Chen Qing pondered briefly. Since he had already revealed his edge, he might as well go a step further and test how much this era understood about cultivation.
"I do have some insights," he said at once. "In my view, the Yellow Court Initial Opening realm can be divided into four stages. In the early stage, warmth arises in the dantian, nourishing the sinews, bones, and skin until one's strength doubles. One can then shatter a stone stele with a punch and leap ten feet into the air. But in the end, these are merely outward signs of strengthened qi and blood..."
Lü Han had been listening with a smile, but as Chen Qing continued, his expression gradually grew solemn.
The disdain in Li Benji's eyes turned to astonishment, and then he fell into thought.
Chen Qing continued, "...In the middle stage, one tempers the bones and cleanses the marrow, transmitting intent through the blood. The five senses become uncanny, and spiritual perception begins to emerge. Within, one can see the meridians; without, one can discern an ant crawling a hundred paces away. Intent and qi and blood merge, and one can control one's weight at will. Holding one's breath for half a day or treading on snow without leaving a trace are no difficult feats. After that comes the late stage..."
"Hold on!" Lü Han suddenly interrupted. Turning to Li Benji, he said tactfully, "Lord Li, the assessment is over. I imagine you have other matters to attend to, so perhaps..."
Li Benji narrowed his eyes. How could he not understand? They were trying to get rid of him!
So Li Benji folded his arms and sneered. Not only did he refuse to leave, he even took half a step forward. "Elder Lü, there's no need to stand on ceremony. This man is a wanted criminal from the Mysterious Prison. Since I was the one who asked him to speak, I should hear him out." His words dripped with sarcasm. "Or are the Princess's Estate's cultivation secrets forbidden even to the Mysterious Prison?"
Lü Han's expression darkened. "Outsiders naturally shouldn't be privy to cultivation techniques and incantations!"
A sinister glint flashed through Li Benji's eyes. "Then I'll take him back under the law right now. What do you think, Lord Lü?"
The air froze.
Jiang He and the others had never expected a few words from a prisoner being tested on his cultivation to set two major figures against each other. They immediately realized the waters here ran far too deep, and wished they could leave at once.
Seeing that Li Benji wouldn't yield an inch, a cold glint flashed in Lü Han's eyes. But in the end, he suppressed his anger and said icily, "Very well. Lord Li may listen. But knowing too much isn't always a good thing."
Li Benji remained unmoved.
Turning to Chen Qing, Lü Han said bluntly, "Stick to the important points. No need to go into detail." The hint was obvious: some things couldn't be said in front of outsiders.
Chen Qing understood at once. He certainly didn't want to return to the lightless Mysterious Prison, and from Lü Han's reaction, he knew he was safe for today. All the more reason to keep his words measured: say what needed saying, skirt around what needed skirting, and dole out the rest a little at a time. He couldn't spill everything in one go, or how would he have anything left to refine later?
So he changed tack at once. "In my view, the four stages of this First Realm are: in the early stage, nurture qi and blood and cultivate the meridians; in the middle stage, temper the bones and marrow and sharpen perception; in the late stage, channel through the internal organs and harmonize the five elements. As for the perfected stage, qi and blood surge like molten mercury, light appears three inches below the navel, and the essence-origin divine treasury is opened..."
Before, Chen Qing had explained every stage in detail. Now he had started condensing and summarizing, thinking he'd left out the crucial parts. But before he could finish, Lü Han's expression changed dramatically!
Li Benji hadn't understood the finer points, but even those few lines made his eyelid twitch. He immediately understood why Lü Han had suddenly changed his tune and tried to send him away—
Chen Xu's few brief words had struck straight at the key to cultivation!
Xu Zhaoying's heart gave a leap, and her eyes shone. Her silhouette even blurred slightly before quickly becoming solid again, but the others were too caught up in their excitement to notice.
Even Jiang He and the other seven, though uneasy and barely understanding, sensed the value in the few lines they had heard.
One had to understand: every cultivation maxim passed down through the ages was the optimal answer forged by their predecessors over countless years of blood and tears. The fewer the words, the more precious they were!
The fewer the words, the higher the stakes!
"The assessment ends here!" Lü Han suddenly stood and pointed toward the inner chamber amid everyone's astonished stares. "Chen Xu, come with me!"
Jiang He's eyes went wide. "Brother Chen... is he finally turning his fortunes around?"
Lü Han suddenly remembered something and beckoned to Xu Zhaoying. "Zhaoying, you too." Then he ordered coldly, "Keep every examinee under guard today. They are not to have contact with anyone!"
Jiang He and the others immediately went pale.
Lü Han turned to Li Benji and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist Li can surely hear the value in those incantations. I trust you won't spread them carelessly. I must report this to the Princess. If you still intend to obstruct me, Lord Dingbo and Lord Zhengshuang will be the ones speaking with you next."
Li Benji's expression shifted back and forth, but in the end, he said nothing.
After the three had left, he clenched his fist fiercely.
"Chen Xu's Root Bone is clearly ruined. How can his comprehension still be so astonishing?" A trace of regret crossed his eyes. "Could I have let that person's words prejudice me and misjudged him?"
