He fell off a cliff but unexpectedly gained a cultivation inheritance.

Zhang Bufan was immersed in the exhilarating feeling of absorbing spirit stones during cultivation, and two more days passed in the blink of an eye. The Qi circulation within his dantian became increasingly steady and powerful, and his spiritual energy flowed through his meridians like a rushing stream. Each cycle brought him greater mastery of his control over spiritual energy. It wasn't until he felt a faint, throbbing pain in his meridians, as if he had been pushed to his limit by the excessive spiritual energy, that he snapped back to reality, slowly stopped his cultivation, and guided the spiritual energy back to his dantian, gradually calming down.

The moment he stopped cultivating, Zhang Bufan subconsciously looked at his right palm. The once warm and luminous low-grade spirit stone had now become dull and lifeless, its delicate luster completely gone. It had lost its previous warm texture and felt only the roughness and coldness of an ordinary white pebble, as if the pure spiritual energy it contained had been completely drained. He casually tossed this "waste stone" aside, his eyes filled with joy and shock.

Immediately afterward, Zhang Bufan calmed his mind and carefully sensed the state of his body. His eight extraordinary meridians were now completely unobstructed, and spiritual energy flowed through them without any stagnation. The vortex of energy within his dantian had expanded to its maximum, almost overflowing with spiritual energy, accompanied by a slight throbbing pain in his meridians. This sensation was incredibly clear, perfectly matching the cultivation knowledge left behind by Xuanqing Daoist in his mind—this was a clear sign of reaching the completion of the first level of Qi Refining!

"Qi Refining Level 1, perfected!" Zhang Bufan couldn't help but shout, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement. From receiving the initiation and entering Qi Refining Level 1 to cultivating to perfection with the help of spirit stones, only a few days had passed. If ordinary cultivators outside knew this, they would probably be astonished. You must know that even a single-spiritual-root cultivator with decent talent would need several months of accumulation to cultivate from Qi Refining Level 1 to perfection, but he, with the spirit stone resources of the secret realm and the top-tier cultivation techniques of the Immortal Realm, directly shortened this process by dozens of times.

After a brief moment of excitement, Zhang Bufan quickly calmed down. He clearly remembered that the knowledge passed down by Xuanqing Daoist recorded that besides the eight extraordinary meridians he had already opened, there were also the more crucial twelve regular meridians in the human body. The eight extraordinary meridians were the foundation of cultivation, responsible for the circulation of spiritual energy throughout the body, while the twelve regular meridians were the core for improving cultivation and expanding the capacity of spiritual energy. Each time one of the twelve regular meridians was opened, the total amount of spiritual energy that the body could hold would double, and the cultivation level would rise accordingly. For this reason, the Qi Refining stage was divided into thirteen levels; opening the first of the twelve regular meridians meant reaching the second level of Qi Refining, opening the second meant reaching the third level of Qi Refining, and so on.

Only by opening all twelve meridians can one truly reach the pinnacle of the Qi Refining stage, at which point one can attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. The Foundation Establishment stage is the true threshold on the path of cultivation, the crucial transformation from "mortal" to "immortal." Once one successfully establishes the Foundation, one can not only project one's divine sense to perceive all surrounding movements, but also master the supernatural power of telekinesis, wielding power with every gesture; and even begin to fly, realizing the dream of soaring through the heavens and escaping the earth.

What Zhang Bufan longed for even more was the significant increase in lifespan brought about by the Foundation Establishment stage. Although Qi Refining cultivators possessed physiques far superior to ordinary people, impervious to heat and cold, and unaffected by minor illnesses, their lifespans did not undergo a qualitative change; they were only slightly longer than ordinary mortals. Even if they cultivated to the peak of Qi Refining, their lifespan would only be a maximum of 150 years. However, once they entered the Foundation Establishment stage, their lifespan would experience a leap forward, starting at 200 years, and reaching a maximum of 500 years if they cultivated to the peak of Foundation Establishment! Only then could they truly break free from the shackles of birth, aging, sickness, and death of mortals, becoming veritable "immortals" in the eyes of the world.

Thinking of this, Zhang Bufan's desire grew even stronger. A lifespan of 150 years might seem long, but for cultivators seeking immortality, it was merely a fleeting moment. Moreover, he desperately wanted to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage, establish a connection with his storage ring, leave the secret realm, and return to his parents to fulfill his filial duties. If he couldn't reach the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible, and wasted decades in the secret realm, his parents outside would likely be old and frail, perhaps even deceased.

"We can't wait, we must start developing the twelve primary meridians immediately!" Zhang Bufan's eyes narrowed, and he no longer hesitated. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes again, concentrated his mind, and immersed himself in his sea of ​​consciousness. In his mind, the human meridian diagram inherited from Xuanqing Daoist instantly appeared clearly, like a precise map, clearly marking the routes, nodes, and key acupoints of the eight extraordinary meridians and the twelve primary meridians.

This meridian chart is a hundred times more complex than those found in conventional medicine. The twelve primary meridians are like twelve rushing rivers, flowing through the five internal organs, six bowels, four limbs, and hundreds of bones, intertwining with the eight extraordinary meridians to form a complete system for the circulation of spiritual energy in the human body. Each primary meridian is covered with countless tiny acupoints, like docks on the river, which are key nodes for the gathering and flow of spiritual energy. To open up and unblock the twelve primary meridians, one must use one's own spiritual power as a "chisel" to strike these acupoints one by one, clearing the blockages in the meridians.

Zhang Bufan's gaze was fixed on the "Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian," one of the twelve primary meridians, which was relatively simple and easiest to cultivate. This meridian started from the lungs, passed through the shoulder, extended to the inner side of the arm, and ended at the tip of the index finger. It was the meridian with the smoothest flow of spiritual energy and the fewest acupoints among the twelve primary meridians, making it the primary target for Qi Refining cultivators to break through to the second level. He slowly guided the abundant spiritual energy in his dantian, condensing it into a slender and refined stream of spiritual energy, like a nimble little snake, slowly flowing towards the starting acupoint of the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian—the Zhongfu acupoint.

The journey of expanding one's meridians has thus begun. Outside the wooden house, the light emanating from the spirit stones on the cave ceiling remains soft, and the faint sound of a babbling brook can be heard. Inside the wooden house, Zhang Bufan is fully focused on overcoming the next hurdle on his path to immortality.