Ascending Black Wood Cliff

Black Wood Cliff is located in Pingding Prefecture, within Hebei province. About forty li northwest of Pingding Prefecture, the rocks are as red as blood, forming a long stretch of rapids. This is the famous Orangutan Beach, and Black Wood Cliff is situated right on it.

Just as the entire Martial World was abuzz with news of the Songshan School's high-ranking members being murdered, reducing them from a renowned sect to a third-rate one, Hao Shuai arrived in Pingding Prefecture, Hebei province.

At this moment, Hao Shuai was only a few li away from Orangutan Beach, with Black Wood Cliff practically in sight.

"Halt! This is the territory of the Sun Moon Holy Cult. Outsiders are forbidden to enter. Leave immediately!"

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

While still stern, they hadn't resorted to blind aggression to drive Hao Shuai away, which was already better than some supposedly righteous sects.

"You tell me to halt! And then you tell me to leave immediately! So, should I halt, or should I leave quickly?" Hao Shuai asked curiously.

"Uh..."

The two Sun Moon Holy Cult disciples were also taken aback. It was the first time they'd encountered someone so literal. Didn't you understand what we meant? Or are you deliberately messing with us?

"Haha, just kidding with you, don't be so tense!" Hao Shuai said, seeing a flicker of annoyance on their faces. "Go tell Dongfang Bubai that Hao Shuai is looking for her!"

"Hao Shuai? Are you the Flying Demon Lord?" Upon realizing the person before them was the Flying Demon Lord, the two disciples gasped and took two steps back simultaneously, regarding Hao Shuai with wary eyes.

"I am Hao Shuai, but I don't acknowledge the nickname Flying Demon Lord!" Hao Shuai said with a hint of frustration. I wonder which brainless idiot came up with that nickname. I hope I never find out, or I'll stuff their head into a chrysanthemum.

"It really is the Flying Demon Lord!" The two disciples retreated another two steps in unison, then simultaneously turned and fled, shouting as they ran, "Trouble! The Flying Demon Lord is attacking! Trouble! The Flying Demon Lord is attacking!..."

Hao Shuai was utterly stunned by their dramatic exit!

Come on!

You guys are the Demonic Cult, alright?

You're making it sound like bandits have stormed the village.

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

Dongfang Bai, clad in a crimson robe embroidered with gold thread and wearing a golden crown, exuded an aura of overwhelming dominance and extraordinary heroism.

She leaned casually on a gilded rosewood chair, lost in thought.

"Report!"

A disciple in purple robes rushed into the hall, cupping his fists and kneeling on one knee.

"What is it?"

Dongfang Bai asked lazily.

"Reporting to the Cult Leader, the Flying Demon Lord has arrived at the foot of the mountain and specifically requested to see you!"

"What? He's at the foot of the mountain? And he wants to see me?" Dongfang Bai exclaimed, standing up abruptly. She muttered to herself, Why has he suddenly come to Black Wood Cliff? Does he know my identity? Or is he just here to cause trouble? Should I meet him? In what capacity should I meet him?

Well, it seemed their formidable Cult Leader Dongfang had lost her composure due to Hao Shuai's unexpected arrival!

"Cult Leader, what should we do? Please instruct us!" the disciple asked.

"Invite him up courteously, understand?" Dongfang Bai had no other immediate plan. She could only have him brought up first; otherwise, if Hao Shuai and the Sun Moon Holy Cult came into conflict, it would be troublesome.

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

Ever since that day Hao Shuai ascended Black Wood Cliff and straightforwardly revealed his feelings to Dongfang Bai, he had stayed there. He became the Deputy Cult Leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, and they spent their days in romantic bliss, lost in each other's company.

Of course, Hao Shuai hadn't forgotten his little darling Yi Lin. He often took time to fly to Mount Heng to cultivate their relationship, bringing her all sorts of snacks and drinks.

Although Abbess Dingyi had initially wanted to kill Hao Shuai, faced with someone she couldn't defeat and who possessed such thick skin, she eventually could only let him be, preferring to avoid the sight of him.

In the past six months, the Martial World, after a brief period of excitement following the annihilation of the Songshan School, had returned to a state of calm due to the lack of major events.

Hao Shuai had also fully utilized this time to systematically begin studying martial arts knowledge, such as acupoints and meridians. He also specifically studied some Daoist and Buddhist terminology, perused the classics of both religions, and learned medicine from the renowned physician Ping Yizhi. His days were quite fulfilling.

During this period, Hao Shuai had a serious spar with Dongfang Bai. Without using his Psychic Power, they fought to a draw. Hao Shuai couldn't match Dongfang Bai's speed, and Dongfang Bai couldn't break through Hao Shuai's defenses.

Hao Shuai also learned that his peak Hua Jin was equivalent to half-step Innate in terms of Internal Energy, and that the Embracing Dan Realm was considered Innate.

