Squeak

At the entrance of Dongli Cottage, Zhao Rong reached out and pushed open the wooden door. With a quick glance, he found that Yu Huaijin, Fan Yushu and Jia Tengying were all there.

Jia Tengying was making a fire and cooking in the small kitchen in the west of the yard. His busy figure could be seen through the window. Green smoke was rising from the roof of the west kitchen. Zhao Rong could see it from a distance.

There are many monks among the Confucian scholars in Linlu Academy, but the majority are ordinary people and "half-mountain people" who have not reached the Haoran realm but have spiritual cultivation. Therefore, the academy has built a kitchen in each small building inside the school.

However, many students in each class like Zhao Rong came from distinguished backgrounds. Some were students from powerful families at the foot of the mountain; some were the legitimate or illegitimate descendants of powerful families on the mountain; or some had parents who were monks on the mountain, and had lived a life of luxury since childhood, with slaves in front and servants behind.

Therefore, the kitchen in the cottage is rarely used. Not to mention those fasting spiritual objects, if you really want to satisfy your appetite, you can go out to eat outside the academy. In addition to bookstores and antique shops, the most common things near the academy are restaurants.

Moreover, the academy also allows scholars and students to bring a small number of companion students into the academy. If they want anything, they can send them to get it. Just now at the door of Nanxuan Academy, Zhao Rong saw many companion students coming in and out, carrying food boxes and fine wine.

It is said that people like Brother Teng Ying who grow their own vegetables and cook their own food, and have curling green smoke coming out of their small house, are very rare in the Nanxuan Academy.

Our Dongli Cottage is quite recognizable in the school...

Zhao Rong didn't know what he was thinking of. He nodded slightly, then turned around, closed the gate, walked into the yard, and walked towards the two people beside the stone table.

I saw Fan Yushu just like when he left in the morning, buried in books and working hard.

Yu Huaijin had her back to Zhao Rong, holding a brush in her hand and writing something with her eyes downcast. However, she was short in stature, so she didn't need to bend over while standing in front of the stone table to write. She only needed to slightly lower her head as she was doing now.

Zhao Rong raised his eyebrows and walked to the stone table.

Neither Yu Huaijin nor Fan Yushu looked up at him.

Zhao Rong glanced at Fan Yushu, who was looking very serious. He was flipping through a large book with his left hand and writing furiously with his right hand, looking like he was obsessed with studying.

Zhao Rong frowned, his expression serious, staring at his good friend, heaved a long sigh, and said with emotion, "You are a role model of our generation. I am ashamed, ashamed."

As soon as he finished speaking, with a look of regret on his face, he hurriedly moved the guqin over, ready to work hard to make up for his previous shameful behavior of avoiding learning.

Bang——!

Fan Yushu, who was working hard with his head down, couldn't bear it any longer. He slammed the pen on the table, turned his head sharply and glared.

Zhao Rong's pretended frown suddenly relaxed. He winked at Fan Yushu and coughed softly, "Brother Yushu, please don't be affected by my laziness. Ahem, stop looking. Read a book instead of looking at me."

At this moment, Yu Huaijin, who had been writing with his head down, coughed seriously without raising his head.

Fan Yushu, who was about to stand up and fight with his disloyal "good brother" who had taken advantage of him, lowered his head in hatred, snatched up the pen on the table, and continued to write rapidly, but the force of his pen was so strong that it seemed to penetrate into the wood.

Seeing his friend studying for the whole morning and still being so energetic to continue to fight, Zhao Rong sighed. If Brother Yushu could have this spirit in normal times, why would he hold back the Ruxing Hall? The first place... well, the second place will be taken away from him.

Zhao Rong looked even more ashamed, and with another long sigh, he walked aside, moved the piano table, and took paper and pen to write the word "正".

However, when he passed by Yu Huaijin on the other side of the stone table, he glanced at the rice paper she was writing on with a slight curiosity.

The next second, Zhao Rong raised his eyebrows. Was this old-fashioned and boring guy... practicing calligraphy? But before he could take a closer look, the rice paper was folded in half in an instant, covering his eyes...

Yu Huaijin was writing with a stern face and an extremely focused expression. She was carefully recalling the writing movements her teacher had taught her in the morning, as well as the teacher's postures and movements she had observed.

