Entering the Valley

Qin Fengming didn't know that if others practiced this technique like he did, by the time they completed the first layer, attempting to circulate the Great Heavenly Circulation would surely result in ruptured meridians, rendering them cripples, or worse, death on the spot. (www..com)

Practicing this kind of technique usually requires a sect master or elder to teach the cultivation methods. From the beginning, one continuously circulates the Great Heavenly Circulation. While the spiritual energy within the body is still very weak, it travels through the meridians. As the spiritual energy grows stronger, the meridians expand accordingly. This prevents the meridians from rupturing due to excessive spiritual energy.

Little did Qin Fengming know that what he called internal energy was actually the most basic Five Elements Cultivation Method in the immortal cultivation world. Furthermore, what he referred to as internal energy was actually what the immortal cultivation world called spiritual energy.

According to the cultivation method, the spiritual energy in the dantian circulates through the meridians, which can improve their patency. With more patent meridians, one can absorb more energy from heaven and earth, which is then converted into spiritual energy. Circulating the Great Heavenly Circulation is a mandatory part of cultivation. Simultaneously, circulating the Great Heavenly Circulation also exercises the "thought."

The so-called "thought" is the cultivator's "divine sense." It is the perceptive ability, which is extremely important for cultivators. Divine sense can perceive anything around them. It allows them to "detect" an opponent before they even appear, thus preparing in advance.

In reality, ordinary people also have divine sense, but they can only perceive a few meters around them. Martial arts experts have a much larger range of perception, capable of sensing over ten or even dozens of meters. However, none of this compares to cultivators.

Just like how the young master of the Zhang Clan could quickly detect Qin Fengming, it was the result of scanning with his "divine sense."

The first time he circulated the Great Heavenly Circulation according to the nameless incantation, it consumed a great deal of Qin Fengming's divine sense. After one circulation, he already felt his head swimming and heavy. If he were to force himself to circulate again, it would inevitably cause damage to his body. He was aware of this point. Therefore, he did not dare to circulate again.

With this experience, Qin Fengming became even more diligent and hardworking in his cultivation from then on.

He also frequently performed "internal observation," constantly monitoring the changes in the five-colored gas within his dantian. "Watching" those gases continuously increase filled Qin Fengming with immense joy.

Time flowed by, and a year and a half passed in the blink of an eye. For a teenager in his teens, cultivating alone for such a long period would be unbearable for anyone without a resolute mind.

During these nearly two years, besides diligently cultivating the nameless incantation, Qin Fengming also undertook two missions.

One was to hunt down a notorious bandit. This bandit had, overnight, massacred an entire wealthy family in Baiyang Town, seventy li west of Yumen City, leaving no one alive. Such a cruel and bloodthirsty individual had aroused the indignation of the entire martial arts world in Yingzhou Prefecture. A Jianghu Order was jointly issued, vowing to kill this person.

Qin Fengming, along with his seventh and ninth senior brothers from the Dark Night Hall, was assigned the mission. The three of them pursued the bandit for over twenty days, finally intercepting him in the mountains bordering Yingzhou Prefecture and Taihu Prefecture. After a fierce battle, the three of them, working together, killed the bandit.

The other mission was to escort a batch of ore back to the sect from a mine located at the border of Yingzhou and Wuling Prefectures.

As they neared Luyu City, they encountered the "Five Tigers Gang" that had occupied the area. A fierce battle ensued. The second senior brother injured Duan Xizheng, the third son of the Duan family, repelling the members of the Five Tigers Gang and allowing them to return to the sect smoothly.

Although these two missions had their dangers, they provided Qin Fengming with valuable experience.

Within this year, he had successfully cultivated the first three layers of the nameless incantation. Now, when he performed internal observation of his dantian, he found that the five-colored gas had increased several times compared to a year ago. When gathered with his divine sense, it was as thick as a chopstick. Such a change filled him with excitement.

Following the method introduced in the latter part of the booklet, he also learned a technique called "Ice Bullet."

He could condense several small balls resembling ice clusters from the five-colored "internal energy" within his body. When these small balls were propelled out using a secret technique, they could not only create a small hole in a large tree but also freeze the surrounding area where they struck, making it incredibly powerful. This skill was something his original Master's teachings on internal energy could not achieve.

All of this was cultivated by Qin Fengming in private; he had never revealed it to anyone.

One day, after finishing his sword practice, Qin Fengming returned to his room, intending to practice the set of nameless incantations. To his dismay, no matter how he gathered his focus, he found it impossible to calm his mind. This was something that had never happened in the past year.

Qin Fengming knew that cultivating internal energy could not be forced; otherwise, it could lead to qi deviation and ruptured meridians. Seeing his state today, he had no choice but to give up his practice for the day.

He walked out of his room and looked up at the distance, where he saw layers of mountains, rolling and stretching as far as the eye could see.

Suddenly, a whim struck him. He had been here for several years and had never ventured into the depths of the mountains.

Being a young man of only seventeen or eighteen, his nature was naturally restless and curious. The distant deep mountains greatly piqued his interest. Since he had nothing to do today, he made up his mind to explore them.

With this thought, Qin Fengming no longer hesitated. He slung his precious sword across his back and descended Rosy Cloud Peak alone, following Luoxia Valley towards the depths of the mountains.

Initially, there was a small path to follow in the valley. After traveling for more than ten li, the path completely disappeared, replaced by dense bushes, vines, ravines, and broken cliffs. However, these difficulties were nothing to Qin Fengming.

When he encountered small ravines or cliffs, he simply used his Lightness Skill to leap over them. When thorny bushes blocked his path, he used his precious sword to cut a way through. Sometimes, he even used the Azure Cloud Maze movement technique, leaping from treetop to treetop.

After two hours, with Qin Fengming traveling non-stop, he had ventured nearly forty li into the depths of the mountains.

Along the way, he encountered many wild animals such as elk and roe deer. Upon seeing Qin Fengming, some of these animals showed no fear. Even when he approached within a few dozen feet, they did not flee in alarm.

This indicated that the area was rarely visited by humans, and these animals had lost their usual wariness, no longer knowing danger.

After another hour of travel, Qin Fengming had now entered the deep mountains for nearly fifty to sixty li.

His Master, Zhang Li, had once mentioned that once one entered fifty li into the mountains, there would be a sealing mist. However, having ventured this deep, he still hadn't encountered any mist, which greatly puzzled Qin Fengming.