Chapter 56

Under the sun, the countryside villa blended Chinese and Western styles, looking antiquated yet not losing modern flair; flowers and plants filled the courtyard. Zhou Shuo stood on the garden corridor, letting his face meet the gentle breeze, taking in a few breaths of nature's fresh air. His originally annoyed and gloomy mood eased considerably; being tricked wasn't a big deal, and his greed had to bear the fruit of greed.

"Xia He, Xia He." A call of infinite joy and excited trembling came; Zhou Shuo followed the sound and looked over, seeing on the other side of the corridor a curvaceous figure exuding intangible charm, with an old man trailing behind, white hair combed back, his expression dazed—this old man was Hu Lin.

Hu Lin, a famed Qi-refining practitioner in the Tianmen adept circle, affiliated with the Daoist Orthodox Unity Sect, presented himself as stern and rigid; aside from doting on his playboy son, he had no major flaws, and was regarded as an orthodox sect in the adept circle—yet no one imagined that such an orthodox sect would now follow Xia He around like a love‑struck youth or a rutting boar; this is Xia He's ability: an innate adept who grasps others' lust and desire, nicknamed the Bone‑Scraping Steel Blade, one of the Four Madmen of Quanxing.

"Really..." Zhou Shuo gazed at the beautiful woman with long, intertwined legs and a proudly high chest walking toward him from the winding corridor, then at the old man Hu Lin trailing behind him like a lapdog, not knowing what to say—being able to train a white‑haired old man like this, he didn't know whether to call her a pervert! Or a pervert!

"How come, Xiao Zhou, your face is so red and you're drenched in sweat—hm, yet there's no sweat odor, but sadly that makes you unattractive, stinky man, stinky man, if a man isn't smelly, how can he be charming?" Xia He walked to the corridor, looked at the figure leaning against the pillar with an abnormal complexion, drenched in sweat, couldn't help but glance askance, twitching her jade nose as she lifted her red lips to utter an imaginative remark.

"Cultivation deviation." Zhou Shuo looked at the woman exuding intangible allure; he had already learned to treat it as normal, keeping a calm mind. This woman's manner was strange: at first sight she seemed to invite crime, but after he joined Quanxing she became utterly aloof, and now that they're familiar she often strikes poses and twists, usually appearing as an insatiable abyss of desire, yet she actually commits few wicked acts, leaving one to wonder what her true nature really is.

"Cultivation deviation? What did you cultivate?" Xia He steadied her gaze, scrutinizing the fellow closely, her eyes shifting slightly.

"Xia He, Xia He." Hu Lin stood nearby, hands clasped, eyes fixed on the woman as he swallowed saliva, muttering nonstop, causing Zhou Shuo to swallow the words he'd prepared and merely stare wide‑eyed at the old man.

"Enough, get to the side, stop bothering me." Xia He gazed at the incessant mutterer, clearly white‑haired yet behaving like a rutting boar, and she flared her pretty eyes wide, speaking out in annoyance.

"Xia He, don't be angry, don't be angry, it's all my fault, my fault, I'll make amends—tell me what to do, even if I have to die I'm willing." Upon seeing Xia He angry, old man Hu Lin was struck as if by lightning; his infatuation turned to fear, he apologized and begged for forgiveness, tears even welling at the corners of his eyes, leaving Zhou Shuo with a strange expression.

"Huh, good, go to the side, stay quiet, I'll come reward you later!" Xia He looked at the unusually frightened old man, exhaled deeply, put on a smile that anyone could see was perfunctory, yet Hu Lin instantly felt as if graced with an imperial decree, his face turning from overcast to bright, he cheered loudly, obediently stepped aside, then gazed longingly at Xia He, awaiting her summons and reward.

"Thunder method." Zhou Shuo looked at Hu Lin retreating eagerly to the side, returned to the original topic, intending no concealment, because in qi cultivation Xia He was his senior; although she was an innate adept, she might still have useful advice.

"As expected, where did your thunder method come from? Is it powered by heart qi or kidney qi, from the Heavenly Master's Mansion?" Xia He dismissed the old man, hearing Zhou Shuo's words she nodded in realization and then asked.

"It's powered by heart‑fire divine qi, from the Heavenly Master's Mansion, Elder Sister Xia—you seem quite familiar with this!" Zhou Shuo found it strange; Xia He's manner suggested she understood his situation very well.

"Hehe, tell Sister, whose hands did you lose your virginity to?" Xia He sized Zhou Shuo up and down, her gaze playful.

"What does losing one's virginity have to do with this?" Zhou Shuo looked at the woman's unabashed gaze, his expression turning slightly awkward, his face flushed hot—but fortunately, because his cultivation had deviated, his face was already red.

"You look like you haven't been with a woman—is it yang leakage, or did you give it to the Fifth Miss?" The shameless woman left Zhou Shuo somewhat unable to cope; he had not yet gotten the pair of sisters, having lost to the Fifth Miss.

"Young and ignorant, speaking of which, Elder Sister Xia, do you perhaps know something?" Zhou Shuo felt a bit overwhelmed but kept his nerve; this woman seemed well versed in thunder methods, so she had nothing to fear from him, why should he hold back?

"Then it looks like it was the Fifth Miss, tsk tsk, you're not bad‑looking either—how about it, want Sister to give you a lesson?" Xia He gazed at the fellow with a fully red face, couldn't help teasing, then slipped out a little lilac tongue, involuntarily licking the corner of her lips.

