NOVEL WEB Chapter 20: Soul Spirit Qualification
In martial arts, even a single right hand contains the Hand's Three Yang Meridians and Hand's Three Yin Meridians, totaling six meridians!
The thumb has the 'Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian.'
The index finger holds the 'Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.'
The middle finger is associated with the 'Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian.'
The ring finger carries the 'Hand Shaoyang Triple Burner Meridian.'
The little finger encompasses both the 'Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian' and the 'Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian.'
Each of these meridians, in theory, can be used as pathways for soul power meditation and circulation.
As Ling Yi pondered this, he divided his focus into two, using mental strength to guide the soul power within his body along the route of the 'Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian'.
Nearly an hour later, as the efficiency of his cultivation began to decline, Ling Yi, still unable to uncover any fruitful insights, reluctantly collected his thoughts, integrating the roughly increased five percent of soul power back into his dantian, concluding his practice.
Meanwhile, he shook his head slightly: 'Ultimately, it’s the scarcity of known parameters that hinders understanding~'
Considering the issue of insufficient parameters, Ling Yi further contemplated the still imperfect 'Farmer's Three Stances,' particularly the 'Sweeping Sickle Stance' and 'Swinging Axe Stance.' The primary reason for this was the limited number of individuals observed in daily life, which restricted access to corresponding muscle reflex data.
Getting out of bed, Ling Yi's gaze settled on the wooden shelf by the bedside, where various pots housed several stalks of Blue Silver Grass.
He walked over, gently brushing the leaves of a few plants, feeling the faint yet vibrant life essence they contained, allowing his previously scattered thoughts to calm slightly.
The sharp and incessant cicada cries outside the window acted as a reminder of the sweltering heat that engulfed the world beyond.
According to the time, his grandfather Ling Changqing and his father Ling Xiaoshan should have already harvested plenty of lush and juicy forage and would likely be on their way back.
Ling Yi mused to himself.
‘It seems that aside from the focus decreasing over time and the increasing consumption of mental power, the meridians within the body endure the impact of external spiritual energy, requiring one to halt cultivation before mental power becomes uncontrollable or the meridians suffer damage.’
‘I suppose those soul masters with high innate soul power and strong martial soul aptitude have more resilient meridians, greater control of soul power with their mental strength, and a greater capacity to integrate and harness external spiritual power...’
‘The more spiritual power consumed, the longer the cultivation duration, the higher the efficiency — thus, naturally, the speed of cultivation differs vastly!’
Although Ling Yi has not yet witnessed other soul masters in training, he feels confident that this hypothesis has merit within the Douluo Continent's worldview.
‘In the original storyline, Tang San cultivated the supreme internal cultivation technique of the Tang Sect from his past life martial arts world, the "Mysterious Heaven Skill".’ Ling Yi crossed his arms and rested a hand on his chin as he recalled the novel from his previous life:
“I remember not long after becoming Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Yu Xiaogang gave him a book that was said to be the soul power meditation route he had compiled, along with techniques for training soul power...”
‘At the time, Tang San privately remarked that although the route given by Yu Xiaogang wasn’t as good as the "Mysterious Heaven Skill", the latter was the result of countless generations of Tang Sect elders' painstaking experiences, while Master Yu Xiaogang was only one person.’
Ling Yi deduced that soul power meditation training most likely involved controlling and circulating one's own soul power within the meridians.
“Ah Yi~ Ah Yi——!”
At that moment, amidst the noisy cicadas outside, a sudden shout rang out.
It was Zhang Lei. Hearing this familiar voice, Ling Yi felt his body, especially his legs, relax and his mind ease significantly. "Coming——!" he replied loudly.
He took two steps to the door, pushed it open, and walked into Ling Changqing's courtyard.
At that moment, Zhang Lei also entered through the courtyard gate. Upon seeing Ling Yi, he cheerfully jogged over, grabbed Ling Yi's arm, and began to pull him toward the gate.
As they ran, Zhang Lei said, "Ah Yi, the 'Blue Silver Grass' seeds you asked me to gather are all collected!"
In a short while, they arrived at Zhang Dahe's house. Once inside the courtyard, they saw a grass mat laid flat on the ground with a heap of deep blue, almost black, 'sand' piled upon it.
"Look—!"
Standing in front of the 'sand pile,' Zhang Lei exclaimed excitedly to Ling Yi, "Three thousand seeds! Not one less!"
"According to your request, these seeds are all plump and pure in color. Any that were shriveled, broken, or dull in color, we tossed out!"
Ling Yi admired the pile of 'Blue Silver Grass' seeds in satisfaction, lightly thumping Zhang Lei's shoulder with his hand and laughing, "Thank you, Lei-ge—"
"Ah, no need to thank me!" Zhang Lei waved his hand dismissively. "It wasn't much trouble at all. Following your instructions, over twenty of us, including Erwa, Xiaoniu, and Huahua, specifically cut 'Blue Silver Grass,' threshed the seeds, and delivered the leaves to your chicken and rabbit coops. Then each of us picked out a hundred or so of the best seeds. It only took us half a morning."
"Besides, Ah Huang and Meow Meow caught plenty of things this morning, so we were well-fed by noon with lots of meat—"
"Erwa and the others mentioned that if there’s more work like this, they’ll definitely join in again—"
Hearing Zhang Lei’s words, Ling Yi nodded, squatting down as he plunged his hands into the pile of seeds, relishing the pleasant sensation of the grains touching his skin. He replied cheerfully, "Tell them not to worry, I’ll be needing their help again, and there’ll be plenty of meat to go around!"
"Mmm hmm~" Zhang Lei squatted down too, watching Ling Yi’s actions, and asked curiously, "By the way, Ah Yi, what’s your plan for these seeds?"
"Let’s go~"
Ling Yi gathered the scattered seeds together with his hands, then grabbed the four corners of a mat spread on the ground, using it to bundle up the seeds. He nodded towards Zhang Lei, "Head over to my place first. Let’s soak these seeds in the trough I used for soaking the ginseng seeds before..."
For the past three years, from the age of three to six, ever since Ling Yi first discovered ginseng in the old forest north of Shanhai Village, he had regularly sent Ah Huang and Meow Meow to search for those ginseng that were ingested by birds and then deposited with their droppings in the forest.
Once found, he didn’t dig up the ginseng directly, but instead collected the ginseng seeds to bring back, process, soak, and sprout them before planting.
Although Ling Yi had no prior experience in ginseng cultivation, he experimented in the first year with various locations, soil types, watering, and lighting conditions. By observing the growth patterns and health of the ginseng, he was able to guide the cultivation process in a favorable direction from the second year onward.
After all, this is a world with extraordinary forces of spiritual energy, so it's only natural for some seemingly incongruous phenomena to occur.
Ling Yi’s goal is to turn the old forest north of Shanhai Village into his first ginseng cultivation base!
In the past, he could only enjoy ginseng chicken soup once every few months, but soon he aims to have it once a month, once a week, or even every day!
"Well then—"
"First, I'd better handle those three thousand 'Blue Silver Grass' seeds."
(End of Chapter)
