Chapter 176: I Regret Not Memorizing More Books Back Then

Wuuu~

Inside the Red Melt Cave, Li Yuan stood in a stance, hammer in hand, feeling the benefits of the great circulation of qi and blood.

The stance is the root of qi and blood, divided into dynamic and static forms, but regardless of type, all involve moving and transporting qi and blood in some way.

It's like how, after intense exercise, blood flow accelerates.

But now, Li Yuan stood perfectly still, yet his qi and blood continued to circulate constantly—this meant he could unleash his full qi and blood at any moment.

"After qi and blood comes internal force; if internal force also forms a great circulation, then even when I'm asleep, an ambush will trigger a counter-recoil of internal force!"

Li Yuan pondered and reached a conclusion: "The eruption of qi and blood and internal force has shifted from active to passive!"

The benefits of a perfect qi and blood circulation exceeded his expectations; Li Yuan relaxed his limbs, feeling warmth spread through his hands and feet.

Without deliberate guidance, every movement and posture naturally shifted his qi and blood—sometimes fierce, sometimes calm.

"It's like having a core anchor?"

Li Yuan practiced for a long time before finally stopping—this was an unexpected boon for him.

"Huh!"

He washed himself with water from the cold pool, changed clothes, and returned to the cave, but saw no trace of the little rat.

Since the earthquake, the little rat had been burrowing day and night; it was common for days to pass without seeing it.

"Bai Shen Zheng Fa."

Leaning against the pillow, Li Yuan squinted and began to contemplate the Bai Shen Fa.

Once the great circulation of qi and blood is complete, internal force follows suit; with medicinal pills to supplement it, internal force could cover the entire body within ten days to half a month.

He had already met the conditions for cultivating this long-life Gong Fa.

"Seek the Divine, See the Divine, Depict the Divine, Worship the Divine, Request the Divine, Soul Transformation…"

Li Yuan took out the booklet sent by Wang Wen Yuan and studied it carefully.

Over the past few months, he had occasionally pulled it out to recite it several times; now he remembered it nearly by heart, yet he still carefully cross-referenced and analyzed it.

"To seek the Divine, at least three steps are required: first, blood qi enters the brain; second, internal force enters the brain; third, visualization."

Li Yuan took out the incomplete booklet obtained from the Zhao family and compared it—finding it largely consistent.

Xie Fa is much easier than Zheng Fa, mainly because it skips the first two steps and begins directly with the third.

Moreover, there's no need to struggle with 'seeking the Divine,' since the Great Yun Dynasty has no shortage of temples and deities.

"Bai Shen Fa is the general outline; depending on the deity sought, it further divides into 'Bai Qianyan Bodhisattva Fa,' 'Bai Xue Jin Gang Fa,' 'Bai Gu Jin Gang Fa,' 'Bai Shen Jia Lan,' and so on—but fundamentally, it's still Bai Shen Fa."

Li Yuan had considerable knowledge of both Bai Shen Zheng Fa and Bai Shen Xie Fa, knowing their difference lies in worshipping the self or worshipping the deity.

The self as deity is Zheng; the deity as deity is Xie.

"Seek the Divine, seek the Divine…"

Li Yuan muttered to himself, pondering—then, in a flash of insight, he recalled a Daoist scripture passage.

"Don't I remember the Huang Ting Jing saying, 'The ultimate Dao is not complicated—resolve to preserve truth; the mud pellet and all hundred joints have their own deities'?"

Li Yuan jolted upright, sitting straight, and began to recall.

Wild Daoists are still Daoists; though he was a half-baked novice without formal ordination, how could he not know the Huang Ting Jing?

The Huang Ting Jing is a famed Daoist text on health from his past life, a primary classic of internal alchemy, divided into the Huang Ting Wai Jing, Huang Ting Zhong Jing, and Huang Ting Nei Jing.

The text holds that every part of the human body contains deities, which bears considerable similarity to the teachings of Bai Shen Fa.

But…

After a long while, Li Yuan's initial delight faded; beads of sweat broke out on his forehead:

"I—I damn it, I forgot!"

