Chapter 58

Song Li immediately decided that if the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm had considerable power, he would use it as his initial combat skill for cultivation.

Fortunately, this booklet was written in both Angzang and Holy Lion scripts, which Song Li could read entirely. From the introduction on the first page, Song Li was pleasantly surprised to find that the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm was indeed no ordinary skill.

This combat technique was the exclusive secret art of the Miden Sect, the first sect of the Angzang Kingdom, and it was divided into eighteen forms. Surprisingly, the power of these eighteen forms varied greatly. The first six forms belonged to the intermediate level, the middle six forms to the advanced level, and the last six forms reached the super level. Moreover, the power increased with the cultivator's realm, meaning that cultivators of the same level practicing the first six forms of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm would have greater power the higher their realm. For example, a cultivator at the peak of the Body Tempering stage using the first six forms of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm could achieve the intermediate level of the Essence grade, while a cultivator at the Qi Induction stage could possibly reach the intermediate level of the Mystic grade or even the intermediate level of the Heaven grade. The power was naturally incomparable.

The Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm followed a path of fierce power. Even at the intermediate level of the Essence grade, one strike could split mountains and shatter rocks, possessing the strength of dragons and elephants. When facing cultivators of the same level, the mere momentum would already give an overwhelming advantage, which Song Li found very appealing. Sometimes, fighting was all about momentum; the brave would win in a narrow encounter. A combat skill as fierce and magnificent as the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm was undoubtedly a powerful weapon for intimidating and overwhelming opponents.

Since coming to this world, the most powerful combat skill Song Li had seen was Song Moran's "Furious Fist," which also followed a path of fierce power. However, compared to the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, it was far inferior.

The intelligence beforehand only mentioned that the tribute included a hundred-year-old Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem, without mentioning the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm. It seemed that the Cat Eye Agency was not all-powerful, and its ability to gather intelligence had some flaws. Another possibility was that the Angzang King secretly placed the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm among the tributes, and no one else knew about it. Perhaps he only wanted to secretly give this favor to the Loyal Prince, so the intelligence agents had no way of knowing. Song Li didn't care about the reason; all he knew was that such a good thing had fallen into his hands, and even the Heavenly King himself couldn't make him give it up.

Under his mother Yun Lin's meticulous guidance, Song Li's progress in alchemy was rapid, and his foundation was extremely solid. Currently, he could independently refine low-grade Earth-grade pills, and this ability was still growing. Perhaps in no time, he would be able to refine intermediate-grade Earth-grade pills. This would mean that he would officially step into the ranks of senior alchemists. A sixteen-year-old senior alchemist was a rare genius, even in the entire Nebula Continent. However, apart from Song Li's parents, the entire Holy Lion City did not yet know that the Ming王府 had produced an alchemist with astonishing fire control. Out of concern for her son's safety, Yun Lin had not registered him with the Alchemists' Guild. If this news leaked, it would cause a great shock.

The "Imperial Fire Seed" had been dormant for a long time. After devouring the primordial fire seed to strengthen itself, the purple flame had a much larger appetite. Low-grade Earth-grade pills could no longer activate the Imperial Fire Seed. For Song Li, the most urgent task was to quickly improve his alchemy skills until he could refine intermediate-grade Earth-grade pills, which would allow him to continue activating the Imperial Fire Seed and provide the energy needed for his cultivation. Otherwise, his cultivation realm would progress slowly after the Qi Induction stage, which did not align with Song Li's goal of quickly enhancing his strength.

With the rare medicinal herb Snow Mountain Black Mud Stem, Song Li planned to refine two types of pills: the "Foundation Establishment Pill" and the "Six Yang Snow Fusion Pill." His father, Song Xinghai, was already at the peak of the Qi Induction stage, and his cultivation had reached a bottleneck. The leap from the Qi Induction stage to the Foundation Establishment stage was a transition from the acquired to the innate. Breaking through this bottleneck would greatly increase a cultivator's lifespan and mark the first step towards immortality. The main purpose of Song Li refining the "Foundation Establishment Pill" was to help his father break through this bottleneck. However, he had not yet revealed this plan to his parents. It was best not to be too high-profile until the Foundation Establishment Pill was successfully refined. As for the "Six Yang Snow Fusion Pill," the formula was given to him by his mother. It was an intermediate-grade Earth-grade pill with a fire attribute and possessed pure yang energy. In a certain sense, the energy produced by its medicinal power was similar to fire. Song Li planned to refine this pill to provide fuel for the "Imperial Fire Seed."

However, due to his alchemy level, he currently could not refine the "Foundation Establishment Pill" or the "Six Yang Snow Fusion Pill," so he could only continue to diligently study alchemy. During this period, he planned to search for the other herbs needed for these two pills while practicing the newly acquired combat skill, the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm.

The cultivation room was mainly used for sitting meditation and refining qi, and it was not suitable for practicing combat skills that required movement and agility. Therefore, Song Li found a forest near the Imperial Capital, the Holy Lion Mountain, with a waterfall in front of it, forming a deep pool below.

The Holy Lion City was built by the mountain, so the place Song Li found was not too far from the Ming王府. It took him only half an hour to get there.

