Chapter Sixteen: Endoscopy

  That night, Wen Bao left the martial arts arena of Xuan Mi Peak with a joyful smile and a purplish-green complexion.

  Wang Lu's usual method indeed worked, and that inhumane beating was undoubtedly effective.

  Fatso was a timid fatso, but Fatso was also a super afraid of pain since childhood, and his instinctive fear of pain made him rarely experience real pain over the years. The relatively mild training of the Lingjian Sect for the past two years had also indulged him in an imperceptible way. But Wang Lu was indeed a famous master, and in just one afternoon, he made up for Fatso's lack of practice over the past two years. All kinds of injuries, both visible and hidden, were piled up endlessly, and almost every inch of Fatso's body was covered in wounds.

  In the midst of unrelenting suffering and torment, Wen Bao's anger was also rapidly accumulating. This anger stemmed from a deep-seated instinct within his personality, a fear of pain that made him instinctively resentful towards anyone who caused him pain, even if it was Wang Lu, his revered senior brother.

  Behind this cowardly and incompetent back, there is actually a powerful explosive force. The results in the Yunbo chart are not accidental, which may also be an important reason why the Lingjian Sect took him under its wing... Unfortunately, the two disciples of Xianyue Peak in the past two years have not really realized it. It's still Wang Lu who has sharp eyes and saw the problem.

  In the afternoon, under Wang Lu's violent beating, Wen Bao used more than twenty perfect Xuan Tie sword techniques, among which there was once a continuous three-sword breakthrough of Wang Lu's Rou Yun sword technique, and the last sword directly pointed at his chest.

  Wang Lu's face changed at that moment, feeling as if he had eaten a mouthful of the celestial peak's stargazing, his pain index instantly breaking through the roof! It was as if he would rather die than live! At that instant, he regretted not using his silk-wrapped feet to dodge and instead tried to block the iron sword with his bare hands...

  However, with this sword coming down, the harvest was also unusual. The main bones of the whole body were shaken loose by the Xuan Tie Sword, and the medicinal power of the Zhuang Gu Dan medicine was further penetrated and dissipated. Especially between the ribs, the medicinal power reached the bone marrow... After an afternoon passed, Wang Lu's entire body had a cool feeling in most of his bones, and the cultivation of Wu Xiang Jian's eighth layer made great progress!

  According to his master's words, the first seven layers of the Sword Bone wouldn't have a very obvious effect, but this not-so-obvious effect was already enough for him to withstand Wang Yue's roar and face directly the Xuan Tie sword of Pangzi. If he succeeded in the eighth layer, it was simply unimaginable how solid his body would become!

  "Hmm, is this the 'hardness' that Wang Wu Yin takes pride in? Indeed, it's unusually hard, if not considering that the Wuxin Sword Bone has almost no benefits in other attributes, this technique would be a dream come true. Now, it's really frustrating."

  However, with his ethereal root constitution, he didn't have the qualifications to be picky... The eighth layer of Wu Xiang Jian Gu was indeed worth looking forward to, but the real challenge also lay in the eighth layer. According to the manual left behind by his master, the day the eighth layer was completed would be the day he began to guide the energy into his body.

  At that time, it was either the unparalleled compatibility of Wu Xiang Gong or the noble and cold elegance of Kong Ling Gen until death. Haha, whatever, just follow the will of heaven!

  However, the plan is in human hands, but the success is in heaven. Before the final moment arrives, all necessary preparations must be made. That night, Wang Lu carefully read through his master's notes again and determined the next step in his cultivation path - introspection mirror, no, inner vision method.

  The so-called inner vision method is a subtle technique for observing the internal body, and it is also an indispensable part of the Xian Dao cultivation. The usual practice of the Ling Jian Sect is to let the disciples, during the Qi Gong period, through continuous guidance of Qi into the body, practicing Qi to transform strength, gradually master the inner vision method, until the foundation is about to be established, the inner vision method has also been practiced to the realm of great accomplishment, laying the foundation for the next step in building the Jade Palace.

  But according to Wang Wu's words, in order for Wang Lu to smoothly continue his cultivation, it would be best if he cultivates the inner vision technique a bit earlier, using subtle skills to control the first hurdle of cultivating Qi, and guide the Qi into his body to ensure complete success.