"Elder Sister Xia, please don't toy with me." Zhou Shuo looked at the woman stirring with desire, his cheek twitching—he didn't want to become like Hu Lin; although she appeared chaste, her thoughts were substantive, for her power not only affects others but likely also herself to some extent, though she keeps it well in check.

"Hmph, look at your cowardly self—no wonder you only have the Fifth Miss for company. I'll tell you: the innate qi of the human body originates from kidney yang; those deficient in primordial yang lack divine vigor, and heart‑fire divine qi cannot drive the yin lung qi. Yet you actually forced your cultivation into deviation—truly surprising. That guy back then…" Xia He gazed at Zhou Shuo, first scornful, then gave a serious explanation, trailing off mid‑speech and falling silent at the crucial point.

"I see." Zhou Shuo, hearing Xia He's words, realized with a start—no wonder it was like this; the problem actually lay in himself, not Zhang Chulan's fault.

"Then Elder Sister Xia, do you happen to have a solution?" Zhou Shuo, being tactful, avoided asking about her earlier distraction and instead inquired about remedies for deficient primordial yang.

"The problem of primordial yang leakage—I can't solve it, but regarding the thunder method, Hu Lin, come over." Xia He shook her head, then suddenly remembered and beckoned to the distant Hu Lin; this old man had been waiting, and at her call he hurried over, his face flushed crimson, his longing to mate plainly written in his eyes.

"Your family has ties to the Orthodox Unity Sect—do you know the secret of the Heavenly Master's Mansion thunder method? Please tell me." Xia He glanced at Zhou Shuo, then smiled and addressed the old man, while Zhou Shuo assumed a proper attitude.

"Sure, as long as you want to hear, I'll tell you everything: the Heavenly Master's Mansion's Five Thunder Orthodoxy is called the Five Thunders but is actually the Five Qi. When a person is born, innate qi arises within the body; distinguishing it, it divides into the five phases: pure yang governing fire is called heart qi; yang with a touch of yin governing metal is lung qi; pure yin governing water is kidney qi; yin with a touch of yang governing wood is liver qi; harmonizing yin and yang governing earth is spleen qi. The five qi gathering as one constitutes the practice of the Five Thunder Orthodoxy." Hu Lin, toward Xia He, was utterly compliant, directly revealing the not‑to‑be‑transmitted secret; Zhou Shuo nodded repeatedly, noting "pure yang leads lesser yin, gathering five qi to form thunder"—this was the core of the thunder method he'd learned from Zhang Chulan.

"Then with deficient primordial yang, unable to have heart qi lead lung metal, how should one cultivate the thunder method?" Xia He wore a bewitching smile.

"The Heavenly Master's Mansion thunder method is never transmitted outside; I've only heard it from my seniors. Xia He, what you described should be Yang Five Thunder, also called Crimson Palace Thunder, the orthodox transmission of the Heavenly Master's Mansion. But this thunder method can be practiced only by those who are intact, with complete spirit and ample qi; since not all talented people are flawless, earlier generations modified the method." Each time Hu Lin uttered terms like "broken body" or "complete spirit and ample qi", his brows and eyes twitched involuntarily; seeing Xia He unmoved, he swallowed his saliva and continued.

"The original Yang Five Thunder was heart qi leading lung metal, using abundant yang qi to gather the five qi into thunder; the revised thunder method uses kidney qi leading liver wood, letting yin qi drive growth to plug leaks and mend breaks, refining the five qi into thunder—this is Yin Five Thunder, also called Visceral Water Thunder. Crimson Palace Thunder is clear, lively, yet dignified and bright, expansive and contractive, unyielding and uncast; Visceral Water Thunder, meanwhile, is heavy and turbid yet strangely variable, unrestrained, free and unfettered." Hu Lin, to win Xia He's favor, recalled the senior's words verbatim.

"Interesting." Zhou Shuo, hearing Hu Lin's account, felt somewhat enlightened, but then he noticed Xia He's eyes shimmering with unusual color, wondering what she was thinking; her interest in the thunder method seemed unusually keen.

"Xia He, Xia He, do you want the thunder method?" Hu Lin gazed at the woman whose eyes shimmered with unusual color, his heart pounding as he thought of ways to win her favor.

"How, you can bring it to me?" Xia He looked at the sudden arrival with slight surprise, simultaneously glancing at Zhou Shuo; the Heavenly Master's Mansion thunder method is a secret transmission—how did this guy learn it?

"I can't, not now, but I can have Hu Jie that little bastard steal it, or even go steal it myself, Xia He—do you want it or not? If you do, I'll risk my old life and surely get it for you." Hu Lin looked at the gaze directed toward his beauty, his spirit stirred, feeling that as long as he could win her smile, anything he did would be worthwhile.

"The power of desire is truly inconceivable." Zhou Shuo looked at the old man swearing an oath, feeling somewhat askance—this old man wasn't lying; he genuinely dared to steal, from the heart for Xia He. To adepts, the Heavenly Master's Mansion is a great mountain, yet this old man dared to make such a resolve, wholly born of desire. Though his aim and motive are not good, it shows desire isn't wholly useless; if faced correctly, it can also be transformed into motivation.

"Thank you, I don't need it." Xia He looked at the old man who would do anything for her, and gave a bewitching smile that turned Hu Lin's old face instantly pink, his eyes shining like stars, nearly overcome with happiness to the point of fainting.

"Don't let him pass out from shock—if he dies we'll have to go out and drink the wind." Zhou Shuo looked at the old man on the verge of fainting, then at Xia He's bewitching smile, and said, "This old man right now makes excellent cover."

"Don't worry, it won't happen!" Xia He replied with a coquettish remark, making Zhou Shuo feel a chill again.