Chapter Five

  Time had passed for more than a month, and Zhou Bofu had already gone deep into the western mountain forest for hundreds of miles. He felt that he should be safe now, so he started hunting and cultivating again. The spiritual energy in this western mountain forest was even more abundant, and various creatures were even more intelligent and larger, whether it was cultivation or using blood food to supplement his yuanqi, the effect was much better than before. Just need to be careful to avoid those few strands of demonic energy.

  On this day, Zhou Bofu chased a herd of wild cattle to a swamp in the southwest. Just as he had knocked down one of the wild cattle, a huge red-crowned crane suddenly descended from the sky. The crane stood on a small hill in the swamp, its eyes measuring Zhou Bofu. Zhou Bofu saw that the crane's gaze was quite lively and his heart became alert. Suddenly, he saw joy in the crane's eyes, and it let out a long cry, releasing a burst of demonic energy. Zhou Bofu was greatly shocked, feeling that the demonic energy was even stronger than his own, so he immediately turned to leave, but suddenly heard a voice say: "Fellow Daoist, please stay."

  Zhou Bofu was shocked, hearing this forbidden language, and couldn't help but sweat profusely. In his heart, he sighed: "My life is over! I never thought that I would die at the hands of a crane, and before my death, I could hear such terrifying words..."

  At the moment of desperation, Zhou Bofu suddenly heard the crane say: "I see that you, my friend, are also a fellow creature of mine. No wonder I had a premonition today and felt a great auspicious sign, but I didn't expect it to be fulfilled on your body. I observe that you have already opened up your spiritual intelligence, why not discuss the mysteries of Taoism with me and form a good relationship? Being kind to others is also beneficial to oneself."

  "I am a crane who has attained the Tao, and have lived for over a thousand years. My surname is He, my name is Chongtian, and my Daoist name is Yunzhongzi. I don't know if you have a name, friend?"

  "What a close call, it seems my life is spared......" Zhou Bofu thought to himself, then spoke up to the old crane: "Hm...my name is called Bofu." He secretly hid his surname. "Just now I heard you mention your friend's Daoist name 'Cloud Child'?"

  "That's right." The old crane replied.

  Zhou Bofu was shocked "Could it be that our respected teacher is a born saint - Yuanshi Tianzun?" In his heart, he thought 'Oh my god, is this real or fake?'

  "Yuanshi Tianzun? Who is that? I, the poor Taoist, have never known. Fellow Taoist, you were originally called 'Bofu', ah, I observe that your spiritual intelligence has only recently been opened up, and it seems that your years of cultivating the Tao are not very long either. I am being presumptuous, so I will call you ' younger brother' - is that acceptable?"

  "No need to be polite, then. I'll just call you 'fellow Daoist' from now on. Would you mind sharing some of your cultivation experiences and worldly insights with me?" Zhou Bofu responded with a half-literary, half-vulgar tone.

  "Brother, our meeting today is a destined encounter. I will tell you everything about cultivation without holding anything back. I see that your spiritual intelligence has been opened, but your meridians have not been fully connected yet, right? And the unique techniques of each tribe should also be unavailable to you, shouldn't they?"

  "Yes, that day I don't know what happened, suddenly there was a cold air entering my body and automatically circulating, later it turned into a fiery breath automatically circulating, it was indeed a wonderful torture... ...It wasn't until ten months ago that I could finally control this demonic energy circulation, and the meridian circulation was still intermittent." Zhou Bofu replied, then asked: "Brother Dao, can you explain it to me in detail?"

  "Very well, then let me tell you, brother. In the world, all things have spirits and can attain the Tao. I have seen many creatures achieve the Tao in different ways: Firstly, some are born with a long lifespan, receiving the spiritual energy of heaven and earth day by day, and after a hundred years, they naturally open up their spiritual wisdom. Their meridians have been penetrated for a hundred years, so when their spiritual wisdom opens up, their main meridian is unblocked, and they can control the flow of spiritual energy at will. Secondly, there are those like you, brother, who have not received the penetration of spiritual energy for a hundred years, but suddenly open up your spiritual wisdom on a certain day. Since your meridians have not been penetrated before, you cannot control the flow of spiritual energy, and you must undergo the tempering of yin and yang energies. If you cannot endure it, your body will die and your Tao will disappear. Even if you can endure it, you need to slowly grind and polish yourself for a long time before you can control the spiritual energy at will. Thirdly, there are those who are born with a unique advantage, such as some aristocratic families, like the nine-tailed fox clan, which is born with the ability to open up their spiritual wisdom, and their spiritual energy can flow freely in their meridians without suffering like you do."

  The old crane stopped for a moment, shook his head and said: "As for the younger brother's yin-yang two-qi exercise, it is the most common and simplest qigong method for us. It is called yin-yang jue to guide the yin-yang two-qi according to the heavenly timing. With this, step by step, open up the meridians, and then practice that unique skill."

  "Ahah, don't be impatient, I'm just about to get to that part. What is this 'unique technique' you speak of? When we spirits awaken our spiritual intelligence, we can absorb energy into our bodies and become demonic beasts. The first thing a demonic beast must do is open up the main meridian. The main meridian runs from the top of our heads down the spine to the tailbone, then circles back up to the five organs and six viscera, following the midline of the body until it reaches the mouth and returns to the top of the head. Once this meridian is opened, a demonic palace will automatically form at the top of the head, chest, and lower abdomen, and a spiritual energy will condense into an internal elixir within the palace. At that time, a technique will naturally appear in the brain's divine sea. This technique varies from tribe to tribe - for example, the tiger tribe has at least three: Tiger Roar Technique, Dominating Hundred Beasts Technique, and Ferocious Tiger Method. Every tiger that opens up the main meridian will inevitably obtain one of these techniques. This is the heavens' favor towards us demonic tribes, different from human tribes. Only those demonic beasts that have formed an internal elixir and obtained a technique can be called true demons."

  Zhou Bofu heard this and asked: "I don't know what method is used to open up the main meridian, how long will it take?"

  The old crane replied, "Younger brother has suddenly opened up his spiritual intelligence and was just able to control the spiritual energy. In fact, it only took three months for him to be able to control the spiritual energy with ease, which is already considered a genius. Generally, it takes several years to succeed. Breaking through the main vein is like water flowing into a canal, with younger brother's talent, he will definitely become successful within ten years."

  "Thank you, fellow Taoist. Speaking of which, I also saw some humans the other day. They caught a few white tigers that were full of spiritual energy but hadn't opened their spiritual wisdom yet. What's going on?"

  "It's a long story, but the human tribe's cultivation method is passed down through generations, and when disciples enter the sect, they can choose their own technique. They cultivate their qi using the yin-yang method, and then select a cultivation method based on their five elements. Humans cultivate faster than us, fortunately, most of them are not our match at the same level of cultivation, otherwise... However, humans excel at refining treasures, array techniques, and have an unparalleled advantage in profound matters. According to what you said, those who captured the White Tiger must be from the Beast Tamer Sect. They capture us demons and demon beasts, either using us as mounts or making us their slaves, or extracting our tendons and bones to refine treasures and elixirs. In ancient times, cultivators would use magic tools and objects to make contracts with us demons, we would serve them, and they would teach us techniques and give us magical objects, it was a mutually beneficial relationship. Now... Alas, let's not speak of it."

  He said here, the old crane bowed his head and sighed, then spoke to Zhou Bofu: "The meridian of the younger brother is not yet open, it can be found nearby. A place to settle down and cultivate, can be instructed from time to time, and one day fly high into the sky."