With that in mind, Chu Qiguang began asking questions about fiendification.
“Humans and fiends share a long, intertwined history,” Qiao Zhi explained. “At certain points in history, humans ruled over fiends, while the opposite has been true at other tis. Sotis, the two races have been at each other’s throats, and at other tis, they’ve coexisted in harmony. At the mont, the conflict between humans and fiends is becoming more and more intense, and any fiend that appears in the Great Han Empire is certain to be hunted down.
“However, what most people don't know is that humans and fiends were once a single race, and each still possesses traits of the other. Fiendification is only a result of awakening the power of the fiendish bloodlines already present in one’s body.”
Why does this sound like an X-Man who’s awakened so type of inherited superpower?Does this an fiends and humans can be traced back to the sa ancestors?
“There is fiend within human, just as there is human within fiend,” Qiao Zhi continued. “They are two separate races, yet in truth, they are one. It’s much like the conflicting coexistence of yin and yang. This is sothing you’ll...”
Qiao Zhi trailed off. After a brief pause, he casually continued, “All I can say is that if the degree of the fiendification isn’t too severe, then I can still reverse it, but if it goes too far, then even I can’t do anything.”
Chu Qiguang could sense the hesitation in Qiao Zhi’s words, but he didn't ntion it. Instead, he continued stroking his fur and asked, “Does that an you can use the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishnt Technique to temporarily fiendify soone?”
“Yes,” Qiao Zhi replied. “Alright, that’s enough. Now that your foundation has been established, it’s ti for you to receive so nourishnt.”
Qiao Zhi led Chu Qiguang into a clearing, where pieces of fresh at had been skewered on tree branches and were roasted over a fire. The two feral cats stood on either side of the spit, rotating it to make sure that the at cooked evenly.
Nearby, a monkey was pounding sothing in a stone bowl using a wooden pestle, and a fragrant dicinal aroma drifted from the mixture.
“What’re you waiting for? Your body is severely lacking nutrients, so not only do I need to use the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishnt Technique to strengthen your foundation, you also need to eat everyday.”
The starving Chu Qiguang stared intently at the roasted at, gulping down saliva as he pounced onto the offering. He began devouring it, constantly shifting it from hand to hand and blowing on it as the heat nearly burned his fingers.
As the juices filled his mouth and the rich aroma filled his nose, he was overco with a deep sense of satisfaction.
Qiao Zhi smacked the back of his hand, then snatched the at from him as he reprimanded, “Don’t eat so fast! You have to eat slowly and chew thoroughly to ensure proper digestion. This is an important rule for nurturing the body, one that you must follow daily. These little details may seem insignificant, but over ti, they make a huge difference.”
Under Qiao Zhi’s instruction, Chu Qiguang chewed each mouthful of at fully before swallowing. The at was completely unseasoned, but as the saying went, hunger was the best seasoning.
After devouring around half a pound of at, Chu Qiguang was still eager to continue, but Qiao Zhi stopped him again.
“Don’t eat too much in one sitting. Next, I’m going to apply so body-refining ointnt to help you circulate your qi and blood and digest what you just ate.”
Chu Qiguang glanced at the remaining roasted at, then licked his lips before asking, “Can I take the rest back with every day?”
Ergou's mother and sister were still starving back ho.
“Sure,” Qiao Zhi replied, and Chu Qiguang was overjoyed.
Finally, they would have enough food to fill their bellies.
After that, Chu Qiguang was instructed to strip off his clothes and stand still with both hands raised high.
Qiao Zhi first licked the pad of his paw clean, then dipped it into the dicinal ointnt that had been pounded by the monkey before applying it directly onto Chu Qiguang’s body. After that, he began striking Chu Qiguang’s body again.
“This external stimulation is necessary to help you circulate your qi and blood, but make sure you don’t try this yourself because it requires extrely precise control and careful moderation of force,” Qiao Zhi warned.
With Qiao Zhi’s paw strikes, Chu Qiguang felt as though the flow of blood throughout his body, along with the movent of his internal organs, had all been accelerated. At the sa ti, he could feel a cool and refreshing sensation on the parts of his body where the ointnt had been applied. His muscles, internal organs, and bones were all being strengthened by Qiao Zhi’s paw strikes.
“From now on, co here every day, and we’ll repeat this process to strengthen your body. That way, your martial arts cultivation will progress much faster,” Qiao Zhi instructed. “Unfortunately, you can’t find good dicinal ingredients to make ointnt here. If we could use the Hundred Refinent Ointnt from the Demon Vanquishing Departnt, the effects would be even better.”
After striking Chu Qiguang from head to toe, Qiao Zhi looked even weaker and more exhausted than before. He curled up into a ball and let out a sluggish yawn, looking as though he might fall asleep at any mont.
Chu Qiguang offered a few more words of praise and thanks, then asked, “Master Qiao, what is this Demon Vanquishing Departnt that you just ntioned? Is their Hundred Refinent Ointnt really that effective?”
Qiao Zhi replied with half-lidded eyes, “The emperor of the Great Han Empire has a Heavenly Guard Personal Army, which consists of three departnts: the Sky Walking Departnt, the Demon Vanquishing Departnt, and the Evil Warding Departnt. Among them, the Demon Vanquishing Departnt oversees all matters related to demons and fiends in the officialdom, similar to Daoist temples, except Daoist temples oversee civil affairs related to demons and fiends.
“As for the Hundred Refinent Ointnt, it’s a body-refining ointnt that was specially developed for the Demon Vanquishing Departnt by the Heavenly Master Religion.”
“What’s this Heavenly Master Religion?” Chu Qiguang asked.
“The Heavenly Master Religion is the Great Han Empire’s national sect,” Qiao Zhi explained. “The sect presides over all of the Daoist temples under the heavens. Not only do they have claim to three of the twenty-five orthodox arts, they also possess the world’s most advanced dicinal techniques. The Hundred Refinent Ointnt that they’ve developed is said to contain over twenty dicinal ingredients, including terra flava usta, iridescent stone, figwort, red sage, and purple sage.
“The Heavenly Master Religion’s patented dicine refinent thods are used on these ingredients to create the Hundred Refinent Ointnt, and when applied, the ointnt can strengthen the body and condense qi and blood, allowing even those with the worst aptitude to reach the first state of martial arts.”
Qiao Zhi fought back his tiredness as he officially began to teach Chu Qiguang martial arts. Under his guidance, Chu Qiguang practiced a series of movents such as throwing punches and kicks, both to exercise his body and to enhance his coordination.
“These are the elentary first techniques of the Heavenly Master Religion called the Heavenly Spirit Body Refinent Fist Techniques. They’re perfect for novice martial artists to practice in order to improve their strength and coordination. Once you’re able to create an explosive sound with your punches, that’ll indicate that you’ve attained the strength and coordination to reach the first state.
“Even though you possess the aptitude of a heavenly immortal, practicing martial arts is not like pursuing Dao arts. Cultivating Dao arts is purely a spiritual pursuit, and changes can co very quickly, whereas refining and nurturing the body takes a very long ti. Given how weak your body is after years of malnutrition, even with the enhancent effects of the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishnt Technique, it’ll probably take you about two to three months of cultivation to reach the first state.
“It’s a real sha. If you were able to use Hundred Refinent Ointnt to supplent your cultivation every day, then with your aptitude, you should be able to reach the first state in a week at most.”
“Is this Hundred Refinent Ointnt really hard to co by?” Chu Qiguang asked.
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