The first secret manual that the old woman taught me to practice was called the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Technique, which was said to be the cultivation heart sutra of a secret Dao Technique sect that was quite famous in the Clear Void Sky.
"The essence of the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Art is in the word 'round'. Circularity flows and is endless. A hand raised, a foot thrown, all form a circle. The circle does not have any angles or sharp edges, yet it is full of endless changes." The old woman said indifferently, her palms rotating, drawing one circle after another in the air, dazzling me. The air around her whimpered along with her palms, quickly forming a vortex of air currents.
I nodded, ''It looks bullish. However, without angular sharpness, how can you attack the enemy?"
The old woman suddenly opened her mouth to me and I frowned, "Granny, your teeth are yellow and crippled. It's best not to open your mouth too often and expose the flaws."
A violent chestnut unceremoniously knocked on the door of my head as the old woman said, "Look at my tongue again."
I looked closely, "Your tongue is bright red and round."
"How is it compared to my teeth?"
"Of course it's much better, your teeth are almost gone."
The old woman slowly said, "The angular, sharp teeth have fallen out, but the soft tongue is intact."
My heart shook, "Granny, I seem to understand a bit."
"If you understand, why don't you practice quickly?" The old woman let out a river lion's roar, and I nodded my head like a chicken pecking at rice, opening the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Technique and practising.
According to the instructions in the secret manual, the first thing to do is to run the breath and produce a round circle of qi in the body, and then use the flow of the circle of qi to continuously produce a small circle of qi, like a hen laying an egg, until the body is completely transformed into a vortex qi field. After a long time, when I finished refining and building the first layer of the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Technique's foundation, I just wanted to catch my breath. The old granny then grabbed me by the hand, her tattered robe fluttering as she flew forwards.
"Granny, your wind control technique is awesome, but why are you grabbing me? Let me enjoy it quietly."
"I don't have time for you to cultivate step by step. Listen, I'm going to throw you into the Blood Vortex so you can experience the essence of the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Technique for yourself. It's much quicker to see results than practising from a dead book."
"I'm going to the outhouse!"
"Shut up!" Flying below the Blood Transformation Vortex, she lightly threw me, and I rushed towards the Blood Transformation Vortex as if I were flying in the clouds.
Just as I approached the vortex, a violent force immediately swept me up, spinning me violently and flinging me out. "Bang," I landed heavily on the ground, falling to my eyes. I immediately woke up to the fact that when I rushed into the Blood Transformation Vortex from the eggshell, I was subjected to suction, and when I entered from underneath the vortex it became repulsion.
"Idiot, how could you forget what you just learnt? The Blood Transformation Vortex is the rotating circle, as long as you perform the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Technique and follow the Blood Transformation Vortex as it rotates, you won't be thrown out." The old woman said as she grabbed me again and threw me in midair.
"Bang Bang Bang ......" I fell down from the Blood Transformation Vortex again and again, and was thrown in again and again. If I hadn't refined the Cloud Light Stone Flow Flying Dan, I'm afraid I would have turned into a patch of debris. The most infuriating thing was that this Moon Soul fellow suddenly appeared out of nowhere, jumping around like he was laughing at my miserable state.
"Stupid as hell! You're punished for not being allowed to eat today!" The old woman shook her head and cursed, and under her "obscene threat", I had to practice hard on a hungry stomach.
A few days later, I began to adapt, and was able to support myself in the Blood Transformation Vortex for a period of time before being thrown out. The time I could support myself was also gradually lengthening. Despite this, the old woman was still not satisfied.
"Idiot! Fool! Fool!" The old woman was making so much noise that my ears were going deaf.
"Granny, the Northern Realm wasn't built in a day!" I screamed bitterly and was thrown towards the Blood Transformation Vortex once again.
"If you fail to practice this time, you won't be able to sleep for a month!"
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Holy shit! I still had to argue with reason, but I could no longer speak, the pressure around me increased steeply, my chest gasping for air, almost suffocating.
