Chapter Six: Practicing the Technique

Carrying his bag of medicinal ingredients, Xiang Yang hurried along. Just before dark, he managed to reach the residential area where his home was located. Finally, at the entrance of the alley, he bought two jin of pork belly from the butcher shop and filled his gourd with wine from a nearby stall before returning to his small courtyard.

Arriving in the kitchen, Xiang Yang put down the things in his hands, picked up the fire starter from the wall, blew on it, and lit the oil lamp in front of the stove. Under the dim, yellow light, he surveyed his surroundings.

Just as he remembered, there was a stove against the west wall with a large iron pot on it. Behind it was connected to the earthen kang in his room. During the harsh winter, adding a few thick logs to the stove would keep him warm all day.

Against the north wall was a square cabinet made of rough wood. Its original red color had faded to white, and the bottom was a bit damp. Xiang Yang opened it. The first layer held over a dozen pairs of bowls and chopsticks. The second layer contained a small iron pot with a chain next to it for hanging.

At the very bottom was a ceramic jar, covered in dust from not being used for a long time. This was what Xiang Yang's family used to boil medicinal herbs, and it was the treasure he needed most at this very moment.

"The Iron Crotch Technique sounds simple. The external training is nothing special; anyone can cultivate it. But the most important and essential part is the internal medicinal soup. It's precisely by harnessing the medicinal power, combined with external training, that one can achieve strengthening yang and consolidating essence, thus making progress."

Generally, when brewing medicinal soup for martial arts training, it's done by the martial arts master or experienced specialists. This maximizes the retention of medicinal power in the soup, preventing its evaporation, and making the training twice as effective with half the effort.

However, Xiang Yang had neither a master nor any specialist in brewing medicine. He could only do it himself. But even so, the impact wouldn't be significant. When the Wordless Book transmitted the Iron Crotch Technique to Xiang Yang, it was accompanied by detailed explanations and descriptions. Even as a novice, Xiang Yang was seventy percent confident.

He took out the ceramic jar and cleaned it with fresh water in the courtyard. Then, he brought a pile of firewood from the east wall of the kitchen. Feeling it was enough, he scooped up fresh water and filled the jar to eight parts full. He then started a fire in the courtyard. As the firewood ignited, it illuminated the dark courtyard.

Xiang Yang hung the ceramic jar for brewing medicine on a stand above the burning firewood. Lastly, he took out the prepared medicinal ingredients from the kitchen and laid them out one by one, distinguishing and identifying them against the descriptions of the Iron Crotch Technique in his memory.

"Not bad, the young man was quite honest. Especially this seven qian of He Shou Wu; it looks really good."

Xiang Yang's eyes reflected the burning flames, and he was very satisfied. The other medicinal ingredients were common tonics for qi and yang, which even some rural barefoot doctors could gather in the mountains. But He Shou Wu was different; it was a rare medicinal herb and the finishing touch to this prescription.

He Shou Wu, also known as Polygonum multiflorum, purple vine, night-blooming vine, etc., its tuberous root can calm the spirit, nourish blood, activate collaterals, and detoxify. Processed Shou Wu can tonify essence and blood, darken hair, and strengthen bones and tendons.

Don't underestimate these seven qian of He Shou Wu; it's enough for Xiang Yang to brew seven times, which is sufficient for a month of cultivation. And in that month of cultivation, Xiang Yang's strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.

Time passed slowly. Xiang Yang stayed by the medicinal pot, carefully observing the heat below. He lowered the fire when it was too high and fanned it when it was too low. When the water boiled, he added the medicinal ingredients into the water in the order specified by the cultivation method, not daring to slacken or be careless for a moment.

After half an hour, on the yellow paper beside Xiang Yang, most of the ingredients except for He Shou Wu remained, to be used for the next brewing. The medicinal pot in front of him was already emitting a rich medicinal aroma.

Xiang Yang felt it was about time. He covered the mouth of the medicinal pot with the pre-prepared gauze and poured the brewed medicinal liquid into several large bowls. The remaining dregs, except for He Shou Wu, were all discarded.

