Chapter 376: Human Acupoints (2)
Inside the research center.
After a short rest, Su Yu went to the second floor. In the fragment room, he started healing while absorbing source qi. He felt like he needed his very own healing Divine Character as well. Or perhaps a healing cultivation manual.
His injuries were actually quite heavy. One of his arms was severed while the other was broken. The soles of his feet had also been punched through.
Zhou Hao!
That fellow was really very strong. This was the strongest Great Strength cultivator Su Yu had ever encountered. That was a pure warrior. Someone who relied fully on physical cultivation.
Warrior.
He wondered where Xia Yuwen found someone like that. Su Yu's overall combat strength was comparable to a seventh-stage Infinite Strength cultivator. Yet he was reduced to such a state in the fight. The moment Zhou Hao entered the Infinite Strength Realm, Su Yu might not be able to defeat him anymore. Were there students as strong as Zhou Hao in the war academies?
Previously, Su Yu believed that with 180 acupoints as a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator, he was probably the strongest Great Strength cultivator in terms of physical body even when compared with those from the war academies. But after meeting Zhou Hao, he wasn't so sure about that anymore.
"Zhou Hao...if this fellow is an Infinite Strength cultivator with 16 fused acupoints, he would be even scarier."
Were there such geniuses in the war academies? Someone capable of cultivating a top-tier heaven-grade cultivation method and fusing 16 acupoints to enter the Infinite Strength Realm.
One acupoint of such a cultivator would be much stronger than the acupoint of someone who had advanced by fusing nine acupoints. As for those who had fused only seven or eight acupoints, they could be easily defeated even if they were five or six stages above the cultivator who had fused 16 acupoints.
As for the weakest type of Infinite Strength cultivators, the so-called Two Strength cultivators, a single true Infinite Strength cultivator could defeat a ninth-stage Two Strength cultivator. The number of acupoints fused had too great an effect on one's strength.
"War God Art..."
Su Yu frowned. His version of War God Art was only a basic cultivation method cultivated by the various geniuses. It allowed one to open 108 acupoints and fight with the strength of 108 acupoints. That would not grant him a stronger explosive strength than the other geniuses.
He had already opened 180 acupoints. And he could open more. Should he insist on only cultivating the War God Art? Should he get a heaven-grade cultivation method as well?
"Even the Body Strengthening Art is better than the War God Art."
The Body Strengthening Art of the mountainbreak bull race utilized more than 110 acupoints. And Su Yu had the means to learn that art. The version he knew was one that was actually suitable for human practice.
Heaven-grade cultivation methods weren't completely out of reach for him. If he could get some divine or devil blood essence, he could even get some divine or devil cultivation methods. And he would be able to alter all those cultivation methods into versions suitable for him.
"War God Art is good enough against ordinary cultivators, but the offensive strength of an earth-grade cultivation method is still weaker than what one could get from a heaven-grade cultivation method."
That was not something that could be changed just by opening more acupoints. More acupoints would only grant him more endurance, denser source qi, and stronger defense. His offensive power would still be lacking. Who were his opponents?
They were people like Xia Yuwen, a genius from the Xia Family and Zhou Mingren, a peak Mountainsea. Perhaps he might even offend some divine or devil experts in the future...
And all these people cultivated heaven-grade cultivation methods while he only cultivated an earth-grade method. With only the strength of 108 acupoints, he would already be weaker during the Great Strength Realm. At the Infinite Strength and Skysoar Realms...he might fall further behind.
Sure, he could bridge a part of the gap by opening more acupoints. But there would still be a gap.
Prior to encountering Zhou Hao, Su Yu wasn't too worried since almost everyone he knew cultivated the same thing. But now...he found that there were some exceptions. And heaven-grade cultivation methods were much stronger offensively.
If he could unleash the strength of 144 acupoints during his fight, Zhou Hao would not be able to put up much of a fight against him.
He would be stronger in terms of offense, defense, and endurance. And he would not be weaker in terms of ruthlessness, killing intent, and battle intent. The fight wouldn't have been so desperate.
