Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life Chapter 87: The Path of Cultivation: One Step at a Time

Returning to the small courtyard at the County School, the festive atmosphere of the New Year seed to be blocked out by the courtyard walls, quickly dissipating.

The wind blew through the bare branches of the locust tree, making a low, moaning sound, and it felt even colder than before the New Year.

Su Ming put his traveling bag back in the room, changed out of his new clothes, and put on the old, faded scholar's robe again. He felt like a drop of hot oil that had dripped into cold water—briefly boiling, then rapidly cooling, rging back into the whole.

He sat at his desk and spread out his books, but his mind wandered.

"Master, are you still studying that jade slip?" Su Ming asked softly in his heart.

It was quiet inside the ring, with no response.

Ever since before the New Year, his master had almost completely disappeared. Su Ming knew the old man was expending imnse ntal effort to decipher that damaged cultivation thod and didn't dare disturb him lightly.

He sighed and forced himself to pull his attention back to the books.

The days passed one by one.

Life at the County School was monotonous and routine. He rose at the rooster's crow at dawn to recite the classics; listened to the teacher's lectures and studied policy discussions during the day; and reviewed his books by oil lamp or ditated in the courtyard at night.

Su Ming's Aura Concealnt Art had beco almost instinctive. Walking among crowds, he was like a drop of water rging into a river, utterly inconspicuous. Yet, his five senses had beco increasingly sharp through ditation. In the deep quiet of the night, he could even hear the faint sound of crickets rubbing their wings in the corner and distinguish the scent of distiller's grains wafting from a distant tavern carried on the wind.

This clear perception of the outside world gave him a more wondrous understanding of his own existence.

One night, Su Ming sat cross-legged in the courtyard as usual.

The moonlight was cold, casting his long, slender shadow on the ground.

His mind was serene. The tiny spark of light within his Dantian was being gently nurtured, and his entire being was in an ethereal state.

Right then, an extrely hoarse voice, as if its owner hadn't had a drink of water in centuries, exploded in his mind.

"Got it! I finally got it!"

The voice carried a mix of ecstatic relief and a long-suppressed fury.

Su Ming's spirit shook, nearly jolting him out of his ditative state.

"Master!" he exclaid in delight.

"Ahem..." Lin Yu quickly adjusted his tone, restoring that air of a transcendent master's calm and composure, as if the guy who had just cursed didn't exist at all. "Disciple, your master... has gained so insights during my seclusion."

Lin Yu's Soul Body drifted around inside the ring, like an unlucky fellow who'd just won the lottery but couldn't tell anyone.

He was going crazy.

For over a month, he felt he wasn't researching a cultivation thod but conducting an inhumane archaeological excavation. The fragnted Thick Earth Art was practically a quantum chanics thesis written in oracle bone script, and on top of that, it had been burned, waterlogged, and finally gnawed on by a dog.

It was topsy-turvy and logically chaotic.

He'd wanted to give up countless tis, but rembering that Su Ming, his only seedling, was counting on him and that his own future pension was still uncertain, he could only grit his teeth and continue.

He mixed together the knowledge about Yin and evil soul power he'd scraped from the Wailing Woman Lantern's mories, the pitiful smattering of cultivation concepts he'd gleaned from novels in his mind, and the other, completely un-practicable Greenwood Longevity Art inside the ring as a reference.

Mixing the three together was like a big pot of stew. His daily work was picking out the edible parts from this chaotic ss and then reassembling them into a dish that could be swallowed.

Just monts ago, while deducing the most basic principle of the five elents' mutual overcoming—"wood overcos earth"—a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

He imagined the heavy, condensed power of the Thick Earth Art as the earth, and the generative, growing energy of the Greenwood Longevity Art as a seed. How does a seed break through the soil? It needs the earth to bear it, but it also needs its own ability to break through and establish itself anew.

At that mont, the two seemingly unrelated cultivation thod paths miraculously connected in his mind, forming the most basic cycle.

One used the Thick Earth Art as the foundation, taking its "virtuous bearing of all things" steadiness and inclusiveness; then used the Greenwood Longevity Art as the guide, taking its "endless vitality" vigor and resilience. The two combined actually ford a brand new, albeit elentary, yet extrely solid thod for drawing in qi.

It worked! Although it was just a super-simplified, streamlined version, it was usable! Safe and with no side effects!

"Master, you... succeeded?" Su Ming's voice trembled with disbelief.

"Mhm." Lin Yu responded faintly, his tone steady, betraying no ripple of emotion.

He began speaking slowly, in a tone of imparting knowledge: "Your master compared the fragnted text with the Greenwood Longevity Art, discarding the dross and extracting the essence, and finally gained so insight. All thods return to the sa origin; the great path shares the sa source. Although the Thick Earth Art is incomplete, its concepts of 'bearing' and 'condensing' happen to form the foundation for 'generation' and 'growth'."

"Your master has rged the two and deduced a brand new foundational cultivation thod for you. The first three layers of this thod are balanced and peaceful, steady and sure-footed, most suitable for a beginner like you whose foundation is not yet solid."

