Pandora Unchained - B1C47: The Threshold

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https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/78050/pandora-unchained-a-cultivation-progression-fantasy

"Isn't manabane poison lethal to cultivators?" Gareth interjected. "I mean, you are the team's physician, but…"

"You're right," Sorin admitted. "Manabane poison is definitely lethal to cultivators in high doses. Even lower doses will cripple a cultivator."

"Then why are you going to try something so suicidal as using it to cultivate?" asked Stephan. "I don't mean to pry, but given the situation, it's not unusual for people to want to take extreme risks."

"It's something I calculated long ago," said Sorin. "In theory, with my tolerance to poison, I should be fine as long as I take it slow. Moreover, I'm different from you all. I don't have a mana sea as a result of being crippled by this poison in the past."

"Hm…" Stephan shook his head. "I don't like it."

"You don't like it, but do we have any better options?" asked Sorin. "With manabane poison, I might be able to neutralize some of its ridiculous defenses."

Stephan looked at his exhausted teammates and threw up his hands. "Fine. Whatever suicidal cultivation you want to do, do it now. We'll cover you."

Sorin proceeded to take out four boxes. Each one contained an intact manabane chrysanthemum. The mana in their surroundings rippled and began to slowly drain away when he opened a box. He hastily cut off the flower and crushed the root where most of the manabane poison was located.

"Get out here, you lazy rat," said Sorin. Lorimer crawled out of his pocket and obediently began heating up Sorin's cracked mortar and pestle. The vapors alone forced the entire team to relocate 50 meters away.

It was impossible to properly refine poisons in the Labyrinth. Fortunately, Sorin discovered that he had one more tool to draw on: the coiling serpent ring he'd pilfered from the minotaur's collection. The ring was apparently made to manipulate poisons, and this included both raw poisons and poisonous mana.

Soon, Sorin was done refining all four chrysanthemums with earth flames. He stored their concentrated black tarry juices in four vials. As for the dregs, he had no way to store the dangerous stuff, so he had Lorimer directly immolate it.

Manabane Poison spreads as a vapor, but it will only cripple you when applied as a liquid, thought Sorin, looking through the Ten Thousand Poison Canon. The lethal human dose is ten drops. Three is enough to rupture a mana sea. I'll take it one drop at a time and see what happens.

Sorin used a crystal needle to retrieve a drop from a flask and dripped it on his skin, where it wormed its way into his body like a parasite. His poisonous blood and mana instinctually attacked the poison and attempted to consume it. When the drop was almost completely exhausted, he repeated the process, thereby gradually increasing the concentration of poison in his body.

Drop after he imbibed until finally, the mana stored in his blood started burning away. The manabane poison was now strong enough to overwhelm his seven-poison body. It was a tense balance, however, as it needed to consume its own essence to attack him. It wasn't long before both components were critically depleted.

The situation became dangerous for Sorin. As a cultivator, his internal organs and internal processes were all dependent on mana. His complexion turned blue as his lung function slowed to a crawl. His blood stopped taking in enough oxygen to support the rest of his body, thereby starting a chain reaction that would lead to his death if he didn't resist.

"Sorin, are you alright?" called out Gareth from a distance.

"I'm… fine…" croaked Sorin. He sucked in a tiny bit of mana potion to restore the balance but didn't dare imbibe too much.

Like this, a full day passed. Sorin's body entered a state of partial hibernation, reducing the amount of mana it required to operate. First, it was his lungs that slowed, but this was quickly followed by his kidney, his liver, and his large intestine until all ten of his yin and yang organs had slowed down to a crawl.

Sorin felt an ache where his mana sea had once been. It was where all the mana in a cultivator's body was typically stored, instead of the flesh and blood mana storage method Sorin used. Manabane poison began to accumulate in the same space the phantom viper residing in his body.

The poison continued to build up until suddenly, the viper's eyes opened. The poison, horrified by this development, attempted to flee.

But the viper was too quick. It snapped its mouth and took a bite of the manabane poison. An eighth color was added to the phantom's seven colors. The streak of color then began to grow larger as Sorin's personal poisons gained the upper hand in their conflict and consumed the poison to replenish itself.

Finally, Sorin's entire body shook. The poisons completed their fusion, and Sorin's blood broke through to the eighth level of blood thickening. His mana grew thicker alongside his blood, and both began nourishing his internal organs, his muscles, and his tendons.

Sorin rested for several hours after completing his breakthrough before moving on to the next step. A single grade and mana break properties aren't enough, he thought, taking out needles and using them to alter the flow of mana in his body. He mobilized it to attack key points in his meridian system, points that had always been sealed and could theoretically only be unsealed using the method inscribed on his bones.

