Gazing at Xiao Yan's radiant smile, Queen Medusa emitted a cold sigh, her mind already made up—once she was free from the influence of the Sky-Eating Python's soul, she would surely be the first to shatter him into a thousand pieces! Sitting up gracefully on the massive stone, Xiao Yan smiled warmly at Medusa and said, "Then from now on, we can officially count ourselves as companions." "This is a business arrangement, not a partnership!" Medusa snapped, her full lips curling slightly, completely dismissing Xiao Yan's attempt to foster a closer relationship. "Alright, alright, a business arrangement," Xiao Yan waved his hands nonchalantly, then added with a smile, "But since we're going to be together for a full year, we can't just keep calling you Medusa, can we? How about I give you a name? Otherwise, people will soon know your identity the moment they hear your name." "No need for your effort!" Medusa merely replied coldly, acknowledging Xiao Yan's gesture. "How about 'Cai Lin'? It goes perfectly with you." "Xiao Yan simply said this, showing no concern whatsoever about the ordinary nature of his name. "Get out!" The Queen Medusa, growing increasingly impatient with Xiao Yan's endless monologue, was suddenly furious. Her cold gaze fixed upon the young man before her, yet when she saw the radiant, warm smile on his face, the anger in her eyes gradually softened. "My name is Medusa, and that is also my identity. You don't need to change it." With that, she turned and moved swiftly, gliding toward the distance. "You've now evolved into a fully human form—no longer that half-human, half-serpent shape you once had. Naturally, you need a name. From now on, I'll call you Cai Lin. 'Queen Medusa' is too cumbersome to say." Xiao Yan, seemingly oblivious to the consequences, raised his head and loudly addressed the Queen Medusa in the sky. Her figure paused slightly, and the Queen Medusa's eyes flickered momentarily. Yet this time, instead of shouting in anger, she moved gracefully, transforming into a shimmer of light and darting off toward the distance. "Also, could you kindly keep an eye on the surroundings? Don't let anyone disturb me—otherwise, should something go wrong, our deal will be nullified, you know..." To the loud outburst from Xiao Yan, Queen Medusa paid no attention at all, simply flickering into view and vanishing at the horizon, as if she hadn't even heard him. Watching the Queen Medusa's retreating form, Xiao Yan smiled softly. Finally, this major inconvenience was resolved. With the agreement secured for the "Reviving Soul Pills," he no longer needed to fear the terrifying woman appearing at any moment to cut him down. "Heh, it's truly impressive how well Han Feng has preserved his collection—keeping even such an unusual and potent prescription. This trouble would have been impossible to resolve without him." Xiao Yan gently stroked the Youhai Naji on his finger, smiling softly. His own records naturally didn't contain a formula like the "Fuhun Pill"—that had been unearthed from within Han Feng's Youhai Naji while he was healing. "Now, at last, I can finally focus on refining the 'Di Yin Ju' without distractions," he said, stretching lazily. With a slight smile, he settled back onto the great stone, closing his eyes slightly and allowing his mind to stir. Gradually, a stream of information flowed from within his heart. After carefully studying the method for cultivating the "Kai Shan Yin," Xiao Yan finally lifted his brows in concentration. Indeed, the "Di Yin Ju" was no ordinary technique—it was a top-tier earth-tier combat skill, and its cultivation difficulty far surpassed that of the "Yan Fen Shi Lang Chi." "It turns out that three specific meridians need to be cleared and activated in order to form the hand seal and channel battle energy to unleash a technique... "Xiao Yan furrowed his brows. Within the human body, meridians branched out like countless stars, countless in number, some so fine and hard to locate that they were especially delicate—so fragile that even a moderately strong energy surge would cause them to rupture. The three specific meridians required for the 'Mount-Split Seal' were precisely located in three remote areas of the right arm, and clearing them would undoubtedly take considerable time. Techniques that require the clearing of specific meridians are typically either exceptionally powerful or of legendary status. Indeed, when Xiao Yan was practicing the 'Flame-Split, Wave-Devouring Scroll,' he had never needed to specially clear any meridians. One could only imagine just how unique and outstanding the 'Imperial Seal Technique' truly was. "Oh…" Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan shook his head in resignation. No matter how difficult it was to unblock those three meridians, he had to