Chapter 8

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Wugong Zongtu seemed to notice the confusion and bewilderment in Chen Xun's eyes and continued to speak:

"The Nine Nether Battle Spear, passed down for a thousand years by the Black Python, is actually a remnant image of the ancient savages' martial arts. For centuries, the Black Python people have trained their bodies from a young age, diligently practicing the martial arts depicted in the savage image. Only by refining this martial art to the point where body and mind are in perfect harmony can one awaken the savage soul..."

Chen Xun was shocked, never expecting that the Black Python's secret martial arts tradition would be similar to the Five Postures of the Great Peng Secret Fist, a savage image depicting the ultimate martial arts of the ancient savages.

Upon reflection, it wasn't surprising. The Daoist Qingmu had mentioned in the silk book that martial arts are a form of cultivation, and the awakening of the savage soul is essentially no different from visualization and manifestation.

The mental image of a boxing posture etched in the sea of the soul is, in fact, a kind of savage soul.

Seeing Chen Xun lost in thought, Wugong Zongtu picked up a branch and, with a few strokes, drew the savage image of the Black Python's secret transmission on the ground:

A person holding a spear and thrusting it forward.

Wugong Zongtu said:

"The savage image of the Black Python actually depicts this single posture of thrusting the spear. Although the Nine Nether Battle Spear has nine postures, only this one truly qualifies as a savage soul martial art. Awakening the savage soul means manifesting the Nine Nether Savage Soul in the sea of the soul to activate the mysterious power within the blood and qi..."

Chen Xun suddenly understood. His body and mind in perfect harmony, his soul's sea suddenly opened, and countless subtle divine lights were drawn from his blood and qi, coalescing into a human-shaped shadow. The countless subtle divine lights released from his blood and qi were, indeed, the mysterious power Wugong spoke of.

"This mysterious power, the Black Python calls it True Blood Divine Light or Savage Soul Divine Light..." Wugong Zongtu continued.

True Blood Divine Light?

Savage Soul Divine Light?

Chen Xun thought that he had always used the method of pushing his body to its limits to develop potential, which, in principle, was not fundamentally different. The so-called potential was actually "True Blood Divine Light," but he had not been able to "see" this process before his soul's sea was opened.

Chen Xun shared his insights with Grandpa and added:

"Daoist Qingmu mentioned in the silk book that the marks of heaven and earth are naturally formed, which I believe refers to the laws of heaven and earth. Whether it's the Five Postures of the Great Peng Secret Fist or the Nine Nether Savage Soul of the Black Python, they are both manifestations of the laws of heaven and earth, which is why they are so profound. Visualization and manifestation involve etching the laws of heaven and earth into the sea of the soul..."

Hearing Chen Xun's words, Wugong Zongtu was deeply moved, realizing that what Chen Xun had understood in one night surpassed what he had spent a lifetime contemplating.

Wasn't the Black Python's early practice of taking the python as a spirit and the ancient savages' observation of the python to understand the nine ultimate martial arts a way of learning from the laws of heaven and earth?

But over the centuries, this history had become a legend.

Wugong Zongtu sighed deeply, finding it hard to recall the past. He took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and said:

"For a thousand years, the Black Python has known that awakening the Nine Nether Savage Soul can activate the power of True Blood Divine Light, which can be used to unleash powerful savage soul martial arts. When not used, the True Blood Divine Light can temper the body. Few have thought about the underlying principles..."

Chen Xun nodded, also realizing that although Daoist Qingmu had not reached the level of a Heavenly Savage, his "Residual Interpretation of Dao" was a treasure for ordinary martial artists.

Ordinary martial artists could only strengthen their bodies, while those like Zong Sang and Nan Liao, who had awakened their savage souls, could reinforce their bodies to the level of steel and iron. He had always been puzzled by this, but now he understood that it was due to the wonders of awakening the savage soul.

