Going to Black Wood Cliff

Black Wood Cliff lay in Pingding Prefecture, Hebei. More than forty miles northwest of the prefecture, the rocks were dark red as blood, and a long stretch of rapids rushed past. This was the famous Orangutan Beach, and Black Wood Cliff stood right above it.

While word spread throughout the martial world that the Songshan School's leaders had been killed and the once-prestigious sect had fallen to the ranks of third-rate schools, Hao Shuai arrived in Pingding Prefecture, Hebei.

He was only a few miles from Orangutan Beach. Black Wood Cliff was almost within sight.

"Stop! This is the Sun Moon Holy Cult's territory. Outsiders aren't allowed in. Leave at once!"

It had to be said that under Dongfang Bai's leadership, even the Sun Moon Holy Cult's gate guards had improved considerably.

They were still strict, of course, but at least they hadn't attacked Hao Shuai without bothering to learn the facts. That alone made them better than some prestigious orthodox sects.

"You're telling me to stop, then telling me to leave. So which is it? Should I stop, or should I leave?" Hao Shuai asked curiously.

"Uh..."

The two Sun Moon Holy Cult followers were dumbfounded. They'd never met anyone so literal. Had he not understood what they meant, or was he deliberately messing with them?

"Haha, I'm just joking. Don't be nervous!" Seeing that the two were about to turn hostile, Hao Shuai said, "Go tell Dongfang Bubai that Hao Shuai is here to see her!"

"Hao Shuai? You're the Flying Demon Lord?" When the two cult followers realized who stood before them, they sucked in a sharp breath and backed away in unison, watching Hao Shuai warily.

"I'm Hao Shuai, but I refuse to accept the nickname Flying Demon Lord!" Hao Shuai said, annoyed. He had no idea which idiot had come up with that name. If he ever found out, he'd shove the guy's head up his own ass.

"It really is the Flying Demon Lord!" The two followers backed away another two steps, then turned and ran at the same time, shouting as they went, "Help! The Flying Demon Lord is attacking! Help! The Flying Demon Lord is attacking!..."

Hao Shuai was stunned by their ridiculous antics.

Come on!

You're the demonic cult, aren't you?

You're shouting like I'm a bandit raiding a village.

Black Wood Cliff, Hall of Benevolent Virtue and Martial Might.

Dongfang Bai wore a red robe embroidered with gold. A golden crown adorned her head, lending her an imposing, heroic air.

She leaned back in a gilded redwood chair, lost in thought.

"Reporting!"

A purple-robed follower hurried into the hall, clasped his hands, and dropped to one knee.

"What is it?"

Dongfang Bai asked lazily.

"Reporting to the Cult Master: The Flying Demon Lord has arrived at the foot of the mountain and specifically asked to see you!"

"What? He's at the foot of the mountain? And he wants to see me?" Dongfang Bai sprang to her feet, murmuring, "Why did he suddenly come to Black Wood Cliff? Has he found out who I am, or did he simply come looking for trouble? Should I meet him? And what identity should I use?..."

Well, our imposing Cult Master Dongfang had lost her composure because Hao Shuai had shown up out of nowhere!

"Cult Master, what should we do? Please give us your orders," the follower asked.

"Politely invite him up. Do you understand?" Dongfang Bai had no other option for now. She had to bring him up first; otherwise, if Hao Shuai got into a conflict with the Sun Moon Holy Cult, things could get troublesome.

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

After Hao Shuai had gone up Black Wood Cliff that day and plainly told Dongfang Bai how he felt, he stayed there and became the Sun Moon Holy Cult's Deputy Cult Master. He and Dongfang Bai spent their days enjoying a life of romance and affection.

Of course, Hao Shuai hadn't forgotten his little sweetheart, Yi Lin. He often found time to fly to Mount Heng and nurture their relationship, bringing her all kinds of snacks and drinks.

Abbess Dingyi had wanted to kill Hao Shuai at first, but against someone she couldn't beat and who had no shame, all she could do in the end was leave things be and avoid looking at him.

After the Songshan School was wiped out, the martial world had been in an uproar for a while. But with no major events since, it had settled down again.

Hao Shuai had made full use of those six months. He systematically studied martial arts, including acupoints and meridians. He also learned Daoist and Buddhist terminology, pored over the classics of both traditions, and studied medicine under the renowned physician Ping Yizhi. His days had been quite fulfilling.

During that time, Hao Shuai had sparred seriously with Dongfang Bai once. Without using his telekinesis, the two had fought to a draw. Hao Shuai couldn't keep up with her speed, while Dongfang Bai couldn't break through his defenses.

Hao Shuai also learned that his peak internal-force level corresponded to the half-step Innate realm, while the Embracing Dan Realm was equivalent to the Innate realm.

