Chapter 23

……

Wang Fobao closed his eyes to heal his injuries, and Yang Yu felt a sense of relief. Taking advantage of the night, he left.

Turning the corner of the alley, he vaguely saw the figures of constables and did not stop, heading straight home.

Closing the door, he began to count his spoils.

"The Daoist from the Liansheng Sect is really wealthy."

Yang Yu was somewhat taken aback.

From the white-clad man, he obtained a silver note worth 100 taels, a gold ingot of five taels, and some unnamed bottles with a pungent smell, which seemed to be poison.

Yang Yu sighed.

A warehouse guard earns less than two taels of silver a year, and a prison guard, five times that, still earns less than ten taels a year.

The wealth this Daoist carried with him was enough for a prison guard's income for twenty years.

One must know that prison guards have a proper official position, and their income in Heishan City is already considered not low.

Putting the silver note close to his body and wrapping the miscellaneous items to throw under the bed, Yang Yu took out the secret manual that still had the scent of ink.

Under the dim lamplight, he opened it and began to read.

"Qi is the commander of blood, and blood is the mother of qi! When blood and qi flow smoothly and vigorously, a person's energy is abundant, and no illness will arise. Conversely, various diseases will plague the body."

"Blood and qi are the foundation of martial arts. Using qi to drive blood and blood to nourish the body, internal cultivation and external training are required to advance in martial arts."

"The human body is complex and mysterious. Broadly, it can be divided into skin, large tendons, fine meridians, internal organs, and bones. If divided in detail, there would be ten or a hundred times more."

"Gradually nurturing each part until the whole body is unobstructed, this process is called 'foundation building.' Blood and qi are the foundation of foundation building."

"The higher the level of blood replacement, the faster, more complete, and more powerful this process will be."

...

Opening the book, the first thing that caught his eye was the annotation that seemed not yet dry.

The tone was precisely Wang Fobao's.

After that, the specific cultivation methods of the 'Iron Crotch Technique' were detailed, with illustrations and text. Following that were the medicinal baths, medicinal wines, and numerous precautions required for practicing this martial art.

Yang Yu found that this 'Iron Crotch Technique' contained a lot of martial arts terminology, much of which he had never heard of. If it weren't for Wang Fobao's annotations, he wouldn't dare to practice it even if he had obtained it.

The circulation of qi and blood is crucial. A slight mistake could result in facial paralysis, limb numbness, or even a stroke, which is extremely dangerous.

The most critical part of practicing the Iron Crotch Technique is not the medicinal baths or wines, but the 'Qi Absorption Method.'

Qi is the commander of blood, and blood is the mother of qi.

Qi is born from blood and is inherently formless, existing by attaching to the blood. Without the Qi Absorption Method, even if the blood is replaced, it would be impossible to extract it from the blood.

"Old Wei asked me to seek him after the blood replacement, but I have another choice..."

His thoughts racing, Yang Yu took out the iron beads from his pocket and swallowed them one by one with a wooden expression.

Iron is much easier to swallow than stones, after all. Although the iron beads are round and flat, they are relatively smooth.

Swallowing...

Swallowing a whole bag of iron beads, a warm current spread throughout his body, dispelling the fatigue of the night.

Swallowing iron is like taking drugs.

This point satisfied Yang Yu.

In fact, without the Cauldron of Gluttony, his progress in blood replacement would have been delayed by much more.

Buzz!

Closing his eyes, the scene changed, and he found himself inside the Cauldron of Gluttony.

On the cauldron wall, two progress bars were clearly visible, and another one appeared: [Iron Crotch Technique: Current Progress (0/100)]

"Can I completely refine the human skin scroll today?"

Yang Yu reached out, and the human skin scroll, which was almost fully refined, flew into his hand.

Refining the human skin scroll is different from the broken sword.

To perform sword techniques, a weapon is essential. Therefore, relying on the broken sword, he obtained the old man's decades of sword practice experience.

But the human skin scroll seems different.

Even when the lotus progress reached ninety, he did not obtain the 'Old Mother Qi Absorption Record.'

However, Yang Yu could understand. After all, a weapon is the medium for performing sword techniques, but a manual is not.

"Phew!"

Putting aside his杂念, Yang Yu began to recite the 'Old Mother Qi Absorption Record.'

Indeed, his refinement process was recitation.

For over two months, Yang Yu had recited the scriptures on the human skin scroll countless times, almost memorizing them.

Buzz~

After an unknown amount of time, Yang Yu's heart suddenly trembled.

He saw the luminous white characters on the human skin scroll rise, gather, and in a blink, form a web of words before him.

Then, the white light spread, enveloping him.

An ancient and serene courtyard appeared in the white light, gradually becoming clear.

Clear springs, flowing water, a small courtyard, a fence, a vegetable garden, a pigsty, a bamboo house, and an old woman who seemed to walk with a trembling gait.

The scene was real, like a dream.

Yang Yu could almost see the wrinkles on the old woman's face and her pale, lifeless eyes.

Flap~

A snow-white bird flew away from her aged hand.

"True Words, your disciple has come to save you."

The old woman laughed coldly, her withered hand grabbing a half-grown pig from the pigsty.

"This pig..."

Yang Yu's heart skipped a beat, feeling the pig's eyes cold and filled with intense hatred.

This emotion was so strong that just a glance made Yang Yu feel a strong hatred and disgust for the old woman.

"Compassionate Mother, pity us..."

The old woman's nails, like scissors, easily tore the skin from the pig's chest.

"True Words, you have troubled me, hated me, and despised me all your life, but I will make sure you can never escape my mark."

The old woman held the pig's skin, muttering to herself.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, the old woman seemed to sense something, her pale eyes glowing with a terrifying light, illuminating the valley.

"Who dares to spy on the Mother?"

Crack!

Like a copper mirror shattering.

On the bed, Yang Yu suddenly opened his eyes, feeling a splitting headache. He barely managed to endure it after swallowing half a bag of iron beads.

"That old woman..."

Yang Yu was drenched in cold sweat, taking a long time to re-enter the Cauldron of Gluttony.

On the cauldron wall, a faint light flickered.

[Human Skin Scroll: Refined]

[Old Mother Qi Absorption Record (Extractable)]

"Did that old woman discover me?"

Yang Yu felt a chill.

But thinking about it, it seemed impossible. Even in the stories told by Li Er, who exaggerated, he had never heard of such a terrifying person.

"It must be a coincidence, I'm scaring myself."

Yang Yu comforted himself and looked at the human skin scroll again. The scriptures were no longer incomprehensible.

Instead, they were detailed illustrations and annotations, similar to those in the Iron Crotch Technique manual.

Nine complete human meridian diagrams and over ten thousand words of detailed annotations.

"Done!"

Yang Yu felt a slight joy, pushing away the unpleasant memories.

Reaching out to touch the human skin scroll, the various human meridian diagrams and detailed annotations immediately appeared in his mind.

Buzz~

But at that moment, a change occurred.

The human skin scroll, now devoid of all characters, suddenly emitted a pure golden light, making the cauldron interior appear majestic.

The light flashed, and Yang Yu saw the shadows of various fierce and terrifying beasts on the cauldron wall.

"What is this?"

Yang Yu was startled and looked at the cauldron wall.

On it, a different golden text appeared.

[Discovered Recipe!]