Chapter 17: Azure Flame Silken Palm

Bleary-eyed, he opened his eyes, Zhou Shuo involuntarily woke up, then suddenly sat up, feeling the soft mattress beneath him, smelling the faint calming incense lingering at his nose, gazing at the quiet censer by the window and the empty room, recalling his reaction last night with Zi Nu and his promise to stay overnight at Zi Lan Xuan, he couldn't help but raise a hand to cover his forehead.

Really muddle-headed, but her skill in blending incense is indeed not bad; my soul feels much more comfortable." Zhou Shuo twisted his neck, the abnormality in his soul had disappeared—this was the effect of the calming incense Zi Nu had prepared for him. That woman is indeed beautiful and charming, but I shouldn't have thoughts about her.

Indeed, it's the age to start wanting women." Zhou Shuo thought about the feelings he'd developed for Zi Nu, unconsciously patting his forehead again. If it were another transmigrator, he'd probably have a bevy of beauties, maybe even have his pants pulled down for people to see, but coming back to the point, I've been doing rather poorly. Too bad Zi Nu isn't a suitable match, and she seems to have a bit of interest in Han Fei.

Zhou Shuo calmed his mind, lowered the hand that had been patting his forehead, and yet happened to notice something unusual. Looking down, he saw it was a scroll. Seeing the scroll, his heart stirred; he quickly picked it up and unfolded it, gazing at its contents, a smile involuntarily appearing on his face.

Azure Flame Silken Palm, this trip was worth it, worth it." Zhou Shuo looked at the scroll in his hand, couldn't help but grin—this was a volume of martial arts secrets, extremely detailed and with a deep refinement of the martial arts system, an advanced palm technique.

Azure Flame Silken Palm, source unknown. To cultivate this palm technique, one must train the palm power to be soft and pervasive, then, by ingesting a specific poison, absorb its medicinal power to condense Azure Flame True Qi, causing those struck to suffer internal fire poison, drying out their essence and dying. As one's skill increases, the palm power grows stronger; ultimately one can emit successive green-flame palm projections from a distance, able to roast a person to a desiccated corpse.

Its power is formidable, yet cultivating Azure Flame Silken Palm is also extremely dangerous, because ingesting poison to refine true qi requires careful control; otherwise it easily harms the body. However, Zhou Shuo doesn't mind, for he values the martial knowledge contained in this art—such as how to absorb medicinal power to train qi, how to condense palm power, the correspondence of the body's meridians and organs, and the dialectics of bodily Dao and martial arts, etc.

"Creak!" Just as Zhou Shuo was engrossed in reading, the room's sliding door was pushed open.

"You're awake!" Zi Nu looked at the man seated on the couch examining the scroll, her eyes smiling.

"Mm!" Zhou Shuo glanced up, then lowered his head again.

This Azure Flame Silken Palm isn't something you can just casually cultivate." Zi Nu looked at the fellow who had only glanced at her once before burying his head, couldn't help but find it amusing—he's truly a martial arts fanatic—but this palm technique really isn't something you can casually cultivate.

I know, but thank you anyway. Nothing much today, right? I'm going back to study this martial art properly." Zhou Shuo looked at Zi Nu, who showed no sign of leaving, feeling a bit embarrassed; he quickly gathered the scroll, straightened his wrinkled clothes, and bade farewell, for Zi Lan Xuan is not a place suitable for researching martial arts.

Now…?" Zi Nu watched Zhou Shuo put away the scroll, spoke to say goodbye, and couldn't help but show surprise—just woke up and already leaving?

Don't tell me Han Fei is already waiting for me!" Zhou Shuo saw the surprise on Zi Nu's face, twitched the corner of his mouth, and thought, "Could that troublemaker have come again?"

No, that's not it. I was just wondering why my Zi Lan Xuan has become so unlikable." Zi Nu's face broke into a laugh‑cry expression; this guy actually regards Han Fei as a nuisance.

No, no, I just want to find a quiet place to properly study this scroll of palm technique and then work out my own cultivation method." Zhou Shuo looked at the woman laughing‑crying, hastily waved his hands, saying that wasn't the case; as for Zi Lan Xuan, he couldn't say he liked it—after all, it's an assassins' den—but he certainly didn't dislike it, since he too is a man.

You want to organize a cultivation method—how exactly do you do it?" Zi Nu was a bit curious; this fellow actually managed to derive a different cultivation method from this Azure Flame Silken Palm—how does he do it?

I haven't finished reading it yet." Zhou Shuo raised the scroll in his hand.

Well then, since you want to study, you might as well do it here! If you want to cultivate, I also have medicines here; of course, if you're unwilling, just go back!" Zi Nu looked at Zhou Shuo holding up the scroll, rolled her eyes, turned away, and tossed out the words.

You have medicines here, provided for free?" Zhou Shuo's eyes lit up involuntarily.

Pay." Zi Nu threw down two words, then tossed away her graceful figure.

That's not bad either—saves me the trouble of gathering materials. Since that's the case, I'll stay for now, though I just hope Brother Han doesn't bring trouble over." Zhou Shuo watched Zi Nu leave, shrugged his shoulders, then sat back down on the couch, focusing intently on the secret scroll of Azure Flame Silken Palm.

Han Fei's trouble hadn't come yet, but Zi Nu was quite thoughtful, sending over brush, ink, and bamboo slips. Zhou Shuo didn't stand on ceremony; looking at the secret scroll of Cyan Moss Silken Palm, he casually wrote down his thoughts, and while writing, he also attempted to train the silken palm power.

