Shennong Health Cultivation Method

Essence Blood was already irresistible to Zombies, and Profound Yin Essence Blood was even more so. To a Zombie, its allure was at least twice as strong.

If Zhou Yan's talismans hadn't bound the Zombie firmly for these forty-nine days, it would probably have broken free long ago.

This also proved that Zhou Yan's efforts over the past forty-nine days hadn't been in vain.

Zhou Yan didn't dare let his guard down. Ignoring how much paler his face had grown after forcing out his Essence Blood, he quickly chanted a spell and struck the blood into the Zombie's forehead. At once, the Zombie stopped moving and slowly closed its eyes.

At the same time, the half-black, half-white corpse hairs covering the Zombie gradually turned completely black.

This was a secret technique recorded in the Profound Yin Corpse Refining Technique. Injecting Profound Yin Essence Blood into a Zombie before its refinement was complete could not only raise it by half a stage, but also make it easier to control later.

The effect was excellent, though it took a heavy toll on the body and mind and depleted one's vital energy.

After forcing out this drop of Essence Blood, it would take at least half a month to recover.

Moreover, during that half month, Zhou Yan wouldn't be able to cultivate the Mystic Yin Art. Otherwise, he would only worsen his injuries and might even cause irreparable damage.

"Phew..."

Zhou Yan's body went limp, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

But when he looked at the Zombie before him, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

This was a Black Zombie, not as fragile as a White Zombie. Black Zombies no longer feared livestock or people, and their physical defenses, speed, and strength had all increased significantly. They could easily take on more than a dozen ordinary people.

The Zombie Zhou Yan had dealt with at Li Mansion was a Black Zombie.

Seeing Zhou Yan stop, Ma Yan cautiously came out, still asking, "Did you succeed?"

"I did. Come take a look," Zhou Yan replied weakly.

He really couldn't hold on much longer and dropped onto the ground, but the smile never left his face.

Ma Yan came over and jumped at the sight of the Zombie, instinctively backing away several steps.

But when he saw that it wasn't moving, he stepped closer again and examined it carefully.

"So this is a Zombie!" Ma Yan exclaimed with a click of his tongue.

When he turned to look at Zhou Yan, he was startled again. "What happened to you?"

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yan's face had grown even paler. He even seemed to have aged, which frightened Ma Yan badly.

Zhou Yan knew that forcing out Essence Blood this time had harmed his body more severely than anything he had done before.

If he didn't recover properly, he could really damage his foundation.

Cultivators in the Essence Blood Realm could use Essence Blood in place of Magic Power to cast spells, but they only drew on a trace of its power, using ordinary blood as a substitute. They would never force Essence Blood out directly.

The damage was too great, and it was far too wasteful.

The Profound Yin Corpse Refining Technique truly was a heretical art. It used Essence Blood to cast spells at the drop of a hat, taking its unorthodox methods to the extreme.

"I'm fine. I just need a little rest," Zhou Yan reassured him.

And that was true. Though he looked quite bad now, the damage was only superficial.

If his appearance hadn't changed after forcing out Essence Blood, that would have meant something was truly wrong.

Ma Yan watched him for a long while before finally relaxing a little.

Still, the experience made him even more wary of cultivation.

The next day, Zhou Yan was finally able to leave the house.

He didn't go straight home, worried that his condition might frighten his family.

He wore a black cloak that covered him from head to toe, then followed Ma Yan to Tianhong Medical Hall.

Doctor Zhuang looked at Ma Yan and Zhou Yan and asked slowly, "You want to become my disciple?"

Ma Yan hurriedly explained, "Doctor Zhuang, he's the one who wants to become your disciple and learn a health cultivation method. He won't be studying medicine."

Unlike health cultivation, medicine was the true inheritance of Tianhong Medical Hall and the foundation of the Zhuang family's century-old legacy.

Those who received that inheritance had to be either members of the Zhuang family or formally accepted disciples.

So learning a health cultivation method was entirely different from learning the medical arts of Tianhong Medical Hall.

"Here's his tuition," Ma Yan said, presenting a pile of gifts.

They were the traditional six gifts offered when becoming a disciple: dried meat, celery, dried longan, lotus seeds, red dates, and red beans.

Doctor Zhuang wouldn't have cared for expensive gifts. These traditional offerings, on the other hand, were very much to his liking.

Sure enough, when Doctor Zhuang saw the six gifts, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

By then, Zhou Yan had removed his hood, revealing his pale face.

He stepped forward and knelt before Doctor Zhuang. "I hope you'll accept me as your disciple, Master."

Doctor Zhuang studied Zhou Yan, a gleam in his eyes.

"I've always believed in teaching without discrimination. As long as you're willing to learn and aren't a criminal, there's no problem..."

Zhou Yan felt relieved and bowed his head to Doctor Zhuang three times.

Seeing how determined Zhou Yan was, Doctor Zhuang nodded as well.

A little later, Doctor Zhuang led Zhou Yan to the rear courtyard.

"The health cultivation method of my school is called the Shennong Health Cultivation Method. It's said to have originated when Shennong tasted the hundred herbs. This method has two parts: movement and stillness, that is, breathing exercises and guided movement..."

As he spoke, Doctor Zhuang taught him its finer points.

The Shennong Health Cultivation Method wasn't complicated. After watching it just three times, Zhou Yan had memorized it all.

Once he began cultivating, it wasn't long before he felt a warm current stirring inside his body.

His Five Animal Frolics had only given him the faintest, intermittent sensation after he had mastered it.

That was certainly partly because Zhou Yan's body was so weak, but it also showed how extraordinary the Shennong Health Cultivation Method was. It seemed ordinary, yet its effortless simplicity concealed great subtlety, transforming the wondrous into the mundane.

Doctor Zhuang watched Zhou Yan practice. Seeing him pick it up after just one demonstration, he looked a little surprised.

But soon his expression returned to normal, and a thoughtful look came into his eyes.

After Zhou Yan finished one round of practice, Doctor Zhuang spoke. "The Shennong Health Cultivation Method follows the natural order of heaven and earth. It must be practiced gradually, with a balance between exertion and rest. Once in the morning and once in the evening is enough. Practicing more would do more harm than good."

Hearing this, Zhou Yan resisted the urge to continue practicing and thanked Doctor Zhuang.

Doctor Zhuang merely shook his head. "You're destined to be connected with the Shennong Health Cultivation Method, which is why you mastered it in one try. An ordinary person might need more than a hundred tries just to get started. Someone without that connection could practice it a thousand or even ten thousand times and still never glimpse its subtleties."

Now Zhou Yan was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected the Shennong Health Cultivation Method to be so choosy about whom it accepted.

If he hadn't personally experienced the awakening of his past-life memories and begun cultivating, he would never have believed such a thing was possible...