Chapter 145: Chapter 144: 5 Fires Tempering the Heart
Two days later, the preliminarily supplemented Secret Transmission was delivered into the hands of Xu Ji and Peng Weishan.
They eagerly began to examine it. After completely reading through Zhao Xuanqi’s additions and modifications, the excitement on their faces was impossible to conceal.
They were both veterans who had been immersed in their respective Secret Transmissions for decades, so they could naturally see the value of this revised version at a glance.
The human body is wondrous beyond imagination; even the slightest deviation can produce drastically different results.
The Black Tortoise Sect and the White Tiger Sect had truly suffered a cruel fate. Over the past millennium, multiple Mie Wu events had caused parts of their Secret Transmissions to be lost, forcing them to hide among the common people like rats scurrying through the streets. During the peak of the imperial court’s power, martial arts were strictly forbidden among the populace, and Secret Medicines were tightly controlled. Forget passing on their legacy—the two sects were nearly wiped out. For a very long time, no masters emerged from their ranks; it was difficult to even reach the realm of Inner Cultivation.
It was not until the last century, with the decline of the Daqian and the resurgence of the Martial Dao, that their situation improved. The two sects seized the opportunity to slowly recover their Primordial Qi and grow strong once more. Batch after batch of powerful experts emerged, who then began the work of restoring and supplementing their respective Secret Transmissions.
As elders, they knew better than anyone the hardships and wrong turns they had taken in the process.
Now, seeing the hope that their sect’s Secret Transmission could finally be completed, the joy these two men—who had dedicated nearly their entire lives to their sects—felt was beyond what any ordinary person could imagine.
At that moment, they no longer had any doubts about Zhao Xuanqi and felt that the conditions they had offered previously were more than worth it.
The two immediately had a trusted person deliver the revised Secret Transmission back to their respective sect headquarters, so that the Sect Leaders and other Elders presiding there could review it and more meticulously verify the results of the improvements.
"It seems what Elder Zhao has passed on to us is indeed the legendary Holy Beast Fist," Xu Ji said with a sigh.
"If it weren’t that Fist Technique, he couldn’t have made such targeted changes in such a short time. However, I feel he might still be holding something back," Peng Weishan said.
"That’s only natural. If it were me, I would have held something back as well. Now that Elder Zhao has shown his sincerity, it’s time for us to show ours," Xu Ji said, then turned to Shi Huai’an. "Have all the things Elder Zhao requested been sent over?"
"They’ve all been delivered. Also, my subordinates brought a message. They said Elder Zhao wants us to prepare some things," Shi Huai’an said to Xu Ji.
"Oh? As long as Elder Zhao’s requests aren’t too outrageous, fulfill all of them," Xu Ji said to Shi Huai’an.
"Based on Elder Zhao’s message, and looking at the items he wants us to prepare, it seems he intends to cultivate the Five Evils Technique," Shi Huai’an said, sounding a bit uncertain.
"The Five Evils Technique?!"
Hearing Shi Huai’an’s words, Xu Ji’s expression changed involuntarily, a look of disbelief crossing his face.
"What is this Five Evils Technique? Why have I never heard of it?"
Seeing the shocked expressions on Xu Ji and Shi Huai’an, Peng Weishan couldn’t help but frown and ask. Fan Shiyan, who was standing to the side, also found it strange.
Peng Weishan considered himself very knowledgeable about the Secret Transmissions of the Four Saints Sect, yet he had never heard of this Five Evils Technique.
"This ’Five Evils Technique’ is actually another Training Method for our Mystic Turtle Inner Breath Five Qi Profound Method. It exists only in records. Because the Secret Transmission is incomplete, and also because this cultivation method is far too perilous, among other reasons, very few people have successfully cultivated it in the thousand years since the Divine Generals vanished. Even the records in my Black Tortoise Sect only contain a few corresponding mentions, so it’s normal that you haven’t heard of it," Xu Ji said, taking a deep breath.
"Is it really that incredible?" Peng Weishan asked, unable to stop a hint of doubt from creeping into his voice.
