Chapter 8

It was almost eleven o'clock, and the business at the barbecue stand was getting better and better.

But Chen Hong was somewhat distracted, and in a moment of inattention, the skewers in his hand got burnt.

He was still lost in thought, completely unaware of what had happened.

His wife couldn't help but remind him, "Husband, the skewers are burnt!"

Only then did Chen Hong snap back to reality. He looked at the skewers in his hand and indeed, they were burnt!

He quickly gave his wife an apologetic smile, then placed the burnt skewers on a nearby plate. He then swiftly took a new set of fresh skewers from the cabinet and started grilling for the customers again.

For a street vendor's barbecue business, taste and sincerity are the most important things!

If a customer has a bad experience once, they might not come back.

Even worse, it could create a chain reaction, causing their friends and colleagues to stop coming as well.

Business would then go to other vendors.

Chen Hong understood this, and his wife understood it even more!

After grilling the skewers, his wife brought them to the customers.

Naturally, she apologized again.

That's how the barbecue business works!

Taste and hygiene are crucial, but speed is equally important!

Many customers will curse if they have to wait too long.

Fortunately, this time the customer was easy-going. As soon as his wife spoke, the customer smiled and said, "It's okay, we're not in a hurry!"

Back at the stand, his wife couldn't help but ask, "Husband, what's wrong with you today? You've been so distracted!"

Chen Hong quickly replied, "Nothing, nothing..."

But his mind was still preoccupied with what had happened an hour ago.

Under the streetlights, the familiar convenience store owner, Xu Ji, seemed completely different to him.

Those eyes, which used to be listless, were now deep and bright like the night.

"If you really want to quit this 'smoke' addiction..."

"I have a method!"

The words he spoke were calm but powerful.

At the time, Chen Hong didn't think much of it and subconsciously refused.

After all, these days, scammers are rampant!

Every day, Chen Hong's phone receives many scam messages.

He also receives anti-fraud warnings from official sources.

As for those who parade around with various titles, trying to sell or market something, they are endless.

However, when he heard Chen Hong's polite refusal, Xu Ji just smiled and turned to leave.

At that moment, Chen Hong felt as if he had missed out on a fortune.

For the past hour, he had been constantly replaying what had happened an hour ago.

Regret was brewing in his mind.

But reason held him back.

He glanced at the convenience store on the street.

The small store was quiet, with only the light from the fluorescent lamp spilling out through the glass door.

He let out a light sigh, "What does Xu Ji know about quitting smoking?"

That's right!

A dropout from a third-rate university!

A guy who does nothing all day, what does he know about quitting smoking?

But...

There was a strong emotion in his heart.

"What if he really knows?" Chen Hong hesitated, then couldn't resist taking out a cigarette from his pocket and putting it in his mouth.

He saw his wife's face turn pale.

He quickly laughed awkwardly, "Just one... just one to relax..."

His wife's expression changed, "You smoke... you smoke... then we won't have children!"

Chen Hong swallowed hard and silently put the cigarette away.

But...

The craving for nicotine was like a stubborn sore, impossible to shake off.

He turned his back and looked at the customers.

Then he said to his wife, "I'm going to the bathroom!"

His wife, of course, knew what he was thinking.

He's going to smoke in the bathroom again!

However, she didn't stop him. She just put down the plate and reminded him, "Go quickly and come back!"

Chen Hong responded, "Okay," and walked towards the public toilet in the alley.

As he passed the convenience store, he couldn't resist going over and quietly peeking inside.

In the cramped, crowded, and narrow little shop,

The fan was whirring.

Under the fluorescent light, a familiar smoking buddy was hanging upside down on the freezer.

Like a bat!

His eyes were closed, and he looked completely at ease.

If he were sitting cross-legged instead of hanging upside down, Chen Hong would have suspected that this former smoking buddy was actually an enlightened monk!

The serene expression, the indifferent demeanor.

It was as if an old monk was in deep meditation, or a celestial being had descended to earth!

Chen Hong was momentarily entranced!

The other person seemed to know Chen Hong was peeking, and suddenly opened his eyes. Those deep, dark eyes, like the night, seemed to shimmer with wisdom.

Then, he smiled at Chen Hong.

That upside-down smile made Chen Hong's eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

Chen Hong couldn't help but ask, "Aji, what are you doing?"

The other person smiled and said, "Nothing much, just inspecting my physical body!"

"Inspecting your physical body?" Chen Hong didn't understand. Was it a health check?

But for a health check, shouldn't you go to the hospital for tests and scans?

Why are you hanging upside down on the freezer?

And the term "physical body" sounded strange!

The other person said calmly, "Indeed!"

"The human body is full of mysteries and profundities!"

"To inspect it clearly, some preparations are necessary!"

Chen Hong was completely confused.

He felt that this former smoking buddy was acting strangely today.

Was he obsessed with a novel?

Or had he become a middle-schooler again from playing too many games?

Chen Hong hesitated for a moment, then swallowed his words.

He chuckled, "You do your thing, I'm going to the bathroom to have a smoke!"

Well, middle-schoolers are always full of fun.

Tomorrow morning, this smoking buddy will probably be back to normal.

But as he turned to leave, that feeling of missing out on a fortune came back, even stronger!

...

Tongtian Jiaozhu watched the short, stout man walk away.

He shook his head, "A man with opportunity but no fortune!"

He had encountered many such people and didn't give it much thought.

