From the Qin Dynasty onwards, he eked out a living among the heavens.

When the news of the Crown Prince's drowning reached Zilan Pavilion, it was already the morning of the next day. Han Fei went to the Sikou Mansion before dawn, Wei Zhuang was testing his sword in the backyard, and Zi Nu was examining the silk slips sent back by her spies in the side hall.

Xu Huang had no time to care; today he was going to formally teach Nongyu martial arts.

Nongyu was already waiting in the backyard. She was dressed in neat training clothes, her long hair tied back, and the Purple Lightning Sword Box rested on a stone platform. Seeing Xu Huang walk over from the corridor, she called out, "Husband."

Xu Huang instructed her to first stand in the Wuji stance, which is equivalent to the length of an incense stick, to guide her Qi and blood from the soles of her feet to her Dantian.

After finishing her practice, she sat cross-legged under the old locust tree. Xu Huang walked around behind her, placed his right palm on her Zhiyang acupoint on her back, and a gentle yet powerful innate true energy flowed from his palm into her body.

"There are two types of meridians in the human body. The twelve regular meridians are the main channels, connecting the five internal organs and six bowels, and passing through the four limbs and the whole body. Only when all twelve meridians are opened can one be considered to have truly stepped into the threshold of martial arts."

"The Eight Extraordinary Meridians are another set of meridians. They don't directly connect to the internal organs, but they can regulate the Qi and blood of the Twelve Regular Meridians. Only when these two sets of meridians are fully connected can internal energy circulate freely throughout the body. I will use my true energy to guide you through the meridians. Remember the route the Qi travels along, and circulate it in this order every day from now on."

His vital energy began to travel along the Du meridian on her back, ascending to the top of her head, then descending along the Ren meridian to her lower abdomen. It then split into two paths, pushing along the three Yin meridians on the inner side of her legs to the Yongquan point on the soles of her feet. From the Yongquan point, it pushed back to her head along the three Yang meridians on the outer side of her legs, then along the three Yang meridians on the outer side of her arms to her fingertips, and finally back to her chest along the three Yin meridians on the inner side of her arms.

The moment all twelve meridians were opened, Nongyu exhaled a long breath of turbid air, which was a very faint grayish-white color, as the impurities accumulated in the meridians over the years were forced out.

Next came the eight extraordinary meridians. The Ren and Du meridians are the general outline of the eight meridians. Once these two are unblocked, internal energy has a foundation for circulation. After Xu Huang helped her unblock the Ren and Du meridians, the remaining six meridians—Chong, Dai, Yin Qiao, Yang Qiao, Yin Wei, and Yang Wei—were also opened one by one.

The belt meridian is the most difficult to open because it encircles the waist and abdomen, binding all the meridians together. If the belt meridian is blocked, internal energy cannot flow smoothly between the upper and lower body.

When the penetration occurred, her waist and abdomen felt slightly hot, and a warm current circulated around her waist for three full rotations before slowly subsiding.

With all eight meridians open, her entire body's meridian network was fully formed, and from then on, her speed of cultivating internal energy far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Zi Nu came out from the side hall, holding a teacup in her hand, but did not approach from the corridor.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on Xu Huang's hand pressed against Nongyu's back, then shifted to Nongyu's slightly trembling body. Steam rose from the teacup from her fingertips, but her brow furrowed slightly.

After all twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians were connected, Xu Huang withdrew his right palm and regulated his breathing.

Nongyu exhaled a long breath, opened her eyes, and felt an unprecedented flow of energy throughout her body. The colors of the world before her eyes became more vibrant, and her five senses were sharper. "Is this the Innate Realm?"

Zi Nu walked in from the corridor, placed the teacup on the stone platform, knelt down beside Nong Yu, took her pulse, and only after confirming that her pulse was stable and her blood and qi were flowing smoothly did she raise her head to look at Xu Huang.

"You helped her open up all the meridians in her body."

"Um."

"The twelve regular meridians plus the eight extraordinary meridians are all opened in one breath." Zi Nu's voice was not loud, and her tone sounded calm, but her brows did not relax. "Few people in the martial arts world are willing to open up someone's meridians. It's not that they don't want to help, it's that they can't afford to. Every time a meridian is opened, the practitioner depletes their own true energy and mental strength."

"You know how much you expended by opening up all twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians for her in one go."

Xu Huang glanced at her. "My internal energy cultivation has long since broken through the Innate Realm. After my internal energy transforms into Innate True Essence, it can communicate with the primordial energy of heaven and earth, flowing continuously and endlessly. The loss I incur while opening up someone's meridians is negligible to me and poses no real problem."

He spoke casually, but he knew in his heart that his foundation was far greater than that. The internal strength he had accumulated through more than ninety years of hard training, coupled with the precious blood of Liang Ziweng's medicinal snake that he had consumed in the world of The Return of the Condor Heroes and the Pusiqu snake that he had later improved and cultivated, had made his meridians more resilient and his dantian capacity far exceed that of ordinary innate martial artists.

But there's no need to explain these things to Zi Nu in detail; she only needs to know that he is absolutely certain.

"There are numbers, but the losses are real." Zi Nu looked at him, her eyes not blaming, but with a seriousness that refused to back down. "It's your skill to open up all her meridians, but next time you do something like this, discuss it with me first. We care that you don't take your own foundation seriously."

Nongyu raised her head, looked at Xu Huang, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something. Xu Huang placed the teacup on the stone table and pulled Nongyu up from the ground.

"Don't worry, I'm helping you because you deserve it. Since I dare to do it, I'm absolutely certain of success. If you were in my shoes, I would have done the same."

