That evening, Wen Bao, covered in bruises, left the training field of the Misty Peak; his face plastered with a big foolish smile.
Wang Lu’s universal method really worked; the brutal beating was undoubtedly effective.
The fatty was a timid person, but he had also been pampered since childhood, and he was super afraid of pain. Because of this instinctive fear of pain, he rarely experienced pain for many years. The two years training in the Spirit Sword Sect was also relatively mild, which was tantamount to condone this bordering phobia. But Wang Lu was indeed a capable Master; Wen Bao’s lack of pain in these two years had been compensated by him in just one afternoon. Various external and internal injuries stacked up, so much so that almost all parts of his body suffered some kind of injuries.
In this nonstop pain and suffering, Wen Bao rapidly accumulated his anger. This kind of anger stemmed from his instinct in the deepest part of his personality. His fear of pain made him instinctively resent the object that caused the pain, even if the other side was his Senior Brother Wang Lu whom he most feared.
Behind this spineless coward actually hid an explosive power; his achievement in the Cloud Wave Map was not a fluke. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the Spirit Sword Sect was willing to accept him… Unfortunately, the trainer in the Misty Peak didn’t realize this even now. But, Wang Lu’s keen eye immediately identified this problem.
In that afternoon, under Wang Lu’s beating, Wen Bao successfully unleashed perfect Black Iron Sword more than twenty times. In which, he successfully broke through Wang Lu’s Soft Cloud Sword’s defense three times in succession; with the last strike directly hitting the latter’s chest.
At that time, Wang Lu’s complexion immediately turned pale; he felt like he had just eaten the Misty Peak’s specialty dish “Look up at the starry sky” [1]. Indeed, his misery was unbearable! Well, it could also be said he was as good as dead! In that split second, he regretted that he tried to show off by receiving that strike directly instead of dodging away using his Winding Steps.
However, what he gained from this wasn’t light either. All his main bones were jarred loose by this Black Iron Sword strike, which enabled the bone strengthening medicine inside his body to penetrate his bones even further, especially on the chest and the ribs; the medicine seeped directly into the bone marrow… After that afternoon, Wang Lu felt that most of his bones were refreshed; his cultivation of the seventh layer of the Non-Phase Sword Bone had improved greatly!
According to his master, there was no visible effect on the first seven layers of the Non-Phase Sword Bone, but this intangible effect had enabled him to withstand the direct roar of the Full Moon Roar and direct strike from the fatty’s Black Iron Sword. If he reached the eighth layer, it was virtually impossible to imagine how much solid his body would be.
“Huh, is this Wang Wu’s vaunted ‘degree of hardness’? It’s indeed unusually hard. If one doesn’t consider this, then the Non-Phase Sword Bone has almost no other positive properties. But also because of this, this method is indeed a fantastic one. But for now, it’s a pain in the ass!” Wang Lu mused.
However, considering his Void Spirit Root, he couldn’t be picky about the method… The eighth layer of the Non-Phase Sword Bone was certainly worth looking forward to. The real challenge was also in this eighth layer. According to the note left by his Master, the day he succeeded to enter the eighth layer was the day he started to draw the surrounding energy into his body.
At that time, it would be the test whether the Non-Phase Cultivation Method’s compatibility was truly unrivaled, or his Void Spirit Root was more elusive. “Haha, at that time, I f*cking have to resign to my fate!” Wang Lu ruefully smiled.
However, men could make a plan, but heaven would be the one who decided. Before that final moment, he still needed to do a lot of preparations. That night, Wang Lu earnestly looked at the note left behind by his Master twice, and then he determined the next step of his cultivation was - endoscopy, ah wrong, it was Internal Inspection Method. [2]
The so-called Internal Inspection Method, as the name suggests, was the technique to observe the internal part of the body. It was an essential point for cultivators in their Immortal Path. The usual way for the Spirit Sword Sect to handle this was to let the disciples in the Qi Cultivating Stage to continuously draw the energy into their body and transform it into power until they gradually master the Internal Inspection Method. All the way to the Foundation Establishment Stage, this Internal Inspection Method would act as the driver to push the boundary between the stages; the next step would be to establish the Jade Mansion as the foundation.