He had clearly opened 180 acupoints yet he could only utilize the power of 108 acupoints. He could at most increase that by a few acupoints when using martial techniques, but his offensive strength was still far weaker than Zhou Hao's.
"The Body Strengthening Art is a low-tier heaven-grade cultivation method. If I want to cultivate one, I need to find a stronger method!"
After thinking about it, Su Yu stood up and went upstairs to the data room.
...
Inside the data room.
Ignoring his wounds, Su Yu started writing and drawing. The source qi circulation path of multiple cultivation methods were slowly being drawn out, alongside the diagram of a human body.
Body Strengthening Art, Pure Source Art, Source Swallowing Technique, War God Art, Great Strength Art...
Even the Divine Skywing Technique he had looted previously was included. He drew out the acupoints and circulation path for all the cultivation methods. And one acupoint after another was added onto the human diagram.
Su Yu knew a lot of cultivation methods. Due to the large number of willpower texts he had gathered, he also knew some garbage cultivation methods requiring acupoints that he had yet to open.
After a few hours, he finally finished illustrating all the cultivation methods he knew. A total of 285 dots of light could be seen on the human diagram.
"From all the cultivation methods I know, I have discovered 285 acupoints."
Su Yu sank into thought. Once again, he wondered the same thing. Just how many acupoints were there in a human body? Even the strongest top-tier heaven-grade cultivation method could only utilize 144 acupoints. Was that the limit?
But there were so many acupoints in the human body. If all of them could be utilized...
For example, the 285 acupoints on the human diagram. Just how strong would he be if one could utilize all of them? Would such a Great Strength cultivator be strong enough to kill Skysoars?
"Acupouint fusion...That's what you do at the Mountainsea Realm as well!" Su Yu muttered to himself, "In that case, the ultimate goal is still to fuse all acupoints into one. Making one acupoint the equal of myriad acupoints. Allowing one acupoint to unleash the strength of myriad acupoints. Ultimately, everyone will walk the path of acupoint fusion. Cultivation methods only serve to ease the process if all the acupoints one is fusing are the required acupoints of a single cultivation method."
Su Yu continued his contemplation. What would happen when there was only a single acupoint left after all the fusion? Would that allow one to unleash the strength of all the acupoints without a corresponding cultivation method?
Su Yu was not qualified enough to actually create a new cultivation method. He might know a lot of cultivation methods, but his knowledge was still lacking in a lot of topics. Of course, compared to his peers, those in the Infinite Strength Realm, or even those in the Skysoar Realm, he probably knew a lot more cultivation methods than them.
After a while, Su Yu walked out of the room. Shortly after, he returned and unleashed his saber qi to destroy everything he had drawn out. This could not be leaked or it would attract even more troubles his way.
After destroying his drawing, Su Yu even struck the broken pieces until not even a speck of dust remained. Only then did he leave the room again.
...
Prison zone.
Su Yu was here again. He was not here to feed them. He had just fed them not long ago. The creatures stared at him anxiously. In truth, it had been three days since he last fed them. And he was supposed to feed them once every three days. Alas, Su Yu did not intend to feed them today.
In the beginning, the creatures were somewhat expectant. But they were quickly disappointed. They noticed that Su Yu had suffered some injuries. The injuries were quite heavy. Even both his arms had suffered damage. They wondered about the origin of these wounds.
Su Yu wasted no time. He looked at the water elemental and said, "Water guy, you're the strongest here. I have a few questions. Do the Mountainsea warriors of the myriad races focus on acupoint fusion as well?"
The water elemental took a humanoid form and softly answered, "You can say so. In cultivation, there are numerous paths. But all paths will ultimately lead to the same destination. Regardless if you're a human or a different race, you will ultimately end up walking a similar path."
"Has anyone managed to fuse all their acupoints into one after opening hundreds of acupoints at the Great Strength or the Infinite Strength Realm?"
