Visualization Technique! (Seeking Votes!)

Night.

The Iron Ox Tribe, having been lively for so long, finally fell silent as the drunken revelers drifted into dreams.

Having decided to migrate, the men of the tribe had slaughtered all the old and weak Wild Ox.

The people of the Iron Ox Tribe had not enjoyed such a feast of meat in a long time; Zhuzi was even clutching a roasted ox leg nearly as tall as himself, refusing to let go even in his sleep.

...Zhou Hao walked out of his felt tent and headed toward the distant creek under the moonlight.

In the Great Wild Plains, the tribes were all very hospitable.

The chieftain, Iron Ox, was particularly magnanimous; upon learning that Zhou Hao belonged to no tribe, he invited him to stay and even shared a dozen Wild Ox with him.

Yet, whenever Zhou Hao asked about the one thing he most wanted to know—cultivation—everyone would shake their heads.

Only large tribes possessed cultivation techniques; how could a small tribe like the Iron Ox Tribe, established only a few years ago, possibly have any!

Within the entire tribe, only the chieftain, Iron Ox, had been rewarded with a simplified Qi-refining method for his service as a guard for the Liu Clan.

But he had sworn a blood oath never to pass it on!

In the Great Wild Plains, both men and women held oaths in the highest regard.

He could not even teach it to his own son, Iron Pillar, let alone Zhou Hao.

Besides Iron Ox, there was one other person who knew a Qi-refining method: Xiangcao, who had saved Zhou Hao. It was said that a direct descendant of the Liu Clan had taught it to her.

But Xiangcao had also sworn a blood oath...

Finding a slightly raised mound of earth, Zhou Hao lay down.

Looking at the massive moon hanging in the sky and listening to the gurgling water, his somewhat restless heart gradually calmed.

Zhou Hao, oh Zhou Hao, it is a waste of all those years you spent cultivating the Dao with your master if you are going to be this impatient just because you lack a cultivation technique for the moment.

Since you know that cultivation truly exists in this world, and you have already waited so many years, what is a little more time?

At the very least, today was not without gains; he had learned more about cultivation from Iron Ox and Xiangcao.

Especially from Xiangcao, who knew even more than Iron Ox from her time following that direct descendant of the Liu Clan.

In this world, the path of cultivation is divided into different realms.

The first level, Postnatal, grants a lifespan of one hundred years.

The second level, Innate, grants a lifespan of two hundred years.

The third level, Purple Mansion, grants a lifespan of five hundred years.

The Postnatal realm is the realm of mortals. Like the ordinary warriors of the tribe, although they lack cultivation techniques, they can still battle fierce beasts by tempering their bodies.

The strongest among them, like the chieftain Iron Ox who has practiced Qi-refining and possesses internal energy, also belong to the Postnatal realm, considered to be at the peak of the Postnatal.

Above the Postnatal realm is the Innate.

Through cultivation techniques, ordinary mortals can refine their bodies to become like the 'Innate Beings' born of heaven and earth; this is the Innate realm.

Becoming an Innate Being is extremely difficult; even with cultivation methods, it is an act against the heavens, so those who succeed are one in ten thousand.

And yet, an Innate Being is merely the foundation on the path of cultivation.

Above that is the Purple Mansion realm, which is where one is truly considered a cultivator, worthy of being called a master.

Purple Mansion masters can wield numerous magical treasures, refine complex puppets, control poisonous insects and beasts, set up grand formations, and possess a lifespan several times that of a mortal...

In short, a Purple Mansion master is a pinnacle existence even among the five hegemon powers of the Great Wild Plains.

As for what realms exist beyond the Purple Mansion, that was not something Iron Ox or Xiangcao could know; they only knew that such realms must exist, and that there were even Immortals, Gods, and Devils.

Because many ancient legends within the tribe hinted at the presence of Immortals and Devils.

It seems I must go to Jade Dragon City to search for a cultivation technique.