How could he have forgotten?!

Li Yuan nearly slapped himself—just a couple thousand characters, couldn't he have memorized them backward?!

"The mud pellet and all hundred joints have their deities… the mud pellet nine palaces, six zang and five fu, the eight scenic deities of the three primaries and five elements… what deities were they again?"

Li Yuan wiped away cold sweat; he strained hard to recall, but the complete scripture was truly beyond his memory.

"No wonder I never got ordained—deservedly so! Couldn't you have memorized more books?!"

Li Yuan cursed himself inwardly; after a long while, he calmed down—thousands of characters of Daoist scripture were still hard for his current self to memorize.

He had yet to encounter any palm mastery effect related to 'photographic memory.'

"Huang Ting Jing…"

Li Yuan organized the hazy memories in his mind.

Though he couldn't recall the full scripture, he retained a general impression.

The Huang Ting Jing holds that deities exist throughout the human body—every hair, every tooth, every organ contains a deity.

"Hmm, Xieshen Sect worships blood, worships the heart, worships severed limbs, worships Qianyan Bodhisattva—these could serve as references…"

Li Yuan took out several books documenting the Xieshen Sect and flipped through them, cross-referencing.

Many of the deities officially sanctioned by the Great Yun had grotesque appearances—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, all were deified; even a Bodhisattva was named after a collarbone.

He suspected these deities likely originated from the earliest practitioners of Bai Shen Fa.

"If so, then the reference value of Bai Shen Xie Fa is very high…"

Li Yuan stroked his chin.

He was highly sensitive to phrases about longevity and immortality, but he wouldn't rashly cultivate—he needed to understand clearly first.

The first two steps before seeking the Divine—qi and blood entering the brain, internal force entering the brain—are merely prerequisites for cultivating this Zheng Fa, not actual entry into practice.

The third step, visualization, is entirely different; Zhao Zhao Yunsheng's cautionary tale was still fresh—he hadn't forgotten.

"Caution, caution…"

After turning it over and over in his mind for a long time, Li Yuan put away the books and fell asleep with deep thought.

In his dream, he saw himself reciting the Daoist Canon, ravenously devouring one book after another, one room after another...

"Ah!"

Li Yuan woke with a start, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead. In the dream, the Daoist Canon had piled up like a mountain, nearly burying him; it was truly a nightmare.

After recovering for a while, Li Yuan stood up and performed several sets of the Soldier Body Stances. Estimating that dawn must be breaking, he finally walked out of the cave.

He had no lack of pills and fish meat; staying in seclusion was entirely possible, but that would only draw far too much attention.

Faint lights flickered in the forging hall. Li Yuan climbed the tunnel to the surface, only to see the sky was overcast, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.

"Junior Brother Li."

Niu Jun, whose head was completely bald, was squatting and eating. Seeing Li Yuan arrive, he offered a greeting.

He was obsessed with Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing; just a few days ago, he had gone into the Chirong tunnel and burned off the hair that had just grown back.

"Old, where is Elder Lei?"

Li Yuan took a few steamed buns and eggs, squatted down, and began to eat.

The food in the Sword Casting Valley was excellent; the steamed buns and eggs were plentiful, and there were also noodles, rice, and various meat dishes.

"The Master went down the mountain last night. I heard that many people died at several gathering spots outside Fucheng..."

Niu Jun's face was somewhat pale. He lowered his voice: "If only a few people had died, it wouldn't have stirred the Master. I fear many people have died."

"Many people have died..."

Li Yuan's heart chilled instantly, and he immediately thought of blood sacrifice.

At this time, even the most vicious bandits would not dare to provoke the Sword God Valley. Except for the Xieshen Sect, he could think of no other faction so mad.

A great war between sects would never affect ordinary people; that is the foundation upon which sects stand.

"It could be the remnants of the Qiankun Cave seeking revenge."

Niu Jun also had his suspicions. In past years, few dared to harm ordinary people during sect wars, but in past years, no major sect had been annihilated.

When a sect is annihilated, who would still care about the prohibitions?