  As for the practice of introspection, it's not difficult to say that with a good teacher and innate talent, one can master the primary realm in just a week.

  Wang Lu's natural talent was not a problem, whether it was martial arts or immortal cultivation. Unfortunately, there was a lack of a responsible master to guide him by his side. His master, Wang Wu, had gone out to sell medicine and didn't know when he would be caught and expelled by the relevant authorities, returning to Ling Jian Mountain was completely hopeless.

  Fortunately, however, learning the inner vision technique does not necessarily require the assistance of a fairy or immortal. Many highly skilled mortal warriors are also masters of this technique. It is said that the highest realm of martial arts, "seeing the divine without being destroyed," can only be achieved by bringing the inner vision technique to its ultimate extreme. And Wang Lu just so happens to know someone who is such a master.

  The next morning, Wang Lu knocked on the door of the Home Inn in Lingxi Town: "Boss, lend me an endoscope for a while."

  "Huh?!"

  "Oh, sorry, I mean teach me introspection instead."

  The landlady rubbed her sleepy eyes: "Are you sick?"

  "Are you okay?"

  "Damn it, what's going on? Can't even let people sleep in peace! You're not planning to seriously pursue the path of martial arts anyway, why bother learning internal vision?"

  Wang Lu shrugged: "It's hard to disobey a master's order."

  The boss's wife became serious: "Is that what Wang Wu said? Alright, let's practice and see. I also want to experience it for myself. How do you plan on cultivating the Xian Tao with this empty Ling Root?"

  "Thank you then."

  "Don't be polite, it's nothing difficult."

  In fact, it's not difficult at all. What the boss lady did was simply hold Wang Lu's hand and send pure internal energy into his body, circulating through the meridians to stimulate the major and minor acupoints. At the same time, she guided Wang Lu's breathing, causing him to fall into a deep meditative state, isolating his five senses and focusing all his attention on the subtle changes within his body.

  Even an ordinary person without any cultivation can feel the changes in their body, such as the five organs and six viscera, bones, muscles, etc. However, that feeling is like a blind man touching an elephant, unable to see the whole picture. As one's cultivation deepens, their perception becomes increasingly keen, until finally the last layer of window paper is pierced, and in the vast darkness, the fire of enlightenment is lit, allowing one to clearly and truly see oneself.

  For Wang Lu, who had been taking medicine baths for two years and had made some small achievements with his No-Phase Sword Bone, the only thing he lacked was that last step. Although many people were limited by their understanding and would linger at this stage for a long time, Wang Lu would not disappoint. When the boss's internal energy completed its first big cycle, he saw the light in the dark night.

  The boss's wife tightly grasped Wang Lu's hand and felt his breath pause for a moment, and couldn't help but smile: "What did you see?"

  "Road." Wang Lu's eyes were tightly closed, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Many roads."

  "Oh, where does it lead?"

  "Unseen, every road leads to a distant place that is hard to reach with the naked eye, and the end of the road is still darkness."

  "Not surprising, after all you just learned the introspection method. Before you officially cultivate your mind and temper your yuan Shen, your field of vision won't be too far. However, can your perspective move?"

  "I can... I'm trying to move forward along one of them, there are many branching side roads around and this road seems to eventually form a loop back to the starting point."

  The boss's wife smiled and said, "Because those roads are actually the meridians in your body. You've been taking medicinal baths for two years, although you haven't cultivated internal energy, the meridians in your body have already been unblocked, so that's why you can see a clear path. Otherwise, you would have been blocked halfway."

  "I see......" Wang Lu nodded, opened his eyes, and looked a bit tired.

  The boss said: "Don't persist too long for the first time of introspection, rest when you feel tired, this is the loss on the yuan Shen, no matter how strong your physical strength is, it can't be made up."

  "I understand, it's inevitable for the first time to be short, no need to feel embarrassed."

  "...now that you mention it, it's really embarrassing!"

  Then the landlady kicked Wang Lu out of the door with one foot.

  ——

  Time flies, and a month's time has slipped away in the blink of an eye.

