Viscera Strengthening

When Li Yuan returned to his residence, it was already noon.

Pushing open the wooden door, Li Yuan went straight to the bed and sat down, taking the Iron Ox Technique from his sleeve.

The yellowed booklet lay in his palm. With a thought from Li Yuan, the Panel appeared:

[Detected equipable item: Iron Ox Technique (Complete)]

[Affix Preview: Viscera Strengthening (White)—Strengthens the resilience of the five viscera and six bowels, increasing the limit of what the viscera can withstand from spiritual power impacts]

[Permanence Condition: Raise two mundane martial arts to Perfection]

[Current Equipment Slot (1/2). Equip?]

"Equip."

With a thought, the booklet in Li Yuan's hand turned into a faint streak of light and merged into his body, vanishing at once.

The next instant, a strange sensation rose in his heart.

A massive amount of information suddenly surfaced in his mind: the breathing methods of the Iron Ox Technique, the routes for circulating energy, the key points of its movements, the cultivation secrets of every stance... Everything was clearly branded into his consciousness, as though he had studied this technique countless times and knew every detail like the back of his hand.

This was likely the additional effect of equipping technique-type items—directly pouring the full contents of the technique into his mind, saving him the process of reading and comprehending it.

At the same time, a gentle warmth welled up from deep within his abdomen.

The warmth was not intense, yet it was dense and enduring, like an invisible membrane wrapping around his five viscera and six bowels. His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys... Every organ was slowly permeated by that warmth, as though some force were reinforcing them bit by bit.

Li Yuan drew a deep breath and could clearly feel that the organs within his abdomen had become sturdier.

This was the effect of the Viscera Strengthening Affix.

The Panel updated accordingly:

[Current Equipment Slot: 2/2]

[Equipped Items: Vein-Clearing Pill, Iron Ox Technique]

[Obtained Affixes: Circulation Acceleration (White), Viscera Strengthening (White), Clean Physique (Gray) (Permanent)]

[Iron Ox Technique: Not Started (0/100)]

Although the contents of the technique had all been instilled into his mind, bodily cultivation still had to be completed step by step. Knowing how to do something and actually doing it were two different matters.

However, with complete understanding as his foundation, his cultivation speed would inevitably far surpass that of ordinary people.

Li Yuan rose to his feet, loosened his limbs, and began practicing.

The first stance of the Iron Ox Technique was called Iron Ox Plowing. It required him to spread his legs shoulder-width apart, brace both hands against the ground, keep his waist and back straight, and, in rhythm with a specific breathing pattern, guide his Vital Blood into the Dantian in his abdomen.

Li Yuan assumed the posture and adjusted his breathing.

With every inhalation and exhalation, a faint current of heat stirred in his abdomen.

After roughly a quarter of an hour, that current gradually stabilized and began slowly circulating through his abdomen along a fixed route.

After another half an hour, the current had completed the entire circulation route of the first stance. It was still somewhat clumsy, but its basic framework had taken shape.

Li Yuan finished the exercise and rose, moving his hands and feet as he sensed a subtle difference.

As he loosened his limbs, several faint crackles came from between his joints.

When he clenched his fist, his fingers curled tighter. The muscles in his forearms, shoulders, and back tensed harder than before, making his whole body seem as though it had been tightened another notch.

The surface of his skin had changed as well. It was not as though blades and spears could no longer harm him, but when he pinched the back of his hand with his fingernail, his flesh felt slightly thicker than before and more resilient.

With a thought, the Panel appeared:

[Iron Ox Technique: Entry Level (0/200)]

He had reached Entry Level. From beginning practice to reaching Entry Level, it had taken less than an hour.

According to the booklet's records, an ordinary mortal needed at least one or two months to take the Iron Ox Technique from zero to Entry Level. Even cultivators, relying on physiques and Vital Blood perception far beyond those of mortals, needed several days.

Yet he had used less than an hour.

The complete understanding gained after equipping the technique, combined with the boost Viscera Strengthening gave to his perception of Vital Blood within his body, had stacked together and made his cultivation efficiency defy all common sense.

After resting for a while, Li Yuan continued practicing.

The second stance of the Iron Ox Technique was called Iron Ox Butting. It required him to hold his head with both hands, bend at the waist and lower his head, then guide his Vital Blood into his chest in tandem with an even more complicated breathing rhythm.

This stance was much more difficult than the first. The breathing rhythm shifted more frequently, and the route for guiding Vital Blood was far more winding. Yet with his complete understanding of the technique supporting him, Li Yuan was slower than he had been with the first stance, but he encountered no major obstacles.

Once, twice, three times...

The current of heat circulated through his chest and gradually became smoother.

After roughly another hour, Li Yuan finished the exercise again.

[Iron Ox Technique: Entry Level (18/200)]

The progress had grown more slowly than during the Entry Level phase, but it still far exceeded normal standards.