He had also given Dongfang Bai the manuals he possessed, including the Bixie Sword Manual, Purple Haze Divine Skill, and Ice True Qi, hoping they would help her break through to the Innate realm.

Today, Dongfang Bai had gained some insight and gone into seclusion to cultivate. Hao Shuai, meanwhile, was finally going to begin training in internal energy.

At first, Hao Shuai hadn't planned to practice the internal arts of the Xiao Ao World. When Dongfang Bai asked why, he explained that he was worried he might not be able to practice better internal arts later. She took out the Purple Haze Divine Skill and said, "The Purple Haze Divine Skill is a superior Daoist method for cultivating qi. It's balanced and peaceful, with a broad, righteous energy, and it can accommodate many kinds of internal force without causing backlash. It's the best choice for laying your foundation."

Depending on one's depth of understanding and internal cultivation, the Purple Haze Divine Skill could be divided into three levels. At the first, one's internal force was faint, soft as rosy clouds. At the second, one could accumulate force of such resilience that it was hard to break. At the third, it spread across the heavens and earth with unstoppable momentum. That was why they said, "Of the nine great arts of Mount Hua, Purple Haze ranks first."

Hao Shuai sat cross-legged with the manual on his lap, turning its pages one by one, completely absorbed.

"Among the martial arts of the world, cultivating qi is the proper path. Vast Righteous Qi is originally bestowed by Heaven, but ordinary people do not know how to nurture it, and instead use their nature to destroy their qi. A martial artist's afflictions lie in a violent, arrogant, cruel, or vicious nature. Violence disturbs the spirit and disorders the qi; arrogance separates the true self and makes the qi drift; cruelty destroys benevolence and causes the qi to dissipate; viciousness hardens the heart and shortens the qi. These four things are all blades and saws that sever the qi..."

"Abandon these four traits and return to gentleness and kindness. Curb your violence and cruelty, nurture your righteous qi, sound the Heavenly Drum, drink the Jade Nectar, wash the Elixir Pond, and knock on the Golden Beam. Practice accordingly, and you will achieve a modest degree of success."

The opening passage explained the core principles.

The rest described the Purple Haze Divine Skill's cultivation methods in detail, explaining how to "sound the Heavenly Drum" and "drink the Jade Nectar," as well as how to "wash the Elixir Pond" and "knock on the Golden Beam."

Hao Shuai felt all the more certain that studying Daoist terminology first had been the right choice. Otherwise, even if someone gave him a manual, he wouldn't understand it, let alone be able to practice it.

As he read the Purple Haze Divine Skill, Hao Shuai pondered its meaning.

The Purple Haze Divine Skill was a Daoist art, and Daoist cultivation focused on refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit into void. Cultivating internal energy was the process of refining essence into qi, turning the energy contained in one's essence into internal force.

But where did essence come from? Hao Shuai believed that essence could be divided into two parts: essence and qi.

Essence was the source from which all things in heaven and earth were conceived, and the vessel that carried them. One could say that essence was what gave rise to life in this world.

Why could rare treasures of nature, such as Thousand-Year Ginseng and ten-thousand-year snow lotuses, increase one's internal force? It was because they contained abundant essence, which could be converted into internal force after consumption.

Qi, meanwhile, was a kind of energy that drifted throughout the world, present everywhere. The so-called practice of sitting in meditation to cultivate qi involved using the specific breathing methods of an internal art to absorb qi and convert it into internal force.

Why were some internal arts superior to others?

The answer was simple: advanced internal arts converted qi into internal force more efficiently, while lesser ones did so less efficiently.

That was why a good martial arts manual could cause bloodshed throughout the martial world, leaving countless people dead or injured. Without a high-level internal art, aspiring experts could only rely on years of slow cultivation.

Hao Shuai guessed that internal-energy experts had grown fewer over time, until none remained in the modern era, because the energy contained in qi had gradually diminished. In the end, it could no longer be used to cultivate internal force, and the practice of internal arts had died out.

Once he had figured this out, Hao Shuai sat cross-legged on his bed, closed his eyes, and began cultivating internal energy using the postures and breathing methods of the Purple Haze Divine Skill.

He continued cultivating through the night.

Near dawn, Hao Shuai suddenly felt a pleasant warmth spread through his body. A strange current of energy moved through specific meridians and acupoints. After completing a circuit, it settled in his lower dantian, then repeated the cycle again and again.

Hao Shuai knew that he had finally taken his first step in the Purple Haze Divine Skill. Next, he only needed to keep strengthening his internal energy.

He had made such quick progress because his body was brimming with vital energy and essence, and because his talent, comprehension, and many other advantages had all accumulated together.