Chapter 47: The Path of Cultivation

At the foot of Hengshan.

Lu Li and the others walked side by side.

Lu Li did not walk quickly; on the contrary, he was very meticulous.

That's right, meticulous.

He walked and stopped, and wherever his gaze landed, if he encountered some interesting scenery or a sight he had never seen before, he would stop to observe it or ask Yilin about it.

This situation left Liang Fa and the others somewhat puzzled.

Because the scenery Lu Li looked at was not all beautiful.

For example, a rock or a tree—in many places, these seemed very ordinary to them.

But in Lu Li's eyes, this Hengshan itself was a precious library of martial arts.

"Senior Brother, this Junior Brother has a question."

Liang Fa asked.

"What is it?"

"The rumors in the Jianghu say that in your battle with Ren Woxing, you were injured by his Star-Sucking Great Art.

Seeing you these past two days, the feeling you give me... is indeed like that of someone without internal energy.

Yet, climbing the mountain all this way, you haven't been out of breath at all, and during the battle with Tian Boguang that day, you displayed astonishing power. May I ask why this is?"

The question Liang Fa raised was actually one that Lin Pingzhi and Yilin were also confused about.

In their view, there was not even the slightest fluctuation of True Qi on Lu Li.

Especially Lin Pingzhi and Liang Fa; they knew that Lu Li's previous internal arts were by no means inferior to his sword techniques.

One could tell he was a person of profound internal energy in every movement.

But looking at Lu Li now, he was as ordinary as any common person.

Lu Li smiled and said: "The rumors in the Jianghu are correct; my True Qi was indeed sucked away by Ren Woxing, and one could even say my internal arts were nearly crippled."

"On the journey from Meizhuang to Mount Heng (Hunan), I was like a person suffering from a severe illness; the words 'lost all internal energy' shrouded me like a nightmare."

"But I thought about it carefully the whole way: for us martial artists, what exactly is internal energy? Could it be nothing more than that True Qi within the body?"

Liang Fa and the others could not help but be stunned. If internal energy is not True Qi, then what is it? I practice internal arts, then I have True Qi, and when I throw a punch with True Qi flowing, the power is several times greater—isn't this the pursuit of a martial artist? Lu Li smiled: "Actually, the path of cultivation is about cultivating one's own heart and cultivating one's perception of heaven and earth."

"Do you still remember what we rely on to practice internal arts?"

Lu Li asked.

The three of them looked at each other and blurted out: "It is breathing exercises."

"Respiration."

Lu Li nodded and said: "Correct, it is indeed the method of breathing exercises.

You see that my body seems empty of True Qi, but have you noticed any obstruction in my breathing?"

Liang Fa and the others stared at Lu Li, and only after a long while did they say: "If I didn't deliberately look, I could barely feel your breathing.

But when I feel it with my heart, I can perceive that your breathing is long and steady, almost perfectly natural, without a single gap to be heard."

Lu Li smiled: "Correct.

Whether it is Daoist techniques or Buddhist cultivation, both emphasize the harmony of yin and yang.

And for our human bodies, the mutual generation of yin and yang begins with this breathing.

Between my breaths, I have never stopped inhaling and exhaling yin and yang.

My True Qi was indeed sucked away, but so what? I am breathing and cultivating internal energy at every moment. Even if Ren Woxing can suck away my True Qi, can he suck away this heaven and earth?"

Indeed, Lu Li's True Qi had been sucked away by Ren Woxing; for an ordinary martial artist, they would likely have long since fallen into despair and listlessness out of fear.

But Lu Li was different.

I am a cultivator of immortality!

From Meizhuang to Mount Heng (Hunan), Lu Li had been exploring the matter of True Qi and internal arts.

Perhaps many people believe that True Qi is not equivalent to internal energy, and some even simply compare the relationship between the two to the relationship between a game character's mana and their maximum mana.

But Lu Li knew the mystery was not that simple.

He had been thinking the whole way: does having no True Qi mean having no internal energy? Cultivation, cultivation—what exactly is being cultivated? He pondered bitterly along the way.

According to the concepts of the Smiling Proud World, Lu Li could hardly answer this question.

So he used a perspective that transcended this world to think about it.

He suddenly remembered Hua Manlou, a man who was clearly blind, yet saw the beauty of the world with perfect clarity.

He even remembered Tang Bohu.