He stretched out his hands, supported the ground, then released his feet, and with a very agile flip, stood up again.

His head felt slightly dizzy.

Tongtian Jiaozhu knew this was due to the weakness of this physical body!

This was within his expectations.

He slightly stretched out his hand and looked at the lines on his palm.

After hanging upside down, the blood rushed to his head.

The innate spiritual light within the human body, with the surge of blood, would reveal a trace of its presence.

The easiest place to detect this trace of innate spiritual light is the lines on the palm.

This is why even ordinary people without cultivation can predict a person's fortune by looking at the lines on their palm.

The method Tongtian Jiaozhu was using now was the Immortal Palm-Viewing Technique.

In the past, when the disciples of the Jie Sect recruited new members, they would often use this method to assess their potential and bone structure.

Now, Tongtian Jiaozhu was using it on himself, and it was naturally effective!

However, as he looked at the lines on his palm, carefully observing the depth of their colors, his brows gradually furrowed.

The lines on his palm, the trace of the innate spiritual light, were hidden!

Not even a faint glow was visible!

What did this mean?

Tongtian Jiaozhu knew very well!

This was a sign of deep-seated toxins in the blood and flesh!

It was like a foggy morning, where the sun is not absent, but its light is obscured by the fog.

"It can't be as simple as toxins in the lungs..." Tongtian Jiaozhu said, then firmly grabbed his left wrist with his right hand.

He then used his hand as a blade, gently pushing the flesh and bones along the meridians, while taking a deep breath and holding it in his lungs.

After about ten breaths, Tongtian Jiaozhu exhaled the turbid air from his chest.

His expression became serious.

"Yin and Yang are disordered, the five qi are unstable, and the meridians are obstructed..." He said, feeling the movements within his organs and observing the blue veins on the back of his left hand, which were starting to rise.

But this was just the surface!

Any cultivator could see this.

As a Sage, Tongtian Jiaozhu saw it more clearly and in more detail!

He extended his hand and pressed on various acupoints, applying different levels of force.

It's important to note that humans are different from the witch and demon races.

Humans were created by the Snail Emperor Sage in the Tai Su Heaven, embodying the will of the Heavenly Dao, through the interaction of cause and effect and the flow of qi.

When the Snail Emperor created humans, Tongtian Jiaozhu was there to protect the process.

At the same time, he subtly comprehended the workings of the Heavenly Dao!

Therefore, Tongtian Jiaozhu knew countless secrets about humans.

For example, the origin of the innate spiritual light within the human body!

And why humans can intermarry with the witch and demon races and bear offspring!

Naturally, Tongtian Jiaozhu knew that the human body is a treasure trove!

It resonates with the stars and the Great Dao above, and aligns with the Yin and Yang and the Eight Trigrams below, while containing a trace of innate spiritual light, which forms the foundation for seeking the Dao!

The meridians and acupoints are the keys to this treasure trove.

Therefore, even ordinary people can stimulate the body's mysteries and release the potential within the treasure trove by acupuncture, thereby healing diseases and cultivating!

As Tongtian Jiaozhu pressed on the acupoints,

His expression gradually darkened.

"The amount of toxins in this body is unprecedented..." he muttered.

Each acupoint, when pressed with different levels of force, gave the same feedback.

Sour, painful, numb, swollen, and obstructed.

Thus, Tongtian Jiaozhu knew.

This was not a healthy body.

It was not even a normal body.

It was a body contaminated and infected by various postnatal toxins.

This was extremely abnormal!

Moreover, the feedback from almost all acupoints was like a tangled mess.

Sour, painful, numb, swollen, and obstructed, these reactions came in waves, even all at once.

This was because there were too many toxins, to the point where the body couldn't accurately distinguish the reactions!

This left Tongtian Jiaozhu puzzled.

For ordinary people to cultivate, it is a process of unlocking the body's treasure trove.

The first step is to cleanse the postnatal impurities, to clarify the mind and see the innate spiritual light, and to draw in the heavenly qi.

This is known as the Foundation Building stage!

But based on the feedback from the acupoints in this body,

The toxins were so severe that they almost formed a rain within the body, intertwining with the flesh and organs, merging together!

This gave Tongtian Jiaozhu the absurd feeling that the ordinary people in this world were cultivating their bodies into postnatal toxic and polluted entities!

It was as if they were afraid of living too long!

From Tongtian Jiaozhu's perspective, this body, if it could live to eighty, would be a stroke of luck!

At fifty or sixty, it would likely be plagued by numerous diseases and have a short life!

It might even pass on the toxins to future generations!

Tongtian Jiaozhu thought of the so-called cigarettes and the text on the box.

He thought of the short, stout man.

The absurdity in his heart grew even stronger.

He thought of the streets that were as bright as daylight, the iron birds created by humans soaring in the sky, and the vehicles rushing back and forth.

Everything here was unfamiliar, novel, and absurd.

People, events, and scenery were all like this.

Various contradictions, confusions, and doubts accumulated in Tongtian Jiaozhu's heart.

The curious Dao heart, which had been dormant for countless ages and no longer beat, was reawakened.

This made Tongtian Jiaozhu eager to learn more about this world.

However...

Before that, he had more important things to do!

Tongtian Jiaozhu walked back to the glass cabinet.

He sat back down on the strange chair.

He closed his eyes and said to himself, "The most urgent task now is to cleanse the toxins and impurities from this body!"