After a short moment of contemplation, Zhang Ruyi inquired, "Has Lin Chenyu been executed?"

"No! How could the Seventh Prince let him off so easily?" Yun'er replied. "Lin Chenyu was subjected to palace punishment, turned into a eunuch, and taken in as a servant by the Seventh Prince."

Zhang Ruyi remarked, "The Lin family's top talent has been reduced to a eunuch and become a servant of the enemy. For the Lin family, it is truly a colossal disgrace."

Furrowing her brow, Yun'er said, "But I fail to understand. Since the Lin family has suffered such great humiliation, why would the patriarch marry his daughter to the Seventh Prince?"

"It is quite understandable! With the Seventh Prince's talents, he is bound to inherit the throne and become the ruler of Yunwu County. For the Lin family to establish themselves in Yunwu County, they must certainly repair relations with the Seventh Prince. A marriage alliance is the best course of action."

"Furthermore, considering that the Lin family's top talent has become the servant of the Seventh Prince, the relationship between the Lin family and the Seventh Prince might not be as hostile as we imagine. It's possible that the marriage between Lin Zengshan and the Seventh Prince was orchestrated by Lin Chenyu, the Lin family's top talent."

Yun'er stared straight at Zhang Ruyi, finding it hard to believe that the Ninth Prince could analyze the situation so astutely, bearing no resemblance to the timid youth he once was, but exuding a seasoned and wise demeanor.

"It seems that after unlocking the Divine Martial Mark, the Ninth Prince has truly undergone a profound transformation," Yun'er mused. If Lady Lin Fei knew about the remarkable change in the Ninth Prince, she would surely be overjoyed.

Returning to his chamber, Zhang Ruyi immediately entered the inner space of the Temporal Crystal.

"Now, let's begin to open the second meridian!"

Zhang Ruyi uncorked the small jade bottle and ingested a dose of marrow-cleansing elixir.

Under the influence of the elixir, his entire bloodstream seemed to boil. Leveraging the potent medicinal force, Zhang Ruyi promptly commenced opening the second meridian according to the records in the Nine Heavens Imperial Scripture.

The more meridians opened within the body, the faster the absorption of spiritual energy and the swifter the circulation of true energy.

With more internal meridians, the cultivated physique naturally becomes stronger, capable of unleashing greater combat prowess within the same realm.

Drawing from his past cultivation experience, Zhang Ruyi swiftly opened the second meridian, doubling the speed of true energy circulation within his body.

"The Qi pool has not expanded, and the mid-phase of the Yellow Realm has not been broken through. It seems I must open another meridian."

Zhang Ruyi took a blood pill to restore his strength. After resting for about an hour, bringing himself to optimal condition, he promptly ingested another dose of marrow-cleansing elixir to begin opening the third meridian.

Most cultivators, after opening a new meridian, generally require one to three months of convalescence to enhance the resilience and activity of the meridians before continuing to open the next.

However, Zhang Ruyi could not afford to wait for a month. He needed to open the third meridian and advance to the late phase of the Yellow Realm tonight.

This approach significantly increased the level of difficulty.

"I will definitely succeed. I must achieve it. Tonight, I must break through to the late phase of the Yellow Realm."

Clutching a spirit crystal in his hand, Zhang Ruyi absorbed the spiritual energy from the crystal while mobilizing all the true energy within him, fiercely attacking the third meridian.

"Boom!"

A muffled sound emanated from Zhang Ruyi's brow.

The Qi pool, originally the size of a basketball, immediately expanded tenfold, reaching the size of a water tank, resembling a pool measuring three feet on each side.

Now, Zhang Ruyi's Qi pool could truly be called a Qi pool.

This was the cultivation level of the mid-phase of the Yellow Realm!

"Now, I've only just entered the mid-phase of the Yellow Realm. The volume of true energy in my body hasn't increased much. Of course, I now have room for improvement. If I refine the true energy in the Qi pool to its limit, the true energy in my body will increase tenfold." Zhang Ruyi felt a sense of joy welling up in his heart. His martial cultivation had indeed become significantly more potent.

Stolen story; please report.

With each advancement in realm, the capacity of the Qi pool would increase, thereby accommodating more true energy.

Without a breakthrough in realms, even if one cultivated for ten years, the true energy in the body would not increase. This was because the Qi pool had a finite capacity, able to contain only so much true energy.

Advancing to the late phase of the Yellow Realm led to the removal of impurities from the physical body, extricating black, viscous mud-like substances emitting a faint, putrid odor from the pores.

Zhang Ruyi promptly fetched a bucket of hot water and, after bathing, changed into fresh clothing before returning to the inner space of the Temporal Crystal.

With a pen in hand, he effortlessly sketched a human-shaped diagram on the scroll. Drawing upon his memory, he proceeded to chart thirty-six meridians on the figure, each with its unique course of flow.

The one commonality among them was that all thirty-six meridians converged at the Qi pool in the brow.

