Li Xun was no fool driven by instinct. In the following days, he no longer dared to cultivate recklessly. Instead, he pored over countless texts, referenced Lin Ge's various insights and reflections, and personally deduced dozens of optimal approaches. Only then did he proceed to integrate these methods in hopes of finding a more stable, more reliable method.
This time, it only took ten days for Li Xun to arrive at an answer.
On the same night he agreed to accompany Shan Zhi to Guanxia Peak to admire the view, Li Xun once again completed the Golden Core True Breath Lock-Structure—a name he whimsically coined for his proud creation.
After returning from Guanxia Peak, he wasted not a second. He immediately re-stabilized the completed system, then sat quietly in seclusion, turning his senses inward to observe the circulation of qi through his meridians, silently waiting for the daily wave of pain to arrive.
Finally, at a certain moment, his heart meridian gave a slight twitch, and in the next instant, tens of thousands of fine qi currents surged out, flooding into the blood vessels and meridians connected to the heart.
In that instant, the "Golden Core True Breath Lock-Structure" shuddered violently. Several sections even showed signs of rupture, and some of the true breath began to roil and surge.
In the next moment, the Yin Fire burst forth from his heart meridian. The impact of this power on the fragile system instantly broke the already unstable parts apart. That portion of the true breath, naturally, spun out of control and rampaged throughout his body.
"It's not over yet!"
This situation had already been anticipated by Li Xun. The fact that the system didn't collapse instantly like last time proved the progress he had made over the past few days—enough to boost his confidence significantly.
While struggling to maintain the system's integrity, he also began to rein in the rogue true breath. Thanks to more than a month of dedicated effort, his golden core had developed much greater control, and he was now quite proficient at guiding scattered qi back into the system.
But the real hardship had only just begun.
Li Xun knew full well: after ten days of preparation, resisting the first wave of assault was the easy part. The truly difficult trial was the prolonged "war of endurance" that would follow—for nearly half a stick of incense's time.
To sustain such a delicate and brittle system for that long… what a daunting task!
Time had never moved this slowly before.
One-third of the system had already been destroyed. As the ratio of collapse increased, the rate of destruction accelerated as well. Again and again, Li Xun braced his near-breaking willpower, desperately holding up a system that teetered on the verge of collapse.
The damage caused by the dissipated true breath was a hundred times worse than that of the Blood Nightmare—but at least it was something he could actively counter.
What truly disheartened him was the Blood Nightmare's slow yet relentless siphoning. That was something he simply couldn't resist.
Even if he tempered every meridian and aperture in his body into walls of iron, under the fine threads formed by the Blood Nightmare, it was all like paper—pierced at a touch. He could only watch helplessly as the essence he'd worked so hard to cultivate was drained away. The feeling—it made him sick to his stomach.
To replenish what was lost, he had no choice but to draw doubly from the abundant vitality of the Yin Fire. Perhaps the only thing of value gained through this ordeal was that—for the first time—he was able to witness the Blood Nightmare's activity throughout its entire cycle, and to recognize its insidious power for what it truly was.
After yet another effort to steel his spirit and endure the chaos wrought by scattered qi, the Blood Nightmare and Yin Fire finally retreated, leaving behind a battlefield of ruin.
Just like before, the Blood Nightmare and Yin Fire were merely triggers—the true destroyer was always the out-of-control true breath.
Now came the phase that demanded both unyielding will and utmost technique.
No one knew how much time passed. Perhaps when blood was leaking from all seven of his orifices, and the capillaries under his skin were nearly all ruptured, the Golden Core True Breath Lock-Structure was once again successfully completed inside his body—and began swiftly repairing his wounds.
Only then did Li Xun open his eyes. He wiped the dried blood from the corners of his swollen eyes and couldn't help but smile in triumph as he glanced at the hourglass beside him.
But at that very moment, his smile froze—
A full twelve hours had passed.
Which meant… the next "Blood Nightmare Heart-Devouring" episode could begin at any moment!
He shut his eyes in despair and let out a long, exhausted groan.