A full quarter of the ingredients for the tincture are extinct. Still, most of them operate on principles of dissolution, thought Sorin. The critical ingredient is manabane poison, which I have. It should be theoretically possible to unlock additional meridians.

Having made his decision, he continued impacting the meridian openings corresponding to the Thrust Vessel. The membrane from the Belt Vessel and Thrust Vessel were around the same thickness. Still, compared to the balance attribute the Belt Vessel provided, Sorin valued the additional power the Thrust Vessel would provide more highly.

The eight fused poisons wormed into the barrier like a drill, first creating a tiny hole and prying it open little by little. It took a full hour before the hole was finally big enough to accommodate a small stream of mana, after which natural erosion gradually expanded the new meridian pathway until it was fully opened.

Sorin's mana did not thicken, but it grew exceptionally lively with the opening of the Thrust Vessel. The extra circulation pathway was like an extra stretch of road for his mana to accelerate, thereby increasing its lethality and the explosiveness of his body. He had not gained any physical strength but had instead gained the ability to better use the power in his body.

Thanks to the increased thickness of his mana from breaking through to the 8th level of Blood Thickening, Sorin's awareness of his own body increased by leaps and bounds. His entire mana circulation system could now be mapped out in his mind, and he could feel the slightest changes in flow and even alter it as he wished.

Most importantly, unlocking the fifth extraordinary meridian illuminated the last three extraordinary meridians. The sixth meridian, the Belt Vessel, was still protected by a thick membrane. Still, because of the Thrust Vessel's opening, Sorin no longer had the available mana capacity to open it.

But it wasn't this meridian Sorin concerned himself with. Instead, he paid close attention to the Conception Vessel and the Governing Vessel, also known as the God Vessel. Each had their own acupoints – they just happened to be inactive in most humans.

Strangest to Sorin was the appearance of both meridians. Both appeared to be standard meridians, but the Conception Vessel's acupoints were covered in a silver sheen. In contrast, the Governing Vessel's acupoints were covered in a gold sheen. Theoretically, the Conception Vessel's acupoints could be unlocked with the right tincture, but unclogging the Governing Vessel's acupoints was impossible.

Having made contact with this Governing Vessel, he could now sense the reason why it was forbidden. The golden sheen covering its acupoints gave off frightening divine fluctuations not unlike those he'd sensed at the entrance of the ruin.

Is this what Sirius Abberjay Kepler meant by divine locks? thought Sorin. Theoretically, the Governing Meridian is a part of the human body and should have a use. Still, it's clear that research into this meridian wasn't just forbidden – it was clearly sealed off by the gods! It was no wonder that Sirius could only abandon researching the topic.

Sorin had no idea why the gods would do this, especially considering their eventual fate. Wouldn't it have made sense to remove this seal and obtain better help from humankind during the Cataclysmic Emergence?

As a formality, Sorin tried attacking all three meridians with his mana. Unsurprisingly, these blocks were impossible to undo with his current strength. This was especially so for the 7th and 8th extraordinary meridians. This was a pity because, according to his knowledge, the main ingredient in the tincture that could unlock this 7th extraordinary meridian, Seven Star Underworld Flower, had gone extinct. There was no record of this flower in the alchemist guild.

Having determined that further advancement was impossible, Sorin opened his eyes and stood up. He stretched out his limbs and shadowboxed. His movements were at least 50% quicker and much more powerful.

"Congratulations!" said Lawrence, clapping from a distance. "Is it safe to come over now?"

"Give me a second," said Sorin, sweeping up the remaining two vials of unused Manabreak poison and drawing in the poisonous spores in the air into his body. "Yes, it's safe now."

"Excellent," said Stephan. "Exactly a day has passed, so we should get going."

"Get going?" asked Sorin. "But I still wanted to experiment with something. Can I borrow Lawrence for a minute?"

"What do you want to borrow Lawrence for?" asked Stephan. "Actually, you know what? Do whatever you want to him. He's been getting on my nerves." He decisively picked up the rogue by the collar and tossed him over.

Sorin stepped up to Lawrence faster than he could react and pinned him to the ground. "Mercy! Mercy, Sorin! You're a physician, remember?"

"Hold still," said Sorin, tapping on a few of his acupoints. A mental map of Lawrence's mana circulation system lit up in Sorin's mind. "Eight naturally unblocked meridians. Not bad, but not terrible. Two of them are actually extraordinary meridians. Let me see if I can take care of that."

Sorin pressed a finger to Lawrence's leg and carefully injected a stream of manabane poison. It wormed its way into the acupoint and, at Sorin's direction, cleared out all debris in the area.

He repeated the processes for several dozen more acupoints before Lawrence suddenly shivered. "Do you want me to continue?" he asked the wide-eyed Lawrence.

"Continue! Continue!" shouted Lawrence.

