Chapter 11: The Formless Fist

  "Without a fixed formula, without shape or form, it stimulates the body's instincts to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The speed of cultivation is extremely fast, but there is no fixed way of operation. The true energy within the body has no attributes, and its power is unusually weak. Mediocre practitioners who learn this technique may have a deep foundation in their practice, but they will not be able to apply it effectively, and can only sigh in regret; wise practitioners who learn this technique can transform decay into wonder, shaking heaven and earth..."

  Fang Li continued to flip through the introduction of Wu Xiang Jue, his heart pounding with excitement, feeling that this technique was specially created by heaven for him, and would be the starting point for his rapid rise.

  "I may not be a sage, but I can make the rotten become magical and turn it into a profound and mysterious technique that surpasses all other techniques." Fang Li gently stroked the ancient book in his hand, and he had already made up his mind. Although the attributeless true energy was weak, as long as his thoughts were reflected, he could transform this attributeless true energy at will. Thinking of this, Fang Li no longer hesitated, and with a turn of his body, he left.

  Even if I can find nothing, it will not be a futile trip.

  "Please register the kung fu you have chosen. It must be returned within a month, otherwise it will be considered a first-degree treason."

  Just as Fang Li was about to leave the Gong Fa Pavilion, the Guardian Elder flashed out like a fly and said coldly, his eyes fixed on the secret book in Fang Li's hand. He must have been eager to know which martial art Fang Li had chosen. Although he didn't believe Fang Li could surpass him in two years, knowing oneself and one's enemy would lead to victory in every battle. The Guardian Elder wouldn't mind understanding more about Fang Li's secrets, lest he capsize in a hidden ditch.

  "Wu Xiang Jue." Fang Li also knew that this was the management system of Gong Fa Ge, didn't say much, and calmly spread out the secret book in front of the Guardian Elder.

  "None of the above!" The elder of Gongfa Hall was taken aback at first, then a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes and disappeared. He said calmly, "You've managed to pick out the only top-notch technique in all of Gongfa Hall. It seems your taste isn't bad."

  Although he heard that the old man's words had a hidden meaning, Fang Li was too lazy to ponder over it and simply asked: "Is the registration done? If there are no other instructions from the old man, I will leave first."

  The elder of the Guardian Pavilion stared at Fang Li, his face seemingly smiling yet not quite, with a hint of coldness. "Alright, remember to return the technique in a month's time. Also, remember our duel appointment. If you want to break the agreement, two years later, I will personally come looking for you."

  Fang Li didn't respond, let out a cold laugh, and turned to leave.

  "Haha, it's actually the Wu Xiang Jue. This is your own path to death, don't blame others." Seeing Fang Li walk away, the Guardian Elder suddenly burst out laughing. Although the Wu Xiang Jue was the only technique in the Gong Fa Hall that could achieve the highest cultivation speed, countless people had tried it over the centuries, and it was considered the most useless technique. It was even once called a waste technique, not because of anything else, but because the true energy it cultivated was too weak. If high-level cultivators of the same realm were to compete, those who cultivated the Wu Xiang Jue would easily fail.

  In the family, there have been several people who practiced Wu Xiang Jue, but almost all of them had a history of being challenged by others, which was very embarrassing. There was even a record of a high-ranking practitioner who reached the 8th level of Qi refinement being defeated by someone at the 5th level of Qi refinement. As a result, no one has practiced Wu Xiang Jue anymore. Moreover, the cultivation speed of top-grade and superior-grade techniques is not much different, so since Wu Xiang Jue has such an obvious flaw, others naturally would not choose it.

  "Even if you cultivate to the 9th level of Qi Refining within two years, it's not certain that you can defeat me. Haha, those who seek their own doom will not live. The Guardian Elder burst out laughing and stopped talking, walking towards the Gongfa Pavilion with a joyful expression, discovering that his mood was exceptionally good today."

  Fang Li returned home, greeted his mother and sister, then immediately went back to his room to set up the Spirit Gathering Array. The Spirit Gathering Array was a basic array method, extremely simple to set up, requiring only a crystal stone to activate it. Fang Li swallowed an Aggregating Qi Pill given by Elder Taishang and began practicing the Wuxiang Jue.

  The cultivation method of Wú Xiāng Jué is extremely special and does not require breathing or manipulating Qi. One only needs to sit quietly, forget the ten marks: form, sound, smell, taste, touch, birth, dwelling, decay, male, and female, and enlightenment will naturally occur.

  "Could it be the intention of forgetting both the self and the material world?" Fang Li looked at the commentary in the book, somewhat perplexed, but still sat cross-legged in silence, gently closing his eyes, leaving only a thread of light.

  "Formless and selfless..." With a calm mind, he silently recited, unmoving.

  Nor did I know how many tens of thousands of times I had chanted, but suddenly a light flashed in my heart, and I felt a thrill.

  Fang Li secretly rejoiced, knowing that it had taken effect. He stopped his quiet meditation and began to follow the method as described, visualizing the ten appearances of the materialized objects, such as the blue sky and white clouds of the color appearance, the birdsong and insect calls of the sound appearance, the mountain delicacies and seafood of the flavor appearance...

  When the ten aspects are unified and embodied, then one can begin to forget them.

  This process was also unknown whether it was a few hours or several months, Fang Li had no awareness at all.

  If someone were to enter the room at this time, they would discover that with Fang Li's seated position as the center, a mysterious blue rune burst into radiance, frantically gathering the spiritual energy from heaven and earth, which was then absorbed by Fang Li.

  And Fang Li's eyebrows converged at the center like a whirlpool, swallowing all the surrounding spiritual energy.

  "Mother, my brother has been in his room for almost a month and hasn't come out. Will something happen to him?" Fang Liu'er was much more spirited than she had been a month ago, with a lively spark in her eyes that only girls have, but at this moment, as she looked at Fang Li's door, there was some worry on her face.

  "It's all right, your brother is a cultivator and should be in closed-door cultivation. Your father was also like that back then, don't worry." As the mother, Ye Xiang comforted her daughter, but there was also some concern on her face.

  At this moment, a loud bang suddenly sounded in the room, and violent gas rushed out, blowing the doors and windows with a loud crash.

  "Brother!" Fang Liu'er was shocked and immediately shouted as she rushed into Fang Li's room. Ye Xiang also reacted and followed closely behind.

  "My son, are you all right?" Ye Xiang saw that the room was in disarray, with the wardrobe and desk overturned on the ground, while Fang Li still sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, and couldn't help but ask anxiously.

  Fang Li was woken up by his mother and sister, slowly opening his eyes, a golden light flashed by.

  "Mother, I'm fine, just a breakthrough in my cultivation." Fang Li looked around and saw the mess in the house, couldn't help but feel some apology, it seemed that he had worried his mother again.

  "Brother, that loud noise was too scary." Fang Liu'er looked displeased as Fang Li ignored her and suddenly leaned in close to her face.

  "It's brother's fault, scared you." Fang Li smiled and rubbed Fang Liu'er's head, the annoyance accumulated from a month of closed-door training suddenly disappeared.

  "Don't mess with me, it feels like you're treating me like a kid." Fang Liu'er shook her head and immediately broke free from Fang Li's grasp, then glared at him angrily.

  "Alright, Sixier, stop it. Your brother has been in seclusion for a month, let him rest first. Let's go out and get some delicious food ready for your brother." Ye Xiang stopped Fang Liuer from continuing to pester her and pulled her towards the door.

  Although Fang Liu'er was reluctant, she did not dare disobey her mother's words.

  Watching the two leave, Fang Li smiled slightly, and indeed it was still a good family.

  "After a month of closed-door training, I broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining. This is indeed an exceptional cultivation method." Fang Li checked his body and found that his cultivation had steadily entered the fifth level of Qi Refining realm, he couldn't help but feel great joy. However, all the true energy in his body had transformed into formless true energy, which was pale white in color, a glance would reveal its power to be not too impressive.

  "Having a good foundation is not enough, I must convert all this unattributed true energy into attributed true energy, otherwise I'll just be on the same level as those who don't know how to cultivate and will be challenged by others." Fang Li muttered to himself, then sat down cross-legged again, starting his next plan.

  Close your eyes and look inward, discovering that the true Qi of no form is quietly and peacefully residing in the Dan Tian, unlike the true Qi cultivated through other practices which flows through specific meridians.

  "It's really like a stagnant pool of water, without any vitality, no wonder nobody wants to learn it. But I'm not a mediocre person." Fang Li smiled confidently and suddenly let out a soft shout, the Wu Xiang True Qi in his Dantian immediately surged up. From stillness to movement, all within an instant.

  "First set up a rattan grass maze and try it out." Fang Li thought of it and did it, starting to guide the true energy with his mind.

  Teng Grass Formation is a Wood-attribute formation technique, requiring one Wood-attribute spirit object as the formation eye.

  "In the five organs, the liver belongs to wood, so I'll make you the array eye!" Fang Li's eyes swept horizontally, and he shouted loudly as he began to set up an array around the liver.

  This matter seems simple, but it's actually fraught with danger. If one is not careful, they might lose their life. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to try this. You should know that the arrangement of the formation has a possibility of failure, and once failed, it will damage the formation eye. Now Fang Lei uses his own liver as the formation eye, the degree of danger can be imagined.

  Teng grass array belongs to the first-order array method, compared with other array methods, the strokes that need to be drawn are much fewer. Even if Fang Li only cultivates the Wuxiang Jue to the first layer, he can still randomly circulate true energy in the twelve meridians and fill all the strokes.

  Fang Li's eyes were tightly closed, and his forehead had already sweated a lot. It was the first time he had carved an array in his body, so he naturally didn't dare to be careless.

  The true Qi flows slowly and moves forward bit by bit along the surroundings of the liver, and some soreness will be produced in the meridians through which the true Qi passes.

  I didn't think my meridians would be so fragile! Fang Li was shocked and didn't dare to force it, immediately reducing the flow of true energy. Originally as thick as a thumb, it was now compressed by him to the thickness of a little finger, but also because of this, the speed of the true energy flow increased a lot, and there would be no more stinging sensation.

  "Fu Cao Kun Zhen! Give me the seal!" Fang Li gritted his teeth and shouted, finally forming a complete pattern of true energy within his body. Suddenly, a surge of powerful wood energy burst out, passing through his pores and blowing his clothes into a rustling sound.

  Boom boom boom, Fang Li's body continuously emitted three loud explosions, his liver violently shaking, and the next moment, a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out from his mouth.

  "Not good!" Fang Li's face changed drastically, at this moment the true energy in his body had formed a cycle, flowing along the pattern of the Teng Grass Confining Array, but his liver seemed to be unable to withstand the pressure as the array eye, constantly trembling.

  "Give me a fix!" Fang Li's eyes were bloodshot, and he was about to succeed in his attempt. He couldn't give up now! With a loud shout, Fang Li immediately swallowed an Active Blood Nourishing Pill, hoping to use the medicinal properties of this second-grade pill to suppress the trembling of his liver.

  Pffft! In just a few breaths, Fang Li spat out another mouthful of fresh blood. However, with the Huo Luo Yang Xue Dan entering his stomach, his body was no longer in such agony.

  "One pill is not enough, then come another one!" Due to the liver's tremor, Fang Li felt extremely uncomfortable, and a fierce air rose in his heart. He poured the last pill of Huo Luo Yang Xue Dan into his mouth, possibly thinking it was still not enough. Fang Li took out Ju Ling Dan again, and with a burst of ferocity, he swallowed all of them into his belly.

