Chapter 189
“I have learned the ❮Basic Buddhist Fist Technique❯ and the ❮True Self Meditation Technique❯,” Song Shuhang truthfully replied. After thinking for a bit, he added, “Perhaps, I also studied a bit of the ❮Flaming Saber Technique❯?”
Venerable White nodded. Song Shuhang had only learned basic cultivation techniques.
If that is the case, I might as well make his foundation stronger by helping him with the aspects he’s lacking in.
For a cultivator, apart from basic body refining technique and meditation technique, one should also master a quick movement technique.
Also, since Song Shuhang had already successfully built his foundation and opened the second aperture, the Eye Aperture, there was sufficient qi and blood energy within his body to learn it; aside from that, he also had the ghost spirit. Hence, he should be able to learn another basic Daoist technique that used qi and blood energy—for example, Lightning Palm and other such basic techniques that only depended on qi and blood were very suitable for the present Song Shuhang.
Additionally, the ❮Basic Buddhist Fist Technique❯ should probably have an upgraded complementary technique, right? Venerable White thought to himself. But as for this complementary technique, he had to ask about it in the group chat or go to the Daily Cultivator’s trading section to find out.
In that case, I shall teach Song Shuhang a quick movement technique, together with the Lightning Palm.
A cultivator’s quick movement technique was not only for dodging attacks and moving quickly. It wasn’t as simple as that.
When used, the quick movement technique could help in tempering the body, just like jogging would help one become fit. Once a cultivator was used to the quick movement technique and infused it into their daily life, every step they took would be equal to practicing. Even though such a method would be less effective when compared to specific techniques focused on body refining, it’d still help one reach the same goal bit by bit.
“Come with me!” Venerable White grabbed Song Shuhang and they flew off on the flying sword that came out of his sleeve, a layer of light appearing beneath their feet as they were dragged up into the skies.
Doudou, who was in the room, secretly heaved a sigh.
Thereafter, he temporarily quit the game and strengthened the defensive formation that was protecting the building. He was going to add at least ten—if not twenty—new layers to the defensive formation before Venerable White’s return.
Penniless Thief Sect’s Young Mistress Candy placed her hands together before her and actually started mumbling a prayer—but no one knew what she was praying for…
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Venerable White brought Song Shuhang deep into the forest behind Jiangnan College Town, and looked for an open area without anyone’s presence before landing.
Song Shuhang was baffled and asked, “Senior, what are we doing here?”
“This is an open area, so I am able to show you a few types of ‘quick movement techniques’ cultivators use. You observe first, then pick the one you want to learn,” answered Venerable White with a laugh.
Quick movement technique? Song Shuhang’s eyes lit up, “Stepping on snow without leaving a trace behind? Becoming like a dragonfly, skimming on the surface of the water?”
“Yeah, you can achieve such things via these techniques. But there are several types of quick movement techniques—there are some which you might not even need. Some of them focus on dodging, some focus on speed, others focus on maneuverability, some are for masking one’s presence to avoid detection, some allow one to shapeshift into ghosts, monsters, and other bizarre things. For now, just watch carefully,” smiled Venerable White.
After finishing his sentence, he used some weird footwork, and after taking five steps, layers of mirage appeared next to him—they were strange and beautiful. Additionally… Venerable White looked very graceful, as though he was dancing. It was a beautiful sight.
“This is an illusory form footwork. It belongs to the category of the strange and unfathomable,” Venerable White explained.
Thereafter, his appearance started to twist; his footsteps got heavier and he took one quick step. A whizzing sound could be heard, and after that, he suddenly appeared behind Song Shuhang, giving him a huge scare.
“This is Instantaneous Body Shifting. For the sake of showing it to you, I intentionally slowed down. If I used it for real, you would only be able to watch me suddenly disappear before flashing right before your eyes again. This belongs to the speed category,” continued Venerable White.
Thereafter, Venerable White displayed a fierce and powerful technique that was a threatening attack-type footwork. He explained, “This is one of Buddhism’s footwork techniques, called ‘Tiger Subduing Footwork’. It seems ferocious and powerful, but in reality, it possesses countless variations. Tough on the outside, gentle on the inside. It belongs to a subcategory of the maneuverability category. It allows you to defend and attack; it’s very useful for a newbie cultivator like you.”
When Song Shuhang first saw it, he felt it was very domineering and majestic.
But when he heard Venerable White say that it was a Buddhist technique, he suddenly thought of his True Self whose muscles have become more defined as of late, and whose hair had become a lot shorter. If he were to learn the ‘Tiger Subduing Footwork’, wouldn’t his True Self become bald?
“And then, this one is a stealth-type footwork that I learned a long time ago, called ‘Shadow Stealth’.” As Venerable White was speaking, he stood under the shade of a huge tree, and after he made some movements, his whole being suddenly disappeared.
Thereafter, he came out from under the shade and said, “But, in order to use this technique, you need to stand in a shadow of something. It has more limitations compared to the rest.
Apart from these, I have another footwork you can learn, hmm… it’s a technique I learned from a wandering scholar of the scholarly faction through an equal exchange. It’s called ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯—’instead of reading ten thousand books, why not travel ten thousand miles and learn from experience?’ is the meaning behind its name.
Yeah, the techniques of the scholary faction are filled with all kinds of infinite explanations since those guys like to preach a lot. But, this technique is pretty decent for a beginner, it’s suitable for long-distance raids. You can walk thousands of miles without feeling tired.
Furthermore, just like its name, when you’ve walked over ten thousand miles and are familiar with the technique, this ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯ is quite good when it comes to dodging within a small area; also, when you’ve completed another several tens of thousands of miles, you would be able to feel your body becoming as light as a swallow and even become like a dragonfly skimming on the surface of the water.
