Chapter 69: The True Fractured Poison Body
The true Fractured Poison Body was one in which every sliver of flesh, bone, and meridian in the cultivator's body was separated into small segments, as though the body had been dismembered and broken apart.
Afterward, each piece of flesh, bone, and meridian would evolve into a different kind of deadly poison.
But what Li Yan discovered was that within his body, only the gaps between his meridians showed signs of separation, clearly different from the information recorded in the jade slips.
The jade slips had never described the complete form of the Fractured Poison Body because, for the three predecessors, their poison bodies were all formed at once.
For them, every poisonous segment was independently formed; when they exhaled, the fragments dispersed, and when they inhaled, they fused back together, constantly nourishing and strengthening each part through this rhythm.
And when they activated their power or cast spells, the fragments would recombine perfectly, forming a seamless and unified whole.
In simple terms, Li Yan's Fractured Poison Body was just a half-finished product, a mere rough draft. That was why he had been unable to find any real solution.
Firstly, because Li Yan dared not casually ask others for help, lest he expose the secrets of the Guishui Immortal Sect.
Secondly, no one knew that he was only a half-finished case, and Li Yan himself understood very little about what the true Fractured Poison Body should be. As the saying goes, "The onlooker sees clearly, while the player is lost in the game."
Once he figured this out, Li Yan no longer felt lost.
The next step was to figure out how to truly separate the flesh and meridians within his body. Since he already had the embryo of the Fractured Poison Body, it meant the initial phase of its formation had succeeded.
Now, he could only rely on either his divine sense or his spiritual power, it was clearly impossible to literally dissect himself with a knife.
Li Yan stood up, fetched a basin of cold water, and washed his face, regaining a bit of clarity.
He didn't dare use the Raincloud Spell to wash up anymore, not only was he unsure if the spell would even work, but even if it did, he had no idea what kind of poisonous substance it might release.
Although the ancient texts claimed the poison was harmless to the body itself, Li Yan had no desire to test that for himself.
After taking a fasting pill, Li Yan rested for another half-hour, restoring himself to a better condition.
Once back in the cultivation room, and having calmed his breath, Li Yan carefully began circulating his mana.
He first guided a thread of spiritual energy to the separation node closest to his dantian. Then, he transformed that energy into a tiny blade and sliced directly toward the gap.
He had chosen to use spiritual power to perform the separation. As soon as the blade cut down, a soul-tearing, bone-deep pain surged into his brain.
A muffled groan escaped Li Yan's lips. He nearly lost consciousness, his divine sense almost collapsing. In the next moment, sweat poured from him like a waterfall, his entire body was instantly soaked.
His body trembled violently as he endured the pain and forced himself to probe the area with his divine sense. Sure enough, the gap had widened slightly. A surge of hope filled his heart, this meant the method was viable!
As for whether this might ultimately leave him a corpse, Li Yan had already steeled his resolve.
He gritted his teeth and continued slicing. Time slowly passed as Li Yan groaned in agony and his body trembled like a sieve...
Fifteen minutes later, Li Yan collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. After resting for quite some time, he realized he wasn't on the brink of death. His heart eased slightly, it seemed the method wouldn't kill him, at least not right away.
During that agonizing quarter-hour, it felt like he had endured the most brutal torture imaginable, yet he had only managed to separate one node.
Now came the test. If this didn't work, then not only would his path of cultivation be permanently severed, but the act of forcibly slicing those meridians might have thoroughly destroyed any ability to circulate spiritual power at all.
Li Yan struggled to sit cross-legged once more. Steeling himself, he guided a thread of spiritual power from his dantian and slowly moved it toward the separated node.
As it crept closer, he could see that the two ends of the node still stood apart like cliffs on either side of a chasm, each isolated from the other. A creeping chill spread through Li Yan's heart.
Perhaps his whimsical idea had sealed his fate, his cultivation path truly ended, the remaining trace of spiritual power in his body doomed to vanish.