"The remnants of the Qiankun Cave?"

Li Yuan silently finished his steamed bun, wasted no time, and returned to the Chirong Cave to begin crafting a superior-grade, famous-artifact-level Red Dragon Fish Skin Armor.

Shortly after, Niu Jun and several outer-discipline guardians arrived here. After greeting Li Yuan, they swallowed pills and skillfully entered the Chirong tunnel.

Before long, three dark, bare-bottomed burly men came screaming out in panic.

"Cold Spring Water."

Li Yuan was prepared; he pushed the vat of Cold Spring Water toward them. The three men couldn't wait to dive in one after another, and only left after a while, groaning and whimpering.

"Without a fire-averting treasure, you dare enter the Chirong Cave? Truly ignorant of life and death! Once the fire poison invades, life and death will both be uncertain!"

Suddenly, a voice sounded.

"Who?"

Li Yuan's forging hammer clattered to the ground. Turning around, he saw a flash of weapon light.

Colors mixed together, and among them was clearly a streak of pure, dazzling Jin Guang.

【Millennium Wind-Stabilizing Red True Bone Knuckles (Sixth Tier)】, 【Upper Spirit Running Bull Inner Armor (Sixth Tier)】, 【Century-Old Heartless Black Spirit Vine Belt (Fifth Tier)】

【Black Gold Thread Robe (Fifth Tier)】, 【Cloud Dragon Nine-Soled Boots (Fifth Tier)】, 【Red Flame Spirit Dragon Fire-Averting Pearl (Fourth Tier)】...

"?!?"

Li Yuan's eyelids twitched wildly; he almost lost his composure. What treasure mountain?!

From head to toe, from hairpin to boots, from belt and rings to inner armor and heart-protecting mirror, except for the Fire-Averting Pearl, nothing was below the Fifth Tier!

Moreover, there was a Divine Weapon!

【Divine Artisan's Hammer (Seventh Tier)】

【Main material: Meteoric Iron, a meteor from beyond the heavens, washed by the Nine Heavens' Great Wind, formed after falling into the Scorching Fire Sea for over a thousand years, tempered by a thousand kinds of Shan Xuan Iron elites and the blood of a hundred spiritual beasts.】

【Spiritual nature formed, profound mysteries born...】

【Control Condition: Great Perfection in Sword Casting Art, Great Perfection in Superior Hammer Techniques, Spirit and Divine Power both sufficient】

【Control Effect: Seventh Tier (Pale Gold): Weapon Forging Talent, Hammer Technique Talent, Physical Body Talent,】

【Sixth Tier (Yellow): Great Perfection in Sword Casting, Great Perfection in Startling Dragon Hammer Technique】

【Fifth Tier (Pale Yellow): Forging Talent】

A Divine Weapon!

And a forging hammer!

Suddenly seeing a mountain as high as Gaoshan, along with a Divine Weapon forging hammer, Li Yuan nearly lost his composure. Suppressing the shock in his heart, he finally saw the person clearly.

This was a very refined old man.

Beneath his black tight-fitting clothes, his figure was slender. His gray hair and beard were impeccable. He wore jade at his waist and a jade hairpin in his head; his complexion was ruddy, without a single wrinkle.

Hmm, his skin was bronze.

"A Divine Artisan! This is Wan Chuan, the Divine Artisan of the Seven Star Palace!"

Li Yuan reacted quickly. After the shock, he bowed slightly: "Li Yuan pays respects to Senior Wan."

"Han Han Chuijun's disciple."

Wan Chuan glanced at him casually. The semi-finished inner armor was full of the traces of Jing Jing Shuhu and Lei Lei Jingchuan.

It was full of artisanal spirit, lacking true spiritual nature.

Turning the matter over in his mind, he did not respond. He simply walked slowly to the entrance of the Chirong Cave, did not enter, but merely gazed from afar:

"This temperature is rising higher and higher."

Wan Chuan frowned slightly. He had entered this Chirong tunnel before and nearly burned to death; the memory was still fresh.

The temperature shouldn't have been this high back then...