Within the courtyard.
Zhong Shenxiu freely unleashed his fists and kicks, every move carrying an incomparably mighty force.
White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird...
He fused the Four Symbols Battle Methods from the Ten Directions Beast Art into one.
He breathed deeply, making one faintly hear the thunderous roars of tigers and leopards, the Spiritual Turtle drawing breath, and the Sky Toad swallowing the sun.
With the slightest circulation of his cultivation, boundless strength surged forth. Along with his incomparably tough skin, it made Zhong Shenxiu seem to have transformed into a true humanoid ferocious beast—a demon ape!
"The Ape Demon Victorious Method really is the general outline of the Ten Directions Beast Art!"
After a long while, Zhong Shenxiu withdrew his fist and sighed inwardly.
Among the government's martial arts, he had borrowed the Ten Directions Beast Art—the most widely circulated martial art in the army—without encountering the slightest trouble.
This martial art used the Ape Demon Victorious Method as its general outline, commanding the 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—the nine arts in all.
Zhong Shenxiu glanced at the Attribute Panel:
[Title: Shepherd] [Zither, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting: Third Layer] [Ten Directions Beast Art: Third Layer (Cannot Be Improved)] [Profound Yin Soul Control Fragment: Third Layer (Cannot Be Improved)] [Heavenly Show Points: 0 (5%)] [Gate of Ten Thousand Doors: Opening (15%)]
"With the abilities of the Vengeful Spirit and the support of Heavenly Show Points, I've already cultivated the Ten Directions Beast Art to the peak of the mortal realm. The next step is to find the Magic Incantation for cultivating the Myriad Beast True Body. That is a true Daoist Art, and the government has always kept a tight hold on it... With my questionable background, there's a very high chance I won't be able to obtain it..."
Zhong Shenxiu sighed. "Perhaps I can use Heavenly Show Points to forcibly raise the Ten Directions Beast Art to the level of Daoist Arts? But the Heavenly Show Points required will definitely be more than twenty..."
Even after obtaining the treasures stored in the martial repository, Zhong Shenxiu found that although his Martial Arts had improved somewhat, breaking through to Xiantian was still a distant dream.
This was also the greatest bottleneck encountered by many martial artists.
Without a fortuitous opportunity, they would never cross this threshold of truly Entering the Dao in their entire lives.
However, his cultivation during this period had ultimately brought him some gains.
"The method for refining the Myriad Beast True Body... I can more or less guess it. It involves killing and devouring the souls of wild beasts and Demonic Beasts... No, not their souls, but their Baleful Intent!"
The earth had earth balefulness, people had human balefulness, and wild beasts and Demonic Beasts also possessed beast balefulness!
The so-called Gang Sha Realm's refined Gang qi and Killing Intent were, in reality, both forms of Heaven and Earth Vital Energy!
"Heaven and Earth Vital Energy can transform into myriad kinds of qi!"
Zhong Shenxiu thought inwardly. "In truth, cultivators need not seek outside themselves. By meditating and refining qi every day, they can slowly draw the Gang qi and Killing Intent they need from Heaven and Earth Vital Energy. But this method is far too slow... Perhaps they would need to meditate for years or decades to accumulate a single suitable strand of Killing Intent, while someone else could casually find one in the outside world and, after refining it, possess the same cultivation. Thus, anyone who cultivates it himself is a fool. The difference between humans and animals lies in knowing how to use tools."
"The Ten Directions Beast Art is the foundation-building chapter of a Daoist Art. The entry point to that Daoist Art's Gang Sha Realm is to cultivate beast balefulness..."
Unfortunately, even knowing this, and even having collected a strand of beast balefulness, one still could not Enter the Dao without knowing the method.
"Daoist Secret... Daoist Secret..."
Zhong Shenxiu sighed. It was not easy to obtain one from the government, and even if he did obtain one, it might not be the best.
Aside from that, there was another path: cultivation sects!
For example, Feng Xi'er and that Spiritual Crane were members of the Cloud Mirror Sect.
It was just that although there were quite a few cultivation sects in Yan Han, they were like dragons soaring through clouds and mist, revealing only a scale or claw here and there. Even when accepting disciples, they demanded clean backgrounds, keen intelligence, and abundant Dao affinity.
Not to mention the powerful households and Aristocratic Clans, which racked their brains to stuff their outstanding descendants inside.
