Practicing the Innate Cultivation Method

"This is the first condition, the Innate Cultivation Method!"

As soon as the words fell, the Grand Elder suddenly raised his hand and pressed a finger to Mu Bai's dantian.

Mu Bai felt a power as vast as the sea surge into his body, instantly flowing through every limb and bone.

Enduring the pain, "As your master, I will impart the Innate Cultivation Method to you!"

Intense pain surged like a tide. Mu Bai gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

He felt every inch of his muscles, every bone being torn apart and reassembled. The pain was far beyond imagination.

"Now, circulate the True Qi within your body, following the path of my True Essence."

A profound incantation echoed from the Grand Elder's lips. He suppressed the intense pain and began guiding the True Qi within his body to circulate along specific meridians.

After an unknown amount of time, the pain gradually subsided, replaced by an unprecedented sense of comfort.

Mu Bai opened his eyes and found his skin covered in a layer of black grime, emitting a foul odor.

"This is the impurity within your body. The Innate Cultivation Method is cleansing your marrow." The Grand Elder waved his hand, drawing a clear spring from a nearby well to wash Mu Bai clean. "How do you feel?"

Mu Bai moved his body and was pleasantly surprised to find his vision and hearing had improved significantly. He could even see the texture of leaves on trees a hundred meters away.

The True Qi flowed smoothly within him, much stronger than before.

"Thank you, Master!" Mu Bai bowed sincerely.

The Grand Elder nodded. "This cultivation method is called the Star Picking Art. Starting tomorrow, you will come here every morning to cultivate for three hours until the marrow cleansing is complete."

"You may arrange your other time as you see fit, but do not neglect your studies."

"Yes, disciple remembers." Mu Bai said respectfully.

"Go, come again tomorrow."

Mu Bai respectfully withdrew and descended the mountain along the path he had come.

Halfway down the mountain, he couldn't help but look back at the thatched hut on the summit, his heart filled with emotion.

Who could have imagined that in just two days, he had gone from an outsider to the personal disciple of the Grand Elder? His fate had undergone a world-shattering change.

The path of Martial Dao has truly just begun... Mu Bai clenched his fist, his eyes gleaming with determination.

The morning dew had yet to dissipate, and Mu Bai was already standing before the stone steps of the forbidden area in the back mountains.

This was already the seventeenth consecutive day he had reported on time.

Ever since being taken in as a disciple by the Grand Elder, his life had entered a regular and fulfilling cultivation rhythm.

"Hoo—"

Mu Bai took a deep breath, feeling the dense spiritual energy within the forbidden area.

With the cultivation over these days, his perception of spiritual energy had become increasingly keen. He could even distinguish the flow of different attributes of spiritual energy in the air.

Taking out his jade token, he passed through the entrance of the forbidden area and followed the stone steps upwards with practiced ease.

Compared to the nervousness and apprehension of his first time, he could now calmly face his unfathomable master.

In front of the thatched hut on the summit, the Grand Elder stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the distant sea of clouds.

Hearing footsteps, he said without turning his head, "You are half a quarter of an hour earlier than yesterday."

Mu Bai bowed respectfully, "Disciple dares not slacken."

The Grand Elder turned around, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "How has your cultivation of the first two layers of the Star Picking Art progressed?"

"Replying to Master, I have grasped it preliminarily." Mu Bai answered truthfully.

"Oh?" The Grand Elder raised an eyebrow. "Show me."

The Grand Elder was somewhat disbelieving. It was known that the first two layers of the Star Picking Art corresponded to the Houtian level of martial arts cultivation methods.

Mu Bai nodded, took three steps back, and assumed a stance.

He formed seals with his hands, circulating True Qi within his body according to a specific route. A faint blue glow gradually emanated from him.

With a soft shout, he formed his right hand into a claw and grabbed at the air—

"Chii!"

Five visible streams of True Qi shot out from his fingertips, instantly severing the trunk of an ancient tree thirty feet away.

The Grand Elder's eyes flashed with sharp light. "Star Picking Hand? You've actually mastered the first two layers?"

Mu Bai retracted his technique, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "Disciple is dull; I have only grasped the superficial aspects."

"Superficial aspects?" The Grand Elder showed a rare wry smile. "The fastest record in the Langya Family's history for cultivating the Star Picking Art was over half a year to master the first two layers, while you took only seventeen days."

Mu Bai's heart stirred.

As a web novel author in his past life, he was intimately familiar with various cultivation method tropes. Coupled with the Overwhelming Dao Body's incredible control over True Qi circulation, understanding and cultivating these methods was indeed twice the result with half the effort.

"Come, look at this section." The Grand Elder took out an ancient bamboo slip from his sleeve and pointed to a complex passage of text. "Are you sure you understand it?"

Mu Bai read carefully and found it to be a profound technique about True Qi flowing in reverse to strike acupoints.

To a normal person, this would likely be confusing, but in his eyes, these words were as clear and understandable as novel settings he'd read in his past life.

"Master, this section explains that when performing the Star Picking Hand, one must first circulate True Qi against the flow along the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian, and upon reaching the Tanzhong acupoint, split it into three streams. These streams then impact the Tianchi, Jiquan, and Qingling acupoints respectively, finally converging and erupting at the Laogong acupoint," Mu Bai explained fluently. "This can increase the power of the Star Picking Hand by over thirty percent, but it also places an additional burden on the meridians, so it's not advisable to use it continuously."

After speaking, he demonstrated on the spot. A blue light flared intensely between his right hand's fingers, more solid than before.

The Grand Elder remained silent for a long time, finally sighing softly, "Very good! Excellent!"

At this moment, the Grand Elder finally understood the complex expression on his own master's face when he had broken through to the Innate realm back then.

Mu Bai scratched his head sheepishly, "This disciple was merely fortunate..."

"No need for modesty," the Grand Elder waved his hand. "Exceptional talent is a fact, but what's even rarer is your comprehension and diligence. For the past half a month, you've come to cultivate every day, rain or shine. This state of mind is the most precious quality on the path of the Martial Dao."

Mu Bai felt a warmth spread through his heart.

As a failed writer in his past life, he was accustomed to being ignored and dismissed. Now, receiving such high praise, his eyes felt a little moist.

"Since you've gained an initial understanding of the Star Picking Art, the next step is to consider breaking through to the Innate realm," the Grand Elder's expression turned serious. "Do you know the difference between Houtian and Innate?"

Mu Bai recalled the Martial Dao settings he'd read in his past life: "Houtian is about accumulating True Qi and strengthening the physical body; Innate is when True Qi liquefies and forms a cycle?"

"That's roughly correct, but not entirely comprehensive," the Grand Elder nodded. "Houtian martial artists rely on their Dantian to store True Qi, like using a bucket to hold water – there's always a limit. Whereas Innate martial artists form a Qi Vortex within their Dantian, causing the True Qi to rotate and condense on its own, like digging a well in the ground – it's an inexhaustible source."

As he spoke, the Grand Elder extended a finger, and a small Qi Vortex suddenly appeared at its tip, emitting astonishing energy fluctuations.

"Forming a Qi Vortex is the key to breaking through to the Innate realm," the Grand Elder retracted the vortex. "The method is to use an Innate Cultivation Method as a foundation, driving True Qi to rotate at high speed within the Dantian until a stable Qi Vortex is formed."

Mu Bai listened intently, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

"This process is extremely dangerous," the Grand Elder's tone was grave. "The rotating True Qi generates immense pressure. The slightest mistake can lead to the Dantian rupturing. In the history of the Langya Family, three geniuses have become cripples because of this, one of whom was even the heir of the family head at the time."