Chapter 4: Methods of Accelerated Origin Opening
1496 Words
Ethan Smith quickly opened the book Methods of Accelerated Origin Opening.
The moment he saw the title page, he felt speechless.
Written in blood-red letters across the opening page was a single line:
“So-called acceleration methods—regardless of life or death—can indeed hasten progress. Most who attempt them perish during the process!”
Ethan let out a bitter smile. Just reading that sentence made it feel unreliable. No wonder the instructors always said not to rush cultivation at the Origin Opening stage, and never to stray onto dangerous paths.
“Method One: Bathe in the blood of powerful gods or demons. Gods and demons are born with all nine apertures open, their vital energy abundant, their blood infused with vast amounts of primal essence…”
“Consequence: Body explosion.”
“Case Study: In the ninth year of the Anping Era, the son of the Prefect of the Great Ming Domain bathed in god–demon blood in an attempt to rapidly open all nine apertures. He succeeded in opening them instantly—then exploded and died the same day. Age at death: nine. Cultivation achieved: Thousand-Pound Realm.”
Ethan sucked in a sharp breath. There were even case studies. Clearly, this book wasn’t exaggerating.
The son of a Prefect, in the ninth year of Anping—that meant the direct heir of the Great Ming King himself. Even he had died. The danger was terrifying.
Besides, god–demon blood was hardly something one could obtain easily.
On the Battlefield of the Heavens, the god and demon races were among the most powerful of all races. It was said that even the weakest among them who set foot on the battlefield were at least at the Myriad-Stone Realm.
If the Great Ming King’s son had access to such blood, it could only be because the Great Ming King himself had slain a god or demon.
This method was not only impractical—it had nothing to do with Ethan Smith even if it worked.
“My dad isn’t the Great Ming King…”
Ethan muttered to himself. If his father really were the Great Ming King, he wouldn’t need to cultivate at all.
The Great Ming King was an invincible powerhouse who had founded the Great Ming Domain, one of humanity’s pillars. How strong was he exactly? Ethan didn’t know—and didn’t need to. Strong enough that Ethan never had to worry about such things.
He discarded Method One and continued reading, frowning deeper with every page.
“Method Two: Consume the flesh of demon races. Certain demon race bloodlines may assist in opening apertures.”
“Consequence: Body explosion.”
“Case Study: Early Anping Era. During humanity’s decline, powerful warriors slew demon races and brought their corpses back. Large numbers of humans consumed demon flesh. Some exploded and died; a small number rapidly opened all nine apertures.”
“Note: Aperture opening was extremely rare. Statistically beneficial demon races include: Golden Roc Clan, Savage Bull Clan, Heavenly Tiger Clan…”
Abandon!
Ethan immediately gave up. Don’t be ridiculous. Every demon race listed was an extremely powerful race. They were weaker than gods and demons, yes—but still far beyond his reach.
“Method Three: Primal Origin Fruit. Classified as a supreme heavenly treasure.”
“The Primal Origin Fruit condenses primal origin energy, the original energy of all realms. It greatly benefits the opening of the nine apertures.”
“Locations: Produced in the God Realm, Demon Realm, Beast Realm, and other major realms. Extremely rare.”
“Case Study: Year 25 of the Anping Era. The son of the Great Zhou King consumed a Primal Origin Fruit and opened all nine apertures in three days. No known aftereffects.”
Ethan bared his teeth again.
“The Great Zhou King’s son… didn’t the Great Zhou King only have one son? Could this be referring to the current Prefect of the Great Zhou Domain, Zhou Potian?”
Forget it. Abandon.
Ethan had never even heard of this fruit before. It was obviously a top-tier heavenly treasure.
Zhou Potian was still alive and had become the Prefect of the Great Zhou Domain—proof enough of how powerful he was.
Even if humanity possessed such fruits, they would never be available to Ethan. This was clearly a strategic resource of the highest order.
“Method Four…”
Ethan kept flipping pages, his heart sinking further with each one.
Sure enough, there was no easy shortcut at the Origin Opening stage. No wonder the instructors never mentioned any of this.
