"Back then, Ancestor Hunyuan passed his teachings to three friends, and his three disciples each founded a school of their own. Thus came the three sects of [Purple Sun], [Bright Moon], and [Celestial Star].
Our Celestial Star Sect's founding patriarch, Tianhe Zhenren, cast off the old and created the new. Looking up at the heavenly signs, he forged the Celestial Star lineage of [Star Sea Transforms into a Heavenly Net, Universe Within a Single Palm]. This [Dripping Water Force] is the foundation of that lineage."
Speaking of the sect's legacy, Ouyang Zheng's expression turned solemn, his face brimming with pride.
"Wu-bing, although you cultivate your family's [Six Yang Divine Needles], specializing in healing and injury treatment, your physique is weak and your foundation unsteady. Still, your vital energy is abundant, far stronger than that of an ordinary youth. You have barely met the threshold for cultivating [Dripping Water Force], so listen carefully..."
As Ouyang Zheng spoke, he saw Lu Wu-bing standing solemnly and listening with rapt attention. Though somewhat satisfied, he also sighed faintly.
This newly accepted disciple, shoved into the role like a duck driven onto a perch, pleased him immensely in both intelligence and attitude toward learning. He was like fine timber and flawless jade.
What a pity the boy was already sixteen. His bones and muscles had set, and his meridians were blocked...
He had failed to lay his foundation at the best possible age. Even if he entered the gates of the Celestial Star Sect now, his future cultivation would surely be severely limited.
One could only say that eight or nine things out of ten in this world went against one's wishes.
Still, remembering that taking this disciple on this journey had ultimately been nothing more than a transaction, he felt somewhat relieved.
Whether the boy could become accomplished was unimportant.
What mattered was keeping him from straying onto an evil path...
If he failed to find a master and, in a moment of desperation, secretly cultivated that emotion-severing, nature-destroying [Primal Spirit Swordplay], that would be disastrous.
That's right. I only want to save a simple, honest youth whose nature is kind. Whether he achieves anything is not important.
"This cultivation method first trains the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian. Keep your intent fixed upon the Shao Chong Acupoint, open Divine Treasure, and clear the meridians... Exhale more, inhale less; clouds float and waves rise, unbroken as though it endures forever, each breath continuing without cease. Thus stars shift and the moon hides, cycling round and round without end." Ouyang Zheng began explaining the breathing method of [Dripping Water Force] in detail.
Lu Wu-bing listened with a thoroughly baffled expression, completely unable to understand what he was saying.
Master, are you sure you're teaching a cultivation method rather than reciting poetry?
Watching from the side, Ouyang Lan covered her mouth and chuckled. Unable to resist, she explained, "Father means the breathing method is nine shallow breaths and one deep breath, with three pauses and four stops. Repeat your exhalations and inhalations at that rhythm."
Now that I understood.
Lu Wu-bing finally grasped it.
His previous self had practiced the Six Yang Divine Needles, so he understood the cultivation of breathing methods.
However, every cultivation method had its own way of practice.
First, the acupoints upon which one focused one's intent differed, as did the meridians through which one circulated energy. Then there was the fact that different breathing rhythms stirred different resonances of qi, making the attributes of the first thread of inner qi produced vastly different.
Second, the paths through the meridians differed as well.
For any cultivation method, the most important thing was the breathing method—in other words, the rhythm of one's breath. It could make the acupoints resonate, achieving resonance between the human body and heaven and earth...
This was precisely what sects kept as secret transmissions.
Without someone to teach it, one could rack one's brains and try hundreds or thousands of times, yet still never work out an Extinction Art cultivation method.
More likely, one would train until one's acupoints were ruined and one's qi channels were severed inch by inch.
Commonly known as qi deviation.
No wonder Ouyang Zheng had told him to forget the [Six Yang Divine Needles] before teaching him the heart method, and had warned him not to practice it again in the future.
The two breathing methods would certainly conflict, and the inner qi they produced would possess different attributes. Coexisting within the body, they could affect one another and give rise to all manner of problems.
This time, Ouyang Zheng did not stop his daughter from interrupting. He simply continued teaching.
