Chapter 18

"Master, I..." Qingxuan saw his master's puzzled expression remain unchanged for a long time and finally could not resist his curiosity, asking in a low voice.

Unexpectedly, Lingxu Zhenren waved his sleeve to stop Qingxuan's words. The old Taoist master grimaced, looking as if he had seen a ghost, and pulled Qingxuan's arm closer to himself, pressing his fingers and once again channeling his qi to probe the meridians.

After another round of examination, Lingxu Zhenren's face became somewhat呆滞, muttering unconsciously, "Strange, strange, it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be..."

Hmm? There really is something going on. Could it be that he has discovered I am a genius defying the heavens? A divine genius among geniuses?

Seeing that his master was not angry but rather speaking to himself with some doubt, Qingxuan, who knew his master's temper, immediately restrained his restless thoughts and decided: Let's see what happens first.

Sure enough, after a moment, Lingxu Zhenren recovered from his daze and stared at Qingxuan with a puzzled look. "Disciple, I see that your pulse is gentle and strong, and your meridians and dantian are showing some slight movement. Why is this? According to my estimation, it should take at least five years to reach this stage. How did you manage to do it?"

Scared? Too fast progress?

Qingxuan's mind was a bit slow to react, but fortunately, the lying skills he had developed in his previous life did not fail him. He immediately used his secret technique—his mouth was faster than his brain.

"Uh? Your disciple practices diligently every day, never slacking off." He continued with the good words, thinking of other ways to deal with the situation.

"Hmm? Don't lie to me, disciple. I know the effects of the [Yangqi Peiyuan Gong] technique very well. Even if you practiced day and night for years without stopping, it would be difficult to achieve such results."

"This... your disciple doesn't know." Qingxuan was not lying this time; he really didn't know what was happening.

"Did you accidentally eat some kind of immortal herb?"

"No, your disciple eats the same as everyone else and dares not eat anything randomly, for fear of getting sick." This was the truth; Qingxuan did not have the heart or ability of Shennong to taste a hundred herbs. What if he got sick?

"Has any high-level expert ever helped you to unblock your meridians?"

"No, who else would expend their energy to unblock your disciple's meridians besides Master?"

"Hiss, strange, then why is this?"

The last sentence was the old Taoist master asking himself, and Qingxuan wisely did not answer.

"Have you practiced any techniques from other schools?"

Practicing techniques from other schools was not a big deal. On the Divine Martial Continent, martial arts were prevalent, and it was not unusual for someone to know several techniques. As long as they did not practice techniques that contradicted Taoist principles, such as those from the demonic sects, it was within the allowed range of the sect.

"Well, your disciple has seen some inferior martial arts techniques, but has never practiced them."

The master and disciple fell into deep thought for a moment.

The small room fell silent.

Qingxuan lowered his head, thinking hard. He indeed had not practiced any techniques from other schools. The techniques he could find were all cheap ones that came with the [Martial Arts Magazine], which he only used as a reference and never practiced. Except for—

Qingxuan's heart suddenly jolted.

What Qingxuan thought of was that when he practiced the [Yangqi Peiyuan Gong], he naturally followed its qi circulation method and practiced the Tai Chi Chuan for health, which was a family tradition. He had always treated it as a form of exercise, and this habit continued in this life. He practiced it every morning, purely out of habit from his previous life. Could it be that this habit, which he had not taken seriously, had greatly helped him?

The doubt in his heart immediately showed on his face, and the old Taoist master, who knew his disciple's character, immediately noticed the change.

"Xuan, have you thought of something?"

"Yes, Master. Your disciple has not practiced any other techniques or had any extraordinary encounters. It's just that when practicing the technique, out of boredom, I sometimes imitate the movements of the cranes on the back mountain, stretching my limbs from time to time."

Qingxuan said this half to cover up and half to tell the truth.

To avoid unnecessary explanations and doubts, Qingxuan hid the fact that he knew Tai Chi Chuan and simply described it as imitating the movements of cranes. After all, explaining the origin of this martial art would be a headache for Qingxuan.

Hmm? Just some unnecessary stretching movements, could they have such a miraculous effect? But apart from this, there seemed to be nothing unusual.

The old Taoist master sent a stream of qi into Qingxuan's body, closed his phoenix eyes, and said, "Disciple, practice with me."

"Yes, Master."

Qingxuan took a deep breath, stood up, and silently recited the qi circulation mantra, slowly performing a few Tai Chi Chuan movements. Starting with the opening stance, "Parting the Wild Horse's Mane," "White Crane Spreads Its Wings," "Left and Right Grasping the Sparrow's Tail"... He chose a few movements that involved maximum stretching to support his claim of imitating cranes.

From the first movement, Lingxu Zhenren calmed his mind and carefully experienced the process. Soon, the old Taoist master's phoenix eyes brightened, and he stared at Qingxuan's movements with intense focus, marveling at the slow and continuous nature of the martial art.

Ordinary people would only see the movements and breathing with their naked eyes, but the old Taoist master, being a martial arts expert, used the qi he had sent into Qingxuan's body and his spiritual eyes to observe the changes in Qingxuan's internal qi flow.

From the outside, Qingxuan's movements were calm, relaxed, smooth, and natural, deeply in line with the Taoist principle of tranquility and non-action. Inside, with each movement and breath, his meridians vibrated slightly...

The movements and breathing were external, but the flow of qi within Qingxuan's body followed the qi circulation route of the [Yangqi Peiyuan Gong].

However, he did not expect that this Taoist technique, which usually showed slow results, would have its effects multiplied when combined with the special movements and breathing rhythm.

The old Taoist master became even more eager to learn the slow martial art that Qingxuan was performing.

After a moment, Lingxu Zhenren became even more certain that these movements and breathing techniques were not ordinary.

Others might not see the subtleties of these movements, but Lingxu Zhenren, with his expertise in Taoist principles, could clearly see their profound meaning. Each movement deeply embodied the Taoist principle of "following the natural way," and each technique perfectly aligned with the natural laws, revealing the mysteries of the Tao.

Lingxu Zhenren closed his eyes in deep thought, and without his master's permission, Qingxuan did not dare to stop, so he continued to practice with a pained expression.

Lingxu Zhenren, lost in thought, had many thoughts. He clearly knew that the original [Yangqi Peiyuan Gong] was a breathing technique, a static form of qigong. However, Qingxuan's movements were clearly similar to ancient guiding techniques, which were dynamic forms of qigong.

Qingxuan, out of boredom, had combined these ancient guiding techniques with the [Yangqi Peiyuan Gong], unintentionally merging the breathing technique and guiding technique, making the original technique both internal and external, and balancing movement and stillness.

Since both techniques deeply embodied the Taoist principle of "following the natural way," they combined perfectly, like a match made in heaven.

Thus, the original [Yangqi Peiyuan Gong] was elevated, and its effects were multiplied several times. This explained why Qingxuan's previously blocked meridians had loosened ahead of time.