All acceleration methods either required god–demon blood or supreme treasures—and nearly all carried severe aftereffects.
“Method Nine: Cultivate in regions rich in vital energy. The distribution of vital energy across the myriad realms is uneven—some areas are barren, others abundant. During the Origin Opening stage, the nine apertures are passively tempered. Speed correlates with vital energy density.”
“Note: Vital Energy Sanctuaries include the Battlefield of the Heavens, academy secret realms, and sacred lands of the Human Realm…”
Seeing this, Ethan paused.
Regions rich in vital energy.
At the Origin Opening stage, one couldn’t actually sense vital energy—but Ethan knew Nanyuan City was far from such a place.
“I’ve heard of this,” he murmured. “The larger the city, the holier the land, the faster cultivation progresses. It must be tied to vital energy density.”
Teachers in Nanyuan never mentioned such things—because mentioning them would be pointless.
Moving cities these days was no simple matter.
“So if I could go to a major city or a secret realm, I could safely accelerate cultivation. But the increase wouldn’t be dramatic—not like those earlier methods.”
Vital energy abundance merely sped things up slightly. It wasn’t an instant breakthrough.
Even so, Ethan felt a trace of longing.
Unfortunately, none of the listed sanctuaries were accessible to him.
The Battlefield of the Heavens was out of the question. Academy secret realms existed only in higher academies, and he knew little about them. Sacred lands of the Human Realm were even further beyond reach.
“Method Ten: Vital Energy Liquid.”
“Vital Energy Liquid exists in two forms: naturally formed and artificially refined. In regions rich in vital energy, liquid condensations may naturally occur. These are exceedingly rare.”
“Artificial refinement requires a Sky-Soaring Realm expert to condense vital energy into liquid form.”
“Effect equivalent to cultivating in a vital-energy-rich region.”
“….”
Forget natural formation. Artificial refinement meant—Sky-Soaring Realm!
Ethan smiled bitterly again. What even was the Sky-Soaring Realm?
The Thousand-Pound and Myriad-Stone Realms were still purely physical enhancements. He didn’t know much about Sky-Soaring—only that it lay above Myriad-Stone, where humans could truly take to the skies.
It was a major transformation.
Did anyone in Nanyuan City reach Sky-Soaring? Possibly—the City Lord, maybe.
But was that a level Ethan Smith could ever reach?
At Nanyuan Secondary Academy, the strongest figure was the Academy Head, who had only recently stepped into the Myriad-Stone Realm.
If Myriad-Stone cultivators could condense Vital Energy Liquid, Ethan might have been able to beg for a drop or two. But the problem was—the Academy Head couldn’t.
“Not a single reliable option!”
Ethan muttered in frustration. No wonder these books had been abandoned in a corner.
For people like him, none of these methods were viable.
The simplest path was either cultivating in a vital-energy-rich region or obtaining Vital Energy Liquid. But even the weakest form of the liquid required a Sky-Soaring expert—still impossibly distant.
Eighteen years ago, his father had already reached Thousand-Pound Seventh Level. But due to Nanyuan’s poor vital energy and the loss of military resource support, Marcus Smith had only reached Ninth Level after all these years.
Even so, that was impressive in Nanyuan City. Marcus himself never thought so—before reenlisting, he had worked as a transport inspector, enjoying a quiet life.
If not for raising Ethan, Marcus Smith, at Ninth Level Thousand-Pound, could easily have secured a good position in the city.
“Nothing works.”
Ethan skimmed the books once more before returning them to their places.
After some thought, he walked over to Anna Miller, his expression apologetic.
“Anna Miller, may I ask you something?”
Anna put down her book and smiled gently. “Go ahead.”
“I haven’t paid much attention to cultivation resources over the years. Do you know about Vital Energy Liquid?”
“You want to buy Vital Energy Liquid?”
Anna immediately understood. She had pointed him to those books, after all.
“Vital Energy Liquid is a strategic resource. There’s no purchase channel for it in Nanyuan City.”
“But it is available in the Stone Dominion, with real-name registration.”
- Writer
