Chapter 257: Cultivating Nine Yang, Abundant Yang Qi
In the height of summer, Cuya Mountain was shaded by green trees, with gurgling springs. Beside Pipa Lake, where Yanbo Diaosou once fished, there was a rock formation called “Bao Fo Yan” (Embracing Buddha Rock). The upper part of the rock protruded, while the lower part was recessed like a dome, resembling two hands embracing a belly. The space within was empty, covering over ten zhang, making it an excellent place for cultivation.
As the morning light fell, Zhou Yan sat cross-legged and took out three scrolls of the Nine Yang Manual from his bosom.
The previous night, he had been drinking with Yang Miaozhen and Qiu Qianchi. The one who was still drunk was Iron Palm Lotus. Yang Miaozhen had an astonishing capacity for alcohol, and Qiu Qianchi, possessing the Iron Palm Skill and Valley of Unfeeling martial arts, had greatly increased her cultivation since arriving at Cuya Mountain. However, her tolerance for alcohol had not improved, leaving her completely intoxicated.
Qiu Qianchi’s drunkenness was also related to her emotions.
During her time in the mountain stronghold, Yang Miaozhen had mentioned Genghis Khan’s conquest of Zhongdu and his desire to massacre the city. She also spoke of the many atrocities committed by the Mongolian army during the war between Hebei Province and the Jin Dynasty, describing the Jin as jackals and the Mongols as wolves.
Qiu Qianchi’s poor mood stemmed from her elder brother defecting to the Mongols and her second brother serving the Jin, leading to such a tragic fate for the entire Qiu family. “One is not drunk from wine, but from oneself.”
As dawn broke, he left the wooden building where he was staying. Yang Miaozhen was practicing spear techniques, while Qiu Qianchi was still sleeping off her drunkenness. After a brief greeting, he went to Pipa Lake to find a place to cultivate.
Yang Miaozhen had dispatched people to Yueyang and Zhongdu. For the fast horses to travel back and forth, it would take at least half a month. With this rare free time, it was a perfect opportunity to cultivate the Nine Yang Manual.
Before Zhou Yan went to Yumen Pass in the Western Regions, he had meditated on three scrolls of scriptures in Zhongdu City and grasped their true meaning. This peerless divine skill, which shone brightly in the Heaven Sword Jianghu, was now mastered. Extreme yang would transform, water and fire would harmonize, and dragon and tiger would meet, opening the mysterious pass of the body. Conversely, due to the stored true qi, once triggered, it could lead to the peril of being burned by yang fire.
Master Jueyuan’s passing was due to being burned by yang fire. Zhang Wuji, blessed by fortune, was placed in the “Qiankun Yi Qi Bag” by the Monk Shuobude. During the battle in the Guangming Hall where Cheng Kun ambushed Yang Xiao and others, it was as if dozens of experts exerted their true strength, massaging and squeezing hundreds of acupoints on his body. The surging true qi, both internal and external, broke through dozens of mysterious passes on his body, making his internal force unprecedented.
Without the same fortune as Zhang Wuji, forcefully cultivating the Nine Yang Manual was too risky. Zhou Yan settled for the next best thing, using Jade Guanyin and the Taoist principles of emptiness and interconnectedness to progress gradually, aiding his cultivation.
Ouyang Feng had learned the Nine Yin Manual, and Huo Gong Toutuo’s martial arts were not much inferior to Western Venom. Zhou Yan felt that with his current martial arts, diligent cultivation would make it extremely difficult to surpass them in the short term. However, with the supplementary cultivation of the Nine Yang Manual, it was a different story.
Not to mention distant benefits, cultivating the true scripture could increase yang qi. Yang qi, in turn, would promote the circulation of blood. Blood qi could then stimulate internal force. Based on this alone, while he and Ouyang Feng and Huang Yaoshi both cultivated the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter, the effects of marrow cleansing and blood generation were clearly different. His own blood generation and qi and blood circulation to stimulate internal force would be purer and more efficient, leading to a vast difference over time.