However, according to Wang Wu’s note, if Wang Lu wanted to cultivate smoothly, it was best to do the Internal Inspection a bit earlier and start the Qi Cultivating stage in a very controlled and thorough manner—to ensure the drawing of the energy into the body would be completely safe.
As for how to practice the Internal Inspection Method, it was not that hard; as long as there was guidance from a master, a talented person could master the elementary level within a week.
Based on Wang Lu’s talent, practicing martial arts or cultivating Immortal Cultivation would not be an issue. The only thing that he lacked was a master who would be responsible for guiding him. His Master, Wang Wu, was on the run selling drugs. He didn’t know when the relevant department in the Spirit Sword Mountain would track her down and bring her back, so he definitely couldn’t count on her.
Fortunately, to cultivate this Internal Inspection Method, a cultivator didn’t necessarily need a guidance from an Immortal Cultivator. Many brilliant martial art masters in the mortal world could do that. Rumor has it that the peak stage in the martial art could be reached by using this Internal Inspection Method, and Wang Lu happened to know such an expert.
The next morning, Wang Lu knocked on the door of the Ru Family Inn in the Spirit Creek Town. “Lady Boss, can you lend me endoscope?”
“What!?”
“Oh, sorry, I mean, can you guide me in the Internal Inspection Method?”
The lady boss rubbed her sleepy eyes. “Are you sick?”
“You need an assistant?”
“Damn, what’s going on? Why did you come here early in the morning? Can’t you let other people sleep? Aren’t you still learning martial arts? What’s the hurry to learn this internal method?”
Wang Lu shrugged. “It’s master’s order; I can’t help but oblige.”
The Lady Boss turned serious. “Wang Wu told you to do this? Very well, let’s do it. I also want to see how your Void Spirit Root can lead you to the path of Immortal Cultivation.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It’s not that difficult either.”
It was indeed not that difficult. What the Lady Boss did was to hold Wang Lu’s hand and send her pure internal energy into his body, which then wandered around and stimulated the big and small acupuncture points. At the same time, she guided Wang Lu in breathing, making him fall into the deep meditative state to isolate his five senses so that his full attention could be put into observing any tiny change within his body.
Even ordinary people without any cultivation could feel the change inside their bodies, such as the change or movement of their organs, bones and muscles. However, the feeling would be incomplete like the story of blind men and an elephant. With the deepening of cultivation, a person’s perception would become more sensitive; until one pierced the final window paper, or when a bright fire lit the night, only then would one finally be able to clearly see their true self.
Regarding Wang Lu, he just needed to overcome this last hurdle before he could complete his Body Refining Stage. Although many people would be limited by their perception and would need a long time to pass this last obstacle, Wang Lu certainly wasn’t a disappointment. After the Lady Boss’s internal energy completed the great circulatory circle once, Wang Lu finally saw the rays of light in the night.
Feeling his breath stall for a moment, the Lady Boss couldn’t help but laugh. “What did you see?”
“Road.” Wang Lu’s eyes were closed; he slightly frowned. “Many roads.”
“Oh, roads to where?”
“Couldn’t see. It’s too far and the night still covers most of them.”
“That’s normal. After all, you’re just beginning to learn this. Before you cultivate until your Primordial Spirit is formed into shape, your field of vision wouldn’t be far. But, can you move your viewing angle?”
“I can… I am trying to advance forward along one of them. There are a lot of road branches here, and it seems like the road forms a loop back to the beginning.”
The Lady Boss laughed. “That’s because those roads are simply your body’s meridians. For the past two years, you always bathed in medicine once a day. Although you haven’t cultivated your internal energy, the meridians in your body have long been cleared, so the roads that you see are wide open without any obstacles, otherwise, there’d be many blockades.”
“It turns out to be so…” Wang Lu nodded and opened his eyes. His complexion seemed slightly exhausted.
The Lady Boss said, “The first Internal Inspection won’t last very long. Get rest if you feel tired. This is because your Primordial Spirit has been used up; it won’t get back even if you have strong physical strength.”
“I understand, for the first time, it is inevitable that I would come out prematurely, nothing to be ashamed of.”
“... When you say it like that, it suddenly becomes shameful!”
The Lady Boss’s foot immediately flew towards Wang Lu, kicking him out of the door.