Su Ming listened, his heart burning with fervor. The image of his master in his mind had now been elevated to that of a divine being.

A cultivation thod so damaged it was utter nonsense, and another thod with restrictions that made it impossible to practice—in the hands of the old master, they could actually be fused into a brand new thod!

What heaven-shaking, earth-shattering skill was this!

"However," Lin Yu's tone shifted, not forgetting his traditional skill of dousing cold water, "you must rember clearly, what your master has deduced is only the first three layers, only reaching the early stage of Qi Refining. Its greatest function is to allow you to safely step onto the path of cultivation and temper a body and ridians capable of containing spiritual energy."

"Although the foundation of this thod is steady, there is no path beyond it. When you gain a true immortal fate in the future, enter a sect, and obtain a more profound inheritance, you can switch to another thod at any ti. By then, with your solid foundation, you will only achieve twice the result with half the effort, with no hindrances whatsoever."

What Lin Yu was actually thinking was: This thing is just a beginner's driving tutorial, first teaching you how to shift gears and step on the gas, ensuring you don't drive the car into a ditch. As for whether you want to drive a Ferrari or a fighter jet later, that's your own business. Just don't jostle this old driver to death.

"Your disciple understands! Thank you, Master, for your grace of rebirth!" Su Ming was so excited he was about to kneel and kowtow.

"Alright, alright, none of these empty formalities." Lin Yu stopped him in ti. "The path of cultivation is one obstacle after another. Having solved the cultivation thod problem, a new challenge has arrived."

"Please instruct , Master!" Su Ming imdiately sat up straight and proper.

"The operation of a cultivation thod requires guiding qi through the ridians and opening the acupoints. The pathway your master deduced avoids all dangerous points, but it demands extre precision regarding the locations of certain key acupoints." Lin Yu's voice grew serious. "A minute deviation leads to a massive error. In a mild case, spiritual energy goes astray; in a severe case, ridians shatter, and one becos a cripple."

"Your master is now but a remnant soul. My perception of the human body's structure is ultimately separated by a layer. I cannot guide you with spiritual sense like a true master would, nor precisely locate the points for you."

Su Ming's heart imdiately tightened.

"Then... what should we do?"

Lin Yu said unhurriedly, "Your master does know the nas of those acupoints, such as 'Qihai', 'Guanyuan', 'Shenque'... But just knowing the nas is useless. You need to accurately find their locations within your body."

Listening to these unfamiliar terms, Su Ming frowned deeply.

He fell silent for a mont, and then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Master! Your disciple might have a solution!"

"Oh? Tell about it." Lin Yu feigned curiosity.

Su Ming's eyes lit up as he said, "There is a dical Officer Chen in our County School! He manages the school's pharmacy and is also responsible for treating sick students. A dical practitioner must be well-versed in the human body's ridians and acupoints! I'll go seek his advice!"

Inside the ring, Lin Yu nodded with satisfaction.

The boy is teachable! He's already learned to actively seek solutions instead of waiting for to spoon-feed him. The self-cultivation of a gold-standard bodyguard has improved another notch.

Out loud, however, he said, "Mhm, this thod might be worth a try. However, you need to think of a good pretext. dical knowledge has always been passed down secretly. As a scholar solely focused on the imperial exams, rashly inquiring about ridians and acupoints might arouse suspicion."

"Your disciple understands." Su Ming nodded firmly. "Your disciple will use... researching health preservation thods to regulate my family's health as a pretext to sound things out first."

"Approved." Lin Yu was concise.

Early the next morning, Su Ming deliberately got up extra early, tidied himself up neatly, then took a small package of dried bamboo shoots brought from ho and knocked on the courtyard gate of the dical Officer's residence in the County School's rear compound.

A dicine boy opened the door, looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Top Scorer Su, you're here so early. Are you feeling unwell?"

"Not at all." Su Ming smiled gently. "I've co to pay a visit to dical Officer Chen. I have so questions about health preservation I'd like to consult him about."

The dicine boy led him inside.

The dical Officer's courtyard was filled with a strong aroma of dicinal herbs, which slled bitter just by itself. Various dicinal materials were drying in the courtyard, and strings of air-dried herbs hung under the eaves.

A middle-aged man wearing a gray robe, with a goatee and a thin, clean-shaven face, was sitting in the front hall, carefully weighing herbs with a small scale.

This person was the County School's dical Officer Chen.

"dical Officer Chen." Su Ming stepped forward and respectfully bowed.

dical Officer Chen lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, recognized him as the most famous Top Scorer Su in the school, and forced a professional smile onto his face.

"It's Top Scorer Su. Have a seat. What important matter brings you to see this old man?" His voice was neither hurried nor slow, carrying a calmness cultivated from years of working with dicinal herbs.

"You honor too much." Su Ming placed the package of dried bamboo shoots by the table. "These are so mountain products from my student's ho, a token of my respect. I've co to seek your advice on a matter."

dical Officer Chen glanced at the dried bamboo shoots but said nothing, only replying, "Speak freely."