"After comprehending the rhythm of breathing and the method of breaking through acupoints and opening apertures, one must proceed from the surface to the depths, transform the empty into the solid, and forge the great path that reaches the heavens..."
This time, Lu Wu-bing had learned from experience.
He turned directly to look at Ouyang Lan.
With this old man's way of teaching, even he, a graduate of a top-tier university, could not understand a word. It once again proved that learning knew no bounds.
"It means breathing is merely the outward appearance. You need to move from outside to inside, turning outer breathing into inner breathing. Use intent to guide qi and stir the vital essence within your body. At the same time, imagine the meridians and acupoints as real passageways, opening them one by one."
Senior Sister Xiaolan was awesome.
At a glance, she saw exactly what was confusing Lu Wu-bing and explained it in plain language.
Now he understood.
"You must know that the teachings passed down by the master's line are concise yet profound, their flavor inexhaustible. In cultivation, it is best to comprehend the great meaning within subtle words... Some things can only be understood in the heart, not conveyed through words."
Ouyang Zheng shook his head irritably, scolded Ouyang Lan, then asked, "Do you enjoy teaching cultivation methods and sword arts that much?"
"Of course! In the past, it was always the senior brothers teaching. This time, I finally have a junior brother. I'll definitely teach him well—better than Third Senior Brother, no, better than Eldest Senior Brother."
Ouyang Lan said excitedly.
She truly enjoyed the admiring look in her junior brother's eyes.
And besides, he said my swordsmanship was good.
Ouyang Lan's teaching style was completely different from Sect Leader Master's.
Brimming with enthusiasm, she led Lu Wu-bing into the rear garden.
"Watch me. Focus your attention. Can you feel it?"
Her large, blinking eyes drew close. Her breath, fragrant as orchids, lightly brushed his face like a warm breeze in March.
"Fragrant."
Lu Wu-bing was an honest child. He did not want to lie.
"Fragrant what? I want you to feel the rhythm of my breathing."
The tips of Ouyang Lan's ears reddened. Wrinkling her nose, she bared her little tiger teeth and snapped fiercely, "Pay attention."
"Oh."
Lu Wu-bing gathered his thoughts, closed his eyes, and sensed carefully.
He carefully imitated Ouyang Lan's breathing.
Her breath was light, like clouds and rosy mist, seemingly there yet not there... Slowly, his breathing changed as well, shifting in a way that completely defied the body's natural rhythm. Faint ripples rose in his qi and blood, and wisps of breath were stirred within him.
Ripples appeared first. Gradually, they rolled into waves, transforming into surging floods that swept through his entire body.
"Hold steady. Don't stop."
Ouyang Lan halted her demonstrative breathing in surprise and turned her head toward Lu Wu-bing. Clicking her tongue in praise, she said, "From sensing qi to gathering qi and opening the apertures is painstaking work. As long as you can learn the rhythm of breathing, that is enough. You cannot allow the slightest distraction.
There is no reaching the heavens in a single step in internal cultivation. It requires long-term perseverance.
Practice for a while each day. With your aptitude, I estimate that in perhaps ten days or half a month, you'll be able to enter the gate. By then, you can open the first aperture of the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian..."
At that point, Ouyang Lan abruptly fell silent, her eyes going blank.
Pfft!
A soft sound came from Lu Wu-bing's body.
She saw that the dust around where Lu Wu-bing sat cross-legged trembled faintly outward, while wisps of hazy air rose above his head.
Though the current looked extremely inconspicuous, the subtle distortion of the air was still clearly visible.
He entered the gate already?
How long had it taken me to cross the stage of sensing and gathering qi, to break open the first aperture? Seven days, or eight...
Eldest Senior Brother was hailed as a cultivation prodigy. Mother said that even he needed three days before he could barely enter the gate.
This has to be fake!
Ouyang Lan silently watched the strange phenomenon of air currents above Lu Wu-bing's head grow ever clearer.
She knew that her junior brother had converted all of his bodily vital essence and his thin Six Yang inner qi into Dripping Water Force. His internal cultivation had entered the proper track and stabilized.
Before you continue