Chapter 20

"Ah? Half his body is severed? And he still didn’t die?"

"Uh—The methods of the Demon Sect are bizarre and sinister. Back then, the founder also thought he would surely die, but who knew he would fake his death and escape. This made the founder regret it deeply. Otherwise, that battle would have been enough to eradicate the Blood Sect of the Demon Sect, and they wouldn’t have been allowed to be so arrogant in the world."

Speaking of the glory of his sect in those days, the old Daoist’s face was flushed with pride.

"The *Taiyi Xuan Yuan Ningyu Gong* now only has the initial two sets of techniques, but its ability to counter evil remains unchanged. Especially when you practice the *Ningyu Gong*, your true qi will be as clear and white as jade, capable of restraining the evil techniques of the Demon Sect. In the future, when you encounter people from the Demon Sect, as long as your realm is the same, your master can guarantee that you can easily defeat them."

Ye Qingxuan took the *Kunwu Yuan Yu Gong* with utmost care. At this moment, it was no longer just an ordinary book, but a responsibility to glorify the sect and eliminate evil.

"Xuan, listen carefully to the incantation, remember it in your heart, and never forget: Accumulate yang to form the spirit, accumulate yin to form the body; yin and yang together form the whole. Like the sun and moon standing in the void, day and night without rest. Therefore, those who are good at concentrating their thoughts, do not blink when looking inward, and do not be confused when listening inward. Make the desirous undesirous, and the undesirous desirous, transform yin with yang, and harmonize the heart. When the heart is harmonized, the qi is calm, yin is weak, and the spirit is upright. When the spirit is upright, the mind is focused, and when the mind is focused, the shadow disappears. When the shadow disappears, the body is forgotten, and when the body is forgotten, the spirit responds. When the spirit responds, it is in harmony, and the heavenly essence can enter. Once the essence enters, yang qi transforms, and the body rises into the air, unobstructed. At first, it is like a mist, then it condenses into the origin, and merges into one qi, which is called the Primordial Qi; its color is like warm jade, its form like a divine pill. It is like taking the elixir, which dispels all yin, focuses on yin to attract the spirit, and leads to immortality..."

After half an hour, the incantation of the *Kunwu Yuan Yu Gong* was taught. During this time, the old Daoist, fearing that his young disciple might not remember it well, repeated it several times and explained the difficult parts. After confirming that Qingxuan had memorized the incantation, Lingxu Zhenren nagged, "Disciple, remember, you must not rush to practice the *Yuan Yu Gong*. You must wait until your qi and body are in harmony and you enter the 'Body Tempering Realm' before you can practice it, otherwise it will be harmful."

"Master, rest assured. I will diligently practice the *Qi Cultivation and Essence Nurturing Technique* and surely reach the qi-body harmony soon, and embark on the path of cultivation."

The old Daoist nodded in satisfaction, paused, and then sternly instructed, "Xuan, do not underestimate this initial realm. Many people spend their entire lives without achieving qi-body harmony, gaining the form but losing the spirit, and ultimately giving up halfway, achieving nothing. You must not be careless."

"Disciple will remember."

Although his master was a bit nagging, the deep care in his words warmed Qingxuan's heart, making him respect his master even more.

After a series of instructions, the old Daoist picked up another book, the *Thirty-Six Qingyun Swords*.

"This sword technique is the basic sword technique of our Kunwu Sect, originally called the *Thirty-Six Basic Kunwu Sword Techniques*. However, since we cannot reveal the name 'Kunwu' to the outside world, I have renamed it the *Thirty-Six Qingyun Swords*. The sword techniques in the world are no more than chopping, thrusting, pointing, sweeping, collapsing, intercepting, wiping, piercing, lifting, twisting, and sweeping. The founder traveled the rivers and lakes for sixty years, viewing all the sword techniques in the world, and finally integrated and simplified the best moves from various schools, creating this set of sword techniques. Initially, this set of sword techniques was not limited to thirty-six moves. By the time it was passed down to the sixth generation leader, it was considered too complex, and after many deletions and reductions, it was condensed to the current thirty-six moves, which can be considered a refinement of the essence."

After explaining the origin of the sword technique, Lingxu Zhenren had Qingxuan stand still and perform each move according to the book, pointing out the errors in the moves and the key points to pay special attention to.

One was filled with guilt and eager to compensate, willing to teach; the other was ambitious and eager to learn.

The transmission between master and disciple lasted for several hours, until the sky was dark and it was almost time to light the lamps.

