Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 17 What is Internal Energy?
Jiang Mingzhe's expression brightened, his face filled with surprise.

It's not pretending this time.

Seeing his expression, Zhuifengzi became even more smug and laughed, "If you don't have a foundation in our sect's internal energy cultivation, it will take at least five or seven days, and at most three or five months, to even begin to learn the basics and develop a sense of Qi. But after you drink this cup of wine, you can break through this small barrier with a single kick. Master has already passed on the Tribulation Crossing Scripture to you, hasn't he?"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded.

Zhui Fengzi said, "Write down the first chapter, drink this cup of wine, and practice it once, and you will know its wonders."

Jiang Mingzhe quickly took out the book "Zhou Tian Xing Su Du Jie Jing" and opened the first page. It depicted a smiling, sage-like old man sitting in meditation. Judging from his appearance, it was none other than Ding Chunqiu himself.

The portrait was surrounded by small characters, about two or three hundred in total. Jiang Mingzhe stared intently at it and read: “In the vast universe, the twinkling stars shine brightly, their energy flowing in a circular pattern; the acupoints throughout the body correspond to the celestial stars, allowing one to fathom their principles and shape my true spirit…”

Then Zhui Fengzi lazily said, "No need to look at the general outline carefully, it's all just empty talk, hehe, 'Sculpt my true spirit, sculpt my true spirit,' all that mystical nonsense..."

He wanted to say: "Even Master himself hasn't mastered it and has gone to cultivate Huagong Dafa. We disciples don't need to even think about it."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly remembered Jiang Mingzhe's identity as the "young sect leader" and quickly changed his words: "I'm afraid only a peerless genius like Master has any hope of mastering this skill. As for us, being able to reach the Jiaohui realm is enough to allow us to roam freely in the martial world."

Jiang Mingzhe flipped down the page, and sure enough, the next page described the six realms of this cultivation technique.

It is about cultivating qi, opening the mind, resonance, interaction, circulation, and shaping the spirit. The following are the cultivation methods for each realm, each chapter containing several hundred words.

These cultivation methods, however, are not as literary as the general outline texts; rather, they are similar to ancient vernacular texts such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin.

For example, the method of nourishing Qi is described as follows: "Heaven and earth are a great treasure trove, and the human body is a small treasure trove. If heaven and earth were without life force, they would perish; if the human body were without life force, it would die. The life force of heaven and earth circulates, thus ensuring immortality. The life force of the human body should also follow this principle. However, we mortals with our physical eyes do not know the principles of Qi transformation and cannot observe the flow of Qi. We can only let life and death pass us by. How tragic! If we cannot observe and control it, how can we increase and strengthen it? Therefore, observing the Qi within the body, nourishing and strengthening it for our own use, is the principle of nourishing Qi..."

Jiang Mingzhe thought that this made sense. Otherwise, although the disciples of the Xingxiu Sect could read, they were not highly cultured. If they were to write in an ancient and exquisite style, would Ding Chunqiu have the patience to explain it to them one by one?

This chapter on cultivating Qi explains how to truly feel the existence of Qi within the body through breathing, and how to guide this Qi to circulate within the body using intention.

As Jiang Mingzhe watched, a realization gradually dawned on him.

Modern people do not acknowledge internal strength, and one of their core arguments is that modern anatomy proves that while the human body has nerves, it does not have meridians or acupoints.

But after reading the descriptions in this manual, Jiang Mingzhe suddenly understood what internal energy cultivation truly was.

In his understanding, life is a process of seeking vitality from the outside world, including sunbathing, breathing, and eating. This is what the book refers to as "vitality".

These vital energies in the human body, such as when food is eaten and absorbed into the stomach, are transported to various parts of the body to maintain its function, are the process of vital energy being absorbed, transferred, and utilized.

However, in this process, a great deal of "vitality" that is too small to be seen, or in terms of a concept more familiar to modern people, "energy," is actually not being effectively utilized.

These energies have different properties. Following the principle of attraction between like charges and repulsion between opposite charges, they aggregate and disperse throughout the human body, forming trajectories that are probably the "meridians" that modern medicine cannot verify.

The so-called internal energy cultivation method is actually to guide the Qi in one's body to circulate along a specific path, thereby enveloping scattered and wandering energy, accumulating it like grains of sand forming a tower, and continuously growing stronger.

