Chapter 4: The Test Medicine and the Beginning of Body Forging (Please Bookmark)
When he arrived at the kitchen, Seokheon suddenly thought that some kind of airborne poison might spread. He hurriedly stopped in his tracks, held his breath, and applied the Earth-Absorbing Armor Talisman to himself. After it was activated, he saw the ground wriggle. Yellow earth crawled up his body from beneath his feet. The space between each breath was already covered in yellow earth, making him look like a terracotta warrior. Only after casting a dust-removal spell on his face did he continue walking into the kitchen.
As soon as he entered the kitchen, the medicinal scent pierced his nose, and all three medicines were non-toxic and harmless. Seokheon wrote the characters Gap, Eul, and Byeong on the medicine pots respectively, then found three bowls and wrote Gap, Eul, and Byeong next to each bowl respectively. He stuck the Dust-Proof Talisman he had drawn previously onto the tray and activated it, then poured the medicinal liquid into the corresponding bowls. Seokheon thought proudly, “They didn’t have laboratory environments in ancient times, but they could still perform sterile operations. Daoist techniques truly are amazing.” He took the tray into the courtyard, stopped where four dogs were tied at the corner of the wall, placed the tray on the ground, held something in his hand, and stepped into the Seven Star Steps. Muttering incantations from his mouth, he regulated his body’s energy. After a moment, he used the Immobilization Charm to fix the four dogs in place. Seokheon hurriedly fed the three bowls of medicine respectively to two dogs, one dog, one dog, and three yellow dogs, then stepped aside and waited for the medicinal effects to appear.
After a few breaths, one black dog suddenly convulsed all over its body, foamed white from its mouth, blood lingering in its eyes, and tried to struggle but could not move. It only remained upright because the spell’s power held it there. Seokheon thought, “Thankfully, we conducted an experiment, so let’s see whether this thing can be sold later as an extreme poison secret art or not. The reason it wouldn’t be used later is that, judging by this effect, it doesn’t turn people into bloody pulp, nor does it produce yellow smoke. While it seems like it could be used against ordinary people and martial artists, it is hard to say it has good effects against trained cultivators.”
At this time, the other two dogs both looked mentally excited, their eyes reddening as they began to bark. That much was not unreasonable. But before long, that yellow dog suddenly broke free of the charm and began running around the yard. It looked like it would jump right out if the yard wall were any lower. Seokheon watched for a moment, planning to compare it with the remaining black dog. The yellow dog grew slower the more it ran, and finally collapsed wailing.
Seokheon went forward and examined it closely; it had merely fainted, but its body had weakened and seemed to have consumed a great amount of stamina. It seemed this prescription was like a stimulant—harmful and useless to the body. Seokheon returned to the corner and observed the remaining black dog until the spell wore off. The black dog had only discharged black substances from its body, and after the spell passed, it hopped about energetically. This time, Seokheon had some designs on the prescription, but he planned without a doubt to spend one more night and check the condition of the two dogs again tomorrow.
The medicinal bath prescription and the internal consumption prescription used the same medicinal ingredients but in different ratios and combinations, so while he could now confirm the medicinal bath prescription, caution was the priority. He would bring the remaining dogs over first.
The experimental results satisfied Seokheon. That yellow dog showed no adverse symptoms even after the medicinal bath; though it rubbed itself as if its bones were itchy, it recovered by evening. Seokheon guessed that the medicinal effects had seeped through the skin.
The day was spent bustling about busily, and Seokheon was tired as well. He went out to eat dinner, came back, sat down to rest for a moment, and fell asleep. Nothing happened through the night.
The next day, Seokheon woke up early. The two dogs that had taken the medicine were both alive and well. However, the yellow dog suspected to be a stimulant looked as if it had aged greatly, lying listlessly in the corner.
Seokheon confirmed the medicinal effects and resolved inwardly that today he would begin body-forging training himself. Because the human body and soul possessed a mysterious and close relationship, one could always see that those with strong bodies had better spirits, while those with weak bodies had withered spirits. Body-Strengthening Soul-Nourishment was the practice of various external martial arts to make the body strong and supplement the soul. When the body was trained to a certain extreme, internal qi would naturally arise, and the soul would break through its boundary and enter the Yang Qi Soul-Strengthening Stage. If body training did not reach the extreme and one forcibly learned internal cultivation secrets to enter the Yang Qi Stage, one would be unable to endure the consumption of the Refining Stage, leaving hidden injuries and severe deficiencies, potentially contracting consumption. Of course, even after entering the Yang Qi Stage, one had to supplement large amounts of nutrients daily to replenish the Refining Stage’s consumption. Otherwise, illnesses of various kinds could arise, so those who trained in martial arts had to consume many resources. Martial artists without money or power would find it difficult to attain profound martial arts.
After lunch, Seokheon looked at the bowl of medicine placed before him, calmed his mind, and downed it in one breath. Then he removed his outer robe, stripped his upper body, and walked out to the courtyard. At this time, Seokheon felt the medicine turning into heat and spreading to every corner of his body. He assumed a stance and began training according to the opening form of the Ten Dragons Demon-Subduing Fist from the *Treasure Record*. Since Seokheon had already familiarized himself with more than ten fist techniques of the Ten Dragons Demon-Subduing Fist that morning, what he was relatively skilled at now was striking continuously from the beginning when the Myriad Dragon twists its waist and the Azure Dragon Subduing Wave releases its hand, through the Golden Dragon swinging its tail, until the Heavenly Dragon descends.
