Chapter 128: Making Arrangements, Refining the Warrior

As the old Daoist finished speaking, Ji Ming felt a sudden sense of crushing pressure enveloping his entire body.

This force surged outward with such intensity that Ji Ming, fearing he would be pulverized into paste, hurriedly exhaled a breath of vital "gang" energy from his lungs to push back against the invisible power.

The old Daoist flicked his horsetail whisk. Wisps of visible, tangible energy manifested and merged with the whisk, causing its hairs to sway and writhe with the agility of a serpent.

Extending his six-fingered hands from his sleeves, Ji Ming raised his palms forward. He channeled his vital energy through them, forming a massive, six-fingered hand that lunged toward the old man.

Seeing the giant energy hand, the old Daoist shook his head gently. "The 'Great Capture Hand of One Breath' is not meant to turn your energy into a literal giant hand. The hand represents the intent of suppression; you have missed the mark."

As the six-fingered energy hand approached, its pressure felt like a mountain crushing down from above. The old Daoist’s expression shifted, his words cut short. He flicked his whisk again, driving his own energy forward to barely hold the giant hand at bay.

"Master, you’ve forgotten my six-fingered dharma bones. When I use my dharma bones to channel techniques, even mediocre ones gain three parts more power, let alone this Great Capture Hand."

As he spoke, he pushed his palm through the air with a force that seemed capable of toppling mountains and shaking peaks. The old Daoist nearly failed to hold his ground.

"Enough."

The old Daoist called a halt to the sparring. He looked at Ji Ming as if he were a monster and said, "Using your dharma bones to bully your master doesn't count. We shall spar again another day." He hesitated for a moment, then, as if mentioning it casually, added, "I heard the Grandmaster gifted you a dharma sword."

Ji Ming generously took the precious sword from his back and presented it for the old Daoist to examine closely. The hilt was crafted from dark wood, the guard from water jade shaped like auspicious clouds, and two cloud patterns were intertwined along the blade, faintly exuding a sharp edge.

"A fine sword."

The old Daoist offered a perfunctory compliment—the classic tactic of feigning criticism before praise—and continued, "Though, it is still more than a notch inferior to the Cloud-Emerging Sword of our Crane Temple."

Seeing the old Daoist begin to paint a picture of future rewards, Ji Ming, though uninterested, played along. The old man’s own coffers were not exactly overflowing, and he felt it best to be considerate.

The old Daoist started with the Cloud-Emerging Sword, then detailed the various relics and dharma artifacts left behind by generations of temple masters, eventually focusing on the dharma treasure of their founder, Crane Mountain. He spoke of these items like a man counting his own family jewels. Had they not been near the Purple Fusion Peak of Mount Jihang, he likely would have continued for quite some time.

"Enough, I shall spare you the idle chatter. Currently, Su Luozi is primarily focused on monitoring the examinations for the Daoist laity, so you must prepare diligently for the Daoist disciple examination three years from now. Aside from deciphering talismans and diagrams, that examination includes summoning deities and a test of combat. You are a 'Heavenly Human' with mastery of techniques, so I have no cause for concern."

"Must I conceal my six fingers?" Ji Ming asked.

"There is no longer a need. Once you are ordained as a Daoist disciple, you will be a candidate for the Earthly Bureau, eligible to serve as an Earthly Official in the region. I have already arranged everything for you. When the time comes, you will serve as a Deputy Soul-Detention Envoy in the vast Tianqing region of Zhebear Province, guarding the branch temple there. With this official standing as a cover, he will be even less likely to find you."

"Thank you, Master," Ji Ming said with sincere respect.

The old Daoist nodded in satisfaction, tossed him a copy of the *General Outline of the Southern Dipper Altar Spells*, and rode away on his crane.

After the old Daoist left, Ji Ming abandoned the thought of further leisure. He first dealt with the miscellaneous items stored in his meditation room, leaving the task of handling them in the ghost markets beneath the Earthly Soil of Mount Jihang to the steady and reliable Child Skylark.

He then brought out the old Daoist’s *Great Heavenly Cycle of the Five Energies* and began to carefully study the various illustrations of "Mountain-Lifting Warriors" within the *Sutra of the Mountain-Lifting Warrior*.

