Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Vital Points

The power of thought, put simply, is the force of the soul. Right now, Zhou Yi’s soul energy, as displayed on his attribute panel, stands at sixty-five—sixty-five times that of an ordinary person. Such strength, truth be told, is not particularly impressive. But it all depends on comparison. In the grand scheme of things, it may seem insignificant.

Yet, at this moment, what matters are the three hundred and sixty-five miniature vortices within Zhou Yi’s body. Relative to these, his soul energy is like the boundless sea, while the vortices are mere ponds. Thus, Zhou Yi need not worry about insufficient soul energy; he only needs to ensure that these vortices are not overwhelmed and shattered by the surging force.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled!

Like the tide rushing in, Zhou Yi carefully guided his soul energy into one of the vortices, testing its tolerance, drop by drop. Soon, he determined the limit of the vortex, and with newfound confidence, he exhaled softly, focused his mind, and observed the vortices intently. Gradually, he dispersed his consciousness, allocating constant streams of energy to each fraction of his mind, attempting to channel energy into multiple vortices at once.

Out of caution and unfamiliarity, Zhou Yi began conservatively, activating two vortices simultaneously, then steadily increased—four, eight, ten, incrementally—step by step. With experience gained, his actions grew swifter; thanks to his careful approach, no accidents befell the vortices he had infused with energy. The rapid influx caused their internal energy to soar, and the strange, luminous aura radiating from his body intensified, growing brighter and more distinct.

Three hundred and sixty-five vortices—a number neither vast nor meager—were soon all under Zhou Yi’s control. His mind split into three hundred and sixty-five parts, each governing a stream of energy, infusing the vortices at a steady pace. As their strength increased, the speed of energy transmission quickened.

...

Outside, as Zhou Yi mastered the energy and infused it into the vortices, a point of light appeared on his body. At first, the glow was faint, masked by the flames, and went unnoticed. But as Zhou Yi poured in more power, the brilliance grew rapidly, soon outshining the fire and drawing the attention of those nearby.

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“What is that?” Xue Kai was the first to notice the appearance of the light. Having already abandoned resistance, his mind was relaxed, waiting for the outcome with the detached curiosity of a spectator, his gaze fixed on Zhou Yi. When the point of light emerged, he was the first to see it. He froze, then his expression shifted abruptly to one of shock.

“Heaven Gate!” Not long after Xue Kai, Huang Yue also noticed, his eyes locked onto the light on Zhou Yi’s body, his face grim, lips tightly pressed as if glued together, struggling to utter the words.

“He’s actually reached this stage!” Mo Hu, too, was no fool and soon caught sight of the light on Zhou Yi, not far behind the other two.

“How is this possible?” Staring at the light, Mo Hu’s face was ashen, a headache throbbing: “He only recently broke through to the innate stage, how can he already be opening the Heaven Gate?”

“It’s over!” A shroud of despair crossed Huang Yue’s face, a low murmur escaping him, as if darkness had enveloped his heart.

The Heaven Gate, commonly known as acupoints, totals three hundred and sixty-five—three hundred and sixty-five major points on the human body. Through postnatal training, one gains strength and dominates by force. The innate stage connects with heaven and earth, merging their power, forming an intent; internal energy links with this intent, granting immense might, shattering stone and splitting tablets with ease.

Beyond this, the Celestial stage means unlocking all three hundred and sixty-five acupoints, further harmonizing oneself with heaven and earth, commanding their force, forming a domain—a personal field of absolute control, suppressing enemies, empowering oneself, mastering all.

Simply put, advancing from the innate to the celestial stage is straightforward: discover the three hundred and sixty-five acupoints within, and with sufficient mental strength, unlock them—thus attaining the celestial stage.

The sign of unlocking these acupoints is precisely the light now shining from Zhou Yi’s body—the manifestation of the acupoints awakening.

In other words, Zhou Yi, newly advanced to the innate stage, was now experiencing a dramatic surge in power, discovering the acupoints within, and attempting to unlock the Heaven Gate.

Such rapid progression could not fail to shock, terrify, and awe anyone who understood.

Celestial strength—whether Xue Kai, Huang Yue, or Mo Hu—none of them regarded it highly, especially for a novice barely opening his first Heaven Gate, an easy target for any of them.

Yet, if the one breaking through was Zhou Yi, everything changed.

When he was only at the innate stage, he had already forced the trio into such a predicament. If he reached the celestial stage—what then?

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If his cultivation truly rose to the celestial stage, judging by his prior performance, his strength after the breakthrough would be unimaginable. Then, even the tenuous balance they currently struggled to maintain might be nothing more than a fantasy.

“We’re doomed!” With this realization, Huang Yue calculated their fate in his heart.

Zhou Yi, while still at the innate stage, possessed nearly the power of a pseudo-core. Once he truly broke through to the celestial stage, even if he didn’t reach the pseudo-core level, he would be very close.

At that point, the remnants of their immortal treasures would be useless!

Let alone that all their inner power was spent—even if they had recovered some, it was far from enough to wield their immortal artifacts!

They’d been battered by Zhou Yi at the innate stage—what hope had they against a celestial?

Despair suddenly filled Huang Yue; his eyes grew dim.

“…” Mo Hu felt an inexplicable urge to cry; his hand clenched into a fist, sword finger withdrawn, the wooden sword tracing a circle in the air before settling in his grasp.

“How did it come to this!” Mo Hu silently screamed, glaring at Zhou Yi, striving to vent his anger, but no matter what, he could not. Only the veins bulged on his clenched fist, his heart full of frustration.

From the beginning, it had always been they who provoked Zhou Yi; he was merely defending himself. Now, unable to fight back, they raged at his strength? Was that not shameless?

Mo Hu felt he could never stoop to such disgrace.