Getting Lost in It! (Begging for Votes at the Start of the Month!)

"It's just a fragment of a secret technique. What's there to make such a fuss about?" Master Jingzhi's calm voice drifted over.

But it was a secret technique!

Even a fragment was priceless. You said so yourself when you taught us the other day.

You even said that outside immortal sects, large clans almost never had one.

And now it's "just" a fragment?

Zhou Hao was speechless.

What was a secret technique?

If divine abilities were innate arts created by powerful ancient gods and devils, which only experts on the Gods and Devils Body Refining Path could cultivate, then secret techniques were created by powerful immortal seniors on the Qi Refining Path and could only be performed with Purple Mansion Origin Power—or even immortal power.

Some famous divine abilities, such as Law of Heaven and Earth, Kuafu Chases the Sun, Seventy-Two Transformations, Three Heads and Six Arms, and Houyi Shoots the Suns, let experts on the Gods and Devils Body Refining Path crush opponents of the same rank and even slay cultivators on the Qi Refining Path who were a whole realm above them.

But the Qi Refining Path also had immortal secret techniques powerful enough to rival the top divine abilities, such as Universe in the Sleeve, Great Five Elements Escape, Moving Stars and Changing Dippers, and Samadhi True Fire. If a cultivator on the Qi Refining Path learned a powerful secret technique and paired it with a magic treasure, they could hold their own against an expert on the Gods and Devils Body Refining Path of the same rank.

Divine abilities were precious, though, and secret techniques were hard to come by. Many cultivators reached the Purple Mansion realm, fully capable of learning divine abilities and secret techniques, yet had nothing to practice.

"This Free and Easy Wandering evasion technique is one of the top evasion techniques in the Dao Sect of the Heavenly Realm, and it's widely circulated. If you manage to overcome the tribulation and become an immortal, then go to the Heavenly Realm, you'll naturally have a chance to obtain the complete version."

Master Jingzhi spoke leisurely.

"Of course, in the millions of years of the Great Xia Dynasty, perhaps not even one person has successfully overcome the tribulation. I doubt you'll manage it either. This fragment will still be enough to serve you until you reach Void Return with your spirit."

The words "I doubt you'll manage it" left Zhou Hao speechless for a long while. In the end, he simply ignored Master Jingzhi and focused on studying the book in his hands.

Flip, flip...

As he continued turning the pages, Zhou Hao quickly committed the cultivation instructions for Free and Easy Wandering to memory.

The foundation of Free and Easy Wandering was a set of footwork. When he saw the page covered in footprints, with positions and the route for circulating true essence marked out, Zhou Hao's eyes lit up.

"This basic movement technique is also based on the sixty-four hexagrams!"

Before transmigrating, he had learned Gang Step from his master, True Person Daoyi, to perform rituals. It was also based on the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching. Though it differed from the basic footwork of Free and Easy Wandering, the two ultimately shared the same origin. That made learning the fundamentals much easier for him.

Suppressing the urge to try practicing right away, Zhou Hao continued flipping through the book.

Once he had mastered the basic footwork, the main focus would be the secret art for circulating true essence and Origin Power.

Free and Easy Wandering had several levels of mastery. Advancing required not only its unique method of circulating true essence but also sufficient insight into the Dao.

At the first level, even Xiantian Lifeforms might be able to master it. They first needed to comprehend the True Meaning of Wind.

When the evasion technique was used, a gentle breeze would circle the cultivator, making them as light and swift as if they had used a Light Body Talisman. Their speed would multiply several times over.

The second level required Purple Mansion Origin Power to activate, and only those at the Purple Mansion realm could cultivate it. Once mastered, the cultivator could ride the wind like a Myriad Phenomena True Person, flying two hundred thousand li in a day—twice as fast as a Purple Mansion Cultivator riding a magic treasure.

If they rode a flying magic treasure as well, their speed would be enough to rival a Myriad Phenomena True Person.

And the deeper their comprehension of the True Meaning of the Dao and the higher their Origin Power realm, the faster they could go.

The third level required the Domain Realm of the Dao. To fully master it, one would have to completely comprehend the Dao of Wind.