"Muddy circle flows, Xuan Gui is born within." I silently recited the mantra, my palms traced out a circle. A small vortex of qi flow blossomed out from my palms, forming a flowing circle of qi around me, and my entire body began to rotate along with the blood transforming vortex.
"From the inside out, the life is endless." As the breath in my body flowed, one by one, the circles of qi were like ripples, swinging outwards, circulating and rotating endlessly. It was as if I had also transformed into a circle, becoming part of the Blood Transformation Vortex, no longer an invading foreign object.
The pressure around me disappeared little by little. Easily turning with the Blood Transformation Vortex, I never fell out again! By the time I was done, I was able to control my body and use the circle of qi to move within it with the rotational force of the vortex. Rising when I wanted to rise, sinking when I wanted to sink, indescribably comfortable and casual.
"Granny, I've practised!" I cheered and leapt out of the Blood Transformation Vortex, spinning around and gently landing back on the ground.
"Just learnt it, can't talk about practicing it." The old woman was a bit regretful, "If you continue to cultivate the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Technique, and advance one more layer, you will be able to reach the Grand Completion, and ascend to the Spiritual Treasure Heaven to reap some benefits. Unfortunately, there's no time for you to practise to the grand completion now."
I said, "This doesn't matter, in the future I will have plenty of time to slowly deepen my studies."
The old woman faintly said, "Remember, the Xuan Gui Secret Dao Technique is a secret Dao Technique that uses weakness to overcome strength, when sparring, once the enemy's strength is stronger than yours, you have to learn to use softness to overcome hardness, and to use the absence of a blade against the presence of a blade. Kid, let me ask you, what is the Secret Dao Art?"
I scratched my head, "It's Taoism, what else could it be?"
The old woman hemmed and hawed, "In the Northern Realm, there are more than ten million people who cultivate the Secret Dao Art, but very few people truly understand the true meaning of the Secret Dao Art. To tell you the truth, the Secret Dao Technique - is a spell that follows the nature of heaven and earth. It is like a man who would drown in water, so he must learn to swim, which is in accordance with the habits of water. If a person wants to pick fruit from a tree, he must be able to climb the tree; this is to follow the nature of the tree. To understand the nature of all things in heaven and earth, and to follow the trend, is the secret Taoist art."
I applauded enthusiastically, "Granny, hearing a few words from you is better than reading ten years of books. Then what is the A Imperial Art?"
The old woman said, "If a person doesn't want to be drowned by water, then they simply fill the river with earth. If a person wants to pick fruit from a tree, then they cut the tree down with an axe. Transforming the nature of heaven and earth is the core of the Armoured Royal Art."
I said happily, "The Secret Dao Technique is adapting to all things, while the Armour Royal Technique is changing all things. If the Secret Dao Technique is soft, the Armour Royal Technique is hard. Use whichever one is more convenient against the enemy."
The old woman nodded, "It's best to use both rigidity and flexibility."
My heart stirred, "Granny, do you have any secret Taoist art manuals of the Bijou Fugue here, or the Pulse Meridian Armour Royal Art manuals?"
"There are thousands of different types of sects in the Northern Realm, how could I possibly collect all the secret manuals?" The old woman shook her head, a look of regret appearing on her face, "The Pulse Meridian Sea Palace and the Bijou Fugue are both very powerful sects, with experts and tight defences, their secret manuals are difficult to get hold of. Alas, in the past, I sneaked into Bi Lu Fu and tried to steal the secret manuals, but I was discovered by Sect Leader Yan Cai Zi, and after a fight, I managed to escape. The secret dao technique of Bi Lu Fu is indeed very subtle, no wonder Yan Cai Zi is known as the first master of the secret dao technique in the Northern Realm." After a pause, her eyes glared, "Kid, still have the time to talk nonsense? Next up is the Five Sense Demon Scripture, practice!"
I screamed in my heart, it's too perverted to practice so non-stop!