Yu Huaijin followed and imitated meticulously, and each stroke of the pen was neat and regular. But at this moment, she seemed to sense someone's stealing eyes on her, and her brows suddenly frowned, and her jade-white little hand suddenly flipped over to cover the words.

Zhao Rong blinked.

Yu Huaijin did not raise her eyes to look at Zhao Rong. She stared at the folded rice paper on the table with her eyes slightly lowered, and said softly, "Don't be idle anymore, go practice the piano."

Zhao Rong nodded and walked past her to get something, but then he turned back to glance at Yu Huaijin. She was just opening the rice paper again with a very serious posture. After thinking for a moment, she continued to write, practicing calligraphy with great concentration.

Zhao Rong turned his head and curled his lips slightly, "You are really something, Yu Huaijin. Even your writing is so rigid. It would be a miracle if you could make the characters come alive like this."

He did not try to be a teacher or meddle in other people's business, but continued to move the instruments for practicing the piano and began to draw the character "正" with great effort...

In the sky above the small building in the east fence, the autumn sun in the sky gradually sets in the west.

At the gate of Nanxuan Academy, scholars and students who had rested and relaxed for a day returned slowly as night fell.

Time passed by like a white horse, until the moon climbed up to the sky from the branches and the night became deep.

The fingers of Zhao Rong's right hand trembled slightly. He changed his hand and handed the paper with the word "正" written on it to the old-fashioned woman in front of him with an expressionless face.

Yu Huaijin took the homework and the fifty "positive" characters that Fan Yushu had completed with a frown, then she pursed her lips and glanced at Zhao Rong, thought for a moment and said nothing more.

Yu Huaijin turned around and put away the new etiquette formation that had been set up in the yard. This new etiquette formation, which only had the ability to block sound, was set up by her in the afternoon when Zhao Rong was practicing the piano. If it weren't for this etiquette formation that blocked the ups and downs of Zhao Rong's "melodious piano music", the students from other cottages would probably line up and come to Dongli Cottage to pay a visit enthusiastically.

What made Yu Huaijin feel the most helpless was that Zhao Rong could play a completely different tune every time, 50 "正" characters, the same piano piece, "Yilan Cao", 250 times. It could be said that there were 250 different styles. Well, in fact, there was no style at all. This could be said to be completely...

To use Fan Yushu's serious words in the afternoon, "Brother Ziyu's fingering is wonderful, and Brother Tengying and I are far inferior to him. To achieve such a high level of skill, one would have to hang rice grains on seven strings and put a spirited chicken on them."

In front of the courtyard gate, Yu Huaijin held his hands, ready to leave, but after taking a few steps, he paused, looked back at Zhao Rong, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

She was silent for a moment, then, looking seriously into his eyes, she spoke:

"Brother Zhao, don't be discouraged. The last time you did it was already... already a lot of progress. As long as you take it seriously and persevere, it will get better. Brother Zhao, don't give up easily."

Fan Yushu beside him nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, Tzuyu, don't be impatient, practice slowly, we still have plenty of time. After all, according to the current situation, no chicken can surpass you."

Yu Huaijin frowned, and without even turning his head, Fan Yushu, who was lying on his back, closed his mouth with a strong desire to survive.

Zhao Rong had a calm expression. He glanced at Yu Huaijin's face, which seemed to be always stern and never smile, and nodded gently, "Okay, thank you for your hard work, Senior Yu."

Yu Huaijin shook his head and said nothing.

She took a step back, patted her sleeves a few times, and bowed, "Sorry for disturbing you today, Brother Zhao, Brother Fan, Brother Teng Ying, goodbye."

The four of them saluted outside the door and then dispersed.

…

Zhao Rong returned to the north room, but did not open the door immediately.

He stopped and stood quietly in front of the door with his hands behind his back. He heard the sound of the door of the south room closing behind him, but Zhao Rong still did not move.

The night was quiet. Inside the cottage, the sound of unknown insects chirping could be heard from the vegetable fields, echoing throughout the yard.

Zhao Rong suddenly raised his hand and lowered his eyes to look at his still trembling fingers. His brows slightly furrowed, feeling the innate vitality in his body that had been moving strangely since the afternoon.

