Inside the Thatched Cottage.
Xiao Huohuo looked around nervously from left to right.
Apart from an old wooden bed, a table, a few books, and a set of bowls and chopsticks, there was nothing else in this room.
Crude, monotonous, and exuding a sense of transcendent worldly isolation everywhere.
In storybooks, the dwelling places of high experts were always places like this.
"Xiao Huohuo!"
The moment Chu Feng's voice fell, the startled and stunned youngster hurriedly knelt down, his voice trembling as he said:
"This disciple is here!"
Sitting on the bedstead and looking at Xiao Huohuo with great satisfaction, Chu Feng said leisurely:
"Very well, then your Master shall now impart the Qi Refining Method to you."
"I speak, you do."
"There must not be the slightest deviation at any step."
"Get up."
The youngster kneeling on the ground stood up all at once.
Chu Feng continued:
"Following your Master's appearance, sit down cross-legged."
Xiao Huohuo sat on the ground, his eyes fixed on Chu Feng while he adjusted his sitting posture.
Before he had even settled properly, he heard Chu Feng's voice:
"Sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth."
"Sensing spiritual energy is the first step of Qi Refining."
"Only by sensing the existence of the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth can one be considered to have Qi Refining talent."
With that said, Xiao Huohuo sat cross-legged nervously, steadied his heartbeat, and took a deep breath to force himself to calm down.
The words spoken by Chu Feng doubled his pressure.
Only by sensing the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth would he be considered to have the talent for Qi Refining.
What if he couldn't sense it?
Would everything preceding this turn into a bubble?
Such thoughts rising to his head threw his mind into utter disarray, and a trace of irritation arose in his heart.
Xiao Huohuo shook his head abruptly, continuously telling himself inwardly:
"It's fine, Xiao Huohuo. You must believe in yourself."
"Even though I lack talent in martial cultivation, what if I have talent for Qi Refining?"
"What's more, with such an Immortal Master around, even if I lack talent in this aspect, Master will not leave me to fend for myself."
"He will definitely help me figure out a way!"
Thinking along these lines, Xiao Huohuo's heart finally quieted down completely.
And right by his ear, Chu Feng's guidance was still ringing leisurely:
"I shall first impart the Breathing Technique to you."
"Only after mastering the Exhalation Technique can you properly perceive the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth."
Xiao Huohuo became even more focused:
"It's coming!"
The first step for him to step onto the Path of Qi Refining and defy the heavens to change his fate—it was coming!
However, after he waited quietly for a long time, Chu Feng still had not continued to speak.
Chu Feng paused. He had indeed thought about how to conduct Qi Refining cultivation previously, but he had never thought through these Dao-entering cultivation methods in detail.
He pondered for a moment, and his eyes finally lit up as he recalled an exhalation technique from a certain World of Heavenly Emperors.
Maintaining his mysterious air, Chu Feng slowly said:
"The Exhalation Technique is extremely profound."
"Your Master shall now teach you a simple introductory method."
"First, imagine yourself as a thousand-year-old turtle."
"Imagine, how does this turtle breathe?"
A turtle?
Xiao Huohuo suddenly remembered that when his father celebrated his birthday last year, a faction came to offer congratulations, and their congratulatory gift was an old turtle.
Although his father didn't care much for that old turtle, he found it amusing and often kept it by his side.
Suddenly, that old turtle seemed to appear right beside him.
Xiao Huohuo gazed quietly at the old turtle, watching the slight rise and fall of its abdomen and body. Imperceptibly, his own breathing rhythm also slowed down.
Every single breath made his body become even calmer.
Every retention of breath within his body made his mind and spirit even fresher.
It seemed that his body had even grown much more relaxed because of this.
Xiao Huohuo paused, feeling the strange changes within his body, and said with joyful surprise:
"Is this... the unprecedented Path of Cultivation?"
"Is this... the so-called Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth?"
"I am ready, come on!"
Staring at Xiao Huohuo, who had his eyes tightly closed, Chu Feng immediately scratched his head and flailed:
"This youngster is really quite in the zone."
"Could it be that he really sensed something?"
Immediately afterward, he continued to explain:
"The so-called spiritual energy is the primordial energy of heaven and earth, hidden within the sun and moon, and falling among the clear winds and mountain streams."
"And if you want to sense this kind of spiritual energy with your current cultivation, you can only rely on the simplest Exhalation Technique to resonate with the frequency of heaven and earth."
"When your breathing manages to catch this trace of wonder, you will be able to retain the spiritual energy within your body."
At this point, Chu Feng added as if to patch things up:
"This sensing of the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth is an extremely simple process, you see."
"Since you can become my disciple, there is no way you can't manage even this much, right?"
Upon hearing this, the tip of the sitting Xiao Huohuo's nose grew hot, and his eye sockets also became somewhat moist.
Ever since he could remember, although his background was extraordinary and he lived a life surrounded by adoration like stars orbiting the moon, because of his cultivation aptitude, no one had ever believed in him like this.
Even when the Three-Year Pact was established, he was treated by the City Lord's Mansion and the people of Dongli City merely as an excuse to save face.
Everyone believed that half a year later, he would still be ruthlessly trampled underfoot by that woman and live out the rest of his life in disgrace.
Even the father who had accompanied him for sixteen years, while always supporting him, wanted him to temporarily stay away from Dongli City as this approaching date drew near, to avoid this match.
What they feared was that he would live in the inferiority complex of a crushing defeat and never be able to lift his head again.
Although this was for his own good, to Xiao Huohuo, it was also a form of distrust.
Yet now, a master whom he had known for less than half a day trusted him so deeply and imparted supreme Dharma Gates to him.
This was the first time since his birth that he had ever felt such intense trust.
Xiao Huohuo thought to himself secretly:
"Whether it is to defeat that woman half a year from now and prove that I am no good-for-nothing..."
"Or to avoid disappointing Master's trust, I must succeed!"
Suddenly, Xiao Huohuo opened his eyes wide and looked at Chu Feng.
Seeing his spirited expression, Chu Feng immediately asked with eager excitement:
"Disciple, have you cultivated spiritual—"
"Master, I will definitely cultivate spiritual power! I promise I will cultivate with all my might!"
As he spoke, Xiao Huohuo looked at Chu Feng, whose mouth was half-open, and said:
"Master, what's wrong with you?"
With a stiff expression, Chu Feng continued:
"When you cultivate spiritual... spiritual power, Disciple, Master will sense it."
"Your Master also believes that you will definitely cultivate spiritual power."
Xiao Huohuo nodded excitedly and said:
"You can rest assured, Master. Huohuo will never slack off."
Giving a slight nod and looking at the dedicated Xiao Huohuo, Chu Feng smiled faintly and said:
"You just focus on cultivating right here."
With that, Chu Feng slowly stood up and walked out the door.
Walking on tiptoe until he reached a spot seven zhang away from the wooden hut, he finally let out a complete sigh of relief.
Looking back at the thatched cottage, Chu Feng shook his head and said:
"I hope this kid can actually comprehend something out of it."
Then, he muttered to himself in deep thought:
"This kid is so silly and easy to fool; if he fails to cultivate anything, I can always think of a way to hoodwink him first."
"At worst, I'll figure something out once I get outside."
Before you continue