It has been over a fortnight since Li Xuan took Xu Yan as his disciple, teaching him the improvised cultivation technique.
These past couple of weeks have been some of the most comfortable days for Li Xuan since his arrival in this world, every day being waited upon by a disciple, free from cooking, feeding the chickens, or growing vegetables.
He spends his days sleeping, wandering around the village, or leisurely lounging in his chair.
He was left with only one piece of the nine-leaf primordial herb, which was to be consumed after today's stew.
Li Xuan sighs with admiration; the nine-leaf primordial herb, a rare treasure of medicine, had indeed shown outstanding effects. Over the past couple of weeks, he had noticed significant changes in his body.
His spirit had improved, his vision had sharpened, his body had grown stronger, and his strength had increased.
"Shall I stew the millennium ginseng tomorrow? Would it be too nourishing?"
Li Xuan wondered, sprawled out on his chair.
"The millennium ginseng is unique, should I save it?"
He glanced at Xu Yan, who was practicing his horse stance, feeling somewhat puzzled.
"How is he so patient after these many days? This calm temperament is excellent, it's a pity he's a bit slow-witted."
"This is for the better; the calmer he is, the more it benefits me... But even after these many days, he hasn't made any progress in cultivation and doesn't seem to have any doubts?"
Li Xuan was taken aback.
"I'll ask him about any concerns when eating, fulfilling my responsibilities as a master."
"Let me think about how I can bluff him."
Li Xuan contemplated how to concoct a credible story, how to console Xu Yan, and how to encourage him to continue to persist....
...
"I have finally achieved the skin-refinement!"
Within his cultivation, Xu Yan felt a surge of vitality throughout his body, and his skin tightened and then relaxed. He felt a huge leap in his progress at this moment.
I have achieved skin-refinement!
"Master was right, one cannot rush cultivation, it needs a combination of effort and relaxation."
"Every day, I manage to spare time for cooking, feeding chickens, growing vegetables, and even catching wild game for a supplementary meal. While it seems like my cultivation time reduced, the relaxation and dedication have led to a different state of mind, accelerating my speed of cultivation, making it easier in the process!"
" The level of our honorable Master is indeed far too high!" Xu Yan exclaimed in his heart.
Master, being a hidden gem, has always given him immense benefits through every word and every deed.
Looking at Li Xuan sprawling on the chair, Xu Yan's eyes lit up with admiration and desire.
"When will I be able to reach the master's level? It seems ordinary, yet extraordinary, this is a true master."
"Is this what Master meant when he spoke of 'Returning to Simplicity, Close to the Dao'?"
"I can't get ahead of myself. I need to keep my feet on the ground. One day, I will become as strong as master."
Xu Yan was absorbed in his thoughts, encouraging himself.
"In less than twenty days, I have achieved skin refining, I'm only a step away from perfection. Within three to five days, I should be able to complete the skin-refinement stage and start progressing to bone-refinement."
"Once I have completed skin-refinement, I'll inquire more from Master about any particular aspects of bone-refinement."
"Master said that the chosen ones of ancient times would complete skin-refinement in five days. Although I may not be able to live up to that, completing skin-refinement within a month seems decent enough, right?"
Looking at the time, Xu Yan realized it was time to cook.
So, he finished his practice, caught a chicken from the coop, and slaughtered it to stew with the nine-leaf primordial herb.
With one leaf consumed daily, only the last one left now.
While slaughtering the chicken, Xu Yan had a sudden thought.
"The master said that when skin refining is complete, ordinary weapons hardly can harm the person. Should we test it? I'll just give it a light scratch."
Xu Yan held a kitchen knife and drew it across his arm.
As a martial artist who has completed skin refining, he is naturally not ordinary, so he did not use any blood qi and didn't put much force into it.
It was the strength of an ordinary person.
The knife edge slid across his arm, only leaving a faint white mark which quickly faded back to normal!
"So this is the defensive power of complete skin refining?"
Xu Yan was excited. Although he did not exert much strength into this slash, it was enough to gut a chicken easily, an ordinary person would be left with a deep cut that would even reach the bone.
However, it couldn't leave even the slightest mark on his skin.
"Just as the master said, after skin refining, ordinary weapons hardly can harm me!"
Xu Yan was full of anticipation for the following bone refining and even organ refining.
...
"These days, I'm relieved to see that you can keep your heart calm and not be arrogant."
During the meal, Li Xuan started to speak.
"Master, I understand, always reminding myself to be humble and calm."
Xu Yan replied respectfully.
He was relieved that he managed to make a good impression on his master by restraining his impatience.
"He's been practicing for so long, Xu Yan seemingly is calm, he must be in a hurry inside. I should reassure him, make him persist more. Now that things have come to this, I can only carry on misleading him."
Li Xuan was mumbling inside, then started to speak: "In the path of cultivation, persistence is vital. You need to have a firm will, and you need to be steady. Seeking quick success is not the way. Remember this."
"Yes, master, your disciple will always remember your teachings!"
Xu Yan nodded seriously.
He finally realized: "I have completed skin refining. The Master must be afraid that I would rush to bone refining without a solid foundation."
"Even though I have perfectly refined my skin, I must be steady before moving to bone refining. I can't be impatient to give Master an impression of restlessness."
Xu Yan reminded himself not to be complacent and arrogant because of his power improvement.
Li Xuan had no idea that his words had given Xu Yan different ideas. He did not know that Xu Yan was not only aware of blood qi but had also completed skin refining.
Seeing Xu Yan so obedient, Li Xuan felt relieved.
"This disciple is indeed honest, but not very bright. If he encountered someone other than me, he'd probably be cheated out of everything!"
"It's a pity that I'm not some hidden master, otherwise it would've been rewarding to take on such a disciple who respects his master and acts properly."
Li Xuan pondered in his mind.
Then he began to speak again, "I know you must have some questions after practicing for this long. I can answer them for you now."
Xu Yan's spirit lifted, and he showed an excited look.
"The master knows that I'm close to bone refining, and that I must have some doubts about it. By telling me not to rush and to stay calm, and then answering my questions, he can both soothe my restless heart and enlighten me on bone refining."
The more he thought about it, the more he believed that every word from his master was full of profound meaning and teaching.
"Master, I have no doubts about skin refining. I want to ask about bone refining. Are there any particular principles for qi and blood to infiltrate the bones, constantly refining, and tempering the bones?"
"At what level is bone refining considered done?"
...
When Xu Yan asked questions about bone refining, Li Xuan was taken aback because all the words he had prepared to deceive were about perceiving qi and blood and the stage of skin refining.
He hadn't expected Xu Yan to ask about bone refining, and he hadn't prepared any deceptive words for that!