Chapter 24

"Hit, hit, hit him hard!"

In the Tranquil Heart Garden, Wei Tianchong sat in his reclining chair, pointing at Tang Jie, who was tied to a tree, and shouted. His head was still bandaged from the fall off the horse, which had left a wound that still throbbed with pain, making him even more resentful of Tang Jie.

Shimu sneered and took out a whip soaked in water, lashing Tang Jie fiercely. With just one lash, a bloody gash appeared on Tang Jie's chest.

The sound of "slap, slap" echoed in the Tranquil Heart Garden, and the wounds on Tang Jie's body multiplied. Shimu, angry at his earlier defiance, showed no mercy, even deliberately striking his face, causing it to become a bloody mess.

However, Tang Jie remained silent, only staring coldly at Shimu.

His icy gaze made Shimu's heart tremble.

But then he thought, since Tang Jie was tied to the tree, what was there to fear? He snarled, "Still trying to be tough!"

The whip fell even more wildly.

After countless lashes, Shimu himself was exhausted. He threw the whip to Shimeng, saying, "You take over! When you're tired, we'll switch. For daring to kill the young master's horse, we must beat him to death today!"

Pain!

Indescribable, unbearable pain!

Pain that made one feel as if they were dying and coming back to life!

Whipping, even in ancient times, was an extremely terrifying form of punishment.

During the whipping, the skin would be torn open, and the flesh would be mangled. Under continuous lashing, the bones and flesh would eventually separate, and the victim might even be reduced to a skeleton, a form of slow execution.

The Wei family's whip was not as extreme, just a simple vine, but it still caused a burning pain when it hit the skin. After many lashes, it would tear the flesh.

Children, being immature, also lacked a sense of measure.

The seemingly endless lashes made Tang Jie faint, then wake up, then faint again, repeating several times.

When the pain reached its peak, it turned to numbness!

Tang Jie felt his entire body was numb, unable to feel any part of himself. The whip hitting his body felt like it was striking a pile of unrelated rotten flesh.

This made him wonder if he would be beaten to death by Wei Tianchong.

When Wei Tianchong had him tied up, he did not resist because he believed the matriarch would handle the matter fairly.

But he realized he had made a mistake—underestimating the children's desire for revenge and their disregard for consequences!

Wei Tianchong was only twelve, pampered and spoiled, and he had no concept of restraint!

To avoid being disturbed, Wei Tianchong even sealed off the Tranquil Heart Garden, forbidding anyone from approaching!

This meant there was no way to call for help!

These little brats were always careless and perfunctory when it came to studying, but when it came to doing bad things, they were meticulous!

If this continued, he would lose the strength to resist and escape.

Thinking of this, Tang Jie felt a surge of anger. He began to circulate the Cangxiang Jing, absorbing spiritual energy, running through his meridians, and spreading throughout his body.

This was the confidence that allowed him to let himself be tied up and beaten. No matter what, he had already opened the Jade Gate and had the qualifications to cultivate.

He had not used it before to avoid revealing his secret, but now it seemed these kids were completely clueless. Even if he used it right in front of them, they probably wouldn't realize anything.

As the spiritual energy circulated in his body, the pain where the energy reached was greatly reduced. Under the influence of the spiritual energy, some of his injuries began to heal automatically.

Not only that, his strong will to live released all his strength at this moment. The spiritual energy traveled along his blood vessels, even penetrating his internal organs and bones.

Refining the organs!

Refining the bones!

Tang Jie almost shouted in surprise; he had made a new discovery by accident!

Since the Blood Purification, Tang Jie had always suspected that the Cangxiang Jing had the ability to refine the organs and bones, but no matter how he cultivated, the subsequent effects never appeared.

Until this moment, under the beating of the servants, Tang Jie actually sensed the effect of the spiritual energy refining his organs and bones, which filled him with surprise and joy.

So the Cangxiang Jing could really do this, but only under these conditions?

No, that's not right!

The creator of the Cangxiang Jing, the War Lord, did not create it for self-torture. There must be a deeper meaning that he had not grasped.

At this moment, he recalled the Cangxiang Jing's incantation, understanding its meaning. He remembered the various words of Xumu Yang, and a sudden insight came to him.

"Hidden within, manifest without, manifest without and then affect within... enter the divine with the heart, think with the will; align the body with the Dao, cultivate the organs and discard the will... cultivate the organs and discard the will... I understand!"

Tang Jie suddenly realized.

The Cangxiang Jing was not just for breaking through the gate; it was also for refining the body!

From the beginning, it was a cultivation method for the body!

By absorbing spiritual energy to refine the body, manifesting externally and then affecting internally, it referred not only to absorbing spiritual energy from the outside but also to refining the body before the techniques.

The term "cultivate the organs and discard the will" referred to the five organs, meaning to first cultivate the most critical parts of the body.

"Discard the will" had multiple interpretations, but here it must mean to temporarily not cultivate techniques, focusing on the surface first.

This was a method that started from the surface and then delved deeper, prioritizing the body before the techniques!

This was contrary to the current popular cultivation methods of the Immortal Sects.

Now, most Immortal Sects first cultivated techniques, and when their spiritual energy overflowed and they entered the Transcendent Realm, they used the spiritual energy to refine their mortal bodies. At this stage, after the apprenticeship period in the Spirit Platform Realm, their bodies had already adapted to the spiritual energy, making the refinement safer and more efficient.