Wugong Zongtu added, "Whether it's awakening the savage soul or manifestation, most of the tribe's martial artists initially see only vague, indistinct shadows. As their cultivation progresses and their ancient blood becomes purer, the Nine Nether Savage Soul gradually becomes clearer and stronger. It's rare for someone to manifest and understand the savage soul's boxing posture in just one night, like you."

Chen Xun thought that his ability to manifest the savage soul in one night was directly related to his three years of continuous training by pushing his body to its limits.

Because of the three years of accumulation, he had already mastered the subtle realm of body and mind in perfect harmony. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to understand the Great Peng's boxing posture in one night.

"How should I train to further improve my cultivation?" Chen Xun asked, as the silk book only explained some principles but provided little specific training methods.

"The Black Python's training method is simple and basic. Cultivating the savage soul involves drawing True Blood Divine Light from the blood and qi to temper the body. Then, through eating or taking medicine, one replenishes the blood and qi, thereby strengthening the body to the level of divine iron, while the blood and qi become purer. Eventually, the first drop of ancient blood is condensed, breaking through the body's barriers, and the savage soul can channel the power of heaven and earth, thus advancing to the level of a Heavenly Savage..."

Wugong Zongtu was familiar with the cultivation of Heavenly Savages, as they still existed in the Black Python tribe thirty years ago.

Channeling the power of heaven and earth?

Recalling the countless thunderbolts that had instantly reduced dozens of mountains to dust when he first arrived in this world, Chen Xun was still in awe, thinking that must be the power of heaven and earth.

But he wondered if a Heavenly Savage could split a thousand or ten thousand feet high mountain into dust with a single hand.

Zongtu added:

"Although eating and practicing boxing can strengthen the blood and qi, the effects are far inferior to taking spiritual medicines. Therefore, training through the savage soul should be moderate. Otherwise, without sufficient spiritual medicines, one might be weak for many days, and gradual training would be more stable."

Speaking of spiritual medicines, Wugong Zongtu was deeply moved.

"This is the advantage of large tribes, which have more resources to cultivate high-level martial artists and even Heavenly Savages. The Black Python can only produce a hundred or so Black Python Pills in a year, even with the full strength of the village..."

Although the meat broth that martial artists usually eat contains a large amount of herbs to strengthen the blood and qi, the village can only produce one type of spiritual medicine, the Black Python Pill, and the output is extremely limited.

Chen Xun, though not as battered as before, felt exhausted after visualizing the savage soul twice in one night. It seemed that there were countless invisible mouths in his blood and qi, crying out for nourishment.

Chen Xun thought that while cultivating the savage soul was indeed more efficient than his previous method of pushing his body to its limits, where would he get so many spiritual medicines?

Without spiritual medicines, relying solely on food to replenish the blood and qi would not significantly accelerate his training.

Chen Xun sighed, "Haste makes waste; I understand this principle."

"Not only should training be moderate, but one should not easily use savage soul martial arts during hunting or combat. If one cannot defeat the enemy in one strike, the excessive consumption of energy can easily put one at a disadvantage. Also, every month, you should come to me to receive a Black Python Pill..." Zong Sang added.

One Black Python Pill per month, twelve per year, was more than a tenth of the total annual production of Black Python Pills.

Grandpa Zongtu could not arbitrarily give him a tenth of the Black Python Pills produced each year, so he must be saving his own share for Chen Xun.

"Grandpa, this is absolutely unacceptable!" Chen Xun, despite his desire for the spiritual medicine, could not let Grandpa Zongtu favor him so much, and firmly declined.

Not to mention that Grandpa Zongtu was in a critical training period and needed the spiritual medicine, Zong Sang and Zong Ya, his son and grandson, could also benefit greatly from a few more Black Python Pills each year.

Grandpa Zongtu treated him with genuine affection, but he was, after all, an outsider. Accepting such favor would make him feel guilty towards Zong Sang and Zong Ya.

