Chapter 17: Lixia (Start of Summer) Heart Cultivation

Xu Daoyan quickly arrived at the back mountain. The old beggar grinned, looking at Xu Daoyan's approach, and nodded slightly in satisfaction, saying, "Not bad at all!"

"Turns out you were watching all along? Why didn't you help me?" Xu Daoyan said with a hint of annoyance, but he didn't blame the old beggar. He took off his blood-stained, tattered clothes, which were no longer wearable. The wounds on his body quickly healed, scabs formed and fell off, leaving no scars behind—this was the miraculous effect of the Spring Revival Rain.

"If my disciple can't even defeat a few ordinary people, then he might as well die." The old beggar laughed heartily.

"Rubbish, the only thing you taught me was how to heal my body. If you had taught me offensive techniques, they would have been dead long ago. Is it really that hard?" Xu Daoyan retorted.

"If I hadn't taught you how to heal your body and strengthen your physical form, you would have been struck dead by a lightning talisman long ago. You wouldn't even be standing here talking to me. Survival is the most important thing, young man!" The old beggar said leisurely.

Xu Daoyan was speechless. Indeed, if he hadn't cultivated his liver to this level and used the Spring Revival Rain to heal himself, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

"Whatever, I don't care. I want to learn the great skill to defeat thousands. Don't hold back anymore!" Xu Daoyan was unreasonable.

"The great skill to defeat thousands does exist, but I'm afraid you don't have the ability to learn it. You have to take one step at a time, and eat one bite at a time." The old beggar yawned and gave Xu Daoyan a look.

"Fine, can you help me identify these three talismans and see if they are useful?" Xu Daoyan couldn't do anything about the old beggar and took out the three talismans.

The old beggar didn't even look at them and said, "Two of them are identical lightning talismans. Even a peak sixth-rank person would turn to ashes if struck by them."

"I'm only a low sixth-rank person. How could I withstand it?" Xu Daoyan was surprised.

"Rubbish, do you know who your master is? If a lightning talisman could kill you, I might as well kill myself." The old beggar shamelessly praised himself.

"What about the other one?" Xu Daoyan asked again.

"It's a bit more powerful, probably the Daoist's ultimate technique, the Thunderfire Talisman. Even a peak fifth-rank person can't withstand it. To use it, you need to infuse your qi into it and focus your will on the enemy." The old beggar stood up, stretched, and relaxed his muscles.

Xu Daoyan nodded and threw a sword to the old beggar, saying, "Can you help me see if this sword is powerful?"

The old beggar took it, drew the sword, and saw that it was three feet long and very sharp. He nodded and said, "It's average, a high-quality human-grade weapon. The Daoist must have spent a lot of money to get it. A three-foot sword is more than enough for you."

Xu Daoyan nodded and then threw a ring to the old beggar, saying, "This should be useless, right?"

"Space ring, it has some use. You can put all sorts of things in it." The old beggar opened it, and there were quite a few things inside.

There were two chests of gold, totaling 3,000 taels, and other gold, silver, and jewels, which were also quite valuable.

Xu Daoyan's eyes lit up. "I didn't expect this Daoist to be so rich. It turns out everything was hidden in this space ring!"

"Those who raise ghosts to make money, how could they not be rich? You just didn't see it. You can keep this ring. Although it's only three meters in size, it's enough for you." The old beggar naturally didn't care about these things.

"Then what about the ghost bag? There must be very fierce ghosts inside. How should I deal with them?" Xu Daoyan took out the Daoist's ghost bag.

"Even the fiercest ghosts are not as fierce as your three ghosts. Just throw them in, and let your ghosts devour and refine them as nourishment." The old beggar opened the ghost bag and put it into Xu Daoyan's ghost bag.

The space was limited, and to survive, the ghosts would have to fight each other. Clearly, the ghosts raised by the Daoist were no match for the ghost soldiers who had experienced life and death battles.

"Master, I have a question. What should I do next? I have no idea. I don't want my mother to worry anymore. The Cai family will likely come back to cause trouble, and I can't handle them alone." Xu Daoyan suddenly asked the old beggar.

"Cultivate. Wait until you are strong enough. Bai Yan'er has really left. She sent a demon general to wipe out the Cai family. They were all killed, and the Cai family's territory has been taken over by other major forces in Shiyun Town. No one will bother you for a while." The old beggar, with his supernatural abilities, could see what was happening far away. Xu Daoyan was very surprised.