Zhao Rong closed his eyes.

Among the intricate meridians in the body, the "little red snake" that was usually quiet and docile became a little irritable today. It was emitting blood and rushing around in the meridians, and it was getting more and more intense, as if it was about to turn into a wild blood dragon swimming in a river, rushing upstream, determined to smash all the meridian checkpoints blocked along the way.

Come to think of it, it has been four days since the last time he impacted his meridians. Logically speaking, each impact would weaken his innate vitality for a few days. It is indeed time for him to recover, but why is it so special today? It is like taking medicine, and the effect is much stronger than the agarwood effect back then.

Nowadays, Zhao Rong is in the Zhenyi stage of the Dengtian realm. Among the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve regular meridians in his body, only the Ren and Du meridians are opened. This is also a sign that Zhao Rong can circulate the small circulation and enter the Zhenyi stage.

If he wants to break through from the Ascension Realm to the Fuyao Realm, he must successfully complete the Great Circulation.

The Big Circulation continues to expand the meridians within a certain range based on the Small Circulation, and the circulation range is slightly larger.

How does the Great Circulation work?

It is not necessary to open up all the eight extraordinary meridians and the twelve main meridians completely, this is something that needs to be done only in the Fuyao realm... It is only necessary to open up a few specific meridians to form a channel for the operation of the Great Circulation.

Zhao Rong Tinggui said that different foundation-building methods require different eight meridians and twelve main channels to be opened up in the Great Circulation. Therefore, after the Great Circulation is opened up, the meridians through which the innate vital energy flows are also different.

According to the method of "The Ant's Ascension to Heaven" that he practiced, Zhao Rong needed to open up all the eight extraordinary meridians, while he could ignore the twelve main meridians for the time being.

However, at present, he is still trying to attack the third extraordinary meridian besides the Ren and Du meridians, but he is already stuck in this congenitally blocked meridian. These days, he can only calm down and spend time and effort to polish it slowly.

However, at this moment, the boiling state of the red snake in the body was a good opportunity for Zhao Rong to break the meridians, but...

Zhao Rong narrowed his eyes and remained quiet for a moment, carefully observing the strange phenomena in his body.

Was it Qingjun's bowl of lotus seed glutinous rice porridge, which looked ordinary and tasted even more ordinary but he still praised it sincerely? Or was it Yu Huaijin's Nine Heavens Cloud Pei, which he had played nearly four hundred times today...

At this moment, Zhao Rong moved and pushed the door open.

After entering the room, he did not start to take the pulse immediately. Instead, he lit the lamp, walked to the desk, and began to spread paper and grind ink.

Zhao Rong took a deep breath, picked up the pen, and began to write with great force. After a while, his heart gradually calmed down and he immersed himself in it.

An hour later, Zhao Rong slowly put down his pen and quietly stared at the words on the table that would make a certain word-crazy woman frown and lose her mind.

After carefully observing the strange phenomenon in his body, he found that, apart from the fact that the blood and qi of the little red snake transformed from the innate vital energy were ignited by something unknown and caused it to boil, there was indeed no other obvious strangeness. This should really be a good opportunity to break the mirror, but he still didn't know what external object caused it, or if it was just a natural result?

Zhao Rong let out a light breath and opened the window. The moon was bright in the sky. He slowly walked to the open space in the middle of the room and began to practice the ancient boxing stance.

This is the "Fu Shan Zhi" that Zhao Rong has practiced thousands of times and is also the foundation of his martial arts physique.

Unlike the meditation when opening the small circulation, it is actually more suitable to practice walking meditation when opening the large circulation, especially the boxing moves in "Fushanzhi", which can help impact the meridians. This was the personal experience that Brother Sanbian passed on to Zhao Rong before he left, and he has always kept it in mind.

At this moment, he closed his eyes and looked inward, concentrating on guiding the little red snake to practice the Great Circulation Method recorded in "The Ant's Ascension to Heaven". The innate vital energy gradually gathered, and the little red snake became stronger and stronger, and began to impact the meridians with great momentum.

Zhao Rong's boxing never stopped.

