Ox Demon Breathing Technique

"What?"

Ding Chen was stunned when he heard that. "A Surging Origin Realm technique? You want me to steal it for you!?"

Chen Xian frowned. "Is it that hard to get?"

He had been thinking that if Ding Chen could help him obtain the subsequent parts of the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique, he would not need to spend Experience Points to deduce them.

He only needed to take a look at them, and the panel could record them.

After that, he would only need to use Experience Points to raise his realm.

Ding Chen said, "It really is difficult, unless I reach the Blood Moving Realm! Actually, you...!"

He turned to look at Chen Xian. Chen Xian could actually apply for it himself, but if he did, Zhao Tong would send him to the front army to fight demons.

Once he reached the front army, as long as he performed outstandingly and earned military merit, applying for a technique would be a trivial matter.

But on the battlefield, fighting demons, no one could guarantee they would live to see tomorrow.

Every battle could be called a transformation of one's life.

Ding Chen also knew that, sooner or later, they would all have to take the battlefield and fight demons.

But if they could delay it by one more day, they could temper themselves one more day in the rear. Once they reached the battlefield, they would have one more thread of strength to preserve their lives.

"Have you heard of the Head Chef Army?"

Chen Xian searched his memories and nodded. "I have."

Among the million-strong Demon Suppression Army at Demon-Slaying Pass, every military camp had three thousand Head Chef Army soldiers.

They were actually one of the reserve forces.

When a camp suffered grievous casualties, the Head Chef Army would have to go to the battlefield and fight demons, buying the camp time to catch its breath.

But ordinarily, the Head Chef Army did not go to the battlefield. They did not even go to clear the battlefield.

It was the most comfortable camp in front of Demon-Slaying Pass.

Many sons of nobles and powerful officials came to Demon-Slaying Pass to temper themselves, but most were sent to the Head Chef Army camp to enjoy themselves.

Who would truly run to the battlefield and risk their life against demons?

If the Demon Army ever advanced far enough that the Head Chef Army had to take the field, Demon-Slaying Pass would surely no longer exist.

The court would also be hanging by a thread.

Thus, the Head Chef Army was almost never needed in battles against demons.

After waiting a year or half a year, once those sons of nobles had enjoyed themselves enough,

they could casually find someone with decent merits, replace that person's merits, then return to Capital City to receive rewards from the old emperor.

The person whose merits were replaced either joined them in their foul dealings or swallowed their anger in silence.

"Brother Ding, why bring up the Head Chef Army?" Chen Xian frowned.

"If you truly do not want to go to the front army, you can join the Head Chef Army. It's just that...!" Ding Chen trailed off.

Chen Xian took over, "It just takes silver to grease the way, right?"

Ding Chen nodded awkwardly.

If one wanted to enter the Head Chef Army, it was difficult without pulling strings and offering gifts.

Chen Xian shook his head. Never mind that he had no money—even if he did, he would not join the Head Chef Army.

Although not everyone in the Head Chef Army was the child of nobility, if one wanted to rise above the rest there, then unless the million Demon Suppression Army could not hold back the Demon Army and Demon-Slaying Pass fell,

the Head Chef Army would have no chance to take the field.

If such a chance truly came, taking the field against demons would undoubtedly be courting death.

Ding Chen seemed to see through Chen Xian's thoughts and said, "Although the Head Chef Army is useless, once you enter it, you can obtain cultivation techniques. After you achieve success in cultivation, you can apply to go to the battlefield and build merit."

Chen Xian's eyes flickered. What Ding Chen said was indeed one possible way.

But he had no money to grease the way.

"Brother Ding, do you have money?" he asked.

Ding Chen froze for a moment. "Not much."

Chen Xian said, "There you have it. I don't have any either."

Ding Chen hesitated briefly before saying, "I'll see what I can do. I'll think of a way for you!"

Chen Xian naturally thanked Ding Chen, but he did not take the matter to heart.

If Ding Chen had a way, he would not have come to suffer in the Cooks' Camp.

After returning to the tent,

the two rested separately.

Chen Xian closed his eyes and summoned the panel, intending to deduce the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique.

Although deduction consumed Experience Points at an alarming rate, he had no better option at present.

Once he deduced the subsequent portions of the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique, he could continue raising his strength and realm. He might even restore his lifespan to youth.

At a dangerous moment, it would mean one more means of preserving his life.

After twelve months of day-and-night deduction, you had no clue about the subsequent techniques of the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique.

After eighteen months of tireless study, you finally learned the locations of the three hundred and sixty acupoints of the Surging Origin Realm, but remained completely ignorant of the circulation route.

"...!!"

Chen Xian could not help feeling speechless. After spending two and a half years, he had merely figured out the locations of the three hundred and sixty acupoints of the Surging Origin Realm. As for the technique itself, he had made no progress whatsoever.

As frustration rose in him, light flickered in his mind. A transparent three-dimensional human body rotated there, displaying the locations of all three hundred and sixty acupoints.

Chen Xian sighed inwardly. His progress was not great, but at least he had figured out that the Surging Origin Realm required one to open meridians and condense acupoints.

That was why this realm was called Surging Origin.

It should mean opening the acupoints and condensing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

But without a cultivation method for circulating energy, reckless cultivation would not only fail to open the acupoints—it could even injure one's internal organs.

After twenty-four months of painstaking deduction, you developed thirty-seven methods for circulating energy, yet dared not make a decision for a long time.

Experience: 167 points

Watching his Experience Points rapidly decrease, Chen Xian felt bitterness well up in his heart.

Then fleeting images flashed through his mind—the thirty-seven methods for circulating energy he had deduced.

They were merely armchair theories. He had taken no actual action; in other words, he had not tried cultivating any of them.

Wishful thinking?

Those two words surfaced in Chen Xian's mind, leaving him speechless to the extreme.

After spending four and a half years, the final result was four and a half years of wishful thinking.

After twenty-four months of constant attempts, you meditated for half a year, sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for half a year, and practiced breathing and exhalation for a year. In the end, you discovered that your understanding of Surging Origin was wrong, and began studying from scratch once more.

Experience: 143 points

...Pfft!

After seeing the panel's notification clearly, Chen Xian nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

After using up six and a half years, it was back to square one?

This damned talent...!

Six and a half years! That meant I had been marking time on the spot.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. The last time he had deduced the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique, it had also consumed more than four years.

The further he went, the greater the difficulty of deduction and the more Experience Points it required.

Chen Xian gritted his teeth and directly added 36 Experience Points.

After thirty-six months of day-and-night deduction, you understood that Surging Origin also required combining your own vital blood with breathing and exhalation to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, condense it into your own Origin Qi, and only then open fifteen meridians. You comprehended a breathing technique, named it the Ox Demon Breathing Technique, and condensed one acupoint.

Martial Art: Ox Demon Breathing Technique (Beginner)

Experience: 107 points

Buzz!

Before Chen Xian had even finished reading the panel's notification, his body suddenly shuddered. A spot in his chest turned scorching hot, as if someone had branded him with a red-hot iron.

He was slightly stunned and discovered that the three-dimensional human body had appeared in his mind again. One spot on its body emitted flickering light.

Comparing it to himself, Chen Xian found it was precisely where he had felt burned.

"That is... the Danzhong Acupoint!"

Matching it against the three-dimensional image in his mind, Chen Xian touched his chest and felt a powerful current of air trying to burst outward.

"So that was it!"

Chen Xian finally understood. He had kept thinking about the circulation route before, never realizing that before Surging Origin came another step: the breathing technique.

Only after using the breathing technique to condense all three hundred and sixty acupoints could one continue onward to Surging Origin.