Chapter 1022: Five Qi Converging Towards Unity

Although it was only a slightly higher level of advancement, it still took Happy a full day to finally elevate the “Yijin Jing” to its ultimate state.
Not bad.
Happy once again experienced the mysticism of “three flowers converging at the crown”…
This time, Happy quickly regained consciousness and truly felt every slightest change in his body! From the first lotus to three lotuses blooming brilliantly, emitting a sacred aura.
As expected!
After reaching the ultimate state of the “Yijin Jing,” his physical speed was greatly enhanced, and his physical fitness once again surpassed that of the other side.
“I wonder if that ‘Prophet’ is watching… I hope this ability won’t be discovered by outsiders so soon,” Happy thought to himself as he tried to activate his true vital energy field.
The situation was very promising!
Although his internal energy here was not high—far inferior to that of the other world, at less than 900 points—thanks to the coexistence of the “Jiuyang Shen Gong” and the “Yijin Jing,” the latter expanded his meridians throughout his body and unblocked the eight extraordinary meridians, causing his recovery speed to soar dramatically.
Even without any equipment and relying only on the ordinary Golden Bell Shield, Happy could easily remain unmoved under the fierce attacks of a group of peak experts at the Wuwei realm.
“As expected, having the ‘Jiuyang Shen Gong’ makes a difference.”
While the ultimate state of the “Yijin Jing” filled Happy with joy, he couldn’t help but think of testing his true strength—although he was highly skilled in both the “Yijin Jing” and the “Jiuyang Shen Gong,” the combined effect wasn’t entirely clear. For someone like Happy, who was dedicated to improving his strength and pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts, this was like dealing with an opium addict.
Due to the lack of prisoners with Mythical Realm strength, the combat environment here was quite poor. After easily knocking out ten peak experts at the Wuwei realm without using weapons, Happy lost interest in continuing and promptly left the prison of the Fen Tan gang, racing toward Shaolin Temple.
…
Using a human skin mask to conceal his identity, Happy entered Shaolin in just half a day, returning once again to the Peak of Punishment!
In this world, the Peak of Punishment was still somewhat neglected!
Happy activated his true vital energy field and walked across the chains as if walking on flat ground…
The mountain winds blowing from all directions had no effect on Happy above the chains, as they were quickly neutralized by his vital energy field.
However, Happy made a discovery.
The constant assault of the mountain winds was actually weakening and depleting his true vital energy field…
He accelerated the operation of the “Yijin Jing”!

“The Nine Yang Divine Skill” is accelerating its operation!
“So mountain winds can also be used as a form of attack, and it seems to be a rather special kind of attack.”
Kai Xin was secretly surprised.
Soon, recalling that in another world, many disciples from the Shuolin Sect used the mountain winds here to strengthen their physical foundations, he was inspired and immediately shared this information with Silver Fox, asking him to mention it to some of the Mu Family’s members at the right time—rapidly enhancing physical strength could help maintain stability after reaching the Liberation Realm, especially for those who knew how to utilize their innate abilities.
Step!
His toes lightly landed on the edge of the Punishment Peak. Looking back at the path he had taken, Kai Xin couldn’t help but remember the awkward situation when he first came here.
Back then…
Facing this bottomless abyss thousands of feet deep, and the chains swaying chaotically in the mountain winds, it was like facing a ferocious beast with its maw wide open. Even though he held onto his necklace tightly, he was still terrified.
But later, as his courage grew and his strength increased, he gradually learned to maintain his composure and crossed over by relying on his true skills and weighted ropes.
Now!
He walked step by step with ease!
“…”
Kai Xin couldn’t help but sigh in awe. He slowly turned around and headed toward the misty area where the Mad Monk was.
Before reaching the misty area, the Mad Monk’s voice reached his ears just in time:
“You’ve arrived.”
“…”
Kai Xin stopped abruptly. “Kai Xin has come specifically to see you, senior!” Things were going smoother than he had expected. Since the Mad Monk had taken the initiative to speak, it saved him a lot of trouble.
“Not bad. Your ‘Yijin Jing’ has already reached a highly advanced level…” The Mad Monk spoke praisefully through telepathy. “With the Three Flowers gathered at the crown, the next step is to cultivate the Five Energies, returning everything to its origin—reaching my current level.”
“Senior, do you mean the realm of the Five Energies converging toward unity?”
Kai Xin’s mind stirred, and he couldn’t help but speak up.
“That’s right.”
The Mad Monk’s voice came clearly from within the misty area. He continued, “However, only warriors who can reach the realm of the Five Energies converging toward unity can truly understand heaven and earth. With every move they make, they can pluck leaves or make flowers fly—mastering all martial arts without a teacher, entering a realm where no technique is needed… But cultivating these Five Energies isn’t easy.”
“I was just thinking of asking you for guidance, senior!” Kai Xin replied excitedly.
The Mad Monk had no intention of hiding anything, but the information he revealed left Kai Xin somewhat disheartened:

