Chapter 17: Herbal Purification of the Meridians (Part Two)
After Strategist Ji left, Li Yan instantly felt the flow of qi within his body ease, and he couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. As long as his teacher was nearby, his internal energy always seemed obstructed.
He quickly calmed his mind and focused his breath, casting aside all stray thoughts.
His teacher had already told him that the bronze cauldron burned for approximately one hour each session, giving him limited time to cultivate. He couldn't afford to waste a single moment.
Hastening to the bronze cauldron, Li Yan assumed a stable stance and extended both hands into the greenish-black vapor rising from the basin, silently circulating the cultivation method in his heart.
Immediately, the vapor coiled around his hands and split into ten thin black strands, which drilled into his fingertips as if drawn by some invisible force.
Li Yan felt as though red-hot needles were prying open his fingernails, attempting to peel them off entirely. The agony pierced straight through his nerves and into his brain.
Even though he had mentally prepared for this, he hadn't expected the pain to be so excruciating. He let out a muffled groan as his stance wavered, stumbling back two steps.
Yet, an eerie scene unfolded, the ten threads of black vapor didn't disperse. Instead, they stretched with him, clinging to his fingers like venomous threads pulled taut, still madly forcing their way into his nail beds.
Sweat instantly drenched his black robe. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself forward two steps and resumed his stance.
Inside his body, the fine black threads of medicinal qi were like glowing needles, piercing and threading through his meridians.
With every inch they advanced, his entire body convulsed involuntarily, and layer after layer of sweat gushed forth like a torrent.
He didn't know how long he could endure this, but his nature was inherently resolute. Once he committed to something, even if he couldn't do it perfectly, he would still give it everything he had.
Time ticked away.
Eventually, Li Yan's nerves became numb from the pain. Only his subconscious was still guiding the movement of the technique, circulating the black herbal qi throughout his body.
Outside the room, Strategist Ji remained seated cross-legged at the stone table. Though his eyes were closed in meditation, his eyelids would occasionally twitch, betraying his concern.
Finally, after more than half an hour had passed, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the stone table.
At the same moment, the door to Li Yan's room flew open, pushed by an invisible force.
Inside, Li Yan's face was pale with a sickly greenish-black tint. His arms and hands were shrouded in thick black qi, and he had already lost consciousness, he could no longer even operate his technique reflexively.
His body tilted backward, about to collapse to the ground. The black threads still clung stubbornly to his fingers, forming twisted arcs in the air that looked utterly eerie.
Just as he was about to crash to the floor, a figure suddenly appeared behind him. A sweeping black sleeve wrapped around him mid-fall, gently suspending him in the air.
With his other sleeve, Strategist Ji flicked at the ten black threads. A few soft "poh, poh" sounds rang out like blades cutting through silk, and the threads were severed from Li Yan's fingertips.
But Li Yan's body still seemed to exert a pulling force. The severed strands writhed in the air like venomous snakes, swaying and lashing out in his direction, it was a horrifying sight.
Strategist Ji paid them no further mind. With a flick of his sleeve, a gentle force supported Li Yan and slowly lowered him onto the wooden bed.
He then approached the bedside. With a few complex hand seals, faint green starlike glimmers burst from his fingertips and shot into Li Yan's abdomen.
At that moment, Li Yan felt as though he was trapped inside a volcano, his whole body ablaze with unbearable heat. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out. The torment was excruciating.
He was surrounded by rivers of molten lava, boiling and consuming him from within. He truly believed he would die in this volcano.
Then, suddenly, a wave of coolness rose from his abdomen. The overwhelming heat and lava receded in an instant, and his mind quickly cleared.
Opening his eyes, he found himself lying flat on the bed, and saw Strategist Ji standing by in his black robe. He tried to sit up, but searing pain exploded in his chest and stomach.
He let out a heavy groan and slumped back down. Stars danced in front of his eyes, and the volcano inside him seemed ready to erupt again.
Steeling his mind, he turned his head and gave a strained smile toward his teacher.
"Te… Teacher… this disciple is incompetent… I've failed your expectations…"
"Hahaha… there's no need to blame yourself. You've already exceeded my expectations by lasting over half an hour on your first attempt. You've done very well."
