Start with everyday skills and grind your way to immortality.

Steam rose, mixed with a strong medicinal smell.

Chen Qian, naked, took a deep breath and stepped into the vat.

Despite having prepared himself mentally, Chen Qian still couldn't help but gasp when the liquid reached his chest.

First, a wave of heat enveloped my whole body.

Immediately afterwards, countless fine, needle-like medicinal forces penetrated into the skin and flesh through the opened pores.

Combined with the medicine he had just taken, the medicinal power, worth twenty taels, surged forth, far surpassing the effects of the grass roots and tree bark costing only twenty or thirty coins before.

pain.

It felt like countless ants were gnawing at my skin, or like fine steel needles were piercing my flesh through my pores.

He clenched his teeth tightly and didn't utter a sound.

In my mind, the words of the fragments of "The Golden Bell Cover" are emerging one by one.

This manual, which I bought for only five taels of silver as an add-on, is in really poor condition.

The paper was yellowed and brittle, and it had not only water stains and mold spots, but also dark brown bloodstains from who-knows-where.

Especially the key incantations for circulating qi, the handwriting has become completely blurred, and some characters have even rotted out with holes, turning into despairing ink blots.

"The qi flows through XX, reaching XX, where it is like a bell striking the ground, the qi is locked..."

If it were anyone else holding this incomplete manual, they would at best suffer a qi deviation from the manual, and at worst, their meridians would be shattered.

But in Chen Qian's eyes, the world is completely different.

【Character recognition (perfect)】Characteristics: extensive knowledge and strong memory.

Chen Qian stared intently at the few rotten holes and blurry ink marks.

In my mind, countless classics, historical texts, philosophical works, medical books, and miscellaneous writings I had read began to flip rapidly.

Based on the context, the direction of the writing, and even the last remaining radicals.

"Qi flows to the dantian? No, external martial arts primarily target the skin and muscles, so qi doesn't enter the sea of ​​qi."

"Is that the Tanzhong acupoint? No, that's a fatal acupoint."

Large beads of sweat appeared on Chen Qian's forehead, mingling with the medicine and sliding down his face.

A moment later, a glint flashed in his eyes.

"It's 'the Qi flows like a membrane, reaching the Guanyuan point!'"

"This isn't an acupoint; it refers to a point three inches below the skin!"

With a single thought, all blockages vanish.

In that instant, the previously obscure and incomprehensible fragments of text suddenly became clear in his mind, transforming into a clear path for the circulation of Qi and blood.

[Literacy and Character Interpretation Experience Points +1]

Inhale slowly and gently, like drawing silk, allowing the medicinal properties to penetrate.

Exhale like a drumbeat, deep and short, hammering heat deep into the skin.

As the breathing rhythm changed, the medicinal power, which had originally only burned the skin, seemed to find an outlet and began to circulate wildly with the breath and blood.

My skin started to feel tight and hot, and I didn't know if it was from the scalding heat of the bath or the effects of the medicine. My whole body started to turn red.

Time slipped away in silent agony.

The liquid medicine in the vat was kept warm until it changed from boiling hot to lukewarm.

[New Skill Unlocked: Golden Bell Shield (Beginner 1/100)]

(Condition: Learn the basic Golden Bell Shield. Status: Completed)

He exhaled a breath of stale air.

Chen Qian stood up from the tank, his skin completely red, like a cooked shrimp.

Her originally pale and loose skin has become much firmer.

"It's done."

He raised his hand and slapped his own arm.

A sharp "snap" followed by a searing pain.

It hurts.

Chen Qian shook his head with a wry smile, "I'm still far from being as good as the 'newly mastered martial arts, unafraid of ordinary blows' described in the book. This external martial arts training is indeed a bottomless pit that swallows money."

He clenched his fist and could feel that his blood and energy were much more active and abundant than usual.

The last time I felt this way was after taking the Blood-Veined Ginseng.

"The Golden Bell Cover is an external martial art; you can't just rely on training it. We need to figure out how to gain experience points."

"Are we going to get beaten up?"

He casually put on a pair of trousers, wore a coarse cloth shirt, and pushed open the door to walk into the courtyard.

By this time, the night was deep.

In the courtyard, several candles hung under the old locust tree.

The elder brother, sister-in-law, and Aqing were still awake and were sitting around the stone table.

Lin Xiu was mending clothes, A Qing was helping to sort the threads, Chen Ke was weaving bamboo baskets, and Xiao Yu was so sleepy that she was nodding off like a pestle.

When Chen Qian came out, the group was taken aback.

At this moment, Chen Qian was radiating heat, and his skin was frighteningly red.

Even in the cool night breeze, you could still feel the warmth emanating from him.

"Qian, what's wrong with you...?" Chen Ke put down the bamboo strips in his hand, his face full of worry.

Chen Qian didn't explain. His gaze swept around the yard and finally settled on the bundle of firewood in the corner.

He walked over and pulled out a yellow thorn branch about two fingers thick.

This thing is extremely tough and is often used to make whips for driving cattle. It hurts a lot when it hits you, and it keeps going.

The saying "Good people come from under the yellow thorn tree" refers to this.

Chen Qian took the yellow thorn branch, walked up to Chen Ke, and handed it to him.

"Brother, please do me a favor."

"Hit me."

"What?"

Chen Ke's hand trembled, almost thinking he had misheard: "Qian, do you have a fever? Are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Xiu also stopped her needlework and said anxiously, "Yes, Ah Qian, why are you hitting yourself for no reason?"

The little fish was woken up, rubbing its eyes, its little mouth pouting, looking unhappy.

"Brother, come here."

Chen Qian's tone was frighteningly calm. He turned his back to everyone, assumed a horse stance in the center of the courtyard, and pointed to his back.

"But?" Chen Ke held the yellow thorn branch, looking at his younger brother's back, which, although much stronger, still appeared thin.

"What if it gets damaged?"

"It won't break, I know what I'm doing." Chen Qian turned around and gave his brother a reassuring look.

"Believe me."

Looking at the deep anxiety and determination in his younger brother's eyes, Chen Ke finally gritted his teeth.

Things have changed since I came back from Montenegro.

There are some things he doesn't understand, but he chooses to believe them.

"Then bear with it, and yell if it hurts."

"Come."

The whole family held their breath.

"Snapped!"

Chen Ke tentatively pulled at it, with very light force, like tickling.

No experience points were gained.

Chen Qian didn't even frown; instead, he shook his head: "Too light, I can't feel it. Hit him like you hit that Wang Datou, with force!"

Chen Ke took a deep breath, recalling the humiliation he suffered at the martial arts school that day, and increased the force in his hands.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

The yellow thorn twig struck my back, leaving an instant red mark.

[Golden Bell Shield Experience Points +1]

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Qian's eyes, and he forgot all about the pain.

It really works!

This external pain stimulation, combined with the circulation of Qi and blood within the body, actually had an effect.

"Again! Didn't you eat? Push harder!" Chen Qian shouted.

"Snapped!"

[Golden Bell Shield Experience Points +1]

"Not enough, go faster!"

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

In the still of the night, the terrifying sound of whipping echoed through the courtyard.

Chen Ke initially held back, but seeing his younger brother stubbornly enduring without uttering a sound, and even straightening his back more and more.

He gradually loosened up, swinging his arms more and more, and the sound of the brambles cutting through the wind grew more and more urgent.

With each blow, a red, swollen mark appeared on Chen Qian's back.

In some places, blood even began to seep out, which looked shocking under the candlelight.

Lin Xiu couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she led the dazed little fish back into the house.

Aqing, however, did not look away.

She sat quietly in the shadows, her eyes reflecting the candlelight, fixed on Chen Qian.

Seeing his face, it wasn't pain at all, but rather an expression of focus and fanaticism.

It's like they're enjoying this torture.

This person is so ruthless to himself.

At this moment, Chen Qian truly had no time to feel much pain.

He was completely absorbed in guiding the Qi and blood in his body and perceiving the patterns of experience point acquisition.

The first few lashes, each one, brought a clear increase in experience.

But as the scars on his back accumulated, his body seemed to adapt to the force of the blows, and the efficiency of gaining experience decreased significantly.

Instead of adding one for each stroke, it becomes adding one for each two or three strokes.

Later on, it took four or five hits in a row before that familiar prompt would appear in my mind.

[Golden Bell Shield Experience Points +18]

When Chen Ke was panting heavily from exhaustion.

Chen Qian exhaled a long, hot breath and slowly straightened his body.

My back was a mess, with redness, swelling, and bruising all over it, and it was burning with pain.

"Alright, brother, let's call it a night." His voice was a little hoarse.

Chen Ke quickly threw away the brambles and went forward to help him.

"It's nothing serious, just a superficial wound, it looks scary though."

Chen Qian waved his hand, instead comforting his elder brother, "Thank you for your hard work, brother. I'm going back to my room to apply some medicine and then I'll read for a while longer."

He walked steadily back to his room, the injury on his back seemingly not affecting his movements.

Light the candles.

Chen Qian carefully applied a herbal ointment to his back to reduce swelling, and the cooling sensation temporarily suppressed the burning sensation.

Change into a clean, light-colored shirt.

The candlelight, dim and faint, illuminated his face, a mixture of light and shadow, and also the yellowed pages of the handwritten note on the table.

"Miscellaneous Notes on Qingwu".