# Chapter 973: Blood Spirit Meridians
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were fixed tightly on the stone wall above him.
It was just an ordinary stone wall, nothing remarkable about it.
Even though some rocks protruded outward, they were all natural formations, not appearing to be man-made.
"Could this really be the 'Blood God Diagram' left by the founder of the Blood God Sect?"
Even Zhang Ruochen felt somewhat doubtful.
In the distance, Ji Shui watched Zhang Ruochen's helpless expression with great satisfaction. From now on, let's see how he could still be arrogant and conceited!
"Let me try using the Divine Mark Eye."
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his sacred Qi, injecting it into his pupils. The divine mark within his eyes emerged.
Looking at the stone wall again, Zhang Ruochen finally discerned some clues. The nineteen-zhang-tall stone wall was actually covered with densely packed patterns and light spots.
The number of patterns was probably tens of thousands.
The number of light spots rivaled the stars in the sky, impossible to count.
"This is the true 'Blood God Diagram.' Only those with the Divine Mark Eye can see it."
Zhang Ruochen finally understood why, over the past thousand years, only one person in the entire Blood God Sect had been able to comprehend the true meaning from the Blood God Diagram.
Without the Divine Mark Eye, one simply couldn't see the Blood God Diagram.
Since he could see the Blood God Diagram, Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't miss this rare opportunity. He poured all his spiritual power into it completely.
As his comprehension deepened, the blood within Zhang Ruochen's body began to boil.
The speed of his blood flow grew faster and faster, like a great river surging, producing a rumbling sound.
Standing in the distance, Ji Shui and the monkey-half-human youth also heard the sound of blood flowing.
"Why do I hear many rivers flowing inside his body? Could there be a world contained within him?"
The monkey-half-human youth was quite astonished. He stopped burying the dirt and stared with wide golden eyes at Zhang Ruochen, who was sitting cross-legged beneath the stone wall.
"Could he have actually comprehended something from the Blood God Diagram?"
Ji Shui was even more surprised. She could clearly sense that the blood energy within Gu Linfeng was actually stronger than her own.
Inside Zhang Ruochen's body, there was a blood spirit meridian connecting his Qi Sea and his blood.
But now, the blood spirit meridian detached from the Qi Sea, flew out, and connected with the Blood God Diagram.
From Ji Shui's position, she could see a very thin blood line appearing between Gu Linfeng's body and the stone wall.
"What's happening? How did a meridian fly out of his body and connect to the Blood God Diagram?" The monkey-half-human youth was even more astonished, his eyes nearly popping out.
An aged voice sounded behind the monkey-half-human youth: "That is a blood spirit meridian."
"What blood spirit meridian? Can a blood spirit meridian connect to a stone? Old man, what kind of joke are you... uh..."
Suddenly, the monkey-half-human youth's expression changed. At that moment, it was as if his neck had been grabbed, and he couldn't speak.
Who was talking to him?
The monkey-half-human youth slowly turned his head and looked toward the big pit from earlier.
There, the old man he had buried in the pit had silently climbed out and was standing right behind him.
"You... you, elder... elder, are still alive... live..."
The monkey-half-human youth's teeth chattered uncontrollably, producing a clattering sound.
"Greetings, Supreme Elder."
Ji Shui immediately knelt on one knee, respectfully paying respects to the gray-robed elder.
The monkey-half-human youth also reacted, kneeling halfway down, pressing his face almost to the ground.
The gray-robed elder exuded an ancient and vast aura, like a prehistoric fossil that had come to life, inspiring awe.
He paid no attention to Ji Shui and the monkey-half-human youth. His deep gaze was fixed on Zhang Ruochen, as if speaking to himself: "Exactly a thousand years, and finally someone has comprehended the Blood God Diagram again. How many blood spirit meridians can he cultivate?"
Seeing that the gray-robed elder wasn't angry, the monkey-half-human youth gathered his courage and raised his head, asking, "Senior, by comprehending the Blood God Diagram, one can cultivate blood spirit meridians?"
The gray-robed elder nodded. "A thousand years ago, there was a remarkable person in the Blood God Sect who comprehended the Blood God Diagram and cultivated seven blood spirit meridians."
"What is the use of cultivating blood spirit meridians?" the monkey-half-human youth asked.
"Condense the blood, achieve sainthood through the physical body," the gray-robed elder said.
Just eight simple words, yet they made Ji Shui and the monkey-half-human youth gasp sharply, and then a blazing light appeared in their eyes.
For cultivators to achieve sainthood, there were three methods: sainthood through martial arts, sainthood through spiritual power, and sainthood through the physical body.
Among them, those who achieved sainthood through the physical body were the most powerful. With a single casual punch, they could obliterate a saint of the same realm, body and soul.
A saint who achieved sainthood through the physical body could sweep through a group of martial saints and spiritual power saints.
Of course, achieving sainthood through the physical body was extremely difficult, and such individuals were exceedingly rare—one in ten thousand among saints.
Achieving sainthood was already incredibly hard, let alone achieving it through the physical body!
The monkey-half-human youth asked again, "Did that remarkable person from the Blood God Sect a thousand years ago reach the level of physical sainthood?"
A complex expression appeared in the gray-robed elder's eyes. "Not only did he achieve physical sainthood, he later came within a hair's breadth of cultivating his physical body to the Great Saint realm. Unfortunately, in the end, he was still just that hair's breadth short."