But the War Lord was not an ordinary person, or perhaps he placed more emphasis on overall strength. He probably did not consider safety and comfort at all.

This meant that cultivating the Cangxiang Jing should not be limited to the twelve gestures. The twelve gestures were just an aid for circulating the spiritual energy. Once fully mastered, one could cultivate in any situation, especially during intense physical labor, which would yield even better results!

Even the claim that excessive cultivation would damage the meridians, as Xumu Yang had said, might not apply to the Cangxiang Jing!

If not for being beaten by Wei Tianchong, Tang Jie might never have discovered this.

At this moment, he was both surprised and delighted, fully circulating the Cangxiang Jing. The spiritual energy moved freely in his body, continuously traveling through his mind and body, with some of it permanently remaining in his body, subtly changing his constitution and rapidly healing his injuries.

However, this also brought him greater pain... the numbness disappeared, and the pain surged like a tidal wave, reoccupying his mind and body. The newly grown flesh was torn open again before it could take effect.

Tang Jie gritted his teeth and endured, consciously focusing the spiritual energy on his skin to enhance its resistance. Gradually, the servants noticed that their whips were less effective, sometimes failing to break the skin even after several lashes.

But they did not realize this was due to Tang Jie's use of spiritual energy to protect himself, thinking instead that they were tired and their strength had diminished.

On the contrary, Tang Jie became increasingly excited. He found that the effect of the spiritual energy entering his body was particularly good under the whipping. The Cangxiang Jing could absorb spiritual energy through the skin, and in his current state, the absorption effect was even enhanced, though it still did not match the effect of the Jade Gate, it was excellent for refining the body.

Just this short period of whipping felt more effective than months of his previous cultivation, making Tang Jie somewhat look forward to the whipping.

Use more force!

Hit me harder!

Tang Jie shouted in his heart, then secretly laughed at himself for being so masochistic.

This is really a form of motivation!

Of course, on the surface, Tang Jie still appeared to be on the verge of death.

After nearly an hour of whipping, the servants were also afraid.

At this moment, they realized that whipping could actually kill someone.

Wen Qing approached Wei Tianchong and said, "Young Master, that's enough. If you continue, he might really die."

Wei Tianchong had never killed anyone and was not so ruthless as to treat human life like chicken. Hearing Wen Qing's words, he was startled and realized he might have gone too far. He quickly said, "Check if he's still alive."

A servant went to check and replied, "He's still alive."

Wei Tianchong immediately relaxed.

As long as he was alive, he was not afraid.

Feeling less afraid, his courage returned.

Thinking of how Tang Jie had dared to kill his horse and the cold, intimidating gaze that had made him shudder, Wei Tianchong felt angry again and ordered, "Don't let him down, keep him tied to the tree!"

Saying this, he went back to his room to sleep, as he was also tired from the ordeal.

Hearing this, Tang Jie also sighed inwardly, thinking how this child really did not know the severity of the situation.

Do you know that even without whipping, tying someone to a tree for a night could also kill them?

Unfortunately, he did not plan to use his life to prove Wei Tianchong's mistake. This boy would probably not understand this for a long time.

The servants, without Wei Tianchong's order, naturally did not dare to let Tang Jie go.

Tang Jie was not in a hurry and continued to circulate the spiritual energy to nourish his organs.

Actually, using the spiritual energy to heal his external injuries would have been more appropriate.

But considering the people in the Wei family, he abandoned this opportunity.

As he expected, the effect of nourishing the organs was not as good as nourishing the muscles and skin, probably due to the different physical conditions.

To nourish the organs, one needed to expend physical energy, a lot of physical labor. To cultivate a body as tough as copper and iron, one probably needed to endure a lot of beatings.

Sigh, I can't go around looking for people to beat me up, can I?

No, it's combat!

Tang Jie suddenly realized.

The War Lord of the Jili, a great being, excelled in combat. His cultivation method was naturally prepared for battle.

Thinking of this, Tang Jie was thoroughly enlightened, but he could not burst out laughing.

To understand someone's cultivation method, one should first understand the person!

How foolish, why didn't I think of this earlier?

Fortunately, it was not too late. In the future, when learning the cultivation methods of predecessors, he must thoroughly understand the person to truly grasp the essence of the method.

After a night of cultivation, Tang Jie's internal injuries were almost completely healed, but his external injuries were still terrifying, covered in blood and torn flesh, looking extremely gruesome.

When dawn came, Tang Jie was also exhausted and fell asleep.

Not long after, the maid Yanzhi brought the morning tea to the Tranquil Heart Garden and saw Tang Jie, who was tied to the tree, bloodied and mangled, and dropped the tray in shock.

At this moment, Wei Zhengshufeng had already risen and was enjoying her silver ear lily soup when she heard Yanzhi rushing in.

"Madam, something's wrong, something's happened!"

"What is it? Why are you so flustered?" Wei Zhengshufeng, coming from a noble family, always maintained her composure and disliked the servants' loud and disorderly behavior.

"Tang Jie... Tang Jie... he's tied to the tree, beaten to a bloody pulp, and looks like he's dead!"

"What?" Wei Zhengshufeng stood up, and the bowl of silver ear lily soup fell to the ground.