A Long Grind to Daoist Monarch-Chapter 87 - 86: Bandit Aura, Killing Intent
"The sensation of burning the midnight oil is quite something!"
Bai Qisheng chewed and swallowed his fifth packet of ripe huangjing powder; it wasn't bitter at all, but rather had a sticky texture, like slightly air-dried glutinous rice cake.
The tea had long been finished, so he could only swallow it dry.
"No wonder the cultivators who engage in eating elixir and avoiding grain call it the 'Immortal's Sustenance'! If one could afford to eat it as a meal, it indeed feels no different from subsisting on the wind and dew.
This substance not only replenishes essence and invigorates qi, eliminating the need for lavish feasts, but also promotes energy and vitality, warding off decay."
Bai Qi took a long breath, exhaling a refreshing fragrance, saliva filling his mouth. If he were to tie up his hair and put on a Daoist robe, he would somewhat resemble the elegance of an outsider.
"Master Ning has said, upon achieving First Training Great Success, to seek perfection, one must direct energy to reach the four tips.
The so-called four tips are: the tongue as the muscle tissue, the teeth as the bone tips, the hair as the blood vessels, and the nails as the tendon tips.
The tongue should be against the palate, inhaling through the mouth and exhaling through the nose, promoting the relaxation and tension of the body's flesh and skin, controlled in unity.
Clacking the teeth and swallowing saliva causes the organs and intestines to contract, aiding digestion.
Gray hair turns black, maintaining youthful looks, with a surge in qi blood... Each of the four tips holds its mysteries and cannot be neglected."
Having thoroughly chewed and swallowed the ripe huangjing, Bai Qi rose to continue his practice. He lightly flicked his fingernails, producing a powerful, resonant sound.
He had already mastered the tendon tips!
The force flowed seamlessly, enough to tear skin and flesh!
"It is said that practitioners specializing in Eagle Claw Skill and Leopard Form Fist achieve full control over their tendon tips. With exerted force, the soft muscle between their fingernails retracts and becomes as hard as iron. A flick of the nails makes them sharp and deadly, like a short dagger; few can match them in bare-handed combat."
Bai Qi now possessed a broad knowledge of the martial world, familiar with tales and tricks as if counting his family's treasures.
For example, in the Green Forest Dao, the often-seen "Black Tiger Seizes the Heart" is most authentic when the tendon tips are fully developed, the nails flicking like a blade twisting and turning, piercing the chest and extracting the heart.
It is an extremely vicious and deadly technique!
But while tendon tips and muscle tissue are easier to achieve, bone tips and blood vessels are difficult to master.
Especially blood vessels, which are most dangerous, as the areas most prone to engorgement are the face and the lower body.
With the former, a surge of emotions turns the face red and hot; the latter is similar, being revealed easily with slight stimulation.
Thus, if practiced incorrectly, the qi and blood can flow too quickly, leading to stiffness of the facial features at best, or inability to engage in intercourse at worst.
Therefore, in martial practice, there is no step for "directing force to the four tips." If not for Ninghai Zen's direct guidance, Bai Qi would also have difficulty grasping the secrets within.
"Fortunately, I only need to direct energy to the four tips, rather than slowly cultivating them to full mastery; otherwise, achieving First Practice Perfection would be indefinitely postponed."
He sighed, if he could rally his qi and force, like described in folklore, his hair would stand on end, bristling with anger.
This is what is meant by directing force to the four tips!
Even the limp hair strands can exert force, not to mention fists and feet.
"Young Master Qi, don't hasten too much in your practice. In just over two months, you've crossed three thresholds and are nearing First Practice Perfection, how fierce you are."
Lao Dao carried steaming meat porridge and pancakes, delivering them to Dezhen Tower.
"Understood, Uncle Dao. Have you heard of the Red Eyebrow Bandits? Yesterday, I found a 'Martial Arts Secret Record,' which made a brief mention of a big bandit trouble in Yihai Prefecture ten years ago, where a group of Red Eyebrow Bandits created an uproar with a lineup of nearly ten thousand..."
Bai Qi took a break, sat down, and devoured the meat porridge. Even though he had just eaten a packet of ripe huangjing, which could keep him fed for three days, he couldn't refuse Uncle Dao's kindness and naturally enjoyed it.
"Red Eyebrow Bandits... I do know. Several big bandit leaders with a gang, claiming to act on behalf of heaven, committed atrocities.
But bandits, after all, are bandits. No matter how they sugarcoat it, they live by looting, robbing, and murdering—no good ones among them."
Lao Dao squinted, his smile amiable:
"Thanks to the young master, their lair was eradicated, restoring peace to Yihai Prefecture."
"Huh? My master was involved? The book said that a Daoist Official and a Four Cultivation Grandmaster from Pai Bang teamed up to eliminate the bandits, cornering the chief of theirs, Heaven-defying Saber."
Bai Qi was slightly surprised, wasn't Ninghai Zen also part of this?
"The young master has some... difficulty with directions. Sometimes when he's been out for too long, it's not that he travels far, but rather loses his way back.
Ten years ago, the young master just gained fame in Yihai Prefecture, boating on the Nu Yun River, he landed at Fulong Mountain's Chaotian Sect and happened to encounter the Red Eyebrow Bandits planning to escape by water.
