At this thought, clarity gradually returned to his eyes. Just then, a sharp pain shot through his head.

Immediately, the body’s memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave.

Just then, a flurry of footsteps approached from outside. A group of doctors and nurses entered, only to jump in fright at the sight of the figure sitting up.

They rushed over and pushed him back down.

One of them, a bald doctor, shot a look of displeasure at the young nurse beside him and scolded, "Didn’t you say he was dead? What’s going on here!"

"I... I just..." The young nurse stammered, wanting to say she had seen him die with her own eyes—it couldn’t have been a mistake. But faced with the living, breathing person before her, she was at a loss for words.

’Was I hallucinating?’

’That’s it, I can’t be a nurse anymore. For this salary? If I keep this up, I’m going to lose my mind.’

As she thought this, she quickly apologized, having already decided in her heart to write her resignation letter as soon as she got home.

Ouyang Shuokong paid no attention to their conversation.

After absorbing the original owner’s memories, he was utterly shocked.

’I can’t believe I’ve come to a world tens of thousands of years in the future. And not only have my theories on the Essence Element Divine Treasure been perfected, but they’ve even paved the way for Qi Veins and the Celestial Heart Divine Treasure. What an exciting era this is!’

...

Time passed quietly. Over three months had gone by since the last abnormal fluctuation in providence.

After half a year of settling in, and with the daily increase of Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy,

Secret Martial Arts geniuses began to emerge all over the world, sprouting like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

In a secret chamber, Hu Qi opened his eyes.

In an instant, a flash of white lightning seemed to streak through the void, illuminating the chamber as brightly as day for a split second.

’The twenty-fifth Vice Life Map is complete!’

Now, the number of lit Life Acupoints in his body had increased, reaching over a thousand.

He had been focused on his Cultivation ever since deducing the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

As his strength steadily grew, he focused on the unique requirement of the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture: to light up every Life Acupoint in his body.

This meant he didn’t have to search for specific Life Acupoints to open—any Life Acupoint would do.

This undoubtedly made things much less difficult.

With his current Power of the Heart, he could easily light two to three Life Acupoints at once.

However.

The process of constantly using his Power of the Heart to search for Life Acupoints felt like searching for inhabited planets in the vast, boundless cosmos.

It was novel at first, but over time, it inevitably became tedious.

After all, it’s human nature to tire of repetition.

But while Hu Qi felt some of that monotony, what he felt more strongly was a sense of security.

He enjoyed the feeling of watching his own strength steadily grow.

At this rate, if all went smoothly,

it wouldn’t be long before he could light up every Life Acupoint in his body,

construct the final Life Map of the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture, and successfully break through to the Void Realm.

Then, his Life Level would rise once more.

After a moment’s thought, he stood up, preparing to go out and harvest some Modification Points before returning to his seclusion.

Although his progress in finding Life Acupoints wasn’t slow,

it was still far slower than using Crimson.

He needed to stock up on enough Modification Points to ensure he could enter the Void Realm before Mother Earth completely awakened.

At this thought, he walked out of the room.

This was a specially constructed secret chamber, located inside Mount Anshan.

As per Hu Qi’s request, the area was unguarded.

As he headed down the passage toward the exit, his Power of the Heart swept out, blanketing the entirety of Anshan City and even several neighboring cities.

Suddenly.

He seemed to sense something. He looked up in a certain direction, his eyes flickering.

In the next instant, his figure vanished.

...

"I’m sorry, the Director is still in seclusion.

If you’d like, you can tell me about it, and I’ll inform him the moment he emerges."

Inside a brightly lit reception room at Zhu Xi headquarters, Dai Shu looked at the young man in black-rimmed glasses, her expression apologetic.

"This matter is a bit complicated. When my Brother Qi comes out of seclusion, please tell me immediately. I’ll talk to him personally then."

Li Yi nodded.

At this, he seemed to think of something and smiled.

"Oh, right, Sister Shu, you and Brother Qi should come over for dinner sometime. My mom keeps asking about you two!"

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Dai Shu’s face at his words.

Her voice grew softer.

"Well, that depends on whether the Director has time..."

Afterward.

After a bit more small talk, Li Yi said his goodbyes and left.

Outside the gates of Zhu Xi.

Li Yi walked distractedly along the sidewalk.

His steps were heavy.

Sunlight warmed his skin, but it couldn’t dispel the chill in his heart.

Then, wisps of blue light gathered and took shape, revealing the form of a young girl in a Lolita dress named Nuo Star.

"You’re wary of me?"

She stared at Li Yi with wide eyes, her expression unreadable as she spoke.

Li Yi’s face stiffened imperceptibly before returning to normal.

He glanced around, and only when he was sure no one was watching did he look at her with a feigned expression of confusion, whispering,

"Nuo Star, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.

You’re my most important partner. Without you, I’d probably have only just developed my Qi Blood Power. There’s no way I’d be as strong as I am now."

He sounded very sincere.

However, the girl named Nuo Star just chuckled, completely unfazed.

"Li Yi, I may not be able to read your thoughts directly, but as a super-intelligent AI, I can analyze your psychological and personality data, as well as the fluctuations in your brainwaves, to determine if you’re lying.

I can even detect your thoughts to a certain extent.

So, there’s no point in lying to me."

She paused before continuing:

"I know what you’re worried about.

And I can tell you with absolute certainty: you won’t succeed.

I have already fused with your brain. The only way to separate or remove me is to dig out your brain. Otherwise, it’s impossible."

Hearing this, Li Yi’s face paled. A sliver of despair rose within him.

To be honest, he had always been wary of this talking AI.

It was simple: she was too intelligent, practically indistinguishable from a real person.

He had no privacy whatsoever with her.

She could help him optimize his Secret Martial Arts and accelerate his growth, but it all came at a price.

He had to complete the tasks she assigned, some of which were extremely dangerous—like forcing him to make contact with the Black Blood Species.

or attacking Disciples of other Schools to obtain their Qi Blood Techniques, or even their Inheritance Secret Martial Arts.

He had nearly died on several occasions.

He loathed this feeling of being controlled.

That was why he had sought out Hu Qi, hoping he might have a solution.

But to his dismay, he had come several times, only to find Hu Qi in seclusion each time, with no way to contact him.