In the inner chamber, where sandalwood incense curled through the air, a screen depicted a bamboo grove beneath the rising sun.
Before the screen, Lü Han poured tea for Chen Qing with a warm smile, utterly unlike the man he had been in the front hall.
"Your understanding of the Initial Opening realm is truly eye-opening, young friend Chen." As he gently pushed the teacup toward him, the old man's eyes flashed. "Though your Spiritual Bone was ruined, your comprehension is truly astonishing. If you systematized these insights, they might become teachings passed down for generations."
Chen Qing glanced from the corner of his eye at the scroll in Xu Zhaoying's arms. "They're only scattered insights I happened upon by chance."
"Cultivation is like climbing a mountain. A sudden flash of inspiration can be a shortcut through the mountains, worth a fortune! That is what sets outstanding talents apart from the rest!"
Lü Han shook his head with a sigh. Then he flipped his palm, and a smooth, lustrous jade token appeared in it. "This is the Wind Listening Token. With it, you can come and go freely from the estate. You've been here seven years and haven't had a proper look around the city, have you? As long as you don't leave the city, you can go anywhere with this. More importantly, it can protect you."
It probably let them track him, too.
Chen Qing knew that perfectly well, but still reached out and took it. His gaze passed over the identical jade token at Xu Zhaoying's waist before settling on the scroll. A strange pull stirred his heart.
Seeing this, Lü Han stroked his beard and smiled. "It took some effort to obtain this diagram. It was specially sought for Zhaoying's cultivation."
Chen Qing immediately said, "Then it must be worth a fortune."
"Under the Princess, as long as you prove your worth, it's perfectly ordinary to go to some trouble and seek out a few treasures!" Lü Han's tone suddenly turned solemn. "Take the Naihai Sect's treasured painting, the Diagram of a Hundred Rivers Returning to the Sea. It's said to have been painted by True Man Canghai himself. Zhaoying needed it for cultivating the Vast Scripture, so we invited it here. If you're interested, you can study it with us. But this diagram favors water, which clashes with the nature of the Great Mountain Art you cultivate..."
The Diagram of a Hundred Rivers Returning to the Sea?
Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat!
The sea!?
At that moment, Xu Zhaoying raised her wrist slightly.
"Whoosh—"
The instant the scroll unfurled, Chen Qing looked up. His pupils shrank!
The painting showed vast turquoise waves surging as a hundred rivers poured into the sea. Every ripple accorded with the rhythms of the Heavenly Dao, and dragons seemed to swim among the waves. The entire scroll appeared alive, radiating a Dao Rhyme that made his heart tremble!
Its artistic conception far surpassed the Visualization Diagram in the Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll!
Chen Qing felt sudden warmth three inches below his navel. The true qi within him began to circulate of its own accord along the route described in the Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll, resonating with the painting in a wondrous way.
He immediately realized this was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!
The Visualization Diagram in the Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll was incomplete to begin with. If he could use what he had experienced in his dream to complete his understanding of mountains and the turquoise sea, then even without feedback on his life, the dream would have been worth it!
And since he was in a dream, what was there to fear?
He immediately sat cross-legged and devoted himself to studying the painting.
Holding in his mind the meaning of a hundred rivers returning to the sea, Chen Qing felt as though he had become hundreds of rivers in an instant. The qualities of every current were clear to him. In the next moment, he seemed to transform into a vast ocean, embracing all the rivers flowing into it.
"The sea embraces a hundred rivers... so that's how it is!"
As his understanding deepened, his blocked meridians began to open on their own. His qi and blood surged like a tide, forming a perfect circuit throughout his body. He became a vortex of spiritual energy, frantically devouring the worldly energy around him!
Lü Han and Xu Zhaoying's expressions changed abruptly.
"He only glanced at the Visualization Diagram. Has he already grasped something?" Xu Zhaoying asked softly. "But Chen Xu cultivates the mountain method, which belongs to earth! How could he immediately comprehend a water-based diagram?"
Lü Han's beard trembled. "That's what it means to have extraordinary comprehension and peerless talent. A blade of grass or a tree can reveal the Dao! Such comprehension is truly rare. What a pity his Spiritual Bone was ruined. Otherwise..."
Before he could finish, a brilliant blue light suddenly blazed around Chen Qing, and his aura climbed higher and higher!
Five-colored spiritual energy poured into his body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
"Is he drawing in the spiritual energy of the five elements? Is he about to break through?" Even Lü Han lost his composure. His eyes widened. "He's cultivated the new method for only seven years, and he's already advancing?"
Xu Zhaoying drew a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. "He cultivates the mountain method, looks at a sea diagram, and shows signs of advancement. Has he grasped a new method by drawing parallels?"
The two exchanged a horrified look.
Even with his Spiritual Bone ruined, he could still make such progress. Such comprehension was beyond belief!
"If his Spiritual Bone were intact, he'd be a once-in-a-thousand-years prodigy! We must win him over for the Princess!"
Lü Han's eyes flashed brilliantly.
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