True Fire Tempered the Organs

At the thought, the corners of Zhang Dacheng's mouth curved upward. Perhaps the General's Temple's powerful return would benefit Dacheng Industries too!

Having someone above him calling the shots was hardly pleasant... But looked at another way, didn't it mean they once again had someone backing them?

Tang Changsheng did not sleep that night. He spent it preparing for the next day.

He did not know whether Zhang Dacheng was testing him, but he could not let the General's Temple lose face, could he?

Whatever Zhang Dacheng had in mind when he sent the person over, Tang Changsheng would save them!

He did not know what troublesome challenge Zhang Dacheng might bring him, but treating a sick person was probably a safe bet.

The General's Temple was not a hospital, after all. No one would come to it for treatment of an ordinary illness.

That made possession or something similar the likeliest possibility.

With that in mind, Tang Changsheng began preparing Talismans in advance.

Truth be told, Tang Changsheng had prepared quite a few Talismans over the past few days.

Most, however, were Yin Soldier talismans for consecrating Yin Soldiers. He had nothing suitable on hand.

That night, Tang Changsheng drew three Spirit Talismans in succession. As his skill deepened and his hand grew steadier, he no longer needed an entire night to draw a single Spirit Talisman, as he had the first time, nearly draining his mind and spirit dry in the process.

Early the next morning, before sunrise, Tang Changsheng was already standing on the highest ridge of Yin-Yang Mountain, waiting for the first light of dawn so he could gather its rays.

The sun's essence was the sun's qi, and the moon's radiance was the moon's qi. Where the two met, all things were born. Thus, snails and clams took them in and formed pearls, while stubborn stones stored them and produced jade.

For cultivators, gathering the qi of sun and moon was enough to refine and form an elixir!

That was the secret behind the Sun Body-Washing Method and Lunar Form-Refining Method passed down by the General's Temple.

Add the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Heart Method, which only the sect leader's lineage could practice, to gather the light of the Northern Dipper, and the three became the lights of sun, moon, and stars: the so-called Three Lights True Qi, possessed of inconceivable power.

Tang Changsheng had practiced these arts for more than ten years without achieving much to speak of. Yet his ability to kindle his Heavenly Heart and keep it shining came from those ten years of gathering light!

Now that Tang Changsheng had kindled his Heavenly Heart, though, practicing the art felt different at once.

As he circulated the method, he immediately sensed a sun burning red as fire, hanging within his Heavenly Heart.

Following the cultivation method almost instinctively, Tang Changsheng inhaled and swallowed. A thread of fire came away from that great sun and fell straight down.

Rumble...

A tremendous surge of heat descended. He swallowed by reflex, and the thread of fire passed down his throat into the center of his chest, filling it with a warmth that was hot yet comforting.

An ordinary disciple of the General's Temple, practicing the Sun Body-Washing Method, would now circulate this Solar Light Qi through every meridian, driving out the layers of sickly qi, yin qi, and other harmful energies within the body...

That was why the method was called the Sun Body-Washing Method!

But as sect leader, Tang Changsheng had another, more advanced secret method.

Instead of letting that current of warmth sink toward his dantian, he guided it into his stomach...

Ordinary disciples knew only to wash their bodies with Solar Light Qi. Only the sect leader's lineage knew to temper the internal organs with Solar True Fire.

That was also why Tang Changsheng's Inner Qi was far from weak after more than ten years of cultivation, even though his Heavenly Heart had not yet lit up!

That unlucky black-robed Daoist had never expected it. Though he had Yin Soldiers powerful enough to kill Tang Changsheng ten times over, Tang Changsheng had caught him off guard and finished him off instead...

The stomach belonged to earth, and fire gave birth to earth. As the Solar True Fire descended, the stomach's qi surged. Its strength rose sharply, and its digestive juices flowed in abundance.

To exaggerate a little, Tang Changsheng felt he could swallow a whole ox and digest it completely!

But letting the stomach's qi grow strong on its own was no good either. The next step was to turn that power toward the lungs, for earth gave birth to metal!

It circulated through the five organs, replenishing and strengthening each in turn. By then, that breath of Solar Light Qi had been used up.

Tang Changsheng drew in another breath of Solar Light Qi, let it settle in the center of his chest, and began the cycle again.

After drawing in seven times seven, forty-nine breaths of Solar Light Qi, everything from his mouth and nose down through his throat had grown dry and rough.

He had reached his limit and could gather no more... If he pushed further, he might well hurt himself.

He stored the final breath of Solar True Fire in his heart, and its qi surged.

By then, the sun had climbed steadily higher. Its light was beginning to turn fierce...

The Solar Light Qi in this world is over a hundred times weaker than in the Immortal Realm...

Tang Changsheng sighed inwardly as he continued his practice. In the Immortal Realm, whether he gathered Solar Light Qi or Lunar Light Qi, one breath was all his cultivation could bear. It felt as though he might burst, and he had to temper and absorb it over and over.

Yet in this world, he could gather forty-nine breaths at once... Even then, the amount of solar energy or Solar Light Qi he obtained was pitifully small!

Tang Changsheng began to practice his boxing forms. This was an external exercise, meant to further refine the solar qi he had just gathered.

He moved extremely slowly, as though the air around him had turned into thick paste, making it difficult even to lift a hand or take a step.

He had practiced for only a short while. Though the mountain morning was bitterly cold, sweat covered his body, only to evaporate in the heat from his skin and rise in billowing white vapor.

The General's Temple was not known for its Internal Martial Arts, but if this boxing form spread to the wider world, it would be counted among the most profound of them!

Just then, a horn sounded. A latest-model electric helicopter flew straight to the General's Temple, making surprisingly little noise.

One glance at the aircraft brought a flash of admiration to Tang Changsheng's eyes.

In fact, with advances in technology and the push for energy conservation and environmental protection, electricity had begun replacing conventional fuel more than a decade ago, becoming the main power source for transportation.

Electric helicopters were not rare, either...

In fact, the aircraft that regularly brought supplies to the General's Temple was an electric helicopter.

But the sleek, beautifully streamlined helicopter before him, graceful as a flying shuttle, still dazzled Tang Changsheng.