Ling shi’s treatment required eight steps, Su shi’s required seven steps, and even Pavilion Master Kang’s would require five steps. Yet, this fellow actually solved the problem using a single step?
“Nonsense! You are dreaming!”
At that moment, Pavilion Master Kang harrumphed coldly. His face was steeled, and the displeasure on it was clear, “Every single cultivation technique that is passed down is created, tested, and refined by innumerable predecessors. How can it be changed that easily? If that cultivator were to try an untested cultivation technique in a wounded state, putting aside whether it would be possible to reach Transcendent Mortal realm or not, their cultivation might even go berserk, thus exacerbating their wounds and putting them at risk of death. As a master teacher, how can you come up with such a flippant solution?”
After hearing the words of the two elders, his expectations of the young man had been lifted. Yet, he didn’t expect the other party to answer his question so frivolously.
If a cultivation technique could be modified that easily, then what was the value of a secret art?
Not to mention, there was a foreign zhenqi existent in the other party’s body. Without neutralizing it, recovering from one’s injuries, and conditioning one’s physical body… how could one attempt for a higher cultivation realm?
In the end, the other party failed to live up to his name.
If they were to do so, not only would they fail to save the cultivator, the cultivator would even die because of them. The dignity of the Master Teacher Pavilion would vanish in an instant.
“Berserk? You are overthinking it!”
Waving his hands to interrupt the other party’s reprimanding, Zhang Xuan looked at Pavilion Master Kang impassively, “You’ll know whether it is effective or not once I tell you the new route for the zhenqi circulation! Upon leaving the dantian, the cultivator’s zhenqi will flow through the Taiyi, Guanmen, Liangmen… and finally, it’ll gather at Qishe. After three circulations, one should be able to try for Transcendent Mortal realm, and there’ll be a ninety percent chance of success!”
Possessing the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, Zhang Xuan grasped the very essence of cultivation itself. While modifying a cultivation technique, just like the other party said, was difficult, to him, it wasn’t an issue at all.
By slightly modifying the zhenqi route to circumvent the injured portion and mediating the foreign zhenqi in the cultivator’s body, reaching Transcendent Mortal realm wouldn’t be a problem.
“Flow through Taiyi, Guanmen, and Liangmen…”
The trio frowned.
This zhenqi route was completely unheard of in normal cultivation techniques. Even as 4-star master teachers, they weren’t able to deduce its feasibility in an instant.
Every single cultivation technique needed to be tried in action before a conclusion could be made about it. Even master teachers were unable to determine something was feasible or not immediately just by listening to it once.
“You’re saying that as long as the cultivator cultivates using this method, she’ll be able to achieve a breakthrough immediately?” Pavilion Master Kang’s complexion turned even more awful.
It was extremely difficult for even an ordinary cultivator to achieve a breakthrough. To have a severely injured cultivator achieve a breakthrough just by circulating one’s zhenqi in the given pathway thrice… You must be joking!
“That’s right!”
Zhang Xuan replied nonchalantly, “I’ve taken a look at the information given, and the cultivator is wounded by searing sword qi. This sword qi carries an exceptionally sharp edge, and after seeping into the cultivator’s body through the wound in her left chest, it was traveling toward her dantian.
“The cultivation technique the cultivator cultivated was the [Great Ancient Incursion Art]. The technique focused heavily on ‘sharpness’ and ‘burst’. Continuous usage of this technique results in the weakening of one’s zhenqi, and three consecutive usages will deplete one’s zhenqi! This is of similar nature to the searing sword qi in the sense that they are both extremely violent energy that will destroy all that stand their path.
“When the two zhenqi collides with one another, it becomes a case where the stronger energy triumphs. Under normal circumstances, as the cultivator will be able to send in a steady supply of zhenqi to deal with the searing sword qi, it shouldn’t pose a problem at all… However, it’s a pity that this cultivator’s meridians were simply too thin. A violent collision can easily tear them apart, thus crippling her cultivation! Thus, unable to send in a surge of zhenqi to overwhelm the searing sword qi in a single go, a standstill occurred instead. Not only would the searing sword qi be unable to be cleared, the injury would even… worsen over time!”
At this point, Zhang Xuan suddenly stopped. With eyes as sharp as lightning, he said, “If I’m not mistaken, when these symptoms were recorded, it was the seventh day after the cultivator was injured!”
“This…” Pavilion Master Kang was taken aback. “You’re right!”
He had dealt with that cultivator’s problem personally, and it had always been something he was proud of. Thus, he remembered the details of the incident clearly, and it was indeed the seventh day that the details of the other party’s condition were detailed on that book.
Just that, the book only recorded the location of the injury and the battle technique that was used to injure the cultivator… The duration of the injury wasn’t written. Could it be that… the young man before him actually deduced the timing based on the content recorded?
“On the seventh day, unable to control the clash of zhenqi in her body, the injury on her left chest was unable to heal and it had even started to rot! Under that situation, given that two violent surges of zhenqi were clashing with one another, forcefully driving her cultivation technique would only exacerbate the collision and aggravate her injuries!”
Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly, “Under normal circumstances, one should first expend all of their zhenqi first… This is equivalent to drawing away the troops away from the point of collision so that the sword qi is able to flow out from the narrow meridian… Only after that should one find some way to neutralize it!”
“That’s right…” Su Fan and Ling Yuheng nodded their heads in agreement.
The eight and seven step methods that spoke of respectively consisted of the same procedures as well.
In order to achieve a breakthrough, the cultivator must recover from her injuries first. And to recover from her injuries, one must first solve the issue causing it… And the sword qi was the main problem at hand.
Expending one’s own zhenqi was a means of retreat. Only then would the ferocious sword qi lower its guard and come out from the narrow meridian. Once that happened, there would be at least a dozen ways for one to neutralize the sword qi.
Pavilion Master Kang nodded his head as well.
He also solved it in that way back then as well. In fact, he felt that all master teachers would choose the same method when faced with that problem. Was this… incorrect?
“Right? Not only is that wrong, it’s a grave mistake!”
Zhang Xuan shook his head, “Removing one’s zhenqi is just like moving away a boulder blocking the flow of a stream. While it does allow the sword qi to flow out, you must remember that it is an incomparably sharp searing sword qi. Furthermore, the location of the wound was near the left lung… That location is extremely close to the heart. If the sword qi gushed out and impaled the heart… the cultivator would die on the spot!”
“Die?” Su Fan was taken aback. “But given that the sword qi was trapped for seven days straight, its sharp edge should have already dulled…”
“You’re right in saying that it would have become dull. The probability of impaling the heart is probably less than a hundredth. However, what if it didn’t follow the usual path of heading toward the Zhuofei meridian via the Huichi acupoint? What if it headed to the Zhenxue meridian instead?”
“This…” Su shi and Ling shi jolted in shock.
Huichi acupoint was the point where the Zhuofei meridian and Zhenxue meridian intersected. The former led to the lung whereas the latter led to the heart.
Even though the sword qi would usually flow down toward the dantian… there was no guarantee that the cultivator, out of worry, would leave a surge of zhenqi within her body.
If so, there was a high possibility that the sword qi may proceed upward and enter the zhenxue meridian instead, thus impaling her heart.
If that was the case, even the deities would be unable to save her.
Pavilion Master Kang’s face paled, and his body tightened.
When he first stumbled by the case, all he thought about was how he could cure the cultivator. He didn’t think too much about the consequences, and it was only very long later that he realized the presence of this problem. Even though the probability wasn’t high… it was still an existent possibility.
It was fortunate that he was lucky then. Otherwise, the cultivator would have been dead by now.
If so, not only would he be unable to become a 4-star master teacher and the pavilion master, he might have even been stripped of his master teacher license and cursed at for innumerable years to come.
However… he had only noticed this problem after reaching 4-star pinnacle, when he looked back at this case… Yet, this young man, with a single glance, actually thought of this possibility… Could the idea of modifying the cultivation technique really be feasible?
Earlier, he thought that the other party was spouting nonsense. But given how the other party was able to consider even this situation… the issue regarding the cultivation technique probably wasn’t as easy as he thought.
“My idea doesn’t require the cultivator to expend her zhenqi clean beforehand, and neither does the sword qi have to be lured out of the meridian!”
Ignoring the shocked expressions of the trio, Zhang Xuan continued, “Taiyi acupoint is the first point of divergence between the left and right meridians. By having zhenqi flow through here, an energy harmonization could be achieved, thus pulling that sword qi down here. As long as the sword qi travelled down here, the rest would be easy. The Taiyi acupoint is close to the dantian so the cultivator can easily sustain the zhenqi to this area to force the sword qi out of one’s body!”
Widening his eyes, Su shi muttered to himself, “If one views the body as a formation, Taiyi is where the life gate is located. When the two zhenqi collides here, the sword qi will very naturally gush out from the acupoint…”
According to the theory of a formation master, the human body could be viewed as a formation as well. It possessed the origin gate, hibernation gate, life gate, impair gate, panorama gate, death gate, closed gate, and fright gate… The Eight Gates.
Taiyi acupoint was the point of connection between the left and right meridian, as well as the location where the life gate of a human’s body was located. If one were to gather the sword qi here, it would be easy to drive it out from one’s body. Just like that, without wasting a single ounce of energy, one would be able to subdue the sword qi…
It was dozens of times better than the expending of one’s zhenqi to forcefully neutralize the sword qi.
“Wait… If the sword qi were to travel here, it would indeed be easy to deal with it. However, what if it didn’t?” Pavilion Master Kang frowned.
The sword qi had been colliding with the cultivator’s zhenqi for seven days for now. Without withdrawing one’s zhenqi, why would the sword qi charge into the Taiyi acupoint?
It was just like having an enemy guarding at the doorway. As long as the enemy didn’t retreat, there would be no reason for one to charge forward and put oneself in a position of danger.
“Sigh!”
Hearing the other party’s question, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply and shook his head helplessly. “It seems like you have a limited knowledge on the cultivator’s [Great Ancient Incursion Art]!”
“I…” Pavilion Master Kang’s face reddened.
The Great Ancient Incursion Art was a unique and peculiar cultivation technique. Even though Pavilion Master Kang had heard of it, he had never tried cultivating it, and as such, his knowledge of it was limited.
“The essence of the Great Ancient Incursion Art lies in ‘sharpness’ and ‘burst’. Continuous usage of this technique will result in the weakening of one’s zhenqi, and three consecutive usages will deplete one’s zhenqi! Just like I’ve said before, allow the zhenqi to circulate via the new pathway for three times… This way, when the sharpness of the zhenqi disappeared, the sword qi will see it as an opportunity to charge out and wreck one’s dantian… And to arrive at one’s dantian, one had to travel past the Taiyi acupoint! Surely… you should have at least thought of this,” Zhang Xuan replied calmly.
“This…” Pavilion Master Kang’s body jolted.
After being jammed for seven days, even though the sword qi possessed no sentience, it would still charge forward as though a spring which had been suppressed with all of its might for the last few days… It wasn’t easy for the Great Ancient Incursion Art to become so weak. This was the ideal opportunity to launch an offense, and there was no way for the sword qi to overlook it!
As long as they put some thought into it, all cultivators should be able to think of this.
“But your steps are incomplete! You said that circulating one’s zhenqi three times will allow one to attempt a breakthrough to Transcendent Mortal realm. However, up until now, the sword qi has only been removed…” Recovering from his shock, Pavilion Master Kang continued asking slightly doubtfully.
“The sword qi has only been removed? Think deeper into it, the zhenqi circulation method I just told you about…” Zhang Xuan chuckled.
“Upon leaving the dantian, the cultivator’s zhenqi will flow through the Taiyi, Guanmen, Liangmen… and finally, it’ll gather at Qishe…”
Pavilion Master Kang recalled and recited the content which the young man spoke of previously and his face suddenly warped, “As the cultivator’s zhenqi declines and the sword qi pursuits, the duo would reunite once more at Taiyi. After clashing with one another… the sword qi would burst forth from the acupoint while the cultivator’s zhenqi would make use of the momentum from the clash to break open the Guanmen and Liangmen… and finally reach Transcendent Mortal realm?”
“That’s equivalent to using the violent might of the sword qi to overcome one’s bottleneck. The possibility of success is… indeed no lower than ninety percent!” Su shi felt his throat running dry.
As a 4-star master teacher, he had fully grasped the outcomes that would occur from the different flow of zhenqi within one’s body.
Even though the sword qi would be expelled from the life gate when clashing with the cultivator’s zhenqi at Taiyi, the violent energy within it would meld into her zhenqi.
Since the enemy who dealt the sword qi to the cultivator was able to hurt her, it could only mean that the person was stronger than her. Going by such, the enemy must be at least a Transcendent Mortal.
The violent energy of a Transcendent Mortal paired with the cultivator’s own strength… When the two overlaps with one another, breaking one’s bottleneck would become much easier!
In fact, ninety percent seemed to be an underestimation. If that cultivator had done that back then, the success rate would probably be… a hundred percent!
“Y-you…”
Upon thinking of this, everyone widened their eyes in shock.
When they heard of the symptom of the cultivator, what immediately ran through their head was how they could neutralize the zhenqi, condition the cultivator’s physical body, and find a way to help her reach Transcendent Mortal realm… Yet, the young man before them actually thought of harnessing the sword qi trapped within the other party’s body to create a whole new cultivation technique that could help the cultivator achieve a breakthrough…
More importantly, from the point he finished reading the case to his recitation of the solution, only ten breaths had passed…
How in the world… did he manage to do it?
Was he still a human?
Seeing that the other party has already understood the logic behind his solution, Zhang Xuan asked nonchalantly, “So, can this cultivation technique of mine cure the cultivator and help her achieve a breakthrough?”
“Yes… It can!” Pavilion Master Kang’s face paled. Steadying his breath, he slowly nodded his head.
It had taken him only five steps and he had prided himself on it. Yet, the person before him only used a single step…
It seemed like Su shi and Ling shi were right. Even though the person before them was slightly lacking in his cultivation, he was anything but ordinary.
“Then have I answered your question yet?” Zhang Xuan continued asking.
“Yes…” Pavilion Master Kang nodded his head.
“Since I’m right, what are you standing there for?”
With a slightly displeased tone, the young man before him said, “Can’t you see that I’m thirsty after talking so much? Go and pour me a cup of water!”
Closed Gate – Right side of one’s brain
Hibernation Gate – Left side of one’s brain
Death Gate – One’s heart
Life Gate – At the center point between your left and right armpit on your body
Impair Gate – Below the Life Gate, around the hollow part beneath the middle of your ribcage
Panorama Gate – Below your Impair Gate, around your stomach.
Fright Gate – Below your Panorama Gate, near your intestines.
The concept of the eight gates originates from an ancient Chinese divination technique known as Qi Men Dun Jia (Feel free to Google it). The names I gave are the closest translation I can come up with and they are by no means official. The eight doors and paired to one another (Life & Death, Impair & Fright, Origin & Closed, Panorama & Hibernation).
