Body-Nurturing Method

The next day.

When Yu Ziqing arrived at the underground mushroom forest, a Jinlan Mushroom had just begun to sway and collapse, taking longer to cut than usual.

And that hungry ghost wasn't far away either, standing right next to the freshly cut Jinlan Mushroom.

Upon seeing Yu Ziqing, it immediately bowed awkwardly, as if it had secretly learned the gesture somewhere and had never used it before, its entire body stiff.

After the bow, the hungry ghost quickly retreated and disappeared into the darkness.

Yu Ziqing glanced over and saw that the wooden bowl he had left there yesterday was gone.

Yu Ziqing chuckled. This hungry ghost, yesterday he praised it for being quite clever, but after eating, it didn't even bother to return the bowl?

What, did it not want to eat the next meal after finishing this one?

It didn't even know the difference between eating one meal and eating all meals, it was worse than a cat.

The wooden bowls in the village were quite precious things now. The main trunks of the Jinlan Mushrooms were too rough to be used for anything other than firewood, and it was hard to find other usable trees on the ground.

As for outside the village, everything was dead silent; not to mention ordinary trees, even dry weeds were hard to find.

Yu Ziqing was willing to give a wooden bowl to this hungry ghost because he saw an opportunity for it to walk the righteous path, and thus was willing to give it a little bit of fortune. This was also one of the few things Yu Ziqing had to offer.

When he first heard Er Han mention that there were starving ghosts here, fierce and yet different, he guessed it was likely a hungry ghost.

The people here really had trouble distinguishing between starving ghosts and hungry ghosts.

A starving ghost was a type of ghost, while hungry ghosts were a category of ghosts.

And the starving ghosts and hungry ghosts in the village probably didn't look significantly different, which is why they confused them.

Yu Ziqing was absolutely clearer than anyone on one core difference: the starving ghosts in this world, as the Village Chief said, eternally suffer from hunger, yet can never starve to death, nor can they ever eat. They are tormented to the point of madness, and then actively seek death, which is the normal course of action.

Killing a mad starving ghost was considered a good deed by many.

But hungry ghosts were different. Although hungry ghosts were initially almost the same as starving ghosts, sometimes, hungry ghosts actually had a chance to eat something.

It was just that this "sometimes" wasn't very easy.

Yu Ziqing didn't mind that the foolish hungry ghost didn't return the bowl. Anyway, the opportunity had already been given, and anything that followed was a minor detail.

Life continued like this. There were few changes, but Yu Ziqing found contentment in it, feeling quite comfortable. In less than a month, with enough food and nutrition every day, his ribs, which had looked like they wanted to break through his skin, were no longer so prominent.

After cutting the Jinlan Mushrooms every day, he no longer had to shamelessly ask the kitchen aunties to help carry them.

These kitchen aunties were becoming more cunning. Every time they came to help carry the Jinlan Mushrooms, they would learn a new recipe from him. Later, they started learning how to extract oil.

If this continued, Yu Ziqing would have to try extracting starch to make cold noodles...

Dragging the Jinlan Mushrooms out from underground was a bit of an effort, but he could manage it alone with some effort.

On the small hillside not far away, the Village Chief watched Yu Ziqing and chuckled. Seeing Yu Ziqing enter the kitchen, he then said to Er Han beside him.

"What do you think of him?"

"He cooks well," Er Han blurted out without thinking. Seeing his grandfather's expression change slightly, he quickly added, "Young Master Yu is very good. Besides cooking well, he's also knowledgeable and kind, it's just that his physique is a bit weak; he can't even carry a single Jinlan Mushroom."

"En, he does cook well. I never thought before that Jinlan Mushrooms could be prepared like this. It's a real shame to have him digging in the mine..."

"Grandpa, with Young Master Yu's physique, how could he possibly dig in the mine!" Er Han immediately became anxious.

The Village Chief didn't speak, looking at his son's demeanor, he was immensely amused. After laughing, he pointed towards the kitchen.

"You're right, it is a waste. We don't lack one person for mining. His physique is too weak. If you have some free time, go teach him some fist techniques to build up his strength. Otherwise, if he encounters any danger in the mushroom forest one day, he won't even have the strength to call for help."

"Alright, I have free time now." Er Han beamed with joy and happily ran towards the kitchen.

The Village Chief watched from afar, and after a long while, he withdrew his smile, let out a long sigh, and a hint of worry appeared in his brows.

Meanwhile, Er Han rushed to the kitchen door and winked at Yu Ziqing, who was working inside.

"Er Han, are your nose and eyes twitching from hunger?"

"No, I have something to ask you." Er Han stretched his neck to sniff, the aroma of the oil made him abandon the idea of speaking immediately. "Young Master Yu, you finish cooking first, I'll wait for you to finish your work."

"Okay."

After the meal, Er Han grabbed Yu Ziqing and headed towards the back mountain.

"Er Han, tell me what you want to do first. Isn't it forbidden to go to the back mountain?" Even though he said this, Yu Ziqing's footsteps didn't stop.

He had wanted to explore the back mountain for a long time, but he had always suppressed his curiosity. Apart from places he had to go for living and working, he hadn't actively gone anywhere else, to avoid causing trouble.

