Chapter 29: Chapter 29 - Second-Rate Lower Quality Inner Power Mind Methods
"Brother Shi, how did you manage to pull that off earlier?"
On the second day after leaving the Invisible Gorge, Wang Yangming was still puzzled. How did Shi Xiaole, with his level of power, kill Zhou Xiong and Dong Chengwu?
He had seen Shi Xiaole fight with Dong Chengwu himself. The only feeling he got was like Dong Chengwu was willingly tying himself up and offering himself to Shi Xiaole’s attacks.
As a monk with ample experience in the martial world, he hesitated and said, "I got the feeling that Lord Shi Xiaole could somehow see through the gaps in Dong Chengwu’s moves?"
Shi Xiaole thought to himself, "Impressive." Smiling, he said, "I was just guessing during the fight."
Wang Yangming and the monk exchanged glances. Although they knew Shi Xiaole was downplaying what happened, they wisely did not probe any further.
In the martial world, who doesn’t have a few secrets? Probing too deeply can be unwise.
Seeing that the two had calmed down, Shi Xiaole felt a sinking in his spirit, entering the sacred halls of the Martial God Hall to cultivate alone.
The sword manual and mind methods he had found on Dong Chengwu were rated as third-tier middle-grade and third-tier lower-grade, respectively, by the system.
Shi Xiaole utilized the sword manual to gain a third-tier middle-grade martial art. He then exchanged the mind methods for 150 reward points, which granted him fifteen 2-hour periods of cultivation time.
At this moment, he was cultivating the third-tier middle-grade martial art, the Varied Fists of Many Flowers.
As the representative martial art of Yuan Shixiao, the essence of Varied Fists of Many Flowers lies in "appearing to be yet not being, and taking the enemy by surprise."
However, as he practiced, Shi Xiaole realized something wasn’t quite right.
Originally, Yuan Shixiao had experienced a dramatic change in his life, leading to a drastic shift in his personality. Combined with his deep understanding of numerous fist techniques, he was able to bring out the true essence of Varied Fists of Many Flowers.
In contrast, there is Cheng Jialuo, a large scholar. Although he too learned the Varied Fists of Many Flowers, his lack of experience made him unable to manifest the power of this fist technique.
At this point, Shi Xiaole found himself in a similar dilemma as Cheng Jialuo.
Fortunately, Shi Xiaole’s understanding of martial arts was not something ordinary people could match.
After pondering for a while, he suddenly incorporated his unique insights from two lifetimes into his fist technique. Doing so, he indeed discovered something profound.
Fifteen 2-hour periods in the Martial God Hall only accounted for five 2-hour periods in the outside world.
On the third day after leaving the Invisible Gorge, Shi Xiaole had achieved the minor stage of Spirit Integration with his Varied Fists of Many Flowers. At this time, they were nearing Thousand Poison Mountain.
Thousand Poison Mountain was only a hundred meters high. Through a layer of colorful mist, one could vaguely see that it was planted with strange trees and covered in strange luminescent bugs.
"There are poisons everywhere on Thousand Poison Mountain, and we know nothing about them. What should we do?"
The monk furrowed his eyebrows.
Wang Yangming also looked anxious.
Most martial artists don’t hold a favorable impression towards poison masters. Firstly, they view their actions as devoid of honor. Secondly, the methods of poison masters are often unexpected, making people instinctively keep their distance.
It’s a complex emotion mixed with disdain and vigilance.
Shi Xiaole also hesitated.
Luckily, at this moment, Zhang Yuanshan came out of the carriage and smile, "No worries, gentlemen. Many years ago, I accidentally obtained a vial of Detoxification Pills from the Shu Tang Sect. If we each take one, we will be able to ascend to the top of Thousand Poison Mountain safely."
"So Sir Zhang had a plan all along."
Wang Yangming relaxed, laughing heartily.
Although the Detoxification Pill was common medicine from the Tang Sect, it was powerful enough to counteract the majority of poisons in the martial world. It should be effective in dealing with the dangers of Thousand Poison Mountain.
"The Shu Tang Sect of Sichuan and Shu, the producers of hidden weapons and poison?"
Shi Xiaole’s reaction was the most extreme. Among the people present, none had seen Shi Xiaole lose his composure like this before.
"Brother Shi, what’s wrong? Is there an issue?"
Wang Yangming asked.
"It’s nothing."
After the initial shock, Shi Xiaole composed himself. He had just been startled because there was also a Shu Tang Sect in this world and that its function was identical to the one from his previous world.
Once everyone had taken a Detoxification Pill, they began to ascend the mountain.
Along the journey, they encountered many poisonous insects and even a few snakes. However, it seemed these creatures could smell the scent of the Detoxification Pills and subsequently chose to avoid them. This scared Miss Zhang quite a bit, and her already pale face turned even more so.
"We’re here, you won’t be harmed."
Shi Xiaole turned back and smiled at her. Surprisingly, after this, Miss Zhang seemed to calm down a lot.
Half an two hour period later, the five of them successfully reached the peak.
"Tsk, tsk, I’ve been sitting alone on this mountain for years, and you’re the first batch to make it up here."
A white-haired, short old man got up from his reclining chair. He sniffed the air and nodded, "Ah, so you’ve taken the Tang Sect’s Detoxification Pill. That explains it."
"Elder, my daughter has contracted a stubborn illness, could you please assist in treating her?"
Zhang Yuanshan came forward, bowing in respect.
The Thousand Poison Elder’s gaze fell on Miss Zhang, and he snorted contemptuously, "Just this minor illness, and you’re calling it stubborn? Ridiculous."
Zhang Yuanshan froze momentarily, then started shaking with excitement. He didn’t mind the elder’s haughty words. In fact, the more arrogant the elder was, the more confident Zhang thought he must be.
