Chapter 28

Over the next period of time, Ding Qi went up the mountain to pick phoenix-tail grass and quickly gathered a hundred plants, which he then submitted to the government office.

After that, Ding Qi did not rush to the waterfall to practice, but instead focused on going up the mountain to pick phoenix-tail grass.

He was well aware that this "water and fire" method of practice, although it could increase the speed of cultivation, would not significantly improve his efficiency in searching for phoenix-tail grass in a short time.

It was already close to the season when the phoenix-tail grass would wither and disappear. Rushing to practice using the "water and fire" method in a short time would be meaningless. Instead, it would be better to take advantage of the time before the phoenix-tail grass disappeared from the mountains, to gather as much as possible and submit it to the government office, reducing the pressure of gathering phoenix-tail grass next year.

Days passed as Ding Qi went up the mountain every day to pick phoenix-tail grass. One day, he realized that he had not picked a single plant for several consecutive days. He could only accept the fact that the season for the phoenix-tail grass to wither had arrived, and all the plants had disappeared from the forest.

At this point, Ding Qi finally began to prepare for the "water and fire" method of practice.

The waterfall that Ding Qi had discovered was located deep in the forest.

The Qixia Mountain range stretched for hundreds of miles, with many unnamed peaks. The waterfall flowed down from one of these peaks.

Ding Qi stood not far from the waterfall, surveying the place where he would practice in the future.

The waterfall was not particularly high, only about ten zhang, and there were several large stones at the bottom where one could stand. The torrential water cascaded down from above, splashing white foam on the stones below, creating a rather impressive sight.

Originally, there were no large stones at the bottom of the waterfall, only a pool of water. Ding Qi had spent a lot of effort moving these large stones from elsewhere to the bottom of the waterfall, specifically for his upcoming practice.

"This waterfall is in a special location, which will save me a lot of trouble," Ding Qi thought to himself, satisfied, as he shifted his gaze from the waterfall to the surroundings.

The waterfall was located in a small valley. Ding Qi had been somewhat worried that wild animals might appear and affect his practice. However, after inspecting the entire valley, he found no traces of wild animals. He estimated that this was due to the special terrain of the area.

To be on the safe side, he had gone to Liangcheng earlier to buy animal repellent and brought it here, sprinkling it around the valley.

Only then did he feel truly at ease and begin to prepare for his practice.

Ding Qi walked to the bottom of the waterfall. The torrential water hit his body, causing him considerable pain. Although the waterfall was not particularly high, the force of the water was already quite strong.

"The force of the water is really hard to bear!" Standing on the green stone, Ding Qi thought to himself, somewhat distressed.

As he was thinking and trying to steady himself, he was suddenly knocked off the stone by the continuous torrent of water.

The pool of water at the bottom of the waterfall was not very deep. Ding Qi got up from the water, looked up at the waterfall, frowned, and walked back to the green stone at the bottom.

When he stood on the green stone again and tried to steady himself, he was once again knocked off by the force of the waterfall.

"Adapting to the force of the waterfall is even more difficult than I expected!" Ding Qi got up from the water again, wiped his face, and thought to himself.

He had known that adapting to the force of the waterfall would not be easy. It required repeated attempts to get used to the impact and pressure of the water, so as not to be knocked off.

Despite being knocked off the stone twice, Ding Qi did not lose heart. He knew that as long as he kept trying, he would eventually adapt to the force of the waterfall. Summarizing the experience of being knocked off twice, he stood under the waterfall again.

...

As evening approached, Ding Qi came down from Qixia Mountain. His forehead was covered with red marks, and he had a large bump on his head.

These marks were caused by being knocked off the stone by the force of the water. Fortunately, the stone was relatively smooth and had no sharp edges; otherwise, it would not have been just a bump, but a bloody head.

After a day of attempts, he still had not managed to stand steadily under the torrent of water. However, the bumps on his head were not without gain. Through repeated attempts, he gradually got used to the force of the waterfall. Ding Qi estimated that with a bit more time the next day, he would be able to fully adapt to the force of the waterfall and begin the "water and fire" method of practice.

The next day, Ding Qi indeed adapted to the force of the waterfall and could stand steadily on the green stone at the bottom.

Now, standing on the green stone, he let the torrent of water continuously hit his body without any sign of wavering. Recalling the posture described on the silk, he began to prepare for the formal practice.

The posture described on the silk was somewhat different from the "water and fire" method of practice that Ding Qi knew from the martial arts world.

The common method in the martial arts world involved standing in a horse stance under the waterfall while practicing the technique. However, the posture described on the silk was not a horse stance but more like standing straight.

Slightly different from ordinary standing, during practice, Ding Qi's arms needed to be in a peculiar position, and his fingers had to be formed into a strange shape.

For some reason, this reminded Ding Qi of the mud sculptures of deities he had seen in temples, with their fingers forming specific gestures.

This posture, which resembled the gestures of deities, seemed quite strange to Ding Qi.

Although he found it extremely strange and even somewhat ridiculous, the silk did indeed describe it this way, so he had no choice but to follow it.

"I wonder how long I can endure this method of external stimulation."

Standing under the waterfall, feeling the pain caused by the impact of the water, Ding Qi thought to himself.

Using the force of the waterfall to stimulate the body for practice could quickly increase one's power. However, this method could not be sustained for long. It required intermittent practice, with breaks in between to allow the body to recover.

This was because, using this method, the body would continuously be subjected to the impact of the waterfall. If it continued for too long, the body would not be able to handle it, leading to a breakdown of bodily functions. Similarly, the "fire" method, like the "water" method, had similar issues, and in some ways, it was even more severe.

From the information he had gathered, Ding Qi knew that the effective practice time for the "water and fire" method for most martial artists was about one and a half hours, and at most, two hours. This was because the practitioners needed to rest for about an hour after every half-hour of practice to relieve the fatigue caused by the impact.

A few practitioners with stronger constitutions could increase the duration of each practice session or shorten the rest time.

Ding Qi did not know how long he could endure with his constitution.

"I have already memorized the criteria for determining when my body reaches its limit. When that time comes, I just need to stop practicing," Ding Qi thought to himself, no longer dwelling on it.

Subsequently, he assumed the posture described on the silk, began to circulate his innate technique, and started his practice.