He raised his head and looked out the window.
The moon hung on the mountaintop.
Moonlight shone into the valley, dyeing it with a layer of silver.
The valley became quiet.
But his mood was quite restless.
This book is first published on 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞.
The Mortal Shedding Pill only expanded his meridians by about one-thirtieth.
The contrast between double and one-thirtieth was too strong, so the latter could be ignored.
Only he could see it clearly; to ordinary people, there was almost no increase.
If he took another Mortal Shedding Pill, he estimated the increase would be one percent or even one-thousandth.
Everything in the world has its limits.
The strengthening of meridians has a limit, and the Mortal Shedding Pill can break that limit, but its power to break the limit also has a limit.
External force is ultimately still an external force.
From now on, he would have to rely on gradual progress!
Thinking of this, his expression became solemn, and his mood heavy.
Based on his current progress, the next breakthrough should be in a month.
The effect of the Mortal Shedding Pill was not strong, but it still had some effect. Now, he could accommodate nine Dragon Binding Ropes operating simultaneously, with three cycles of continuous impact.
He needed to study the Void Piercing Sword Sect's Meridian Cleansing Art, Sword Cleansing Art, and Sword Control Art carefully to see if the Void Piercing Sword Sect had any other meridian expansion methods that could be unearthed.
If the meridians were difficult to expand, then he would have to find a way to use the sharpness of the Astral Qi.
The morning light began to appear.
In the valley, Chu Zhiyuan, Chu Mingxuan, Chu Zhiting, and Chu Zhichuan stood before the mountain wall, practicing the Purple Sun Stance and cultivating the Purple Sun True Scripture.
Dense purple light fell on their bodies, merging into their meridians and bodies.
Chu Zhiyuan felt the density of the purple light and was delighted.
What Chu Qingfeng said was not wrong.
The Xuan Sun was only related to the Dragon Mountain Secret Ground and not to the outside world.
The density of the purple light here had nothing to do with the Xuan Sun but was due to the peculiar location.
His mind was divided.
One part was cultivating the Purple Sun True Scripture, and the other part was observing the surroundings, trying to find the reason for the dense purple light.
He could only cultivate here for a month.
If he could find the root cause, then he wouldn't have to come here specifically; he could do the same in the Mingwu Hall, or even in his own residence.
What a great benefit that would be to his cultivation!
He initially speculated that it might involve a formation, a formation formed unintentionally between heaven and earth, but he had carefully observed it last time, and this time he observed it several times again, and he didn't find any formation.
He had a clear view of the four hundred meters around him.
Except for this valley, the purple light in the surrounding areas was dozens of times weaker, even less than in the Mingwu Hall.
So, the root cause was all in this valley?
He stubbornly observed again and again, comparing repeatedly.
In the end, he discovered that if this valley had any peculiarity, any difference from the outside, it might be the mineral deposit underground.
Fifty meters underground, there was a mineral deposit that looked like a coal mine at first glance, as black as ink.
He didn't think it was strange before.
Such a valley might have been a forest many years ago, then sunk and been buried for millions of years, forming a coal mine, which was not surprising at all.
But since he couldn't find any anomalies, he focused on it, concentrating and carefully observing, and immediately found it was not quite ordinary.
Sitting on the couch in Listening Waves Courtyard, he examined a piece of black stone in his hand.
Sitting on the couch in Listening Waves Courtyard, he examined a piece of black stone in his hand.
It was the size of a fist, irregular in shape, with edges and corners, a piece of stone dug out from the ground, as black as ink, without any light.
...
Used to refine a sword, it would be hard enough even if it wasn't sharp; used to refine armor, it would also be remarkable.
The Clear Ripple Sword manifested sword Qi and pierced it again.
"Pfft," it pierced into the stone.
He nodded, that's more like it. It could block divine weapons but not sword Qi.
Otherwise, how could Zou Fang have dug it out?
He placed it in the sunlight.
In the strands of sunlight, wisps of purple light floated out, falling on it and being absorbed.
Chu Zhiyuan's eyes lit up, and he smiled.
The purple light in the void was originally gone, but it could actually condense purple light again in the sunlight.
