Cultivation (Seeking Collection)

Inside the courtyard.

Zhong Shenxiu unleashed his punches and kicks freely, each move and stance imbued with immense power.

White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird...

He integrated the Four Symbols Battle Methods from the Ten Directions Beast Art into one.

He took a deep breath, and one could faintly hear the roars of tigers and leopards, the coiled breathing of spiritual turtles, and the Sky Toad Swallowing Sun.

With a slight exertion of his energy, boundless strength surged forth, accompanied by an incredibly tough hide, making Zhong Shenxiu seem like a true monstrous beast in human form—an Ape Demon!

"The Ape Demon Victorious Method is indeed the general principle of the Ten Directions Beast Art!"

After a long while, Zhong Shenxiu retracted his fists, sighing inwardly.

He had easily borrowed the Ten Directions Beast Art, the most widely circulated martial art in the military, from the government's martial arts archives without any trouble.

This martial art uses the Ape Demon Victorious Method as its general principle, overseeing nine other techniques: White Tiger Seven Kill Fist, Azure Dragon Probes the Clouds Hand, Black Tortoise Hundred Refinements Armor, Vermilion Bird Burning Heaven Palm, Spiritual Turtle Breathing Technique, Giant Elephant Great Strength Art, Mighty Ox Tough Hide Skill, Tiger Leopard Thunder Roar, and Sky Toad Swallows Sun Art.

Zhong Shenxiu glanced at his status panel:

[Title: Shepherd]

[Zither, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting: Third Layer]

[Ten Directions Beast Art: Third Layer (Cannot be upgraded)]

[Profound Yin Soul Control Fragment: Third Layer (Cannot be upgraded)]

[Heavenly Show Points: 0 (5%)]

[Gate of Ten Thousand Doors: Opening (15%)]

"Relying on the abilities of the vengeful spirits and the assistance of Heavenly Show Points, I've cultivated the Ten Directions Beast Art to the peak of the mortal realm. The next step is to find a technique to cultivate the Myriad Beast True Body. This is true Daoist Magic, which has always been tightly controlled by the government... someone like me, with an unsavory background, likely won't be able to obtain it..."

Zhong Shenxiu sighed, "Perhaps I can use Heavenly Show Points to forcibly upgrade the Ten Directions Beast Art to the Daoist Magic level? However, it would definitely require more than twenty Heavenly Show Points..."

Even after obtaining the treasures in the martial arts library, Zhong Shenxiu found that although his martial arts had improved slightly, breaking through to the Xiantian realm was still a distant prospect.

This was also the biggest bottleneck faced by many martial artists.

Without a stroke of luck, they would never be able to cross this threshold and truly enter the Dao in their lifetime.

However, his cultivation during this period had yielded some results.

"Regarding the method to refine the Myriad Beast True Body, I can roughly guess that it involves slaughtering and absorbing the souls of wild beasts and demonic beasts... No, not souls, but Sha Qi!"

The earth has Earth Sha, humans have Human Sha, and wild beasts and demonic beasts also possess Beast Sha!

The so-called 'Gang Sha Realm' refines Gang Qi and Sha Qi, which are actually a form of heaven and earth origin energy!

"Heaven and earth origin energy can transform into myriad energies!"

Zhong Shenxiu thought to himself, "In reality, cultivators don't need to seek externally. By meditating and refining Qi daily, they can slowly draw the required Gang Qi and Sha Qi from the heaven and earth origin energy. However, this method is too slow... it might take years or decades of meditation to accumulate a usable strand of Sha Qi, while others can find one externally and refine it to achieve the same level of cultivation. Therefore, those who cultivate this way are fools. The difference between humans and animals lies in the ability to utilize tools."

"The Ten Directions Beast Art is the foundational chapter of a Daoist Magic. The entry-level for this Daoist Magic's Gang Sha Realm is to cultivate Beast Sha..."

Unfortunately, even knowing this, and even collecting a strand of Beast Sha, without understanding the method, one still couldn't enter the Dao.

"Daoist techniques, Daoist techniques..."

Zhong Shenxiu sighed. It was difficult to obtain them from the government, and even if obtained, they might not be the best.

Besides that, there was another path: cultivation sects!

For example, Feng Xi'er and that Linghe were from the Cloud Mirror Sect.