give it a try now. Xu'er had invested so much effort into leaving him these precious items—how could he possibly abandon them without putting in the effort to cultivate them? Unblocking meridians is an extremely painful process. The intense pain generated at the very moment when qi begins to flow smoothly and expand through the meridians is something most ordinary people cannot endure. However, when the qi enters that slender meridian, the anticipated intense pain and difficulty in infusion do not materialize. Although the meridian's narrowness causes the flow of qi to be extremely slow, Xiao Yan still clearly feels the sensation of blockage within the meridian gradually diminishing—slowly, steadily. Of course, at this moment, Xiao Yan had no knowledge of the fact that, when he had been in a state of apparent death beneath the earth, the fading Heart Flame and the peculiar liquid within him had engaged in a prolonged struggle. During this intense battle, Xiao Yan’s body—his bones, meridians, muscles, and every other component—had been thoroughly refined and strengthened through the very process of that struggle. As a result, every part of his body now possessed a resilience surpassing that of other warriors of his rank. Thanks to this refinement of his meridians, Xiao Yan found it remarkably easy to unblock and open his energy pathways, as though he were simply clearing out the remaining debris from a tunnel that had already been roughly laid out by predecessors. For an ordinary person, the mere act of unblocking their meridians would likely have caused the energy pathways to rupture under the pressure of the Qi, and thus, Xiao Yan’s progress would have been impossible. Although it remained unclear why the unblocking of meridians had become so effortless, this brought no drawbacks at all to Xiao Yan, who, filled with exhilaration, began continuously directing his qi to impact the obstructed meridian. Under the relentless pressure of the qi, the meridian—previously untouched—was gradually expanding at an extremely slow pace. Though the process of unblocking meridians had become somewhat easier due to the refinement of his internal qi, it still required a steady, methodical approach. After all, the meridians were currently exceedingly delicate; even slight exertion risked causing them to rupture—an risk Xiao Yan was absolutely unwilling to take. Thus, when the meridians within his body progressed at a snail's pace, Xiang Yan, growing increasingly impatient, could only enter a state of cultivation, simultaneously attending to both fronts... Even at this sluggish snail's pace, there would inevitably come a moment when the destination was reached. On the fifth day after entering the deep mountains, Xiang Yan finally fully opened his first meridian, officially taking the first step in his cultivation of the "Mountain-Breaking Seal." With the first experience behind him, the subsequent process became more refined—though still progressing slowly, like a snail crawling—yet compared to others, it would surely prove so taxing that it would drive even the most resilient to collapse, gasping for breath and ultimately expiring. And around ten days after the first meridian was successfully unblocked, the second meridian was also smoothly unblocked without any unforeseen incidents. This seamless progression left Xiao Yan delighted, and at this pace, he would likely achieve the condition of unblocking three meridians within a month, after which he would be able to formally begin practicing the "Mountain-Opening Seal"—a technique he had long coveted. Time quietly flowed through the deep forest. Perhaps Xiao Yan's attentiveness to Medusa's advice had made a difference; since entering his meditative state, he had remained undisturbed by any external interruptions, thus enjoying an exceptionally serene and peaceful environment for his cultivation. When time precisely reached the one-month mark, the young man, who had been quietly closed-eyed on the mountain peak, suddenly opened his eyes, with a brilliant luminescence radiating from his gaze like tangible substance, gradually fading after a few moments. Xiao Yan slowly rose from the massive stone, took a long, deep breath, and looked upward. Over the course of one month, he had successfully unblocked three meridians—a pace he was confident in. Even within Xun'er's family, this would surely be considered an outstanding achievement. "Since the meridians have now been unblocked, it's time to formally begin practicing the Mountain-Opening Seal!" Xiao Yan smiled gently, forming a rather unusual hand seal with his right hand. He pushed the seal forward, though without any qi to propel it, it merely appeared to be a mere formality. Yet Xiao Yan knew that in no time, the power generated by this seal would astonish even him.