  This is actually an Eight-Spirit Gathering Pill!

  There was a loud crash, and all the elixirs melted instantly, immediately producing a powerful and violent spiritual energy that rushed into Fang Li's body. Such a huge spiritual energy was naturally unbearable for Fang Li, and the meridians were instantly burst open wherever the energy passed through.

  A cruel smile spread across his face, and a mad gleam burst forth from his eyes. The pain in his body didn't intimidate him; instead, it stirred up his ferocity!

  "Since it's a Dan medicine, let it honestly assist me in my cultivation!" Fang Li gritted his teeth and smiled, even though his body had already reached its limit of endurance, but he still didn't show any signs of giving up or bowing his head.

  "Get over here, all of you!" Fang Li bellowed, his body's potential almost entirely unleashed. The true energy forming the Teng Grass Confinement Array inside him immediately surged, rushing at five times its normal speed. Meanwhile, he used his mind to suppress the spiritual energy produced by the elixirs into the array, wanting to merge them with his true energy and utilize them for himself.

  Unable to think of a way to expel this violent spiritual energy from his body, he instead wanted to absorb it. Probably in the entire world, only Fang Li, this madman, would do such a thing.

  Fang Li did not have such enlightenment, still going his own way, wanting to tame these violent spiritual energies. How dare a small spiritual energy run amok in his own body, what nonsense!

  Boom!

  Another loud rumble echoed inside his body. This time Fang Li did not spit out blood, but instead swallowed it back down.

  "It's time to merge, what are you waiting for!" Fang Li roared, and with a "whoosh", it seemed as if some kind of seal within his body was broken. Those violent spiritual energies seemed to be drawn by something, and indeed followed Fang Li's will, beginning to merge into the true energy.

  The true energy of nothingness suddenly expanded several times, following the operation of the Teng grass array, and poured into the liver in an instant. The medicinal properties of those nourishing blood dan also merged with it, and surprisingly helped to repair and strengthen Fang Li's body.

  At this time, Fang Li's body suddenly shone with a bright green light, centered on the liver, and the entire Teng Grass Array emitted a surging life energy. The liver belongs to wood, and the Teng Grass Array also belongs to wood, but this was Fang Li stirring up the unique life attribute of "wood".

  As time passed, these vital energies rapidly repaired Fang Li's body. Not only that, but his originally weak and fragile body also became robust, from bones to muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs, all becoming much more resilient.

  "Vine Grass Array, activate!" Fang Li suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. As his voice fell, a dozen or so emerald green auras burst out of his body, just like real vines, each one tens of meters long. In an instant, they smashed through the walls and ceiling of the room, tearing apart the already fragile wooden hut.

  Not only that, but with the rotation of the Teng Grass Array, all the attributeless true energy in Fang Li's body had acquired the properties of wood, making it several times stronger than its original form. In other words, Fang Li had thoroughly made up for the shortcomings of the Attributeless Technique.

  "It seems that nearly losing my life wasn't a complete loss, at least I saved several months of cultivation time." Fang Li muttered to himself. Swallowing so many elixirs in one breath and absorbing them all had allowed his cultivation to directly advance from the fifth stage of Qi Refining to the peak of the fifth stage of Qi Refining.

  Feeling the surging true energy within, Fang Li couldn't help but smile slightly, and looked at the true energy vines around his body again. A sense of accomplishment arose spontaneously. Looking back through ancient times, it's likely that no one has dared to set up an array within their own body before. Yet he had succeeded, and even perfectly merged the array with himself. In a certain sense, he should already be considered as having stepped onto the path of array cultivation, stepping onto this uncharted road.

  "The Teng Grass Array is just a first-class array, yet it already makes me feel its immense power. If we were to switch to an ancient grand array that could destroy the heavens and annihilate the earth, what would its power be like?" Fang Li muttered to himself, filled with anticipation for the future.