Chapter 17

When Jixin Daozhang mentioned it, Qinsang realized that Old Wu was actually less than forty years old.

Old Wu was from the northern Jiaoming County. He originally had two sons and a daughter, and they lived by farming, though poor, they managed to get by.

Last year, a series of disasters struck, and the northern border was in turmoil, with rebel armies acting like bandits, indiscriminately killing innocent people.

Old Wu's village was plundered by the rebels, and his wife and children were brutally killed. He managed to escape with his youngest daughter, but she soon fell seriously ill, and without money for treatment, she died on the road.

A family of five, in the blink of an eye, was reduced to just Old Wu, who wandered in a daze with his fellow villagers to Sanwu City, working as a纤夫 (river puller) at the First Ferry to make a living, and spending the nights under the eaves or in doorways of local households.

The old Taoist, seeing his pitiful state, took him in and let him live on the mountain.

Who would have thought that the situation in the north had deteriorated to such a degree, and this vast kingdom would not know peace for a long time.

Spring turned to autumn.

In the morning, fallen leaves scattered by the mountain wind could be seen all over the courtyard. Unconsciously, it had been a full year since Qinsang arrived in this world. He wrapped his clothes tightly and walked to the Qingyang Hall to prepare the fire and boil the medicine.

After lighting the fire, while practicing boxing in the courtyard, he happened to meet Old Wu.

They nodded to each other, and Old Wu, hunched over, silently walked out.

Watching Old Wu's hunched back disappear outside the temple, Qinsang shook his head.

He never would have thought that Old Wu, who looked so old and weak, had such strength, working as a river puller for more than half a year without ever mentioning returning home.

For the past half year, Old Wu left early and returned late, pulling the rope every day without a break. Sometimes, when Qinsang woke up late, he wouldn't see him all day.

Seeing Old Wu's appearance, Qinsang felt ashamed and worked even harder, rarely slacking off.

Qinsang had never seen Old Wu smile, and since he was mute, when they met, he would only wave his hand in greeting, with no expression on his face.

Qinsang wondered if Old Wu had not yet recovered from the great changes, his heart dead, and uninterested in anything, giving the impression of a living dead person.

Although they shared the same room, Qinsang didn't feel much inconvenience and gradually got used to it.

Over the past half year, he never stopped practicing boxing, cultivating, and taking medicinal baths. After realizing the effects of the medicinal baths, Qinsang became very enthusiastic, always following the old Taoist to gather herbs on the mountain, covering dozens of peaks in the vast Huanghuang Mountain.

The terrain on both sides of the Wuling River was steep and dangerous, with wild beasts in abundance. Entering the deep mountains to gather herbs inevitably brought them into danger.

The most dangerous time was when they encountered a pack of wild wolves.

It was at night, and Qinsang and the old Taoist were making a fire in a cave to cook. Unexpectedly, a pack of about ten wild wolves were attracted by the firelight. By the time Qinsang heard the wolves' howls and tried to extinguish the fire, it was too late. He only had an iron bar he had traded from a stonemason.

The pack of wolves surrounded the cave entrance, and the old Taoist's animal repellent powder made from wild animal feces was ineffective. To survive, they had to fight for their lives.

Qinsang held the iron bar, blocking the cave entrance alone, using it as a staff to perform the "Tiger Subduing Long Fist."

He expected a tough battle, but to his surprise, it was surprisingly easy. Due to the narrow cave entrance, only three wolves could enter at a time, and Qinsang could handle them with ease.

With the iron bar, Qinsang smashed the head wolf's brain, and then, with lightning-fast movements, killed several more. The other wolves fled with their tails between their legs.

After this battle, the old Taoist always took Qinsang with him to gather herbs without being asked.

After this real combat experience, Qinsang realized that his strength was indeed not weak.

Later, to verify his feelings, he sought out the disciples of Yang Zhen at the Wushui Escort Agency for sparring. Although he pretended to be defeated each time, Qinsang knew he was only using half his strength.

Their boxing techniques were much stronger than the "Tiger Subduing Long Fist," and their moves seemed powerful, but to Qinsang, they appeared slow. If he wanted to, he could easily find their weaknesses and counter them.

With these martial arts, Qinsang's thoughts inevitably became more active.

The rebellion in the north had not been quelled for a long time, and people in various counties were raising flags to rebel, one after another. The princes were消极应对 (negatively responding), making the imperial army exhausted and unable to cope.

In the middle of the year, the Holy Emperor issued an edict, calling on all righteous and valiant people to join the army in the north to quell the rebellion. If they achieved great feats, they could be ennobled as princes or dukes.

When the edict arrived, Sanwu City was in a flurry of activity, with many ambitious people heading north to support the emperor. Three of Yang Zhen's disciples went together, hoping to establish their careers.

Qinsang was also somewhat tempted, but what he valued was not wealth and honor.

Jixin Daozhang's words were always on Qinsang's mind. Even the immortal master could not abandon emotions and desires and also enjoyed wealth. By getting close to the nobility, he might be able to meet the immortal master.

However, Qinsang had never experienced war and was somewhat apprehensive. The battlefield was ruthless, and if he was accidentally killed by a stray arrow, it would be a great loss.

Moreover, there were many talented people in the world, and how strong his martial arts were compared to those with internal strength in the martial arts world was uncertain. Could he really stand out?

Because of this, Qinsang found it difficult to make a decision and decided to stay at the temple to patiently cultivate the "Yuming Jing." After breaking through the first level, he would reconsider.

Qinsang practiced day after day, and the qi in his body, which was initially as thin as a hair, had now gathered into a small stream, flowing through his meridians, on the verge of breaking through.

Today, the medicinal bath was newly changed. As Qinsang approached the breakthrough, his need for the medicinal power increased, and the previous bath lasted only five days.

In the evening, Qinsang patiently completed his evening practice, and when it was quiet and dark, he closed the doors and windows tightly, sat cross-legged on the bed, and recited the "Qingjing Jing" silently for several times to calm his mind, then entered a meditative state and activated his cultivation technique.

In a moment, five cycles passed, and the qi flowed through his meridians. Qinsang sensed that after the next cycle, he would break through!

The "Yuming Jing" did not mention any other bottlenecks between the two levels. Qinsang anxiously activated his technique, and after one cycle, the qi returned to the dantian.

Qinsang suddenly grunted, the qi in the dantian boiled, and intense pain spread from the dantian to his entire body, followed by a tearing pain.

Fortunately, this pain came fiercely but quickly subsided, and after the pain, a sense of comfort followed.

Qinsang's face lit up with joy. He suddenly remembered the "Yuming Jing" mentioning internal visualization and subconsciously "looked" at the dantian. With a "boom," his mind suddenly opened, and he finally truly "saw" the qi.

A blue stream of qi coiled in the dantian, beautiful and mesmerizing.

Qinsang's heart moved, and the qi followed his will, entering the meridians and flowing like a river, much faster than before. It completed one cycle quickly, and the improvement was more noticeable than when he was at the first level.

He continued to practice non-stop until the tenth cycle, and the pain he remembered did not appear. Qinsang was greatly surprised and stopped for a moment.