In front of the cottage, the youth’s rather thin-looking face was currently filled with disbelief while overwhelmed with emotions as his trembling hands touched his body. This feeling of rebirth made even the mature Zhou Yuan involuntarily grin like a fool.

After all, this was far too important to him.

As he grew older, the other kids had all started to their channel opening cultivation, revealing their varying aptitudes. Although Zhou Yuan had hid it very well, the depths of his heart was still filled with envy.

He likewise desired to open his channels, step into the great Dao of Genesis Qi and wield the power that filled this world.

He had deeply yearned for this day for a very long time.

The old man in black gazed at the emotionally overwhelmed Zhou Yuan as he chuckled and said, “You were born with eight naturally open meridian channels. Unfortunately, you encountered a disaster at birth. Sensing the external danger, the eight meridian channels in your body hid in the deepest recesses of your body as a form of self-defence. That was why your eight meridian channels did not show themselves even when you reached the normal age where they were suppose to appear.

“Though your eight meridian channels had hidden themselves, they were still able to sense danger. Thus, the only way to bring them out once again was to place yourself at the doors of death. Only then would the eight meridians be forced to reveal themselves.”

The eyelids of the old man raised as he continued in an indifferent tone, “Do not believe that the smell of death from before was fake. If you were unable to rouse the eight meridian channels to protect yourself at the final moment, you would have died.”

The still emotional Zhou Yuan felt a chill pass through his entire body when he heard this. His face paled slightly as he dazedly stared at the old man in black. It was clear that Zhou Yuan was recalling the thick scent of death from before.

He even had a premonition that if he had roused his meridian channels just a split second later, he would really have died.

It was obvious that the old man had used an extremely dangerous method to rouse the eight meridian channels in his body.

The old man in black was all smiles as he asked, “Why? You blame me for not warning you beforehand?”

Zhou Yuan took in a deep breath, shook his head and slowly replied, “ I am willing to take even the greatest risk as long as I can channel opening training. Hence, it is not important even if I did not know in advance. I just feel some lingering fear when I recall it.”

Only then did the old man nod his head and speak with some admiration, “Little kid, you may be young, but your mettle is rather decent.

“However, do not be too happy just because your eight meridian channels have reappeared. Although you were originally born with naturally open meridian channels, due to the many years of concealment, your eight meridian channels have once again been blocked and sealed. Therefore, if you want to begin your cultivation, you will have to first completely unblock your eight meridian channels. Only then will you be able to cross over from the Channel Opening stage to the Qi Nourishing stage.

“Moreover, unblocking your meridian channels will be even more difficult than normal. This is because the eight channels in your body had sealed themselves back then to avoid disaster. The hardships you will face when unblocking your meridian channels will be even greater than those faced by an ordinary person.” The old man shook his head as he elaborated.

Zhou Yuan frowned slightly upon hearing this, but quickly came to accept it and said, “At the very least, I now have more hope than before, isn’t that so?”

No matter how bad the current situation was, could it possibly be as bad as before when his eight meridian channels were nowhere to be found? So what if it was more difficult to unblock or open his meridian channels? There was now hope, wasn’t that right?

Behind the old man in black, the girl in green lifted Tuntun out of the water jar and lightly shook it. Specks of red light emerged from the little creature’s body, drying away all of the water. Only then did she cradle it on her arms, satisfied.

Her fair hand gently stroke the little creature as she calm gazed at Zhou Yuan. It was obvious that the latter’s dedication towards channel opening cultivation had surprised her a little.

Yaoyao’s red lips cracked opened slightly as she said in an unemotional voice, “Being incapable of channel opening cultivation is nothing to be fret about. I too am unable to use Genesis Qi.”

The girl in green clearly belonged to the group of people who were a little more indifferent by nature. They would not take even a second glance at people or things that they did not care about. Thus, these words of hers were slightly meant as consolation.

Zhou Yuan was somewhat astonished as he stared at her. To think that this girl in green was also unable to use Genesis Qi.

“Hehe, due to certain reasons, Yaoyao is indeed unable to utilise Genesis Qi.” The old man in black chuckled, before he playfully said to Zhou Yuan, “However, don’t belittle her because of this as she has received all of my teachings with regards to Genesis Runes. Although her age is similar to your own, she has more than enough attainments in Genesis Runes to become your teacher.”

“Eh?”

Zhou Yuan’s eyes were filled with bewilderment. It was really unexpected that this girl in green would have such great mastery over Genesis Runes.

“However, you should not undervalue yourself either. Though it is true that you will have great difficulty in unblocking your meridian channels, as the saying goes, with great effort comes great reward. Thus, the benefits you will obtain every time you open a meridian channel will be much greater than normal.” said the old man with a smile.

Zhou Yuan’s eyes brightened slightly. He knew that the innate quality of one’s body would rise every time a channel was opened. According to the old man in black, he would become much stronger than any ordinary person. As such, although unblocking channels would be harder, he was able to accept it.

A thought formed in Zhou Yuan’s head. He suddenly looked towards the old man in black and said in a seemingly bitter manner, “Elder, although I am now able to begin my channel opening cultivation, my starting point is already a step behind everyone else. I’m afraid that it will take quite some time before I am able to reach the stage where I will be able to protect big sis Yaoyao.”

The old man in black seemed to smile as he looked back at Zhou Yuan. “Kid, what exactly do you want to say?”

