Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping's eyes immediately lit up.
The effect of the iron weights he had been using was now quite limited. Unless he could find a better material, continuing to temper his muscles and bones in this way would not yield significant results.
"Sister Lingyue, I want to try it right now."
Xu Taiping looked eagerly at Fairy Lingyue.
If it weren't for being outside the mountain, he really would have nowhere to gather turbid qi.
"I know you can endure hardship and pain, but I must remind you, at this stage, don't be greedy. Gradually increase the turbid qi in your acupoints, otherwise this acupressure technique will not only be of no benefit to you but could actually be harmful."
Fairy Lingyue nodded and then gave Xu Taiping another reminder.
"I understand."
Xu Taiping nodded earnestly.
Next, under the guidance of Fairy Lingyue, Xu Taiping began to separate the turbid qi from the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, slowly infusing it into a specific acupoint as directed in the acupressure chapter.
"Boom~"
When the amount of turbid qi he had infused was roughly equivalent to a thousand pounds, the fluctuations in Xu Taiping's aura suddenly became violent, and he instinctively tried to use his spiritual power to offset this force.
However, the bed beneath him remained unchanged.
It should be noted that back at the Green Bamboo Residence, ever since Xu Taiping started using the iron weights, he had switched to a stone bed, otherwise it would collapse every night.
"Bang."
Xu Taiping tried throwing a punch, and the speed of his fist was noticeably slower.
"The methods of body tempering in this world are all quite similar, which is to continuously push the limits of what your body can withstand in terms of weight and impact, and then break through these limits bit by bit, allowing you to endure even more."
Watching Xu Taiping throw his punches, Fairy Lingyue explained.
"With this acupressure chapter, why is there still a bone-hammering chapter?"
Xu Taiping looked at Fairy Lingyue somewhat puzzled.
He felt that to train his physique, just relying on this acupressure chapter should be enough.
"The acupressure chapter is more about letting your soul sense the extreme limits your body can withstand, while the bone-hammering chapter truly allows your body to master these extremes, tempering every bone to be even harder than refined iron."
Fairy Lingyue explained seriously.
Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping suddenly understood.
"Of course, another effect of the acupressure chapter is to make your acupoints more resilient. If you start sword training in the future, this will be greatly beneficial. After all, the sword qi of true sword cultivators is very heavy."
Fairy Lingyue added another point.
Xu Taiping nodded in response.
"Bang, bang, bang…"
Just then, someone knocked on his door.
A woman's voice rang out:
"Daoist Taiping, the dossier on Fan Qi is ready."
Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping went to open the door.
"Your Highness has worked hard."
Xu Taiping took the dossier from the hands of the Sixth Princess.
"Are you really confident, Daoist?"
The Sixth Princess was still somewhat worried.
"Don't worry, even if I don't win, he can't do anything to me. After all, I am a cultivator."
Seeing the genuine concern of the Sixth Princess, Xu Taiping didn't brush her off and seriously answered her once more.
"That's true, after all, you are a cultivator, and moreover, one from the mountain."
Hearing Xu Taiping say this, the Sixth Princess also breathed a sigh of relief.
"But what about you, Your Highness? If I can't defeat Fan Qi, will you still insist on staying in the Vulture Kingdom?"
Xu Taiping asked the Sixth Princess.
If she insisted on staying in the Vulture Kingdom to seek opportunities in the event of his defeat, he would only accompany her for three months at most.
"Yes!"
The Sixth Princess nodded without hesitation.
"As long as I stay in the Vulture Kingdom for one more day, the people of my Baishu Kingdom will be safe for one more day."
She said with a smile.
"And what about yourself?"
Xu Taiping looked seriously at the naïve princess.
"I still have the last pouch left by my mother. If it comes to a dead end, as long as I open the pouch, my mother will surely show me the way forward."
The Sixth Princess spoke with conviction.
"Do you trust your mother that much?"
Xu Taiping became curious about the mother the Sixth Princess spoke of.
"My mother is a descendant of the Sage of War, proficient in the art of military strategy and foresight, always without fail!"
The Sixth Princess spoke of her mother with admiration in her eyes.
"Then please instruct your subordinates, Princess. We shall set off for the Rage Fist Manor at dawn tomorrow."
Xu Taiping nodded and then said to the Sixth Princess.
Regardless of whether the Sixth Princess's mother was truly infallible in her strategies, as long as the Sixth Princess felt there was no problem, he would not interfere.
"Alright, you should also rest, Daoist."
The Sixth Princess bowed slightly to Xu Taiping and then turned to leave.
Even at night, her every move was graceful and dignified.
"Is there really such a thing as infallible foresight in this world?"
Standing beside Xu Taiping, Fairy Lingyue watched the Sixth Princess's retreating figure and remarked.
"I remember my grandfather often used to say that the world is unpredictable, and it's better to bet than to calculate."
Xu Taiping suddenly recalled the words his grandfather often muttered.
"Your grandfather is quite the character."
Hearing this, Fairy Lingyue chuckled.
***
The next day.
Halfway through their journey, Xu Taiping and the Sixth Princess were stopped by a sudden downpour, and the group had to take shelter in a dilapidated temple to avoid the rain.
At this time, they were still thirty to forty miles away from Huangmei Town, where the Rage Fist Manor was located.
"This rain is really strange."
At the temple entrance, a fat guard with a long scar on his face cursed as he wrung out his wet clothes.
"Old Qian, doesn't this temple look like a coffin? It doesn't even have a window."
Another guard looked up at the temple's plaque.
The dilapidated plaque bore the barely legible words "Old Mountain Temple."
"Old Qian, Xiao Song, once you two have changed, come in quickly. We can start making a fire and cooking."
At this moment, Captain Cao called out to the two from inside the temple.
"Yes."
The two responded immediately and hurried into the temple.
Captain Cao looked around the temple entrance, and once he saw that there was no one outside, he promptly closed the temple door.
"Bang!"
Just as the door closed.
A man appeared as if out of thin air, standing motionless at the temple entrance.
Or rather, he had always been at the temple entrance.
This man, with a vacant gaze and naked body, also had a long scar on his face.
It was none other than Old Qian, who had just been wringing out his clothes at the temple entrance.
Looking at the weather outside the temple, aside from being a bit gloomy, where was there any sign of rain?
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas