Chapter 67: Midnight Immortal Island

  That night, Suifeng didn't sleep a wink, constantly pondering the subtleties of it. He named this method of breaking through acupoints with qigong as "Tidal Breathing", although at this point it was still in its infancy and only had some initial applications. Even so, Suifeng was already very proud of himself, and he faintly felt that this was just the beginning of this qigong technique.

  In the entire Jianghu, anyone who can create a set of skills is not a top-notch master. Some extraordinary divine skills are also said to be created by immortals and have already transcended the ordinary category. Although legends may not be true, immortals may not exist, but it also explains the difficulty of creating a set of skills.

  To say that the method of rising and falling with the tide is applied to internal work, it is indeed unprecedented in ancient times. People are used to seeing the tides rise and fall, who would have thought of the wonderful use of martial arts? Su Feng was just a temporary idea, and it can't be considered a gate mind method. Nevertheless, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night, practicing.

  After a long and arduous effort of three hours, during which he suffered several shocks and minor injuries, he finally broke through the second acupoint of the Belt Vessel - Dàdū穴. If not for the help of the Tidal Breathing Skill, it would have taken him much longer to wear down his internal energy bit by bit.

  Although he had only opened up a single acupoint, it would still take a long time to completely unblock the entire Belt Vessel. However, since he had already grasped this technique, as long as he practiced a few more times to master the subtleties of using force, if everything went smoothly, in the future, following the same pattern, unblocking all the meridians throughout his body would no longer be just a dream.

  It's just a simple fantasy, after all. The human body has hundreds of acupoints and over 20 meridians; it's not easy to open them all up. Fortunately, during the process of treating Ling's injuries, he had managed to get his true energy into his body and circulate it throughout. As for the flow of the entire body's meridians, he basically already understood it clearly. However, the human body is full of mysteries that are endless and profound; countless wise men have spent centuries trying to comprehend its secrets, but what they've grasped is only a superficial layer.

  The Buddha said that the human body contains three thousand gates of Dharma, infinite and profound. This meridian is considered the most mysterious and profound. Although the Wind Gate can open up inner vision, it only allows one to see the flow of internal energy and the location of the elixir field, while the various meridians rely on intuition.

  If you don't even know where the meridians are, how can you possibly thread them and transport Qi through them?

  Regarding the theory of meridians, there are different opinions. In ancient times, witch doctors were not divided into families, and cultivation and medical skills were originally integrated. The "Huangdi Neijing" records a total of 12 regular meridians and 8 extraordinary meridians. Although the "Huangdi Neijing" was written by later generations under the name of Huangdi, its authoritative position in terms of cultivation and medical practice is unquestionable. However, after Buddhism was introduced to China, the version of the meridian records in the Tianzhu cultivation method was roughly consistent with that of China, with only one meridian being different.

  This meridian is located in the middle of the human body, connecting to the Mud Ball Purple Mansion above and the Sea of Qi Dan Tian below. It is the key to the flow of qi and blood throughout the entire body, known as the Central Meridian. Within this central meridian, there are three dan tians: upper, middle, and lower.

  However, this is only a Buddhist family's words and was not accepted by the medical community and Taoist schools in China. In folk traditions, there are many other versions of the meridians, and some doctors or martial artists have inadvertently discovered various unusual and unparalleled meridians that no one has ever seen before. Later, these were collectively referred to as "Extraordinary Meridians Beyond Heaven" ( Tian Wai Qi Jing ). No one knows exactly how many Extraordinary Meridians there are, nor can anyone clearly explain what functions they serve or what effects they have on martial arts.

  Since he already knew the location of each of the eight extraordinary meridians, and had techniques like Chao Xin to unblock the meridians through breathing, as long as he followed the proper order and opened up all the meridians one by one, even if he couldn't enter the prenatal state, he would still be a top-notch master in the world.

  "At this speed, in about a year I should be able to unblock all the meridians. By then I'll return home and should still make it in time for the life-and-death battle between Huā Bóbo and the Western Region's Old Demon. Even if I'm not yet at the Pre-Heaven level, I should still be of some help." Suī Fēng was secretly calculating as he walked towards the deck.

  All night, Su Feng was studying the Tidal Laws. Feeling a bit tired, he came out to take a walk and look at the dark sea view.

  A crescent moon hangs high in the sky, and the vast expanse of the sea surface is a brilliant blue during the day, but at night it becomes an entire blackness like ink. The warm and gentle sea breeze also becomes much colder, blowing on the skin very chilly.

  As soon as I got out of the cabin, I felt a bit chilly and tightened my clothes. At night, there wouldn't be any seagulls flying around, occasionally hearing a splash in the water, but it's unknown what kind of fish jumped out of the surface.

  Looking up at the night sky with the wind, the moon is not bright, and the stars are not twinkling. The sky is gloomy and overcast, a layer of dark clouds covering the moonlight, which was already a waning moon, making it even more dismal. Only occasionally would it cast a faint, hazy silver glow. Seeing such a night scene with the wind, I didn't have the heart to appreciate the view, and turned around to head back.

  "Huh, what's that?" A careless glance from the wind made him stop in his tracks.

  It seemed to be far away in the sky and yet it seemed to be close at hand, right in front of the boat. A small island emerged, floating on the surface of the water. It was called an island, but it looked more like a mountain peak lying across the surface of the water.