Strategist Ji gave him a gentle smile.
"Then… does this mean… I can truly cultivate our sect's technique?"
Li Yan's face twisted in pain as he spoke through gritted teeth.
"Of course! But although you're suffering now, you must still refine the herbal energy you absorbed. If it remains in your body, it will do far more harm than good.
Only by refining it will it become truly yours, only then is a full cycle complete."
Li Yan understood this well, his teacher had explained it all earlier.
Each session had two parts: absorbing the herbal energy, then refining it with inner force.
After forty-nine days, seven cycles of seven, he would reach the first layer. His body would then generate genuine internal energy, not just that initial cool sensation. From that point on, he would no longer need the herbal infusion; he could rely on steady cultivation alone.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yan endured the burning pain in his body and slowly sat up, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes to begin refining the energy.
Seeing this, Strategist Ji quietly turned and left the room, once again sitting cross-legged at the stone table outside.
Once seated, he glanced toward Li Yan's room and muttered softly to himself:
"This boy does have remarkable willpower… but once he finishes refining the herbal energy, whether he can maintain inner peace remains to be seen. I truly hope all goes as expected."
With those cryptic words, he sank into deep thought.
From that day onward, Li Yan began his long, painful journey of drawing in medicinal energy and refining it, day after day.
Despite the agony, he persisted through sheer willpower. Gradually, he was able to remain conscious longer during the energy absorption process.
As time passed, the herbal potency doubled nearly every seven days. Whether it was due to improvement in his cultivation or greater tolerance for pain, the torment of energy infusion slowly began to lessen.
Aside from assisting him during the initial sessions, Strategist Ji no longer needed to intervene, Li Yan was eventually able to complete each cycle on his own.
Had he been able to see inside his own body, he would have been stunned.
Several of his main meridians had already expanded significantly.
Where once they were like fragile threads, the medicinal energy had forcefully torn them open and widened them, causing extreme pain.
But as he refined the energy and it settled within him, all the meridians large and small, grew steadily stronger and thicker, especially those crucial main pathways, which had become visibly broader and more resilient.
"Huu…"
Letting out a long breath, Li Yan concluded his energy circulation and refining session for the day.
He didn't get up. Remaining seated cross-legged, he opened his eyes and immediately frowned as a wave of irritability surged up in his chest. Taking another deep breath, he tried to steady himself.
As his daily cultivation progressed, Li Yan noticed his temperament had been growing increasingly irritable, as if a ball of fire was rampaging through his body, leaving him restless and on edge.
But Strategist Ji had told him this was a result of the herbal medicine tempering his body. Once he passed the forty-nine-day cycle and entered the first layer, this condition would improve. With deeper cultivation, it would eventually disappear altogether.
Li Yan accepted this explanation. Thinking of his teacher's peerless martial prowess, it all seemed perfectly reasonable but for some reason, a vague sense of unease remained in his heart. Perhaps it was the instinctive fear of the unknown.
Trying to set the thought aside, he found the irritation within him only intensified, to the point where it affected his ability to maintain a focused, meditative state during cultivation.
He stood up and pushed open the door. Night had already fallen. Feeling suffocated, he wandered into the valley, needing to vent the unrest in his heart.
Since beginning his training, he had spent almost every day immersed in cultivation and rarely had time to relax. But tonight, the agitation within him left him unable to remain inside his room.
He walked aimlessly through the valley. The cool night wind brushed against his face, bringing with it a soothing chill that began to ease the stuffiness in his chest.
He took several deep breaths, letting the night air's faint chill wash through him. Just like that, he continued walking slowly through the valley.
The valley wasn't very large. After circling about halfway around, Li Yan neared the pool of water. A sharper chill greeted him, causing a distinct cold sensation to rise within.
At that moment, he felt the flow of qi within him become smooth and unimpeded. His spirits lifted.
Hurrying forward, he came to the edge of the water. The icy aura emanating from the pool was even stronger here, and the stifling heat within him was swept away in an instant.
Overjoyed, Li Yan simply sat down beside the water. He remained there for half an hour. By the time he rose to leave, the heat in his body had completely subsided. As a wave of drowsiness overtook him, he returned to his room and immediately fell into a deep, restful sleep.