Zhou Hao felt the same yearning for Jade Dragon City that everyone else did.

That was a true cultivation sect, after all; would they be short on cultivation techniques?

Time for evening meditation.

Feeling his mind had completely settled and returned to a state as still as an ancient well, Zhou Hao sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to silently recite the Yellow Court Scripture.

His master, True Person Daoyi, was a genuine Daoist—the kind with an official ordination certificate.

Although Zhou Hao was not a Daoist, he had followed his master since he was a child, and reciting the Yellow Court Scripture during his morning and evening meditations had long since become a habit.

Moreover, the Yellow Court Scripture is a classic of Daoist internal alchemy and longevity cultivation, containing methods for internal visualization.

According to his master, True Person Daoyi, frequent visualization can refine the soul.

And once the soul is strong, the physique becomes more robust; at high levels of mastery, various miraculous phenomena may even manifest.

Zhou Hao had never seen any such phenomena; the most he had seen was his master, True Person Daoyi, living past one hundred years without losing his wits.

However, ever since he began practicing the visualization method with his master, Zhou Hao's memory had improved, and he could even multitask and remember everything he saw at a glance.

"Before the void emperor of the Shangqing Purple Haze, the Supreme Great Dao Jade Morning Lord. Living in leisure at the Stamen Pearl, composing seven-word verses, scattering and transforming the five forms into ten thousand spirits. This is the inner chapter of the Yellow Court, the zither heart triple-layered, dancing with the fetal immortal. The nine breaths shine bright, emerging from the clouds, the spirit-covering boy gives birth to purple smoke. This is the Jade Book, worthy of refined study; chant it ten thousand times to ascend to the three heavens. A thousand disasters shall vanish, a hundred illnesses shall heal, fearing not the cruelty of tigers and wolves, and thus shall longevity be extended..."

As he recited silently in his heart, Zhou Hao's spirit became increasingly ethereal.

In his mental visualization, the various acupoints within his body seemed to transform into gods filling the heavens. The most vital organs—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—also manifested, dissolving into five-colored clouds of mist that permeated his entire being.

Daoist visualization and contemplation techniques rely on treating the false as real. Much like how an ordinary person imagining a plum in their mouth will begin to salivate, it is merely an illusion.

Yet, this illusion is capable of triggering various reactions within the spirit and even the physical body, thereby achieving the effect of cultivating the soul.

Contemplating in this manner, Zhou Hao sat for the duration of an incense stick, gradually entering a deep state.

Within his visualization, an old man with white hair and a white beard, holding a feather fan, manifested.

The five-colored clouds of mist transformed into Daoist robes draped over the old man—he was none other than the "Supreme Clarity Moral Heavenly Venerable," one of the three supreme gods of Daoism.

Zhou Hao had been practicing this visualization technique, said to be his master's unique secret, for over a decade; naturally, he knew what to expect.

He remained focused, pouring his entire heart into the visualization. Coordinating with his rhythmic breathing, he imagined the radiant light emitted by the Supreme Clarity Moral Heavenly Venerable enveloping his whole body.

As time passed, the visualization technique, which had shown no anomalies for over a decade, suddenly changed today.

BOOM!

Zhou Hao felt as if every pore on his body had opened at once. A stream of warm, vital energy was drawn in, pouring into his body and nourishing every inch of his flesh and blood.

So comfortable.

It was like a man dying of thirst in the desert suddenly receiving a sweet rain. The feeling of comfort and satisfaction was so intense that Zhou Hao couldn't help but want to groan aloud.

Yet, having cultivated for many years, he kept his mind calm and his nature guarded. No matter what happened, he remained as steady as a mountain!

...Outside.

The long, wild grass surrounding the mound where Zhou Hao sat cross-legged suddenly began to sway as if caught in a breeze.

The misty vapor over the small creek also swirled and drifted toward Zhou Hao.

Wisps of light began to gather slowly around the seated Zhou Hao, causing his entire body to gradually emit a lustrous glow.