He was just an outsider who had only arrived not long ago.

Upon reaching the back mountain, Yu Ziqing could see many graves, and a chilling cold permeated the air. Everyone who died in the village was buried in the back mountain, and the person who had stolen the white meat earlier had dug here.

Therefore, the back mountain had always been a sensitive place in the village. Normally, no one dared to come here alone, as it was like being near a melon field and plum tree, easily leading to misunderstandings.

Er Han led Yu Ziqing through a large area of graves. Most of them looked quite old, with only a few showing slightly fresher soil on the mounds.

They walked past the graves to a place where there were no more burial sites. After rounding another small hill, they immediately saw a large patch of scorched black stone, hundreds of feet wide.

Upon closer inspection, distinct footprints of varying depths could be seen on it.

"Young Master Yu, Grandpa saw that you're too weak and was afraid that when you're cutting mushrooms, if you encounter insects, you won't be able to shout... uh, you won't be able to grab them. He asked me to bring you here to practice some fist techniques and strengthen your bones. Watch closely."

Er Han didn't ask Yu Ziqing if he was willing. In his opinion, this was a great opportunity, so he simply started practicing.

Er Han jumped onto the black stone, and his entire demeanor changed instantly. His muscles tensed, and his usually simple eyes became sharp. With a low grunt, his feet sank an inch into the black stone, and a heavy pressure washed over him.

Yu Ziqing's eyes narrowed. He felt as if he had suddenly encountered a ferocious beast. An instinct from his bloodline made him instinctively take two steps back under this pressure.

Er Han, however, seemed oblivious. He began practicing on his own, each punch and kick filled with a fierce aura. His skin even began to take on a bronze hue.

Yu Ziqing also keenly noticed that as Er Han practiced his fist techniques, wisps of almost imperceptible black qi continuously seeped out from the black stone beneath his feet, being absorbed by Er Han as he practiced.

As time passed, the black gas increased, spewing out like rolling smoke signals. Er Han grunted and absorbed it all.

Yu Ziqing was certain that this was not Qi Refining cultivation, and the black gas was definitely not any gaseous substance he was familiar with.

This was the body-nurturing method Old Yang had mentioned.

By normal standards, Er Han was indeed an ordinary person. He had never truly begun cultivation; he was not a cultivator. Among the many cultivation paths Old Yang spoke of, this was not one of them.

He was simply nurturing his body, but his method of nurturing was rather outrageous. With his full power, he could probably smash the heads of the four heretical shepherds they had encountered before.

After the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, everything returned to calm. Er Han walked out with a sheepish grin, scratching his head.

"Young Master Yu, don't blame me. When I start practicing, I forget everything else... I was supposed to be teaching you."

"It's fine. I watched it once, that's the normal procedure. You can teach me slowly after this. By the way, what's this set of fist techniques called?"

Yu Ziqing wasn't one to be coy. A body-nurturing method that Old Yang had specifically warned him about? If he had the chance to learn it and didn't, wouldn't that make him a fool?

"What do you mean, what's it called? It's just called fist techniques."

"..."

Fine, fist techniques it was. The name wasn't important.

When he stepped onto the black stone and began practicing, Yu Ziqing felt a sensation similar to his normal workouts. His muscles tensed and exerted force, his heart rate accelerated, and his breathing quickened, though the feeling was much more pronounced now.

The resistance that had been hindering his progress began to dissipate bit by bit as he performed the fist techniques. The feeling of being unable to lift something even after pushing himself to his limit in weightlifting also gradually weakened until it vanished.

Several days later, after learning the entire set of fist techniques, he finally found the most accurate description after practicing the entire set, albeit still a bit unsteadily.

Shackles.

The shackles that prevented his body from growing stronger disappeared during practice. He could easily break through the limits of an ordinary person, yet by the definition of various cultivators, he was still an ordinary person.

Finally, he had a method he could practice and learn. Yu Ziqing felt he couldn't ask for more. Being able to become stronger was enough.

Outside the Jinlan Mine, in the midst of a snowstorm, a troop of cavalry stopped at the entrance.

All the horses were covered in scale armor, and the riders were fully armed. The group remained silent, their steaming breaths rising continuously, scattering the falling snowflakes.

The man at the forefront had sharp eyebrows and striking eyes, dressed in a black fitted outfit and a crimson cloak. His back was straight as he gazed ahead, his brow furrowed.

"You all camp outside. I'll go in alone to retrieve the goods."

He dismounted his warhorse, glanced at the desolate hillside to his left and the locust tree forest to his right, then stepped towards the center.

However, before he could take a step, the Tiger Head Belt Hook hanging from his waist trembled slightly. A flash of light emanated from it, and a phantom tiger head emerged, letting out a low growl towards the front.

The man looked at the small path ahead, his brow deeply furrowed. He glanced left, then right, before taking out a scroll from his bosom and walking towards the locust tree forest on the right, holding it in one hand.

As he entered the forest, a faint glow emanated from the scroll, enveloping him entirely.

The eerie locust tree forest seemed completely unaware of his presence. The flow of energy within it remained unchanged.

In a short while, he passed through the locust tree forest and disappeared into the mist.