Subduing the Tiger

Three days later, on the fifth day in Liang Household Garden Hu Mang...

"The azure dragon soars into the distant sky, gazing far into the dusty horizon. Fish and shrimp vie in the shallow streams, crabs and clams crawl on the desolate beaches. Life is driven by petty gains, worldly worries waste away the years. Riding the wind, soaring above the vast universe, I care not for the murmurs in the marsh."

On the training ground, Hu Mang was dressed in a neat white short-sleeved outfit, while the surrounding area was filled with iron wire sand powder. Originally, it was iron wire sand, but after Hu Mang stayed there for a long time, the iron wire sand turned into iron wire sand powder.

"Mr. Mang, what are you saying?" Liang Xiaoqiu asked respectfully as Hu Mang finished practicing his boxing.

"It's nothing, just talking nonsense."

"Mr. Mang, you seem very happy," Liang Xiaoqiu couldn't help but say.

"Really? You noticed?"

The girl with the braided hair nodded seriously.

"Hmm, my cultivation has improved," Hu Mang said, plopping down in the armchair with a relaxed expression.

After three days of contemplation, he combined the principles of Golden Nature Perfection, Inner Alchemy, and the True Meaning of Subduing Demons, and finally figured out the True Intention of Subduing the White Tiger.

Now it's just one step away from success.

Once you take that first step, many things will become much easier.

Hu Mang glanced at the girl with braided hair opposite him and suddenly laughed:

"You've been serving me tea for three days straight and even found me a master spear forger. Are you trying to become my apprentice?"

Liang Xiaoqiu was overjoyed and immediately tried to kneel down, but it felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on her knees, and she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Mr. Mang."

"I don't like owing people favors. Guidance is fine, but forget about becoming their disciple. Show me the cultivation Cultivation Method you're practicing."

Without the slightest hesitation, Liang Xiaoqiu immediately recited the Liang Household's ancestral Qi Refining method.

Overseas, the traditional Chinese style is still quite strong, and this behavior is quite audacious. Hu Mang never expected the girl to be so agreeable.

"Okay, I'll look into it and give you an answer later."

Liang Xiaoqiu was overjoyed and was about to say something when Liang Shuyao rushed over. Soon, Hu Mang knew what had happened.

Liang Jinchuan, a relatively outstanding descendant of the Liang Household who is now in the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, had his hands and feet crippled and was thrown directly in front of the Liang Household Garden. He was only discovered by a servant who went out to buy groceries early in the morning, and the servant specifically asked for him by name.

Hu Mang followed the two women through the corridor of the Liang residence and arrived at Liang Jinchuan's room. As soon as the door was opened, a smell mixed with ointment, blood, and disinfectant hit them.

The room was small and simply furnished. A wooden bed was placed against the wall, and Liang Jinchuan lay on it, his hands and feet in heavy plaster casts, hanging in mid-air. His face was ashen, his lips were cracked, but his eyes were still clear, and he showed no signs of unconsciousness. There were not many people in the room, only Liang Yanqiu and a foreign doctor.

Soon, the foreign doctor shook his head and sighed, "His meridians are completely destroyed, and bone fragments have severed several major tendons. Unless he gets a replacement for his limbs, he'll have great difficulty even moving around, let alone cultivating."

"Understood, Master. Xiao Qiu, go and see them off," Liang Yanqiu said calmly.

"Big sister--"

"Go and see them off!" Liang Yanqiu's slightly raised eyes suddenly darkened, and she swept her gaze across them with a murderous look. Her gaze was like a knife, carrying the majesty and coldness that only someone who had long held a high position could possess.

Liang Xiaoqiu's face paled and she felt a chill run down her spine after being glanced at by that one look. She swallowed back all the words that were about to come out of her mouth, immediately lowered her head and did as she was told, obediently leading the foreign doctor out of the room and closing the door behind her.

"Who did it, and what methods did they use?" Hu Mang asked, arms crossed.

Liang Jinchuan's hands and feet were in heavy casts, his face was pale, but his expression remained relatively calm as he spoke:

"It's someone from Zheng Family Garden. My men reported seeing him; he's the new alleyway leader. I was stopped by him while inspecting the Lineage shops. He specifically asked to see Heavenly Blood Python, saying he'd been searching Liang Household Garden for three days without finding him alive, and was probably hiding under a woman's skirt. I was indignant and fought him, and that's how he beat me up like this."

"What about the Lineage's elders? The situation is tense right now, so I've had them secretly follow and protect you," Liang Yanqiu said, frowning.

"Not a single one showed up."

Liang Yanqiu took a deep breath, her chest heaving a few times, and closed her eyes.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; but even before the tree has fallen, these monkeys already have other ideas.

Liang Jinchuan glanced at his eldest sister with concern and continued:

"The opponent's methods are very strange. His entire body has been modified, and all his meridians have been replaced with Spiritual Qi channels. He is incredibly strong and has a body of steel. My Law Artifact couldn't even break through his defenses."

"Sounds like something from the demonic path?" Hu Mang asked.

"Yes, it should be the style of the Demonic Machine Hall, but there's no Demonic Qi."

"At least on the surface, the countries of Nanyang will not allow the demonic path to interfere. Otherwise, if Heavenly Gate were to take action, it would be a national annihilation operation. However, the demonic path is the demonic path, and business is business. Accepting the transformation by the Demonic Machine Hall, no one can say there is anything wrong with it. After all, which of the local gangs does not have underground cultivators who have been transformed?"

Even though she was being bullied right on her doorstep, Liang Yanqiu remained remarkably calm.

"What is the cultivator's cultivation level?" Hu Mang asked again.