After a dazzling display of treatment from the Thousand Poison Elder, in just one day, all signs of illness vanished from Miss Zhang’s face. She looked radiant, and even her eyes were filled with renewed vitality.
The father and daughter naturally cried tears of joy.
Zhang Yuanshan wanted to reward the Thousand Poison Elder, but was scared off by his stare, could only express his deepest gratitude, then bid farewell to Shi Xiaole and the others, and left the mountain.
A few days later, the group of five returned to the Zhang family in Feiyan City. From then on, Shi Xiaole has successfully completed his task.
"Young Hero Shi, here’s the note for 200,000 taels of silver. Also, this Detoxification Pill has been of no use to me, I’ll give it to you as well."
In the hall, under the envious eyes of Wang Yangming and the monk, Zhang Yuanshan handed a white porcelain bottle to Shi Xiaole.
For many people in the martial world, the value of a Detoxification Pill is, perhaps, even greater than 200,000 taels of silver. After all, who knows when you’ll get poisoned, and, in a critical moment, this pill may even save your life.
Shi Xiaole declined a few times, but when Zhang Yuanshan pretended to be unhappy, he finally accepted it, as per Zhang’s wishes.
When the three each received their rewards and had a chat, they left the Zhang family under Zhang Yuanshan’s farewell.
In the back yard of the Zhang family, inside a turret.
Miss Zhang watched the young man in the blue shirt gradually fade from her sight, showing a hint of sadness in her face.
She knew that in her lifetime, she would never forget the experience of the past few days, and she would never forget the demeanor and laughter of that young man. It’s just that, she was only a passerby in his life...
After saying goodbye to Wang Yangming and the monk, Shi Xiaole entered an inn, rented a room, and immediately eagerly entered the system.
The system had already sent a notification earlier, confirming that Shi Xiaole had completed his two-star task.
So, the next thing Shi Xiaole was to do was draw a lottery!
"Reminding the host, two-star tasks correspond to second-rate martial arts, and the probability of drawing nothing is 20 percent, do you want to use your chance now?"
The system asked mechanically.
"Draw immediately."
One in five chances of drawing nothing isn’t going to change over time. So, the sooner Shi Xiaole draws, the sooner he will know, he didn’t want this to affect his rhythm for the future.
A square halo lit up on the second floor of the Martial God Hall, and then it kept flickering.
For some reason, the flickering time this time is unusually long, making Shi Xiaole’s heart hang in mid-air.
Just when he thought the system was messing with him, the square halo finally stopped on a stone wall.
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host, for drawing a second-rate lower tier martial mind method, Fu Qian’s Fuyang Qi Skill."
Phew.
He was rather lucky.
Shi Xiaole pondered for a moment, and finally remembered who Fu Qian is.
How to put it, this man is the prince of Tuyuhun, the heir to the throne. He doesn’t appear many times in the martial world of the Tang Dynasty. The few times he does, it’s as if he’s there for the exposure.
The first time, he mysteriously invited Kou Zhong, Xu Zilin, and Ba Fenghan for drinks, and he left on a boat after being refused.
The second time, he invited the three of them for drinks again, and was turned down again.
The third time, Prince Fu Qian wanted to challenge the Iron Le Grandmaster Qu Ao to clear his name. But he was intercepted halfway by young Ba, who knocked out Qu Ao at the door itself.
The most tragic case was when Fu Qian had a chance to take part in the grand finale, but was again sent away halfway by Li Jing.
In the martial world of Tang Dynasty, his only battle that he brought to the table was when he defeated Pang Yu with a single punch.
Unfortunately, Pang Yu was just a second-rate expert in Tiance Mansion and could not prove Fu Qian’s strength.
However, from Fu Qian’s confidence in challenging the Grandmaster Qu Ao, it can be inferred that his strength must not be poor.
As it turns out, Shi Xiaole’s judgement wasn’t too off.
The Fuyang Qi Skill, rated as second-rate lower tier by the system, is Fu Qian’s created supreme skill, which emphasizes the nurturing of life forces, and at full power, it can make internal power endless, circulating and reciprocating endlessly, completely impervious to any prolonged battle.
This is the most suitable mind method for Shi Xiaole, who has weak internal strength.
After checking the task stone wall next to Martial God Hall, Shi Xiaole has earned a full 500 reward points for completing the Zhang Family mission.
Now, without any hesitation, he exchanged it for a fifty 2-hour cultivating time, and then wholeheartedly immersed himself in the cultivation of Fuyang Qi Skill.
The fifty 2-hour training sessions in the Martial God Hall equate to nearly seventeen 2-hour periods outside.
During this process, the system would remind Shi Xiaole to eat once for every five 2-hour periods to prevent him from damaging his health.
After just over a day, Shi Xiaole had actually practiced for fifty 2-hour periods. His Fuyang Qi Skill has finally been practiced to a small degree of accomplishment.
At this moment, when he slightly operates the Fuyang Qi Skill, his internal power begins to circulate at a seemingly slow but actually fast speed.
Shi Xiaole discovered that compared to the Embracing the Origin Energy, the internal power of the Fuyang Qi Skill is obviously softer and more mellow. It only seems to be in its early stages of accomplishment, yet it already gives him the illusion of being endless.
With a "puff", his cultivation level directly reached the peak of the Fifth Tier of Hidden Qi.
The Fuyang Qi Skill is, after all, a second-rate lower tier internal power, and the level of mystery far exceeds that of a third-rate upper tier internal power.
To put it bluntly, if the Fuyang Qi Skill was leaked out at this time, it is likely that all the martial forces, including the cities of Feiyan, Emerald Feather, and Moyun, would fight over it in an instant.