On this early morning, Song Li came to the forest alone and began practicing the first form of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, the Rock Shattering Palm. The first six forms were Rock Shattering Palm, Stele Splitting Hand, Eight Horses Fierce, Iron Mountain Lean, Whirlwind Dance, and Wind and Cloud Movement. The first form, Rock Shattering Palm, was the most basic palm technique with only two variations, extremely simple.

Combat skills varied in complexity. Some relied on intricate and varied techniques, while others were simple and relied on sheer power. The Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm undoubtedly belonged to the latter, not seeking many variations but focusing on converting internal true qi into power in the shortest time, concentrating it at one point, and delivering a strike that could split mountains and shatter rocks, leaving the opponent with no way to block or evade.

Following the method described in the manual, Song Li silently circulated his true qi, rapidly concentrating it in his arm along fixed meridians, and then swiftly struck the trunk of a dead tree. At first, he was unfamiliar with the method of circulating qi, and most of the energy was lost during the conversion of true qi into power, failing to achieve the "convergence of a hundred rivers in the palm, with power bursting out instantly" as described in the mnemonic. Therefore, the technique he used could not even "shatter rocks" and could not even shake a tree trunk as thick as a bowl.

However, Song Li had an extremely resilient personality. He knew that even with the "Imperial Fire Seed" in his body, if he did not put in any effort and only sought shortcuts, he would never become a supreme expert, let alone stand at the pinnacle of the continent.

Success was a combination of three parts talent and seven parts hard work, a principle Song Li had understood in his previous life.

He took off his robe, wearing only a wide-legged practice pants, bare-chested, and followed the mnemonic to circulate qi in his arm, exhaling and striking the tree trunk. This process was extremely tedious and boring, but Song Li did not feel the slightest bit of boredom. The rising sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting a halo of light around his sweat-drenched body, giving him a somewhat sacred appearance from a distance.

His thin lips were tightly pressed together, his eyes deep and determined, and he struck the tree trunk fiercely, as if the dead tree were his mortal enemy.

After an unknown amount of time, Song Li felt increasingly familiar with the route of qi circulation. The time it took to gather qi from the dantian to the palm became shorter, and the energy loss during the conversion of true qi into power decreased. Song Li calculated that he had struck the tree trunk 1,631 times in the morning, with sweat continuously sliding down his face, forming small streams on his skin, and his pants were completely soaked, with sweat dripping from the cuffs and forming two small puddles on the ground.

His palms were already red and swollen, but Song Li gritted his teeth and persisted. If he could not endure this much hardship, he could not even talk about becoming a supreme expert.

Practice makes perfect, and Song Li felt that this time the process of circulating qi was extremely smooth. He vaguely found the key described in the mnemonic, quickly gathering true qi in his palm and then bursting it out! This strike was incomparably powerful compared to all the previous ones. With a dull "thud," his palm struck the tree trunk, causing it to shake violently, and the dead leaves fell and danced in the air.

"Damn, so powerful!" In just a few hours of practice, he had achieved such great power, and Song Li felt as refreshed as drinking a bowl of cold water on a hot summer day, with every pore feeling comfortable.

This state of mind and body, where the palm followed the heart and the power burst out instantly, was incredibly mysterious and could only be understood through experience. Song Li had just touched the threshold and was thoroughly enjoying this subtle feeling, so he practiced even harder.

Under the shade of the trees, the diligent young man tirelessly struck the tree trunk, his shouts and the surrounding wind and bird sounds blending harmoniously and beautifully.

"Useless thing, waste, I'll chop you with one sword!" In the tent, Prince Jing, Song Xingguang, was furious, kicking Wu Tiecheng, who was kneeling in front of him, into a rolling ball. Wu Tiecheng rolled a few times and quickly got up, continuing to kneel on the ground. He lowered his head, lips tightly closed, and dared not utter any complaint.

It was too embarrassing and frustrating. The Iron Blood Camp had achieved great military feats, but this time they did not even see the enemy and had their important tribute stolen. Wu Tiecheng had no excuse, and even if Prince Jing were to execute him on the spot, he would have no complaint.

How many bandits were there? He didn't know. Did he see the bandits' faces? No. Were there any clues at the scene? No.

This was his answer to Prince Jing, and he didn't want to answer this way, but he had no better answer.

It was no wonder Prince Jing, Song Xingguang, was so angry. In his eyes, failure was not scary, but what was scary was not knowing how or to whom he had lost. If there were any clues, Prince Jing would have the confidence to find the audacious bandits, no matter how powerful they were. He would send his ten-thousand-strong army to their doorstep and flatten them instantly. He would see if they dared to hide the tribute.

But Wu Tiecheng had not even seen the bandits' shadows, and not just him, but all 360 members of the guard team, who were clueless. They had been outsmarted in a completely baffling way. Song Xingguang really wanted to behead all these useless people. But the Iron Blood Camp had achieved great military feats and was incredibly brave in battle. If they were beheaded because of this incident, he would be reluctant.

The sharp blade pressed against his neck, and Wu Tiecheng's hair stood on end. He closed his eyes, waiting for the impending doom.

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