"Get your clothes off!"

The wooden stick in Wu Zhu's hand struck Fan Xian's head heavily, making a loud "thud."

At this moment, true qi was surging from Fan Xian's glabella towards the sky. He could vaguely see a bright light within his consciousness, especially at the top of his head, which was transforming into seven iridescent colors, but was somewhat viscous and never quite clear. A sense of frustration spread from the stagnant area, making Fan Xian extremely distressed and depressed. He only tilted his head towards the sky, wanting to gain relief.

Then, at the very place where true qi was accumulating on his forehead, Wu Zhu delivered a blow.

The stick struck his flesh, but it felt more like a blow to the depths of his soul. His mind exploded, as if the dark clouds above his head had been split open by lightning, and bright, clear sunlight poured down.

"Get your clothes off!"

This sentence came from a passage in the Qing Yu Nian Kingdom's Five Classics, "Records of Overnight Words." It was said that the great-great-grandfather of the current one of the Four Grandmasters, Northern Qi's State Preceptor Ku He, Genchen, received heavenly teachings in his youth. When he achieved enlightenment, he proclaimed, "The human body is like a sweat-soaked shirt. Only by taking it off can one achieve the Great Way."

And in the books Fan Xian had read in his previous life, Buddhism also had the Way of Enlightenment through striking. Zen Master Qingyuan once said: "If the sweat-soaked shirt on your body is removed, you will then know that enlightenment through striking dispels ignorance."

So, when Fan Xian, in his daze and pain, heard Wu Zhu say this sentence, he understood its meaning. Moreover, now that the passage at the top of his head was cleared and heavenly light was shining down, his mind regained clarity. He focused on his inner mansion, treating all the pain in the meridians of his body as something inflicted by heaven and endured by others, having nothing to do with himself.

Letting go of all attachments in life, letting go of all sensations in the body, perfectly corresponded to the state of mind at the end of the Dominating Force scroll.

The dominating aura of heaven and earth could not be contained within a single person's body. Therefore, only by abandoning one's body and connecting oneself with the aura of heaven and earth, becoming a part of nature, could one harness such wild and untamable true qi.

The true qi in Fan Xian's body gradually calmed down. The major checkpoint at the top of his head had been opened, and gentle but powerful true qi flowed through it, then down along the heavenly pillar behind him, directly into the snow mountain.

And, strangely, the area inside the snow mountain, which had always been as calm as the sea, also underwent some small changes today, beginning to seep out some true qi to replenish his dantian.

In this way, the circulation of true qi in his body finally became smooth, forming a perfect cycle, subtly resonating with the external environment.

……

……

A long time later, Fan Xian finally awoke in a daze. A pool of foul-smelling sewage had already flowed out from under him. He looked at Wu Zhu beside him, who still had a cold expression, and gave a weak smile, saying with a wry smile, "Thank you, Uncle, but… that stick of yours really hit hard."

Although his body felt weak at this time, his spirit was very strong. He closed his eyes to examine the situation inside his body, familiarizing himself with the latest trend of true qi flow. He felt that the previously violent true qi, while still powerful, was obviously less agitated, and flowed more smoothly and freely.

Fan Xian sighed. He never thought that he could finally cultivate true qi, something he had only seen in martial arts novels in his previous life. An indescribable feeling filled his mind. Instinctively, he slapped his right hand down beside him.

With a muffled thud, it was as if a piece of cloth had been pierced by a red-hot iron skewer.

A shallow palm print appeared on the ground, with very smooth edges!

Fan Xian raised his right hand, looked at it, and then looked down at the palm print on the stone surface, comparing the size to confirm that the palm print was made by his casual slap. After staring blankly for a long time, he finally came to his senses and sighed, "It's really amazing."

"True qi overflowing, it will be fine later," Wu Zhu said beside him.

"Uncle, didn't you say that you haven't cultivated true qi yourself, so you don't know how to teach me?"

"I've seen others practice it, so I know what to do today."

"So, it's like not having eaten pork, but having seen pigs run."

Fan Xian suddenly felt like he was scolding himself. He smiled slightly and continued, "That checkpoint just now was really dangerous. If it wasn't for that stick, I was really afraid I would become a vegetable again."

"What is a vegetable?" Wu Zhu asked calmly.

Fan Xian looked up at the sky, his mind wandering, ignoring him.

He then realized that the blind Wu Zhu was also an empiricist. Then… what if that stick hadn't opened him up, but had knocked him unconscious, and the violent true qi in his body had run amok, turning his internal organs into a mess…

He shuddered, shaking off this terrifying association. Looking at the vastness of the sea in front of him, his heart felt much lighter. Now that his skills were initially successful, and he was vaguely excited, he finally broke free from the gloomy emotions of the assassin incident a few days ago.

For these days, Fan Xian had been unable to figure out why the assassin actually used poison. Fei Jie came to teach him the skills of recognizing and resolving poisons. Did he really foresee this day? That would be too forward-looking. Also, that Second Concubine was too bold. Even if there was a high-ranking family in the capital supporting her, using poison was equivalent to not even putting Grandmother's life in her eyes—that old lady was the Emperor's wet nurse.

Didn't his father in the capital notice anything at all?

As he was thinking about these questions, a song came from below the cliff in the distance.

This cliff was next to the sea, far from Danzhou, and behind the cliff was desolate and dangerous land. In front of the cliff, there were many reefs, and fishing boats could not get close, so it was very quiet. It was for this reason that Wu Zhu chose to teach Fan Xian his killing skills here. So, today, suddenly hearing a song, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel confused.

Although he was nervous, he didn't lose his composure. He carefully lay on the cliff face, looking towards the source of the song from behind a rock.

In his sight, a small boat was traveling between the black reefs in the stormy waves. The black reefs were sometimes visible and sometimes hidden in the white foam. The small boat was swaying between them, seeming like it could crash into the reefs at any moment and be smashed to pieces.

But precisely in this way, the small boat was traveling very freely.

There was a person sitting on the boat. The person was wearing a bamboo hat, and the song was coming from his mouth: "The waves only bloom for a moment, but compared to the stone of a thousand years, there is not much difference. The flowing clouds are also like this."

The song was gentle, but clearly transmitted to the cliff above through the roar of the waves.

When Fan Xian heard this song, he thought of Matsunaga Teitoku's famous verse about morning glories: "A moment only blooms for a single hour, yet is the same as the pine of a thousand years." He felt that the person on the boat was very unrestrained, yet unfathomable.

Just as he was thinking, he heard Wu Zhu's cold voice: "Hide well."

Instinctively, Fan Xian hid his body behind the rock. He noticed a black shadow flash past him, and then he watched in horror as Wu Zhu jumped directly off the cliff, which was dozens of feet high!