Having obtained his permission, Sorin continued to clear Lawrence's meridians. He started with his primary meridians since unblocking extraordinary meridians would only be possible after the whole set was unblocked.

The process became increasingly difficult as he proceeded, as Lawrence's mana flow began to fight against him. An hour stretched until three, and only after an intense struggle was Sorin able to unblock Lawrence's 12th primary meridian, granting him a total of 14 unblocked meridians.

"I feel… I feel amazing!" said Lawrence as his body crackled. Unblocking the 12 primary meridians was akin to completing the human body's mana circulation system. It not only improved one's control but also significantly increased one's mana density. It further refined the body and thickened the blood by a whole stage, independent of one's cultivation.

Lawrence was still a cultivator at the 8th level of Blood Thickening. But having unlocked 6 additional primary meridians, it was like he was reborn. His physical strength and the thickness of his mana saw an especially stark improvement.

"It seems unblocking your primary meridians is the limit of my abilities," said Sorin. "Perhaps I can unblock extraordinary meridians with my mana, but I lack the technique to fully pierce the blockages between your existing meridian pathways. But we can continue exploring this option if that's what you wish."

He then looked to his remaining party members. "Who else would like to have their primary meridians unblocked?"

"Me! Try me next!" shouted Daphne.

"I wouldn't say no to going next," said Gareth.

"It might be best to alternate meridians," said Sorin. "Why don't I gradually unlock both of yours so we can save time?"

Both Gareth and Daphne sat down and prepared themselves to accept treatment, and Sorin analyzed both their conditions. Gareth was exceptionally talented and had 8 naturally unblocked meridians, including the Yang Link Vessel. Daphne, on the other hand, was as talented as Lawrence. She had 6 naturally opened primary meridians and 2 naturally opened extraordinary meridians. Except instead of Yin Heel and Yang Heel Vessels like Lawrence, she had been born with an unlocked Belt Vessel and Thrust Vessel. But her mana density was, therefore, disproportionately high, as was the intensity of her mana expulsion.

It took Sorin the better part of 4 hours to carefully unblock their primary meridians. Their bodies shook as the last ones were cleared, and their body's mana circulation patterns became complete. Gareth's mana density increased the most of the two, while Daphne's mana capacity received the most significant benefit.

"What about you, Stephan?" asked Sorin. "Do you mind if I conduct an examination?"

"If you insist," said Stephan, allowing Sorin to place his hand on his back.

But Sorin almost immediately pulled his hand back. "Are you serious? Fully unblocked primary meridian? And five unblocked extraordinary meridians?"

Stephan grinned. "In my York Clan has its own way to unblock meridians. Apologies for being unable to share it. It's difficult to get as far as I have without enough naturally unblocked meridians, but here I am."

"Do you mind if I take a second look," asked Sorin.

"Go ahead," said Stephan. He placed his hand on the large man's back once again, taking note of the high strength and defensive characteristics his body and mana possessed.

Sorin ignored the single blocked Yin Heel Vessel and instead focused on the silver and gold-covered meridians. Interesting, thought Sorin as he inspected his Conception Vessel. He only had 6 blocked acupoints instead of the full 24. Eighteen of them had somehow been unblocked.

"I don't suppose you can share your method for unblocking your Conception Vessel?" asked Sorin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Stephan with a grin. "But feel free to give me a checkup on a regular basis. Adventurers need to maintain a healthy body."

There was no additional information to be gained, so Sorin sat down and recovered his mana. It wasn't long before Lawrence, Daphne, and Gareth finished adapting to their newly opened meridians.

"This is unreal," said Lawrence, hopping in and out of his companions' shadows. His speed had increased by 30% following Sorin's treatment. "I've always been taught that everyone has a different level of talent, that you couldn't just drink a miracle potion to change it. But here we are."

"Cultivation talent and natural endowments are two separate things," warned Sorin. "Your abilities will also be influenced by your cultivation method. By opening your primary meridians, some of your flaws will have been eliminated. Still, you'll definitely see the greatest improvements where you are most powerful."

"I think this should be obvious to everyone, but no one here can speak of this," Stephan added. "If anyone asks, consecutive life and death battles, along with some strange things you ate in the Labyrinth, unearthed some of your hidden potential. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear!" said Lawrence, practically hopping with joy. Sorin was moved by Stephan's caution and agreed that keeping things quiet about what he'd done would be for the best.

"Excellent," said Stephan. "Now, all we need is a few fights for you all to get used to your new mana flow. You'll find that your techniques will be much stronger and operate on different principles. That's especially the case for you, Daphne. You're probably going to revise all your spell models."

"I'm looking forward to it!" said Daphne with a grin.

"In that case, let's set out right away," said Stephan. "Lawrence, scout ahead. Gareth, call the shots. I'll play keeper for the time being. You guys have fun while you still can."