But once mastered, the cultivator could transform into a blue breeze, wandering the East Sea by day and lodging on West Mountain by night. Even an Earth Immortal of the Void Return realm would be no better.

"Only three levels?" Zhou Hao closed the book and frowned. "And the third level is incomplete."

"If you master the first two levels, then within the same major realm, no one will be able to catch you if you decide to run—even if you can't beat them. If you master the third level, then even Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals won't catch you without spatial movement. What more do you want?"

Master Jingzhi snorted. "If all three levels were complete, this would have been kept as a core cultivation legacy in an immortal sect."

"Yes, yes. You're right, sir." Zhou Hao finally understood.

He had already stumbled upon an incredible opportunity by finding this fragment of a secret technique in the Martial Repository, which was meant only for the Green Flood Dragon Army's Xiantian Lifeforms. If all three levels had been complete, would he really have gotten the chance to study it?

"If you're done reading, get lost." Master Jingzhi closed his eyes. "Don't disturb my afternoon nap."

Zhou Hao looked up at the sky. It was only the hour of the Dragon, and the Solar Star had just risen.

An afternoon nap at this hour?

He didn't dare ask.

After all, Master Jingzhi had eaten the Zhilong Meat he brought and still hadn't spared him a kind word.

But now that he had taken the man's evasion technique to study, he really was indebted to him.

Zhou Hao picked up the stone basin from the stone table and was about to set down the book in his hands.

"That book is a copy I made yesterday. Take it with you," Master Jingzhi said, waving his hand. "The introductory footwork is the foundation. You can't afford to get even the slightest detail wrong."

A copy he'd made last night?

So this wasn't a technique passed down in the Martial Repository?

Looking at the brand-new book in his hands, thinking of its countless densely drawn footprints and diagrams, and the dark circles under Master Jingzhi's eyes, Zhou Hao felt his heart stir.

"Thank you for passing on the technique, sir." Zhou Hao bowed to the recliner. When Master Jingzhi didn't respond and seemed to have fallen asleep, he finally left as quietly as he could.

"Not having Origin Power really is inconvenient. I can't even cast Water Imprinting. Yueying, do you know I wrote all night..."

On the recliner, Master Jingzhi seemed to mumble in his sleep. After a few murmured words, he fell into a deep slumber beneath the morning sun.

On the Drill Ground, the soldiers of Fifth Squad had already begun their morning drills.

They would be leaving Jade Dragon City in four days, heading out to sea for their island garrison. The day before, Zhou Hao had ordered everyone to begin morning drills at the hour of the Dragon each day. Every rank and file had to work together until their coordination was flawless.

"Ha!"

"Hyah!"

Seeing his soldiers begin training under the leadership of the five rank leaders, Deputy Commander Hu Yong supervised from the side. Zhou Hao watched for a while, then walked off to begin practicing the basic footwork of Free and Easy Wandering.

Master Jingzhi's handwritten book was thick, and more than half of it was covered in footprints. Some bore names like "Guimei" and "Wuwang," with their positions marked according to the sixty-four hexagrams. Fine lines with arrows ran from one footprint to the next. It was clear how much care had gone into making it.

Zhou Hao took out the book and compared it with what he remembered. He went through the steps one by one, and only after confirming them did he begin practicing, following the recorded circulation route and coordinating it with his breathing and the flow of his true essence.

At first, Zhou Hao was like a child just learning to walk. He would stumble as he went, then find himself unable to take the next step and have to stop.

The moment he stopped, the flow of true essence inside him stalled, his breathing fell out of rhythm, and he had to start over from the beginning.

Before long, Zhou Hao's strange movements caught the attention of the other Xiantian Lifeforms.

"What's the commander doing? Why's he going around in circles instead of walking properly?" Shangguan Yun wondered aloud to his younger sister.

"He's probably practicing a movement technique?" Shangguan Yu watched curiously for a while but couldn't see anything special about Zhou Hao's footwork.

"Practicing a movement technique?" Shangguan Yun grimaced. "Those movements look awful."

Awful?

Zhou Hao thought he looked awful, too.