Who says a blind man cannot see? Who says you cannot kill someone without a spearhead? Then, who says having no True Qi is equivalent to losing internal energy? Perhaps cultivation is not about True Qi at all.

It is about cultivating one's own heart and cultivating one's perception of heaven and earth.

Lu Li visited mountains along the way; the more landscapes he saw, the faster his internal energy recovered.

By the time he had seen Mount Heng (Hunan) and Taishan, he was no longer confused.

Although Lu Li had not yet fully explored this new path, if Ren Woxing were to come and absorb his internal energy now, he would absolutely not be able to suck away even the slightest bit.

Come to think of it, the fact that Lu Li's internal energy could recover so quickly also had to do with the 'Star-Sucking Great Art' he obtained at Meizhuang.

Throughout the generations, the Star-Sucking Great Art has always been about absorbing the enemy's internal energy and True Qi to use as one's own.

Lu Li, however, had an idea: what if he used the Star-Sucking Great Art to absorb the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth? Could he use this method to connect with and perceive heaven and earth more quickly and directly? Lu Li felt it might be possible!

It was just that the time had been too short, and he could not yet fully create this new method.

Liang Fa and the others listened to Lu Li's unique understanding and felt their heads spinning.

They had never heard of such a viewpoint before.

Lu Li did not force it on them, only smiling: "If you encounter a bottleneck one day in the future, perhaps you can try to gain insights from this direction."

Liang Fa and the others seemed to understand yet not, only feeling that Lu Li was different from before, but they could not figure out exactly where the difference lay.

After traveling for another stretch, the group had already arrived on Hengshan.

Lu Li met with the Master, Dingxian Shitai, and proposed a sword exchange.

As a monastic, Dingxian Shitai was originally unwilling to spar, but Lu Li was so sincere, and he had also saved Yilin, so she found it difficult to refuse.

In fact, besides its sword technique, Hengshan also possessed a quite exquisite sword formation.

At this moment in the bamboo forest, seven Hengshan disciples led by Dingxian Shitai formed the sword formation, surrounding Lu Li in the center.

One could see that the Hengshan Sword Technique was dense and rigorous, lacking in sharpness but leaning more toward defense; it was a sword technique very suitable for women to use.

Lu Li had already witnessed many sword techniques on his way to Hengshan this time, and this Hengshan Sword Technique could be called the one with the fewest flaws.

This was only because the Hengshan sect was primarily composed of Buddhist nuns; monastics took compassion as their foundation, and it was even more inappropriate for women to wield blades and swords recklessly, so they learned martial arts only for self-defense.

Without a murderous heart, it was exceptionally harmonious.

However, within this mass of cotton, steel needles were also hidden.

If others did not commit an offense, the cotton would be soft and gentle; but if one attacked with force, the steel needles would pierce into the flesh, just as the harder one squeezed with their palm, the deeper the steel needles would pierce.

This characteristic of "Cotton-Hidden Needle" actually secretly corresponded to the Buddhist meaning of karmic retribution and that good and evil arise from the heart.

Although Lu Li had already learned the Five Mountains Sword Technique at Siguo Cliff, it was ultimately different when performed by women at this moment.

By comparison, the Huashan Sect Sword Technique focused on the two words "strange" and "perilous."

This sword was a sword of surprise attacks.

The Hengshan Sect (Hunan) sword technique was as unpredictable and changing as a ghost; it originated from masters of sleight of hand, emphasizing feinting to the east while attacking to the west, confusing people's eyes and ears so that the opponent could not distinguish the truth.

This sword was a sword of transformation.

And the Taishan sword technique was ancient, simple, and heavy, yet within it, there were the "Eighteen Bends of the mountain road."

The further one traveled, the more perilous it became, just like the patterns carved upon a great bell.

This sword was a sword of ancient simplicity.

This spar did not require a winner or loser to be decided; both sides would stop at a touch.

Afterward, Lu Li practiced the Hengshan Sword Intent on Hengshan, while Liang Fa and Lin Pingzhi temporarily stayed in the Hengshan guesthouse to monitor the movements of the Demonic Cult.

Half a month later, Lu Li walked down Hengshan, having already grasped a sword style of continuous defense.

Walking into the main hall, he saw many martial arts figures inside, all with worried faces; upon seeing Lu Li, quite a few of them even revealed hidden hostility.

Lu Li was very puzzled by this wave of hostility.

"I wonder what has happened in these past half a month?"