Meditation Method and Cultivation Techniques

"Yu Xiaogang was still poisoned. It seemed Tang San's First Soul Ring still came from a Mandala Snake."

Through the spider's observations, Lin Manshan could clearly see that Yu Xiaogang had been helped back by Tang San and was now bedridden. Before leaving, Tang San had also taken a book from a bookshelf to one side. According to Yu Xiaogang, it recorded some techniques for cultivating Soul Power.

This was precisely what Lin Manshan currently needed. Thus, over the following days, he paid especially close attention to Tang San's movements. He even placed a spider in the classroom to avoid missing anything.

After several days of observation, he finally finished reading the book alongside Tang San.

What surprised even Lin Manshan was that the Soul Power cultivation method recorded in the book was extremely similar to the methods for cultivating Internal Energy in wuxia novels.

According to it, Soul Power flowed within a Spirit Master's body. Even when one did nothing, it would instinctively circulate slowly through the body along specific routes. The so-called Meditation Method was to use meditation to consciously propel Soul Power on that basis, accelerating its circulation. This was also the cultivation method used by the vast majority of Spirit Masters on the continent.

"No wonder, when I cultivated according to the Meditation Method Su Yuntao gave me, I felt it resembled cultivating internal arts in wuxia novels." Lin Manshan sat cross-legged on his bed, sensing Soul Power flowing through his meridians.

"Just as blood flows through Blood Vessels on its own, Soul Power also circulates through the meridians by itself."

"It's just that its normal flow is too slow to drive the Martial Soul to absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and convert it into Soul Power. Only by consciously accelerating it can one achieve the effect of cultivating Soul Power."

"Still, this cultivation method is far too crude and far too slow." Lin Manshan sighed inwardly.

"A true Cultivation Technique should reorganize the route Soul Power takes through the body's meridians, thereby greatly increasing the speed at which the body absorbs Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. At the same time, because every creator has a different physique, the circulation routes they devise will differ, and so will the resulting cultivation effects. Of course, there are also universal Cultivation Techniques with neutral attributes, such as Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill."

"After all, the Tang Sect has been passed down through generations and has so many disciples, both men and women. There's only one supreme mental technique. If it had physique or attribute restrictions, how could they teach it?"

"According to the original work, the Mysterious Heaven Skill is a superior Daoist internal cultivation technique. Its attributes are neutral, it is ceaseless and ever-renewing, vast and boundless, and it can help one open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. The Internal Energy cultivated from it can not only accelerate the body's natural healing—as when it helped Tang Hao regenerate his severed limb in the original work—but also has powerful detoxifying effects. Tang San used the Internal Energy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill to expel the snake venom from Yu Xiaogang."

"As for what Tang San told Dai Mubai about having to cripple his Martial Soul and start over from scratch, that was complete bullshit. Dai Mubai and the others had never cultivated any Cultivation Technique by changing their Soul Power circulation routes, so where would a technique conflict come from? As for attribute conflicts, the protagonists in the later installments all learned them without a damn thing happening. Tang Wulin didn't learn it until he was over level ten, and he didn't have to cripple his Martial Soul or cultivation either."

Returning to his thoughts, Lin Manshan recalled the book's contents and the annotated diagrams of the human body.

"These Soul Power circulation routes marked in the book were probably compiled through experiments conducted by Spirit Hall using the Spirit Masters under its command. They haven't formed a complete system yet. They merely record which meridians can be used to circulate Soul Power, without connecting them into a genuine Cultivation Technique."

"As for the note saying that some people can use certain routes while others cannot, it should be because each person's meridians are blocked differently."

"Unfortunately, I've never studied anything related to meridians, so I can't figure out the differences between them."

"I also wonder whether the so-called Eight Extraordinary Meridians are recorded here, and which ones they are. This is a headache. If I can't understand it, I can't just try things at random. It'll be troublesome if I cultivate myself into a deviation." Lin Manshan felt somewhat frustrated. The Nether Race had special physiques, with tough, naturally unblocked meridians. Moreover, they cultivated only the body and not qi. Ni Tian Er Xing's memories contained no relevant records; he only knew that human Qi Practitioners cultivated such things.

"Fortunately, several routes confirmed to be safe for circulation are noted here. I can give them a try. They should be at least a little better than the Meditation Method I'm currently using." At that thought, Lin Manshan curled his lip. "Yu Xiaogang actually claimed these were his own research achievements. What a shameless bastard. Did you, Yu Xiaogang, dissect corpses to make this annotated diagram of the human body?"

"Still, no wonder the Soul Master World values Innate Soul Power so highly. Without Cultivation Techniques to accelerate cultivation and help open the meridians, innate talent naturally becomes the only standard for judgment." Lin Manshan sighed inwardly.

"And the reason Spirit Hall has so many Titled Douluo, far surpassing every other faction, is probably related to this research as well. After all, little by little adds up."

He stopped thinking and began cultivating Soul Power.

There were not many circulation routes to test, and Lin Manshan quickly succeeded in making his Soul Power circulate smoothly. As he had expected, his cultivation speed increased by about ten percent.

Before he knew it, it was deep into the night.

"Hm?" Lin Manshan suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look outside the window. He glanced at the dormmates around him, some meditating and cultivating, others already asleep, then closed his eyes again.

"Flap, flap." A Magpie Bird landed on a nearby windowsill, green light glimmering in its eyes.

At that moment, images began flashing continuously through Lin Manshan's mind.

Looking down, he saw mountains encircling the land. Their cliffs were steep, dividing the towering, cloud-piercing, verdant mountain range into valleys of all sizes. A humanoid black shadow darted between the cliff faces and the forests within the valleys, sometimes concealed by broad canopies and sometimes emerging into view.

Ahead of and around the black shadow, the occasional beast leaped out from the forest.

After an unknown amount of time, a white waterfall appeared in his vision, hanging like a Milky Way across the sky.

The humanoid black shadow leaped from beside the clear pool beneath the waterfall and landed on a reef halfway up the falls. Then, a massive black hammer suddenly appeared in its hand.

With a single upward swing, the plunging torrent reversed course, and a small path immediately appeared before the reef.

After taking several steps forward, the figure pressed its right hand lightly against the cliff. A rock to one side sank inward, quickly revealing a door.

The next second, the black shadow flashed inside.

With a shift in his thoughts, the image cut off, and Lin Manshan opened his eyes.

"It isn't far from Sacred Soul Village. Judging from that vast forest beyond the mountain range, it might be the Star Dou Great Forest. This mountain range's terrain does resemble Mount Hua from my previous life. It's really high and steep, and Spirit Beasts live in the forests within those valleys. It won't be easy to get there."

"No rush. Everything can wait until after I obtain my First Soul Ring." With that thought, Lin Manshan closed his eyes again.

"Flap, flap."

The Magpie Bird took flight and vanished into the night.