Therefore, during Zhou Yan’s time in the Western Regions, he spent most of his time conversing with the Tianzhu Monk about medical principles.
In all things, preparation leads to success. With careful planning, one can proceed slowly.
“Let him be strong, and the breeze will brush the mountain ridge; let him be fierce, and the bright moon will shine upon the great river.” Zhou Yan reread the first volume of the true scripture. He separated a wisp of internal force from his body and, following the qi circulation method of the Nine Yang Manual, slowly circulated it through the complex network of channels, secondary meridians, and hidden meridians.
After half an hour, Zhou Yan felt that the pure and gentle inner qi circulating in his meridians had clearly undergone a change.
First, the gentleness gradually weakened, and then it became like water in a pot on a stove, continuously heating up. It felt as if threads of fire were burning within his meridians. As wisps of pure yang qi were forcibly condensed, Zhou Yan felt as if his body had become a furnace, emitting an indescribable scorching heat from the inside out. As the yang qi circulated, the unrefined meridians, hidden meridians, and secondary meridians swelled and felt sore. His iron bones throughout his body felt as if they were immersed in boiling molten iron, unbearably hot.
Zhou Yan wore Jade Guanyin, which usually had no particular sensation. However, as his skin became scorching hot, he surprisingly felt the Jade Guanyin become cold as ice. Streams of energy emanating from the Jade Guanyin continuously seeped into his body, relaxing his muscles and activating his collaterals.
Despite this, Zhou Yan still felt as if he were wrapped in boiling water, forcing him to circulate his energy and stimulate his qi and blood to resist the burning sensation brought by the yang qi.
Under the scorching sun of June, the skin exposed on Zhou Yan’s body was extremely red, and heat emanated from him. The yang qi propelled his blood, and the blood surged like a torrent within his body.
This was the result Zhou Yan had long analyzed: increasing yang qi in the body to drive blood circulation.
Blood is the mother of qi, and qi is the commander of blood. Blood qi carries pulse qi, and pulse qi transports blood qi to stimulate internal force.
Zhou Yan immediately used his skill to transport blood qi. In just a moment, his Dantian stirred, and a wisp of pure inner qi was stimulated. Zhou Yan was delighted. Practice had verified theory: the method of using the yang-generating technique of the Nine Yang Manual to stimulate blood qi and refine internal force was feasible. He persevered and continued to guide energy to stimulate internal force.
This state lasted for nearly an hour. The bones and muscles, scoured by the blood qi, became tightly integrated. The fiery yang qi gradually became peaceful. Zhou Yan’s skin then exuded a lustrous sheen, and he gained internal force equivalent to many days of diligent cultivation.
“Hoo!”
Zhou Yan exhaled with a refreshed expression. He separated another wisp of internal force and, following the qi circulation method of the Nine Yang Manual, refined the pure yang qi, then used the yang qi to drive the blood qi, and stimulated the pulse qi to generate internal force.
As the sun moved past its zenith and began to set, Zhou Yan’s upright body suddenly leaped up.
He sensed with his mind that this day’s cultivation, using yang qi to drive blood and transport blood qi to cultivate internal force, was equivalent to half a month of diligent cultivation from before. Furthermore, he did not have to worry about the peril of being burned by excessive yang qi.
“When Yanbo Diaosou and the Chief Escort arrive, the time I spent cultivating diligently at Cuya Mountain will be equivalent to half a year’s progress. I will also be able to open at least one main meridian,” Zhou Yan sighed. His figure then shot out several zhang, his toes lightly stepping on the rocks, and he descended towards Pipa Lake at the foot of the mountain like a soaring bird.
With no one around, he removed his clothes and bathed in the water. After coming ashore and changing, he hunted a mountain chicken with his bow, lit a fire to roast it, and after filling his stomach, he resumed his diligent cultivation.
…
Time flowed like sand through fingers, and ten days passed in this rhythm, with stars shifting and time flying.
Cuya Mountain, Pipa Lake, Bao Fo Yan.
Two figures, one red and one black, walked along the winding mountain path. Qiu Qianchi said, “Brother Zhou is cultivating. Is it appropriate for us to go up so abruptly?”