"He's at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, just like me, but I feel he's more than that," Liang Jinchuan seemed to recall something, a look of fear and pain flashing across his face as he took two deep breaths.

He said he wanted to see the legendary "Brahma Heavenly Blood Python," who possessed the power of Golden Core cultivator, but he never expected to run into a piece of trash like me.

"So, at least he has Golden Core level techniques, and the demonic modification techniques aren't all useless," Hu Mang nodded slightly.

"Very useful intelligence, get some rest."

Hu Mang turned to leave, but as soon as he opened the door, he was blocked by several familiar members of the Liang Household.

"Mr. Mang, when are we going to get our revenge?" Liang Shuyao asked expectantly.

"Us?" Hu Mang smiled and walked out directly. Anyone who tried to block his way was pushed away by an invisible aura.

The younger members of the Liang Household were taken aback at first, their faces immediately turning indignant. Just as they were about to say something, Liang Yanqiu's cold gaze swept over them, and they instantly fell silent.

"If you have any complaints, you can express them directly at Zheng Family Garden. There's no need to gossip about my guests. Shuyao, prepare the sacrificial offerings for me; it's almost time for the ancestral worship."

"Yes, yes!"

In the middle of the night, on the training ground

Hu Mang was sitting in a grand chair enjoying the cool air when Liang Xiaoqiu ran over with red eyes.

"Were you looked down upon?" Hu Mang laughed directly.

Liang Xiaoqiu said angrily:

"They don't believe you, sir. They say you are, you are—"

"A coward, a spineless coward, a freeloader, a gold digger?"

"Sir, how did you know?"

"You people overseas should spend more time on Heavenly Gate's internet and see how those surfing enthusiasts insult others."

The Hu Mang fanned itself with a banana leaf whose roots were still green, smiling and showing no signs of anger.

"But... but sir, you're not like that at all!"

He had witnessed the Hu Mang's mastery of Divine Ability firsthand, so he knew how formidable, even terrifying, this man was.

"If you're talking about avenging Liang Jinchuan, then they're actually right. I really won't avenge him; I don't even have that thought."

Liang Xiaoqiu was immediately dumbfounded.

"Why?"

"Why should I go? Am I a thug for the Liang Household? Just because I stayed at the Liang Household Garden for a few nights, I have to risk my life for you? Is the Liang Household's accommodation fee too expensive, or is my life too worthless?" Hu Mang retorted with a smile.

"Besides, did I ask to come to Liang Household Garden?"

Liang Xiaoqiu snapped out of her daze, looked around, and whispered:

"But sir, aren't there rumors going around that you and Sister Yanqiu have something going on? It's said that Sister Yanqiu divorced the man surnamed Zheng and wants you to marry into her family."

Another case of marrying into another family?

What kind of constitution does he have? How come wherever he goes, he seems to marry into another family? Is he born with a divine body that allows him to marry into another family?

"Do I look like one?" Hu Mang asked rhetorically.

Liang Xiaoqiu nodded first, then shook her head sharply, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"Sir, I think it's precisely because you and Sister Yanqiu look so alike that I believe it's impossible for you two to be together. But sir, since you don't want to go to Zheng Family Garden, nor do you want to take over Liang Household Garden, what do you want to do?"

"Little girl, the world is very big."

Hu Mang said something cryptic, then told people to leave.

"Alright, I'm aiming for a breakthrough tonight, so I don't need your service anymore."

After driving Liang Xiaoqiu away, Hu Mang's mind quickly calmed down, becoming as still as water, free from any distracting thoughts.

There is no Moon in the Well, because there is a bright moon in the sky.

There was no Heavenly Devil Field either, because the Hu Mang was practicing Daoist Inner Alchemy tonight.

He has grasped the key to "Subduing the White Tiger," and today he will subdue the White Tiger through the evolution of Golden Nature.

It uses Innate Qi to evolve innate essence, Horse Yin Concealment, and Subduing the White Tiger.

Hu Mang sat cross-legged in the moonlight in the center of the training ground, his hands forming a Zi-Wu mudra, palms facing upwards, thumbs touching.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and focused his mind on his Dantian. Tonight, his State of Mind was exceptionally clear, free of distractions and anxiety. Even the slightest distraction about the situation was quickly digested. Between heaven and earth, it seemed that only he, the moonlight, and the vast but slowly flowing essence within his body remained.

According to the Inner Alchemy method, the first step is "recognizing the tiger".

He focused his Divine Sense into his Dantian, carefully sensing the vital energy hidden deep within his seminal vesicles, like a sleeping tiger.

As the Holy Son of the Demonic Seven Absolutes Devil Meridians, the "tiger" within him is far more ferocious than that of most people.

The second step is "Subduing the Tiger".

He did not try to forcefully mobilize that essence, but instead first covered his entire body with the Golden Nature Perfection, allowing his whole body to enter a state of "solid as metal and stone".

Then, using his mind as a guide, he slowly awakened the dormant vital energy.

Like gently brushing a feather across a tiger's nose, causing it to sneeze and awaken naturally; under his guidance, the vital energy began to rise slowly from the Dantian, ascending along the Ren meridian, passing through Guanyuan, Qihai, and Shenque, flowing upwards like a warm spring, slowly flowing through the meridians.

The third and most crucial step is "Turning the Tiger." When the vital energy rises to the Tanzhong acupoint, he doesn't let it continue along the Ren meridian. Instead, he guides it with his mind to turn, turning it from the Tanzhong acupoint into the Du meridian, and starting to travel upwards along the hidden path on the inside of the spine.

The intense heat I had felt before returned, like a lava eruption, a hundred times more ferocious than before.

In a daze, it seemed as if a thousand-year-old demon king with piercing eyes and a white forehead was about to burst out of the volcano.