Chapter 7: The Flowing Clouds and Water

  Each monk has a yuanli seed in his dantian, which is where the yuanli in the body is stored.

  Whether it's Baishi Town, Qianjiang City, or even the entire Qingyuan Country, the vast majority of cultivators start practicing martial skills at the age of eight, tempering their bodies, and refining the flexibility of their bones and meridians.

  Then, after the body has a certain foundation, people with mediocre qualifications can take a tonic medicine brewed with hundred-year-old ginseng and dozens of years of Chinese truffle around the age of ten, thereby absorbing the innate yuanqi, condensing it into a yuanli seed in the dantian, thus becoming a refining-body period cultivator.

  Some masters do not need to take this precious supplement, they will automatically sprout the yuan force seed in their body after the age of eight and become a refining body master. This kind of master is generally superior in talent!

  There is another kind of cultivator, they don't need to take medicine, and the yuanli seeds will automatically appear in their body. However, they are born with yuanli seeds in their dantian before the age of eight. What's more, some people are born with innate yuanqi and have yuanli seeds in their bodies from birth.

  This cultivator is a genius among geniuses! Possessing a cultivation talent that ordinary people can't match!

  Du Fei Yun was clearly not a genius, and he couldn't even be considered to have good qualifications. He was just an ordinary cultivator who had barely managed to produce a Yuan Qi seed at the age of ten after taking supplements.

  He knew that when he was ten years old, his mother had sold all her jewelry and even pawned a purple jade pendant she had always treasured to finally gather fifty taels of silver to buy him medicine, making him a monk.

  Moreover, due to his poor family background, he didn't have the silver to buy various supplements and secret methods to help him speed up his cultivation, so his path of cultivation was even more arduous. That's why for all these years, Du Fei Yun never slackened off, always diligently cultivating in bitter earnestness, and it was precisely because of this that he laid down a solid foundation.

  Alas, his qualifications were indeed ordinary. After investigating the situation of the twelve main meridians, he only then knew that the meridians in his body were truly ordinary to the extreme. The twelve major meridians in his body not only had many blockages and obstructions, but also appeared weak and tender, clearly having not undergone refinement and tempering, lacking strength and resilience.

  In a past life, I was mediocre and ordinary, blending in with the crowd, coming to this world, fate had a turning point, yet still couldn't escape being average, what a tragedy.

  However, he had reason to believe that after taking the Rebirth Bone Dan, this predicament would slowly improve. The medicinal power spreading throughout his limbs and bones would certainly help him broaden and temper his meridians, making his tendons and meridians even more resilient.

  Although his own qualifications were mediocre, Du Feiyun believed that with the Nine Dragon Cauldron and Lie Shan Yao Dian, he would quickly improve his predicament and his strength would definitely make a leap forward!

  It was already the second watch of the night, and the bright moon hung high in the sky. The town of Baishi was quiet and peaceful, with everyone having fallen asleep, but Du Feiyun's mind was turbulent, unable to sleep.

  Today, the second and third strange events that occurred one after another broke his originally calm and bitter life, bringing him disaster at the same time, also giving him a turning point. With such a heavy treasure in hand, he had reason to believe that he could rely on his own hands to realize his dreams and wishes one by one, and it would happen soon!

  Du Fei Yun's heart was still surging with emotion for a long time before he calmed down, and afterwards, he didn't sleep either. He once again focused his mind and entered a meditative state. When he guided the yuan force in his body to circulate eight large cycles within his dantian and meridians, he finally felt that the warm and nourishing medicinal power inside him had dissipated, as if it had been absorbed by his four limbs and hundred bones.

  The work is done, and when I turned my head to look out the window, I found that it was already dawn, with a faint white light appearing on the horizon outside the window, and the roosters were crowing loudly.

  Du Fei Yun quickly got up, washed and came to the small courtyard to practice his martial arts. Originally, he would usually start by practicing standing meditation for half an hour, then practice a set of fist techniques. But today, he changed his mind, he wanted to practice a new set of martial arts.

  Although his strength is lowly, he understands that having only a body of yuan force without high-level martial skills is still useless in battle, and he's just an ordinary man.

  So, last night he carefully selected and chose two martial skills and mental methods that suited his current cultivation realm from the Jade Annals. One was a cultivation method called Qingfeng Xuan Gong, and the other was a martial skill called Xingyou Bafa.