"Given the situation, there's nothing else I can do. I didn't really want to drive her away, but I had no choice!" Xu Daoyan didn't know what to do. He had no clear goal.

"Are you not a bit sad that Bai Yan'er is gone?" The old beggar asked with a smile.

"I couldn't keep her. Our paths were different. She is the daughter of a great demon, and I am nothing. That's just how it is!" Xu Daoyan smiled helplessly. Indeed, Bai Yan'er's departure made things seem a bit cold and lonely, and his mother had no one to keep her company.

The old beggar didn't say much more. Xu Daoyan sat cross-legged and continued to cultivate.

As the old beggar had said, the Cai family indeed did not send anyone to bother them again. Later, someone brought the news back to the village that the Cai family had been wiped out, with over a thousand people dead. The Cai family's territory was taken over by other major forces in Shiyun Town, which put the villagers at ease. They were relieved.

It seemed the old beggar was right. Bai Yan'er had taken care of the Cai family, and Xu Daoyan could now focus on his cultivation.

In the third month of spring, Xu Daoyan excitedly told the old beggar, "I have cultivated my liver to a completely emerald color."

"Hmm, it's emerald, but is it transparent and flawless? Do you know what jade is? I see a mass of emerald, but what else? There are still so many impurities. Are you blind?" The old beggar scolded him, and Xu Daoyan, feeling a bit dejected, didn't say much more. He touched his nose and continued to cultivate.

"Alright, Lixia has arrived. Start cultivating your heart next. You can take a break from your liver for a while." The old beggar began to explain the scriptures to Xu Daoyan: "In spring, crops sprout, and the spring energy promotes growth, like a newborn child full of vitality. In summer, crops grow rapidly, and the summer energy promotes growth, like a young man in his prime."

"During the three months of summer, this is called the time of flourishing. The heaven and earth energies intersect, and all things bloom. Go to bed late and rise early, do not be annoyed by the sun, let your will be free from anger, let the flowers and plants flourish, let the energy flow, as if your love is outside. This is the response to the summer energy, the way to nourish and grow..."

"The heart and small intestine are closely related. Have you heard of 'hot blooded heart,' 'venomous heart,' and 'iron heart'?" The old beggar looked at Xu Daoyan and asked.

"Of course, I have." Xu Daoyan nodded.

"The close relationship between the heart and small intestine is evident. The heart governs the blood and opens to the tongue. Once you start cultivating your heart, your small intestine's digestive function will be excellent. You will need to eat a lot of food, possibly three cows or even an elephant a day. Your heart will stimulate hot blood, nourishing the other five organs, and the pulsation will strengthen them, enhancing your own power. Therefore, after cultivating your heart, your strength will increase several times, but your appetite will also increase."

"The strength of a person's heart can be seen from their complexion. If it is good, the complexion will be rosy and lustrous. If it is pale, purple, green, or dull, it indicates a problem with the heart."

Xu Daoyan listened, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate. The sun was high in the sky, and he began to draw the summer energy into his heart, transforming it into growth energy and storing it.

As he cultivated, the old beggar guided him: "The heart belongs to fire in the five elements. Fire is about burning and pulsing, just like the heart. Once it stops pulsing, the person dies, as the saying goes, 'oil runs out and the lamp goes out.'"

"The heart houses the spirit. When the heart blood is abundant, it can transform into spirit, nourishing the spirit and making it clear and sharp. A clear spirit can control the qi to regulate the flow of heart blood, nourishing the entire body, including the heart itself!"

"In other words, if you cultivate your heart to be extremely strong, with a firm will and a clear spirit, even if the enemy tries to confuse you with illusions, you can break through them with your heart. If you can't break through, it means your heart is not as strong as theirs. A weak heart leads to an unstable spirit, making it easy to be confused. Once your spirit is controlled by the enemy, you become a living dead."

Xu Daoyan remembered every word, immersing himself in cultivation. Under the old beggar's guidance, he progressed quickly. He felt an intense heat in his heart, as if a fire was burning fiercely. His heart beat faster and more intensely than before.

The heart pumped blood to the limbs and organs, making Xu Daoyan feel very comfortable. His organs were rejoicing because they were being nourished by the growth energy from the heart. Xu Daoyan tried to draw the growth energy from his liver into his heart, and the fire in his heart burned even more fiercely.

Wood can generate fire. If the liver is strong, the heart can also be nourished. The five organs are interconnected. Xu Daoyan marveled that if he cultivated the other organs, the internal five elements would circulate, making him even more powerful.

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