“At the realm of ‘Five Qi Converging toward the Origin,’ I can’t offer you any further insights. Back then, I was fortunate enough to reach this stage thanks to the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra,’ which completely transformed my physique, allowing me to make a breakthrough in that battle thirty years ago and enter the divine realm of ‘Five Qi Converging toward the Origin.’”
“Elder, did you reach this realm only during that battle thirty years ago?”
“Yes.”
After a pause, the Mad Monk replied with some emotion:
“I know you came for the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’… But I’ve told you before that even if you master the ‘Sinew Transformation Sutra,’ it will still take you three years to reach the level of the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra,’ because this sacred text is no ordinary scripture…”
“The junior is eager to hear more details.”
“As the name implies, the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’ aims to cleanse the essence within the body and further strengthen both the body and mind… So, it’s not like ordinary martial arts; it relies on one’s own perseverance and cannot be improved through physical training like the ‘Sinew Transformation Sutra’… The ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’ can only be understood through life and death, and only those at a higher spiritual level can grasp its deeper mysteries.”
“Life and death?”
Kai Xin listened, somewhat confused.
The Mad Monk patiently explained:
“The reason I had you wait for three years is that with your current level of internal energy, you’re not yet able to comprehend the essence of life and death, nor can you detect the changes in your body’s potential between life and death.”
“…”
Kai Xin still wasn’t fully understanding and couldn’t help but take a few steps toward the misty area: “…Potential… is related to the level of internal energy…”
“To put it simply, the higher your internal energy level, the more you can understand the mysteries of the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’ amidst life and death… The higher the level, the more you can comprehend.” This time, the Mad Monk’s explanation finally helped Kai Xin grasp a bit of the key point. He asked eagerly, “If the level of internal energy is linked to the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra,’ does that mean only by reaching the realm of unity between man and heaven can one achieve its highest level?”
“More or less… At the level of liberation, even if you can gain some insights from life and death, they’ll be superficial. Only by reaching the realm of non-action do you qualify to understand the second layer… and so on!”
“Additionally, the higher your internal energy level, the greater your chances of surviving through life and death and comprehending everything.” The Mad Monk’s explanation finally gave Kai Xin a deeper understanding of the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra.’
What the Mad Monk meant was that one should wait until their internal energy level is higher, as that would increase the chances of comprehending the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’ through life and death.

Sure enough!
The mad monk’s voice came again: “The reason I made you wait for three years was so that you could build up sufficient strength. After three years, when you reach the Wuwei realm or a higher level, studying the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’ will yield twice the results with half the effort.”
“I understand now…” Kai Xin knew he had already gotten the answer.
Only by facing life and death could progress be made with the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’. Being attacked by three experts at the early Mythical Realm level in the gang’s prison meant he was far from meeting this requirement. The cultivation difficulty of the ‘Meridian Purification Sutra’ was indeed much higher…
And!
It seemed that even if he achieved some understanding, it would be very limited.
This left Kai Xin slightly disappointed.
After bidding farewell to the mad monk, Kai Xin rushed back to the capital in half a day. Once he returned to the gang’s prison, he went back to the world three years later.
Upon returning, he immediately gave up continuing his seclusion in the Xifeng Tower’s main hall and asked Bai Xiaosheng about the whereabouts of Shi Zhi Xuan, a peak expert in the Mythical Realm. Throughout the Central Plains, there weren’t many who could pose a threat to him. Apart from experts at the peak of the Mythical Realm, those ordinary Mythical Realm experts could hardly make him experience the sensation of traversing between life and death.
However…
Before leaving the Xifeng Tower’s main hall, Kai Xin still carefully gathered information about the outside world.
The situation was extremely dire!
Since one emperor had slaughtered dozens of top experts scattered outside the capital, Xifeng Tower had lost six of its branches under the attacks of Yipin Hall. But Yipin Hall, allied with the Blood Alliance, Assassins’ Hall, Tianyin Sect, and the Tianxiong Gang, which had recently joined Yipin Hall, had destroyed over twenty of Xifeng Tower’s branches. Xifeng Tower had lost more than 50,000 people, suffering heavy losses.
And this was still the casualty figure under the condition of mutual restraint between Yipin Hall and Xifeng Tower.
If not for their differing motives, the Central Plains would have been in a state of bloodshed long ago. How could there be only such limited casualties after just three or four days?
Though both gangs were cautious in their attacks on each other’s branches, their secret struggles were fierce. Over the past few days, neither gang’s members dared to cultivate in one place for long, let alone in popular advanced cultivation sites like Guiwei.
As long as they left the city, everyone was on high alert, fearing ambushes at any moment!
“Shi Zhi Xuan is at the ruins of the Great Buddha Temple, which is a popular advanced cultivation site. This trip is likely to be anything but peaceful…” As soon as Kai Xin left the Xifeng Tower’s main hall, he sensed someone following him and couldn’t help raising his eyebrows.