"This..."
Hearing Ye Feng's words, Yuan Ling paused slightly and slowly said, "Ye Feng, do you know the three major qualitative changes in the path of an Arcanist's cultivation?"
"I don't know!~"
Ye Feng shook his head decisively.
"From an ordinary person to awakening Arcanist energy, that's the first qualitative change. From Silver to Gold is the second qualitative change, and from Gold to Diamond is the third qualitative change!"
"Among them, the second qualitative change, from Silver to Gold, is extremely dangerous, even almost certain death!"
Yuan Ling spoke as she walked.
"Almost certain death?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly, not quite understanding this.
"Ye Feng, you should know that Arcanists cultivate Arcanist energy. The circulation of primordial Arcanist energy within the body relies on the meridians and origin acupoints within the human body, right!"
Saying this, Yuan Ling paused, turned to face Ye Feng, and looked quite puzzled.
"Mmm... I suppose so..."
Ye Feng scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward.
Because he didn't have either of those things, and his Arcanist energy circulation didn't seem to rely on meridians and origin acupoints.
"This..."
Yuan Ling frowned and spoke again. "Meridians are the pathways for primordial Arcanist energy to circulate within the human body, and origin acupoints are the primary storage locations for primordial Arcanist energy within the body."
"Although meridians can also store primordial Arcanist energy, they are far inferior to origin acupoints..."
"Meridians and origin acupoints are different from blood vessels; they cannot be directly observed with the naked eye or with a microscope. They can only be perceived through Arcanist energy."
"Once an Arcanist awakens primordial Arcanist energy, they can sense them..."
At this point, Yuan Ling stopped and turned to face Ye Feng again. "And to advance from a Silver-level Arcanist to a Gold-level Arcanist, one must destroy the meridians and origin acupoints, which are extremely important to Arcanists!"
"Wh... what?"
"Destroy... destroy the meridians and origin acupoints?"
Ye Feng was momentarily stunned by Yuan Ling's words.
"Mmm!"
Yuan Ling let out a soft breath and nodded. "To be precise, it involves ingesting a massive amount of Arcanist energy into the body in a short period, so much that the body cannot bear it, causing the meridians and origin acupoints to burst..."
"However, this statement isn't entirely accurate. The meridians and origin acupoints don't simply explode and disappear... It's more like they exist in another form, spread throughout the entire body... This is also the biggest difference between Gold-level Arcanists and those below Gold!"
"Because this method of advancement, if even slightly careless, can at best cripple the meridians and origin acupoints, leaving one weak and feeble, worse than an ordinary person, and at worst, can lead to immediate death. It is exceedingly dangerous."
"Therefore, the vast majority of Arcanists dare not attempt it lightly, including many who have remained at the peak of Silver for over a decade or two..."
"This is also why Gold-level Arcanists are extremely rare!"
Yuan Ling's speaking speed was not fast, seemingly to allow Ye Feng to absorb the massive amount of information.
"I see..."
Ye Feng began to understand.
"Of course, when Arcanists become Gold-level, they focus more on precise control of Arcanist energy. Unless absolutely necessary, they rarely use wide-area attack techniques, as it's a waste..."
At this moment, Alak joined the conversation.
"Um... how do Arcanists without meridians and origin acupoints advance to Gold?"
Ye Feng thought for a moment and asked a crucial question.
"Wh... what?"
As soon as Ye Feng uttered these words, Yuan Ling, Xiao Lu, Alak, and He Shang all looked at Ye Feng with peculiar expressions.
"Ye Feng, you're not going to tell me you're one of those people without meridians and origin acupoints, are you?"
After a long pause, Alak finally spoke.
"Mmm!"
Ye Feng nodded somewhat helplessly.
"Then how did you cultivate? And how do you manipulate Arcanist energy?"
Xiao Lu's extremely curious question followed closely.
"Uh... as for cultivation, I absorb the Arcanist energy from Arcanist Stones into my body..."
"Manipulation... I can manipulate it whenever I want..."
Ye Feng scratched his head and explained.
"This..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lu, Alak, and He Shang all wore expressions of disbelief.
"Ye Feng's cultivation method must be very special, and his Arcanist energy is also very special!"
Yuan Ling's words were pointed, but she didn't elaborate further, and the other three didn't press the matter.
"Speaking of which, that place full of gargoyles we encountered yesterday was rather strange!"
At this moment, Alak spoke up. "I observed it yesterday. Those gargoyles were trapped in that area by the water beneath and around the rocks. That water wasn't natural mountain spring water; it bore clear signs of artificial intervention. Yet, yesterday, we only saw a single earth-attribute Goblin Shaman!"
"Yes, I found it strange too. I specifically searched the vicinity yesterday, and I didn't find any water-attribute shamans or anything similar!"
Xiao Lu chimed in agreement.
He Shang, however, quickly ran into a bush and grabbed a large grey rabbit. "Meat for lunch!"
"Careful ahead!"
At this moment, Yuan Ling's voice rang out.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!~"
Almost simultaneously, dense, semi-transparent water arrows shot towards Ye Feng and his companions from in front of them.
"Danger! Get out of the way quickly!"
As Xiao Xiao's voice fell, she lunged forward, clapping her hands, instantly forming a large wall of fire in front of Ye Feng and his group, blocking the incoming water arrows.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!~"
A large amount of steam was instantly generated on the fire wall.
"Xiao Xiao, you..."
Ye Feng was about to ask what was going on when He Shang let out a strange cry, "Everyone be careful, don't touch those water arrows!"
Saying this, He Shang threw out the large grey rabbit he had just caught.
The large grey rabbit had now become dry and shriveled, like a mummified specimen drained of its moisture. A semi-transparent, tentacled insect was wriggling on its body.
"It's a Desert Water Bug!"
"Everyone be careful, these things are usually smaller than a grain of rice. Once they attach to a person, they'll suck out every drop of moisture from the body!"
He Shang's urgent voice rang out.
"Croak, croak!~"
Just as He Shang finished speaking, a Goblin's strange cry came from the direction where the water arrows were shot. It was a Goblin Shaman holding a skeletal staff.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!~"
"Splash! Splash, splash!~"
The Goblin Shaman waved its skeletal staff, and countless water arrows immediately shot towards Ye Feng and his companions.
At the same time, a torrential downpour suddenly descended from the sky above Ye Feng and the others.
"Hoo~!"
Ye Feng's eyes narrowed, and his figure instantly vanished from his original position. In a blink of an eye, he was in front of the water-attribute Goblin Shaman.
The Tang Dao flashed, and the water-attribute Goblin Shaman that had ambushed them was instantly cut in half, utterly dead.
Meanwhile, with Xiao Xiao and the others, Yuan Ling clenched the stick in her hand, and with a flash of fiery red light, she swung upwards.
"Boom!~"
A massive ball of flame shot into the sky, forcefully parting the rainwater and turning it all into steam.
"Hoo, hoo~!"
At this moment, Xiao Lu also formed a seal with his hands, and a strong gust of wind rapidly blew away all the surrounding steam.
"Croak!~"
At this moment, another Goblin's strange cry was heard.
"Crack, crack, crack~"
Before the Goblin's cry had even finished, the ground where Ye Feng and the others were standing trembled and then cracked open.
...