In short, this is ‘Ten Thousand Mile Journey’. The longer and further your journey is, the more powerful this technique is.”
While speaking, Venerable White started demonstrating this technique for Song Shuhang.
Initially, when he started walking, he looked just like any normal person. His steps were not particularly quick… but, upon further scrutiny, Song Shuhang realized that Venerable White’s advancing speed was extremely fast—at least a few times faster than if Song Shuhang himself were to sprint with all his might.
Furthermore, when Venerable White was walking, countless changes were happening to his body.
After his demonstration was complete, Venerable White went back and asked Song Shuhang, “So, which footwork have you decided to learn?”
“Senior, can I choose more than one?” Song Shuhang felt that each technique had its own pros and it was hard to pick only one from the bunch!
“Don’t be greedy,” Venerable White smiled. “Based on your current cultivation, learning too many types of footwork requires too much time, and this would only hold you back and slow down your progress. Right now, the best thing for you to do is to pick only one kind of footwork and practice hard. When you’ve reached the Second Stage and after your qi and blood have become true qi, then you can consider learning a few more kinds of footwork to aid you and help you increase your agility.
Song Shuhang nodded and started to ponder.
The Buddhist ‘Tiger Subduing Footwork’ isn’t worth considering much… unless there really isn’t any better choice.
‘Shadow Stealth’ has too many limitations, making it unsuitable as the main footwork to practice; I can consider learning it in the future as an add-on.
Even though ‘Illusory Form Footwork’ feels bizarre and mysterious… it pales in comparison when being compared to the remaining two techniques.
Finally, it’s down to ‘Instantaneous Body Shifting’ and ‘Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk’.
❮Instantaneous Body Shifting❯ was a very strong footwork technique without a doubt. Speed trumped everything else. Think about it—instantaneously shifting your body behind your enemy and stabbing them. This was a very practical footwork technique. Just that, at the start, it put a lot of strain on one’s body, hence continuous usage would be rather troublesome.
As for the ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯, it didn’t give one as much advantage compared to the former, but its other aspects were pretty good, and it had a lot of room for upgrading.
After considering carefully, Song Shuhang asked Venerable White for his opinion, “Senior White, what would you recommend me?”
“Hmm, if it were up to me, it would be the ‘Tiger Subduing Footwork’. You have already learned the ❮Basic Buddhist Fist Technique❯ and the ❮True Self Meditation Scripture❯—they fit pretty well with the Tiger Subduing Footwork,” replied Venerable White after pondering.
“I understand! Senior… I choose the ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯!” Song Shuhang decided.
“Eh? But the one I recommended was the ❮Tiger Subduing Footwork❯,” said Venerable White.
“Oh, no worries, Senior. The ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯ is indeed not bad! I trust your judgment!” Song Shuhang said as he clenched his fist.
“Ah… alright then. I will impart the footwork technique and chant for the ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯ to you,” Venerable White laughed.
He taught Song Shuhang the footwork technique and chant bit by bit, helping him understand it. Thereafter, he even guided Song Shuhang through the whole process and steps of the ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯ once himself.
After they were done, Venerable White asked him, “Have you memorized the steps?”
“Yes, all of it,” Song Shuhang nodded. He just had to add the chant together with the steps and get familiarized with it a few times, then he would be able to master it.
“Go practice a few more times on your own. The ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯ is a suitable technique to be infused into your daily life. Whenever you are walking, you can try to practice this technique. Get familiarized with it whenever you can,” Venerable White smiled and sat at the side ,watching Song Shuhang practice the footwork technique.
Occasionally, he gave Song Shuhang some advice in the aspects he was lacking in, trying to help him perfect it.
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After Song Shuhang grasped the basics of the ❮Virtuous Man’s Ten Thousand Mile Walk❯, it was almost 5 PM. He heaved a sigh and at the same time felt that the qi and blood within his aperture rose a little. He was very pleased.
Venerable White clapped softly and said, “Very good. The rest is on you to practice and master it. Lastly, I have another Daoist technique I would like to teach you.”
“Daoist technique?!” Upon hearing this, Song Shuhang’s eyes lit up.
Daoist techniques… well, he’d initially thought that he had to wait at least till he reached the Second Stage—when his qi and blood energy within his body has become true qi—to be capable of using Daoist techniques. Who would have known that one was able to use a Daoist technique in the First Stage Realm?
“It is only a very basic, introductory Daoist technique. It can’t kill or hurt anyone. But if you use it against ghosts and similar entities, it can be useful. It only needs qi and blood energy, as well as runes to activate it,” replied Venerable White.
“What Daoist technique is that?” Song Shuhang asked excitedly—ever since he had gotten himself into the world of cultivators, even though he had already learned a lot and had seen lots of strange and mystical things, he had merely practiced a few simple martial arts techniques himself.
“Lightning Palm, a basic technique to control lightning. When you’re of a higher level, you can upgrade it to the ‘Heavenly Lightning Palm’. The upgraded version’s power is pretty decent,” explained Venerable White.
The reason why he chose to teach Song Shuhang the Daoist technique ‘Lightning Palm’ now was because he was preparing to bring that young lady from Penniless Thief Sect on a trip with him to retrieve back his flying Meteor Sword.
Song Shuhang, on the other hand, was preparing to go to the neighboring city in the next two days to look for the ghost cultivators—the underlings of Altar Master.
Their timings clashed, hence Venerable White was unable to accompany Song Shuhang to the neighboring city. Therefore, he chose to guide and teach him the lightning technique that was specialized in countering ghosts as a protective measure for Song Shuhang.