Chapter 26

At first, he only intended to absorb the essence of the *Manual of the Sunflower*, but he never expected that its essence lay in cultivating qi. Unless he practiced this method of cultivating qi, the *Manual of the Sunflower* would offer little help to Dongfang Bubai.

However, if he could successfully cultivate the *Manual of the Sunflower*, his strength would increase by more than double, and breaking through to a higher level would be much easier.

Dongfang Bubai sat in the training room, thinking all night, but still had no clue.

Now, three major problems faced him: first, the yang energy in his internal strength could not be expelled, and he would never castrate himself.

Second, he did not want to expel the yang energy from his body; this was not his path.

Third, he was definitely unwilling to let go of fame, power, and authority and live a simple life.

He had also thought about modifying the *Manual of the Sunflower* to suit himself, retaining its power while removing its flaws. However, a heaven-level cultivation technique was not easy to modify. For martial arts techniques, it might be easier, but any modification to internal cultivation methods would either lead to a mental breakdown or a significant reduction in power.

Even if Dharma or Zhang Sanfeng were to do it, it would be the same, as their paths were different. Moreover, only by practicing in this way would the *Manual of the Sunflower* remain the *Manual of the Sunflower*. Therefore, Dongfang Bubai could not modify it.

As he pondered, the night passed.

Now, a new day had begun. After a night of intense thinking, Dongfang Bubai felt a bit tired. He walked out of the training room, where seven imposing men stood guard cautiously.

Seeing Dongfang Bubai come out, they immediately bowed silently.

These seven men were from the Shadow Guard, one of whom was their leader, two were at the late innate stage, and four were at the middle innate stage. Ten more middle innate stage guards were secretly on duty.

The rest of the guards were either practicing or resting, taking turns to protect him.

Dongfang Bubai waved his hand and walked directly to the study. The seven men hurriedly followed. Although it had only been five days, he was already very familiar with the areas reserved for the leader.

Upon entering the study, Xue Qianxin was already busy. After establishing the Intelligence Hall, Xue Qianxin had handed over the intelligence organization she managed to the Intelligence Hall, which was now led by Jia Bu.

Xue Qianxin had become Dongfang Bubai's secretary, helping him manage various sect affairs. She clearly preferred this job, which allowed her to be with Dongfang Bubai all the time.

Seeing Dongfang Bubai come in, Xue Qianxin bowed slightly and then gestured with her jade-like hand. Several maids brought in washing utensils to serve Dongfang Bubai.

Although Dongfang Bubai's body would not get dirty for days, as someone with a bit of a cleanliness obsession, he still habitually washed up.

After everything was done, Xue Qianxin had already organized the matters that needed Dongfang Bubai's review, inspection, and decision. The morning passed in handling these affairs.

Lunch was made with high-quality medicinal herbs. In the entire sect, only Zhou Tianli, who was already retired, could compare with Dongfang Bubai in terms of the quality of his meals. After lunch, he did not need to handle any more sect affairs in the afternoon.

At the back of the Blackwood Cliff, where the leader's residence was located, Dongfang Bubai came here to practice various martial arts techniques.

He performed a series of palm techniques and body techniques that had reached the perfect realm, followed by the Great Nine Heavens Hand and the Shadow Step, a lightness technique he had obtained by chance.

A majestic aura spread across the platform on the cliff, and indistinct shadows filled the surrounding space.

An hour later, Dongfang Bubai's figure finally stopped.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, Dongfang Bubai's aura surged, and his right hand firmly gripped the hilt of the White Peak Sword.

"Clang!"

A low, clear sword cry echoed, and a beam of sword light shot straight into the sky, splitting a low cloud into two halves.

"Clang!"

The White Peak Sword was already back in its sheath. The entire process could only be seen as a white light, indistinguishable from the sword itself.

Dongfang Bubai stood still, silent and deep in thought, carefully savoring the feeling of the previous sword strike.

At this point, his sword-drawing technique no longer required daily practice, having reached a certain realm. Dongfang Bubai could not describe this realm, but he knew that as he grew stronger, his sword-drawing technique would naturally become stronger. This enhancement was not just in internal strength but also in combat power.

For example, after practicing the Great Nine Heavens Hand, his strength increased significantly, and so did his sword-drawing technique.

Although they seemed unrelated, they were actually closely connected. It was as if the sword-drawing technique had become inseparable from Dongfang Bubai himself. The stronger he became, the stronger his sword-drawing technique would be. However, the sword-drawing technique was still far from truly reaching its peak.

"Having practiced the sword-drawing technique to this level, it can be said to have initially reached the realm of cutting through anything. However, there are two types of things: physical and intangible.

Physical things are all tangible objects, while intangible things are ethereal and elusive, yet these elusive things are often more powerful.

