Vital Energy Secret Method

Greedy for more, Su Yu spent the entire night experimenting in the Inner Landscape, but ultimately failed to find a more efficient method.

He could only find another clump of red substance before leaving the Inner Landscape.

The scorching heat of his flesh made everything feel so real to Su Yu.

He was not dreaming.

The increase in his cultivation and the improvement in his physique were both genuine.

Instead of getting out of bed, he entered a meditative state again.

Yet as his soul power circulated, his meridians felt faintly swollen.

This left Su Yu unable to concentrate, fuse his essence, energy, and spirit, and enter the Inner Landscape again.

He sighed.

Glancing at the sky outside, he discovered that it was already evening.

He got out of bed to eat.

During the meal, the burly, one-armed man who had brought Su Yu to the manor came to find him.

"The sect master will be back tomorrow. According to him, since you returned to the sect right after awakening your martial soul, you must not waste this opportunity. He'll personally teach you some of the Body Sect's secret methods for tempering the body, so that your first soul ring can be two or three hundred years older, if possible."

Two or three hundred years older?

Su Yu did not refuse outright.

Now that he had awakened his Inner Landscape, he could dig up red substance within it to improve his physique.

But this was only the most primitive way of using the red substance.

The Body Sect had secret methods for this purpose. Perhaps they could help him use the substance more effectively.

That night, his meridians were so swollen and painful that he could not continue cultivating at all, so Su Yu enjoyed a good night's sleep.

This served as a warning to him.

A soul master's cultivation was best kept to a regular schedule, rather than spilling into hours meant for other things.

There were plenty of things he could do during the day. If he cultivated in the daytime, he would end up wasting the night instead.

It was his third day at the Body Sect.

Su Yu met Du Busi while eating breakfast.

"Not many of the secret methods passed down in the sect suit you. After all, we've never had anyone with a dantian martial soul before."

"I went through all our secret methods and finally found three suitable for you. All three use special means to refine soul power, then use that refined soul power to temper the body."

According to Du Busi, someone with a right-arm martial soul would have a corresponding secret method specifically for tempering the right arm.

General methods like these, which used soul power as an intermediary to temper the body, were more broadly applicable, but less efficient.

"The Poison Method I cultivate myself is one of them."

"Besides that, there's an Elemental Secret Method. It uses elemental power to temper soul power, then uses that soul power, imbued with elemental properties, to temper the body. There's also a Vital Energy Secret Method, which involves enveloping a large amount of the surrounding Heaven and Earth Essence with soul power in a short time and forcibly using it for tempering."

"The Poison Method produces the best tempering results, but it's also the most dangerous."

"The Elemental Secret Method is the least efficient, but it can effectively improve your resistance and affinity to various elements. That will be useful in future battles."

"As for the Vital Energy Secret Method, it's the hardest to master. But if you succeed, although it won't temper your physique as efficiently as the Poison Method, it will also increase the speed of your soul power cultivation while tempering your body."

Su Yu listened to Du Busi's explanation of the three secret methods and nodded slowly.

Du Busi explained the profound principles in simple terms, getting straight to their essence. By the time he finished, Su Yu already had a preference.

"Sect Master, I'd like to try the Vital Energy Secret Method."

Du Busi smiled when he heard Su Yu's choice.

"I also think the Vital Energy Secret Method suits you best."

After breakfast, Du Busi took Su Yu to the Cultivation Room.

The so-called Cultivation Room was a room inscribed with various arrays.

It contained a Spirit-Gathering Array that could increase the concentration of vital energy inside, as well as a full range of arrays for calming the mind, focusing the spirit, suppressing mental activity, and more.

Of course, the Spirit-Gathering Array was extremely inefficient. The resources it consumed were disproportionate to its benefits, so disciples normally did not cultivate here. Only those practicing the Vital Energy Secret Method, like Su Yu, would come.

A higher concentration of Heaven and Earth Essence would make it easier to get started with this secret method.

Su Yu sat cross-legged, and Du Busi stepped behind him and pressed a palm against his back.

"My soul power contains quite a lot of poison, so it isn't suitable for entering your body. I'll do my best to guide you with Spiritual Power instead. But I'm not a soul master with a mental attribute, so my control over Spiritual Power isn't particularly precise. Don't resist, or my guidance could easily go astray."

Su Yu nodded.

The first step was to use his Meditation Method.

As his soul power circulated, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Essence slowly seeped into his body.

This was the normal cultivation process.

Enveloped in soul power, this portion of Heaven and Earth Essence would travel through the meridians throughout his body, gradually being refined by the soul master's body and soul power.

The Vital Energy Secret Method, however, required him to forcibly draw in more vital energy at specific meridian nodes as he circulated his soul power.

He drew in a little more vital energy with each full circulation. After persevering through three cycles, Su Yu felt his meridians swelling throughout his body.

This swelling was different from what he had experienced after cultivating too much yesterday.

He had simply stuffed himself too full.

"Keep drawing it in," Du Busi said.

Su Yu gritted his teeth and continued drawing in Heaven and Earth Essence.

Only when the amount of Heaven and Earth Essence inside him reached half the volume of his soul power did Du Busi call a halt.

"Stop!"

Du Busi abruptly opened his eyes, a flicker of shock passing through them.

"He can actually absorb such a high proportion of Heaven and Earth Essence."

After murmuring this, he signaled for Su Yu to proceed to the next step of the secret method.

"Now change from enveloping Heaven and Earth Essence with soul power to releasing it outward."

He had to form tiny holes in the membrane created by his soul power, allowing the Heaven and Earth Essence inside to escape and come into direct contact with his meridians, flesh, and blood.

Su Yu tried cautiously.

Du Busi, meanwhile, focused all his attention.

Practicing this secret method still carried risks. If the openings were too large and the Heaven and Earth Essence directly eroded his meridians, it could delay his cultivation for several days.

Du Busi's role was to stop that from happening immediately.

Fortunately, Su Yu had extremely precise control over his own soul power.

Even so, the Heaven and Earth Essence he released on his first attempt exceeded the upper limit specified by the secret method.

Yet his body showed no abnormalities.

It seemed he had simply endured it through sheer resilience.

A trace of puzzlement flashed through Du Busi's eyes.

His mental cultivation was not high, and his perception of what was happening inside Su Yu's body was indistinct. He could only vaguely sense that something was off, but judging by Su Yu's reactions, there did not seem to be any problem.

He could only heighten his vigilance, ready to help suppress the Heaven and Earth Essence inside Su Yu the instant a pained expression appeared on his face.

But nothing went wrong for Su Yu afterward.

His first attempt at practicing the secret method ended in success.

Su Yu opened his eyes, a hint of exhaustion flickering in their depths.

Controlling his soul power with such precision throughout the process had been extremely taxing.

Although this cultivation session had produced remarkable results, it had also left Su Yu utterly exhausted.

"Little Su, your compatibility with the Vital Energy Secret Method really is exceptional. You succeeded on your very first try!"

Du Busi wore a smile.

"Mastering it early gives you more time to improve your physique."

"Moreover, your efficiency in practicing the Vital Energy Secret Method should exceed that of ordinary disciples. I'll observe you over the next two days. If your efficiency is high, I'll have someone add a little whale rubber to your meals to speed up your body tempering. Perhaps you can even aim for a thousand-year first ring!"