Chapter 21: Cultivating the Lungs

"Haha, that Shi Yun has taught you quite a bit, hasn't he!" The old beggar chuckled, as if he had seen everything.

"Why should I teach you when you never taught me anything?" Xu Daoyan shot a glance at the old beggar, speaking with righteous indignation.

"You just need to cultivate well. The rest will come naturally to you over time." After saying this, the old beggar left.

Xu Daoyan ignored him and took out a high-grade wood spirit stone. He channeled the rich wood spirit energy from the stone into his liver, invigorating his entire body and making him feel refreshed!

Every strand of spirit energy could be transformed into a strong life-giving force, cleansing Xu Daoyan's liver. At the same time, his tendons and muscles were constantly undergoing transformation.

Ten days passed, and thirty pounds of wood spirit stones were completely consumed. Within those ten days, his lifespan increased to seven hundred years, reaching the upper level of the sixth rank. In a short time, he had leaped forward by two hundred and ninety years, which made Xu Daoyan very excited.

During those ten days, he took four Human Essence Pills, which barely met his consumption. It was indeed very convenient, as he no longer needed to roast horses to eat, and he only needed to defecate once every three days instead of three times a day.

At this moment, he examined his liver internally and found that many impurities had been removed, and it was becoming more transparent. However, he knew that he still had a long way to go to reach the flawless state.

He tried to use the Spring Rain technique, which could now cover a radius of ten feet. In this forest, the flowers and trees nourished by the Spring Rain grew visibly, full of vitality and lush.

"Amazing!" Xu Daoyan marveled. The effectiveness of the Spring Rain had increased significantly, and he felt his strength had grown considerably.

The old beggar did not appear again after that day, and Xu Daoyan did not think much about it. The old beggar was always elusive, appearing when he needed to. Xu Daoyan had gotten used to it.

He took out thirty pounds of high-grade fire spirit stones. Cultivating his liver over these days had also nourished and strengthened his heart.

From that day on, he began to cultivate his heart. He channeled the intense fire spirit energy from the high-grade fire spirit stone into his heart, generating a thick life-giving force. His heart grew larger, and with each beat, his blood and qi surged, nourishing his limbs and bones, making Xu Daoyan feel incredibly comfortable...

Almost every day, he was immersed in cultivation.

The three months of summer passed, and now his lifespan had reached nine hundred and fifty years, at the lower level of the fifth rank. The range of his ability to absorb heaven and earth spirit energy had expanded to a radius of five miles. He could perceive every movement within this range with great clarity.

The lower level of the fifth rank: 810 to 1,010 years.

The middle level of the fifth rank: 1,010 to 1,210 years.

The upper level of the fifth rank: 1,210 to 1,410 years.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the beginning of autumn.

Over the past three months, Wu Shi's mood had calmed down a lot. No one from the Cai family had come to cause trouble, and it seemed that everyone had forgotten about those unpleasant events.

On this day, Xu Daoyan came to the back mountain, and the old beggar indeed appeared.

"Hmm, not bad. You've grown a lot in these three months. In the next three months of autumn, you will begin to cultivate your lungs." The old beggar grinned.

After cultivating his heart, Xu Daoyan's entire body had been nourished by blood and qi. His height had already approached eight feet, and the significant growth in just three months had surprised Wu Shi!

"Master, I want to earn some money..." Xu Daoyan looked at the old beggar pitifully. "Do you have any way to make money?"

"Are you thinking of buying high-grade gold spirit stones because you feel that cultivating with high-grade spirit stones is much faster?" The old beggar laughed.

"Master is wise!" Xu Daoyan naturally did not hide his thoughts.

"Then you should focus on cultivation. If you hadn't cultivated your heart, you wouldn't be able to withstand the high-grade fire spirit stone, and it would burn you directly. If you don't cultivate your lungs first to lay a solid foundation, introducing gold spirit energy into your body would tear your lungs!" Although the old beggar said this, he was very appreciative of his disciple.

Hearing this, Xu Daoyan was startled. He hadn't realized there was such a critical barrier. He quickly said, "Then please, Master, teach me how to cultivate my lungs!"

The old beggar placed his hands behind his back and said, "Listen carefully. In the three months of autumn, this is called 'Rongping.' The weather is urgent, and the earth's energy is clear. Go to bed early and rise early, like the roosters. Keep your mind calm to ease the harshness of autumn. Gather your spirit and qi to balance the autumn energy. Do not let your mind wander, and keep your lung qi clear. This is the way to respond to autumn and the method of cultivation."

