Chapter 57: Even Without Stones, One Must Cross the River

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The wind howled mournfully. The iron hoe shot through the air like an arrow released from a bow, striking the tree.

With a crack, a trunk as thick as a forearm snapped and fell. The sudden noise made the nearby black bear retreat fearfully. The figure ahead lowered its upper body and wound around the back of the forest for a long time.

Barreling its teeth in a fierce grimace, a pair of claws hung over a small deer that was busy licking its wound, unwilling to leave.

Occasionally, it would make a threatening pounce posture, but intimidated by the previous power of the iron hoe, it dared not attack.

Chen Yu was surprised—what on earth had that silly deer done to it? There were many wild animals in the forest, and given the black bear’s build, he didn’t think it would have trouble catching other prey.

Glancing back, the gluttonous deer limped under a peach tree, completely ignoring the mud and water as it picked up fallen peach blossoms to chew and swallow.

Chen Yu decided to ignore it. Ahead in the forest, a man and a bear faced off.

For a full fifteen minutes, Chen Yu almost lost patience. He stepped forward, intending to make the bear thoroughly regret crossing him with his fists as big as sandbags.

Unexpectedly, perhaps intimidated by the furious glare and imposing aura, the black bear finally gave up on the fat prey that had slipped from its claws multiple times.

It retreated into the grass and foliage, disappearing from sight.

Before leaving, it gave the deer a fierce glare, but the chestnut-colored little deer was completely oblivious, eating with single-minded focus.

Chen Yu shook his sleeves and approached the forest’s edge, peering inside. No sign of the bear remained, only some grass debris and broken branches.

He picked up the hoe and slung it over his shoulder.

Chen Yu planned to roam the forest a few times once the weather cleared. If the bear wasn’t deterred by pain, it might return at any moment.

While he was around, it was fine. But if he left the mountain, the chickens in the yard might not escape — unlike the gluttonous deer, they weren’t agile.

As for the fence, Chen Yu didn’t believe it could stop a fierce, several-hundred-pound beast.

For now...

He crouched under the mutated peach tree, pressing down on the deer’s back, parting its damp fur to expose the wound.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too long or deep, lighter than what he had seen when he first returned to the mountain.

Standing up, he plucked two peach blossoms and, holding them out, coaxed the deer back to the courtyard. After giving the flowers, he busied himself and then returned carrying a bowl filled with a greenish paste.

He treated the wound, carefully cleaning the abdomen and back, especially the clumps of mud and dirt, which took quite some effort to clear.

After applying the ointment, the deer was able to move freely.

The black bear seemed to have only scraped the skin, without striking in ways that would damage tendons or bones.

No big problem.

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He didn’t open the courtyard gate, instead throwing the mountain grass he had cut earlier near the base of the wall to shelter from the rain—though the grass had dried and yellowed over time, it was still edible.

Chen Yu figured that, given the gluttonous deer’s nature, it probably wouldn’t be picky. He decided it would stay in the courtyard to recover for a couple of days. Since the wounds weren’t severe, he didn’t want it running around in the wind and rain, risking infection and worsening the injury.

After all, it was a familiar deer; he didn’t want the little creature to be left to die in the wilderness or fall prey to a black bear.

...

In the courtyard, the temporarily confined deer rested against the wall, chewing on grass leaves. Occasionally it exhaled softly, curling and stretching its legs as it rolled in the grass pile.

Chen Yu sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion facing the gray clouds, accompanied by the sound of gentle rain.

With each breath, faint red mist swirled.

This was the manifestation of the circulation of primordial blood and qi—such abundant vitality that it overflowed beyond the body.

In truth, qi and blood were not some special energy; everyone had them, though not everyone could see them.

Martial artists trained their bodies and strength, possessing far more qi and blood than ordinary people. Primordial blood could stimulate the body’s qi and blood even more. Thanks to his finely honed spiritual senses, Chen Yu was familiar with this.

What others called mystical qi, to him seemed more like the natural metabolic emissions of the human body—vigorous metabolism meant abundant qi and blood.

Martial artists needed huge amounts of food to sustain this flow; if any deficiency occurred, the qi and blood would weaken, manifesting as loss of strength, limp muscles, and a slackened body.

Or rather, the latter caused the qi and blood to decline.

Normally, one couldn’t influence this; it simply dissipated and scattered. But when spiritual power combined with primordial blood, the qi and blood would boil and condense, forming visible shapes.

This display could not affect external objects but could intimidate others with its aura.

The black bear had been scared off by this condensed qi and blood, unwilling to make a move.

Currently, Chen Yu was not focusing on the blood qi but rather trying to reverse the flow of qi within his body through breathwork, drawing it into one acupoint after another.

Primordial blood was the focus.

As more acupoints transformed, he noticed the qi in his internal organs quietly responding, nourishing the viscera more rapidly. Now, except for the spleen and stomach, three others were nearing transformation.

Chen Yu had a premonition that once all five organs transformed, this might trigger changes across his skeleton, fascia, muscles, and skin as well.

Even the primordial blood might advance further.

At that point, replacing his blood would yield much greater benefits than doing it prematurely now.

However, as of today, he had to start contemplating some things. In the past, he always talked about forging a new path, one different from traditional martial cultivation.

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Now, with his spirit being tempered and his body transforming, the path ahead remained uncertain.

Preparing for the worst, he needed a thorough review. His power was expanding rapidly; once the five internal organs finished transforming and his spirit compressed to the point of no further progress, he would be left with no way forward.

“Spiritual power, embryonic breath, qi and blood, primordial blood...”

“Spiritual fluids, spiritual mechanisms...”

Seated in the courtyard, Chen Yu refined his acupoints while pondering the past months’ experiences.

This was not his first reflection, but compared to the previous two, this time the matters involved were more complex and chaotic.

Besides those mentioned, there were martial arts and realms of cultivation.

Currently, his internal force was transparent and strong, striding toward the Dragon-Tiger Pass. Though he had yet to master the transformation of force, it was foreseeable that once all his acupoints were refined, his spiritual power finely tuned, and primordial blood filled his body, unleashing transformed force would not be difficult.

Regarding control over his muscles, if ordinary people were like walking on foot slowly and steadily, then with spiritual power as his support, he was like riding a galloping horse at full speed.

The difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

As for realms of cultivation... Chen Yu soon dismissed them. Whether the initial light or great stillness stages, they pertained only to the consciousness and spirit—ethereal and elusive, entrance depending entirely on fate and opportunity.

Since there was no tangible experience, there was no need to consider them seriously.

Moreover, it seemed that aside from some suppression on the boundless sea of consciousness, these realms only offered moments of insight and inspiration, with no other miraculous effects yet.

Finally, his gaze settled on the swirling qi within his body.

Qi nourished the organs and flesh; the strength of the body was closely linked with it.

Born from the fusion of spiritual power and embryonic breath, it combined the former’s unpredictability and the latter’s nurturing qualities.

“Uplifting heaven and earth, mastering yin and yang, breathing the primordial qi, standing firm in spirit, muscles like one body...”

Chen Yu murmured—a passage from the "Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic" in his previous life. Precisely because this power was so similar, he named it qi.

Spirit, embryonic breath, qi and blood, primordial blood, spiritual fluids, spiritual mechanisms... qi connected many things throughout the body.

Now, if the path ahead was like a surging river, to cross it with nothing in hand, he would have to cut wood to make a boat.

Qi was that solid log he intended to ride forward upon.