Hao Shuai also took out the secret manuals he possessed, such as the Bixie Sword Manual, Purple Haze Divine Skill, and Ice True Qi, for Dongfang Bai to study, hoping it would help her break through to the Innate realm.

Today, Dongfang Bai, having gained some insight, went into seclusion for cultivation, while Hao Shuai was about to officially begin cultivating Internal Energy.

Initially, Hao Shuai had no intention of practicing the Internal Energy techniques of the Xiao Ao World. Dongfang Bai had curiously asked him why. Upon learning that Hao Shuai feared being unable to practice better Internal Energy later, she produced the Purple Haze Divine Skill and said, "The Purple Haze Divine Skill is a top-tier Daoist Qi Refining method. It is righteous and peaceful, its aura vast and majestic, and it can accommodate various types of Internal Energy without causing backlash. It is most suitable for you to build your foundation."

The Purple Haze Divine Skill, depending on the depth of comprehension, has three layers in terms of Internal Energy mastery. The first layer: Internal Energy is faint, like flowing clouds and mist. The second layer: Stored energy is extremely resilient and difficult to break. The third layer: It covers the sky and the earth, unstoppable. This is why, among the nine skills of Mount Hua, Purple Haze is considered the first.

Hao Shuai sat cross-legged, placing the manual on his lap, turning the pages one by one, his eyes fixed on the text, his mind completely absorbed.

"All martial arts in the world consider Qi Refining to be the righteous path. Vast Righteous Qi was originally bestowed by heaven, but ordinary people do not cultivate it well, instead letting their nature overwhelm their Qi. The afflictions of a martial artist lie in being violent, arrogant, cruel, and deceitful. Violence agitates the spirit and disorders Qi; arrogance makes the true self depart and Qi float; cruelty leads to the loss of benevolence and the depletion of Qi; deceitfulness hardens the heart and hastens Qi. These four aspects are all saws and axes that cut off Qi..."

"Abandon these four natures, return to gentleness and kindness, restrain your violence and cruelty, nourish your righteous Qi, sound the heavenly drum, drink the jade nectar, wash the elixir pond, knock on the golden beam. Practice these diligently, and you will achieve initial success."

The opening principles clarified the overall theory.

Following this were the detailed methods of the Purple Haze Divine Skill, explaining how to "sound the heavenly drum, drink the jade nectar," and how to "wash the elixir pond, knock on the golden beam."

Hao Shuai increasingly felt that his prior study of Daoist terminology was the correct decision. Otherwise, even if given the manual, he wouldn't understand it, let alone be able to cultivate it.

Hao Shuai pondered as he flipped through the Purple Haze Divine Skill.

The Purple Haze Divine Skill was a Daoist cultivation method. Daoist cultivation emphasized refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit into void. Internal qi cultivation was the process of refining essence into qi, transforming the energy contained within essence and qi into internal energy.

But where did essence and qi come from? Hao Shuai believed essence and qi could be divided into "essence" and "qi."

Essence was the source of all creation in the universe, the vessel of all things. It could be said that essence gave birth to life in this world.

Why could rare treasures like thousand-year-old ginseng or ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus increase internal energy? It was because they contained a large amount of essence, which could be converted into internal energy after consumption.

Qi, on the other hand, was a form of energy that permeated heaven and earth, existing everywhere. The so-called "meditating to cultivate qi" involved absorbing qi through specific breathing techniques in internal energy cultivation methods, thereby converting it into internal energy.

Why were there differences in the quality of internal energy cultivation methods?

It was simply that advanced internal energy cultivation methods had a higher efficiency in converting qi into internal energy, while lower-level methods had a lower efficiency.

Therefore, in the Martial World, a good martial arts manual often stirred up bloody conflicts, leading to countless casualties. To become a master, without an advanced internal energy cultivation method, one could only rely on the slow passage of time.

Hao Shuai speculated that the reason why there were fewer and fewer internal energy masters as time went on, and why they had disappeared by modern times, was likely because the energy contained within qi gradually decreased over time. Eventually, it became impossible to cultivate internal energy from qi, and thus internal energy cultivation died out.

Having understood this, Hao Shuai sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and began cultivating internal energy using the posture and breathing techniques from the Purple Haze Divine Skill.

He cultivated like this for an entire night.

As dawn approached, Hao Shuai suddenly felt a warmth spread through his body. A peculiar energy began to circulate within specific meridians and acupoints. After completing one cycle, it finally gathered in his lower Dantian, repeating this process.

Hao Shuai knew that he had finally achieved the introductory stage of the Purple Haze Divine Skill. The next step was to continue strengthening his internal qi.

The reason for Hao Shuai's rapid progress was the combination of his vigorous blood, essence, and vital energy, along with his comprehension, aptitude, and other accumulated factors.