As the fist art unfolded move by move, Seokheon felt the heat flowing in accordance with his fist momentum. Whenever a mighty move was executed, the places where his muscles were most taut and his power greatest gathered the most heat flow. When internal and external forces clashed, the filth within the body spewed out from the pores according to the combination of fist techniques and heat flow. The more Seokheon struck, the more refreshed he felt. He struck the Ten Dragons Demon-Subduing Fist from beginning to end more than a dozen times, and the more he struck, the slower he became. As time went on, it increasingly resembled practicing Tai Chi Fist of later generations. However, Seokheon felt that this slowness was pleasant, the medicinal effects were well-matched, and the hidden corners of his body that he had been unable to train before, the insides of his muscles, began trembling according to the fist momentum.
If someone watched from the side, Seokheon’s body was surging with heat at this time, his entire body enveloped in a faint mist; the place with the most heat on his head rose upward like white smoke. The surroundings seemed wrapped in wind, and a circle roughly the size of a sheet blew across the ground.
Seokheon’s fist momentum, after becoming extremely slow, began to speed up again. When the final punch went out, the wind roared with a buzzing sound, and the sounds of all the joints in his body crackled densely like roasting beans. Gradually, Seokheon entered a state of resonance. It was as if he could see his own soul and physical body; the soul was inside, and the physical body was outside. Every time he threw a punch, it felt as if both body and soul struck together. At the same time, the power of his body’s blood and qi constantly nourished the soul inwardly, slowly growing it. The more Seokheon struck, the more refreshed he became, and his mind improved as well. It felt as if a breath welled up in his mind. The Golden Dragon swings its tail, grasping with the left hand and turning the body, putting power into every muscle, while the right hand comes down diagonally as if Mount Tai were pressing down on the crown of the head. This was precisely the Heavenly Dragon Descending Upon the World.
As the punch went out, it felt as if all the power of his entire body and the surging energy in his mind poured out through this fist. Only a clear, resonant sound of air was heard, yet unexpectedly, a sharp wind blew and snapped one thin branch of a large tree two gil away. After throwing this punch, Seokheon stopped his stance and felt unspeakably refreshed. All the muscles in his body ached, yet power overflowed. Only, his body was drenched in sweat and encrusted with black filth, making him uncomfortable. Because of this, Seokheon quickly walked to the well, drew a bucket of water, found a cloth, and cleanly wiped away the filth from his body, feeling refreshed all over. The medicinal bath had to be timed just right, so this was the perfect moment. Seokheon came to the kitchen and got into the jar, kneeling and sitting. As the temperature rose, the medicinal effects tended to seep from the skin into the muscles and then into the bones. As said in the *Treasure Record*, when he regulated his body, Seokheon felt that the body was in a state of holistic balance and interaction. This was, in fact, precisely one meaning of “Qi” during exercise: controlling and harmonizing the force of each part of the body, removing harm, and thereby enhancing the body’s ability to restore balance.
While resting, enduring the itchy pain, Seokheon felt the force of each part of his body and controlled his body to remain in a holistic balanced state from beginning to end. In this state, if the body’s balance was disrupted, all harmful things would be converted and expelled as the body returned to balance—because limits existed, the harmful components of the medicine had to be expelled moderately; this was also the precious point of the prescription—so the harmful parts of the external medicine were slowly expelled outside the body. Of course, in the process of being expelled outside the body, deep places in the body such as harmful substances within the bones were also carried away. The beneficial parts of the external medicine nourished the body in place of these substances. One had to understand that normally, when regulating breathing, the flow of harmful things deep in the bones was difficult to expel. Because these harmful things had not yet reached the degree of disrupting the body’s balance, the body had to grow stronger. Only when one’s Qi reached a certain degree of strength could they be expelled, and this was a degree Seokheon could only achieve after crossing one or two more realms. Amid the itchiness, Seokheon maintained this regulated state. Training with Qi of this intensity also had some benefits for the soul. After half an hour, he felt the medicinal effects gradually fading. Seokheon came out of the jar. He wiped his body; it felt light and refreshed. His mind was empty and clear, his senses keen, and the strength of his soul had slightly improved. At the same time, his previous minor internal injury had unexpectedly fully healed. He had originally judged that it would take half a month to heal. This was precisely the advantage of training in Qi.
Through today’s training, before sleeping, Seokheon felt the strength of his physical body and soul. He preliminarily judged that if he trained twice every morning and evening, he could enter the Yang Qi Soul-Strengthening Stage after five months. At the same time, the strength of his physical body was far higher than before. This was because the Ten Dragons Demon-Subduing Fist and this medicine were far better than before, allowing him to train places he had been unable to previously. Training the same places was also far more effective. Truly, it was extraordinary. However, when practicing the Ten Dragons Demon-Subduing Fist, because he had not yet grasped the true essence of this martial art, he had to work even harder.
For several months thereafter, Seokheon remained at home; aside from eating meals and going out to buy medicine, he stayed in the courtyard. He practiced the Ten Dragons Demon-Subduing Fist twice a day, and in his remaining free time reviewed various techniques this body had learned before, greatly improving his body and soul. At the same time, recalling the knowledge and experiences that Seo had told him, he prepared to travel all over the world in search of immortals.