The process of opening up his meridians was rather slow. His meridians had never been formally used before, and their foundation was fragile, so he could not forcefully flush through them with brute force. They needed time to adapt. It was like a poor-quality water pipe: if it suddenly endured high pressure, it would easily burst.
The meridians that carried qi through his body were the foundation of True Qi cultivation. There was a realm known as Foundation Establishment. In truth, Foundation Establishment meant building that web-like network of qi pathways inside the body into a sturdy structure, allowing the smooth channels of True Qi to withstand high pressure and endure high-speed impacts. Once this foundation had been properly laid, one would reach the so-called Foundation Establishment realm and be free to cut loose. Of course, the quality of the foundation varied. The better the foundation, the greater its ability to withstand pressure.
He had only recently begun in the Qi Cultivation realm and was still far from Foundation Establishment.
Opening up the meridians was not something that could be completed in a day or two. It was delicate work that required time, not to mention that he still had to show his face during the day and make empty pleasantries.
At the first hint of dawn, he immediately stopped cultivating. A strand of True Qi gathered in his Dantian, like a floating Precious Sword standing upright and ready to strike, its energy brimming.
After washing and bathing away the bloodstink clinging to him, he stood in the courtyard with his arms spread wide to welcome the first ray of sunlight. Having cultivated True Qi, he savored the long-lost feeling of vital essence filling his body.
During the day, he dealt with Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo. Once night fell, he temporarily set aside his other cultivation and immediately entered the process of opening up his meridians.
The days passed one after another. It seemed that no one was willing to place their main attention on him, and he felt as though he had been left in some forgotten corner.
Song Yanqing, however, was always thinking of him. He came running over every few days to ask whether he had remembered his teacher's poetry yet. Niu Youdao naturally responded with a soft but unyielding refusal: he would not cast the bait until he saw the rabbit.
A few days later, Elder Luo Yuangong arrived. He was the Shangqing Sect's Elder of Transmission, with the imposing vigor of a tiger and three ink-black whiskers that made him seem stern without anger. By comparison, Elder Su Po appeared taciturn in the eyes of the Shangqing Sect disciples and rarely spoke, while Elder Tang Susu seemed rather sharp. Whether that had anything to do with her being a woman, no one knew.
Song Yanqing came along as well. Their party had no other business; they had formally come to teach Niu Youdao cultivation techniques, while Luo Yuangong's personal appearance was nothing more than a small ceremony.
Even so, Niu Youdao was rather impressed by Song Yanqing's ability to drag Luo Yuangong here. It showed just how much influence the Song Family wielded within the Shangqing Sect.
There was also a statue of the Patriarch in Peach Blossom Hall. After paying respects to the Patriarch, Luo Yuangong ordered the disciples accompanying him to pass the several classic texts they had been carrying to Niu Youdao. He then ordered Niu Youdao to kneel before the Patriarch and swear an oath, including the vicious oath that he would never disclose the cultivation techniques.
When the ceremony ended, Luo Yuangong's expression toward Niu Youdao was actually rather complicated. He knew the reason in his own heart, and it would not be too much to say that he felt guilty. He felt especially ashamed when facing the Patriarch's statue. After hesitating for a while, the sternness in his face softened, and he warmly admonished him, "My senior brother could certainly be called discerning. Every disciple he accepted was a phoenix among men, and your master was one of them—one of the few outstanding talents the Shangqing Sect has seen in these years. I hope you cultivate diligently and do not disappoint your master's dying wish. I hope you will achieve something and contribute to the future of our Shangqing Sect."
"Yes, disciple will remember this!" Holding the classic texts, Niu Youdao behaved with the utmost respect, while inwardly he was ecstatic. He could hardly wait to flip through the books in his hands and devour their contents.
Luo Yuangong turned to Song Yanqing and said, "Senior and junior fellow disciples should support one another. Your Elder Dongguo has passed away, and Niu Youdao has no one to transmit the techniques and teach him. Guiding him in cultivation and answering his questions will be entrusted to you. Do you have any complaints?"
Song Yanqing immediately cupped his hands. "I have no complaints. This disciple will do everything in his power!"
Luo Yuangong nodded. He then wandered around Peach Blossom Spring for a while. Perhaps moved by Dongguo Haoran's premature death, he left behind several soft sighs and departed with sorrow written across his face.
Once the outsiders were gone, Niu Youdao immediately pored over the several classic texts with desperate hunger, his eyes shining. Had he endured all those hardships to come here for anything else?
One volume was the Shangqing Heart Sutra, the orthodox cultivation technique of the Shangqing Sect.
Another was the Shangqing Supplementary Records, which contained a vast and varied collection divided into many chapters, including the Herbal Medicine Chapter, Pill Chapter, Birds and Beasts Chapter, External Affairs Chapter, and more. The External Affairs Chapter recorded the deeds of figures from the cultivation world. Niu Youdao flipped through it briefly and could tell from the dates recorded that it was constantly being supplemented and expanded.
The Shangqing Supplementary Records were exactly what Niu Youdao needed and would be of immense help in understanding the current situation. However, after giving them only a rough perusal, he set them aside. He devoted most of his attention to the Shangqing Heart Sutra, which was what he urgently needed.
The moment he opened it, he became engrossed. In his previous life, in order to cultivate Supreme Unity, he had read countless ancient texts and visited countless experts to have his doubts resolved before finally mastering the Supreme Unity scriptures. The knowledge he had accumulated proved useful in interpreting the Shangqing Supplementary Records. Understanding it was not difficult; on the contrary, he found it fascinating.
He knew that the Shangqing Sect certainly still had techniques they had not taught him. They could not possibly hand everything over to him in one go, and he had no complaints. He would proceed step by step. He understood the principle that one could not chew more than one could swallow, and what he had in hand was enough to occupy him for a long time.
