"Sister Qiu Yun, still awake?"
Her dark hair was pinned up in the back with a wooden hairpin, and a few strands of hair dangled before her face. She was studying the art of charm, her head bowed, exuding an air of grace and elegance, yet with an inherent allure that was palpable.
A naturally endowed seductive disposition was not something all women possessed. Chen Qiu Yun needed no affectation; every movement, every glance, every smile could send one into a frenzy, driving them to recklessness...
"Mmm, I don't understand what this line means."
Seeing Wan Yun Ting sit beside her, Chen Qiu Yun, holding the secret manual of charm, pointed to the line she didn't comprehend and asked.
Wan Yun Ting took the manual, glanced at it, and chuckled, "Use the Ru Xi acupoint as a cauldron, inhale and exhale thirty times. This means you should cultivate your Qi, gather it at the Ru Xi acupoint, and inhale and exhale thirty times. Then, guide this Qi into your Dantian with your intention. Do you understand?"
Chen Qiu Yun nodded, a look of partial understanding on her face. Wan Yun Ting explained, "The art of charm is divided into external and internal charm, which is quite straightforward. External charm refers to refining our outward appearance. However, with your natural seductive constitution, you need not practice external charm."
"Internal charm, on the other hand, emphasizes Qi and charm. This refers to the ability to captivate men with a single glance, a mental invasion, in essence, control!"
Chen Qiu Yun cast a sidelong glance at him and asked, "Then how does one cultivate internal charm?"
Wan Yun Ting replied, "It's actually quite similar to cultivating internal energy. It involves Qi circulation techniques and guiding techniques. Absorb the essence of heaven and earth into your body. Using the Ru Xi acupoint as I mentioned, inhale and exhale thirty times with each cycle, then guide it into your Dantian with your intention. This is the Qi cultivation method for the art of charm."
He blushed slightly and asked, "May I use my Qi to touch your Ru Xi acupoint?"
Chen Qiu Yun saw the unnatural gaze Wan Yun Ting fixed upon her, but she remained unconcerned. With a placid expression, she asked, "Do I need to undress?"
Wan Yun Ting smiled, formed a sword finger with his left hand, and directly touched the Ru Xi acupoint between Chen Qiu Yun's breasts, the place where streams converge. He channeled his Qi through his fingertip into her Ru Xi acupoint and asked, "What do you feel?"
"Mmm, I feel a flow of Qi."
Chen Qiu Yun's delicate eyebrows rose slightly. She could clearly feel the flow of Qi from Wan Yun Ting's finger, gathering and undulating within her chest.
"Close your eyes, and with your intention, imagine your chest is a cauldron. Then, control this flow of Qi to gather in your chest, and pour it into the Ru Xi acupoint, this cauldron..."
"Huh?"
Within three minutes, Wan Yun Ting's expression changed. He stared at Chen Qiu Yun, who had her eyes closed, manipulating her intention as he had instructed, gathering the Qi into a mass in her chest and pouring it into the cauldron of her Ru Xi acupoint. And she succeeded on her first try.
"How is this possible!"
Wan Yun Ting exclaimed in astonishment, looking at Chen Qiu Yun with disbelief. His heart was shaken. Could she be a rare martial arts prodigy, capable of achieving this on her first attempt?
He recalled that he had tried several times under his master's guidance before finally succeeding.
Yet, here was Chen Qiu Yun, actually able to control her intention to achieve what he had described, guiding the Qi and pouring it into the cauldron of the Ru Xi acupoint.
This was a perfect illustration of genius versus mediocrity compared to Qi Miao Miao's earlier performance!
"Is it like this?"
Chen Qiu Yun opened her eyes, looking somewhat puzzled at Wan Yun Ting's stunned and surprised expression.
Wan Yun Ting, having recovered his senses, withdrew his hand and nodded. "Yes, you did wonderfully, and you succeeded on your first try. This proves you truly possess a naturally seductive constitution and are a prodigy destined to practice the art of charm."
Chen Qiu Yun showed no outward joy and continued to ask Wan Yun Ting about practicing the art of charm. She had only studied it before, never actually practicing it.
Now, under Wan Yun Ting's guidance, Chen Qiu Yun quickly grasped the fundamentals and began practicing the Qi cultivation method of the art of charm, opening her Dantian and starting to condense internal Qi.
In just one hour, Wan Yun Ting was inwardly shaken, looking at Chen Qiu Yun with incredulous eyes. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Sister Qiu Yun, you are truly a martial arts prodigy. What a pity, what a pity..."
Chen Qiu Yun looked at him with her phoenix eyes, puzzled. "Why a pity?"
Wan Yun Ting said, "If you had started cultivating earlier, at your age, you might have already become a Grandmaster."
Chen Qiu Yun remained unperturbed, her expression placid. "Though destiny is as it is, why lament the past."
"No, no, no..."
Wan Yun Ting shook his head in disagreement. "If your talent had been discovered earlier, perhaps your fate would already be in your own hands!"
Chen Qiu Yun still hadn't realized the extent of her talent. If she had truly started practicing martial arts thirty years ago, her life might have taken a different turn.
"What do you mean by fate being in one's own hands?"
Just then, the stone door of the secret chamber opened. Lu Xiao Die and Gu Luo Tang, Zheng Rong, and Duan Ying Ying, who were emerging from the bedroom, heard Wan Yun Ting and Chen Qiu Yun's conversation in the living room and wondered what they were discussing.
