleventh and twelfth meridians, he will be ready to enter the Qi Refining realm. At least, if the process of forming a Spiritual Root works, he thought, flipping his inverted cultivation back to its natural flow. Meanwhile, I'm stuck at the middle stage, unable to open my seventh meridian.

Lucian placed a hand over his chest, feeling his heart pounding wildly as he recalled the mysterious presences and strange phenomena that appeared when Wang Chen cultivated.

He won't die before helping me discover the limits of cultivation, Lucian thought, calming himself as he rested his hands upon his lap. I’ll make sure of it.

Closing his eyes, he recalled Wang Chen's enlightenment along with everything he had read about the seventh meridian of the Qi Gathering Realm.

Time slowly passed, yet all he could do was grit his teeth.

He had no discoveries.

What exactly is the path to overcoming the frustration and repressed anger of a failed ascendant? Lucian felt his own frustration grow as he recalled the Lesser Yang Descending Meridian.

Amid his thoughts, he sensed someone approaching. Opening his eyes, he saw one of the servants bowing respectfully.

“Young Master Bo Xian, a package has arrived from the Feathered Serpent Castle. There are also several people waiting to meet with you. What are your orders?”

Nodding with a frown, he said, “Bring me the package. As for the visitors, have them wait in one of the annex buildings. Lock them if they try to leave."

Bowing once more, the servant hurried away.

Paying her no further attention, Lucian's thoughts raced.

That's right! How could I forget? My agreement with Vice-Lord Verdant Creek isn't over yet. Before I cure her, she's willing to help with my fake research!

Standing up, Lucian fixed his gaze on the doorway. He wasn't excited about the fifty Jade Spirit Stones or the Qi Condensation artifact. What he truly desired were the cultivation manuals and the detailed scrolls analyzing the twelve meridians, seven chakras, and three dantians that had been promised to him.

The matter of using the Rune of Pride to cure Verdant Creek's Qi Deviation had long since been pushed to the back of his mind. The events at the Broken Maze, his meeting with the City Lord, and his deal with Zhi Jian had demanded his full attention in the previous hours.

But now, he cast aside every other thought and focused solely on the knowledge he needed to achieve a breakthrough.

Of course, he was aware that she could be behind his assassination attempt, as she didn't even appear in front of the City Lord with the rest.

But, as usual, he didn't care.

He could always take revenge later. For now, he had to grow stronger. And, as a previous scholar, this meant reading and learning!