Chapter Forty-Five: Remolding the Meridians

"This is the only place in the Ghost Venom Sect protected by a formation!" Ghost Venom Master pointed at a small stream ahead.

"Finally, we've stopped!" Lei Yan thought to himself. Ever since they left the secret chamber, Ghost Venom Master had led him in circles around the courtyard, which wasn't even that large to begin with, yet they'd walked back and forth several times.

"This formation actually confounds both sight and sound!" When Lei Yan looked in the direction Ghost Venom Master was indicating, his eyes lit up in astonishment. Clearly, the defensive array before him was far more complex than the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation at his own home. He could see the little stream clearly, even the small fish darting about in the water, and he could distinctly hear the gentle gurgling as the clear stream brushed against the stones.

"This is just a crude illusion array. The reason I brought you here is that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is denser in this spot, which will help with the reconstruction of your meridians. Of course, the most important thing is that we can't be disturbed during the process." Ghost Venom Master paused slightly, then urged, "Come with me." With that, he strode forward.

Lei Yan followed closely, but after only a few steps, he witnessed a strange scene. As Ghost Venom Master's right foot stepped into the stream, it vanished into thin air. Then, as his body leaned forward, he disappeared completely from Lei Yan's view, and a ripple shimmered in the air where he'd vanished, like the rings caused by a stone dropped into water. This was Lei Yan's first encounter with an illusion array, and he found it fascinating—he reached out and poked at it with his finger, each time stirring up more ripples in the air.

"It's like a vertical sheet of water suspended in midair. Formations are truly remarkable!" Lei Yan smiled, then stepped into the illusion array.

As soon as he entered, Lei Yan saw Ghost Venom Master waiting for him. When Lei Yan approached, Ghost Venom Master smiled and said, "Remember, everything you see from here on is false. Just follow me closely." With that, he walked forward onto a path that resembled a rope bridge.

No sooner had Ghost Venom Master taken a step than a crimson pillar of fire, about a foot in diameter, burst from the ground. The pillar shot straight toward Ghost Venom Master, and Lei Yan couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for him. Yet Ghost Venom Master's reaction was completely unexpected—he paid the fire pillar no heed, strolling forward as if he were taking a leisurely walk.

"It's all just an illusion!" Lei Yan chuckled and followed, but as soon as he took his first step, his smile froze. A pillar of fire shot up right in front of him, and he could feel the heat radiating from it. He was certain that if he got any closer, the flames would scorch him. Doubt gnawed at him—was it truly all fake? Instinctively, he quickened his pace, running desperately to catch up to Ghost Venom Master, convinced that only by staying close to him could he remain safe. These fire pillars were beyond anything he'd ever known.

Watching Lei Yan dash over in a panic, Ghost Venom Master smiled and tapped his chest, saying, "You must use your heart. These illusion arrays I've set up are at a very low level. If you ever encounter a large-scale illusion array, remember—everything begins with the heart."

"Again with the heart!" Lei Yan muttered under his breath, "The heart! The heart!" And so, following behind Ghost Venom Master, he unwittingly emerged from the illusion.

Stepping out, Lei Yan's vision suddenly opened up—a grassy expanse of about a hundred yards stretched before him, lush and vibrant, with nothing in sight but green grass. A gentle breeze carried the fresh scent of nature, instantly invigorating him, and he couldn't help taking a deep breath.

"Inhale... exhale..."

"Prepare yourself. I will soon begin the reconstruction of your meridians. Even though you now possess the fused Nine Dragons Stone, I must warn you—the pain of this process is beyond imagination, so steel yourself." With that, Ghost Venom Master produced the Nine Dragons Stone. Forming a seal with his hand, a faint green light shot into the stone. At once, the Nine Dragons Stone floated into the air, spinning rapidly, and several fine, thread-like beams of light shot out from it like searchlights.

"Are you ready? Take this pill and stand beneath the Nine Dragons Stone." Ghost Venom Master handed Lei Yan a pill.

"Tiger Soul Pill!" Lei Yan was slightly surprised. The Medical and Venom Canon had described this pill before; it was designed to strengthen tendons and bones, and its greatest effect was to repair meridians. Without hesitation, Lei Yan popped the Tiger Soul Pill into his mouth and stepped beneath the Nine Dragons Stone.

The moment he stood beneath it, Lei Yan felt those thread-like beams of light shoot into his baihui acupoint at the crown of his head, sending a shudder through his body. Don't mistake it for pain—it was a chill, an icy cold that seemed to penetrate to the bone. It was the same cold he'd once felt outside the stone crevice, only now it was several times more intense. Within seconds, his whole body had gone rigid.

"Bang!"

Just as Lei Yan felt numb and stiff all over, a sharp pain shot through his chest. Instinctively, he looked down and saw that Ghost Venom Master had struck him square in the chest. His chest tightened abruptly, "Pff!" A mouthful of blood spurted from his lips. Seeing the grave look in Ghost Venom Master's eyes, Lei Yan began to hesitate—was the master helping him reconstruct his meridians, or trying to kill him? But he had no time to think, for another strike from Ghost Venom Master landed.

"Bang!" A palm to his back.

"Bang!" A palm to his right arm.

...

Lei Yan's eyes reddened, fixing a fierce glare on Ghost Venom Master. He truly could not tell if the man intended to destroy him or save him.

Perhaps sensing Lei Yan's doubts, Ghost Venom Master said coolly, "What does it mean to reconstruct? One must first destroy your original meridians, then rebuild them anew." With that, he ignored Lei Yan's expression and immersed himself in the destructive delight of shattering Lei Yan's meridians.

A relentless barrage of strikes left Lei Yan completely bereft of control over his body. Ordinarily, the destruction of one's meridians would mean certain death. Yet, each time Ghost Venom Master destroyed a meridian, he used his vital energy to draw out a thread-like substitute in its place. Gradually, Lei Yan could no longer feel pain; only a dim, tenacious awareness reminded him to hold on. Just then, that bone-chilling cold surged down from above his head again, pouring directly into his body.

Under Ghost Venom Master's spiritual guidance, strands of vital energy slowly seeped into Lei Yan's body. The first stage, destruction, was complete; now came the far more difficult task of rebuilding, one meridian at a time.

Sweat poured from Ghost Venom Master as he guided each new thread. At this moment, the effects of the Tiger Soul Pill in Lei Yan's body truly manifested. Each thread shimmered with a faint green light, and as the green light was steadily consumed, brand-new meridians began to form within him.

Under the onslaught of such intense energy, Lei Yan felt as though ten thousand ants were tearing at his flesh. Waves of unbearable pain surged along each newly formed meridian, flooding his mind. Beads of blood oozed from every pore, his veins bulged, his face flushed crimson, and he cried out in agony until at last, his vision went black and he lost consciousness.

"It's done!" Ghost Venom Master said excitedly, but Lei Yan was already unconscious and could not hear him. The reconstruction of Lei Yan's meridians appeared deceptively simple, but in truth, it was far from so. Without a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to continuously stimulate the Tiger Soul Pill with vital energy, Lei Yan's meridians could never have been reborn; without the vital energy stored within the Nine Dragons Stone to serve as a temporary conduit, Lei Yan would have died the instant his meridians were destroyed. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Ghost Venom Master seemed to age decades in an instant—white hairs at his temples fluttered in the breeze, and new wrinkles creased his face. The effort had cost him years of his lifespan.

(P.S.: Yesterday's chapter was too short, so I wrote another one today. Didn't expect to keep going until now! Haha, apologies, apologies!)