Chapter 77: Mysterious True Energy
Led by Chen Yan’er, Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan met Chen Chenyun, the abbot of Floating Cloud Monastery.
Chen Chenyun was Chen Yan’er’s paternal uncle. In the martial world, it was common to combine one’s surname and Daoist title, so he was also known as Chen Chenyun.
He was around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, his physique strong and muscular due to his external martial arts training. He had a wife, Madam Wang, and a son and a daughter, who were currently arguing, forcing him to mediate.
Chen Yan’er intervened, calming the two children, who, with their fickle nature, quickly ran off to play together.
She introduced Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan to Chen Chenyun and asked if they could stay in the west wing.
Chen Chenyun readily agreed, “Guests are always welcome. There are plenty of empty rooms in the west wing. The disciples and the children who live here all eat together. Two more won’t make a difference. Feel free to stay.”
Shi Hao said, “Thank you, Abbot.”
Chen Chenyun smiled, “Don’t mention it. Yan’er has been a great help to me these past few years. Since you’re her friends, consider this your home.”
Chen Yan’er led them to the west wing, then asked, perhaps intentionally, “Do you two want one room or two?”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “Chen Yan’er…”
Chen Yan’er giggled, “Don’t worry, I’ll arrange two rooms for you. But even if you wanted one room, that’s fine too. The guest rooms in the west wing have inner and outer chambers. You can each take one. And even if you both sleep in the inner chamber, no one would know.”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “Are you done?”
Chen Yan’er said, “Yes, yes, I’m done!”
She showed them to their rooms and let them unpack.
As dinner time approached, she led them to the monastery’s dining hall. The food was decent, but the many children running around made it quite noisy.
After dinner, Shi Hao returned to his room. The Heroic Deeds Blade and the sword he had borrowed from Daoist Tie Yu were wrapped in cloth, along with the Illusory Sea Spirit Fruit, which, thankfully small, was easy to carry in its jade box.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating the Gathering Essence Flowing Pearl Technique and the Unfettered Demon’s Boundless Art.
The two techniques flowed endlessly within him, his power steadily increasing.
He thought to himself, although he had obtained the Illusory Sea Spirit Fruit and the “weapon that has killed a thousand people,” he still needed the Molting Snake Reverse Scale, the Tri-colored Qilin Grass, the Carriage Horse Mushroom, a matricide’s heart, and the blood of an Undying Child.
Xu Xiaoyan had asked the organizer of the Red Hill Gathering to help him find the first three ingredients, although it depended on luck.
The matricide’s heart and the Undying Child’s blood, however, were more troublesome. Demonic rituals were truly bizarre. These items weren’t particularly valuable, yet they were difficult to obtain.
Of course, it seemed unlikely he would master both the Gathering Essence Flowing Pearl Technique and the Unfettered Demon’s Boundless Art before the next full moon, so he still had some time.
Advancing a rank every month wouldn’t make him a genius, but a monster.
Shi Hao focused his mind and tried to project the Gathering Essence Flowing Pearl true energy while simultaneously circulating the Unfettered Demon’s Boundless Art.
Normally, his Daoist and demonic foundations, residing in his upper and lower dantians respectively, balanced and reinforced each other.
Now, he tried to project one while containing the other, curious about the result.
He discovered that the Gathering Essence Flowing Pearl true energy, although circulating around him, couldn’t be projected outwards, and the flow of the Unfettered Demon’s Boundless Art slowed, unable to form the demonic vortex.
It seemed that while cultivating both techniques simultaneously wasn’t a problem, using them together was more difficult.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t be used together, but their opposing natures, one expanding outwards, the other contracting inwards, created a constant friction and struggle for dominance.
Usually, when he used the Gathering Essence Flowing Pearl Technique, his demonic energy remained dormant in his lower dantian, and vice versa. Occasionally switching between them was like a fleeting spark, a rapid transition.
Like when he had fought Zhuo Mulan, he had almost exhausted his demonic energy before suddenly unleashing his Daoist true energy, catching her off guard.