On the path of martial arts, Zhou Shuo had already entered the gate regarding true qi and fists and feet, and possessed extremely refined insight; his physique was also tremendously strong. Ordinary people training silken palm power would need at least several months to master it, but he, in just a morning, had made his palm power soft and measured, further grasping his own violent strength.

Training palm power wasn't difficult for Zhou Shuo, but the power of Azure Flame Silken Palm isn't merely about palm strength; more important is cultivating Azure Flame True Qi. This Azure Flame True Qi is refined by absorbing medicinal power; besides blood and viscera meridians, Zhou Shuo also sensed an application of Dao technique soul.

True qi is a kind of bodily energy; although it's the dual‑cultivation qi of life and fate, it leans more toward life. When trained to be yin‑poisonous, harming others harms oneself; to train it to harm others without self‑injury, the true qi must already possess its own consciousness, like a Daoist's thought refined to subtlety, capable of generating self‑awareness.

In Dao technique cultivation, there is also a method that draws on medicinal power—for example, the "Earth Fragrance Scroll" from the Three Volumes of Heavenly Fragrance in the Scent‑Scroll Canon, which consists of visualizing thousands of medicinal aromas within the soul to repair a person's soul; likewise, the "Human Fragrance Scroll" similarly involves understanding the scent of a hundred flowers, releasing fragrance with a thought to enhance one's charm.

After thinking for three seconds, Zhou Shuo decided to cultivate Azure Flame True Qi. Who let Dao technique soul have this "urinary nature"? That is, it's hard to discern from written content; one must personally sense it through consciousness—only by genuinely experiencing that state can one retain it in the soul.

You really decided? Azure Flame True Qi is quite dangerous—one slip and it will burn dry your own essence." Zi Nu looked at Zhou Shuo in astonishment; this fellow truly is a martial arts fanatic—obviously his own strength isn't weak, so why cultivate a technique that might go berserk?

Decided… uh, is it a money problem? Don't worry—I can afford it." Zhou Shuo, seeing Zi Nu's appraisal, felt a bit embarrassed; her words made Zi Nu roll her eyes.

Just some ordinary medicinal herbs; I have them all here, I don't need your money—I was just joking earlier.

Your sense of humor is really good!" Zhou Shuo looked at Zi Nu, who rolled her eyes in annoyance, feeling a bit embarrassed; this young lady truly exudes an older‑sister vibe!

Don't flatter…… come with me." Zi Nu looked at the embarrassed Zhou Shuo, about to say "Don't flatter me," but realizing the words were impolite, she stopped herself, blushed, turned, and led him to her medicine store to get medicine.

Zi Nu excels in all kinds of arts—metallurgy, alchemy, incense blending, brewing, internal exercises, commerce—more of a "fangsheng" than Zhou Shuo, who calls himself one. Zi Lan Xuan also has a special medicine store; Zhou Shuo quickly obtained the corresponding herbs, made them into pills, and took them according to the method recorded to cultivate qi.

With a rock‑solid foundation, Zhou Shuo does everything quickly—especially his training method, which originally follows a side‑path, using medicinal power to refine true qi. Soon he felt how the Dao technique soul aspect is applied in Azure Flame Silken Palm: through suffering, as the medicine takes effect inside the body, its power tortures the flesh, deeply imprinting the pain into the soul's thoughts.

Emotions, thoughts, feelings—these are utterly ordinary for ordinary people, but for Daoists they are a major hindrance. When a cultivator enters the Dao, the first gate is to subdue the inner heart; after mastering one's thoughts, one can then sense the soul's location within the body and begin to visualize apertures.

As a Daoist advances in cultivation, he can also transform his emotional feelings into demonic heads to subdue them, forming avatar control; each school differs. For example, Hong Yi, cultivating past the Mahayana Sutra, can turn killing intent, malicious intent, and world‑destroying thoughts—five kinds of demonic thoughts—into yakshas, asuras, etc., the five great demon kings, to control and attack enemies.

The cultivation of Azure Flame Silken Palm is just like a Daoist controlling inner demonic thoughts: one implants the painful sensation felt when ingesting poison deep into the mind, then uses poisonous thoughts to fuse the body's medicinal power and true qi into Azure Flame True Qi. This method is actually another kind of soul cultivation; the soul remains unyielding while the medicine tortures the body, and after tempering becomes even more resilient, with poison transformed into thought.

Being harsh toward others and even harsher toward oneself—this is the tempering of life, but ultimately it's not the orthodox path, just as people cannot control their emotions; even if Azure Flame True Qi is successfully cultivated, a person's life isn't always smooth—if the true qi runs wild, the poisonous fire will immediately scorch dry the cultivator's own essence, turning the master into a desiccated corpse.

Zhou Shuo had taken a poison once, and after figuring out the correct cultivation method, he immediately abandoned cultivating Azure Flame True Qi, instead using the method he'd discovered to gather true qi in the heart meridian; the five viscera correspond to the five phases, the heart belongs to fire, and the spirit resides there, so Azure Flame True Qi is refined in the heart meridian. The yin‑poisonous palm power, when it strikes an enemy, also sends its qi straight into the enemy's heart meridian; if not promptly dispelled, it will scorch dry the victim's essence, burning them alive into a desiccated corpse.

Azure Flame True Qi being overly yin‑poisonous, Zhou Shuo switched to cultivating Heart Flame True Qi, then, using qi to link the spleen, lungs, kidneys, and liver, in each of the five meridians corresponding to the five viscera he refined a strand of yang true qi, gathering them into the Five Flames; with Five Flame True Qi he tidied the viscera, tempered the blood so that no impurities arose, then forced it through skin and hair; his whole body naturally underwent a rebirth, his inner essence steadily increased, exchanging blood and accumulating marrow—thus the body of a martial sage could be forged in one casting.