Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 499: Changing Muscles and Forging Bones

It actually works!

For a brief moment, Zhao Changhe even had an outlandish thought... If I cut off certain body parts and regrow them, will they also grow back three to five times bigger?

He quickly dismissed this absurd idea. After all, he had just made a cut on his arm earlier, and his arm had not grown any thicker.

The reason he needed to reshape his meridians was simply that his meridians were incompatible with his cultivation. Reshaping them was like melting down an old weapon and recasting it in a new mold to match the current state of his body.

This process utilized the vast vitality present within this place. He could not afford to waste any of it, lest he end up needing more.

Besides, his little brother down there was already unmatched in the world, so was there really a need to regrow it? That would be overkill.

Zhao Changhe took a few deep breaths, feeling a sense of joy at experiencing the newly formed meridians. Though the pain had been excruciating, the sense of satisfaction that came right after was something nobody else would be able to understand.

Many might think that Zhao Changhe was already an unstoppable force, having advanced faster than anyone else, thereby inferring that having weaker meridians did not matter that much. However, only a handful understood how long Zhao Changhe had been tormented by this issue from the moment he had transmigrated into this world. This very issue had almost become a nightmare for him.

If it were not for his inadequate meridians... With a wondrous cultivation technique like the Six Harmonies Art, he could have advanced much faster. Coupled with the Sword Emperor’s legacy, the Tang Clan’s sword art, or even Xia Longyuan’s personal instruction, he would have been just as powerful and handsome but without any drawbacks.

Instead, he had to cling bitterly to the Vicious Blood Art. He could not take full advantage of the opportunities he found with the various experts, and his cultivation faced constant barriers, needing various rare herbs or medicines, many of which were nearly impossible to obtain. At the same time, he also had to endure the agonizing backlash of vicious blood qi. If it were not for certain fortunate circumstances, it would not have been possible to get this far using just the Vicious Blood Art—as evidenced by Cult Leader Xue.

Even after all those fortuitous opportunities he came across, he was still mocked by the Dragon Bird as a fool.

Moreover, every time it came time for a breakthrough—from the layers of the Profound Gate to the present—it was always his internal cultivation that held him back.

The transformation effect of the Zhenwu Sword Stone in the Black Tortoise Secret Realm had alleviated this problem somewhat, allowing him to progress through the later stages of the Profound Gate to the Profound Mysteries without further obstacles. For a long while, even Zhao Changhe himself had stopped worrying about it, since the Vicious Blood Art had become deeply ingrained as his main cultivation technique, and he no longer wanted to switch.

But before long, the same problem reared its head again. Yue Hongling’s experience made it clear that without addressing the issue with his meridians, his internal and external cultivation would remain uncoordinated, preventing him from breaking through to the second layer of the Profound Mysteries... In other words, the issue that had once held him back had resurfaced and needed urgent resolution.

If he did not completely solve this problem with his meridians, there was no telling how much trouble it would cause in the future.

And now, the solution was right in front of him!

Even though it definitely hurt, and he no longer had someone to transfer the pain he was feeling to, so what?

Having coming this far, he had already inflicted pain on himself countless times. One more time would not make a difference!

With a soft crack, the Hand Taiyang meridian shattered from his pinky and began to reform, little by little.

Beads of sweat as large as beans dripped into the blood pool, dissolving without a trace.

The blind woman stood silently at the side, and for the first time, she felt a bit of admiration for him

The pain of breaking and reshaping meridians was even more intense than death by a thousand cuts. And the human body was filled with meridians. This was not an ordeal that would just be one and done.

He really is a man of iron.

Nobody knew that when she set up the trial involving repeated death and resurrection for the candidates through their nightmares, there were multiple layers of reasoning behind the setup... One of those layers was to see their resilience and how ruthless they could be, particularly to themselves.

The experience of dying and coming back to life, over and over again, was not just a simple dream. The sensations that the candidates felt matched what they would have felt in reality had they truly experienced it. Some went mad, and some jumped to their deaths... The ones who went mad, she cured; those who jumped, she brought back. In the end, very few managed to pass.

