Hidden Dragon Formula

After turning off the special effects, Jin Qiu snapped his fingers, and the blinding golden light around him instantly vanished without a trace.

He turned back into that frivolous blond youth, hands tucked into his hood pockets, swinging his dangling legs. He even patted off nonexistent dust, as if that glowing figure who had nearly blinded everyone had never been him.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Let's talk business."

He floated over to Tang Wulin, finally looking a little serious, though the corners of his mouth still curled in their habitual grin.

"Wulin, sit cross-legged first. Keep your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. Next, I'll teach you the Hidden Dragon Formula, which I've exclusively improved. There are other, more tyrannical body-tempering methods, but with your tiny body right now, practicing those would make you explode and die on the spot. This one is gentler."

As he spoke, Jin Qiu secretly rolled his eyes.

To modify this ancient cultivation method, originally suited only for dragons with high-purity bloodlines, so that six-year-old Tang Wulin could begin practicing it, he had stayed up for three days and three nights straight and used up quite a bit of his origin power.

The original Hidden Dragon Formula required at least the physical constitution of a Soul King, along with spiritual power at the Spirit Abyss Realm or higher, just to cultivate its first level.

He had forcibly divided the first level into seven smaller stages, removed every overly fierce circulation route, and added dozens of buffering restrictions, afraid that the Golden Dragon King's power would lose control and rupture Tang Wulin's meridians.

Even so, it had still been much easier than modifying the Golden Sacred Dragon Spear back then.

Last time, he had fused the portion of origin power he could currently draw upon with the destruction laws of the Destruction Seed and some of Tang Wulin's blood.

In order to forge the Golden Dragon Spear into a second martial soul that Tang Wulin could use, he had nearly burned through his own spiritual core.

Naturally, he would not tell Tang Wulin any of this.

"Okay!"

Tang Wulin nodded vigorously, his eyes shining like two little stars.

He immediately followed Jin Qiu's instructions and sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, his small waist straight, his little hands properly resting on his knees, and his face taut with concentration like a model student listening carefully.

Even his feet, which usually swung about nonstop, were quietly folded beneath him without moving.

Seeing him like this, Jin Qiu could not help saying—

"Good! Very spirited!"

After saying that, he raised a finger and lightly tapped the air.

A gentle golden light projected onto the opposite wall, forming a clear holographic image.

The projection was not some complicated meridian chart, but a chibi golden figure that looked exactly like Tang Wulin, sitting in the same cross-legged position.

"First, draw in the world's vital energy through the Lü acupoint, which is here."

As Jin Qiu spoke, he pointed to the base of his own spine.

The corresponding spot on the little golden figure immediately lit up as a conspicuous red dot, flashing continuously.

"Then travel upward along the Governing Vessel, passing through Mingmen and Dazhui before finally reaching the Baihui acupoint at the top of your head."

As he spoke, a pale blue line lit up on the little golden figure, stretching from its tailbone to the top of its head and clearly marking the route of the vital energy.

The little golden figure even began moving, demonstrating the vital energy slowly traveling upward along the route, slowly enough for Tang Wulin to see every detail clearly.

"Now comes the most crucial step."

Jin Qiu's tone grew slightly more serious.

"Once the vital energy reaches the Baihui acupoint, don't guide it downward. Use your will to gently vibrate your spinal marrow, as if you were beating a drum.

Remember, vibrate it, don't ram into it. Make the marrow sway along with your will and create a wave of blood."

"Finally, use that blood wave carrying the Golden Dragon King's origin power to slowly wash through your bone marrow and expel all the impurities that have settled inside."

He paused, looked at Tang Wulin, and added casually.

"Of course, I should make this clear in advance. Even after my 114514 layers of improvements, this step will still hurt a lot.

It'll be the kind of pain that crawls out from the cracks in your bones, ten times worse than when you fainted during your martial soul awakening.

If you can't handle it, yelling for me to stop now might perhaps possibly still be in time."

"Even if it hurts more, I won't be afraid!"

Tang Wulin shouted without a second thought, his little face full of determination.

He clenched his small fists, his eyes showing not the slightest hint of retreat.

He knew that only by becoming stronger could he protect his father and mother, protect Na'er, and avoid being bullied by others. What was a little pain compared to that?

Hearing Tang Wulin's words, Jin Qiu merely nodded, unsurprised.

He had long known that the boy possessed an unyielding toughness deep in his bones.

"Alright, you've got guts. Then let's begin. First, draw the energy into your body. Focus on the Lü acupoint and sense the world's vital energy around you."

Tang Wulin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and followed Jin Qiu's instructions, focusing all his attention on the base of his spine.

At first, he felt nothing at all.

The surroundings were quiet. He could only hear the occasional chirping of birds outside the window and the faint honking of cars from the distant street.

He did not rush and patiently continued to sense his surroundings.

After about a minute, he finally felt an extremely faint, incredibly cool current of air, like a mischievous little ant, gently burrowing into his Lü acupoint.

It's here!

Tang Wulin cried out excitedly in his heart.

"Don't get distracted. Steady yourself. Guide that current upward along the Governing Vessel. Slowly, don't rush."