The water elemental laughed. This was the first time ever Su Yu had seen him laugh. The water elemental asked, "If that person has successfully fused their acupoints into one, why would that person still be in the Great Strength or the Infinite Strength Realm?"
"..."
That question stunned Su Yu for a long time. After a while, he said, "But there are still the Skysoar and Cloudbreach Realms above them before the Mountainsea Realm..."
The water elemental smiled, "At the Skysoar Realm, you temper your bones, renew your blood, and cleanse your marrows. At the Cloudbreach Realm, you transform your source qi. But all that is done for the sake of strengthening your body and source qi, allowing you to withstand the power of the Mountainsea Realm.
"But since you are able to fuse all acupoints into one, that can only mean that your body and source qi are already strong enough. The Skysoar and Cloudbreach Realms are nothing but a process. They are merely names. The process is unimportant. The end result is."
At this time, the suanni suddenly chimed in, "In terms of physical cultivation, I am qualified to say something. Things like realms aren't absolute. What the human race know as the Skysoar Realm might be known differently for some other races. For example, the suanni race does not classify our cultivation levels into all these realms. We only have the Growth Phase, Maturity Phase, the Complete Phase, and so on. This is merely a process of growth, a process of gaining strength. Ultimately, only strength matters. Strength alone is the main variable determining what realm I'm in."
The suanni looked at Su Yu with his large eyes and asked, "Su Yu, don't tell me you're planning to open hundreds of acupoints before fusing them all into one at this stage, right?"
Instead of answering, Su Yu doubtfully said, "Is there a difference between acupoint fusion at the Mountainsea Realm and the Infinite Strength Realm?"
"Of course." The suanni explained, "For Infinite Strength cultivators, they only fuse the acupoints of their cultivation method. For example, the War God Art of the human race. You know that during the Infinite Strength Realm, you'll be fusing the acupoints of that art. You can even call yourself an Infinite Strength cultivator after fusing only two acupoints."
"As for the Mountainsea Realm, do you know what's the trademark for a Mountainsea?"
"No."
A smile appeared on the suanni's ferocious face, "It's really quite simple. If you can fuse all the acupoints of an earth-grade cultivation method and smash a mountain apart with one attack, you can be considered a Mountainsea."
Su Yu raised his brow, "In that case, I only need to fuse as much as 73 acupoints at the bare minimum and destroy a mountain to be called a Mountainsea? Does the mountain need to have a minimum size or something?"
"No. When you manage to fuse all 73 acupoints of the same cultivation method onto a single acupoint, you will be a Mountainsea."
They were talking about 73 acupoints because that was the acupoints required by the weakest tier of earth-grade cultivation methods.
"During this process, you will find that you can fuse nine acupoints, or even ten acupoints into one. But the increment of every acupoint will greatly increase the difficulty. To complete your fusion, your physical body and source qi need to be powerful enough. Your physical body needs to be strong enough that it won't fall apart during the fusion. Your source qi needs to be strong enough to maintain the balance in your acupoint. If your source qi is too weak, your acupoint might fall apart as well. But if your source qi is too strong, the repelling force during the fusion will also increase accordingly..."
As an expert physical body cultivator, the suanni knew a lot about physical cultivation. He said a lot. And as Su Yu listened, he slowly understood. From the Great Strength Realm until the Cloudbreach Realm, one was merely preparing and strengthening one's body for acupoint fusion.
Even the acupoint fusion during the Infinite Strength Realm was for the sake of easing one's path at the Mountainsea Realm.
"In other words, the gap between warriors can be very big at the Mountainsea Realm. Some might have fused only 73 acupoints while some might have fused hundreds of acupoints. Am I right?"
"Yeah." The suanni said, "You don't fuse your acupoints randomly. The acupoints will reject each other if they don't belong to the same cultivation method or technique. Of course, if you have two cultivation methods or techniques with a large number of overlapped acupoints, you might stand a chance to fuse the acupoints of two cultivation methods into one. For example, the War God Art and the Time technique. They share a lot of acupoints so you might be able to fuse them all in the future."