"Cultivating the lungs in autumn is important because the lungs are responsible for breathing and the skin. The quality of a person's lungs can be seen in their skin. With each breath, the dispersion of qi through the skin and the opening and closing of sweat pores are closely related to the lungs. Cultivators absorb heaven and earth spirit energy, but because you haven't cultivated your lungs, your cultivation is very slow and clumsy. But imagine, when you cultivate your lungs, your entire body's pores will absorb heaven and earth spirit energy, expanding the range and regulated by your lungs. What would be the result?"

Hearing this, Xu Daoyan's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "It seems that cultivating the liver and heart was all about laying the foundation. Now, I can finally reap the rewards."

"Haha, you have some insight. Autumn is the season of harvest. In spring, we plant and grow, and in summer, we nurture and develop. In autumn, when things mature, it's time to harvest. In the three months of autumn, the killing energy is the strongest. Have you heard of 'executions after autumn'? In spring and summer, all things are full of vitality, and killing goes against the natural order. Therefore, the government always chooses to execute prisoners in autumn, which is in accordance with the natural timing!" The old beggar laughed, and this explanation made Xu Daoyan realize that his previous cultivation was all for this autumn harvest.

"Great! After cultivating my lungs, my cultivation speed will increase significantly!" Xu Daoyan was excited.

"Not only that, but the lungs also control the skin. Once you strengthen your lungs, your skin will become tight, tough, and impervious to blades and spears. Others' magical weapons will find it hard to harm you. At a higher level, you can even use a single hair as a sword to kill someone..."

Xu Daoyan calmed his excited heart and, following the techniques taught by the old beggar, began to absorb the autumn energy from the world, gradually integrating it into his lungs...

For the past half month, Xu Daoyan had been gradually integrating the autumn energy into his lungs, refining it into a gathering force.

The old beggar stood by, explaining the mysteries of the lungs, which made Xu Daoyan's cultivation smoother with a master's guidance.

The lungs are responsible for dispersing and clearing. They take in clear qi and expel turbid qi. Through breathing, they can cleanse the body of impurities and expel them through the large intestine.

If one can cultivate to a certain level, they can directly expel impurities from their body through each pore using the breathing technique. When Xu Daoyan drank a mouthful of the old beggar's immortal wine, he felt refreshed, and the impurities in his body were forced out through his pores, achieving this effect.

The lungs are also closely related to the brain. When Xu Daoyan tried to blow like the old beggar to cut the skin, he felt dizzy and lightheaded due to a lack of oxygen, which was the result of insufficient cultivation!

The lungs are connected to the nose, and most of a person's breathing is done through the nose. Without breathing, life would come to an end, highlighting the importance of the lungs.

Since cultivating his lungs, Xu Daoyan found that his nose had become more sensitive to odors. He could smell the grass, flowers, soil, and even the scent of mountain chickens and wild rabbits. He could track enemies or avoid them by following the scent.

After fifteen days of cultivation, Xu Daoyan's skin became tight and lustrous. When he casually scratched his skin with a dagger, it left only a white mark, even though he didn't use much force. Although he was far from being impervious to blades and spears, his skin had become much tougher, and it would have bled before.

"Master, how is the foundation I've laid in these fifteen days?" Xu Daoyan opened his eyes and exhaled a concentrated stream of turbid qi, which dissipated after a yard. An untrained person's breath would scatter in all directions, but only after cultivation could one exhale a concentrated stream of qi.

"Hmm, not bad," the old beggar nodded. "It's barely acceptable, a bit better than a pig."

Xu Daoyan's mouth twitched. He shouldn't expect the old beggar to say anything nice. He quickly said, "Teach me the techniques for the lungs!"

"The techniques for the lungs involve using the gathering force within the lungs to stimulate every pore, unblocking the channels, and strengthening the skin and flesh," the old beggar said, then taught Xu Daoyan the Body Tempering Technique.

In his mind, the Body Tempering Technique unfolded, and he immediately used the gathering force from his lungs to stimulate every pore in his body.

At this moment, Xu Daoyan was shocked to find that many of his pores were clogged with impurities, the result of not being properly unblocked during his body's breathing.

When he used the gathering force to stimulate his pores, he felt a sharp pain, which made him more determined to use the gathering force to remove the impurities from each pore.

After five days, Xu Daoyan felt refreshed and clear. Every pore in his body was breathing and absorbing heaven and earth spirit energy with his lungs. Each breath made him feel cool, clean, and comfortable, and his body felt light.

He began to gradually control his pores to breathe with his lungs.

Another ten days passed, and the skin and hair on Xu Daoyan's body became even more lustrous and clean, and his physical strength reached an unprecedented level.

When the lungs are cultivated to a certain level, one can even avoid bathing, as the gathering force can expel all impurities through the dense pores during breathing.

If fifteen days ago, Xu Daoyan's skin was like ordinary human skin, now it was like copper skin.