Yang Miaozhen smiled and said, “It’s fine. The scouts from Kaifeng Prefecture said that Chief Escort Zhang went to Zhenwei. He should be arriving with Lu Beihe today or tomorrow. Let’s see how his cultivation is and then go down the mountain.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I wonder how much Brother Zhou’s cultivation has improved,” Yang Miaozhen said with anticipation.
As the two approached “Bao Fo Yan,” they deliberately lightened their footsteps. When they drew closer, they saw Zhou Yan standing tall about five or six zhang away, his right hand resting on the sheath of his Qingfeng Sword, motionless. His aura was serene, like a lake surface as calm and still as a mirror, without a ripple.
Yang Miaozhen was skilled in spear techniques, and although Qiu Qianchi was famous for her Iron Palm, her mastery of swords and knives was also outstanding. Her judgment was not poor. Yang Miaozhen asked, “Is Brother Zhou comprehending his sword?”
“He should be.”
Qiu Qianchi’s guess was correct.
Zhou Yan cultivated the Nine Yang Manual. By using yang qi to drive blood qi, he gained internal force equivalent to half a year of diligent cultivation. He also refined and opened the Foot Shaoyang collateral meridian. Now, all three main meridians and three secondary meridians of the Foot Three Yang were open.
The Tomb Lightness Skill circulates qi through the Foot Three Yang meridians. Zhou Yan had mastered this peerless lightness skill.
He was focused, and within his consciousness, the Tomb Lightness Skill, Hengshan Five Gods Sword, and Returning Wind and Falling Geese Sword were continuously merging their movements and sword styles.
The Hengshan Swordplay was primarily about fantasy, while the Tomb Lightness Skill excelled in agile evasion. However, the Hengshan Swordplay had its own matching lightness techniques. Zhou Yan refined the essence and discarded the dross.
Yang Miaozhen and Qiu Qianchi stood still for nearly half an hour when a feeling of impending wind and rain arose.
The hand Zhou Yan had placed on the Qingfeng Sword suddenly moved.
“Clang!” A clear sword light suddenly flashed, then transformed into a spray of brilliant and dense cold light. Only then did Yang Miaozhen and Qiu Qianchi hear a sharp sword cry.
Their vision was immediately filled with the dazzling cold lightning that crisscrossed the sky.
Yang Miaozhen’s cherry-like lips were so wide with surprise that they couldn’t close. She murmured to herself, “How many swords did Brother Zhou draw in that instant?”
Within their sight, Zhou Yan’s flying grey robes were like an elusive phantom, swirling mysteriously and fantastically, with sword light shimmering, his movements unpredictable, changing without pattern, and unfathomable.
Qiu Qianchi was momentarily dazed. When she first encountered Zhou Yan in Xiangyang, his martial arts were inferior to hers. In less than three years, he had reached a realm comparable to her second brother.
If she had devoted herself to martial arts, she might not be inferior either.
As Qiu Qianchi thought this, she sighed inwardly several times.
Zhou Yan, completely unaware of the two, unleashed the Hengshan Swordplay, followed by the ancient and grand Quanzhen Swordplay, and then the elegant and agile Jade Maiden Swordplay. Suddenly, he moved his wrist, and his longsword shot out like a startled rainbow, so fast it seemed to be chasing the fleeting time.
With a “bang,” the Qingfeng Sword flew several zhang and embedded itself in the rock, its hilt emitting a continuous hum.
Zhou Yan let out a long howl that carried far into the distance, startling birds into flight and causing willow branches to tremble. Before his howl ended, a second followed, each howl overlapping with the previous one, like an army of thousands of horses.
Outside Cuya Mountain, Yanbo Diaosou, riding a horse and carrying a fishing rod, was startled. He asked the small leader guiding him, “Which expert from the mountain stronghold is this?”
The small leader replied confusedly, “It’s Lord Zhou!”
Yanbo Diaosou was stunned, then burst into laughter. With a sudden long howl, he responded to Zhou Yan.