But just when Li Yan thought he had condemned himself to mortal life, the spiritual power thread reached the end of the chasm... and in that moment, the separated tissue and meridians on the other side suddenly drew together, seamlessly bridging the divide. The energy flowed through without the slightest obstruction.
Li Yan didn't even have time to celebrate. He immediately probed the energy with his divine sense, and moments later, he burst into uncontrollable joy. The energy hadn't diminished at all, on the contrary, it had become even more refined during its circulation. This was exactly what cultivation required.
As spiritual energy became purer, its quantity would eventually increase as well.
Li Yan finally let out a long sigh and released the circulating mana within him. The method was indeed effective.
But the next moment, his face twisted like he had swallowed bitter herbs. His brow furrowed deeply, eleven more nodes still needed to be separated. Just thinking about it made him shudder all over.
Twenty hours later, Li Yan lay spread-eagle on the floor. The ground beneath him was soaked, some spots looked like miniature streams of sweat.
The pain he had endured, just thinking about it now made Li Yan feel like dying on the spot.
After each separation, he had to drink a massive amount of water, then immediately proceed to the next one. He didn't dare rest too long.
He had to finish while his nerves were still numb from the pain. But he also had to replenish the lost fluids or he'd die of dehydration before finishing the process.
Now that it was over, Li Yan didn't want to move a single finger, let alone go back to his room. He fell asleep right there in the cultivation room for two full days and nights.
When he awoke, his mind and energy were fully restored. Sitting up once again, he immediately crossed his legs and began adjusting his breath.
Fifteen minutes later, a burst of wild laughter erupted from the cultivation room, echoing across the courtyard. If not for the warding formation on the surrounding walls, that laughter would have carried for miles.
The first thing Li Yan did upon waking was, of course, verify whether he could cultivate normally. After several complete cycles of spiritual circulation, he found that everything had returned to how it had been before.
Overwhelmed with joy, he laughed aloud, releasing the suffocating frustration that had accumulated in his chest these past days.
In the days that followed, Li Yan temporarily set aside his cultivation of other spells. Aside from practicing the Guishui True Scripture, he focused entirely on exploring and understanding the twelve separated meridians and segments of flesh within his body.
In this way, his days passed in productive and diligent training, and before he knew it, four months had flown by.
In those four months, aside from steadily increasing his mana through the Guishui True Scripture, Li Yan also carefully studied the summary and insights recorded in the three jade slips. With that, he gained a renewed understanding of the twelve separated meridian-flesh nodes within his body.
The twelve separated meridian-flesh segments in his body were each completely different sources of poison. They would be released as spiritual power was activated.
Some were highly corrosive, some would emit poisonous vapors, and others only became toxic when exposed to moonlight, sunlight or even starlight.
More terrifying were those poisons that were colorless and odorless. If one were to attempt to synthesize them using herbal alchemy, even a single poison might require one or several highly toxic herbs to concoct, an utterly inconceivable and eerie thing.
Normally, these twelve poisons were isolated from one another and would be naturally nourished by the rhythm of Li Yan's breathing.
However, the jade slips explained that this passive nurturing was not the optimal approach. The best method was to forcibly stimulate the poison segments with one's divine sense each day to enhance their activity.
It was said that doing so might even allow them to gradually split into smaller, distinct poisonous fragments before reaching Foundation Establishment.
Li Yan tried this method, and it was sheer torment, not because of the pain from stimulating the separated meridians and flesh, but because each time he used his divine sense to stimulate them, it felt as if his very consciousness was being poisoned.
This left Li Yan with splitting headaches, constant nausea, and a sensation like countless blades churning inside his skull.
The variety and intensity of suffering made him feel as if he hovered between life and death. After several attempts, he nearly gave up. He thought he might as well let the Fractured Poison Body develop on its own, he could just focus on learning how to wield it over time.
But just as Li Yan was about to abandon the idea, he made an unexpected discovery: after stimulating those fragmented meridians, his divine sense had slightly increased, not by much, but enough for him to be certain.
