Chapter 535 - 262: Small Opening Acupoints Realm

Chapter 535: Chapter 262: Small Opening Acupoints Realm

For example, Zhao Wuji, the top True Disciple of the Taiyi Sect and first on the Rouge Rankings, reached Bone Forging Realm Perfection at twenty-two and advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Realm at twenty-three.

Li Xuanqi, the top True Disciple of the Great Dao Sect and fourth on the Rouge Rankings, reached Bone Forging Realm Perfection at twenty-three and advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Realm at twenty-four.

The top True Disciples of other Sects were not far behind, most of them advancing to the Marrow Cleansing Realm before the age of twenty-five.

These top True Disciples of the Sects often cultivated the Marrow Cleansing Realm to Perfection and advanced to the Organ Refining Realm before they were thirty.

Around the age of thirty, a gap of an entire major realm would open up between the top True Disciples of Major Sects and the Celestial Prides of Prefecture Cities.

Even ordinary True Disciples of the Sect could reach Marrow Cleansing Realm Perfection before thirty and advance to the Organ Refining Realm before thirty-five.

Martial Arts Cultivation placed the greatest emphasis on potential. If one reached Organ Refining Realm Perfection before the age of forty, it was easier to open their Human Acupoints, advance to the Opening Acupoints Realm, reach the Innate Level, and have a chance at becoming a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

The older one was upon reaching Organ Refining Realm Perfection, the harder it was to open their Human Acupoints.

If one only reached Organ Refining Realm Perfection at sixty, it was nearly impossible to open their Human Acupoints. They would be stuck at the Acquired Body Refining Realm for life, unable to ever reach the Innate Level.

On the path of Martial Arts Cultivation, the ability to open one’s Human Acupoints and advance to the Opening Acupoints Realm was the great watershed between the Acquired and Innate Levels.

And within the Acquired Body Refining Realm, the transition between the Bone Forging Realm and the Marrow Cleansing Realm was another major dividing line.

For an ordinary Martial Artist with above-average aptitude, it took three years for Skin Grinding, five for Muscle Strengthening, and ten for Bone Forging. Following this standard progression, reaching Bone Forging Realm Perfection would take a total of eighteen years.

They could typically reach Bone Forging Realm Perfection before the age of thirty-five.

This would just barely meet the threshold for advancing to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, but breaking through the Bone Forging Realm to enter the Marrow Cleansing Realm often still took several more years.

Even so, their lifetime Martial Arts Achievements would be extremely limited, with the vast majority never getting past the Organ Refining Realm.

The Body Refining Method for the Marrow Cleansing Realm was similar to that of the Bone Forging Realm, requiring one to boil a Herbal Decoction with Marrow Cleansing Pills and soak their body in it.

This allowed the medicinal power to seep into the bone marrow, washing away impurities and refining it.

Once the bone marrow was refined to a certain degree, one would undergo a complete transformation, allowing the bone marrow, bones, Major Tendons, and skin to become seamlessly interconnected.

By circulating Qi Blood Power, one could erupt with True Force from the very marrow, which would then pass through the bones, Major Tendons, and skin to be projected outside the body.

The physical power of the Skin Grinding Realm, the Bright Force of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, and the Inner Strength of the Bone Forging Realm—their might increased with each successive stage.

However, all of them relied on various External Skills, techniques, or Weapons, requiring physical contact to unleash their power.

Even the so-called "wounding enemies with flying flowers and plucked leaves" of the Bone Forging Realm’s Inner Strength still required using a flower or leaf to transmit the power.

But upon reaching the level of True Force in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, no medium was necessary. One could unleash the might of their power from a distance using True Force alone.

This was comparable to mobilizing the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin to unleash might in the First Layer Realm.

Projecting True Force outside the body involved the various acupoints of the skin—that is, the pores covering the entire body.

Unleashing True Force would, in turn, also temper the pores.

Therefore, Cultivation in the Marrow Cleansing Realm was also known as Purifying the Marrow.

Once one succeeded in Purifying the Marrow, not only could they unleash True Force, but their body could also sense Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi through its pores.

This Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was different from the air that humans breathed into their lungs through their nostrils; it was a type of the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin.

Once the pores sensed the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, they could absorb it directly into the body. It would travel straight to the bone marrow, then from the marrow to the internal organs, where it was converted into the Inner Breath that sustained the body.

A Martial Artist in the Marrow Cleansing Realm could breathe through their pores and no longer needed to rely on their nostrils. This was the essence of Purifying the Marrow—a complete transformation.

Martial Artists in the Marrow Cleansing Realm often found it easier to sense the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin and cultivate the First Layer Realm, precisely because of the acupoints in the pores of their skin.

For this reason, the Marrow Cleansing Realm was also known as the Small Opening Acupoints Realm.

Of course, the name Small Opening Acupoints Realm also described the extreme difficulty of Marrow Cleansing Realm Cultivation, which presented an obstacle comparable to the Profound Passage of the Opening Acupoints Realm.

The bone marrow was the very core of the human body. Parts like the spinal cord and brain matter were extremely fragile and could only withstand a very limited amount of the Marrow Cleansing Pill’s medicinal power.

When practicing the Bone Marrow Cleansing Technique, one could only proceed step by step, absorbing and refining the medicinal power of the Marrow Cleansing Pill bit by bit. The process of reaching the state of Purifying the Marrow was exceedingly slow.

Yet, Purifying the Marrow was merely the Beginner Level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Further refining the bone marrow and purging all impurities was what constituted Small Success in Marrow Cleansing Realm.

When the marrow was condensed and refined further until it became like jade syrup—viscous and dense—one reached Great Success in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

After that, the marrow would densify even more, becoming like mercury paste—viscous and heavy. When it flowed, it moved like rolling beads of mercury, cohesive and never scattering. Only then was the Marrow Cleansing Realm brought to Perfection, and one could begin attempting to practice the Organ Refining Technique.

As for when the marrow underwent a complete qualitative change, becoming almost semi-solid, flowing slowly yet containing the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin—that was the legendary state known as Bone Marrow Soup.

The state of Bone Marrow Soup already contained a nascent divinity, and the requirements to cultivate to this level were exceptionally demanding.

One had to have cultivated the Profound Gold Hide, Dragon Tendons, and Perfect Flawless Jade Bone in the previous three realms to even have a chance of reaching this state.

It was a state so rare that centuries could pass without anyone achieving it, so most Martial Artists simply disregarded it altogether.

In Marrow Cleansing Realm Cultivation, just achieving Purifying the Marrow was already immensely difficult.

The subsequent stages—purging all impurities, achieving marrow like jade syrup, and marrow like mercury paste—were each more difficult than the last.

For these reasons, among the tens of millions of people in Linji City, there were only a handful of Martial Artists in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

However, the difficulty of Marrow Cleansing Realm Cultivation was all relative.

When practicing the Bone Marrow Cleansing Technique, one needed to circulate their Qi Blood Power.

The stronger one’s Qi Blood Power, the faster they could refine their bone marrow, and the faster their Cultivation Progress would be.