——
Time flew fast and, in the blink of an eye, the first month of the year have come to an end.
In this month, Wang Lu had been practicing his Non-Phase Sword Bone with the fatty’s Black Iron Sword on the training field. The fatty’s Black Iron Sword had been getting increasingly sharp. Although the movement was still as rotten as sh*t, he became more skilled in applying his anger, so the lethality had been increased day by day. Wang Lu’s Soft Cloud Sword gradually couldn’t keep up with this; it became increasingly difficult for him to parry or deflect the opposite party’s gigantic force, and he became a toy on that fatty’s sword.
On the other hand, his cultivation of the seventh layer of Non-Phase Sword Bone also advanced by leaps and bounds. Although he has yet to master the eighth layer, his body’s degree of hardness continued to grow. On one occasion, three fierce consecutive attacks from Wen Bao forced Wang Lu to let go of his purple soft sword, so he simply lifted his arm and parried the incoming strike with his bare hand! And it happened three times in a row! Finally, he took advantage of the opponent’s forward momentum to slap Wen Bao on the face, which nearly scared the fatty to death.
That performance had a frightening price though; all the bones in Wang Lu’s arms were crushed, which took him three days to recover. However, because the broken bone fragments were fine, the bone strengthening drug deeply penetrated in an unprecedented scale. When he recovered, not only did the degree of hardness of the bones in his arms multiply by several times, he also got an unexpected harvest...
Wang Lu’s Internal Inspection Method progressed one step further.
Perhaps the collapse of the Non-Phase Sword Bone’s defense had given his body too much stimulation, so when he was still in the recovery period, Wang Lu tried to meditate again, and during which, he saw hundreds of hazy jade pillars, which pierced the darkness like a sharp sword, appearing on the side of the road that represent his meridians. Among which, he saw the surface of the several jade pillars emit a faint golden light, which was particularly conspicuous considering the pitch black surrounding.
When he later asked the Lady Boss, her explanation was that, as he progressed in his Internal Inspection, not only could he see his meridians, he could also see his bones. If he continued to progress, he would see the sky dotted with stars, which represented the various orifices on his body. At the same time, he might also saw rushing rivers and towering mountains. Those would be his blood and muscles...
Then, when all in his body was within his sight, it would be the time he succeeded in the Internal Inspection.
Wang Lu was naturally still far away from that point, but this time’s progression had brought him a huge advantage because he now had a clearer perspective to observe the Non-Phase Sword Bone. This meant that he could focus to toughen his bone on the relevant parts. As long as those bones, which were represented by the sword-like jade pillars, flickered with golden rays of light, he could move onto the other bones. When all the jade pillars flickered with golden lights, it signified that he had completed the eighth layer of the Non-Phase Sword Bone.
On the other hand, as Wang Lu’s Internal Inspection became even clearer, Wang Lu could, with the Lady Boss’s help, use the breathing to regulate his qi and blood, and transport and concentrate the bone strengthening medicine through them to certain remote bones, giving him twice the result with half the effort.
And so it went; Wang Lu and the fatty both advanced in pain and gain. In Wang Lu’s words, this could be called as flying in pairs.
A month later, Wang Lu had nearly completed his eighth layer of the Non-Phase Sword Bone. His body’s degree of toughness had soared by several folds, and was already close to those cultivators in Foundation Establishment Stage where their magic power ran through their body! As for Wen Bao, he had trained to the peak sixth layer of Black Iron Sword. Compared to last month where he couldn’t even use the sword properly, this was a significant progress.
However, that progress was helped by Wen Bao’s two years of solid foundation. On the one hand, he continued to absorb the spiritual energy into his body, accumulating it, and on the other, he continued to study his Black Iron Sword sword art… Both supported one another. As for Wang Lu, he had reached the final bottleneck in his Non-Phase Sword Bone; he needed some time to accumulate ability to break through the barrier in one fell swoop.
However, Wen Bao still wanted more; he expectantly asked, “Senior Brother Wang Lu, what should we do next?”
Wang Lu wrinkled his brows as he carefully thought about it. Then, an idea came into his mind.
“That’s right. We ought to go on a experiential learning again.”
...
[1] See chapter 31.
[2] Endoscopy - nèi kuī jìng; Internal Inspection Method - nèi shì fǎ