Wan Yun Ting, somewhat excited, pointed at Chen Qiu Yun and said to Gu Luo Tang and the others, "You don't know, Sister Qiu Yun is actually a martial arts prodigy!"
"A martial arts prodigy?"
Gu Luo Tang, Lu Xiao Die, Zheng Rong, and Duan Ying Ying's eyes widened in astonishment, unable to believe it.
"That's right, Sister Qiu Yun mastered the Qi circulation and guiding techniques in just one hour. She successfully used her intention to control the flow of Qi within her body, guide it into her Dantian, and open her Dantian to condense Qi."
"Tsk tsk, just one hour. When I started, it took me a whole night just to sense the flow of Qi within my body..."
Wan Yun Ting gazed at Chen Qiu Yun with burning eyes, as if she were a treasure, his heart filled with excitement.
"What, mastered in an hour?"
Lu Xiao Die was completely stunned. Gu Luo Tang's pretty face was astonished, and she asked, "Don't you need to open the Ren and Du meridians?"
"Heavens, it took me a month to get started with Qi cultivation..." Zheng Rong felt embarrassed to say.
Duan Ying Ying also widened her eyes in shock, looking disbelievingly at Chen Qiu Yun, who sat on the chair with a calm expression. Lu Xiao Die, having recovered, exclaimed, "Sister Qiu Yun, you're too amazing! If you had started cultivating earlier, wouldn't you be a martial arts Grandmaster by now?"
"Let's go, Sister Qiu Yun, I'll take you to the cold ice bed in the secret chamber to practice..."
An excited Wan Yun Ting pulled Chen Qiu Yun and headed towards the secret chamber in the bedroom, exclaiming, "I'm already looking forward to seeing what level you can reach after practicing for a night..."
Lu Xiao Die, Gu Luo Tang, Duan Ying Ying, and Zheng Rong exchanged glances. While they felt a slight unease seeing the man's excitement, they were also shocked by Chen Qiu Yun's astonishing martial arts talent.
"Mmm, where's Miao Miao?"
Shortly after, Gu Luo Tang noticed that Qi Miao Miao was missing. At that moment, Duan Ying Ying looked at Qi Miao Miao entering with a dispirited demeanor. "Here."
Gu Luo Tang looked back and saw Qi Miao Miao entering with her head bowed and a strange expression. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she went to pull Qi Miao Miao aside, asking with concern, "What's wrong, Miao Miao? You look unhappy, and your eyes are red. Did you cry?"
Lu Xiao Die and Zheng Rong also came closer, looking at Qi Miao Miao with concern and guessing, "Are you homesick?"
Qi Miao Miao's face was dejected, her eyes swollen from crying. Looking at her senior sister Gu Luo Tang, she felt wronged but couldn't articulate it. "Senior Sister, I want to sleep..."
"Alright, alright, I'll sleep with you..."
Gu Luo Tang also believed the girl might be homesick, so she led her into the bedroom, assuring Lu Xiao Die and Zheng Rong not to worry, thinking that the girl would be fine after a good sleep...
Meanwhile, in the secret chamber, Wan Yun Ting and Chen Qiu Yun sat cross-legged on the cold ice bed. Both were completely focused, their minds clear, immersed in cultivation, forgetting the passage of time...
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. Gu Luo Tang, who had been sleeping in the bedroom, woke up. Seeing that the stone door of the secret chamber was still closed, she knew the man and Chen Qiu Yun were still cultivating inside and decided not to disturb them.
After all, cultivation was a matter that could not be interrupted by the outside world, lest one suffer from qi deviation.
"Miao Miao, what's wrong?"
However, Gu Luo Tang noticed that Qi Miao Miao was acting strangely. She was extremely dispirited, a stark contrast to her usual lively demeanor. Seeing the girl lying down and unwilling to get up made Gu Luo Tang worried, not knowing what had happened to her.
"I'm fine, Senior Sister. Let me keep sleeping. I'm so tired..."
Qi Miao Miao pulled the blanket over her head, refusing to get up.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Xiao Die and Zheng Rong carefully came in. Gu Luo Tang got up and shook her head at them, whispering, "This girl is acting strange. She's very dejected, and she won't say anything when I ask her. I don't know what's happened."
"Isn't she homesick?" Zheng Rong asked, puzzled.
Gu Luo Tang shook her head and turned to look at Qi Miao Miao, who was sleeping with her head covered. Her eyebrows raised, as if she were guessing why the girl was acting this way...
Wan Yun Ting and Chen Qiu Yun were still cultivating in the secret chamber, seemingly forgetting the time.
Gu Luo Tang, Lu Xiao Die, Zheng Rong, and Duan Ying Ying sat outside, staring blankly at two simple earthen stoves. Duan Ying Ying said, "Sister Lu, Senior Sister Zheng, didn't you say you could make breakfast?"
Lu Xiao Die and Zheng Rong nodded. "Yes, but we usually use gas stoves. We've never used this kind!"
Gu Luo Tang sighed. "Yun Ting Ge and Sister Chen are still in the secret chamber cultivating, and we don't know when they'll come out..."
Zheng Rong picked up a small pot and stood up. "It's alright, we'll manage ourselves. We'll definitely be able to make breakfast..."