Gold Foil in Paper

This horizontal training method included both illustrations and text, and it even came with the Clarified Butter required for the practice.

When practicing, one must coat the entire body in Clarified Butter while coordinating the circulation of Qi and blood to strengthen the physical body.

Fortunately, while the thirteen medicinal materials needed to simmer the Clarified Butter were quite precious, they were not rare and could all be found at the Lu Family Pharmacy.

According to the records in the book, before practicing the horizontal training method, one must coat the entire body in Clarified Butter, allowing its medicinal properties to seep into the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones.

The medicinal power of the Clarified Butter can penetrate both inside and out, melting the void into reality, finding softness within hardness and hardness within softness, achieving a perfect balance of the two.

After simmering the Clarified Butter, Lu Yuan stripped off his clothes, scooped up the warm butter, and rubbed his palms together to melt it. He coated every inch of his body from head to toe, from his chest to his back, and from his arms to his legs.

Feeling the medicinal power seeping through his pores, Lu Yuan circulated his Qi and blood according to the practice method of the Heavenly Dipper Horizontal Training Method. Warm Qi and blood radiated from his chest and coursed through his entire body.

He circulated his Qi and blood time and time again, only finishing the practice after an hour. He then opened the Yellow Court Sensing Chapter.

"Before the Supreme Clarity Purple Haze Void Emperor, the Supreme Dao Jade Morning Lord. Dwelling in the Stamen Pearl, composing seven-character verses, dispersing and transforming the five elements into ten thousand spirits... Above are the soul spirits, below is the Guanyuan, the left is the Lesser Yang, the right is the Greater Yin. Behind is the hidden gate, in front is the gate of life. Exhaling the sun, inhaling the moon, the breath remains... The four energies combine, the constellations divide, purple smoke rises and falls with the three pure clouds. Irrigating the five blossoms to plant the spiritual root, the seven fluids flow through the cavern, rushing into the hut..."

There were only a little over three thousand characters, yet every single one was a pearl of wisdom. Lu Yuan read through it five times, feeling more and more that this cultivation method was profound. He wanted to try practicing it, but every time he felt he had reached the threshold, he just couldn't cross it.

It was like a tryst between a man and a woman; at the final step, just as they were about to become one, a hand suddenly pinched them, making it impossible to merge.

Unknowingly, half a month passed.

Lu Yuan practiced as he always did—practice, practice, and more practice.

"Hoo~~~"

Lu Yuan rose to his feet and suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of lightning seeming to spark in the empty room.

"I have finally completed the Four Blood Changes! My strength has surged significantly! My skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and internal organs have all converged into one. With Bronze Skin, Steel Bones, and Iron Organs, my entire body's Qi, blood, and physique are incredibly powerful. It is no lie that every Blood Refinement is akin to a sublimation."

Feeling the changes in his body, Lu Yuan was secretly delighted.

"The Heavenly Dipper Horizontal Training Method has also reached the Proficient level... My skin and flesh are now far tougher than tiger hide. As long as I tense my muscles, a kitchen knife can only leave a white mark; ordinary swords can only cut the skin and struggle to damage the muscles beneath."

"If I continue to practice this horizontal training method, I suspect that even if I stood there and let ordinary people hack at me with swords, they wouldn't be able to harm me in the slightest."

Lu Yuan habitually opened the Yellow Court Sensing Chapter, his brows furrowing slightly:

"It's just that the threshold for this cultivation method is too high. It's been half a month, and I haven't even crossed the threshold..."

This left Lu Yuan feeling quite frustrated, making him doubt his own life and whether he was truly a genius.

Even if a cultivation method had a high threshold, it shouldn't be to the point where he couldn't even get started.

"Could it be that this cultivation method is specifically for those super geniuses? Huh? This page..."

Lu Yuan rubbed the last page hard. Sure enough, he felt that this page was slightly thicker than the others, though the difference was extremely minute.

