“Phew……”


  Fang Qiu let out a secret sigh of relief when he saw that the man had left and immediately shot toward the Bingdi Lotus.

  He didn’t hesitate and immediately plucked the Bingdi Lotus now that there wasn’t anyone to stopping him.

  “Swoosh.”


  He quickly reappeared at the edge of the marsh.

  He held the Bingdi Lotus in his hand and walked toward Elder Yi.

  Elder Yi was extremely excited and his face was flushed red as he looked at the Bingdi Lotus in Fang Qiu’s hand.

  “This is for you,” Fang Qiu said as he handed one half of the Bingdi Lotus to Elder Yi after he split the Bingdi Lotus into two.

  He had meticulously poured through the Scroll of Heaven and Earth Treasures for the description on the Bingdi Lotus after Elder Yi had invited him on this mission.

  The Bingdi Lotus he held looked exactly like how it was described in the Scroll of Heaven and Earth Treasures.

  The Bingdi Lotus carries a pair of flowers on each stalk with jade-like petals and no leaves.

  It was also written that although two flowers grew from the same stalk on the Bingdi Lotus, they shared similar properties and they were extremely rare twin Earth Treasures among the Heaven and Earth Treasures.

  This was why Elder Yi had invited Fang Qiu to pluck the lotus.

  He only needed one flower from the Bingdi Lotus.

  “Many thanks, senior,” Elder Yi thanked him excitedly after he accepted the lotus that Fang Qiu handed him.

  “You’re welcome,” Fang Qiu said as he shook his head. “You’ve already done more than enough when you allowed me to look at your ancestor’s notes. Moreover, I wouldn’t have been able to find this place without your help. Even if I did, the Bingdi Lotus would have been gone by the time I arrived.”


  Elder Yi nodded and quickly kept the Bingdi Lotus away.

  “Since we’ve completed the mission and we’ve obtained the Earth Treasure.” Fang Qiu started as he looked at Elder Yi, “Please go ahead. I still have some matters to attend to here.”


  “Hmm?”


  Elder Yi’s expression turned grave.

  Then, he immediately realized that the mysterious man had been on the verge of a breakthrough earlier.

  He had been extremely worried when the mysterious man was fighting the grade-five Martial Superior earlier. Although Fang Qiu had defeated grade-four Martial Superiors and had hinted at his strength, he had not witnessed this himself, so he wasn’t sure how strong Fang Qiu actually was.

  As he watched the battle, he realized that Fang Qiu had continued to suppress his true strength and merely used his internal force to battle. In fact, his opponent had managed to subdue him.

  Elder Yi would have treated this a form of entertainment and analyzed every detail if they had been fighting at his manor, but this was the wrong time for Fang Qiu to be the underdog because there was an Earth Treasure at stake.

  Elder Yi had thought of all sorts of methods to obtain the Bingdi Lotus before he finally extended the invite to Fang Qiu. His motive had been to find the method with the highest percentage of safely obtaining the Bingdi Lotus, so he didn’t mind giving half of it to Fang Qiu.

  If the Bingdi Lotus were to be snatched away by the grade-five Martial Superior, then all his earlier efforts would have gone to waste.

  Thus, his gaze had been constantly fixed on Fang Qiu and he had closely watched Fang Qiu’s every move. Naturally, he had detected the Qi of the sky and earth swarming toward him and guessed that he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

  “Do you plan on achieving your breakthrough here?” He asked before an idea came to him and he added, “Do you need me to guard the place?”


  “There’s no need for that,” Fang Qiu said as he shook his head.

  “The grade-five Martial Superior had already fled, so he wouldn’t pose any threat if you were to return the way you came.”


  “Alright, then see you next time!” Elder Yi said with a nod and saluted Fang Qiu before he left.

  Clearly, Fang Qiu had already seen through him.

  Indeed, Elder Yi sincerely wanted to help Fang Qiu but above all, he was afraid. As a grade-two Martial Superior, he was definitely wouldn’t be able to come up against a grade-five Martial Superior. Although the grade-five Martial Superior had been defeated, he couldn’t be sure whether that man was still hiding somewhere else waiting to ambush him.

  After all, an Earth Treasure was extremely attractive to any martial arts practitioner.

  Thus, he had offered to guard Fang Qiu because Fang Qiu would be able to protect him in return after he achieved a breakthrough. Then, he would be able to consume the Bingdi Lotus on the spot and he wouldn’t need to worry thereafter.

  More importantly, if he were to achieve a breakthrough in the presence of Fang Qiu, he would even be able to obtain advice from Fang Qiu. This would make his journey along the martial way an easier one.

  Unfortunately, Fang Qiu had rejected him.

  Naturally, Fang Qiu rejected him not because he didn’t want to help Elder Yi but because his impending breakthrough was not like any other.

  He would have to reopen his meridians.

  This was a very risky undertaking.

  Fang Qiu only trusted himself with his life.

  After he heard from Fang Qiu that there was no danger ahead, Elder Yi didn’t dare to linger and quickly made his way back as fast as he could. He wanted to rush back to the manor to attempt a breakthrough.

  On the other hand, Fang Qiu carefully took stock of his surroundings after Elder Yi left and inhaled deeply after he was sure that he was safe. Then, his body slowly rose into the air.

  “Let’s begin,” Fang Qiu took a deep inhale and relaxed after he was several hundred meters in the air.

  The force that had been suppressing his breakthrough immediately dissipated.