"One Black Python Pill per month won't help you much, unfortunately, the Black Python is just a small tribe," Zongtu sighed deeply, and after a long pause, he slowly calmed his shock and emotion, his sunken triangular old eyes becoming cloudy again, and he said to Chen Xun,

"During the night soul ceremony, the Black Python will bring out the savage image. With your high talent, you might gain some insights from observing the ancient savage image. However, remember to avoid showing any abnormalities..."

Then, Wugong Zongtu explained the key points of taking the Black Python Pill for cultivation and left.

**********************

In the village, there was no habit of knocking before entering a house. Chen Xun, fearing that someone might accidentally see him training, used a stick to block the door and then took out a Black Python Pill from his pocket.

The greatest benefit of cultivating the savage soul was that one did not need to be battered to refine the power of the medicine.

Following Grandpa Zongtu's instructions, Chen Xun held the Black Python Pill in his mouth, extended his arms, and performed the Soaring Strike Posture, entering the subtle realm of body and mind in perfect harmony...

His mind extended along his arms to infinity, and his soul's sea suddenly opened, like a vast golden sea with fine golden waves. The subtle divine light in his blood and qi was released, and in the next moment, it coalesced into a human-shaped shadow in the sea of the soul, as if in a "dream," spreading its wings to soar in the sky...

Ah, this is visualization and manifestation, this is the awakening of the savage soul!

For martial artists, performing a subtle realm boxing posture or combat technique is a convenient way to enter a state of extreme stillness and visualization and manifestation.

Body and mind in perfect harmony, using the boxing posture to enter the subtle realm, the mind enters the sea of the soul; and because of the harmony of mind and body, the boxing posture and savage soul automatically manifest, drawing the divine light from the blood and qi...

At this moment, a punch is a powerful savage soul martial art; when not used, the divine light drawn from the blood and qi can temper the body.

This, it turns out, is the supreme method of cultivating the body.

Even without the subtle realm boxing posture, as long as one can enter a state of extreme stillness, the mind can etch the boxing posture in the sea of the soul, drawing the divine light from the blood and qi to manifest the savage soul...

Daoist Qingmu and the cultivators of Yunzhou, whether in martial arts or true cultivation, are essentially the same, just with different methods, which is quite correct!

Understanding all this, Chen Xun couldn't help but feel a bit smug:

Even if the secret technique of visualization and manifestation is a closely guarded secret of the major sects of Yunzhou, so what?

Feeling smug, Chen Xun's mind remained focused on the savage soul.

Time and space seemed to stop, with only the blood and qi flowing faster through his body, as if emitting a golden glow to absorb the power of the Black Python Pill.

It seemed that the blood and qi were becoming more vigorous with each passing moment.

It seemed that the subtle divine light was continuously overflowing from the blood and qi, and the human-shaped shadow formed by the True Blood Divine Light became more solid, even the facial features began to take shape...

At this moment, Chen Xun felt an intense longing for the Heavenly Savage.

After an unknown period, Chen Xun finally emerged from the state of clear consciousness yet dream-like feeling.

At that instant, the savage soul in the sea of the soul shattered into countless fragments, scattering into his limbs and body.

His entire body seemed to be singing, crazily absorbing the nutrients from the countless fragments...

The Black Python Pill in his mouth had long been dissolved, his arms filled with surging power, his heart beating more steadily and powerfully, his blood and qi full of vitality, and even in the dim light of the hut, Chen Xun felt a clear vision.

Comparing it to his previous method of pushing his body to its limits, Chen Xun felt that this night's training was equivalent to several months of effort. Just from the sense of power in his arms, it seemed no weaker than that of a mid-level martial artist.

The small hut was too cramped to fully test his skills, but Chen Xun really wanted to try unleashing the power of the True Blood Divine Light to see how powerful it was.

If Wugong Zongtu had seen Chen Xun condense the savage soul to the point where the facial features were visible and fully absorb the power of the Black Python Pill in just half a day, his jaw would have dropped again.

Grandpa Zongtu said that since he had awakened the savage soul, he was now a mid-level martial artist. Chen Xun thought that the key to further training was to gradually use the True Blood Divine Light to temper his entire body.