Obtaining a Breathing Technique

White Cloud Temple.

"Greetings, Daoist Priest Mingzhang!"

"Greetings, Young Master Lu." Though Daoist Priest Mingzhang answered Lu Zheng, his gaze remained fixed on the bundle hanging from Lu Zheng's hand.

"Daoist priest, may I speak with you privately?"

"Follow me."

Daoist Priest Mingzhang led Lu Zheng to his quiet chamber.

"Young Master Lu is quite capable. You truly slew the Corpse Ghoul," Daoist Priest Mingzhang praised.

"Daoist priest, you could tell?"

"Ghost Qi still faintly seeped from that bundle. Young Master is not a cultivator and cannot sense it, but to this humble priest, it was no different from a beacon in the dead of night."

"Just as Daoist Priest said, the Corpse Ghoul has been put down." Lu Zheng nodded and recounted yesterday's encounter to Daoist Priest Mingzhang.

Naturally, he replaced the net-launching gun and the Embroidered Spring Blade with a fishing net and a long saber.

"Young Master remained calm in danger and won by surprise. This humble priest admires you." Daoist Priest Mingzhang nodded with a smile, light gleaming in his eyes as he fell into thought.

That Corpse Ghoul possessed the strength of an ox and the speed of the wind. Though Lu Zheng had relied on strategy, his resolve and physical abilities must have been exceptional as well.

"However, I seem to have stirred up another hornet's nest. I can only come seek daoist priest's aid once more."

"Oh?"

Daoist Priest Mingzhang had already been curious why Lu Zheng had come calling again. He had thought Lu Zheng had come to show off after slaying the Corpse Ghoul, but apparently that was not the case. "Daoist priest, please look."

Lu Zheng did not hide anything. He took out the leather, booklet, and bronze token, laying them out in a neat row before Daoist Priest Mingzhang.

Daoist Priest Mingzhang spotted the bronze token at once.

"Nightfall King?"

Lu Zheng's heart skipped a beat. Just as I thought.

"I never expected this Corpse Ghoul to be one of Nightfall King's subordinates." Daoist Priest Mingzhang raised a brow.

"This Nightfall King...?"

"A minor Ghost King in the Netherworld within Tonglin County's territory," Daoist Priest Mingzhang said.

Lu Zheng blinked. That was it? "There is even a ghost cultivator's method and a Painted Skin Technique? This person held no low status. Could she have been Nightfall King's favored concubine?"

Daoist Priest Mingzhang chuckled. "From Young Master's account, this Corpse Ghoul wore all kinds of painted skins and took on many different charms. She was surely Nightfall King's favored concubine. He likes that sort of thing."

Lu Zheng nearly cried at what he heard. This enmity had been forged deep...

Perhaps noticing Lu Zheng's expression, Daoist Priest Mingzhang consoled him indifferently. "Rest easy. With Tonglin County's City God standing guard, Nightfall King cannot reach the Yang World. Put your mind at ease."

"I ask daoist priest to enlighten me!" Lu Zheng took the chance to ask his question. "Even if Nightfall King cannot come, what if there are other ghosts? I have now provoked Nightfall King. You must at least explain things clearly to me, right? In case something follows..."

"Do not worry. Just leave the bronze token here with this humble priest, and Nightfall King will not be able to find you." Daoist Priest Mingzhang waved a hand.

Lu Zheng nodded repeatedly. He could not have wished for anything better.

"Also, you said this Grand Yin Superior Soul Cleansing Scripture is a ghost cultivation method. Does that mean living people cannot cultivate it?"

Daoist Priest Mingzhang smiled. "This scripture explains how to temper one's soul with Netherworld Ghost Qi. What, do you wish to cultivate it?"

Lu Zheng waved his hands again and again. "I would not dare, I would not dare!"

"And this Painted Skin Technique..." Daoist Priest Mingzhang picked up the leather and rubbed it between his fingers. "It really is human skin."

Lu Zheng bared his teeth.

"Painted skins and beast-making are cut from the same cloth—crooked, wicked paths." Daoist Priest Mingzhang shook his head. "They are not paths for people of our kind to cultivate."