Therefore, cultivating internal strength is actually a process of transforming the abstract into the concrete.

The virtual is not truly virtual. For example, a grain of sand may exist, but for someone with nearsightedness, it is impossible to see that grain of sand from a distance.

But if the sand piles up into a giant tower, then anyone who isn't blind can see it from a great distance.

What you can't see is illusion; what you can see is reality.

Perhaps this is why, in various martial arts stories, the protagonist's power immediately increases dramatically after consuming rare and precious herbs.

Natural treasures likely contain far more energy than ordinary foods, and are more difficult for the human body to absorb normally. They can only be obtained through the circulation of internal energy. Different internal energy cultivation methods actually guide the flow of energy along different routes, and perhaps the speed of circulation also varies.

Different routes and different speeds naturally result in varying efficiencies in energy intake.

At the same time, this energy will also form different internal force characteristics depending on the nature of the energy it absorbs, such as the masculine internal force, the fiery internal force, the feminine internal force, the cold internal force, etc., which often appear in martial arts novels.

Acupoints are points where various energies converge, distributed along the meridians.

Entering acupoints with internal force means that the internal force must be stronger than the energy gathered within them.

Once inside, the internal energy completely absorbs and integrates these energies, thus accelerating its growth; this is what is known as "opening up the meridians".

Different schools of kung fu should each have their own methods and focuses.

With this understanding, there will naturally be no obstacle to comprehending the manual in your hand.

The Starry Sky Tribulation Sutra, an internal skill, has six realms, each with a clear objective.

The goal of the Qi Cultivation Chapter is to sense the existence of Qi and control its flow and growth until it reaches a level sufficient to occupy acupoints.

The goal of the "Opening the Acupoints" chapter is to teach how to more efficiently activate internal energy to seize acupoints.

According to the Zhou Tian Xing Su Du Jie Jing, there are 365 acupoints in the human body, corresponding to the Zhou Tian Dou Shu (a system of divination numbers), which are divided into five groups, each corresponding to one of the five elements, with 73 acupoints in each group.

Once a set of acupoints is fully opened, internal force can be used to balance the different energy characteristics and quantities, forming resonance, giving the internal force great power, and nourishing the corresponding body organs.

And this is precisely the goal of the resonance realm.

In Jiang Mingzhe's view, it was simply a matter of turning the original bumpy, broken road into a straight asphalt road.

The goal of the Jiaohui Realm is to open two or more sets of acupoints that have a mutually generating relationship, such as water generating wood, wood generating fire, etc., so that the two sets of acupoints resonate once again.

That is, two adjacent asphalt roads intersect.

The goal of the Circulation Realm is to open all 365 acupoints across the five groups, allowing them to resonate and interact, thus ensuring the continuous generation of internal energy.

As for the Spirit Shaping Realm, the entire text is vague and the writing style is no longer straightforward, making it difficult for Jiang Mingzhe to understand.

He guessed that this realm might be like the seventh level of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, which even the founder himself hadn't mastered, but he wrote it down. Calling it a technique is less accurate than calling it a vision of the future.

Of course, it's also possible that his current level of understanding is insufficient, and perhaps he will have a different understanding later.

Seeing Jiang Mingzhe engrossed in the secret manual, Zhuifengzi felt a pang of jealousy.

When he first learned this internal skill, he would learn it by reading and practicing one section at a time. Without firsthand experience of the previous step, he couldn't understand the meaning of the next step.

When Jiang Mingzhe flipped through the book, his face showed only understanding and enlightenment, without any confusion or depression. His comprehension was clearly far superior to that of Zhuifengzi.

Zhui Fengzi suddenly felt regret. If he had known that Jiang Mingzhe was so insightful, he definitely wouldn't have taken out the Five Treasures Honey Wine.

He was even hoping that with the young sect leader's help, he could compete for the title of the top leader of the Star Constellation Sect.

If the young sect leader progresses too quickly, what chance will I have?
But it's too late to regret it now. Zhui Fengzi's chubby face jiggled unnaturally as he forced a smile and said, "Junior brother, don't rush the rest. Just remember the Qi Cultivation Chapter."

(End of this chapter)