  In this dark and oppressive night, even if there was a small island like this, it would be very difficult to notice. It's only because it's too extraordinary that you can see it with the wind. The entire island is a green expanse, covered with all kinds of vines and vegetation, full of natural freshness. What's magical is that around the entire island there is a faint halo of light, illuminating a large area of the sea. Even more unbelievable is that in the sky above the small island, there are vague shadows of cranes flying.

  Is this really one of the legendary Three Fairy Islands in the East Sea?

  Suī fēng jiǎn zhí bù gǎn xiāngxìn yǎn qián suǒ jiàn de yīqiè, móu le móu yǎnjīng, xiān dǎo hái zài, bìng bú shì huàn jìng. Bù dān rúcǐ, ěr pàn hái yǐn yǐn yǒuzhe xiān hè tí míng hé niǎo niǎo de xiān yīn shēng.

  The boat continued to sail in the evening, but that mysterious island remained in the same direction, without any change. It seemed as if it was trying to attract people's curiosity to come closer, squinting its eyes with the wind, and gradually recovering from the shock earlier. The island flashed east and west, very eerie, either an illusion or something eerie.

  "It's said that they encountered the Devil's Cave at sea, and afterwards not a single person on the entire ship survived except for Wu Chan and Shang. The words that Xian Tian Liang had spoken about Wu Chan and Shang suddenly flashed into Su Feng's mind, he vaguely remembered that it seemed like there were rumors about Wu Chan and Shang's deafness back then being related to this immortal island and the Devil's Cave. Could it be... Su Feng looked at the fantastical scene in front of him, but a cold sweat broke out on his back."

  The two rumors about the Demon's Cave and the Immortal Island are completely opposite, but he hadn't considered this question before. Now it seems that he has vaguely guessed the answer. If what is called the Immortal Island is actually just a mirage or even a demon's cave, then everything can be explained.

  Although I know it's just my own speculation, but as I gaze at the small island in front of me, my heart becomes more and more panicked. It's as if there really is some ancient evil creature on the island, waiting for its prey to be delivered to its doorstep, just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.

  Slowly backing away with the wind, heading towards his own room.

  "Cough cough, Xiao Feng, why are you still up so late?" A voice suddenly sounded from behind him, almost startling him to jump up. It was only later that he realized it was Mr. Takahashi's voice.

  Having slightly calmed down her emotions, she finally turned around. "The sound of the wind and waves outside is a bit loud, I couldn't sleep very well, so I came out for a walk."

  Mr. Takahashi nodded slightly and said, "Oh, that's good. I saw a figure outside the window through the porthole and felt uneasy, so I came out to take a look. The wind is strong outside, don't stay too long." After saying this, Mr. Takahashi turned around again and headed towards the cabin.

  "Hey, Mr. Gaoqiao!"

  "Hmm, is there anything else?" Takahashi stopped in his tracks and turned around again.

  "I... I just..." said Feng, and as he turned his head carelessly, the spot where the immortal island was just now suddenly became empty, as if nothing had appeared there at all. The immortal island, the demon cave, seemed to be just a fantasy of Feng's alone.

  His heart was greatly shocked, his facial expression changed for a moment before recovering. Pretending as if nothing had happened, he casually said: "I just saw a reef by the side of the boat, so I wanted to ask, won't this boat run aground at night?"

  "Rocks?" Takahashi was taken aback, "There are hardly any reefs in this entire sea area, so we didn't arrange for anyone to be on night watch, just raised the wind sail and sailed with the wind. However, since you've seen rocks, it's probably not as safe as we thought. I'll go arrange for someone to keep watch soon, who knows how many lives have been lost on this route from China to Japan every year? To be on the safe side, it's better to be cautious."

  What else can be said with the wind, just responded with a sound and went back to the room.

  Looking at the back view drifting away with the wind, Gao Qiao narrowed his eyes, and the suspicious look was more obvious than ever. And Fang Feng also felt that Mr. Gao Qiao was indeed too strange, whether it was the previous contact or his sudden appearance tonight, as if he had some secret hidden on him. For some reason, Fang Feng vaguely felt that maybe it still had something to do with himself.

  Although he knew that Gao Qiao had been staring at him, the nonsense he said earlier was definitely not believed by him either. Su Feng seemed to really feel his gaze, like a thorn on his back, extremely uncomfortable.

  Under the eaves, how can one not bow their head? Following the wind naturally understands this principle, blindly following one's feelings to investigate things that shouldn't be investigated will only add unnecessary trouble for oneself. Especially now, he is still a half-rescued person with an unknown identity, if he offends Takahashi, even if he finally arrives in Fusang safely, it will likely lead to many more twists and turns.

  Kao Chiao didn't know what he was thinking, and quietly looked at him as he walked into the cabin with the wind. Only then did he turn around, carefully looking at where he had just stood, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, he stuck his head out to look at the bottom of the boat, a pitch-black and calm sea surface, without any abnormalities.

  Takahashi furrowed his brow, "Why was he so flustered just now? Did he discover something?" As he thought about it, he also went back to rest.

  Just as the bow of the ship had entered the cabin, another island identical to the previous one appeared on the distant sea. Cranes circled and sacred music surrounded, seemingly not of this mortal world.

  What exactly is that place, and what kind of secrets does it hold? Under the night sky, the gentle evening breeze whispers, but can't hear that faint sigh.