Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Xu Ping'an furrowed his brows as he looked at Li Qingyi. Li Qingyi's condition seemed rather poor at the moment, with extremely unstable breathing and surging Qi-blood in her body, which suggested that her meridians might be injured. The most feared occurrence during a breakthrough to the Meridian Opening Realm is damaging the Mysterious Veins while attempting to force them open. It appeared that Li Qingyi was facing precisely this issue. Even though she had a spiritual marrow and abundant True Yuan, it didn't guarantee a successful meridian opening. If she failed, it could even result in permanent damage. "Pfft!" Pressured by the impact, Li Qingyi spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. However, she seemed to have no intention of giving up and continued to take a drop of the spiritual marrow, planning to carry on. "Forcing the process like this will only worsen your injuries. First, stabilize your breath and True Yuan and do as I say," Xu Ping'an immediately told Li Qingyi. Upon hearing this, Li Qingyi didn't harbor the slightest doubt and promptly did as instructed. "Open your mouth!" Xu Ping'an took out an elixir and tossed it into Li Qingyi's mouth. "This is a Meridian Opening Pill. It protects the Mysterious Veins. Next, use the method I taught you to open the veins. Let your own True Yuan form a spiral shape, creating a True Yuan drill. This will make it easier," Xu Ping'an said. "A True Yuan drill?" Li Qingyi was immensely surprised. This required an extremely high level of control over True Yuan, keeping it rotating at high speeds—oh how difficult that was. Li Qingyi gave it a try, but her True Yuan quickly dissipated. "Don't rush, keep trying. Also, spread the power of the elixir to cover the entire Mysterious Vein," Xu Ping'an instructed. Li Qingyi nodded and then proceeded according to Xu Ping'an's method. Two hours later, Li Qingyi finally mastered the usage of the True Yuan drill. "Later, take a Meridian Opening Pill every hour, about five hours should be sufficient," Xu Ping'an handed five more elixir pills to Li Qingyi. Such Meridian Opening Pills numbered sixteen in total, and having given six to Li Qingyi, he was left with ten and did not mind it. "Thank you!" Li Qingyi said gratefully. The next moment, she began focusing on opening her Mysterious Veins exactly as Xu Ping'an had described. To her surprise, Li Qingyi discovered that the speed at which the True Yuan drill opened the veins increased several times, and what's more, it inflicted much less damage on the meridians. Moreover, with the Meridian Opening Pill's protection, it took her just over four hours to successfully open the first Mysterious Vein. And as for the spiritual marrow, she had only consumed ten drops. "Next, take a Purple Spirit Pill to restore some True Yuan, then consume spiritual marrow, as the True Yuan from the spiritual marrow is too domineering," said Xu Ping'an. Li Qingyi nodded. She had her Purple Spirit Pills, so she began to recover as Xu Ping'an had instructed. Soon, Li Qingyi's True Yuan was restored by a third. After that, she continued to consume the spiritual marrow. The True Yuan of the Sea-Splitting Realm was gaseous, while in the Meridian Opening Realm, it had begun to liquefy. At this moment, Li Qingyi used the power of the spiritual marrow to rapidly replenish her True Yuan and transform it into a liquid form. In about three hours, her cultivation was thoroughly solidified at the First Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm. "I've reached the Third Rank!" Li Qingyi felt a surge of joy in her heart. She felt an immeasurably powerful force. This strength was nearly ten times greater than that at the Ninth Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm. No wonder the gap between the Sea-Splitting Realm and the Meridian Opening Realm was so vast. With such a massive increase, it was not easy for the Sea-Splitting Realm to make a leap. With these thoughts, she couldn't help but look towards Xu Ping'an. After all, Xu Ping'an had defeated formidable opponents at the First and even Second Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm while he was only at the Seventh Layer of the Sea-Splitting Realm. How did he manage that? Although she had also unleashed an impact comparable to the Meridian Opening Realm, her actual combat ability was far from that of the Meridian Opening Realm. So Xu Ping'an's strength was even stronger than she had imagined. At this