Jin Qiu's voice sounded at just the right moment, still relaxed and carrying a hint of carelessness.

Tang Wulin hurriedly calmed his mind and carefully guided the cool current upward along the route he had just seen.

The current was thin and moved slowly.

Each time it passed an acupoint, it brought a faint tingling itch.

When it reached the Mingmen acupoint, the current grew slightly stronger, becoming a thin strand as a trace of warmth spread through his back.

When it reached the Dazhui acupoint, his neck felt a little sore, and he could not help shaking his head.

"Don't move. Keep going up," Jin Qiu reminded him.

Tang Wulin immediately steadied his body and continued guiding the current upward.

At last, the current reached the Baihui acupoint at the top of his head.

In an instant, a numb, prickling sensation spread from the top of his head throughout his entire body, making him shudder.

"Very good. The first step is complete."

Jin Qiu nodded.

"Now use your will to vibrate your spinal marrow. Imagine that your spinal marrow is a string and your will is a finger gently plucking it. Once, then again. Keep a rhythm."

Following Jin Qiu's instructions, Tang Wulin focused all his will and gently "plucked" his spinal marrow.

The first time, there was no reaction.

The second time, he still felt nothing.

The third time, the instant his will descended—

"Ah!"

A suppressed cry of pain squeezed from Tang Wulin's throat.

An indescribable agony suddenly exploded from his back.

This was neither the pain of flesh nor the pain of stretched meridians. It came directly from the depths of his bone marrow, a piercing, bone-scraping agony.

It was as if countless red-hot steel needles had been driven into every bone in his body at once, endlessly twisting and grinding.

Tang Wulin's body instantly tensed like a fully drawn bow.

A layer of cold sweat abruptly appeared on his forehead. Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his cheeks and soaked his collar.

The blood drained from his lips at once. He bit down on them so hard that they quickly split open, and a thread of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and even his folded legs nearly came apart.

"Steady yourself! Don't break your seated position!"

Jin Qiu's voice remained calm, without the slightest ripple.

"Pain is normal. If it didn't hurt, how could it be called body tempering? Take deep breaths, suppress the pain with your will, and keep vibrating. Don't stop."

Floating beside him, Jin Qiu somehow produced a handful of sunflower seeds and leisurely offered guidance while cracking them open.

Whenever he casually tossed away a seed shell, it turned into a wisp of golden light and vanished.

"Make the frequency a little faster. Yes, that rhythm. The blood wave has already formed. Now guide it to strike your bone marrow. Do it bit by bit, don't be greedy."

Tang Wulin gritted his teeth and forced himself to breathe deeply.

He clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms and leaving several deep crescent-shaped marks.

He neither called for Jin Qiu to stop nor gave up. Relying entirely on his stubborn perseverance, he continued vibrating his spinal marrow according to Jin Qiu's instructions.

Soon, a scorching current surged from the depths of his spinal marrow, forming a small wave of blood.

Carrying the Golden Dragon King's distinctive tyrannical power, the blood wave began washing through his bone marrow little by little.

Every wash brought a new wave of even more intense pain.

Tang Wulin felt as though his bones were about to melt, as if every cell in his body were screaming.

Just then, something strange happened.

Two faint patterns began emerging beneath his skin.

One was a deep purple, carrying a cold aura of destruction. The other was a gentle green, carrying vigorous healing power filled with life.

The two patterns moved beneath his skin like two little dragons, and wherever they passed, his skin glowed faintly.

The purple energy of destruction precisely found the black impurities settled within his bone marrow, gradually breaking them down and crushing them before expelling them from his body through his pores.

Soon, a layer of fine black sweat seeped from Tang Wulin's skin, carrying a faint fishy stench.

The green energy of life followed close behind, gently repairing the bone marrow and meridians damaged by the destructive energy and easing the pain.

Every repaired area became tougher and more full of vitality than before.

The purple and green energies worked together flawlessly.

Destruction was responsible for breaking down and cleansing, while life was responsible for rebuilding and repairing.

Under their combined effects, Tang Wulin's body was undergoing a startling transformation at an astonishing speed.

"Not bad, not bad. The energy is circulating smoothly."

Jin Qiu nodded in satisfaction as he cracked virtual sunflower seeds.

"Looks like my improvements were quite successful.

See? The destructive and life energies are automatically working together. I don't need to worry about them at all."

He paused, then teased him again.

"It's just that you're expelling quite a lot of impurities. All black and stinky. Looks like you've been eating plenty of braised pork and fried snacks, huh? Eat less junk food from now on. It's bad for your body."

Tang Wulin was in so much pain that he could not even speak. He could only glare fiercely at Jin Qiu.

But through the blur of sweat and tears, his glare had no intimidation at all. Instead, it made him look rather pitiful.

Jin Qiu laughed heartily and did not mind in the least.

He continued swinging his legs and cracking sunflower seeds, offering occasional pointers.

The room was so quiet that only Tang Wulin's suppressed breathing and Jin Qiu's crisp cracking of sunflower seeds could be heard.

The setting sun's lingering glow streamed quietly through the window and fell upon that small figure, while a faint golden radiance filled the air.