Chapter 3: Transforming Tendons and Hardening Bones

  It wasn't clear when it started, but the fog that had been surrounding him slowly dispersed. Zhou Liang suddenly jumped up, and the sky was already brightening. This place wasn't suitable for staying for long, so he had to leave quickly. He took off in a flash, running down the mountain. After being taken in by a demonic cultivator, it had been over three years. The comfortable and affluent environment had allowed his body to become more robust than during his youthful days. The Qi nourishing technique didn't allow him to cultivate true yuan, but instead enhanced his physique, giving him a body far stronger than that of an average mortal. This was also one of the reasons he could use the Sealing Breath Symbol for extended periods and remain underground.

  West of the city, there is a hill of chaotic graves, only about ten miles away from Yangzhou City. After running wildly for a moment, he arrived at the city gate, just as it was wide open. He changed into ordinary clothes and looked like any other young farmer, blending in seamlessly. Yangzhou City is a large city, with countless young farmers coming to work every day. Now, Zhou Liang's appearance was completely unremarkable.

  As the sun began to rise and early risers gradually increased on the streets, he finally returned home in the west of Yangzhou City.

  This is a typical Jiangnan civilian house, with only one entrance and about ten rooms, relatively compact layout. So many houses are inhabited by only two people, who made their fortune from northern Jiangsu province and do leather goods business outside. The philanthropic Mr. Zhou Da Guanren, and his only son, Zhou Liang.

  During the day, there are some servants who come to clean and do chores, saying they were hired from outside. Zhou Liang dare not guarantee whether they have any connection with the demonic path or not. At night, when going out, he cannot let them know, and must return to the mansion before they come back.

  Looking at the house that seemed perfectly normal, Zhou Liang let out a long sigh of relief, he had finally made it. He hastily entered the room. Half a minute later, the courtyard door was opened and a woman who looked to be in her forties walked into the courtyard. Zhou Liang silently breathed a sigh of relief, his face expressionless as he sat quietly on the bed.

  The woman who entered was about forty years old, with a kind face and slightly unnatural expression, seeming somewhat stiff. She called out: "Liáng gēr, are you up?"

  "Zhao Ma, you're up early! You came pretty early!"

  Zhao's mother was named Zhao Yunfeng. She married a man with the surname Liu and lived outside the west city, where she was responsible for sweeping the courtyard every day and preparing three meals a day.

  "Yes, it's a bit early today!" Zhao Ma said, turning around to clean up the things. Before long, she brought out breakfast. Zhou Liang's breakfast was quite sumptuous, with rice from Huzhou paired with local red dates and longan, cooked into porridge, steamed buns from Bai Liu on West Street, plus a tea egg, a plate of poached chicken, three or four seasonal vegetables. Not to mention ordinary families, even wealthy households in Yangzhou City didn't have such fine food. In material terms, his nominal father was meticulous in taking care of him.

  Zhou Liangduan got up early and had a bowl of porridge. After taking a sip, he said: "Zhao Ma, you have some too!"

  "I've eaten!" said Zhao's mother, waving her hand.

  Zhou Liang also didn't wait for anyone, and started eating the dishes hastily. After eating a little, he asked casually: "When will Father come back?"

  Mrs. Zhao's eyebrows flashed with a hint of disdain, but it was fleeting, replaced by a respectful expression: "Officer Zhou didn't say, perhaps he'll be back in a few days!"

  Mrs. Zhao concealed it very well, but she didn't know that Zhou Liang had been observing her every move, and this subtle expression was seen by him. His heart sank, this Mrs. Zhao must be a subordinate of the demonic cultivator, otherwise an ordinary mortal servant would not have such eyes towards a young master.

  Zhou Liang didn't say another word, and with a sullen expression, he continued eating. When Zhao's mother was cleaning up, he turned around and went back to his room. He kept his hands tightly clenched until the door closed behind him. His plans had just been added to, and now needed some slight adjustments.

  In his past life, he was harmed by the demonic heart of Dao Xin, and his soul was even sucked into the Soul Banner. For over a hundred years, he was in a daze until the Soul Banner's grade improved, and he regained his consciousness. Many things had passed with time, and he couldn't be certain how many demonic sect followers were around him at that time. Now, at least this Zhao Ma is one of them. Zhao Ma is indeed one, and another is Liu Shu; they are probably a couple and also handle matters for the demonic sect. How could they not consider everything thoroughly? That's why no one guards the night, which is also related to the demonic sect's cultivation methods, most of which take place at night. This is a city with a dense population; if something goes wrong, it will cause trouble and attract the attention of the Daoist sect. They won't be able to get away with it.

  However, the other party, especially the one who had cast the Dao Xin magic on Zhou Liang, was not worried that Zhou Liang would run away. The reason lay in the fact that between the two people under the Dao Xin magic, there existed a natural connection, making it difficult to escape even across mountains and rivers.

  The Demon Heart Sutra is a great method, originally the secret technique of the Demon Gate's Evil Extreme Sect. It is extremely sinister and mainly relies on the opponent's divine soul to nourish its own divine soul, making the foundation of the Great Dao even more perfect, and ultimately increasing the Great Dao Flower.