Zhao Changhe had endured such torment for ten days, longer than even Xia Longyuan had.

His resilience was reflected in every aspect of his life since he arrived in this world. Sure, it was often said that a man under the influence of vicious blood qi acted as such, but Zhao Changhe was rarely influenced by vicious blood qi. On the contrary, he even had a bit of cunning. Even at this moment, he was deliberately using the state induced by No Man’s Land to dull the pain, essentially administering himself anesthesia.

But vicious blood qi could never be a true anesthetic. He could still feel everything—after all, if he had lost all feeling, how could he carry out the delicate task of recreating his meridians? The vicious blood qi merely slightly reduced the pain. The blind woman admitted that she herself would not be able to bear such pain, and she would not even dare to consider doing something of the sort.

She had no idea if Zhao Changhe would be able to endure to the end or if he would faint from the pain. But if he did make it through to the end, it would mean more than just improving his meridians.

In fact, there was a technical term for his actions: Changing Muscles and Forging Bones[1].

The new meridians would be beyond human; they would be the precursor to the body of a god or demon.

This was a path to ascension, a path to godhood.

There were many paths, and this was certainly the most difficult one, but he had already set foot on it without realizing. And if he crossed this hurdle, he would find that this path was wide and unobstructed.

Crack...

The blind woman came back to her senses and immediately checked on his progress.

Zhao Changhe’s small intestine meridian had been completely reshaped.

The actual time it had taken was not long... But for Zhao Changhe, who had experienced it, it must have felt like an eternity had passed.

He gasped heavily, shakily taking out a pill and swallowing it to regain some energy. After resting briefly, he moved on to another meridian. This time, it was a major one—the Conception Vessel.

The Conception and Governing Vessels were the body’s main energy pathways. They were essential for the breakthroughs associated with the nine layers of the Profound Gate. Such crucial meridians had to be prioritized while his mental state was still relatively intact

Being tough was one thing, but he was also extremely rational in his approach.

The blind woman sighed. If someone like him failed, it would truly be a cruel hand by fate.

The blind woman watched quietly as sweat poured down Zhao Changhe’s twitching face. After a moment of hesitation, she gently flicked her fingers.

A unique energy quietly protected Zhao Changhe’s spiritual platform.

It would be too much of a pity if such a monumental effort ends in failure simply because he faints from the pain...

This act had already violated her principle of not actively aiding any mortal, but perhaps this could be considered a gray area. Was it really helping? He was doing everything himself—he had not even asked for the method to improve. He had pieced together how to move forward by passively extracting information from the Heavenly Tome, combining the Blood Asura Body, the Eternal Blood Demon Body, the Rejuvenation Art, and the Blood Ao. In a sense, it could even be called his own creation.

He didn’t know how time passed.

The moon was high in the sky when Zhao Changhe’s consciousness began to blur. At this moment, he only had one meridian left to reshape, the Foot Taiyin spleen meridian, but he had no energy left.

The exhaustion from enduring pain not only clouded his mind but also sapped his energy.

No pills could help him now. Consuming too much energy and medicinal pills in such a short period had reached its limit; nothing more would help.

He was so disoriented that he did not even notice that the energy in the blood pool had been completely depleted. What was left now was a crystal-clear pool... It had been reduced to pure water. All impurities and filth had been cleansed by the once-immense vitality, and now, the pool was purer than anything modern technology could produce.

With the vitality depleted, Zhao Changhe grew weaker, leaning against the edge of the pool in a daze. It felt like there was a lazy voice in his mind, telling him that missing just one meridian would not change much, and maybe he could just be a cripple?

He was so exhausted that he did not even want to move anymore...

Yet, he was unwilling to give up.

In his muddled state, Zhao Changhe still slowly attempted to continue the reshaping process. He tried, but he was so powerless that he could not even shatter the remaining meridian.

The blind woman hesitated, unsure whether she should give him another push... Is this Heaven’s Will? This heaven has no Dao, so what even is Heaven’s Will?!

At that moment, the blind woman’s expression suddenly shifted—someone was approaching.