  The content of Jade Annals can be roughly divided into three parts.

  The first part is the longest, which records the alchemy recipes and experiences of Lie Shan Yao Dian.

  The second part is a collection of strange stories and travel notes written by the original owner of the jade slip, called Lie Shan You Ji, which records many mysterious and legendary stories and famous mountains and rivers.

  The third part, also the shortest, is called Lie Shan Secret Method. It records all kinds of mysterious and profound secret methods, each set is abstruse and difficult to understand. Du Fei Yun flipped through it for a moment, only finding one beginner's introductory cultivation method, which was the Qing Feng Xuan Gong.

  He originally wanted to find a more advanced technique, but unfortunately, he couldn't understand the meaning of other techniques. He forced himself to continue reading, and later on, ghostly illusions appeared, his brain felt like it was being stabbed with needles, he knew this was a sign of falling into evil magic, so he had no choice but to give up continuing to read.

  After searching high and low, he could only choose the Qingfeng Xuan Gong Heart Method, as well as a set of barely suitable martial skills for himself to cultivate, called the Xingyou Eight Methods.

  It is said to be barely suitable for his cultivation because this set of martial arts has eight parts, from the primary first part to the most profound eighth part, which is suitable for cultivators from the Refining Body stage to the Pre-Heavenly stage.

  According to the description in the Lie Shan Secret Method, this set of eight exercises is the simplest and most fundamental martial art in the Lie Shan Secret Method.

  According to the teachings of Lie Shan's secret method, as long as this set of eight roaming methods is used as the foundation for cultivation, one can establish a very solid foundation. When cultivating more advanced martial arts techniques, it will be easy and effortless.

  Each of the eight forms of Xingyiquan has a name that is both pleasant to hear and rich in imagery. The first form, called "Chui Yun Liu Shui" (Swimming Dragon Flowing Water), consists of a set of stepping methods and palm techniques.

  The footwork is called "cloud step", the palm method is called "flowing water palm". The footwork and palm method complement each other, with the orthodox and unorthodox combining.

  In the gradually brightening courtyard, Du Feiyun stretched out his palms sideways at waist level, standing solemnly in place, silently reciting the flowing clouds and water mantra in his heart.

  When he silently recited the flowing clouds and water-like oral formula with rapt attention, his mind's eye vividly saw his own shadow treading a lively and nimble pace, striking out smooth and natural palm shadows.

  Although he was surprised at the strange scene that had never appeared before in his cultivation, Du Fei Yun attributed it to the magical jade slip and subconsciously closed his eyes, relying on his feelings to imitate the picture in his mind and start acting.

  In the quiet courtyard, a gentle breeze suddenly rose, and Du Feiyun's figure floated and wandered in the courtyard, his palms fluttering like butterflies through the many residual shadows, with a lively and dynamic air.

  At first, it felt a bit awkward, and many of the seemingly smooth and powerful movements were not something that this unrefined young monk could accomplish, making him feel somewhat clumsy. Moreover, the palm techniques were often inconsistent with the footwork, making them look out of sync.

  However, as the sun gradually rose, after a period of time had passed, Du Fei Yun followed his feelings and carefully comprehended the images in his mind. His movements and footsteps also became more coordinated, and this set of footwork and palm techniques gradually became more familiar.

  Under the golden sunlight, Du Feiyun's feet moved swiftly and appeared in a flash, treading on steps that contained some kind of mysterious rhythm. His palms fluttered like falling flowers in the water, leaving behind residual shadows in the small courtyard. Although in some places, his footsteps and palm techniques were not yet fully coordinated and natural, and his movements still seemed somewhat stiff and awkward, the elegant and lively atmosphere was truly a delight to behold.

  Du didn't know when he finished washing and appeared in front of the door, leaning on his crutches against the door frame, looking at Du Feiyun who was immersed in a state in the courtyard, with a pale face full of comfort.

  Although his son's talent was mediocre, he practiced extremely hard and never slackened. With a son like this, how could one not be delighted? Madam Du looked at the figure of Du Fei Yun in the courtyard with satisfaction and a smile, her eyes gradually becoming blurry, her thoughts drifting away. Suddenly, she seemed to see again that white-robed figure from back then, his clothes as white as snow.