"Ordinary Inner Cultivation is the path of Five Qi Tongxuan. The principle of Qi is to nurture. Those who practice Five Qi Tongxuan must be extremely cautious, as if treading on thin ice, as they nourish their five organs. But the principle of Evil is savagery. If one can channel Evil Qi into the five organs, emerge unscathed, and achieve Tongxuan this way, the resulting turbulent power of the organs will be far beyond what a practitioner who merely nurtures their Qi could ever hope to match!"
"Huai’an, which of the five organs is Elder Zhao planning to refine?" Xu Ji asked Shi Huai’an in a low voice.
"At noon tomorrow, Five Fire Heart Refining," Shi Huai’an said in a hushed voice.
"No wonder, no wonder... The Rare Beast Materials and Medicinal Materials Elder Zhao required are all of the Fire Attribute..."
"He had us help him with the material preparations... this is him giving us an opportunity to observe. In that sense, we are the ones indebted to him."
"I never thought... I never thought I would live to see someone actually practice the Five Evils Technique!" Xu Ji said, his expression filled with excitement.
’The Five Evils Technique, Five Fire Heart Refining?’
Peng Weishan and Fan Shiyan glanced at each other, both seeing the astonishment in the other’s eyes. They too were extremely curious—just how incredible was this so-called Five Evils Technique?
...
...
「The next day, all preparations were complete.」
With the Black Tortoise Sect’s Secret Medicine to use as a reference, Zhao Xuanqi’s own Secret Medicine formula was concocted smoothly this time.
At noon, the fierce sun hung high in the sky, its vast, scorching light bathing the land.
In the center of a spacious courtyard in a suburban residence stood a massive bronze cauldron, three meters wide and taller than a man.
Beneath the cauldron was a large stove, piled high with dry wood that was now burning fiercely.
Inside the bronze cauldron, a brownish-red medicinal liquid was being heated, sending up faint wisps of steam.
Zhao Xuanqi stood in the courtyard, the noon sun beating down on him.
Meanwhile, Sun Yunyong, Xu Ji, Peng Weishan, Shi Huai’an, and Fan Shiyan stood in a corner of the courtyard, watching Zhao Xuanqi’s every move.
"This is a little too extreme..."
Looking at the large bronze cauldron, which was being heated until it steamed, Fan Shiyan couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
’Stewing himself in a bronze cauldron?! This wasn’t Cross-Training conditioning; this was cultivating an Inner Cultivation method!!’
’What Martial Artist who cultivated an Inner Cultivation method didn’t do so with utmost trepidation, as if treading on thin ice, progressing step by step?!’
’He could hardly believe someone would dare use such an extreme method to temper their internal organs. Could this really work? Wouldn’t he boil himself to death?!’
In the courtyard, Zhao Xuanqi tilted his head up slightly and stared directly at the sun, as if sensing something.
After a moment, he took a blood-red Secret Medicine pill from his robes and swallowed it in one gulp.
BOOM!!
He didn’t activate Qi Surge or Blood Essence, yet his body began to swell naturally. The veins on his skin bulged as his entire body rapidly turned crimson.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The sound of his heart beating was like a war drum, spreading in dull thuds throughout the courtyard.
Stimulated by the Secret Medicine, his blood began to flow rapidly and his body temperature soared, far surpassing the limits a normal person could endure.
Anyone whose internal organs hadn’t reached a certain level of strength would have already suffered organ failure from the high temperature—a fate from which not even an Immortal could save them!
At this very moment, a strange expression appeared on Zhao Xuanqi’s face. He seemed to be caught in a bizarre emotional state. The corners of his mouth turned up in an aberrant, terrifying smile, and a manic light flashed in his eyes.
WHOOSH!!
He leaped up abruptly and plunged into the bronze cauldron, causing the medicinal liquid to churn violently.
"The fierce noon sun, with its blazing Yang fire—this is the Celestial Fire."
"The raging fire of dry wood, burning without end—this is the External Fire."
"Stimulated by the medicine, with its potent Yang properties—this is the Medicinal Fire."
"The heart’s pulse erupting, the blood boiling like a cauldron—this is the Blood Fire."
"The heart governs joy, and excessive joy becomes mania—this is the Heart Fire."
"This... is the method of Five Fire Heart Refining..."
Xu Ji’s quiet muttering slowly reached the ears of the others present.
