Turtle Breath

Chen Wu knew that his sister's choice stemmed not only from faith in his talent, but also from her willingness to pay any price to protect him. He explained, "Sis, of course you can. This is a martial art that cultivates both inner and outer aspects. While training external techniques, it can also strengthen one's foundation and nourish the spirit. Besides, I have already reached the third stage and can generate and control force. I can help you skip the agonizing body-tempering of the first two stages directly, and it won't affect your skin."

After saying that, Chen Wu silently assigned himself a task: complete the deduction of the twelve stages of the Golden Bell Shield as soon as possible. He could not let this delay his sister's martial path.

Gu Yuyue was delighted upon hearing this. "That would be wonderful."

With his sister's talent, if she cultivated body-tempering alongside it, she should long ago have become no less accomplished than in her primary path of qi cultivation.

The reason she had never learned it was simple: she loved beauty.

Back then, when she had wanted to practice external martial arts, she saw her best friend Qi Ruyan training her family's inherited external art. Her once delicate, smooth skin had become dark and rough from body-tempering, and even her voice had become as loud as a great bell.

A perfectly lovely beauty had been saddled with the nickname "Iron Fist Sis" throughout all three years of high school.

It was not until she entered National Martial University and reached the graded ranks that, under the dual nourishment of true qi and rare treasures, she regained her former appearance.

After witnessing the change in her friend, Gu Yuyue decided to abandon body-tempering cultivation and devote her efforts to qi cultivation instead.

If it were not for protecting Chen Wu and quickly increasing her strength this time, she would never have considered cultivating the body-tempering path she hated.

Gu Yuyue remembered something else and asked worriedly, "You only reached the seventh turn of Essence Tempering not long ago. Will helping me temper my body affect your own cultivation progress?"

"Sis, you don't need to worry about that. Did you forget my physique? I only need to convert the qi of heaven and earth into Golden Bell Force. Besides, the process of tempering your body can also help me improve my control over true qi and strengthen my spiritual sense."

Chen Wu had not told her the truth. If not for the existence of his three souls, which allowed him to manipulate Golden Bell Force with exquisite precision, he would not have been confident in helping his sister speed through the first two stages of the Golden Bell Shield.

"Then let's begin."

Hearing Chen Wu's assured reply, Gu Yuyue finally cast aside all her concerns.

After breakfast, the two took out a wool blanket and spread it over the living room floor. They sat cross-legged upon it and began training in external martial arts.

Gu Yuyue sat with her back to Chen Wu, while Chen Wu pressed his palm against the center of her back.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Dao-Demon Battle Diagram radiated crimson-gold light, helping its master draw in the essence of mountain and abyss, convert it into Golden Bell Force, and send it into Gu Yuyue's body.

Under the meticulous control of his three souls, the Golden Bell Force flowed through his sister's meridians, following acupoints and positions as it stimulated her body through resonance, creating inertia.

Gu Yuyue only felt as though every acupoint in her body was being massaged, while Golden Bell Force seeped into her limbs and bones.

It took an entire morning just to complete the first phase.

At noon, because they needed to maintain the Golden Bell Force and had no time to cook, the two ordered takeout.

While waiting for the delivery, Gu Yuyue flexed her arm, feeling the force within her muscles, and asked, "Xiao Wu, does this mean I've gotten started?"

Chen Wu smiled and reminded her, "It's still far too early. Under the guidance and stimulation of Golden Bell Force, the true qi in the meridians throughout your body has only just begun circulating; it has not yet formed inertia. You must wait until true qi can flow through all your meridians on its own, automatically offsetting damage whenever you come under attack."

Gu Yuyue displayed absolute trust in her younger brother. "Mm. Xiao Wu, I'll listen to you in everything."

Over the following days, Chen Wu continuously used Golden Bell Force to stimulate the vital acupoints and meridians throughout his sister's body, tempering her flesh.

Finally, on the evening of the third day, Gu Yuyue completed the first stage of Golden Bell Shield cultivation.

"Whew... I've finally completed the first stage."

Gu Yuyue felt the flow of true qi within her body. Beneath her fair, tender skin, a faint golden gleam shimmered as she spoke happily.

Unlike those body-tempering arts that used qi to forge the body, Golden Bell Shield was a martial art that solidified one's foundation, cultivated primordial essence, and used qi cultivation to support the spirit.

Every breakthrough in its stages not only made the practitioner's physique stronger, but also nourished their true essence in return, allowing progress along the path of qi cultivation.

Its only drawback was that not only were the first two stages exceedingly difficult, but every realm afterward was also the work of grinding water through stone; each stage was harder to cultivate than the last.

Even the path of spirit cultivation, whose threshold she had never been able to touch before, now faintly showed signs of opening.

Chen Wu reminded her, "Sis, this is only the first stage. When you reach the second stage and generate Golden Bell Force, merging it with your original internal energy, only then will the great work be complete."

The second stage merely involved initially generating Golden Bell Force, but Gu Yuyue had sixth-rank true qi as her foundation. Once the two merged, she would be able to break through on their own.

As for how far she could break through, that would depend on fate.

Gu Yuyue knew that now was not the time to relax. She nodded. "Mm."

Over the next ten days, Chen Wu used Golden Bell Force day and night to temper Gu Yuyue's body.

Finally, on the eleventh day, she completed her breakthrough into the second stage.

At the second stage of Golden Bell Shield, internal force and protective qi arts gradually took shape, while the true qi within the body became increasingly abundant, able to protect the internal organs from injury.

The moment Golden Bell Force was generated, it nourished Gu Yuyue's qi and spirit paths in return.

Immediately afterward, her internal breath and Golden Bell Force rapidly fused. Her true qi circulated on its own, rising continuously without the slightest hindrance, as an awe-inspiring current of qi filled the entire bedroom.

Because the two forces had merged, Gu Yuyue passively entered the state of Turtle Breath, and her body-tempering realm rose at a rapid pace.

Having anticipated this long ago, Chen Wu said, "Once Golden Bell Shield reaches the second stage, body-tempering has entered the ninth-rank realm. The newly generated Golden Bell Force merges with the true qi already within Sis's body, circulating on its own, cleansing her sinews and marrow, breaking through her former shackles, and leaping toward a deeper body-tempering realm. Sis's luck is truly good to encounter such an opportunity. Mm, she must not be disturbed now. Heaven-Subduing King · Heaven-Settling One · Mysterious Heaven Stillness Barrier."

After confirming that his sister was safe, Chen Wu laid down a spell that isolated her from outside disturbances.

He had obtained this spell as feedback while nourishing the Dao-Demon Battle Diagram over this period of time.

After acquiring it, Chen Wu could not help but marvel at the mysteries of the path of spirit cultivation.

He closed the bedroom door and came to the living room.

Because he had maintained high-precision work for so long, Chen Wu's spiritual sense had been tempered. Even the Dao-Demon Battle Diagram within his sea of consciousness had benefited considerably.

The figures of both Daoists and demons in the diagram had become more solid. Among them, the crimson-robed Daoist leader and the white-robed demon general had progressed the most.

The figures of that Daoist and demon were no longer as illusory as the others; the outlines of their forms had already appeared within the diagram.

Moreover, their movements had become much faster than before, though they were still slower than a video played at 0.1 speed.

After more than ten days of spiritual qi nourishment and Golden Bell Force tempering, his body had already reached the peak of the third stage.

"What a pity. I can't go to the underground boxing arena anymore."

Chen Wu muttered to himself.