A faint voice could be heard in the distance. “The sacred envoy took the meat of the Blood Ao and went to the Ao Pool?”

“Yes... He’s been on the mountain for a long time now. Everyone clearly heard screams coming from inside every now and then... We were worried something might have happened, so we reported it to Your Majesty. We apologize for having disturbed your rest.”

“You did well in reporting this, and you will be generously rewarded. Now, stay at the foot of the mountain, and don’t let anyone come up.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Under the hazy moonlight, Sisi approached, walking along the moonlit path. From a distance, she noticed the clear water in the pool and was startled. Immediately afterward, she saw Zhao Changhe leaning lifelessly against the edge of the pool. Forgetting her astonishment at the change to the pool, she rushed swiftly to his side and immediately examined him

“He’s exhausted himself?” The result left Sisi deeply puzzled. “He’s so exhausted that he’s on the verge of unconsciousness? Who was he fighting so intensely against? The blood of the Ao Pool? No... His meridians...”

Sisi’s eyes widened in shock. “Changing Muscles and Forging Bones!”

She examined him carefully for a while and confirmed that he was indeed undergoing Changing Muscles and Forging Bones, and he was almost finished. Only one meridian remained weak, standing out amongst the surrounding robust and radiant meridians.

Energy was still flowing within Zhao Changhe, attempting to shatter this last meridian—a final, stubborn struggle. Unfortunately, he had no strength left and could not manage...

Sisi tried to feed him a pill, but found that his body was no longer absorbing its effects... Is it because he’s ingested too much in such a short time that his body is now rejecting it?

Sisi stared blankly at Zhao Changhe’s face and gently bit her lip.

There was another way to replenish energy and restore strength besides medicine. Sisi had once disguised herself as a celestial maiden of the Maitreya Cult and was no stranger to the Pure Bliss Art.

She was willing, but what about him?

While she was hesitating, Zhao Changhe’s eyelids twitched slightly, as if he was trying to open his eyes.

Startled, Sisi instinctively hid behind a nearby rock. Then, she mockingly tapped her own head. What am I afraid of? Am I seriously afraid that he would see me and refuse me?

But I really like him...

Leaning against the rock, Sisi stood there, lost in thought for a long while. She then smiled to herself mockingly, slowly taking out a set of red clothes from her ring and some disguise materials she had not used in a long time. She applied them to her face.

Zhao Changhe, having sensed someone examining him, managed to open his eyes with difficulty but saw no one. In his daze, he saw Yue Hongling appear from behind a nearby rock.

“Hongling...” Zhao Changhe murmured weakly. “I can’t hold on anymore... Help me, I’m so close...”

“Yue Hongling” slowly undressed and entered the water, her voice soft, “I’ve examined you. I know... It’s okay, I’m here.”

Zhao Changhe completely relaxed, soon feeling a warm sensation on his lips as they were kissed gently.

The aura of the Pure Bliss Art entered his body, gradually stirring his depleted dantian, reigniting the warmth in his lower abdomen.

The demonic arts of evil cults were such that even if you were drained dry, they could make you a man once more.

“Yue Hongling” wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly sat atop him.

Energy began to circulate, yin giving rise to yang.

Before long, Zhao Changhe felt energy being generated within him again, and strength returning to his body.

Gathering his last bit of determination, he fiercely shattered the final meridian.

The hazy moonlight hid in the shadows of swaying trees.

Crack...

No one knew how much time had passed, but the last of the Foot Taiyin spleen meridian was finally reshaped, and the process of Changing Muscles and Forging Bones was now complete.

Zhao Changhe opened his eyes. The scent of perfume still lingered, but “Yue Hongling” had disappeared.

The sky was already beginning to lighten. The last events of the previous night seemed unreal, like an ethereal dream.

1. The term here is 易筋锻骨, which directly translates to Changing Muscles and Forging Bones. is inspired by the legendary Yijin Jing (易筋经), or Muscle Tendon Change Classic, which is traditionally attributed to the Bodhidharma (达摩祖师), the founder of Chan Buddhism in China and often credited as the originator of Shaolin martial arts. ☜