"What is that?"

Under the moonlight, Xiangcao was approaching from a distance.

She had seen Zhou Hao looking dejected all evening and knew it was because of the immortal cultivation technique.

Hearing him leave the felt tent, she felt uneasy and had followed him out.

"And he said he didn't know any Qi-refining techniques! To be able to attract so much of the world's energy—this technique is clearly better than mine." From afar, Xiangcao saw Zhou Hao sitting cross-legged, clearly in the midst of cultivation.

"Not telling the truth... bad guy!"

Two thousand six hundred miles away from the Iron Ox Tribe, a city built of massive rocks sat upon the Great Wild Plains.

This was Motai City, the lair of the Black Hand Tribe.

On the Great Wild Plains, a tribe of fifty thousand people was considered a super-large tribe.

Generally, such super-large tribes would be suppressed and struck down by other hegemon-level factions to prevent them from threatening their own dominance.

Yet, the Black Hand Tribe had not only survived various strikes but had even built a city, showing signs of becoming the next generation of hegemon tribes. All of this was due to the leader of the Black Hand Tribe, "Motai Xiao."

One must know that in ordinary tribes, even the leaders do not have surnames. Motai Xiao did not have one either; Black Hand was his original name.

Inside the largest mansion in the center of the city.

"Father."

A fair-skinned, handsome young man walked into the hall and said to the old man who was resting with his eyes closed, "Why did you call for me? I just caught a pair of Seven-Colored Sparrows and was about to send them to Sister Qianxue..."

SLAP! The old man slammed his hand onto the armrest.

Black light flickered, and the stone chair, carved from a single piece of Qingshi, instantly crumbled into dust without a sound.

"I told you, you are forbidden from seeing Qianxue again!"

The old man's face was cold and sinister, his eyes filled with boundless malice.

Even though the young man was his own son, seeing his father's rage made his legs go weak.

"I just wanted to give Sister Qianxue the little birds, I wasn't doing anything else," the young man muttered softly, suppressing his terror.

"What else could you possibly want to do?" Motai Xiao snorted coldly. "I have spent sixteen years cultivating Qianxue. Tomorrow, she is to be sent to the Fire Worship Sect Main Altar. If you ruin my grand plan because of this... Motai Jie, I will kill you with my own hands!"

"Yes, Father." Motai Jie dared not say another word.

He knew his father was capable of it.

Back then, when his eldest brother had a dispute with a disciple of the Liu Clan—one of the five great hegemons of the Great Wild Plains—and injured one of their direct descendants, Motai Xiao had personally sent his eldest brother's head over to them.

That was the very year their Black Hand Tribe's Motai City had just been completed.

"If you like women, there are plenty within the tribe," Motai Xiao looked coldly at Motai Jie. "Do not set your heart on things you shouldn't! If you can understand this, you are my son, Motai Xiao. If you cannot..."

"I understand, Father. I won't do it again," Motai Jie said hurriedly.

"Get out." Motai Xiao snorted coldly.

"Yes," Motai Jie replied respectfully.

In the spacious courtyard outside the door, a giant black Night Owl stood perched upon a tree.

Once Motai Jie walked out of the courtyard, the Night Owl descended from the tree to the doorway.

Whoosh!

The massive Night Owl suddenly dissolved into black mist out of thin air, then coalesced into a middle-aged man with black hair.

"Night Shadow, go guard Qianxue's courtyard. No one is allowed to approach, not even Motai Jie."

Motai Xiao's cold, stern voice rang out from within the main hall, "If anyone defies this, kill them!"

"As you command, Master." The black-haired man nodded, his entire body dissolving back into black mist before transforming once more into the giant Night Owl from before.

With a single flap of its wings, the Night Owl shot straight into the sky, instantly merging with the darkness and vanishing from sight.

Inside the main hall, the old man sat in solitary contemplation.

"Those who obstruct my path... whether they be parents or children, all may be killed!"