Zhou Yuan chuckled and replied, “Why not elder be a good samaritan till the end and bestow a little destiny onto me?”

The old man before Zhou Yuan was obviously unfathomable. According to Zhou Yuan’s estimates, the old man’s power had likely already reached an unimaginable level. At the very least, his father Zhou Qing, could not compare at all.

Usually speaking, given Zhou Yuan’s current status, he would not be able to come into contact with such an expert. Yet, since he had the fortune to meet this old man, Zhou Yuan naturally intended to make full use of this opportunity.

This was also a kind of destiny.

The old man in black released a chuckle when he heard Zhou Yuan’s words and said, “Such a crafty kid, to think that you would be so greedy.”

Zhou Yuan’s keen senses could detect that there was no anger in the old man’s words. Hence, he smiled and replied, “Is junior’s request not for the sake of better accomplishing the task elder has entrusted me with? Else if I really encounter some danger, with my small arms and legs, there will be nothing else I can do but die in front of big sis Yaoyao.”

His seemingly pained appearance together with his immature face did seem somewhat amusing, causing Yaoyao to involuntarily bend over slightly as her eyes seemed to swirl in thought. This fellow was really interesting.

Yaoyao gently stroked Tuntun as her red lips parted slightly, “Grandpa Hei, if you want him to protect me and not become a burden, I think it will be better to accept his request.”

When Zhou Yuan heard this, he immediately gave her a look of gratitude. However, the girl remained expressionless as if she had not seen it.

The old man gently stroked his beard as his eyes faintly flickered. He pondered in silence for some time, before softly sighing in the end. “Yaoyao, you are right. If this kid is too weak, he will instead become an inconvenience to you.”

The old man in black stared at Zhou Yuan with his seemingly bottomless eyes as he slowly said, “However, my techniques are not to be passed on to an outsider.”

Zhou Yuan was a smart lad. Upon hearing these words, he immediately went on his knees and respectfully said, “Disciple Zhou Yuan greets master!”

“Heh, brat, you are indeed quick-witted.” The old man in black clicked his tongue in response to Zhou Yuan’s swift and direct actions. The former had only showed a slight opening in his words, and this kid had straightaway acknowledged the old man as his master. As the saying went, when attacked with a stick, the snake would immediately slither up. This kid was truly skillful at catching an opportunity.

The old man in black shook his head. Soon after, he sighed deeply and said, “Our meeting here can also be considered destiny of sorts. Although you have come here for my techniques, I will still accept you as my disciple for the time being.”

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately bowed.

The old man’s eyes became a little gentler when he saw Zhou Yuan meticulously complete the traditional rites of a disciple and said, “Since you are so willing, I cannot be stingy.”

“Now that your eight meridian channels have emerged, I will teach you a Qi drawing

method.”

During the Channel Opening stage, the body was incapable of storing Genesis Qi and thus unable to learn or use any real cultivation techniques. Hence, one could only learn a Qi drawing method. Only when all eight meridian channels were opened and one reached the Qi Nourishing stage would one be able to truly master and utilise cultivation techniques.

A faint glow appeared at the old man’s fingertip and there seemed to be tiny words flowing within it. Subsequently, he suddenly touched Zhou Yuan’s forehead.

Boom!

When the finger touched Zhou Yuan’s forehead, he immediately felt his head start to swell. Next, a huge amount of information poured in, causing him to become a little dizzy.

However, the dizzy spell passed quickly and Zhou Yuan proceeded to savor the information that had appeared in his head.

Qi drawing method, Dragon Breathing?

This Qi drawing method was called Dragon Breathing, a name that sounded rather mighty. It was unknown how effective it would be for cultivation, but it should be rather extraordinary since it was from the old man in black.

The old man withdrew his finger, stared at Zhou Yuan and smiled, “I have seen the Genesis Runes inscribed on your body earlier, are you interested in this path?”

Zhou Yuan nodded and earnestly replied, “The path of Genesis Runes is both broad and deep. It cannot be underestimated.”

He had focused on Genesis Runes for the past two years and was faintly able to tell how formidable the essence of Genesis Runes was. The path of Genesis Runes was somewhat similar to the butterfly effect. Using a little power to construct mysterious runes would result in an extremely great force.

It was a pity that Genesis Runes could not allow the body to undergo a metamorphosis. Moreover, due to its broadness and depth, one would have to invest a great deal of effort in order to attain some accomplishment in this path. Hence, the majority of Genesis Masters viewed it as a side path and did not bother with it too much.

The old man in black nodded his head in approval when he heard Zhou Yuan’s words. “The people of the world who view Genesis Runes as a side path are ignorant. They dislike it because it is difficult to master, but what they do not know is that crux of the Dao of Genesis Runes is in the spirit. If mastered, it will complement the Dao of Genesis Masters.”

Zhou Yuan felt a little proud while the old man in black talked about Genesis Runes. He

knew in his heart that the old man likely had extraordinary attainment in this path.

“I can see that your spirit is full of vigour and is indeed rather suited to Genesis Runes. I will also teach you a spirit tempering method.”

The old man in black laughed. In the next instant, a bright light suddenly flew out from his eyes and shot into Zhou Yuan’s eyes.

A loud sound suddenly boomed in Zhou Yuan’s head as if a great bell had been struck as countless ancient characters circulated in his pupils. In the end, they gradually quietened down as information started to flow in his mind.

‘Primal Chaos Divine Grindstone Visualisation Method’