Li Yuan glanced outside. The sun had already begun to slant westward, and evening was not far away.

He sat back down by the bed. Rather than continuing his Iron Ox Technique practice, he began seriously considering his next course of action.

He currently had three equipable items in hand: a Spirit Stone, the Vein-Clearing Pill, and the Iron Ox Technique.

He had only two Equipment Slots, so he had to make a choice.

Of the three Affixes, Spirit Qi Filtration was the current core.

Its two effects—increasing cultivation speed and removing impurities from Spirit Qi—were both indispensable.

The removal of impurities in particular directly solved the greatest weakness of the Spirit Guiding Art.

Furthermore, Spirit Qi Filtration's permanence progress had already reached forty. Among the three Affixes, it was the closest to completion and should be prioritized.

Circulation Acceleration was equally powerful—a fifty percent increase in circulation speed meant he could complete more circulations in the same amount of time. More importantly, Spirit Qi Filtration's permanence condition was to cultivate one hundred circulations. The faster his circulations turned, the faster he would complete it.

If the two Affixes took effect at the same time, not only would his cultivation efficiency be maximized, but the permanence of Spirit Qi Filtration would also speed up dramatically.

Unfortunately, the Vein-Clearing Pill's permanence condition was far too demanding. Ten Medicinal Pills of the same grade would require at least twenty or thirty Spirit Stones. It was simply impossible to achieve in a short time, so it could only be used as a temporary enhancement.

As for the Iron Ox Technique's Viscera Strengthening—this Affix offered tangible help for breaking through. The direct cause of the original owner's qi deviation had been that his viscera could not withstand the impact of spiritual power.

But the Iron Ox Technique's permanence condition could not possibly be met immediately either. It required two mundane martial arts to be cultivated to Perfection.

He currently possessed only the Iron Ox Technique, and it was still at Entry Level. Raising two techniques to Perfection within a few days was utterly unrealistic.

Therefore, the optimal strategy for now was to equip the Spirit Stone and Vein-Clearing Pill at the same time.

Spirit Qi Filtration would increase cultivation speed and purify Spirit Qi, while Circulation Acceleration would speed up his circulations. Each would perform its own duty, yet they would complement one another.

Once Spirit Qi Filtration became permanent, the Vein-Clearing Pill's Equipment Slot could be freed for the Iron Ox Technique. At that point, he would have both permanent Spirit Qi Filtration and the support of Viscera Strengthening, giving him a better chance of breaking through to Mid Qi Refinement.

Although the Iron Ox Technique had to be unequipped for now, its Entry Level cultivation progress would not disappear.

Having thought it through, Li Yuan no longer hesitated.

With a thought, he chose to unequip the Iron Ox Technique.

[Unequipped item: Iron Ox Technique]

[Viscera Strengthening (White) Affix has temporarily become inactive]

The booklet appeared in his hand out of thin air, while the layer of warmth enveloping his viscera faded away.

Li Yuan put the booklet away and took out the Spirit Stone.

A full day had passed since he unequipped the Spirit Stone yesterday evening. The twelve-hour cooldown had already ended.

Equip.

The Spirit Stone vanished from his palm, and that long-awaited sensation of filtration enveloped his entire body once more.

The Panel updated:

[Current Equipment Slot: 2/2]

[Equipped Items: Vein-Clearing Pill, Low-Grade Spirit Stone]

[Obtained Affixes: Circulation Acceleration (White), Spirit Qi Filtration (White), Clean Physique (Gray) (Permanent)]

The two White Traits took effect simultaneously.

Li Yuan sat down cross-legged and circulated the Spirit Guiding Art.

Spirit Qi gathered from all directions. Through the effect of Spirit Qi Filtration, impurities were automatically removed before entering his body, leaving only pure Spirit Qi to surge into his meridians. At the same time, Circulation Acceleration greatly increased the speed at which spiritual power circulated through his meridians, and every circulation was completed much faster than before.

The two Affixes each carried out their own duties, yet amplified one another. Spirit Qi Filtration ensured that every strand of Spirit Qi entering his body was pure and flawless, while Circulation Acceleration allowed that pure Spirit Qi to complete its circulation faster and flow into his Dantian.

The pure Spirit Qi circulated swiftly, with not the slightest obstruction in his meridians. Every circulation was completed cleanly and decisively.

His cultivation efficiency was far higher than when he had equipped only the Spirit Stone.

Li Yuan focused wholeheartedly, free of distractions. As soon as one circulation ended, he immediately began the next.

Again and again.

He did not know how much time had passed before Li Yuan opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Outside the window, the sky was already full of stars. Without realizing it, he had cultivated for most of the night.

With a thought, the Panel appeared:

[Spirit Qi Filtration (White)]
[Permanent Progress: 52/100]

A single cultivation session had advanced the progress by twelve circulations, faster than any previous time.