Although the switch had been quick, there was still a distinct sequence.
Now, trying to use both simultaneously, he couldn’t fully project or contain either, as if the energies themselves were confused.
The two forces pulled in opposite directions, their close proximity creating friction and hindering each other.
He realized that although he couldn’t use any techniques in this state, this convergence of opposing energies might be a powerful defensive barrier.
He had used a similar method against Zhuo Mulan, but it had relied on a rapid switch, only effective against residual energy.
If she had attacked with her full power, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.
But using both energies simultaneously for defense would force the enemy’s attack to penetrate two layers, ice and fire, significantly weakening it.
Shi Hao thought, This could be useful in certain situations.
Suddenly, he noticed something else.
As the two opposing energies rubbed against each other, a faint, new type of true energy emerged.
It was incredibly subtle, like the negligible heat generated by friction, formless and almost imperceptible, its presence barely detectable.
What is this? he wondered.
Was it… fusion? Like oxygen and metal combining to form an oxide. He wasn’t sure if the analogy was accurate, but a new, mysterious true energy was definitely being created in this unique situation.
Intrigued, Shi Hao circulated his Daoist and demonic energies in opposite directions, each completing a cycle through his meridians.
Previously, although they had been in a state of subtle conflict, they had generally maintained a balance, like two rivers flowing side by side, their waters distinct. And when he cultivated, they flowed smoothly through his meridians.
Now, however, they clashed head-on, flowing in opposite directions.
The impact caused a tearing pain in his meridians.
After half an hour, he couldn’t endure it any longer and stopped, his body covered in cold sweat, his meridians aching.
But the new true energy had increased slightly.
He slowly exhaled, calming his agitated energies.
Only now did he truly feel like he was “cultivating.” Before this, he had simply maintained the balance between his Daoist and demonic energies, letting them grow naturally.
He got up, took out a change of clothes, and left his room, heading down the corridor.
He had asked earlier, and there was a bathing area in another courtyard for the male disciples and the children who lived at the monastery.
Passing Xu Xiaoyan’s window, he heard two girls talking, mentioning his name.
He stopped and listened. The sound of splashing water and giggling came from within, a faint mist clinging to the paper windowpane. The two girls were bathing together.
“I don’t believe that nothing happened between you and that Shi Hao while traveling together,” Chen Yan’er’s voice, laced with laughter, said, “Especially at night, alone together…”
“As if I would be alone with him!” Xu Xiaoyan said, exasperated, “Yan’er, you’re becoming quite the gossip.”
Chen Yan’er giggled, “I heard that people in the martial world live dangerous lives, always on the edge of death, so it’s easy for them to fall in love. And with the world so vast, and not knowing when they’ll meet again, they just… do it.”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “You have quite the imagination. Everyone in the martial world knows it’s a dangerous life. We’re all cautious. Men are afraid of encountering demonic witches, and women are afraid of encountering scumbags. Who would trust someone so easily and just… sleep with them?
“Besides, what if you get pregnant?”
Chen Yan’er said, “I heard that if your internal energy is strong enough, you can just… expel the man’s essence, and then you won’t get pregnant.”
Xu Xiaoyan, clearly hearing this for the first time, said, “Really? Is that true?”
“Speaking of which,” Chen Yan’er said, “Xiao Yan, I didn’t notice it before, with your clothes on, but you’ve… grown quite a bit in these past three years…”
Xu Xiaoyan shrieked, “Don’t touch me!”
The sounds of splashing water and playful banter continued.
Shi Hao quickly left.
He reached the courtyard with the bathing area, a pond fed by a mountain spring, wooden buckets scattered around, water everywhere. It seemed many children had bathed here recently.
He took a cold bath and changed his clothes. As he returned to his room, he could still hear the two girls chatting and laughing in the bath. Girls take forever, he thought.
He hung his wet clothes on a bamboo pole outside his window and went inside to rest.
The next morning, before he was even fully awake, a knock came at his door.
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