After pondering for a moment, Daoist Priest Mingzhang said to Lu Zheng, "Young Master wishes to cultivate?"

"I have thought of it a thousand times, ten thousand times. My heart and intent are sincere!"

Daoist Priest Mingzhang nodded. "These scriptures and methods are no wholesome arts. Keeping them will do Young Master no good, so this humble priest will take them."

Lu Zheng entirely agreed. In any case, he had already photographed all their contents with his phone.

"The Corpse Ghoul was slain by Young Master, and these items were obtained by Young Master. Naturally, this humble priest cannot take your things for nothing."

Daoist Priest Mingzhang paused. "Since Young Master sincerely wishes to cultivate, this humble priest has a breathing technique here. Cultivate it diligently in your daily life, and you should develop Qi Sensation and increase your Dao Comprehension."

Lu Zheng's eyes lit up at once. "Excellent! Many thanks, daoist priest!"

Then he struck while the iron was hot. "Aside from a breathing technique, might there be any methods for subduing demons and exterminating devils?"

Daoist Priest Mingzhang rolled his eyes. "No."

Before Lu Zheng could say anything more, Daoist Priest Mingzhang rummaged out a thin scripture from a small cabinet beside him.

"I will explain the scripture to Young Master."

Half a day later, Lu Zheng had no choice but to admit that cultivation truly required a master to lead one through the gate.

Daoist Priest Mingzhang explained the methods in the scripture to Lu Zheng line by line, clarifying the various cultivation terms and their meanings.

Then, he personally pointed at various places on Lu Zheng's body, telling him how to breathe, how to empty his mind, and how to sense the flow of Qi.

At the same time, Daoist Priest Mingzhang sent his own true Qi into Lu Zheng's body, allowing him to feel and remember the sensation of true Qi flowing.

For a full two hours, Daoist Priest Mingzhang explained every detail of this breathing technique to Lu Zheng in simple, accessible terms.

Though the time had been too short for Lu Zheng to cultivate Qi Sensation, he now genuinely knew how to cultivate.

"Have you remembered it?"

"I have."

"Good. This scripture is yours, then. Go back and study it carefully, cultivate earnestly, and in time, you will naturally achieve something."

"Many thanks, daoist priest!"

"Mm."

Lu Zheng accepted the scripture and finally saw the name written on its cover.

"Midnight Stillness Breathing Technique."

"Daoist priest, could you tell me about the City God and Nightfall King?"

"Uh..."

"I am considered a cultivator now, so it should be fine for me to know these things, right?"

Daoist Priest Mingzhang was too exhausted to criticize him. "What kind of cultivator do you count as now..."

Forget it. He had accepted Lu Zheng's things and even passed on a breathing technique. By a stretch, Lu Zheng had indeed entered the gate of cultivation. There was no harm in telling him about these matters.

"The great trends of the world are far too distant from you and me. Even I do not know their depths, so there is little to tell you. I will only speak of cultivation matters concerning the Great Jing Dynasty and our Tonglin County."

"Good, good, good!"

Lu Zheng nodded repeatedly. At last, he could catch a glimpse of the cultivation world's iceberg tip.

"There are many cultivators under heaven. Our White Cloud Temple belongs to a branch of the Daoist Sect. Beyond that are Buddhist practitioners, Sword Cultivators, martial artists, and more—all counted among the righteous paths."

"Besides them, there are no few demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters. But around Tonglin County, there is only Nightfall King hiding in the Netherworld, along with a few scattered Demon Creatures."

"Mm, as everyone knows, besides the Yang World where we live day to day, there are also many Blessed Grotto-Heavens and Netherworld Underworlds."

Lu Zheng: Everyone knows my ass!

"Mm, you need not understand the specifics. Just think of them as other worlds. They are not as vast as our Yang World, and they depend upon it."

Lu Zheng raised a brow. This world actually had subspaces and little worlds?

"Places rich in spiritual Qi are Blessed Grotto-Heavens, paradises for cultivators. Places permeated by Nether Energy are Netherworld Underworlds, homes for ghosts."

"In principle, when people die, their lamps go out; their souls return to heaven and earth, reverting to their origin."

"However... with the existence of Netherworld Underworlds, ghosts gained the foundation for their existence."