Then the elder retracted his hand and said indifferently, "You lot take Wan Zhen’s body back to the main hall. Xiao Yan, follow me along the riverbank. I want to see who has the audacity to oppose our Beast Taming Sect."
Although she had just narrowly escaped death and was covered in wounds, upon hearing the command, Xiao Yan immediately stood up and respectfully replied.
"Yes!"
At this moment, the estate was still blazing with fire.
Such a blaze was beyond saving.
Thankfully, several rivers ran around the estate, so there was no fear that the fire would spread uncontrollably.
The Fifth Elder was carrying Xiao Yan, moving swiftly through the forest. When they reached the small river that led to the outside world, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow slightly.
Because a small boat was floating on the river, it was evident that the person who killed Wan Zhen and burned down the stronghold did not leave by boat.
But soon, the Fifth Elder found clues by the riverbank.
"Not taking the boat and instead walking along the riverbank, this fellow is quite interesting." The Fifth Elder said with interest.
Although it seemed like a minor detail, the Fifth Elder saw a lot from it.
At the very least, it proved that after killing Wan Zhen and destroying the stronghold, this person still had strength left. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to leave the boat and run along the riverbank.
This also proved that this person’s strength was extremely formidable, most likely also in the Meridian Opening Realm.
Beside him, Xiao Yan was somewhat nervous.
Upon returning to the Beast Taming Sect’s main hall and reporting the news, the Fifth Elder, Fang Ruyi, immediately brought people over and strictly interrogated her on the way.
Xiao Yan was not surprised by this.
After all, the events she described were incredibly bizarre. Even a Meridian Opening Realm like Wan Zhen was dead, yet she survived; it seemed suspicious no matter how one looked at it.
For an old demon sect like the Beast Taming Sect, encountering such matters, they were too lazy to listen to explanations. Directly resorting to severe interrogation was standard practice.
Prepared in advance, Xiao Yan endured the interrogation, firmly insisting that she went to seek help at the main hall after seeing Master Wan Zhen overwhelmed.
Finding Wan Zhen’s body and realizing the stronghold was burnt down settled her heart.
Because on the way to the main hall, she had already killed all those who escaped from the stronghold.
This was to eliminate all potential threats.
It was also why she could face the Fifth Elder, Fang Ruyi’s authority directly.
She didn’t expect Fang Ruyi to be so difficult, tracking down to the riverbank and discovering Zhao Ya’s tracks.
If he indeed caught up to Zhao Ya, her plans would be entirely ruined, and she might even lose her life.
Among the elders of the Beast Taming Sect, Xiao Yan feared Fang Ruyi the most.
Because this person was calm and experienced, not easy to deal with.
At this moment, Fang Ruyi stood up and clapped his hands, "Let’s go."
"Huh? Where to?"
"Naturally back to the main hall."
Xiao Yan was shaken inside, but outwardly she feigned a puzzled expression, "Not going to pursue the person who killed my master?"
"What’s the point in chasing? This person has been gone for at least an hour; he probably is about to exit Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. How can we chase him now?" Fang Ruyi said.
If the person who killed Wan Zhen was indeed in the Meridian Opening Realm, Fang Ruyi had to consider carefully.
Even though he had a good relationship with Wan Zhen, it wasn’t worth such a risk.
Xiao Yan was inwardly pleased but outwardly regretted and relented, finally bowing her head, "Yes!"
Fang Ruyi glanced at her, chuckled, and said nothing more, instead, grabbed her and walked away briskly.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya was sprinting through the mountains.
Following the small river was indeed much faster than crossing mountains, even though some places had no path along the riverbank. Yet, this was no challenge for Zhao Ya. As long as there was a point of leverage, Zhao Ya could swiftly pass with his high level body technique.
Finally, around midday, Zhao Ya successfully traversed out of the vast mountains and reached the edge of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.
After quickly discerning the direction, Zhao Ya soon arrived at the peak where the giant crane frequently landed, and there he saw Ma Yufei camping in a conspicuous spot at the foot of the mountain, waiting for him.
Ma Yufei never expected Zhao Ya to return so quickly, safe and sound after just one night, and couldn’t help but be amazed.
Of course, Zhao Ya didn’t reveal the truth, casually finding an excuse, saying that shortly after entering the deep mountains, the giant crane tossed him off, and he stayed in the mountains for a night, only finding his way when daylight came.
To this, Ma Yufei had no doubts.
In his understanding, if Zhao Ya really entered the heart of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, it would take no less than three or five days to get out.
In just two days, so many things happened, Ma Yufei naturally wanted nothing else but to leave as soon as possible.
He quickly packed his things and left the mountain together with Zhao Ya.
The journey back home was without incident, and the two returned smoothly to Danfeng Town.
Song Linqing also didn’t expect Zhao Ya and Ma Yufei to return so quickly, but he didn’t question them closely.
In Song Linqing’s view, coming back so fast surely meant the trip into the mountain was unsuccessful.
On this point, Zhao Ya didn’t offer much explanation, citing physical exhaustion as an excuse and returned to his room.
After closing the door, Zhao Ya did not immediately check the Star-Devouring True Power Secret Manual, but first ate two pieces of Black Flood Dragon Dried Meat to restore his depleted energy and Qi Blood.
Once his physical state had sufficiently recovered, he took out the secret manual and began to read it carefully.
