Playing with fantasy beasts in the martial arts world

Chapter 186 Heavenly Water Without Form (A long chapter of 6,000 words)

On the waters near Fantasy Beast Island, a captured warship is tossed about by huge waves.

Not far away on the sea, Guo Jing was fighting with a dragon!

Perhaps, since the creation of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, Guo Jing is the only person who has truly used the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms to 'subdue' dragons.

After hearing about the 'Dragon Raiser', Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who were traveling in other worlds, returned to the Phantom Beast Island as quickly as possible. After confirming that Cha Nan was alright, Guo Jing asked to see Cha Nan's dragon.

Ultimately, it evolved into this: Guo Jing battles Fu Hailong.

On the sea surface, the real silhouette of a sea dragon intertwines with the illusory golden dragon shadow, as if a divine dragon and a jiaolong are fighting and biting each other in the sea.

"Uncle Guo's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms are even stronger now!" Cha Nan exclaimed.

Huang Rong stood to the side, also looking proud: "Your Uncle Guo has seen many martial arts techniques that he had never seen before, and he has indeed gained new insights."

Guo Jing is also a typical example of someone with inner talent. He may seem foolish, but he actually has great potential and has his own insights and ideas about martial arts.

If he were truly so foolish, then even if he had learned the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms and the Nine Yin Manual, he could not have achieved such great success in martial arts.

On the sea, accompanied by the roar of a sea dragon, Guo Jing pushed out with his palm, then flipped back onto the deck of the warship, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

"What a magnificent dragon!"

"The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms... still has many shortcomings!" Guo Jing said with a sigh.

Upon hearing this, Cha Nan rolled her eyes.

If Cha Nan didn't know Guo Jing's personality, she would have thought he was in Versailles.

Just like there's no wife in a wife cake, who says the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms are for subduing dragons?
Being able to fight the Overturning Sea Dragon to a standstill on the sea is already quite impressive.

"It's a pity that the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms is not a purely imitative martial art. Otherwise, if I had observed your dragon form day and night, I might have been able to improve my palm technique even further," Guo Jing said with emotion.

The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms are derived from the changes in the I Ching. The so-called "dragon" probably does not refer to a specific dragon, but rather to "qi". The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms can actually be regarded as a palm technique for controlling qi. It subdues qi rather than a specific dragon. Therefore, when internal force leaves the body, the palm force will evolve into a dragon shadow. This is a manifestation of a certain level of control.

Therefore, Guo Jing's observation of the dragon, aside from making the dragon's image more detailed and lifelike, didn't actually help much.

The Dragon-type skill fruit was indeed of great help to Guo Jing.

Because the core of Dragon-type skills is explosive damage output.

Among the various attribute systems in the world of fantasy beasts, the dragon type is known for its strong offensive capabilities.

"Watching dragons may not lead to any progress, but eating dragon meat certainly will!"

"Today, Uncle Guo and Aunt Guo are returning, and I have prepared some dragon meat and a dragon egg as ingredients."

“However, I don’t have a good cook here. If Uncle Guo’s mother could cook for us, the meal would be extremely sumptuous!” Cha Nan said with a smile.

He wouldn't kill the rare Overturning Sea Dragon just for the sake of satisfying his appetite. After all, even if he didn't use the Overturning Sea Dragon as a trump card on the Beast Island, it would still be excellent for farming in the Beast World.

After all, level four magical beasts that can be watered are quite rare.

The source of this dragon meat is that a while ago, when I took the Sea Dragon to level up, we encountered a Flower Crown Dragon. Unfortunately, the Sea Dragon didn't stop and killed the Flower Crown Dragon. Despite several attempts by Cha Nan to throw the Paluk Ball, it failed to capture the dragon.

While high-quality Palukas can capture advanced mythical beasts, the success rate is indeed not very high.

After Hua Guanlong was killed, Cha Nan obtained a lot of materials.

These materials are divided into two categories. One category consists of materials that automatically appear in your inventory by killing or capturing mythical beasts. The principle behind this is unknown and need not be investigated further.