And this was just the beginning. Medicinal soup, medicinal soup. What he had obtained so far was just medicine. After Xiang Yang cleaned the medicinal pot, poured the medicinal liquid back into it, and then added the sliced pork and the beaten white wine to continue simmering over a low heat, it finally became medicinal soup.

Sitting on a small wooden stool, gazing at the starry sky and smelling the fragrance gradually emanating from the medicinal pot beside him, Xiang Yang felt a sense of peace. His mind was empty. He felt that although his current life lacked games and anime, it was more real.

It wasn't until the medicinal pot beside him began to gurgle that Xiang Yang's thoughts returned. He poured a large bowl full of the medicinal soup and poured the rest into a large bamboo tube.

After tidying up the courtyard, Xiang Yang returned to the courtyard and tasted the medicinal soup. He smacked his lips. It had no salt, no MSG, no thirteen-spice, no onion or garlic. The taste was terrible, but this was for practicing martial arts. Even if it were a bowl of urine, he would drink it holding his nose. So, he really held his nose and drank it down.

As the medicinal soup went down his throat, it felt like a stream of fire coursing through Xiang Yang's body, entering his stomach through his esophagus. Afterward, his entire body felt warm, as if he were standing under a scorching sun.

"When the body feels like it's burning and the mind is restless, that's the crucial moment to externally press the hidden acupoints and stimulate the body. We can't stay in the courtyard; go back to the room."

Xiang Yang felt the abnormality within his body and his face lit up with joy. He wasn't afraid of no reaction; he was afraid of insufficient reaction. His current state was very peculiar. Just a bowl of medicinal soup had such an immediate effect, making him, a shut-in from Earth, extremely excited.

Back in the room, he lit the oil lamp. Without taking off his shoes, Xiang Yang jumped directly onto the earthen kang. He casually pulled open the neatly folded bedding on the side and covered himself with it. Underneath, Xiang Yang had stripped himself completely bare. The cultivation of the Iron Crotch Technique was perhaps the only part that was somewhat embarrassing.

Thinking about those who needed a master's guidance to practice the Iron Crotch Technique, Xiang Yang's teeth ached just thinking about it. The limitations of the Iron Crotch Technique dictated that the practitioner could only be male. A grown man standing erect facing another old man with a wrinkled face, and both of them maintaining a serious, as if facing a formidable enemy, expression. Tsk tsk.

In fact, Xiang Yang was already somewhat restless, commonly known as daydreaming. His originally fair skin had turned fiery red and hot, as if being roasted over a fire, making him extremely uncomfortable.

"It's time." Xiang Yang's expression turned serious. His chaotic thoughts completely vanished. He threw aside the bedding covering him, pinched his right index and middle fingers together, and began to knead and pat the vital area below. His left hand pressed an inch below his navel and rotated. His entire body relaxed completely, like a coiled dragon or a crouched dog.

Internally, Xiang Yang visualized a furnace burning fiercely in his mind according to the Iron Crotch Technique's contemplation method. It sounded mystical, but it was actually a way to divert attention.

Because of the medicinal power of the soup combined with Xiang Yang's current movements, any normal man would be stimulated to the point of losing his mind and would try to mate with a sow. If he didn't divert his attention, Xiang Yang estimated that tomorrow he would transform from a constable into a universally reviled lecher.

As time passed, Xiang Yang's body returned to normal from its initial fiery red state. However, sweat beaded on his body, and in the night, even wisps of heat rose from him. Even though he was completely naked, he didn't feel cold.

And Xiang Yang, who had been focused on visualizing the furnace, unknowingly entered a peculiar state. In his perception, his body, limbs, and head all disappeared. Only the area three inches below his abdomen stood tall like an iron pillar, with a mass of heat gathering there, becoming increasingly potent.

This was a manifestation of growing vital energy and abundant primal yang. From this day forward, Xiang Yang had truly opened the door to the martial path.