Dragon Elephant Sleeping Art

Lu Yuan's eyes were filled with ferocity. "With just this much skill, you thought you could prey on me like a fat sheep?"

His thoughts raced as the Po Jun in his hand moved even faster and fiercer. He pursued relentlessly, intending to press his advantage and kill the Gray-clothed Man.

"Die for me!!"

On the brink of death, the Gray-clothed Man's hair stood on end. He fought back desperately, enduring the searing pain as he swung his steel saber to meet the attack.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!!

Lu Yuan's Po Jun and the two men's long sabers clashed repeatedly, drawing long streaks of sparks in the night.

Under the flickering firelight, the faces of the three men were starkly visible.

Lu Yuan's expression was cold and cruel, his gaze like that of a ferocious beast, a murderous intent that vowed to slay them both.

The Gray-clothed Man and his companion, however, were filled with unease, even terror.

The more they fought, the more their hearts sank. Lu Yuan's saber techniques were like a raging storm, crashing down wave after wave, giving them no time to breathe.

The slightest lapse in their defense and Lu Yuan's saber would dart in like a venomous snake, adding another wound to their bodies.

They knew clearly that if this continued, they would surely die.

The Gray-clothed Man's heart was filled with dread:

Why!

Why was the little fat sheep they had so carefully sought out a man-eating beast?

Why did this brat possess such ruthless saber techniques at such a young age?

With such strength at his age, he must come from an extraordinary background. If so, why didn't he bring any guards with him? Then we would never have targeted you!

"Yang Song, you!!!!"

His companion, seeing the dire situation, turned and fled, abandoning him to his fate.

As Yang Song saw it, they were brothers, and he wanted revenge for his brother. But he and they were merely friends, why should he be buried with them?

Better him than me.

The Gray-clothed Man roared in shock and anger, exposing a massive opening. Lu Yuan seized the opportunity, twisting his body and stepping forward, unleashing a fierce attack that had been building for a long time.

Swoosh!

The saber light flashed, followed by the sounds of flesh being rent and blood spraying. Lu Yuan's figure passed through the Gray-clothed Man. Behind him, the Gray-clothed Man staggered a few steps, but his upper and lower body had already separated. His body was cut in two, and he died with utter unwillingness.

Killed with one strike!

The Great Gale Saber Technique was crude and simple, focusing on power, speed, and 'momentum,' with no flashy changes.

Yang Song's heart turned to ice, fear flooding his mind. He wished his parents had given him a few more legs.

"Run! Run! Run as far as possible!"

His courage had vanished with the deaths of his two companions. He had no other thought but to flee for his life.

However, there was no escape. Before he could run ten steps, Lu Yuan caught up, and the saber light flashed.

"My body... so light... am I flying?"

Yang Song felt an icy chill on his neck, then his whole body felt weightless. His head, tumbling through the air, saw his headless corpse. His pupils dilated, and then he hit the ground, his consciousness fading.

Lu Yuan expressionlessly wiped the blood from the Po Jun with the corpse's clothes.

The reason he dared to act decisively was his belief that these three were not masters. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so selective in choosing the most troublesome target to rob.

Admittedly, compared to the many experts at the auction, he wasn't powerful.

But he certainly wasn't the weakest.

It could only be said that his age had deceived the three men.

And they paid for it with their lives.

These three were not weak, each possessing the strength of Blood Refinement. In Lingbao County, even if they weren't top-tier experts, they were skilled martial artists.

Such skilled individuals could be heavily relied upon within a force like the Lu Family.

This was the second time Lu Yuan had killed someone. He felt calm, with a hint of complexity. He only wanted to cultivate in obscurity and become stronger, but people kept provoking him. Trouble always found him. In this world where the strong prey on the weak, if he didn't kill, he would be killed.

He casually searched the bodies and found over a hundred taels of silver and gold. He left their corpses behind and departed.

"A little over a hundred taels, better than nothing."

He chose the largest inn in Zhenping County and slept for the night. The next morning, Lu Yuan rode his horse and began his journey home.

He arrived home before noon.

After lunch, Lu Yuan retreated to his small courtyard and took out the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art to begin studying it.

The Dragon Elephant was a colossal beast from ancient times, about the size of a small mountain. A Dragon Elephant matured in a thousand years and lived for ten thousand years.

Half of a Dragon Elephant's ten-thousand-year lifespan was spent in slumber. The Dragon Elephant Longevity Art was a sleeping technique that mimicked the Dragon Elephant's slumber.

"A sleeping technique?"

Lu Yuan was dumbfounded. He continued to flip through the incantations, memorizing its key points one by one.

"The dragon returns to the sea, the yang hides in the yin. Some call it the Dragon Elephant, but I keep my heart hidden. Silently concealing its use, breathing it deeply. Lying among the white clouds, with no one to understand. The Way lies in guarding one's destiny, true fire warming the kidneys. Turning light inward, spirit settles in the dan tian..."

"Mind and breath forget each other, spirit and qi unite. The innate Great Dao, spirit and qi unite. Spirit has no shadow, qi has no form, thus spirit cannot be seen, it is entrusted to the heart; qi cannot be grasped, seek it in the breath..."

Afterward, he began to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art.

He stood with his feet parallel, about shoulder-width apart, chest sunken, back arched, knees slightly bent, shoulders dropped, elbows lowered, armpits hollow, wrists relaxed, a sense of lightness at the crown of his head. His eyes gazed forward, relaxed and at ease. His lips were slightly parted, his tongue touching the roof of his mouth, and his hands formed lotus palms.

Concentrate the spirit and regulate the breath, regulate the breath and concentrate the spirit.

Mind and breath depend on each other, spirit settles in the void.

Relax the body, empty the spirit, and focus one's thoughts and consciousness on the "external void within the body."

Intend to guard the void realm of the "external void within the body," gaze inward at the qi of breathing coming and going within the "external void within the body," and listen inwardly to the subtle sounds of breathing within the "external void within the body." Intention guards, gaze illuminates, ears listen, the three are one, all belonging to the heart.

The mind and breath embrace each other, continuous and unbroken, intertwined without end.

Gradually, Lu Yuan's entire being entered a state of profound emptiness and mystery.

The interval between each inhale and exhale grew longer and longer.

Within the chaos and forgetfulness, in freedom without restraint, the mind and breath finally achieved true interdependence.

He didn't know how much time had passed when sleepiness washed over him. Lu Yuan relaxed his body, lay down on the bed, and in his state of forgetfulness, unknowingly, drifted into sleep in a daze.

The reason the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art has a high entry threshold is precisely because of this 'sleep'.

As long as one can achieve 'sleep', it is equivalent to having entered the initial stage.

Once entered, persist in cultivation, cultivate day and night, and one will achieve results.

As for the extent of the results, it depends on the individual.

Why is the threshold so high?

Because ordinary people overthink before sleeping, tossing and turning restlessly. However, the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art requires the mind and breath to gradually forget each other while sleeping, and to fall asleep unconsciously in a daze, entering a deep sleep.

Lu Yuan's ability to enter this state on his first attempt at cultivation was naturally due to his 'High-grade Talent'.

In a deep sleep state, as night turned to day, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

[Dragon Elephant Longevity Art: Initial Glimpse (21%)]

"As expected, the cultivation difficulty of a mid-grade technique is far greater than that of a low-grade one. After cultivating for an entire night, I've only reached 21% of the Initial Glimpse stage."

Lu Yuan remembered that on the first day he practiced the Great Gale Saber Technique, he had mastered 58% of the Initial Glimpse stage in just one night.