The paper was quite tough. Lu Yuan dipped it in a little water and rubbed it vigorously. As the paper tore, a flash of gold appeared. His spirits lifted; he pinched the golden section and pulled, revealing a sheet of Gold Foil.

The Gold Foil was as thin as a cicada's wing, only a tenth the thickness of the paper. It was no wonder Lu Yuan hadn't felt it when he first touched the paper.

The paper was square, feeling as soft as water in his hands.

The Gold Foil was covered in dense text. Over three thousand characters, originally spread across a dozen pages, were all condensed onto this single sheet. They were written in tiny, fly-head-sized regular script, yet they were sharp and clear, as if carved by a blade. Every single character was distinct.

On the other side of the Gold Foil was a faceless figure sitting cross-legged in the void, surrounded by countless suns, moons, and stars rotating around it.

In truth, it wasn't faceless; the creator of the Gold Foil had intentionally made the features hazy, like looking at flowers through a fog, yet it seemed as if the radiance of the stars was concentrated upon it.

"Yellow Court Sensing Chapter?"

Lu Yuan carefully read through the text on the Gold Foil and let out a long breath. The content was ninety-nine percent similar to what was on the paper, but that tiny one-percent difference was what had turned the Yellow Court Sensing Chapter on the paper into a technique that seemed profound but was impossible to cultivate.

Moreover, the person who had altered the content was of an extremely high level. Unless one was a Martial Arts Grandmaster, it would be impossible to tell the difference. Lu Yuan was worlds apart from a Martial Arts Grandmaster, so naturally, he had been deceived.

Lu Yuan steadied his mind, feeling ecstatic.

To go through such great lengths to hide the Gold Foil inside the pages—even a fool would know this was an absolute treasure.

The seated figure sat cross-legged, hands forming a seal before its chest, its expression gentle, dignified, yet majestic.

"Let me try cultivating it again."

He already knew the content by heart. He only needed to memorize the few dozen altered characters. After silently reciting them a few times, Lu Yuan began to cultivate once more.

Gradually, he entered the state.

In a daze, neither thinking nor not thinking, neither asleep nor awake, Lu Yuan saw that hazy figure sitting in the void appear within his mind.

Countless starlight projected down from the distant void, sinking into the top of his head, inch by inch.

Lu Yuan trembled slightly. His entire body felt cool, as if he had stripped off his clothes and jumped into a mountain stream in the height of summer. Every pore on his body was breathing, inhaling and exhaling Primordial Qi, and he felt as light as if he were ascending to immortality.

He did not know how much time had passed before Lu Yuan finally emerged from that ethereal state.

"I actually cultivated Internal Qi!"

Feeling the changes in his body, Lu Yuan was overjoyed.

Internal Qi was refined from one's Qi and Blood.

Under normal circumstances, one had to reach the stage of Qi and Blood like a Tiger before they could slowly refine Internal Qi.

For a martial artist, this breath of Internal Qi was crucial; the condensation of Internal Qi determined the power of one's martial arts.

Based on Lu Yuan's understanding, Internal Qi was similar to the True Qi or Internal Force found in the martial arts novels of his past life, though it could not leave the body.

To be able to condense three inches of Blade Qi or Sword Qi onto the edge of a blade or sword is already an extraordinary feat.

"Hmm? It's so late, and there's someone running on the rooftops?"

Suddenly, Lu Yuan detected a faint, almost imperceptible movement. He leaped out of his room and saw a figure vaulting over his roof. With arms spread wide like a great bird in flight, the figure landed on the roof of another house, making almost no sound.

Just as Lu Yuan thought the person would leave in this manner, they suddenly plummeted mid-air, like a bird that had lost its wings.

BANG!!

A heavy thud echoed out.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but wince; just by the sound alone, he knew how solid that impact must have been.

Before he could even approach, the person abruptly stood up, covered in blood.

"Save me!"