Chapter 27: Taiyin Refining Form

Yao Yue Ru and Yao Yue Ting: one is an accomplished innate martial artist who has completed viscera refinement, the other a Daoist adept who has attained spirit possession; since childhood they received guidance from a famous master, not only are their own abilities extremely strong, but their eyesight is also extremely sharp—at a glance they can tell the origin and strength of any martial art, yet this time they missed it completely.

Being mistaken about their strength, aside from any superficial bonuses, the real root is that Zhou Shuo cultivated Qi Refining Technique, heaven and earth qi unite, all things spontaneously arise; qi is the root of all life, a dual cultivation of life and destiny, having no shape yet able to be shaped into any form. Zhou Shuo not only possesses the certain traits of a Martial Saint, but even those of a Human Immortal—for example, walking on leaves and treading water—but there's no need to tell others about that.

"Look closely." Zhou Shuo stared at the two astonished girls, extended his right index finger, and with a puff on his palm a candle flame floated up. Facing that flame, Yao Yue Ru and Yao Yue Ting instantly stepped back, simultaneously gazing at Zhou Shuo with shocked eyes.

"Although I'm not a Martial Saint, I'm also a Daoist adept!" Zhou Shuo looked at the two girls whose shock deepened, a proud smile on his face, his knuckles trembling as he manipulated the flame to rise and fall between his fingers. This so‑called adept of his might not be able to beat a genuine Manifest‑Form Realm Daoist adept, but it's enough to tease these two girls.

"And the source of all this is that I cultivated Five Fire True Qi; this martial way is the foundation of everything I am, its value surpasses the Marrow Cleansing Secret Manual—if you want to trade, you must add a portion of the Dao Techniques chapter of the Taiyin Heavenly Born Divine Scripture." Zhou Shuo, feeling smug, teased the two soft girls, come on! Come trade with me.

"What if we don't trade?" Yao Yue Ting's double pupils flickered in the rising and falling flame; her cold voice carried a strong sense of vigilance. A Daoist adept, in some respects, is far more frightening than a martial adept—souls come and go without trace, and they possess means incomprehensible to ordinary people, able to dig out the secrets hidden in one's heart.

"I..." Zhou Shuo heard the cold‑voiced double‑pupil girl's words, his face involuntarily fell. I said, girl, how can you be like that?

"If we don't trade, then forget it." Zhou Shuo looked at the twin sisters who were not tempted by martial arts but wore faces of vigilance; he could roughly guess their psychology and also felt a bit downcast. Between people, can there still be some tolerance and trust?

"Then we'll take our leave." Yao Yue Ting said no more, grabbed her sister's wrist and prepared to leave. This person's origins are unknown; even though he possesses an extraordinary technique, his strength may not reach Martial Saint level, but his foundation is not poor—if he harbors malicious intent, we sisters might not be able to cope.

"Wait." Yao Yue Ru looked at her sister's deep vigilance, then withdrew her wrist and, after that, fixed her double pupils on Zhou Shuo.

"The Dao Techniques chapter of the Taiyin Heavenly Born Divine Scripture is a secret art not transmitted outside our Yao Chi Sect, but the Taiyin Refining Form Technique is not. If we alone take this Marrow Cleansing Secret Manual and trade it with you for your Five Fire True Qi, will you accept the trade?"

"You say you'll do the losing‑end trade?" Zhou Shuo looked at the girl with a puffed face, feeling annoyed—this is a losing‑end trade.

"Alright, goodbye." Yao Yue Ru said nothing more, seized her sister's hand and prepared to leave.

"Wait, I'll trade." Zhou Shuo looked at the girl who turned away without a word, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily—this girl is material for a swindler.

"If it had been like this earlier, it would have been over." A pleased smile flashed in Yao Yue Ru's double pupils.

"But I have a condition." Zhou Shuo looked at the girl smiling proudly, unable to keep from curling his lip.

"What condition?" Yao Yue Ru eased her proud expression slightly.

"I want you to help me with one thing: send me out to sea using a Yao Chi Sect vessel, to Giant Whale Island in Lost Soul Bay." Zhou Shuo stated his request, trading Five Fire True Qi for Taiyin Refining Form Technique; he is at a loss in this regard, so he must make up for it elsewhere.

"Giant Whale Island, where pirates hold sway!" Yao Yue Ting's restored face again showed astonishment—what are you going there for?

"Just say whether you're willing or not." Zhou Shuo naturally wouldn't answer; even if there were no business, he would still try to obtain the one‑third of Human Immortal secret manuals on that island.

"Okay." Yao Yue Ru pressed down on her sister's urge to speak and agreed to Zhou Shuo's request in one breath.

"Then let's exchange the martial arts first." Zhou Shuo replied without hesitation.

Soon, the martial arts each side needed to exchange were written onto paper; besides text and diagrams, Yao Yue Ru and Yao Yue Ting also gave a demonstration of their training—footwork, breath work, and the key points of the marrow‑cleansing mantra pronunciation—while Zhou Shuo naturally taught the two how to sense qi, to perceive the location of the body's meridians, and to use internal energy to guide the true qi within.