Both master and disciple were natural martial arts enthusiasts, and neither noticed that it was already past dinner time. Lingxu Zhenren had already instructed that they should not be disturbed, so no junior disciples dared to come and remind them.

Seeing that it was getting late, the old Daoist stopped the transmission and, recalling the surprise his young disciple had given him, focused his mind and hurriedly wanted to verify the martial arts problems he had thought of earlier.

Qingxuan respectfully took his leave and ran back to his own courtyard, eager to practice.

Both master and disciple were like children with new toys, each engrossed in their own pursuits. The old Daoist was so engrossed that he stayed up all night, forgetting to eat or sleep, as if in seclusion, and if it weren't for the disciples bringing meals every day, people might have thought the old Daoist had passed away in the room. This obsession lasted for several dozen days until the three disciples who had gone down the mountain returned, pulling their almost obsessed master out.

Seeing their master, who had become much thinner and disheveled, everyone was talking, but no one associated the culprit with the young disciple.

**********

When Qingxuan left his master's room, it was already dark.

The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and the lanterns were just being lit.

Returning to his room, he found dinner left on the table. He silently thanked the nephew who had brought the meal and quickly finished the food.

The words of his master had stirred a thousand waves in Qingxuan's heart. Not to mention the blood feud he carried, just thinking about becoming a martial arts expert, flying over eaves and walls, and living a carefree life in the rivers and lakes, made Qingxuan excited. Moreover, the longevity brought by breaking through various martial arts realms made Qingxuan see a broad path. From then on, the young Daoist, who had been playing in the world, finally set his first life goal in this strange world: to diligently study martial arts and become a martial arts expert.

After dinner, Qingxuan eagerly began the dual cultivation of the *Qi Cultivation and Essence Nurturing Technique* and the *Health-Preserving Tai Chi*.

Perhaps his master had guessed that the *Health-Preserving Tai Chi* was the key to loosening his blocked meridians, but he couldn't confirm it and needed to verify it personally. However, Qingxuan was one hundred percent sure that the *Health-Preserving Tai Chi* was the reason his blocked meridians could loosen early.

In his previous life, the *Health-Preserving Tai Chi* was attributed to Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang, claiming to follow the principles of Daoist martial arts, based on the yin-yang theory of the *I Ching*, traditional Chinese medicine meridian theory, Daoist guiding and breathing techniques, and created a set of internal martial arts that combined yin and yang, conforming to the structure of the human body and the laws of nature, known as "Tai Chi."

The *Qi Cultivation and Essence Nurturing Technique* of Daoist internal cultivation, combined with the *Health-Preserving Tai Chi* that deeply explores the principles of Daoism, was both internal and external, dynamic and static, making the circulation and visualization of qi smoother, achieving several times the usual effect, and the function of nourishing the meridians and expanding the pulse was more significant.

Starting the form, left and right wild horse parting the mane, white crane spreading its wings, left and right embracing the knee and twisting the step...

Qingxuan, practicing the *Health-Preserving Tai Chi*, quickly entered a state of complete absorption.

A simplified twenty-four-form *Health-Preserving Tai Chi* could be completed in less than twenty minutes, but Qingxuan, using the *Health-Preserving Tai Chi* as a foundation to cultivate the *Qi Cultivation and Essence Nurturing Technique*, repeated the moves, extending the time several times.

Two hours passed in a flash, and Qingxuan had completed the twenty-four-form *Health-Preserving Tai Chi* five times, and the *Qi Cultivation and Essence Nurturing Technique* had completed a full cycle.

Just as Qingxuan was about to finish, a slight tremor occurred at the lower dantian. A warm current arose from the dantian. Qingxuan dared not move, and his heart was filled with joy. His years of hard practice had finally paid off. This was clearly the first sign of qi-body harmony, the first trace of true qi. As long as he could cultivate and nurture this trace of qi, he could become a true martial artist, a true warrior.

Qingxuan remained still, quietly observing this current of qi.

Without thinking, without controlling.

The current of qi circled in the lower dantian, then moved downward and backward, following the Du Meridian up to the brain. Qingxuan felt a sense of comfort throughout his body, his nose closed but feeling a coolness, then the current of qi reached the Baihui point, his mind became clear, and then it reached his face, following the Ren Meridian down to the dantian.

At this point, the internal strength was truly generated.

The *First Level of the Body Tempering Realm* was achieved.

From today, the young Daoist Qingxuan had truly entered the ranks of martial arts practitioners.