Zi Nu glanced at him, said nothing more, simply picked up the teacup he had drunk from on the stone table, and turned to walk towards the side hall. She paused for a moment as she reached the corridor, without turning back.

Xu Huang called out to her. "Don't go yet, there's something I need to tell you two." Zi Nu stopped and turned to look at him, while Nong Yu also looked up, waiting for him to speak.

"Nine Yin Manual. This martial art is the general principle of Taoism, with extremely comprehensive capabilities. It has corresponding methods for internal energy cultivation, footwork, fist techniques, healing, and qi refining. You two should both switch to practicing this."

Zi Nu turned around, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment. "The Nine Yin Manual, the martial arts technique you taught Nong Yu originated from here."

"Yes, that technique is called Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian. In my opinion, it is just a foundation-building method in the True Scripture, which can improve martial arts aptitude after birth. Now that all her meridians have been opened, she can study the general outline of the True Scripture."

"You're the same. Your foundation is much stronger than Nongyu's. If you directly cultivate the general outline of the True Scripture, along with the healing chapter, your old shoulder injuries will heal faster. The footwork, fist techniques, and internal energy in the True Scripture are all systematic. If you two practice together and compare your progress, it will be much faster than if you practice alone."

Zi Nu did not answer immediately, her gaze shifting from Xu Huang's face to Nong Yu. Nong Yu had already sat down cross-legged again, looking up at her with an expectant glint in her eyes.

Zi Nu placed the teacup on the stone platform, walked to Nong Yu's side, sat cross-legged, straightened her skirt, and said in a calm yet firm tone, "Then let's practice together."

Xu Huang began to teach them the general principles and mental techniques of the Nine Yin Manual. Nongyu followed the instructions he gave her, guiding her internal energy from her dantian, circulating it along the Ren and Du meridians, then dividing it into the twelve regular meridians, and finally converging it into the eight extraordinary meridians.

With her existing meridians, she quickly got the hang of it and was able to complete a small circulation independently after only a few tries.

Zi Nu had a stronger foundation. After listening to the mental cultivation formula twice, she was able to circulate her internal energy along the true path of the manual on her own. Her old shoulder injuries were slightly warm, and the cold energy left by the witch power on the Tianze Chains was gradually dissipating under the repeated washing of her internal energy.

After mastering the basics of internal energy cultivation, Xu Huang retrieved the blood and gallbladder of the Pusiqu snake from the Mountain and River Map.

Nongyu first swallowed the snake blood. The snake blood was slightly cool when it entered her mouth. After sliding down her throat, a burst of hot air suddenly exploded from her lower abdomen. She groaned, the veins on her forehead bulged slightly, and she gripped her clothes tightly with both hands.

Xu Huang placed his palm on her back to protect her heart meridian with his innate true energy. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the burning sensation gradually subsided, replaced by a warm and mellow current that flowed slowly through her limbs and bones.

Next came the snake gall, a deep, dark green color, specifically used to temper the resilience of the meridians. Intertwined with the warm medicinal power left by the snake blood, the alternating hot and cold temperatures repeatedly tempered the inner walls of the meridians, making them more flexible. Nongyu went through the general outline of the true scripture nine more times before gradually and completely refining the medicinal power of the snake blood and snake gall.

Zi Nu accepted the snake blood and gallbladder, remained silent for a long time, her eyes filled with a complex mix of joy and bitterness. She then tilted her head back and swallowed them in one gulp, closing her eyes to regulate her breathing.

When the scorching heat exploded within her body, she merely furrowed her brow slightly before guiding the heat to wash away the old wounds on her shoulders, following the general principles of the true scripture.

About an hour later, she exhaled a long breath and opened her eyes. The faint chill in her shoulders had dissipated by most, and her internal energy was more abundant, showing signs of breaking through to the innate level.

Seeing that Zi Nu had finished practicing her cultivation technique, Xu Huang said, "Nong Yu's cultivation level is far behind yours. If she follows the steps step by step, I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to break through to the Innate Realm in a short time."

"Zi Nu, you are different. You have already reached the limit of the Acquired Realm. All twelve regular meridians are open, and you are only missing the Ren and Du meridians of the eight extraordinary meridians. Your cultivation is already based on a foundation. I am worried that forcibly helping you break through will affect your future cultivation path. In addition, you have taken the blood and gall of the medicinal snake, which has further improved your internal strength. You only need to solidify your foundation to directly enter the Innate Realm. Therefore, it is better to proceed step by step."

Upon hearing this, Zi Nu's expression softened slightly. "Is this how you tricked Nong Yu into your hands?" Xu Huang's face stiffened. "I didn't. Don't talk nonsense," he said, giving her an expression that said, "I don't understand what you're talking about." Zi Nu glanced at him, a faint smile hidden in her eyes. "I'll let you go this time."

In the afternoon, Nongyu continued practicing other techniques from the Nine Yin Manual, while Zinu sparred with her. Zinu's chain sword wasn't good for close-quarters combat, but her movements were extremely fast, which was perfect for Nongyu to practice on.

The two exchanged more than a dozen moves. Nongyu's footwork gradually became smoother and more fluid, and she landed steadily with a thud. After finishing, Nongyu put the Purple Lightning Sword back into its sheath. Her forehead was covered in fine sweat, and a light red mark was visible on the back of her hand.

Xu Huang took out a medicinal bath packet from the Mountain and River Map and handed it to them, telling them to soak for an hour that night. After soaking, the blockages in their meridians would be further cleared up.

Nongyu took the medicine packet, wiped the sweat from her brow, and smiled. Zinu put the prescription into her sleeve, said nothing, and simply walked towards the backyard. She paused for a moment at the porch, without turning back. "I'll be back for the sparring tomorrow."