  He suddenly felt that he was on the verge of a breakthrough once again.

  “Woo……”


  The wind howled around him.

  Tiny but visible snowflakes instantly turned into a torrent that danced around him.

  At the same time, a powerful magnetic force exploded from within him.

  Fang Qiu felt as though his body had turned into a black hole. This magnetic force immediately pulled the surrounding Qi of the sky and earth toward him.

  Fang Qiu was extremely stunned.

  He clearly remembered that he had only opened his meridians to attract the Qi of the sky and earth toward him that wasn’t considered strong when he had achieved a breakthrough to Martial Superior level.

  However, this time, he was shocked to realize how much Qi of the sky and earth he had managed to draw toward him.

  If he were to use water as an analogy, the first time he achieved a breakthrough to Martial Superior level, he had only attracted Qi of the sky and earth that was as tiny as a stream but this time, the amount of Qi of sky and earth he attracted was as large as a river. The waves of the river surged toward him so powerfully that it was as though they were about to consume everything in their way.

  He was very stunned but he didn’t let down his guard.

  Next, he would have to reopen his meridians!

  “Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin!”


  He clenched his jaw and yelled to himself, “Everything hinges on this. Come on!”


  After he finished psyching himself up, he immediately closed his eyes.

  He maneuvered the Qi of the sky and earth that came at him from all directions toward his Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.

  The enormous amount of Qi of the sky and earth moved like a large flood that far surpassed the capacity of Fang Qiu’s meridian.

  “Rumble……”


  Fang Qiu could even hear the ear-splitting rushing sound.

  Soon, the Qi of the sky and earth swirled around his body under his control, then it rushed toward his head and shoulders, broke past his Yunmen and Zhongfu acupuncture points before making a beeline for his Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.

  His meridian that was as thick as a chopstick immediately expanded to become as thick as a finger after the Qi of the sky and earth entered it.

  Then, he was in extreme pain.

  “Ah……”


  Fang Qiu moaned in agony.

  The changes were visible.

  He was shaking uncontrollably and his complexion instantly turned white, while a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

  Nonetheless, he continued to clench his jaw and maneuvered even more Qi of the sky and earth into his meridians.

  Tianfu, Xiabai, Chize, Kongzui, Lieque, Jingqu, Taiyuan, Yuji, and Shaoshang!

  It made its way into each and every acupuncture point.

  His meridians started to expand bit by bit!

  Fang Qiu had managed to maneuver the Qi of the sky and earth to travel across every acupuncture point on his Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin in a matter of a few minutes.

  However, this was not a breakthrough.

  This was only the preparatory work needed to reopen his meridians.

  The Qi of the sky and earth continued to pour into his body.

  He didn’t hesitate and each time a wisp of Qi of sky and earth entered his body, he would take control of it and send it toward his Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.

  He was well aware of the fact that reopening one’s meridians wasn’t as simple as forcing his meridian open as he was doing at the moment.

  The meridians were the toughest part of the human body, so Fang Qiu not only had to force them open, he had to widen his meridians.

  He had to expand his meridians to their maximum limits and make them retain their form in order for it to be considered as a reopened meridian!

  He would first have to use his own strength and the Qi of the sky and earth in order to achieve that.

  This meant that his meridians could explode at any given moment. If his meridians were to explode, he would either end up paralyzed or dead!

  Thus, no one had ever dared to attempt this.

  However, Fang Qiu was different.

  If he didn’t do this, then his strength would not improve and he wouldn’t be able to help the old master. There wouldn’t be any use in having such a strong cultivation thereafter.

  “Ah……”


  Fang Qiu’s eyes were bloodshot and he was a frightful sight to behold as the pain ravaged his body.

  He had never imagined that he would have to undergo such intense pain to reopen his meridians, let alone any other person.

  “Come on, more!” He said as he clenched his jaw.

  He continued to direct the Qi of the sky and earth toward his meridians.

  As the Qi of the sky and earth poured into his meridians and the pain intensified, his meridians continued to expand rapidly. At first, his meridians were as thick as a chopstick, then they become as thick as a finger, and now, they were as thick as a thumb.

  Each time they expanded, the pain would intensify even further.

  The pain was excruciating by the time his meridians were as thick as his thumb.

  He could even clearly sense that his meridians had expanded to their limits and tiny cracks had spread along its walls. It looked like it was about to break apart!

  Once it broke apart, his meridians would explode.

  He didn’t dare to hesitate.

  The moment he sensed that his meridians were on the verge of breaking apart, he immediately opened his mouth and ate the Bingdi Lotus.

  The moment he consumed the Bingdi Lotus, it immediately turned into a liquid that slid down his throat before he even needed to swallow.

  This was an extremely pure form of the energy of heaven and earth, so Fang Qiu didn’t even need to direct it.

  This form of energy seemed to be able to self-navigate and quickly found its way into his Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.

  “As expected, it is effective!” Fang Qiu said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

  He clearly sensed the changes in his body and noticed that his wave of energy was like icy cold water that shrouded his Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin. The pain immediately stopped.

  At the same time, his meridians that were on the verge of breaking apart quickly healed as this wave of energy shrouded his meridian.

  The Qi of the sky and earth continued to rush into his meridians……

  Five minutes later.

  “Boom!”


  A powerful explosion burst from within him and sent the surrounding rocks and flowers flying everywhere.

  At the same time, Fang Qiu suddenly threw his head back.

  He opened his eyes and let out an ear-splitting howl!

  “Howl……”