The eight extraordinary meridians are the Du, Ren, Chong, Dai, Yin Qiao, Yang Qiao, Yin Wei and Yang Wei meridians.

The meridian he is attacking now is the "Yin Qiao Meridian". He chooses it because the blockage of this meridian is relatively not serious, but for the small and fragile meridians, it is equivalent to a dam blocking water in the river.

Inside the house, Zhao Rong was dressed in blue and practicing boxing.

Riding a dragon upside down, stabbing the sword furnace, holding the elbow, taking a step, tying the clothes lazily...

Time passes by every second.

Inside the body, in Zhao Rong's vision, there stands a dam of varying shapes in the "Yin Qiao Mai", and those impurities that congenitally block the meridians are the stubborn cornerstones of this dam.

The little red snake transformed into a ferocious dragon and crashed into the dam again and again. "Blood" splattered all over its body. This was the pure innate energy that was being consumed bit by bit.

The repeated collisions of the small red snake were like a wild beast that had gone bloodshot, but apart from a slight tremor, the dam still stood firm, blocking most of the innate energy from passing through. For example, the red snake that hit the dam at this time was only allowed to be "broken into pieces" and turned into a trickle, slowly overflowing.

The progress of breaking the pulse is slow.

Zhao Rong, who was walking in a stance, closed his eyes and looked inward, his mind never stopping. Seeing this, his sweaty face did not show any panic, but he was calculating silently.

At a certain moment, Zhao Rong silently recited a special spell that was added to the "Ant Climbing to Heaven" that he was practicing.

The vital "blood" splashed by the little red snake before was slowly accumulating under the dam... At this moment, the inconspicuous blood-red wave at the foot of the dam began to change!

It’s actually... so crowded.

With every drop of blood, an ant, tiny compared to the dam, breaks out of its cocoon. They swarm over and begin to gnaw at the dam.

At the same time, the little red snake continued to hit tirelessly, but the red light on its body gradually decreased, but it was still dazzling, and the splattered blood turned into countless ants, rushing towards the dam.

Gradually.

This dam, which was originally as solid as a mountain, became riddled with holes and began to crumble.

A thousand-mile long embankment can be destroyed by an ant hole, but a humble ant can also ascend to the sky.

At a certain moment, a bright red light shone from the red little snake's body.

Hit again.

Bang--!

Boom——!

The dam is broken and the Yin Qiao meridian is broken.

The little red snake, with the power to overturn rivers and seas, passed through this checkpoint which was extremely difficult for Zhao Rong in the past.

In the empty space in the middle of the room, Zhao Rong suddenly opened his eyes, raised his head and opened his mouth, laughing silently. Then, after a moment of silence, he gasped and his smile slowly faded.

Zhao Rong looked down at his clothes which were soaked with sweat, thought for a moment, then turned around and went to fetch some water for a bath.

Behind the screen, inside the bathtub, surrounded by smoke.

Zhao Rong closed his eyes and relaxed his brows, took a deep breath, and expelled the turbid air in his chest. After a while, his brows gradually wrinkled again.

In his inner vision, the little red snake was still very "violent" and there was no sign of it calming down for the time being.

Zhao Rong suddenly stood up from the bathtub, ready to take this opportunity to attack several other meridians in one go.

Now he has opened up three of the eight extraordinary meridians, and if he is lucky tonight, maybe he can open up one or two more and get one step closer to the Fuyao realm!

Zhao Rong casually put on a thin robe and walked out from behind the bathing screen.

At this moment, a gust of cold wind blew in through the unclosed wooden window, feeling a bit chilly. He raised his eyebrows and walked aside because he suddenly remembered something.

Zhao Rong took out a small lotus-green cloth bag from the Sumeru object and placed it on the suitcase.

It was the autumn clothes that Qingjun left behind when he left in the morning, and which she had knitted for him again.

Zhao Rong opened the cloth bag and looked down. There were three robes neatly stacked inside. They looked large and thick, and were indeed suitable for wearing while reading at night after bathing.

He reached out his big hands, randomly pulled out the one in the middle that he liked the color of, shook it, and prepared to put it on.

Suddenly, in the corner of my eye, a thin piece of fabric fell down smoothly due to the pull of the robe...