  For cultivators, the Dao foundation is the foundation. The height of cultivation is determined at the moment of birth and cannot be changed. In addition to the Dao foundation, there is also the Dao flower. Generally speaking, the higher the Dao foundation, the more Dao flowers there are. Three points of Dao foundation correspond to one Dao flower, six points of Dao foundation correspond to two Dao flowers, and nine points of Dao foundation correspond to three Dao flowers. This is almost a fixed number.

  The number of Da Dao flowers determines the speed of cultivation and the power of Gong Fa. The more Da Dao flowers, the faster the cultivation speed. Under the same realm, the strength and weakness of both sides are often related to the Da Dao flowers. Unlike the foundation of the Dao, the Da Dao flowers can be obtained through cultivation, but they grow extremely slowly. Generally, with a nine-part Dao foundation, from entering the breath to condensing the fetus, having six Da Dao flowers is already very lucky.

  The Dao Xin Zhong Mo Great Method, also known as the Devil's Path Supreme Great Method, allows one to plunder others' Daohua by borrowing the power of the Devil's Path. Although there are many restrictive conditions, it is much faster than self-cultivation. Therefore, the ancient evil sect prospered for a time, but ultimately declined due to the numerous talented disciples who were also the sect's treasures. This method somehow ended up in the hands of Zhou Da Guan Ren.

  "Still one more year!" Zhou Liang said silently in his heart, the time to change fate, still has one year.

  The night fell once again, and in Zhou Liang's room, the candlelight went out, plunging it into darkness. Listening to his breathing, it gradually calmed down. Outside the wall, two black shadows slowly left, one with a slender figure, the other slightly hunched back.

  In the room, Zhou Liangmeng suddenly opened his eyes, slightly gazing in the direction of the two people's departure, and let out a faint sigh. He took out what he had obtained last night from his bosom. In this mansion, not a single thread was safe; only after the two left would it be the safest place. Fortunately, after rebirth, his senses became sharper, and he could see through Liu Shu and Zhao Ma's actions. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to be so reckless. At this moment, he began to comprehend the Easy Tendon and Bone Tempering Chapter.

  The room was extremely dark, Zhou Liang's eyes shone slightly, not to mention that there was still some starlight outside the window, even if he stretched out his hand and couldn't see his fingers, his eyes could still see everything above clearly.

  Unfold the silk, and there are hundreds of small characters on the ribbon: The Way of Heaven is to subtract from those who have excess and add to those who are insufficient. Therefore, emptiness overcomes fullness, and insufficiency overcomes excess. Its meaning is vast, its principle profound, its interest deep. The images of heaven and earth are divided, the signs of yin and yang are arranged, the changes are shown in the diagrams, the omens of life and death are displayed. Without planning, the legacy is naturally the same; without being concise, the mysterious and bright are in harmony. Examining its words, there is subtlety; verifying its affairs, there is no excess. It can truly be called the ancestor of the ultimate Way, the beginning of nurturing life. If the heavenly mechanism were to suddenly emerge, and the wonderful understanding were to be profound and thorough, then although the completion of plans would belong to innate knowledge, the marking of categories would also rely on cultivated training. There has never been a case where action did not follow sending, or emergence did not follow production. However, with careful thought and meticulous refinement, exploring the subtle and searching for the hidden, perhaps one can recognize the true essentials. Then, even if one's eyes are blind, there will still be achievement. It is as if ghosts and spirits were secretly assisting, and the world would produce extraordinary heroes, who would emerge at the right time.

  It's indeed the Daoist Canon, with a profound and abstruse tone that is hard to grasp for even Zhou Liang. In his past life 1500 years ago, most people were muddled and confused, yet he had cultivated to the point of shaping his body and achieving an extremely high state. Now, looking back at these things, the checkpoints that he couldn't pass before, the places where he couldn't understand, seemed to suddenly become clear and bright in an instant. He couldn't help but praise it, indeed it's the number one scripture under heaven. Just one chapter of "Easy Tendon and Bone Tempering" has such a profound meaning, making people reluctant to put it down.

  A brief summary of several hundred words, the meaning is not yet exhausted, but what follows is much simpler and more straightforward.

  The entire Yi Jin Jing consists of three sections. The first section focuses on practicing the foundation with strength, transforming strength into a strong foundation. The second section focuses on nourishing the foundation with the mind, taking into account both yin and yang. The third section focuses on entering the foundation with blood, unifying blood and marrow.

  Triple Power Method, with hundreds of methods for each style, corresponding to different stages, is quite detailed. Zhou Liang also has a good understanding and quickly grasped it, his eyes shining brightly.

  Silently remembering, until everything was clearly recorded, a flame rose, and the thin silk saw the fire burning, quickly turning to ashes. The Taoist scripture "Cultivating Tendon and Bone" was too involved, really carrying it would bring about great trouble, fortunately this treasure could be preserved for a thousand years without decay, only fearing fire, even ordinary flames could burn it to ashes.

  Carefully collect the ashes and sprinkle them into the flower clusters outside, watching the swaying flower clusters in the wind, Zhou Liang secretly said in his heart: "You are ordinary flowers, but you have also obtained the Taoist method of irrigation, I don't know if after a thousand years, will you give birth to a flower fairy?"