Practicing the Breathing Technique, Unforeseen Events at the Pier

Chapter 28: Cultivating the Breathing Technique, Unforeseen Events at the Pier

Trees grow tall and attract the wind, which shakes the trees; people gain fame and lose their lives.

Although Lin Mo didn't fully grasp the doctrine of the mean, he understood this simple and obvious truth. Now that the Li Family had pushed him to the forefront, he could do nothing but accept it.

After organizing a delicious meal for all the apprentices, he went to a merchant house in Changhe County to exchange all the silver for banknotes.

"I should focus on cultivating the breathing technique first..."

With one thing after another happening, Lin Mo felt a sense of unease. "I should still wear the Golden Silk Soft Armor and bring the three pills when I go out in the future, just in case something unexpected happens on the road."

Lin Mo left his small stone courtyard and returned to the courtyard where he lived with Xu Changfeng. Xu Changfeng was out on business, so it was quiet at the moment.

He found the incomplete scroll of the Great Jade Ape Breathing Technique and began to cultivate it.

Before this, he had also consulted miscellaneous books and gained a deeper understanding of breathing techniques.

"Breathing techniques emphasize the method of inhalation and exhalation. They are profound cultivation methods that combine nourishment, training, and combat. Those with fierce breathing techniques exhale and inhale directly, causing great surges in Blood Essence. They can exert twelve points of effect with eight points of strength, which is truly astonishing..."

Lin Mo pondered as he flipped through the yellowed, incomplete scroll. The dense, tadpole-like characters covered its surface, and he deciphered them one by one.

Spirit Ape climbs the Jade Peak, breathing in the rosy clouds. One breath turns three times, and the elixir fetus gestates Jade Nectar...

"Beginners can draw in the 'Jade Spirit Qi' between heaven and earth, transforming turbid energy into Spirit Power..."

"Those who achieve minor success will have their lungs refined like jade, permeating their limbs and bones. Ordinary means cannot harm them..."

"Those who achieve great success can be as light as an ape, with bones as hard as jade. They can shatter metal and stone with their breath, and tread upon clouds and mist..."

This breathing technique was indeed peculiar, not an ordinary common one. It was a pity...

Thinking of this, Lin Mo sighed silently, "It's a pity that Zhao Hubiao only had this incomplete introductory scroll, and only the cultivation process for the Second Level."

Then again, Zhao Hubiao was just a small gang leader. It was already remarkable that Lin Mo could obtain such a treasure from him, so he didn't dare to hope for too much.

Clearing his mind of all other distractions, he began to learn step by step according to the flow of the breathing technique.

The process of cultivating a breathing technique was essentially three steps: visualization, breathing, and channeling energy.

The first two steps were for learning, and the last step was for practical application and combat.

"The first step is visualization." Lin Mo sat cross-legged, his tongue touching the roof of his mouth, his teeth slightly parted.

Visualization, as the name suggests, was about constructing a blueprint in the mind.

The Great Jade Ape Breathing Technique required practitioners to visualize a spirit ape climbing a jade peak. The main objective was to depict the ape's posture and the sacredness of the rosy clouds.

Lin Mo meditated in his heart. For someone who had long practiced the White Ape Eight Section Fist, visualizing the posture of an ape was the easiest step.

"Next is the second step, breathing..."

Lin Mo let out a long breath of stale air and stood up, slowly stretching his body.

He mimicked the posture of a spirit ape embracing jade, his legs slightly bent like a crouching ape. His palms were placed one on top of the other in front of his abdomen, as if holding a jade ball, and his spine was straight like a peak.

"The breathing technique uses fifteen breaths as one small cycle, divided into short inhalations and rapid exhalations, and long inhalations and slow exhalations. The two must be used in conjunction."

Lin Mo inhaled briefly for three breaths to fill his chest, then exhaled rapidly. Afterward, he took a deep breath that sank into his dantian and slowly exhaled.

As Blood Essence circulated through his meridians, he felt a faint warmth in his chest and abdomen.

"It's working, so this is the right path?"

Lin Mo continued to experiment, maintaining this breathing rhythm and the circulation of Blood Essence for a long time. After three to five cycles, his chest still felt as warm as before.

One of the signs of entering the initial stage of cultivation was the production of saliva like jade nectar in the mouth, and a growing sense of lightness and agility in the bones and muscles.

"I suppose it's because I haven't been cultivating for long. If I keep at it, I might be able to enter the stage quickly..."

The first two steps seemed to go very smoothly, giving Lin Mo a boost of confidence. He stubbornly maintained this breathing rhythm and Blood Essence circulation for over a quarter of an hour.

Gradually, he suddenly felt a warm sensation slide across his lips, along with a hint of metallic taste.

Lin Mo gently wiped it away with his hand and looked at his palm, only to see a smear of crimson blood. "Bleeding? I still can't rush things..."

He frowned, understanding the reason. It was likely due to his body's incompatibility with the so-called 'Jade Spirit Qi' being inhaled.

"When cultivating the breathing technique, the first two steps still require patient effort..."

On the first day of cultivating the breathing technique, Lin Mo only persisted for a quarter of an hour. When his body showed signs of abnormality, he stopped cultivating for the time being.

On the second day of cultivating the breathing technique, Lin Mo persisted for a full two quarters of an hour. Not only did his chest and abdomen feel a hot current, but his mouth and tongue also felt warm.

Although he was still quite far from entering the initial stage, he was at least moving forward slowly, step by step.

On the morning of the third day, just as dawn was breaking, a fog had inexplicably appeared over the docks of Changhe County.

On the Changhe River, the thick, unyielding morning mist was like a pale white curtain, completely shrouding the dozens of docks spread along the river.

On the damp stone slabs, only the night watchman's tired shadow could be seen, his clapper striking intermittently, its muffled sound not traveling far.

At East Third Pier, Li Hao, with dark circles under his eyes, sat leisurely on a bamboo chair by the shore. Beside him, a steward from the Li Family was tallying accounts, preparing to welcome the day's fishing trade.

"When does the morning market at the pier start? When can I leave?"

"Just a few more moments, sir, please wait a bit longer..."

Li Hao, a disciple of the Li Family's collateral branch and a Martial Artist at First Stage Perfected with third-class sponsorship, was impatiently questioning him from the side. He had naturally been present during the encirclement and suppression of the Tiger Gang.

"This Lin Mo, he just ambushed a minor leader on the way, and they're making such a fuss, giving him so many rewards? Does he deserve it?"

The more he substituted for others on patrol, the more agitated he became, so much so that he didn't even notice the faint, rusty smell in the air.

Just then, downstream from Pier Number Three, a short, sharp scream suddenly came from a few small sampans that had been floating there moments before.

The sound was like a strangled cry, cut short abruptly.

Li Hao's body jolted, all sleepiness vanishing. He instinctively gripped the long saber at his waist and looked towards the lake.

For some reason, the lake seemed to have gained many shadows, as large as people, darting rapidly through the water.

A few vendors were walking along the shore, heading towards Pier Number Three. Suddenly, a terrifying grayish-green hand grabbed an ankle, and in the next instant, the vendor was dragged into the lake.

A large pool of blood spread across the water's surface, and the pungent smell of blood surged into Li Hao's nostrils. He finally reacted, roaring loudly.

"Water ghosts! Water ghosts have come ashore!"

As if a fuse had been lit, the little bit of life that had gathered at the pier scattered instantly. Screams, cries, and the chaos of running filled the air...

The piers to the east still had time to react, but on the piers to the south, guided by the blood offerings, the mist thickened, and the water ghosts swarmed the docks like wild cats smelling blood.

Limbs and remains littered the ground, blood flowed everywhere. Caught off guard, even the patrolling guards were dragged into the water, torn apart by the several water ghosts and dragged to the riverbed.

Tens of piers were instantly swarmed by thousands of water ghosts. No one knew where they came from or why.

The mist mixed with the smell of fish and blood. All that was known was that the pier had become a scene from hell.