"There are also nine stages to the Mountainsea Realm. And the number of fused acupoints will determine which stage you're in. Those with cultivation methods below the low-tier earth-grade will find it almost impossible to enter the Mountainsea Realm. But there is still hope. One can always cultivate a new method."
Su Yu nodded in understanding. If different methods or techniques shared a high number of acupoints, it might be possible to fuse all those acupoints into one.
"By the way, do you know the total number of acupoints a human body has?"
"..."
The suanni was speechless. Why was the kid asking him this? Was he a human?
"I don't know. Probably a few hundreds. Who would bother to figure out something like this?"
The shadow suddenly said, "I suspect there are 360 or more. There are records in the shadow race detailing how some races have no idea how to advance when they first stepped on the path of cultivation. The only thing they can do is keep opening acupoints. Some races managed to open a large number of acupoints during that process. And the human race is one of them.
"Of course, the records are ancient. Eventually, these people discovered that opening more acupoints have indeed granted them more strength, but the essence of their beings remained the same. Simply put, their lifespans remained the same. Even with 360 acupoints, with the strength to battle Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators, one still wouldn't be able to live long. The essence of one's being remained the same. In fact, each eruption of one's strength was an act of burning away one's life force.
"Because of that, different cultivation systems emerged, allowing one to advance and transform the essence of one's being."
Su Yu nodded. He had learned something new today.
So that was why. At least 360 acupoints. In that case, the number of acupoints he had opened wasn't really that high.
Su Yu stopped asking and casually tossed a few drops of source qi liquid to the water elemental, suanni, and the shadow before running off impatiently. The mountaindrill bull, fire crow, and white civet were completely dumbstruck. He left? What about them?
A grin appeared on the suanni's ferocious face as he said, "I knew it. Good thing I managed to get some words in. Otherwise, I reckon only the water elemental can get some source qi liquid today."
When Su Yu was asking the water elemental questions, the suanni had been wondering if he should chime in. If he did nothing, Su Yu might end up giving only the water elemental something and ignore the rest of them. And reality proved that he was right. The other creatures were completely speechless.
That was especially true for the fire crow and mountaindrill bull. They had received the least amount of source qi liquid after Su Yu took charge of feeding them. They were really on the verge of being starved to death. The two exchanged gazes. If they didn't start saving themselves, they would be the first ones to die among the six of them.
The next time Su Yu visited, they had to quickly offer something to him as well. At this moment, a crack had appeared in the unity of the six creatures.
Poverty was not what one loathed the most. Instead, it was an uneven distribution. The other creatures had all received benefits while the two of them had received nothing. The other would survive while the two of them were going to be starved to death. At this point, they no longer cared about escaping. All their so-called escape plans were no longer important.
Nothing was more important than survival.
...
Su Yu was completely oblivious to all that. He was busy summarizing all that he had learned.
"Thus, if I can open enough acupoints, even better if I can link all my cultivation methods together and ensure a high number of overlapped acupoints, I will be able to rapidly fuse my acupoints at the Mountainsea Realm..."
Sure, the Mountainsea Realm was far away, but it would not hurt to open more acupoints. Opening more acupoints would still be helpful to him in the future. Those with less opened acupoints might be able to advance quickly during the early stages of cultivation, but they might end up stuck below the Mountainsea Realm.
"I also need to take note that it is much easier to open acupoints during the Great Strength Realm. The stronger my body is, the harder it will be to open new acupoints. The strength of source qi and body will instead suppress the speed of acupoint opening."
Su Yu concluded that strength would actually make acupoint opening harder. And at the later stages, one might not be able to change one's cultivation method even if one wanted because new acupoints would be too hard to open.
Su Yu had been able to open new acupoints so easily because he was still in the Great Strength Realm. If he was already a Cloudbreach with a powerful body and source qi, opening new acupoints would be much harder.
After understanding all that, Su Yu decided to open more acupoints while he was still at the Great Strength Realm.