However, such cultivation sects, while numerous in Yanhan, were elusive, appearing only sporadically. They also required disciples to have a clean background, exceptional talent, and great Dao affinity.

Not to mention, there were also noble families and influential clans who racked their brains to get their outstanding disciples into these sects.

Therefore, this path was about the same as the government's.

Especially since, if they hadn't mentioned it, Zhong Shenxiu wouldn't even know about any cultivation sects, and Feng Xi'er wouldn't tell him where the Cloud Mirror Sect's mountain gate was located.

He had heard, however, that there were some true immortal cultivation sects that upheld ancient Daoist traditions. They accepted disciples without regard for background or even aptitude, merely wandering the world and valuing fate. Even a beggar, if deemed worthy, could be taken as a disciple.

Unfortunately, this immortal destiny was truly ethereal and could not be forced.

"My status and position are too low... It seems it's time for Young Master Shenxiu to make an appearance."

Zhong Shenxiu came up with an idea.

Su Daozhi, a Xiantian master, was a minor official of the ninth rank. With his unsavory background, he could at most reach the eighth rank in his lifetime.

Basically, there was no hope of cultivating into the Dao.

Zhong Shenxiu also wanted to properly manage this identity and develop steadily as a cover.

In addition, for the sake of Heavenly Show Points and other needs, Young Master Shenxiu could also make an appearance.

With the [Shepherd] profession and the abilities of the vengeful spirits, he wouldn't even flinch at impersonating a Divine Ability realm expert.

At that time, what high-end, elite cultivation circles Su Daozhi could never enter, Young Master Shenxiu could easily access.

"This needs careful planning, especially how to conceal my identity..."

Zhong Shenxiu slowly exhaled and called Huang Xie and Er Ha over. "I have a cultivation technique here called the Xiantian Qi Gong, a method for refining Qi. I'll pass it on to you now."

"Thank you, sir."

Huang Xie's dog eyes were filled with tears. He quickly pulled Er Ha to his knees and bowed deeply.

For them, this was a life-changing opportunity.

Many so-called martial arts masters, even if they became servants in prominent households, had to fight desperately for many years to obtain some true martial arts secrets.

A few days ago, when Zhong Shenxiu said he would pass on the technique, Huang Xie thought it would take years of testing or something.

He never expected it to be so easy.

"This Xiantian Qi Gong I have was obtained by chance, and passing it to you poses no problem... Listen, Innate Qi, nurtures the infant and guards..."

Zhong Shenxiu recited the incantation three times, but the two dogs indicated they still couldn't remember it. He rolled his eyes in frustration. "Forget it... I'll write the incantation down for you tonight. Burn it after you memorize it; you can't pass it on to a third person."

"This Xiantian Qi Gong focuses on breathing, combined with various dynamic exercises, to absorb the elemental energy of heaven and earth and slowly temper the physical body. It doesn't have methods for cultivating acupoints."

After all, it was a method he had figured out himself. He didn't have the time to measure each acupoint, unlike the Spiritual Turtle Breathing Technique, which clearly laid out the path after opening thirty-six acupoints to reach the Xiantian peak.

This was also why Zhong Shenxiu knew at a glance that the Xiantian Qi Gong was inferior to the Spiritual Turtle Breathing Technique.

"That's enough, that's enough."

Huang Xie quickly nodded. "We just need a method to cultivate and break through to Xiantian. As long as we break through to Xiantian, we'll be able to hold our heads high when we return to the tribe. If we're noticed by someone important, we might even get to cultivate in the ancestral land and receive bloodline inheritance. Then we'll have everything."

Zhong Shenxiu knew about this. After all, no matter how weak the Quanrong Tribe was, they were still a foreign race with experts comparable to Gang Sha or even Divine Ability realm experts within their ranks.

However, Huang Xie and Er Ha's status within the Quanrong Tribe was equivalent to that of Yanhan civilians who had left their hometowns and were struggling to find a way forward.

If they could break through to Xiantian, they might gain importance upon returning to the tribe, much like a scholar who suddenly passed the imperial examination, achieving great success and having everything.

Unfortunately, such bloodline inheritance was only applicable to the Quanrong Tribe.

Zhong Shenxiu listened and felt a bit speechless. 'Why do I feel like I'm not even as good as these two dogs?'