Chapter 423: Qi Deviation

"Let me see, let me see!" Sun Lingtong was very curious.

Ning Zhuo informed him that the Fetal Breath Spirit Skiff could not be burned for the time being, and that he had instead obtained a cultivation technique because the fire-burial failed, which left Sun Lingtong quite astonished.

Witnessing the cultivation technique being triggered within the flames, Sun Lingtong sighed: "From the news we obtained in the Myriad Medicine Sect, this Fetal Breath Spirit Skiff is a treasure passed down through many generations."

"I never expected that after falling into your hands, it would actually be triggered to reveal the entire cultivation technique."

"This technique is powerful; if one successfully cultivates it, it's equivalent to everyone being able to temporarily enter a state of fetal breath, which provides a great boost for body cultivation or even combat."

"Your luck has been quite good recently, kid."

Sun Lingtong looked at Ning Zhuo with newfound respect.

He then asked: "What do you plan to do next?"

Ning Zhuo stood beside him, stopping the Fire-Burial Prajna Spirit-Releasing Scripture and gradually extinguishing the flames. He frowned, quite troubled, looking at the undamaged Fetal Breath Spirit Skiff: "I am thinking about whether to return to the Myriad Medicine Sect to use the Spirit-Hidden Willow to comprehend this 'Heaven-Born Earth-Nurtured Fetal Breath Great Art'."

After Ning Zhuo's failure, he had attempted to comprehend this technique.

Unfortunately, this technique was a genuine body-cultivation method, and his profound five-element cultivation realm was of no help here; he could only rely on his own experience and knowledge to learn, understand, and comprehend it.

In this way, it was too slow!

If there were a master who cultivated this technique nearby to provide guidance, that would also work.

But the Fetal Breath Spirit Skiff was clearly an ancient treasure; he did not know through what channels the Myriad Medicine Sect had obtained it and passed it down.

As for the "Heaven-Born Earth-Nurtured Fetal Breath Great Art," after Ning Zhuo's research, he guessed that it was likely not the most recent method. It should be earlier than the Three Sects' Supreme Arts, but far later than the "Five Viscera Temple Spirit God Art."

Sun Lingtong looked at Ning Zhuo in surprise and blurted out: "The Spirit-Hidden Willow has already been tortured to that state; I'm afraid it can't support you in comprehending this cultivation technique, right?"

"Last time you almost exhausted it to death, and it just barely managed to save its life. If you abuse its power again, it's very likely you'll put it to death for good."

"After all, neither of us can strictly control the Spirit-Hidden Willow or regulate the degree of its assistance."

Ning Zhuo sighed deeply, his expression dim: "This is also what I am worried about, Boss."

After the two discussed it further, they decided to proceed according to their previous plan and continue their journey. During this period, Ning Zhuo would rely on his own strength to comprehend this technique.

Sun Lingtong would also help.

As for the Spirit-Hidden Willow, they would let it rest and recover properly. In the future, if Ning Zhuo made no progress or encountered a bottleneck while comprehending this technique, he could take the Myriad-Mile Wandering Dragon and return to the Myriad Medicine Sect to borrow its power.

"The Spirit-Hidden Willow is in a weak state now. Even if I go back now and use it to comprehend the technique, I can only comprehend a little bit."

"It needs to rest and recuperate intermittently to preserve its vitality."

"In that case, comprehending the technique would be intermittent and bumpy."

"It would be better to let it rest and recuperate directly until it reaches a complete state. Then, I will come back to use it to comprehend the technique. That would undoubtedly be more efficient!"

Ning Zhuo made up his mind and entrusted Sun Lingtong with the Myriad-Mile Wandering Dragon, while he himself put his all into bitterly studying the "Heaven-Born Earth-Nurtured Fetal Breath Great Art."

This anomaly, although it brought an actual gain, was not something he truly wanted in his heart.

What kind of true scripture or technique could compare to healing his mother, the Buddhist Physician Meng Yaoyin?

Now, although he had cleverly obtained the Fetal Breath Spirit Skiff, he was hindered by this cultivation technique, causing him to delay burning the boat.

"If I had known this earlier, who would have wasted so much time in the Myriad Medicine Sect?"

"Mother, your child has failed you!"

Harboring such thoughts, he studied the "Heaven-Born Earth-Nurtured Fetal Breath Great Art," filled with a trace of resentment and anger.

Once, when he saw the content "When first learning to regulate breath, one must think of the qi, exiting from the navel, entering and extinguishing at the navel, regulating it to be extremely fine," his body moved with his heart, and he began to regulate his breath.

He tried hard to hold one breath, attempting to breathe through the navel, counting to eighty-one. However, the qi rampaged within his body, uncontrollable.

A sharp pain came from his abdomen; Ning Zhuo felt the qi within his body like a wild horse that had broken its reins, crashing everywhere.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and refused to give up, forcing himself to continue circulating his power, attempting to guide the qi into his dantian. However, the qi did not obey; instead, it became increasingly violent, as if it wanted to tear his body apart.

His complexion gradually turned pale, his lips turned purple, and the qi within his body felt like an invisible net, tightly binding him. He tried to exhale through his mouth and nose, only to find his breath blocked, unable to breathe smoothly!

"Ah!" He let out a loud cry, and the rampaging qi within his body finally erupted.

Ning Zhuo felt a sharp pain in his chest, and immediately after, a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, staining the ground before him.

His body trembled violently, losing control at that moment, and he collapsed to the ground as if all his strength had been drained.

Ning Zhuo's vision was blurry, and his consciousness gradually faded. He heard a roaring sound in his ears, as if everything in the world was moving away from him.

