Chapter Seven

  Zhou Bofu had been refining his Qi for many years, and now he was finally left with only the last main vein to unblock. At that time, he didn't know what changes would occur. On this day, he bid farewell to Yun Zhongzi, knowing that breaking through the barrier would be extremely perilous. The old crane was also someone who couldn't be defeated, so he decided to settle it himself. In the north and west, there were relatively more demonic creatures, while in the south, near the great ocean, the influence of the sea was greater, and the weather was getting worse. Therefore, Zhou Bofu decided to go to the south to close his eyes and break through. After flying thousands of miles southward, he found a hidden valley and descended. He used his divine sense to check around, confirming that there were no other demonic beasts before finding a sunny depression to sit down in. He closed his eyes and sank his heart into his body.

  Slowly introducing the cold air to start operating, after nine turns it changes into scorching heat, and after another nine turns it transforms into a warm and cool breath that runs along the meridians. The past torture that could not be endured can now be controlled at will, and it is as if intoxicatingly refreshing. However, it is also extremely dangerous, Zhou Bosu had several times lost control in the past, each time causing his body's meridians to become chaotic, resulting in severe injuries to his muscles, internal organs, tendons, and bones. If it weren't for Yun Zhongzi's timely treatment, he might have turned into a pile of dry bones.

  The internal energy reached the top of his head, this was the last pass. He carefully controlled the energy to probe, in the probing, as usual, a lot of energy jumped past and started running, this pass was like a big boulder in the middle of a river blocking the channel. Slowly, bit by bit, using the yin and yang energies to grind against this "boulder", gradually thinning out the obstacles, his mind fully immersed in it. Outside Zhou Bofu's body, time passed day by day, spring went and summer came, torrential rains poured down soaking him in water, Zhou Bofu remained unaware and unconscious like a dead man; autumn went and winter came, heavy snow buried him again, he still remained like a stone.

  Finally, this day. The only obstacle left was a thin thread, but that thread was incredibly resilient. Zhou Bofu wasn't anxious either, still using his water-milling technique, slowly grinding away while increasing his absorption and accumulation of spiritual energy... until suddenly a brilliant light appeared, and Zhou Bofu instantly poured all the accumulated spiritual energy into the final barrier like a river bursting through a dam. In his divine consciousness, it seemed to make a "boom" sound, and the main meridian was suddenly unblocked! The spiritual power in the main meridian grew faster and more fluent with each passing moment, becoming stronger with every circle. At the same time, the three places on his head, heart, and dantian emitted the sound of bottle corks popping open, and three demon palaces emerged. The sky outside also showed an unusual phenomenon, as the spiritual energy within hundreds of miles was violently disturbed, forming a massive spiritual vortex. The center of the funnel-shaped vortex connected to Zhou Bofu's head, and the spiritual energy poured into his body like a tidal wave, becoming faster and more intense in the main meridian, like light! Like electricity! In his excitement, Zhou Bofu didn't even bother to check out the newly opened demon palaces, directly guiding the massive amount of spiritual energy to start attacking the meridians in his limbs. Amidst the raging torrent of spiritual energy, he completely ignored the damage to his limb meridians and started attacking with all his might. The attack was smooth and unobstructed, quickly opening up the meridian in his front paws. After it opened, a small vortex of spiritual energy appeared on the palm of his paw, and the spiritual energy poured into the main meridian through the vortex. With the influx of spiritual energy from both paws, the torrent of spiritual energy in the main meridian became even more turbulent, directly attacking the two hind limb meridians. In a burst of intense pain, the hind limb meridians were also opened up, and this time it was even more incredible - a stream of spiritual energy rose from the ground to merge with the main meridian. The main meridian then began to extend, flowing into his tail and splitting into five branches that connected with the five tail feathers, transmitting sharp, scorching, icy, heavy, or lively spiritual energies into the main meridian. Finally, all the spiritual energy converged into the three demon palaces in his upper, middle, and lower body. After a long time... the unusual phenomenon outside began to slowly dissipate, and Zhou Bofu felt that his body was filled with demonic energy. He started to examine his own innate Taoist techniques, and upon seeing them, he became stunned.

  "Five-colored divine light?! It's actually the five-colored divine light!!! So that's how it is, so that's how it is!!!" Zhou Bofu exclaimed in excitement, muttering to himself: "So that's how it is... Five-colored divine light. I see, my body is a peacock! No wonder, no wonder, I said why I looked like this, turns out it's the ancient fierce bird, the peacock! But not the kind of peacock you see every day. Hmph, 'Living in the mountains, with one breath can devour all living things within dozens of miles, known as the most ferocious' Haha, watch me master the five-colored divine light, and roam the world at will!"

  Zhou Bofu was overjoyed for a while, gazing at the horizon and deciding to leave before some uninvited guests arrived. After all, the spectacular phenomenon that occurred when he achieved enlightenment must have attracted cultivators and demons from thousands of miles away. He flapped his wings and flew into the high sky, where his tail feathers had already grown out, longer than his body. The five long tail feathers were divided into five colors: white, green, black, red, and yellow, arranged in a fan shape like precious swords inserted into his short, stout tail. When opened, it was truly magnificent and luxurious, like a folding screen. As he felt the different spiritual energies transmitted from the five tail feathers, he began to judge their properties. The white feather corresponded to metal, with sharp and unmatched spiritual energy; the green feather corresponded to wood, with thriving and vigorous spiritual energy; the black feather corresponded to water, with icy and majestic spiritual energy; the red feather corresponded to fire, with scorching and overbearing spiritual energy; and the yellow feather corresponded to earth, with thick and slow spiritual energy. In between, there were countless variations, with each pair generating endless possibilities and methods, truly changing without end.

  As I flew, I sank my divine thoughts into the five-color divine light's mantra. At first glance, it was laughable and cry-worthy. It turned out that this road of mantra wasn't particularly difficult; it was just about operating the Five Elements, transforming each element through practice, until one could refine the Five Elements into their own body - that would be the completion of the mantra. Later on, whether it's collecting treasures or killing with the Five Elements, it would all depend on the depth of one's Taoist cultivation. It's just a matter of achieving Post-Heavenly Completion, Great Post-Heavenly Completion, and transforming Post-Heaven into Pre-Heaven, and so on. I couldn't help but admire Kong Xuan's great abilities in "The Investiture of the Gods", who was said to be invincible under the heavens. However, practicing it is truly a matter of life and death. The Five Elements' spiritual energy is as heavy as a mountain, not to mention that the practice itself is also clumsy work. Following the Five Elements' birth and transformation, each cycle completed would refine one thread, purely relying on a water-mill-like effort, year after year. Who knows when it will be fully achieved? However, upon closer inspection, there are benefits as well. The five-color divine light is the orthodox method of the Five Elements; within each element, countless mantras naturally connect, making it a case of "one law penetrates all, and all laws penetrate one". Once the colorless divine light is slightly completed, Post-Heavenly Completion will also grant some spiritual powers.

  Flying back to the original place, Zhou Bofu prepared to celebrate with several good friends before going into arduous training. Time waits for no man. He hoped that he could at least refine the Five Elements in a short period of time and reach the level where he could apply them initially. As for later becoming as free and unrestrained as Kong Xuan... it had already exceeded the limits of this world.