moment, Xu Ping'an, with the power of the spirit marrow, had broken through to the Eighth Layer of the Sea-Splitting Realm and was even advancing toward the Ninth Layer. Eventually, Xu Ping'an broke through to the Ninth Layer of the Sea-Splitting Realm, reaching the Initial Stage of the Ninth Layer. "Not bad, I've finally made a breakthrough. With this, my strength should be comparable to the Initial Stage of the Second Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm," Xu Ping'an said with a smile. Indeed, his strength at this moment was equivalent to the Initial Stage of the Second Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm. "I wonder if I can release True Yuan externally?" Xu Ping'an tried to test it out by throwing a punch into the void. The next moment, an ethereal punch mark shot out a meter away before dissipating. Li Qingyi was dumbstruck! Release True Yuan externally? How is that possible? Isn't he just at the Sea-Splitting Realm? "What a pity it's too weak. This level of True Yuan release is almost like tickling someone," Xu Ping'an shook his head. At present, his attempt at True Yuan release was pointless, serving no purpose other than showing off. Of course, someone at the Third or Fourth Layer of the Sea-Splitting Realm would still be seriously injured by that punch. "How does it feel after the breakthrough?" Xu Ping'an asked with a smile. "Very good. Although it's just the Initial Stage of the First Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm, I feel much stronger than before," Li Qingyi said earnestly. She then slashed with her sword. The next moment, a fiercely intense Sword Radiance burst forth instantly. Stack Waves Sword Technique, the eighth sword, or more accurately, Eight Swords Unified. The Sword Radiance tore through the floor, cleaving a sword mark over ten meters long. Xu Ping'an looked at the sword mark on the ground and then at Li Qingyi in her fluttering white clothes, surprise flashing in his eyes. "Not bad. Not only has your cultivation broken through, but your strength has not weakened at all; it has increased significantly," Xu Ping'an said with a smile. "This is all thanks to you. Without you, I might have failed to advance or even encountered complications," Li Qingyi said sincerely. Indeed, without Xu Ping'an, her breakthrough could have really been problematic. Advancing to the Third Rank of the Meridian Opening is not that easy. Furthermore, with the method of True Yuan Concentration she had now, her breakthrough of the other eight Mysterious Veins would be much faster. "No need for formalities. It should be the second day now. Let's hurry to the core area to seize the inheritance for you. Once you obtain the inheritance, your strength will leap once again," Xu Ping'an said with a smile. "Yes!" Li Qingyi nodded. If she could truly obtain the True Phoenix Bloodline, her strength would increase yet again. By then, she might be able to break through to the Third or even Fourth Rank of the Meridian Opening Realm. "The Stack Waves Sword Technique suits you well. Familiarize yourself with it. Once you integrate Eighteen Swords Unified, its power will be comparable to a Fourth Rank Combat Technique," Xu Ping'an said. "You've learned the Stack Waves Sword Technique?" Li Qingyi asked. "I haven't learned it, I've just seen you perform it. Also, when you broke through to the Sea-Splitting Realm, you opened up three Hidden Veins, right?" Xu Ping'an asked. Li Qingyi nodded her head. "If you obtain the True Phoenix inheritance, you might be able to take the opportunity to open up the fourth Hidden Vein. Although it's generally impossible to open Hidden Veins after reaching the Sea-Splitting Realm, there are no absolutes in anything. With your Bloodline reborn, you can stimulate the Qi-Blood within your body and try to break through the Extreme Realm. Then, with the help of the Extreme Realm, open the fourth Hidden Vein. However, your increase in strength might be smaller, but it will greatly benefit your foundational enhancement," Xu Ping'an said. "Alright!" Li Qingyi immediately answered, her eyes looking at Xu Ping'an with a hint of admiration. "Let's go. As we walk, I'll tell you about breaking through the Extreme Realm and opening up Hidden Veins," Xu Ping'an said. Then Xu Ping'an and Li Qingyi proceeded on their journey together, with Xu Ping'an explaining in detail about breaking through to the Extreme Realm and the Hidden Veins along the way. Li Qingyi listened attentively, like a disciple eager to learn.