Though confused at first, he was quickly overwhelmed with joy. He now understood just how rare and precious methods to train the divine sense truly were.
Although cultivating the Guishui True Scripture did provide some enhancement to the divine sense, he'd found through practice that growth only occurred when breaking through to the next stage, it wasn't something he could increase at will.
Now, having stumbled upon a way to actively grow his divine sense, Li Yan was no longer willing to let it go.
Gritting his teeth, he resolved to set aside one hour each day to use his divine sense to stimulate the separated meridians and flesh. Any longer, and he feared he might go insane.
After several days, his divine sense was indeed growing, albeit at a very slow rate. The separated meridians within his body also became more active, as if just one more stimulation would cause them to divide on their own.
Several months later, Li Yan finally grasped the properties of each poison. His next goal was to slowly master their use.
Thus, his life became even more packed, cultivating his main technique, stimulating the fragmented meridians with divine sense, and practicing poison-based spells. Every day was filled to the brim.
He often only slept a few hours every few days, replacing rest with meditation and cultivation.
During this period, Wei Chongran had sent him a message via the sect token, asking whether Li Yan had resolved his cultivation issues.
After Li Yan replied that everything had been resolved, Wei Chongran sent a short word of encouragement, then informed him that the sect had officially allocated additional resources to support his cultivation. Each month, he would now receive five extra low-grade spirit stones and two bottles of "Spirit-Raising Pills."
These were special provisions from the sect to support his training with the Fractured Poison Body. Wei Chongran told him to pick them up at the main hall when convenient and did not disturb him again afterward.
This left Li Yan with a slightly better impression of this master. Over the past few months, Wei Chongran hadn't shown any signs of hidden agendas but Li Yan remained cautious, knowing that surface appearances meant little.
Still, this incident helped Li Yan realize that the sect was indeed favoring him with extra resources, and he couldn't help but appreciate the benefits that came with the Fractured Poison Body.
What he didn't know, however, was this: if his innate spiritual roots had been above average, say Earth-level or higher, the sect wouldn't have just tossed a few resources his way with such indifference!
As for the other senior brothers and sisters, Li Yan had only encountered Fourth Senior Sister and Second Senior Brother a few times while collecting monthly resources at the main hall. The rest he hadn't seen at all, some were said to be out on missions, others in seclusion.
Even Seventh Senior Brother had gone into closed-door cultivation, supposedly preparing to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
As for that outrageously handsome Eldest Senior Brother, he hadn't been seen since going into seclusion a few months ago. However, some from the outer quarters claimed they had spotted First Uncle out late at night a few times, always looking rushed.
When Li Yan went to collect his monthly resources again, both Fourth Senior Sister and Second Senior Brother gave him rather strange looks.
"Spirit-Raising Pills" were known to provide major assistance in breaking through minor realms during the Qi Condensation stage. Among outer disciples, only the elite received two bottles per year, yet Li Yan now received two bottles every month. That naturally raised their opinion of him.
Second Senior Brother, in particular, gave Li Yan a hearty slap on the back like a bear, flashing a thumbs-up, leaving Li Yan smiling awkwardly while hissing in pain from the blow.
As for the other disciples outside of Little Bamboo Peak, they had no connection to Li Yan. He didn't know them, and they had no reason to approach him.
Time flew again, and another month passed.
This time, however, Li Yan ran into a new problem. It wasn't an issue with his cultivation itself, but with his training space.
Meditation and basic cultivation were fine in the courtyard or cultivation room. But once he started practicing actual spells, things went awry.
The poisons released through his spiritual power began wreaking havoc. After three sets of stone tables and stools were destroyed, Li Yan realized he needed to find a new place to practice his techniques.
After some thought, he ruled out going outside the sect, his current level of strength couldn't possibly handle the beasts roaming those lands.
So, he turned his attention to Little Bamboo Peak. With such a vast mountain range, filled with many subsidiary peaks, finding a quiet, secluded spot where he wouldn't disturb anyone should be quite feasible.
(Chapter End)