Even internal strength is an intangible but real substance. Now, the sword-drawing technique can purely cut through internal strength, reaching the peak of cutting through the tangible and entering the realm of cutting through the intangible.

When the technique of cutting through the intangible reaches its peak, the sword-drawing technique will truly be complete, and then it will truly be able to cut through anything." Dongfang Bubai's right hand still firmly gripped the hilt of the White Peak Sword, thinking to himself.

Suddenly, Dongfang Bubai realized what his path was. What he had always pursued was simple: power, the power to dominate the world and cut through anything.

Therefore, he did not like sword techniques with too many moves; he only practiced the sword-drawing technique because it gave him a sense of power.

He also liked the simple yet somewhat ineffective Air-Cleaving Palm, which also gave him a sense of power.

Power, this was what Dongfang Bubai truly pursued. Whether it was the authority of the leader of the Sun Moon Sect or the mysteries of the *Manual of the Sunflower*, it was all for power.

Only power was eternal and unchanging. If it changed, it could only mean that the power was not strong enough.

Power, power, Dongfang Bubai kept thinking about these two words. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he thought of a martial arts technique: the Dragon Elephant Prajna Power.

This technique could cultivate pure physical strength. However, he was not thinking about the technique itself but about the fact that practicing this technique meant cultivating the body, and cultivating the body required strong blood and qi, which meant strong yang energy.

Conversely, cultivating the body required absorbing the yang energy in the body.

And the yang energy expelled from the internal strength in the *Manual of the Sunflower* could not be used to cultivate the body?

As for the heat and distractions caused by yang energy, were they not intangible things? The sword-drawing technique could cut through others and could naturally cut through himself. At that time, using the sword-drawing technique to cut through these distractions would not only eliminate them but also hone the sword-drawing technique.

At that time, he could also cultivate the internal strength of the *Manual of the Sunflower*. Although not expelling the yang energy from the body would prevent further progress in the *Manual of the Sunflower*, it would still be much stronger than the current internal strength of the Sun Moon Sect, not to mention the speed it brought.

Moreover, what Dongfang Bubai valued most was the *Manual of the Sunflower* true qi. As long as he could possess the *Manual of the Sunflower* and experience its mysteries, Dongfang Bubai would surely understand this principle and eventually break free from the limitations of the *Manual of the Sunflower*, turning it into his own treasure.

As for the calm heart required to let go of fame and power, he had no intention of refining the *Manual of the Sunflower*; he only needed the *Manual of the Sunflower* true qi, so why bother with it?

However, the most troublesome part was finding a technique to cultivate the body that only absorbed yang energy. Generally, techniques for cultivating the body not only absorbed yang energy but also some yin energy. If a technique absorbed both yang and yin energy, once the yang energy in the internal strength was absorbed, there would not be much yin energy left. Insufficient yin energy in the internal strength would prevent the cultivation of the *Manual of the Sunflower* true qi.

There were very few techniques in the world that only absorbed yang energy. In fact, there were very, very few. The only one Dongfang Bubai knew was the Vajra Indestructible Body technique from Shaolin Temple, which many people also knew.

However, even with Dongfang Bubai's temperament, thinking of Shaolin Temple made him frown. In this world, there were five top-tier forces.

The first great nation, the Great Qin; the Confucianists; the Taoists; the Buddhists; and the evil and demonic paths, which were considered one.

Shaolin Temple was the holy land of Buddhism, the true representative of Buddhism. To obtain the Vajra Indestructible Body technique from Shaolin Temple, unless they voluntarily gave it, it would be impossible to get it.

As an evil path practitioner, how could Shaolin Temple give it to Dongfang Bubai? Even if he were a righteous path practitioner, Shaolin Temple would not give it to him.

As for begging, Dongfang Bubai had never considered it. His first thought was to steal, but he also knew that stealing was not an option.

Thinking about this, Dongfang Bubai frowned.

"Vajra Indestructible Body, Vajra Indestructible Body, Vajra Indestructible Body... Gu Santong!" Dongfang Bubai's lips curled into a smile. Apart from Shaolin Temple, there was another person who knew the Vajra Indestructible Body technique.

Eight years ago, Gu Santong had a duel with Zhu Wushuang on Mount Tian. Gu Santong was defeated and captured, causing quite a stir. He should still be in the ninth level of the imperial prison.

"Tan Yi, issue the order to find a woman named Cheng Huan and a child named Cheng Shifei with all your might." Dongfang Bubai's body did not move, but he coldly commanded.

"Yes!" A voice without any emotion suddenly came from the empty space around him.

"Shou Yi, issue the order to Jia Bu to secretly find Cheng Huan and Cheng Shifei." Dongfang Bubai said again.

"Yes!" Another voice echoed.

Dongfang Bubai did not speak again and continued to think.

(Sorry, it's a bit late.)

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