  This month, Wang Lu practiced bone and sword with Fattie in the martial arts arena every day. Fattie's Xuan Tie Swordsmanship was becoming increasingly sharp, although his moves were still clumsy as dog shit, but as he became more skilled at using his rage, his killing power increased day by day. Wang Lu's Rou Yun Sword could no longer keep up with the rhythm and it was getting harder to easily divert Fattie's powerful blows and play him around.

  However, on the other hand, Wu Xie's cultivation of the No-Phase Sword Bone was also making rapid progress. Although he had not yet fully mastered the eighth realm, his physical body's hardness was still growing rapidly. Once, when Wen Bao unleashed his full strength, the Mystic Iron Sword Technique struck three times in a row, causing Wang Lu's Soft Cloud Sword to fly out of his hand. Wang Lu simply raised his arm and used his flesh and blood to harden and block Wen Bao's heavy sword! Also three times in a row! Finally, he took advantage of the momentum to slap Wen Bao on the ear, almost scaring him to death.

  That time, the shocking and astonishing price was that Wang Lu's arm bones were all pulverized, and it took three whole days to recover. However, precisely because they were crushed so finely, the medicinal power of the Bone Strengthening Pill penetrated deeper than ever before. After recovering, not only did the hardness of his skeletal structure increase again, but he also gained an unexpected harvest...

  Wang Lu's Inner Sight also leveled up along with it.

  Perhaps the collapse of the Wuxiang Sword Bone was too great a stimulus for the body. During the time when the skeleton was healing, Wang Luyin thought that when he looked inward, he clearly saw hundreds of blurry Jing Tian Yu pillars appearing on the side of the road formed by the meridians. They were like sharp swords standing upright and piercing through the darkness. A few of the jade pillars had a faint golden light emanating from their surface, which was particularly eye-catching in the dark surroundings.

  Asking the boss, the explanation is that the inner vision method has been upgraded. Now it can not only see the meridians but also see the skeleton. Continuing to practice, you can even see the stars in the sky, which are the acupoints all over the body. At the same time, there may be rushing rivers and towering mountains, which are the qi and blood with muscles...

  Then, when everything in the body is visible, the inner vision method has achieved its great success.

  The distance to the Great Perfection of Inner Vision was still far away for Wang Lu, but this promotion had brought him enormous benefits. Being able to observe the Wu Xiang Sword Bones with a clearer perspective meant that he could have more targeted training. Any bones that appeared in his inner vision and shone with golden light meant that they had already met the requirements of the current stage and no longer needed attention. When all 200+ bones in his body flashed with golden light, it would be the time when the Eighth Realm was about to be completed.

  On the other hand, as his inner vision became clearer, Wang Lu was able to regulate his breath and blood with the help of the boss's wife, transport medicinal properties through his breath and blood, and focus on some hard-to-reach bones, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

  In this way, Wang Lu and Pangzi both grew rapidly in pain and joy. In the words of Wang Lu, this was probably a double fly.

  A month passed, and Wang Lu's eighth layer of Wu Xiang Jian Gu finally approached perfection. His physical body's toughness increased several times, already approaching the level of a cultivator who had established his foundation. The power of the law penetrated both inside and out! And Dead Fatty was also very satisfied with himself, having practiced the first six layers of the Xuan Tie Jian Fa to the extreme. Compared to the useless lump of flesh he was a month ago, how much stronger was he now?

  However, this rapid progress belongs to the principle of gradual accumulation and sudden breakthrough, which is based on the solid foundation laid by Wen Bao in the past two years. The next step will be to follow the routine, on the one hand, continue to guide the air into the body, accumulate spiritual energy inside the body, and on the other hand, continue to study the Xuan Tie Swordsmanship, cultivate the fourth realm of swordsmanship... Both of these are not overnight achievements. On the other hand, Wang Lu's Wuxiang Sword Bone has also reached the final bottleneck period, requiring a period of accumulation before breaking through the barrier.

  But Wen Bao was still unsatisfied and asked with full expectation: "Wang Lu, senior brother, what should we do next?"

  Wang Lu furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck him.

  "Right, we should go gain some experience."

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