He read for a total of more than half a day.
By the time he finished reading, it was already dusk outside.
Zhao Ya closed the book, deep in thought, his face showing neither sadness nor joy, betraying no expression. Only the occasional flicker in his eyes revealed his inner unrest.
According to what Fu Dongjun recorded in the secret manual, this Star-Devouring True Power was a remnant piece of work he stumbled upon by chance.
After continuous research, he finally completed it and further developed and perfected it.
Its core lies in devouring Star Power to nurture the Foundation of True Power in the Dantian.
This part doesn’t differ much from other True Power secret techniques.
The key is that after nurturing the Foundation of True Power, Fu Dongjun took a unique approach by treating the body’s various acupoints as dantians, refining and storing Star True Power in them.
This way, not only does the storage of True Power increase dramatically, but its might is also greatly enhanced.
After all, the human body has numerous acupoints. For instance, the most common during the Meridian Opening is the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, starting from the Zhongfu Acupoint and ending at the Shaoshang Acupoint, with a total of eleven acupoints along the entire meridian.
If, while opening this meridian, you refine all eleven acupoints to store Star True Power, it means that once you activate this meridian, you have eleven additional "dantians" to use.
The might of such a technique is imaginable.
However, the difficulty of doing this is immense.
Even Fu Dongjun, who founded this method, exhausted his entire life force to refine only the 36 most important acupoints in the human body.
If someone could refine all 720 acupoints of the body, they would be akin to a Land Immortal.
But the time required for such a feat is astonishing, which is why Fu Dongjun lamented multiple times in his writings that although this method is extraordinarily mystical, it is not something ordinary people can cultivate.
However, Zhao Ya’s heart was stirred after reading it, because what he lacked the least was time.
Now, even at the Fifth Realm, he already had a lifespan of over a thousand years, and after opening the meridians, the lifespan would likely soar again.
So he had ample time to refine all the acupoints in his body.
Moreover, while the project sounded vast, it was not as difficult as one might imagine.
Other than the 108 critical acupoints, the others are mostly bilaterally symmetrical, accounting for at least half.
Furthermore, Zhao Ya had an advantage unattainable by others, which was his Golden Finger, the attribute panel.
Especially the Human Body Outline Map, which could display all the internal meridians and acupoints in real-time.
He just didn’t know whether there would be any manifestation while opening the meridians and refining the acupoints.
With his heart stirring, Zhao Ya opened the window and flew onto the roof.
Gazing at the vast sea of stars in the sky, Zhao Ya followed the method recorded in the secret manual to devour Star Power and began nurturing the True Power Seed within the Dantian.
As he inhaled, Zhao Ya visualized the stars above casting faint glimmers, which were absorbed by him, descending along his throat, passing through the Tanzhong Acupoint, and finally sinking into the Dantian three inches below the navel.
As he exhaled, he imagined the turbid Qi within his body being refined by starlight, eventually being exhaled slowly.
The entire process could not be rushed and required the gentle guidance of thoughts to direct the flow of Qi Blood.
Zhao Ya quickly entered the flow of the state.
Between breaths, he felt as if his entire being became ethereal.
Suddenly.
Zhao Ya felt as if something within his Dantian had been triggered, his lower abdomen felt warm and comfortable.
His heart trembled, and he quickly awoke from this profound sensation, a hint of surprise and delight appearing on his face.
Because just now, he had successfully planted a True Power Seed in his Dantian.
Although still weak, it was the most critical step.
According to Fu Dongjun in the book, countless people in the Fifth Realm spent their lives adrift, unable to enter the Meridian Opening Realm, primarily because they couldn’t successfully nurture a True Power Seed.
Yet Zhao Ya had accomplished planting the first seed in merely over ten minutes, a progress unheard of throughout history.
However, Zhao Ya quickly understood the reason behind it.
This was likely due to the numerous Organ Talents he had unlocked previously.
For instance, the Hua Gai Siqing talent of the lungs greatly aided him in absorbing external Star Power.
Additionally, the Heart Devotion and Red Transformation of the heart also supported his Qi Blood, coupled with the purification from the liver......
In summary, thanks to the combined effects of these Organ Talents, Zhao Ya could achieve such astonishing progress.
At this time, Zhao Ya suddenly thought of something and immediately opened the attribute panel.
Name: Zhao Ya. Age: 20 years. Remaining lifespan: 1177 (+29 days) years
Skills: Eight Vajra Longevity Skill (Peak Performance 99%)
Five Tiger Fist (Returning to the Essence 99%)
Wind-Slaying Saber Technique (Extraordinary to Saint)
Light as a Feather (Returning to the Essence 99%)
Spirit Turtle Hibernation Technique (Returning to the Essence 29%)
Great Stone-Throwing Hand (Peak Performance 99%)
Great Vajra Fist (Peak Performance 99%)
Golden Body Armor Technique (Returning to the Essence 17%)
Little Five Paths Chasing Soul Leg (Peak Performance 99%)
[Gallbladder Unlock Progress: 58%]
Due to many martial abilities being at bottleneck stages, there hasn’t been much progress. The only change was the gallbladder unlock progress exceeding fifty percent.
But Zhao Ya’s focus wasn’t on this; he opened the Human Body Outline Map and was overjoyed at what he saw.
In the Dantian position of the map, a faint but real starlight was emerging.