Thus, this path was not much different from the government.
In particular, if they did not say anything, Zhong Shenxiu would not even know what cultivation sects existed. Feng Xi'er certainly would not tell him where the Cloud Mirror Sect's mountain gate was.
He had heard, however, that some genuine immortal cultivation sects inherited ancient Daoist lineages. They did not judge disciples by their birth, or even by their aptitude. They merely wandered the mortal world, valuing fate above all else. Even a beggar could become their disciple, so long as they caught the sect's eye.
Unfortunately, such immortal fate was truly misty and elusive, and could not be forced.
"My status is too low... It seems it's time for Young Master Shenxiu to make his appearance."
Zhong Shenxiu came up with an idea.
Su Daozhi was a Xiantian expert and a Subordinate Ninth Rank minor official. His background was not clean, and his ceiling for his entire life was the Principal Eighth Rank.
He basically had no hope of Entering the Dao through cultivation.
Zhong Shenxiu also intended to manage this identity properly and develop steadily, using it as cover.
Besides that, for the sake of Heavenly Show Points and his other needs, he could also bring Young Master Shenxiu onto the stage.
With the Shepherd profession and the Vengeful Spirit's abilities, he would not feel the slightest fear even if he pretended to be a Divine Ability Realm expert.
By then, Su Daozhi would never be able to enter those high-end, upper-class cultivation circles, while Young Master Shenxiu could enter them with ease.
"This still needs to be planned carefully, especially how to conceal my identity..."
Zhong Shenxiu slowly exhaled, then summoned Huang Xie and Er Ha. "I have a cultivation art here called Xiantian Qi Gong. It is a Qi Refining method. I'll pass it on to you."
"Thank you, my lord."
Huang Xie's dog eyes brimmed with tears. He hurriedly pulled Er Ha to his knees and performed a grand kowtow.
For them, this was an opportunity capable of changing their entire lives.
How many so-called martial arts experts had to throw themselves into powerful households as slaves and fight desperately for years before they could obtain some genuine martial arts secrets?
A few days ago, when Zhong Shenxiu said he would pass on a cultivation art, Huang Xie had assumed they would need to undergo several years of tests or something.
He had never expected it to be passed on so easily.
"My Xiantian Qi Gong was obtained by chance. Passing it on to you won't cause any trouble... Listen carefully: Xiantian qi is nurtured within the infant's guard..."
Zhong Shenxiu recited the incantation three times, yet the two dogs said they still could not remember it. Choked with frustration, he rolled his eyes. "Forget it... I'll write the incantation down for you tonight. Burn it after you memorize it. You must not pass it to a third person."
"This Xiantian Qi Gong focuses on breathing and combines it with various active exercises to slowly temper the body by drawing in Heaven and Earth Vital Energy. It doesn't contain any method for cultivating the acupoints."
After all, this was a method he had worked out himself. He had not had the time to measure each individual acupoint. It was unlike the Spiritual Turtle Breathing Technique, which had an exceptionally clear path: once all thirty-six acupoints were opened, one would reach the peak of the Xiantian realm.
This was also why Zhong Shenxiu could tell at a glance that Xiantian Qi Gong was inferior to the Spiritual Turtle Breathing Technique.
"That's enough, that's enough."
Huang Xie hurriedly nodded. "We only need a method to cultivate and break through to Xiantian. Once we break through, the two of us will be able to hold our heads high after returning to the tribe. If some noble takes a liking to us, perhaps we can even go cultivate in the Ancestral Land and receive the bloodline inheritance. Then we'll have everything."
Zhong Shenxiu did know about this. After all, no matter how weak the Quanrong Tribe was, it was still a foreign race. Within it were even experts comparable to the Gang Sha Realm and perhaps the Divine Ability Realm.
However, Huang Xie and Er Ha held a status within the Quanrong Tribe equivalent to that of civilians who had left their native place in Yan Han, struggling bitterly with no path to advancement.
If they could break through to Xiantian, they might receive attention after returning to the tribe. It would be like a licentiate passing the provincial exam in a single stroke: they would soar to the heavens and gain everything.
Unfortunately, that sort of bloodline inheritance was only suitable for the Quanrong Tribe.
After hearing this, Zhong Shenxiu felt somewhat speechless. Why did I feel like I was inferior to these two dogs?
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