At dawn.
Li Yan awoke refreshed, feeling more energized than he had in days. After over twenty days of cultivation and bodily transformation, it had been a long time since he'd slept so soundly.
He stood at his table and gazed out the window at the thin mists curling above the water's surface. His eyes gradually lit up with renewed clarity.
Without delay, he headed straight to Strategist Ji's stone chamber. Just as he arrived, his teacher's familiar, gentle voice rang out:
"Come in."
"Yes, Teacher!"
Li Yan's expression grew serious as he quickly stepped inside.
As always, Strategist Ji was seated cross-legged behind his desk, seemingly unchanged, holding that book of uncertain material, neither metal nor jade, in one hand and smiling up at him.
Yet, just like every other time, Li Yan immediately felt his qi flow become sluggish the moment he entered his teacher's presence.
"Hehehe… You seem to be in good spirits today. It seems you've made a discovery about this valley."
Strategist Ji looked at him with a knowing smile.
"Teacher, you already know why I came?"
Li Yan asked, a bit surprised.
"You've realized that the area by the pool can dispel the heat in your body, haven't you?"
"Yes, Teacher! So… Teacher already knew of the pool's properties?"
Li Yan's expression turned somewhat awkward.
"Of course I knew. One of the main reasons I chose this valley as my residence is precisely because of the unique chill of that pool."
"Then… Teacher, why didn't you suggest I cultivate by the pool earlier?"
Li Yan asked hesitantly.
"Hehe, our sect's introductory cultivation method is indeed quite aggressive, and this kind of bodily agitation is a common reaction.
There are many ways to deal with it, one is to calm the mind through personal hobbies, such as playing instruments, composing music, or calligraphy.
Another is to counterbalance the internal fire with external cold forces like ice stones, snowy peaks, or cold pools."
Here, Strategist Ji paused, glancing at Li Yan. But Li Yan didn't interrupt. He knew his teacher would explain further.
Seeing how calmly Li Yan waited, Strategist Ji silently sighed to himself:
'This child has a quiet nature and a thoughtful mind.'
He continued:
"The reason I didn't have you cultivate by the pool from the beginning is because, early in cultivation, it's best to endure with your own willpower. This is crucial for tempering the heart and mind.
If you rely on external aids from the start, their effects will diminish over time, and in the end, your progress will be hindered.
That's why I didn't mention these things. I feared you wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and would abandon the tempering of your will."
Li Yan thought to himself:
"So that's the reason… There are many ways to relieve this internal heat, but they can't be used lightly."
He immediately bowed.
"Disciple understands his mistake."
Strategist Ji waved his hand.
"This isn't your fault. I simply never explained it clearly before."
After a moment's thought, he added:
"From what I've observed, your cultivation has reached a bottleneck. For now, avoid cultivating by the pool.
I'll use another method to help suppress your current inner heat. When you attempt to break through to the first layer after forty-nine days, that will be the best time to train by the pool.
Once you reach the first layer, you'll be able to train there regularly."
Li Yan was delighted to hear this.
"Then… Teacher, what method will you use?"
"You'll find out during today's cultivation."
Strategist Ji smiled faintly, giving no further explanation.
Li Yan could only smile wryly and take his leave.
A few hours later.
After Li Yan absorbed the medicinal energy as usual and sat cross-legged to begin refining it, the familiar searing agitation surged up within his body once more.
He tried to suppress it a few times, but his control slipped. His mind grew more restless, and the internal fire became increasingly difficult to bear.
Just then, a sound drifted in through the window, a gentle tune played on a zither.
It was like the autumn moon reflected on a still lake, like a jade rabbit rising over the eastern hills… like a soft breeze brushing the forest canopy, like a girl's whispered secrets, and then like morning dew sparkling in the light, melting across the heart...
As the melody entered his ears, Li Yan felt a cool clarity begin to take shape in his mind. The agitation in his chest faded, and his inner consciousness gradually cleared.
He instantly understood what his teacher's chosen method was, his teacher's zither skill was so profound it could bring peace and lucidity to the heart and mind.
He didn't dare dwell on the thought. Calming his breath, Li Yan entered a state of focused serenity, slowly stepping into a realm of selfless tranquility.
(Chapter End)