Qing Mufeng felt the three streams of Soul Power circulating within his body. Faintly, he could indeed sense a weak breath of life budding in his meridians.
"The third route returns from the dantian to the Baihui Acupoint through the Du Meridian."
The three streams of Soul Power gathered in his dantian, then traveled upward along the Du Meridian on his spine, passing through the Tailbone Gate, Life Gate, Spinal Passage, Jade Pillow, and finally returning to the Baihui Acupoint atop his head.
One circuit.
Then another.
Qing Zhengyue guided his grandson through a full nine circuits before withdrawing his Soul Power.
"How much did you remember?" the old man asked.
Qing Mufeng did not answer immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and mentally went through it again.
"Ninety percent," he said.
Qing Zhengyue raised an eyebrow.
Ninety percent. He had remembered ninety percent after a single demonstration.
When Qing Zhengyue had learned this meditation method, his own grandfather had guided him for half an hour before he remembered seventy percent.
"Go through it three more times," the old man said.
This time, Qing Zhengyue did not use Soul Power to lead the way. He merely gave verbal guidance from the side.
"From Baihui Acupoint to Danzhong Acupoint."
"From Danzhong Acupoint to the dantian, three branches traveling in parallel."
"Return from the dantian to Baihui Acupoint through the Du Meridian."
After three rounds, Qing Mufeng opened his eyes.
"I remember it," he said.
Qing Zhengyue looked into his grandson's calm eyes, fell silent for two breaths, then nodded.
"Starting today, cultivate the Green Snake Meditation Method once in the morning and once at night. Each session must last at least one hour."
The old man's voice allowed no objection. "Once you reach level thirty, I'll teach you the route for the next stage."
Qing Mufeng nodded.
"There's one more thing." Qing Zhengyue picked up the Green Snake Meditation Method manual and held it out to his grandson.
"This booklet is a Qing Family Secret, never passed beyond the clan. As a descendant of the Qing Clan, you naturally have the right to read it. But remember."
The old man's gaze was sharp as a blade.
"It must not be passed on to others."
Qing Mufeng accepted the booklet with both hands and nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, Grandpa."
Qing Zhengyue looked at the earnestness in his grandson's eyes and suddenly smiled.
He reached out and ruffled his grandson's hair, neither too hard nor too gently.
"Go on. Find your grandmother. She should have your medicinal bath ready by now."
Qing Mufeng rose to his feet, hugged the booklet to his chest, bowed to his grandfather, and turned to leave the study.
Qing Zhengyue watched his grandson's small figure disappear through the doorway. The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a complicated expression.
"A snake's meditation method, yet a dragon's child..."
The old man murmured to himself.
"I only hope you can walk the dragon's path from the road of the snake."
Outside the window, bamboo leaves rustled softly.
The wooden tub for the medicinal bath stood in the center of Qing Mufeng's room.
Liu Yunlan had specially commissioned the tub. It was half a foot deeper than ordinary bath tubs, crafted from fine ironwood, with several pieces of jade embedded in the inner walls to nourish the meridians.
At that moment, the tub was filled with dark emerald medicinal broth. Steam curled upward, and a rich herbal fragrance permeated the entire room.
Liu Yunlan reached out to test the water temperature and nodded in satisfaction.
"Get in. Soak for a full hour."
The old woman said, "This time, I added twice as many medicinal ingredients as usual. The hidden injuries in your meridians need proper care."
Qing Mufeng removed his outer robe, wearing only a pair of shorts as he stepped onto a wooden stool and climbed into the tub.
The medicinal broth rose over his chest. Warm medicinal energy seeped in through his skin and slowly spread through his meridians.
He leaned against the side of the tub and let out a comfortable sigh.
Liu Yunlan placed a pot of warm water and a dry towel beside the tub, then carefully checked that the window was tightly shut before turning to leave.
"I'll be next door. Call if you need anything," the old woman said before closing the door.
Qing Mufeng answered and closed his eyes.
He did not begin cultivating immediately.
During a medicinal bath, the body's pores opened and the meridians relaxed, making it the ideal time to nourish them. But it was also the easiest time to become distracted.
Qing Mufeng first relaxed his body and allowed the medicinal energy to wander through him.
Only after his breathing had completely steadied did he begin circulating the Green Snake Meditation Method.
Soul Power set out from the Baihui Acupoint, descended along the Ren Meridian to the Danzhong Acupoint, split into three branches and traveled in parallel to the dantian, then returned to the Baihui Acupoint through the Du Meridian.
One circuit.
Two circuits.
Three circuits.
The heat of the medicinal bath and the circulation of Soul Power echoed one another, and that weak breath of life within his meridians gradually grew stronger.
But Qing Mufeng was not satisfied with that.
He recalled what his grandfather had said.
And the Azure Dragon Pupil could see through all things.
What if he used it to look within himself?
With a thought, his second Innate Divine Ability quietly activated.
Beneath his closed eyelids, a faint golden glow rose from the depths of his pupils.
His vision changed.
He was not seeing with his eyes, but sensing with Soul Power.
He saw his own meridians.
Streams of azure light intertwined throughout his body, with Soul Power slowly flowing through them.
He saw his bones.
A faint azure halo clung to every bone.
He saw his organs.
The beating of his heart, the contraction of his lungs, the flow of his blood—everything came into view.
This was inner vision.
The inner vision of the Azure Dragon Pupil.
Qing Mufeng continued sinking his awareness deeper, following the flow of Soul Power as he explored the deepest reaches of his body.
The dantian.
The most mysterious place within a Soul Master, where the martial soul resided.
He saw the dantian.
It was not a vague mass of light, but a space that truly existed.
Gray and hazy, boundless and endless, like chaos that had yet to be opened.
At the center of that chaos floated a snake.
The Azure Snake.
No, not a snake.
Qing Mufeng's Azure Dragon Pupil stared at the phantom, and the longer he looked, the clearer it became.
It was an Azure Dragon.
It had merely been sealed within the shell of a snake.
The Azure Dragon floated silently at the center of the dantian, its eyes shut as though it were asleep.
Two soul rings.
One dark yellow, one purple.
They slowly revolved around it, giving off faint ripples of Soul Power.
Qing Mufeng stared at his martial soul and suddenly felt something strange.
It was not the sensation of looking.
It was the sensation of being watched.
The Azure Dragon's eyes opened.
Golden vertical pupils met Qing Mufeng's Azure Dragon Pupil.
In the next instant, the world spun.
Qing Mufeng felt himself being pulled in by an irresistible force.
Not his body, but his consciousness.
His consciousness was drawn out of his body, passed through that gray chaos, and fell into an entirely different world.
This was a small azure world.
The sky was azure, with no clouds and no sun, yet soft light poured down from every direction.
Beneath his feet stretched an endless grassland. The blades of grass were soft as silk, making no sound beneath his steps.
In the distance stood a dragon.
Not in the shape of a snake, nor a phantom.
A true Azure Dragon.
It coiled at the center of this world, its body as immense as mountain ranges. Every azure scale was like a massive piece of jade, radiating a gentle glow.
Its head was raised high, its dragon horns branched like coral, and its whiskers drifted lightly through the air.
Those golden vertical pupils were watching Qing Mufeng.
Not with a lofty downward gaze, but at eye level.
As though it were looking at an equal.
Qing Mufeng stood where he was, looking up at the enormous creature. He felt no fear, only a strange sense of closeness.
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