This time, the monkey-half-human youth and Ji Shui were completely stunned, feeling suffocated.
One must know that in the distant past, an ancestor of the Peacock Clan had cultivated his physical body to the Great Saint realm, becoming impervious to blades and fire, transcending the Five Elements, and even exchanging three strikes with a god without dying.
If that remarkable person from the Blood God Sect had cultivated his physical body to the Great Saint realm, wouldn't he have possessed such formidable combat power?
Even the number one under heaven, Empress Chi Yao, might not have been able to oppose him.
"In the end, he was still just that hair's breadth short." The gray-robed elder sighed again.
Just then, a second blood spirit meridian flew out from Zhang Ruochen's body, also connecting to the Blood God Diagram.
Then, a third blood spirit meridian and a fourth blood spirit meridian emerged in succession.
Ji Shui and the monkey-half-human youth held their breath, staring intently at Zhang Ruochen, eager to know how many blood spirit meridians he could cultivate.
That remarkable person a thousand years ago had cultivated seven blood spirit meridians and came just short of cultivating his physical body to the Great Saint realm.
If he could cultivate eight blood spirit meridians, wouldn't he have a good chance of surpassing that remarkable person from a thousand years ago?
"If he can cultivate five blood spirit meridians, he will have the opportunity to achieve physical sainthood in the future," the gray-robed elder said.
Ji Shui simply didn't believe that, given Gu Linfeng's character, he could surpass that remarkable person from a thousand years ago. If he could cultivate five blood spirit meridians, that would already be quite impressive.
After all, achieving physical sainthood would already allow him to look down upon all the saints under heaven.
Achieving physical Great Sainthood was a legend.
"Whoosh—"
The fifth blood spirit meridian flew out, like a silk thread hanging in the void.
"My goodness, he's already cultivated five blood spirit meridians. He'll likely achieve physical sainthood in the future. This guy is truly a dragon among men. I could tell he was extraordinary the first time I saw him," the monkey-half-human youth said excitedly.
A glimmer of light appeared in the gray-robed elder's eyes. "A cultivator who has cultivated five blood spirit meridians, as long as they can continuously absorb and refine high-grade blood, will definitely achieve physical sainthood."
Ji Shui bit her lip tightly, watching the five blood lines between Gu Linfeng and the Blood God Diagram.
In her heart, she was extremely puzzled. How could a violent, lustful, arrogant, and conceited person comprehend the Blood God Diagram?
If Gu Linfeng could truly achieve physical sainthood, his future combat power would definitely surpass Sea Nether Dharma King, making him a titan of the Blood God Sect.
"Whoosh—"
The sixth blood spirit meridian flew out.
"If he cultivates one more blood spirit meridian, he'll match that remarkable person from the Blood God Sect a thousand years ago."
The monkey-half-human youth jumped up from the ground, looking at the cross-legged Zhang Ruochen with an almost worshipful gaze.
Ji Shui simply couldn't believe that Gu Linfeng could compare to that remarkable person from the Blood God Sect a thousand years ago.
One must know that although that remarkable person hadn't reached the Great Saint realm, in that era, he was called the Tenth Emperor, capable of contending with the Nine Emperors.
No matter how much Ji Shui looked down on Gu Linfeng, he still managed to cultivate the seventh blood spirit meridian.
Even the usually calm gray-robed elder's eyelids twitched. "This child's talent is high enough to be compared with that person from back then. If he grows up, the Blood God Sect will certainly not be at the bottom among the Seven Great Ancient Sects."
By now, Ji Shui was too shocked to speak. Did Gu Linfeng really have such high talent? Or was Gu Linfeng just lucky, stumbling upon the comprehension of the Blood God Diagram by accident?
But over a thousand years, including Gu Linfeng, only two people had comprehended the Blood God Diagram. How could it be by accident?
Half an hour passed, and Zhang Ruochen still hadn't cultivated an eighth blood spirit meridian.
The monkey-half-human youth swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "It should stop here. He's matched that remarkable person from a thousand years ago. It seems the Blood God Sect is about to produce a second remarkable person."
The gray-robed elder also nodded slightly. Seven blood spirit meridians were already the limit for that young man. There was no way he could cultivate an eighth.
Suddenly, shock appeared in the gray-robed elder's eyes.
The young man sitting cross-legged beneath the stone wall emitted a faint layer of blood light from his entire body, and another blood spirit meridian rushed out from within him, connecting to the Blood God Diagram.
He had cultivated an eighth blood spirit meridian, surpassing that remarkable person from a thousand years ago.
Did this mean he would have the opportunity to achieve physical Great Sainthood in the future?
"Could he still cultivate even more blood spirit meridians?" The monkey-half-human youth was now kneeling as he watched Zhang Ruochen, utterly prostrate with admiration.
The ninth blood spirit meridian!
The tenth blood spirit meridian!
Having cultivated ten blood spirit meridians, everything finally calmed down.
Zhang Ruochen, sitting cross-legged on the ground, slowly opened his eyes and gently shook his head, sighing. "In the end, I could only cultivate ten blood spirit meridians. I've reached my limit and couldn't go any higher."
Hearing this, the three people not far away all felt an urge to strangle him.
Deep down, Zhang Ruochen truly felt quite regretful, unaware of the immense shock he had just inflicted on the other three. (To be continued.)