He had assumed that with his foundation in Gang Step and his comprehension of the True Meaning of Wind, mastering the basic footwork would be easy.

But right now, Zhou Hao had only one feeling.

Awkward!

The footprints drawn in the book looked simple enough, but he only realized how awkward they were when he tried to follow them himself.

Some footprints were so counterintuitive that stepping on them in order felt completely unnatural. Some were so far apart that he had to hop there on one leg...

And he also had to coordinate his breathing and the circulation of his true essence. It was awkward in every possible way.

After failing once again, Zhou Hao heard the soldiers in the distance struggling to hold back their laughter. He felt his face grow hot.

But their laughter only roused his stubborn streak.

"I refuse to believe I can't do this."

He dismissed the thought of relying on Blue Flower Water Vapor to enter a state of enlightenment and started over.

"If I need Blue Flower Water Vapor just to learn a basic set of footwork, what will happen when I leave Blue Flower Space? Will I be unable to learn anything at all?"

In the end, a person had to rely on himself. The water vapor and mist in Blue Flower Space were excellent, but they could only be tools—trump cards to use at critical moments.

If he relied on them even for ordinary cultivation, he would grow dependent on them over time. What if, one day, the Blue Flower Water Vapor and mist stopped working?

Would that mean he had reached the limit of his own ability?

No!

Absolutely not!

Zhou Hao kept practicing with complete focus, following each step to the letter.

So what if everyone around him was looking at him strangely?

What of it!

No matter how grueling the process, as long as the result was what he wanted, he didn't care what anyone thought!

Once, twice, three times... countless times. Whenever he failed, he started over from the beginning.

Gradually, Zhou Hao's footwork began to flow smoothly. The true essence inside him grew more and more fluid, and his awkward, ridiculous movements took on a hint of grace.

Whoosh...

A breeze suddenly sprang into existence around him. His steps grew surer and faster.

The true essence within Zhou Hao flowed faster and faster. His body seemed to have lost its weight, as if the slightest movement would let him drift away on the wind.

"That's it. Just like that." Zhou Hao's eyes shone brighter and brighter. Then, as he took his final step—

Whoosh!

His figure appeared thirty zhang away.

On the Drill Ground, beneath the moonlight, a huge circle nearly a hundred zhang across—formed from countless footprints—stood out clearly.

"I did it!" A smile appeared on Zhou Hao's face.

He had finally mastered the first level of the Free and Easy Wandering evasion technique!

"Zhou Hao, are you all right?"

A familiar voice called out, pulling Zhou Hao out of his immersion.

"Xiangcao?" Zhou Hao turned to look.

Xiangcao stood a few zhang away. Beside her was a woman wearing Black Jade Dragon Armor: Yang Yun.

"And Commander Yang Yun. What are you doing here?"

"What are we doing here?" Yang Yun asked with a knowing smile. "For the past two days, you've been practicing your movement technique on the Drill Ground as if you were possessed. You haven't answered anyone who called to you. Your little sister Xiangcao has been standing here with you for two whole days.

"You don't care if she's worried, but I do."

"Sis Yun." Xiangcao blushed. "I wasn't standing here with him. I was worried something might happen to him."

"What could happen to a Xiantian Lifeform like him?" Yang Yun teased. "Body refiners are all as strong as oxen. You can't wear them out."

Sis Yun? Little sister?

Since when had the two of them gotten so close?

Wait!

Two days?

Had he really been so immersed in his cultivation that two days had passed?

"Grrr..."

A growl came from Zhou Hao's stomach, stirred by hunger.

"Have you eaten? How about... we talk over a meal?"

Begging for votes at the start of the month! Suifeng isn't making much during the new-book period, so my old-timers, please give me some support! Apparently, once the monthly votes reach a thousand, I can enter a raffle. The minimum prize is 200 yuan.

Think of it as a little lifeline. I haven't even dared to order takeout this month.

I posted a summary of my August writing at midnight last night, answering a few questions some of you old-timers were concerned about.

If you're interested, go take a look.

It's the first item in the Qidian table of contents, under the Author's Notes chapter.

By the way, I'll post an extra chapter today. I should have it finished around eight tonight.