Su Ming carefully chose his words and began, "dical Officer, sir, your student has long been studying at the school and often feels lacking in energy. I've heard that in the dical arts, there are health preservation thods like massaging acupoints and regulating qi and blood that can sharpen one's hearing and vision and invigorate the spirit. Your student is quite interested in this and wishes to learn so basic thods for my parents at ho, to fulfill my filial duty in a small way."

These words were spoken flawlessly, stating his purpose while raising the banner of "filial piety."

After listening, dical Officer Chen put down the small scale in his hand and took a sip of tea from his cup.

"Top Scorer Su, such filial devotion is truly rare." He said unhurriedly. "However, the path of health preservation is not achieved overnight. The acupoint massage you ntioned does exist. For example, for a headache, one can press the 'temple'; for stomach discomfort, one can moxibustion 'Zusanli'; for a restless mind, one can rub the 'Neiguan' point. These are all thods known even to won and children."

He ntioned a few of the most common acupoints and then stopped.

Su Ming listened quietly, waiting for him to continue.

However, there was no continuation.

dical Officer Chen shifted his tone and said earnestly, "Top Scorer Su, you are a promising scholar with a bright future. Your main focus should be the sages' texts and scholarly honor in the examination halls. The dical arts are vast and profound, as boundless as the sea. One cannot even find the entrance without devoting a lifeti of effort. This old man advises you not to distract yourself with such 'minor skills' and delay your proper path of pursuing official rank."

He picked up his teacup, making a gesture of seeing a guest out.

"If you truly feel lacking in energy, this old man can prescribe a formula to calm the nerves and nourish the brain for you. Take it regularly."

Su Ming's heart sank.

He understood.

dical Officer Chen was politely rejecting him. Not only was the other unwilling to teach him in depth, but he even viewed his inquiry about acupoints as neglecting his proper duties.

Those so-called barriers of inheritance were thicker and higher than he had imagined.

"Thank you for your guidance, dical Officer, sir. Your student... has been taught." Su Ming stood up, bowed once more, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

He turned and walked out of the small courtyard. The morning sun shone on him, but he felt no warmth at all.

The dicine boy saw him to the gate, watched his retreating back, and muttered quietly, "Another one trying to steal knowledge... dical Officer Chen's skills aren't that easy to learn."

Returning to his own small courtyard, Su Ming closed the door, and the calm on his face finally collapsed.

"Master, that path is blocked." His voice carried so dejection.

"Expected." Lin Yu's voice was quite calm. "Disciple, you must rember, in this world, any skill that allows one to establish oneself and make a living is soone else's ans of livelihood. Why would they teach it to you for free?"

Lin Yu, however, was internally grumbling: This old fossil, his thinking is too rigid! Doesn't he understand knowledge paynt? Start a training class! Wouldn't it be good to take my disciple, such a fine seedling, as a closed-door disciple and have him take care of you in your old age and handle your funeral? Really, no business sense at all!

Su Ming remained silent.

He leaned against the door panel, looking at the old locust tree in the courtyard.

"Then what should we... do?"

The cultivation thod was right before his eyes, yet he couldn't practice it because of this final step. This feeling was even more torturous than having no thod at all.

There was silence inside the ring for a mont.

Lin Yu seed to be pondering as well.

After quite a while, he finally spoke, his voice carrying a determination to burn his boats.

"If the proper path doesn't work, then we'll take the side door."

Su Ming leaned against the door panel. The morning sunlight filtered through the window lattice, casting mottled patches of light at his feet, yet it couldn't dispel the gloom in his heart.

"Side door?" He repeated subconsciously, a trace of doubt rising in his heart.

"Correct." Lin Yu's voice held determination. "Since we can't learn from the living, then we'll look among the inanimate! Books are the oldest containers of knowledge."

"Books?" Su Ming was taken aback. "But dical Officer Chen said..."

Lin Yu interrupted him, "What you're looking for isn't so profound dical theory or peerless secret formula, but rely the most basic, most common diagram of the human body's ridians and acupoints! Those secret manuals and proven formulas treasured and passed down through generations by major dical halls and families—those are naturally beyond our reach."

Lin Yu's voice gradually rose, carrying an excitent that was guiding: "This kind of thing might be considered crude and shallow, even possibly erroneous, in the eyes of true dical practitioners. But for us, as long as it can roughly mark the locations of those major acupoints, it's enough! Your master has his own ways to verify the rest!"

Su Ming's eyes lit up.

"Master, you an..."

"Two places!" Lin Yu said decisively. "First, go find Xu Qing! His used book stall has all sorts of things from all walks of life. We might just stumble upon so unexpected treasure there, even if it's just an illustrated beginner's dical book!"

"Second, the County School's library! The ancients often recorded health preservation thods and strange tales in novels and notes. Perhaps there are fragnts of information, or even simple diagrams!"

"Yes! Xu Qing! The library!" Su Ming abruptly straightened up. His dejection vanished, replaced by an urgency born of having a clear goal. "Your disciple will go right now!"

He almost imdiately took action, pushing open the courtyard gate and walking out.