When Zhang Ruyi first perused the first layer of the Nine Heavens Imperial Scripture, he encountered a diagram of meridians devoid of any textual elucidation, requiring independent comprehension.

The more advanced the martial arts technique, the greater the number of meridians opened within the body and the swifter the transport of true energy.

"A lower-grade human-level martial art can only open seven meridians."

"However, the Nine Heavens Imperial Scripture records the routes of thirty-six meridians. With each additional meridian cultivated, the physique becomes stronger. If all thirty-six meridians are opened, how formidable would the physique become?"

The character "extreme" in the phrase "late phase of the Yellow Realm" symbolized the limit of the meridians.

In his previous life, Zhang Ruyi only managed to cultivate thirty-three meridians and found it impossible to open the remaining three. Even with just thirty-three meridians, his martial physique surpassed his peers. Even the current strongest individual in the world, Empress Chi Yao, fell short with only thirty-one meridians.

"Now, having opened three meridians, I belong to the mid-phase of the Yellow Realm. To advance to the late phase of the Yellow Realm, I must open at least three more meridians."

Zhang Ruyi rolled up the meridian chart and placed it on the stone platform.

To break through to the late phase of the Yellow Realm, the true energy in the Qi pool had to be fully cultivated.

By adhering strictly to conventional cultivation methods, even with the aid of spiritual crystals, it would still take one and a half months to fill the entire body with true energy and overflow the Qi pool.

Zhang Ruyi could not afford to wait that long, so he decided to consume the "Gathering Qi Pellet."

Valued at one thousand silver coins per pellet, this rare treasure was priceless for ordinary warriors. Even the youths of middle-tier families would find it exceedingly difficult to obtain a Gathering Qi Pellet.

Zhang Ruyi purchased ten pellets at once, intending to expedite his own advancement.

Each Gathering Qi Pellet, the size of a pearl, emitted a faint fragrance, with wisps of spiritual energy visible to the naked eye flowing on its surface.

Zhang Ruyi swallowed the Gathering Qi Pellet.

Moments later, with a "boom," the pellet exploded inside his body, transforming into a raging cloud of pellet energy, leaping and dancing within Zhang Ruyi's body.

The three meridians swiftly absorbed the pellet energy at the fastest rate, executing a grand circuit within Zhang Ruyi's body, converting the pellet energy into true energy stored in the Qi pool.

Although Zhang Ruyi made every effort to absorb the pellet energy, seventy percent of it still seeped out of his pores. He only managed to absorb thirty percent of the Gathering Qi Pellet's energy.

It took him an entire day to completely transform that thirty percent of pellet energy into his own true energy.

After refining this thirty percent of pellet energy, the quantity of true energy in the Qi pool doubled.

"I've only opened three meridians, and the conversion speed of true energy is still too slow. I've wasted seventy percent of the pellet energy. If I were a minor figure at the low extreme of the Yellow Realm, consuming a Gathering Qi Pellet would allow me to completely convert its energy without any waste."

"Regardless! As long as I can rapidly advance my cultivation, it's worth spending as much silver as necessary. With the potency of the Gathering Qi Pellet, refining four more will fill the Qi pool with true energy."

Fortunately, Zhang Ruyi currently possessed an abundance of silver coins, sparing him any financial worries. Otherwise, the cost of one Gathering Qi Pellet, priced at one thousand silver coins, would have caused him considerable distress each time he consumed one.

He refrained from consuming the second Gathering Qi Pellet and ceased cultivation, exiting the inner space of the Temporal Crystal and returning to his room.

Having spent more than a day cultivating within the Temporal Crystal, only half a day had passed outside.

At that moment, it was noon.

Zhang Ruyi did not want to disturb Yun'er and Lady Lin, so he brought in a bucket of hot water and placed it in the room.

His intention was not to bathe but to take a medicinal bath.

Warriors not only cultivated true energy but also tempered their bodies.

Compared to others of his age, Zhang Ruyi's physique seemed somewhat fragile. To strengthen his body within a few months, not only did he have to practice martial arts, but he also needed medicinal baths.

Zhang Ruyi had purchased a total of five bottles of Body-Refining Powder, each valued at one thousand silver coins.

He removed one bottle of Body-Refining Powder and poured it into the wooden tub.

Upon doing so, white vapor immediately rose from the tub with a sizzling sound.

Zhang Ruyi sat cross-legged in the tub, with the medicinal liquid submerging him up to his head.

The liquid was scalding, akin to boiling water, emitting bubbles.

An intense pain emanated from his skin's surface, which then penetrated into his flesh, eventually reaching his bones and internal organs.

His entire body throbbed with searing pain. Any other warrior would have surely been unable to endure this agony, choosing to jump out of the tub.

Zhang Ruyi remained seated at the bottom of the tub, as unyielding as a rock, displaying no change in expression as he silently endured the excruciating physical pain.

Only through enduring the harshest of trials could one ascend to greatness.

(End of Chapter)