The next day, Song Yanqing came running over again to ask for poetry. His promise to Luo Yuangong was worth about as much as a fart. Niu Youdao held the Shangqing Heart Sutra and asked what a certain passage meant, but Song Yanqing had no patience to explain. In short: I've already given you what I promised, so you'd better give me what you promised too!
Bastard! Niu Youdao cursed him with those three words in his heart. He ground the ink, picked up his brush, and wrote another poem for him.
After Song Yanqing read it, he was overjoyed. Turning back, he asked delightedly, "Is there any more?"
Niu Youdao pulled a bitter face. "I can only remember one for now!" How could he pour everything out for the other man without leaving himself a way out?
"Only one?" Song Yanqing's face darkened.
"Senior Brother, my memory isn't that good. You have to give me time to remember slowly! What does this passage mean?" He picked up the Shangqing Heart Sutra again and asked for guidance.
Song Yanqing said impatiently, "Go ask Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo about whatever you don't understand. Don't let the proper business I assigned you fall behind, or don't blame me for being rude." He threw down the threat and left without looking back.
As he had said, whenever Niu Youdao encountered something he did not understand in the Shangqing Heart Sutra, he went to ask Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo. It was not that the things he had understood in his previous life were useless, but the circumstances of the two worlds differed somewhat, and there were still discrepancies in certain areas. He indeed had doubts that needed to be clarified.
And so, he studied the classic texts during the day, cultivated wholeheartedly at night, and continued opening up his meridians.
While sorting out his meridians, he discovered another problem—the issue Dongguo Haoran had left behind in his body. The Protective Talisman that had been driven into his acupoints had actually entrenched itself there like a spiderweb. With his cultivation, he could not remove it. He tried forcibly, and the Protective Talisman seemed like a great formation already linked to his blood and qi. Any attempt to clear it would rebound. His Taiyi True Qi was far too weak by comparison and was directly repelled.
With the Protective Talisman entrenched so deeply, it affected the circulation of his True Qi to some extent. Now that he had cultivated True Qi, he could trigger it and release it. But when he thought about how this thing truly did have a protective effect, he decided not to waste it. Leaving it there to protect him could do no harm.
"Entering the gate of longing, you learn the bitterness of longing. Long longing brings long remembrance; brief longing knows no end..."
In the secluded courtyard, Tang Yi slowly strolled along while holding Song Yanqing's calligraphy and softly reciting the lines. Whenever her emotions were stirred, she could not help pressing the paper to her bosom and savoring it for a long while.
She then had people inquire into Song Yanqing's movements. They still found no sign that Song Yanqing had received letters from outside. Instead, he had gone to Peach Blossom Spring again.
Niu Youdao was engrossed in cultivation. Song Yanqing came to bother him every few days, while Tang Yi received another fine poem from Song Yanqing every few days.
"What is love in this world? That it drives people to pledge themselves unto death..." Tang Yi strolled through the courtyard.
"Once you have seen the vast ocean, no other water will do; apart from Wu Mountain, no other cloud is a cloud..." Tang Yi stood before her dressing table.
"'Guan guan cry the ospreys, on the river isle. A graceful maiden, a gentleman's desire...'" Tang Yi leaned halfway against the windowsill.
"Fallen flowers, a lone figure standing; in the fine rain, swallows flying in pairs..." Tang Yi stood atop the small tower, slowly lowering the paper in her hand as her bright eyes gazed into the distance at Peach Blossom Spring on the cliff opposite.
If she had not known Song Yanqing's true nature, she would nearly have been bewildered by him. Every few days he composed another fine poem and sent it over, all of them love poems. His offensive was simply too fierce, enough to touch anyone's heart. It made her little heart pound so hard that she could barely withstand it.
She had already discerned the pattern. Whenever Song Yanqing went to Peach Blossom Spring, a fine poem would inevitably be sent over.
Who was in Peach Blossom Spring? Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo took turns keeping watch, deliberately avoiding Song Yanqing, who often went there. Then only the man under house arrest remained.
Yet she could not figure it out. Even if a mountain boy had read books and could write poetry, how old was he? How could he write such love poems?
If it was not him, then who had written them? Song Yanqing himself? Impossible. If he truly possessed such talent, how could he have kept it hidden until now?
She vaguely suspected that Niu Youdao had heard them somewhere. But if he truly had merely heard them, would he not have written them all out in one go? Why would he have Song Yanqing keep running there every few days?
There were simply too many doubts. The matter troubled her like a ball of fog...
"Take care, Senior Brother Song!"
Niu Youdao cupped his hands and saw Song Yanqing out of the courtyard. Then he muttered a curse, "I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone this shameless. And he still won't stop... Uh, Senior Brother Chen!" He had just seen Chen Guishuo walk in with a broad grin.
Chen Guishuo glanced at the food box set to one side and clicked his tongue. "Senior Brother Song has truly been treating Junior Brother well lately, personally bringing wine and dishes over every time."
Niu Youdao found it both infuriating and amusing. With Song Yanqing fawning over him like this, he reckoned the man had indeed won Tang Yi's favor.
He did not bring up the matter. As usual, Niu Youdao picked up the food box and opened it, sharing it with Chen Guishuo. The two drank and chatted merrily, already quite familiar with each other.
Everything else was temporarily unimportant to Niu Youdao. His meridians had now been completely opened, and he was delighted to discover that his cultivation aptitude was fairly good. He devoted his energy to cultivating the Shangqing Heart Sutra.
As he practiced, he discovered another problem. Perhaps he had made a mistake, but the Shangqing Heart Sutra he had gone to such lengths to obtain and cultivate was actually less effective than Supreme Unity. The gap in progress was not merely a little bit.
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