Yo guys, quick announcement. I won't be able to provide chapters as quickly until summer, got the last schoolwork to do. I don't know if there will be more this week. I am very sorry, but will try to make it up to you in the summer.

As andariel entered his dan tian with his consciousness, he discovered that the temperature inside had risen several degrees. It was now like summer in here, differing greatly from the earlier colder climate. Obviously, the reason for the change was due to his mantra, [fire furnace sutra].

Trying to control the red, hot winds, Andariel willed them to move. And to his surprise, he could easily bend them accordingly. He sat down on the ground that was still barren, and tried to sense his meridians. After a while, an image of his whole body showed up in his mind. It was like a picture. Through his whole body, lines and dots were connected to a bigger circle in the middle. The lines were obviously meridians, the dots were pores, while the bigger circle was his dan tian.

Andariel thought back to the book given to him by old man Meng, [How to build a good foundation by Chen Ming], and tried to remember what was written in the section about breaking through from the first to the second stage.

According to the book, most practitioners of cultivation started by breaking through the meridians leading out to the limbs, as this would ensure their martial prowess. But Chen Ming stated more than several times that doing this was the same thing as dooming one’s future. It is not the correct road to walk.

The true path is to first pave path for the five vital organs; Heart, Kidney, Spleen, Liver and Lung. All of these organs corresponds to one element. Heart to Fire, Kidney to Water, Spleen to Earth, Liver to Wood, and Lung to Metal.

The first one should do is to open the meridian that corresponds to the element which one desires to practice. In Andariel’s case that’d be the heart, and therefore his choice was obvious.

There were seventy two doors in his dan tian, each of them was the path to a meridian. In the middle of his dan tian, there was a red, burning door. This was the meridian to his heart. To open it, he would have to bombard it with the energy he had gathered. In this case, the winds that swirled around in the barren lands.

Taking a deep breath, then exhaling, his eyes were surging with determination as he ordered the winds to move toward the door.

“sha sha sha sha”

As the winds hit the door, sounds akin to punches hitting air resounded in his dan tian. But slowly and surely, the door began to make way. It started to open bit by bit. Feeling that it would soon open, Andariel used all of his force of mind to cause the winds hitting with more force.

“Gong!”

The sound of a gong echoed in the barren lands, and the door slammed open with a, “boom!” Andariel smiled triumphantly, he had now succeeded in opening one of the seventy two meridians. And not only that, this was the meridian to his heart, the most important one.

The body is like a country. Heart is king, and lung, liver, spleen and kidney is the king’s advisors, while the energy is the citizens. When opening these five meridians, it improves the effect they cause to the country, and the heart is no exception.

If the king does not abuse its superior position, if it remains centered and focused on the essential matters, the energy will flourish and the mind will be steady. If it remains true to its beliefs, the seven harmful emotions that resides within the king; Joy, Anger, Anxiety, Pensiveness, Grief, Fear, and Fright will always be fought off, the dan tian will be full with treasures, and every part of the body will be light and at peace.

(A/N: Joy refers to overexcitement or a state of agitation. "When one is excessively joyful, the spirit scatters and can no longer be stored," states the Lingshu (The Vital Axis). As such, the seven harmful emotions aren’t bad in itself, it just that too much just becomes too much, and therefore providing negative effects. It all has to go in a balance.

Opening the meridian that leads to the heart gives an overall boost for the cultivator. From gathering energy to strengthening the body, or even having a normal conversation with friends – The stronger heart, the better body and mind. The better king, the better he can rule his country and how it affects other countries, meaning other men and women.

This is the major reason for old man Meng giving Andariel the [fire furnace sutra]. Not only is it better for refining the body, but it also makes it easier for one to open the meridian leading to one’s heart. Fight fire with fire, only then shall one prevail.

Having finished clearing his first meridian, Andariel set sight for the other four meridians that lead to one’s four vital organs.

After evaluating his choices, two meridians stood out – The lung, or the liver.

The lung improves one’s ability to inhale, purify and store energy. It regulates one’s breath. The better lung, the longer breath. Breath is vitality. And therefore, having a better lung increases one’s lifespan. But for one’s lung to show splendor, one has to keep the seven harmful emotions at bay, otherwise the energy flow in the meridians will worsen, backlashes may occur, and lifespan will decrease.

A good liver is a sign for good communication between body and energy. One could say it’s the minister of laws. As long as the energy, the country’s citizens, adheres to these laws, a good communication between body and energy will arise, and the energy will continue to forever flow freely. By opening this meridian, he would get more out of each drop of energy, his body would use less for each action, and the quality would change for the better. A bad liver will result in a bad comunication, and that in turn give less for each drop of energy, and the quality will worsen.

He decided to go for the liver first. It would increase his chances of breaking through to the other seventy meridians, since if the quality of his energy was better, it would allow him to spend less of it for each opening of meridian. Therefore, this was the best choice for him at the moment.

Locating the liver, he could see a brown door made of wood. This was the organ connected to the element of wood. Since wood was countered by fire, it shouldn't be too hard for him to open it. Maybe just a bit harder than the first one.

“Sha sha sha sha”

After willing them forward, the red, hot winds hit the door, and very soon crackling sounds were heard through the atmosphere. Minutes later, the flames were setting the brown door ablaze, and would most likely burn it to smithereens!

Andariel retracted the winds, letting the flames do the work.

“Gong!”

Even though the flames turned the door to dust, the whole process was more jarring for Andariel than the first door, as the amount of energy spent was even more. However, Andariel soon felt that the hot, red winds that he could control became hotter and more powerful. The quality of his energy had increased!