He was clearly keeping his eyes open, but at this moment, his eyes were dim to the extreme, plunging him into endless darkness, with silence all around, save for his own extremely weak panting echoing.

The qi within his body was no longer rampaging, but the pain was tragic and heavy, as if countless sharp blades were cutting and piercing every part of his body.

The intense pain almost made him faint.

"Hold on... must... hold on." Ning Zhuo forced himself to rouse his spirit.

He was very clear that he must swallow medicinal pills to heal his injuries at this moment. If he couldn't succeed, and there was even the slightest delay, the injuries would worsen crazily, and the price he would have to pay for healing in the future would be even greater.

But he had no way to move; he didn't have a shred of strength left.

His vision recovered a little light, but it was still quite blurry.

The feeling of dizziness became increasingly intense!

Just as he was about to collapse and truly faint, a figure that was incomparably familiar and dear to him burst into his field of vision.

"Bo... Boss." He opened his mouth, his voice incomparably faint.

Sun Lingtong was shocked; his heart had suddenly jumped in the dragon-head cabin, and he felt something was wrong. He thought rapidly, trying to find the source of his own unease.

He immediately checked the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit in the clam pearl and found that the latter was still in hibernation.

"Xiao Zhuo!"

Sun Lingtong shouted suddenly, then decisively left the dragon-head cabin and rushed to the cultivation cabin.

As soon as the door opened, he saw Ning Zhuo collapsed on the ground.

The bloodstains in front of Ning Zhuo, his golden-paper complexion, and the way he was covered in sweat made Sun Lingtong feel great heartache.

Sun Lingtong immediately took action, checking Ning Zhuo's physical condition, taking out medicinal pills, and infusing magic power to help the latter digest the medicinal efficacy.

Ning Zhuo felt incomparably at ease and fell into a deep sleep.

By the time he woke up, a full day and night had passed.

He felt much better!

Although his body was still weak, the tragic pain had subsided by ninety percent, and his head still retained a feeling of dizziness, making him feel lightheaded when he tried to stand and walk, but it was much better than when he had suffered qi deviation.

"Boss." Ning Zhuo paced slowly and walked into the dragon-head cabin.

Sun Lingtong had already sensed him in the dragon-head cabin just as Ning Zhuo walked out of his living cabin and along the corridor.

By the time Ning Zhuo opened the door and entered the dragon-head cabin, Sun Lingtong did not turn his head and let out a cold snort.

"Boss, I was wrong." Ning Zhuo walked behind Sun Lingtong, gave a sheepish smile, and lowered his head to admit his mistake.

Only then did Sun Lingtong turn around, his brows tightly locked, his face full of sternness, and he shouted sharply.

"Xiao Zhuo, you idiot, you actually started cultivating the 'Heaven-Born Earth-Nurtured Fetal Breath Great Art'?"

"Taking a tumble this time is a good thing!"

"The feeling of qi deviation is the best reminder for you."

"You have already cultivated the Demon-Dyed Blood Tendon Art and established your lower dantian; how could you attempt to cultivate another technique?"

"This is a principle that even a small Qi Refining cultivator just starting their path knows; how could you make such a mistake!"

Ning Zhuo scratched his head: "Thinking about it now, it is indeed inconceivable. I was too obsessed with comprehending the 'Heaven-Born Earth-Nurtured Fetal Breath Great Art' and started circulating this technique without even realizing it."

"When I was blocked halfway through, I should have stopped, but I was in a bad mood and quite frustrated, so I actually wanted to force it."

"I was able to recover so quickly this time thanks to you, Boss, for helping me in time! Boss, you really are my best boss."

Sun Lingtong was praised like this, but he became even angrier; he flew up, pinched his small fist, and gave Ning Zhuo's head a hard knock.

"You brat, still grinning!"

"I'm grounding you for seven days; reflect on your mistakes, and you are not allowed to cultivate during this time."

Ning Zhuo's expression changed, his face pale, and he said in a lost voice: "Boss, what about my daily lessons?"

Sun Lingtong frowned, so angry that two red flushes appeared on his cheeks; he put his hands on his hips and shouted: "Did you not hear clearly what I just said?"

"Understood, understood!" Ning Zhuo replied quickly.

"Get lost, go serve your grounding." Sun Lingtong pointed toward the cabin.

Ning Zhuo was dejected, his face dim and lusterless; after bidding farewell to Sun Lingtong, he left the dragon-head cabin.

Sun Lingtong watched through the image as Ning Zhuo walked along the corridor and drilled into his own living cabin, and only then did he let out a soft sigh, muttering in his heart: "Xiao Zhuo..."

Only then did Sun Lingtong reveal a look of deep concern.

He understood Ning Zhuo's current state very well!

Seeing Ning Zhuo at this moment was like seeing his former self.

Once upon a time, his master had been lost in the Lava Immortal Palace and had mysteriously disappeared. Even though Sun Lingtong only had Qi Refining cultivation, he had constantly descended into the depths of Fire Persimmon Mountain, repeatedly entering the Lava Immortal Palace, risking his life every single time to explore.

Did he not know that he was taking a risk by doing so?

Did he not know that, in fact, his master was likely already dead?

Sun Lingtong looked back at his past and discovered that such seemingly simple and clear questions were things he really didn't know at the time!

Because he only had his heart set on finding his master, and even if reason had told him that there was no hope at all, he would have pushed that realization into the deepest corner of his heart.

For a very long time, the belief in finding his master had supported Sun Lingtong, making him constantly forge ahead and fight without regard for his own safety.

Nowadays, how similar Ning Zhuo's situation was to his own!

"Then, how did I walk out of it myself?"