Those bandits were ferocious, killing any unfamiliar face without red eyebrows; the young master was not talkative, and he didn't hold back either."
Lao Dao's expression became particularly odd, as if he witnessed it firsthand:
"It was brutal; waves of Red Eyebrow Bandits surged forward, among them practitioners clad in armor holding sabers. Yet, just being grazed caused injury, and a mere scratch meant death.
For two entire incense sticks, the young master walked step by step to their leader, and with three punches, nearly killed the man, causing the flagpole to break, and the bandit soldiers to flee, giving the County City's Daoist Official and Pai Bang a huge windfall."
Bai Qi clicked his tongue, his master was unbelievably fierce!
As the saying goes, when the numbers reach thousands, they connect the earth with the sky, barely able to see the horizon even with raised eyes.
The bandit issue that compelled the County City to mobilize its forces, with blades and spears out, protected by iron armor, is practically no different from a battle array.
Being amidst it is like a drop of water falling into a great river, with a sea of people pressing in from all directions.
Even a Third-Practice Expert, with iron skin and copper bones that resist water and fire, dies as soon as they arrive.
Yet Ninghai Zen can pierce through the heavy encirclement, slay generals and seize flags?
Simply inhuman!
"Is a Four Cultivation Grandmaster really that fearless?"
Bai Qi found it hard to imagine, as he hadn't yet climbed to that peak to glimpse the view from the summit.
"Young Master Qi has great talent, his fighting style is refined, surely he will reach this stage."
Lao Dao chuckled, the direct disciples of Tongwen Hall, every generation, are extraordinary figures like dragons.
...
...
After chatting with Uncle Dao, Bai Qi chopped firewood, heated water for a bath, and lingered until noon, enjoying a sumptuous meal before leaving Tongwen Hall.
He finally understood why He Tai said increasing Qi blood would make one's muscles swell drastically.
After a sleepless night fervently practicing Arhat Hand and Dragon Palm, his whole body muscles subtly swelled, as if being pushed out.
Like a wild boar weighing several hundred pounds in the mountains, eagerly rubbing against tree trunks to scratch, eager for someone to press against him to release the overly abundant energy.
"In the Inner City's Great Martial Arts Hall, there are dedicated human poles for rich disciples to wrestle with for practice.
No wonder it's said that mastering martial arts causes chaos, learning fists and feet, emboldening courage, coupled with youthful vigor, indeed makes discipline difficult.
In this realm, the Dragon Court controls spiritual energy, suppressing cultivators; what method should be used to control the numerous and forceful martial arts experts?"
Bai Qi was contemplating when he suddenly felt a tightness at his back, a large muscle clenching as if naturally reacting to a needle prick.
"Is someone watching me?"
He didn't immediately turn around but instead walked a few steps and then stopped, sitting at a roadside food stall, ordering a bowl of plain noodles.
With his peripheral vision, he indeed caught sight of two sneaky figures.
"Does Arhat Hand have this efficacy, suppressing distracting thoughts, bringing forth spiritual sense, and perceiving so-called 'killing intent'?"
Bai Qi buried his head in eating noodles, martial circles often say, "When the golden wind hasn't stirred, the cicada first senses, secretly signaling an unexpected death unknown."
Meaning that high-level experts of three or four practices have keen spiritual sense, grasping human mood changes, able to detect extremely subtle killing and malicious intent.
He hadn't cultivated to that level, but the essence of Arhat Hand lies in quelling distracting thoughts, allowing focus, enabling explosive power without match.
"They don't seem like experts; truly possessing the ability of Water and Fire Immortal Robe, Circulation of Qi, why hide and track a minor role like me?
After Wang Laizi, Yangquan, and Lin the Sixth died, I am left with hardly any foes in Black River County, only Yang Meng remains?"
Bai Qi finished eating noodles, wiped his mouth, paid a few coins, swept his gaze, and those two unfamiliar faces hadn't left.
"Dressed as peddlers, seemingly outsiders attending a temple festival, following me, covertly tracking, unable to conceal their murderous aura…"
He rose and headed for the Outer City, not going straight to the old house at Erxian Bridge, but detouring into the dirty, messy shanty area.
Since rising through fishing to become a fish shop owner, Bai Qi hadn't returned here.
...
...
Looking at the upright figure turning into a narrow alley, the two peddling peddlers exchanged glances.
"Did this kid sense us?"
One of the thin, black ones asked.
"You scared? Dammit, sent you and me just to follow a little punk whose hair hasn't grown fully? Too much talent wasted!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The other burly one was displeased:
"Other brothers, some have hidden in the red-light district, half-closing doors to sleep with women, I'm stuck with this tough task."
The thin, black peddler spoke quietly:
"We'll have our swift time, haven't made a big move in years, this time we'll score big. Now I ask you, are we still following?"
"Why not follow? Are you afraid of him? Who cares about being the disciple of some ridiculous instructor, even the Emperor himself we don't fear!"
The burly man straightened a wooden pole, grinned with a mouthful of yellow teeth, treading the muddy path into the alley.
"Don't alarm the prey, Zhang the Fifth just asked us to watch, until the day comes…"
The thin, black peddler also swayed his way in, still shouting:
"Hot cakes! Selling hot cakes!"