Needless to say, the martial arts of the Yang God world are profound yet accessible, perfectly suited to the masses. Under guidance, Yao Yue Ru and Yao Yue Ting were able to freely guide their internal true qi in less than two hours, truly recognizing where life and destiny reside, grasping the fundamental truth of life, successfully cultivating true qi; the two girls naturally also fulfilled their travel promise.

On Tai Lake, heading straight for the iron‑clad flying‑wheel great warship at the sea mouth, Zhou Shuo observed this vessel that has a modern‑industrial Earth style but is powered by a hundred strong men pulling it; his face showed ample amusement. In the modern world such a ship should be driven by steam turbines, yet here it is powered by manpower—and yet it runs quite fast, which is no problem; who let this world have martial arts and Daoism, so not everything can be explained by science.

After inspecting the iron‑hulled ship powered by manpower in the cabin, Zhou Shuo returned to his own quarters and began testing the newly acquired Taiyin Refining Form Technique. Taiyin Refining Form Technique requires performing high‑difficulty yoga‑like movements in an ice kiln, supplemented by exhalation and inhalation, mantras, visualization, etc.; at a specific time one erupts with force to vibrate the body's bones and bones, aiming to achieve the effect of washing marrow and exchanging blood.

Zhou Shuo positioned his body in a complex pose, then, following the oral formula, performed exhalation and inhalation, feeling the movement of his internal organs; after feeling nothing, he switched to another pose and chanted the mantra, the sound rising from his abdomen upward, resonating the chest and cranial cavities; instantly he felt his blood flow accelerate, an invisible heat spreading inside his bones, the bone marrow deep within his bones seeming to heat up instantly.

Feeling no major abnormality, Zhou Shuo tried visualization, turning his whole person into a full moon that resonates with celestial bodies; this practice immediately caused a stabbing pain all over his body, he instantly ended the training session, sat upright and looked at his body—only to see the skin at his hand and foot joints bright red, blood seeping outward, and a heat seeping from inside to outside, his whole body's skin stinging intensely.

"No wonder one must practice in an ice kiln and at a specific time." Zhou Shuo felt the temperature inside his body, couldn't help but curl his lips—Taiyin Refining Form Technique is somewhat akin to Azure Fire True Qi, but unlike Azure Fire True Qi which uses poisonous drugs to aid qi cultivation, Taiyin Refining Form Technique relies on the earth‑heaven force field and environment to refine viscera, wash marrow and exchange blood; if practiced without the proper environment and celestial timing, one risks deviation and death.

"Mmn." Zhou Shuo used true qi to calm his agitated blood, felt the warm sensation in his bones, his eyes snapped open—someone had come outside the door.

"You're cultivating Taiyin Refining Form; I sensed the fluctuation of Taiyin power." A slightly cold voice came from outside the door; Zhou Shuo blinked his eyes—Taiyin power, the moon, yes. Although this world differs from Earth, its ecological environment likewise depends on the moon; the moon's gravity affects Earth's tides and rotation, forming the Earth‑moon system; it stands to reason that Taiyin Refining Form Technique cultivates the body by borrowing the gravity of the Earth‑moon system; Taiyin power, I suppose, is the name for that heaven‑earth force field I just felt.

"You had better not practice randomly; this technique only works in a specific environment and at a specific time, when the celestial bodies form a particular gap, can one borrow Taiyin power to refine the body." The cold voice explained.

Zhou Shuo pondered the mysteries of cosmic magnetic fields, listened to the cold voice, blinked his eyes—this counts as caring for myself, when did I gain this good feeling!

"Are you alright?" The voice received no reply from inside the chamber, so it uttered a questioning sound.

"No, no, I'm fine, thank you for the reminder—are you Miss Yue Ting or Miss Yue Ru?" Zhou Shuo shuddered, blurted out—although he doesn't know when he gained this good feeling, but having a pretty girl before him, if he doesn't make use of this good feeling he fears he'll end up alone forever.

"No need." Upon hearing the address "Miss Yue Ting," the cold voice instinctively felt a bit flustered and also did not answer who she was; her figure swiftly departed.

Zhou Shuo felt Yao Yue Ting receding, wiped the blood seeping from his elbow onto his fingers and pinched it, a faint smile appearing on his face—Yao Yue Ting's personality is cold, Yao Yue Ru's is lively, the two are easy to tell apart; but if they deliberately act clueless, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart, and moreover the scheming of disciples from prestigious sects runs deep; I've just turned enemies into friends with them, this sudden display of good feeling feels too abrupt—could it be a life‑illusion? Well, I'll set that aside for now; this time I intend to go to Giant Whale Island to obtain one‑third of the Present Tathagata Sutra, the Yao Chi Sect people have also followed me here, so I need to think of a way to deal with them.

"Troublesome matters, for now I'll set them aside; first I'll think about how to improve Taiyin Refining Form—my own strength is most important. Well, the Hong Lian affair, I've temporarily settled it."

Zhou Shuo patted his head, cleared away distracting thoughts; no matter what, I have found the marrow‑washing practice, yet this method happens to suit me unexpectedly—I need to modify it a little to align with dual cultivation of life and destiny, to match the qi field with the earth‑moon gravitational magnetic field; it should be very powerful. Well, in the Taiyin Refining Form Technique, although it does not involve the application of moonlight, one can still see some clues; moreover, moonlight is reflected sunlight, so these can also be tried for development.