This ink stone was indeed mysterious.
He held it in his left palm.
The dense purple Qi of the Purple Sun True Scripture circulated, pouring into the ink stone in his left palm.
After a moment, a wisp of purple light merged into the purple Qi, making the purple Qi purer.
As wisps of purple light poured in, the purple Qi became deeper and purer.
Many thoughts surged in Chu Zhiyuan's mind.
Usually, when cultivating the Purple Sun True Scripture, the purple light falling from the void was like rain showering his body.
Some fell into his meridians, merging with the purple Qi.
Some fell into his flesh and bones, nourishing his flesh and bones.
Some fell into his mind, into an unknown place.
He judged that the Purple Sun True Scripture could more easily achieve Grandmaster status, most likely because it developed evenly.
Essence, Qi, and Spirit were all nourished, and only when all three were jointly perfected could one easily achieve Grandmaster status.
But extracting purple light like this could only replenish Qi, making the Astral Qi purer.
This did not conform to the purpose of the Purple Sun True Scripture and violated its tenets.
But it could improve the purity of Astral Qi.
This was equivalent to improving his realm, surpassing the sixth heaven realm.
If it were a little purer, it might be equivalent to the seventh heaven realm.
From this, it seemed that there were two ways to purify Astral Qi: one was to break through the Bronze Tower, and the other was to merge with purple light.
However, this method of merging with purple light had many restrictions.
The Astral Qi that had merged with purple light was disposable.
Once this Astral Qi was exhausted, the purity of the newly cultivated Astral Qi would return to its original realm.
But if this Astral Qi was used to impact the Bronze Tower, its power would naturally be extraordinary.
He smiled.
This was equivalent to finding another shortcut, although not as fast as before, it was far better than ordinary cultivation.
He just didn't know if absorbing their purple light would affect their ability to attract purple light.
He didn't know if these strange stones were disposable.
He tried to absorb all the purple light inside and found that it still absorbed purple light in the sun.
This completely put his mind at ease.
However, he discovered an anomaly: this strange stone seemed to be competing with him for ownership of the purple light.
It was extremely draining to absorb its purple light.
He determined that ordinary people could not absorb its purple light.
After letting Chu Mingxuan, Chu Zhiting, and Chu Zhichuan try it, it proved his judgment.
Their mental strength was not strong enough to absorb it.
Fortunately, they could still enjoy its benefits and cultivate faster than usual.
He thought about it and finally told Chu Qingfeng about this matter.
Chu Qingfeng looked at him in surprise after hearing this.
"Granduncle, why are you looking at me like that? Don't you recognize me?"
"You little brat, you're really generous."
"Granduncle, the stronger our Great Jing imperial family is, the better it is for me, not worse."
"Didn't you think about fighting for that position?"
He was quite hesitant.
However, Chu Zhiyuan had reached this realm and could no longer avoid this point. He already had great capital to compete for the throne.
"Then it all depends on ability," Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile, "I believe in my aptitude."
With Super-Sense and the inheritance of the three ancient sects, if he still couldn't compete for it, there was nothing to say.
Having reached this point, he still had this bit of confidence.
Moreover, he also had selfish motives. He couldn't keep running to the valley to cultivate. It was still more comfortable in the Mingwu Hall.
Chu Mingxuan and the others could only get purple light from the void, but he could get purple light from the strange stone at the same time.
For him, the purple light in the strange stone was the most important.
He asked Chu Qingfeng to find someone to dig all the strange stones to the Mingwu Hall and also put some in his own royal mansion.
Killing two birds with one stone, why not do it?
"...Alright, this matter can't be rushed, and absolutely no word can be leaked out."
"Naturally," Chu Zhiyuan solemnly nodded.
Chu Qingfeng slowly nodded: "The Emperor will definitely reward you."
Chu Zhiyuan's courage and breadth of mind, based on this alone, made him the best candidate to wield the Emperor's Sword.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "It would be best if my meridians could be strengthened again."
"You've already used the Mortal Shedding Pill," Chu Qingfeng said with a smile, "don't even think about it."
