Chen Chuan didn’t immediately try to make the crossing. He had just obtained the Furnace Breathing Method, but he had only memorized it; he couldn’t say he had mastered it until he began practicing.

Even if he tried his hardest today, he wouldn’t be able to break his limit without using his Second Self.

So after they finished talking, he and He Xiaoxing walked back.

Chang Ba knew He Xiaoxing must have taught Chen Chuan something, and he couldn’t help but sigh in dismay. He wanted to learn, too, but there was nothing he could do if he didn’t meet the standards.

He glanced again at the crater in the distance. The thought of that place sent a shiver down his spine. ’Better to forget it,’ he thought. ’Let others handle the hard work. I’ll just stick to eating and drinking.’

In that regard, he was quite confident.

After the two of them returned, they got into the car with him and drove back to town.

Because his official training was over, Chen Chuan planned to give himself a break. Besides, he had been in town for so long and hadn’t been anywhere except Dan Lake.

According to Chang Ba, there were many other fun places around, like the sand dunes over a hundred kilometers to the south where you could go sandboarding.

To the north, for instance, was the Cave of Ten Thousand Images, about a day’s journey away. If he didn’t want to go that far, there was Sweet Water Oasis, a little over sixty li from here, where the sweet fruit and delicious barbecue were out of this world. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

However, Chang Ba insisted they could just eat barbecue at his place, claiming his cooking was every bit as good as what they had over there. His whole family were excellent cooks with a great reputation. Otherwise, so many people wouldn’t flock to his family’s inn each year—many of whom were repeat customers.

Of course, there was also the famous Luoya Ancient City. More than half of the guests here came specifically for that place, but Chen Chuan didn’t plan on going. From what he had learned these past few days, the city was surrounded by the Wind-Eroded Rock Pillar Forest. Anyone unfamiliar with the area would need a guide to get in and out, or they would get lost.

Just exploring the ancient city’s surface structures would take several days, to say nothing of the labyrinth underneath. It was impossible to see much in a short period, and he simply didn’t have the time. He was better off just wandering around nearby. If he really wanted to go, he’d have to wait and see if he got a chance in the future.

In the end, he decided to go with Chang Ba to sandboard in the dunes. For him, a sport centered on balance wasn’t particularly difficult; it felt even easier than skiing.

That wasn’t to say it wasn’t fun, though. If one could find the right path between the dunes, it was possible to slide almost nonstop. This required judgment and superb technical skill, as well as a bit of luck. Sometimes a passing gust of wind could ruin everything, but it could also provide a helpful push.

After relaxing there for a day, he and Chang Ba returned to town at nightfall. As soon as he entered the inn, an employee handed him a small booklet, saying He Xiaoxing had asked them to give it to him.

This had to be the booklet He Xiaoxing had mentioned. Since it didn’t involve the specific secrets of the breathing technique, it was useless to anyone else, and they wouldn’t understand it anyway, so it didn’t matter if they saw it.

After thanking the employee, Chen Chuan returned to his room. He washed up, changed into some comfortable clothes, and brewed a cup of the local specialty, grape tea, before slowly opening the booklet.

It was filled with handwriting. He had seen He Xiaoxing’s script before, and this wasn’t it. The characters on the page were more refined and archaic, as if written by an old man.

But that didn’t concern him. He read through the contents, which mainly served to remind the practitioner of key points that required extra attention.

For example, once the Breathing Technique was activated, the user had to remain constantly vigilant. This was because when the normally stored Energy was depleted, the technique wouldn’t stop on its own. If the user didn’t actively deactivate it, it would begin to use their own Mutated Organization as fuel, eventually burning them out completely.

Therefore, the very first thing to learn about this Secret Technique was limitation and self-control.

He read this and thought, ’No wonder He Xiaoxing insisted I learn to control my emotions—to be able to both unleash my power and rein it in. If I couldn’t manage that, I might get swept up in the heat of the moment and end up taking us both down.’

As for the section on accumulating Energy, the booklet also stated that it wasn’t a case of "the more, the better." Exceeding a certain limit would place a burden on the body.

However, this limit could be raised through training. The more Mutated Organization one had, and the stronger it was, the higher their upper limit for storing Energy would be. Furthermore, as the body gradually adapted over time, this capacity could also be increased.

There were also many ways to utilize this Energy. Instead of unleashing it in a single burst, it could be used to sustain combat for longer periods. However, the Cultivator needed to gradually familiarize themselves with and master the methods of control.

After flipping through the entire booklet, Chen Chuan had a general understanding of the technique. He tucked the booklet away at the bottom of his suitcase, sat back down, and began to slowly practice the breathing pattern from memory.

This Breathing Technique was rather complex. While still unpracticed, it took him nearly a full Hour to complete a single cycle. By the end, despite sitting perfectly still, he could feel his whole body heat up. At the same time, he felt a faint trace of power being stored in his Mutated Organization.

It was simply too faint, as if it wasn’t there at all.

This wasn’t surprising. Energy had to be accumulated over a long period, and he had only just started practicing the Breathing Technique. He was still a long way from being proficient.

With over a month left until September, he decided to use the time to familiarize himself with the Furnace Breathing Method and store as much Energy as possible. He never knew when he might need it.

In the days that followed, he added the practice of the Furnace Breathing Method to his existing daily training regimen.

Thanks to his relentless efforts, he was going through his medicine at an unprecedented rate. In less than half a month, he had nearly exhausted his remaining supply.