His attention was first drawn to the Flying Crane Warrior. The margins were filled with annotations—the insights of past temple masters. Beside the illustration was the phrase: "Cultivation is like a crane, pure and unstained; fly freely to realize the true wonder." Both the phrase and the notes pointed to the Flying Crane Warrior’s prowess in evasion and purity.

Ji Ming’s eyes then moved to the Vajra Warrior. This figure was dark gold in color, with a ferocious, muscular physique and a wrathful expression. This was likely the warrior cultivated by Hui Jin, the second disciple of Su Luozi. Beside the illustration was the note: "The Vajra body is firm in intent; it possesses great power to subdue demons." This indicated its qualities of durability and strength.

He continued to scan the illustrations of the Water-Fire Warrior, the Mountain-Moving Warrior, the Void Warrior, the Moonlight Warrior, and others. There was no innate difference between the warriors; one had to choose the one that resonated with their own nature to achieve twice the result with half the effort. Ji Ming felt drawn to the Flying Crane, the Fire Warrior, and the Void Warrior.

He favored the Flying Crane because of the extensive annotations left by his predecessors; there would be no obstacles in its practice. He favored the Fire Warrior because of his Flying Fire Ruler, which contained fire energy and could resonate with the Winged Fire Snake, serving as a catalyst for this warrior’s cultivation. As for the Void Warrior, it could traverse the void, move unseen, and possessed the power to shatter illusions—Ji Ming felt this would compensate for his own weaknesses.

After much deliberation and hesitation, Ji Ming’s gaze settled on the illustration of a warrior sitting in the lotus position, holding a specific hand seal.

He sat before the illustration, the "Three Flowers" gathering at the crown of his head and descending into his lower dantian. As his meditation on the warrior deepened, the divine flower representing his "Primordial Spirit" began to outline the form of the warrior within the dantian.

A streak of true vital energy descended into the form, acting like the final dot on a painted dragon. The warrior "came to life," leaping out of the dantian to sit in the lotus position within the room.

"Marvelous!" Ji Ming praised the warrior.

With a thought, the warrior rose and vanished from the room, appearing in a new chamber outside. He saw the old tutor there, striking the "Thousand-Hand Child" with a cane. The old man was already panting heavily after only a few strikes.

The Void Warrior circled the room; not only did the old tutor fail to notice him, but even the Thousand-Hand Child could not see him. Finally, the warrior retrieved a book and returned.

The warrior leaped back into Ji Ming’s body, residing within one of the fifty-two acupuncture points along the Ren and Du meridians.

Ji Ming continued to refine the warriors. One after another, they emerged like bamboo shoots after rain, each settling into an acupuncture point and pushing the flow of true vital energy through his meridians, accelerating his progress. By the end, he had refined nine Void Warriors.

He consumed a Bigu pill, used several shell pearls, and took three packets of Feather-Drinking Powder. The surging spiritual energy caused the gathered "Three Flowers" to generate several more streams of true vital energy.

Driven by the nine Void Warriors within the Ren and Du meridians, the energy surged like a torrential river toward the Yang meridians of the six bowels—the three Yang meridians of the hands and feet.

These Yang meridians contained a total of 218 acupuncture points, and they had to be cleared permanently; it was a massive undertaking, and this was the primary task of the early stage of "Qi Refining: The Trembling of the Six Roots."

Many "rogue cultivators" spent over a hundred years struggling in this early stage because the amount of energy required for these two hundred-plus points was immense, and they lacked the sophisticated techniques of the orthodox schools. Consequently, many could only waste their lives in grueling toil or use evil, unorthodox methods to generate energy, eventually becoming neither human nor ghost.

The energy, propelled into a torrent by the warriors, flowed rapidly. After passing through the twenty-one Yang meridian points previously opened by the old Daoist’s "Annual Ring Pill," the energy surged through eight more points in quick succession.

Eight warriors immediately took up residence in the newly opened points to prevent them from clogging again.

"Twenty-nine Yang meridian points," Ji Ming muttered as he opened his eyes. "Still a long way to go."