Another type is the corpse left behind after a mythical beast dies.

If the corpses of mythical beasts are not dealt with for a long time, they will be naturally decomposed and absorbed by the mythical beast world. However, if you choose to deal with them, you can indeed obtain some materials.

This includes, but is not limited to, blood, flesh, bones, tendons, skin, horns, etc.

"Dragon meat?" Huang Rong became interested.

“Yes! I found it by chance. Since everyone is here, let’s have a full dragon banquet. Aunt Guo, just let me know if we need any side dishes!” Cha Nan said.

A vegetable garden has been created in the world of Warcraft, so nowadays any side dish that can be found in the market can also be obtained in the world of Warcraft.

Even if some spices are missing, they can be purchased in Xiangyang City.

"Okay, let me take a look first. I promise to prepare a sumptuous dinner for you tonight!" Huang Rong said with a smile.

The large kitchen on the Beast Island quickly became bustling with activity, and Guo Fu and Guo Xiang were also called over to help.

As the sun set, long tables and benches were moved to the beach, and a roaring bonfire was lit on both sides, illuminating the beach in the night. Under the reflection of the Milky Way, Huang Rong, along with her two daughters and a group of Japanese maids, served the prepared dishes to the table.

Under the flickering campfire, each dish looked as exquisite as a work of art.

"Rong'er! What are all these tricks?" Huang Yaoshi asked Huang Rong with a smile.

Huang Rong smiled sweetly, still as innocent as the girl who ran away from home years ago: "Then Father, please give me a question!"

Huang Yaoshi pointed to a plate of raw dragon meat that looked like a flying dragon, crystal clear and white, yet emitting wisps of cold smoke, and said, "If I am not mistaken, this plate of raw dragon meat should first have its meridians broken up with a wooden stick, then be marinated with egg white, then have a little soy sauce, vinegar, and rice wine heated up and quickly cooked through, then be plunged into boiling water until just cooked through, then scooped out and piled on top of ice to form the shape of a dragon."

"Therefore, the question I set for you is... a satire of the past through the lens of the present!"

Huang Yaoshi's question was strange and somewhat ruined the atmosphere. If Huang Rong didn't answer well, the dish would lose its flavor.

Huang Rong laughed and said, "Then let's call it... Ice-Breaking Stream!"

"A steady stream of cargo ships entered the land of China, and the Liang emperor managed the land and granted it to the Song emperor. Ever since the barbarian children came to water their horses, the spring waves have only seen broken ice flowing."

Upon hearing the poem, Huang Yaoshi burst into laughter: "Excellent! Excellent is this: 'Since the barbarian boy came to water his horse, all that remains in the spring waves is the flow of broken ice!'"

After saying that, he immediately put down his chopsticks, picked up a piece of raw dragon meat, and put it into his mouth.

The others also put down their chopsticks.

Cha Nan also picked up a piece of dragon meat and put it in her mouth to chew.

He couldn't understand the refined tastes of Huang Rong and her father, but he could eat!

The first taste is fragrant, a fresh and savory aroma of the meat itself that has been fully activated, followed by a smooth and tender texture.

Cooking is all about technique and controlling the heat.

Many people learn the techniques, but their dishes are mediocre because they haven't mastered the control of heat.

"delicious!"

"I didn't expect the meat of the flower crown dragon to be so delicious. We should hunt more, otherwise it won't be enough to eat!" Cha Nan exclaimed.

Everyone else nodded in agreement and ate quickly.

Huang Yaoshi pointed to a dish arranged like blooming plum blossoms, about to start causing trouble again, but Cha Nan used her chopsticks to snatch away the 'plum bone' made of meat tendons.

Listening to the crunching sound of Cha Nan chewing, Huang Yaoshi could only mutter incomprehensible phrases like "a cow chewing on a peony" and "utterly lacking in refinement."

For a moment, cheerful laughter filled the long dining table.

"You're having a banquet and you're not even waiting for me?" A slightly cold voice rang out, instantly freezing the previously joyful atmosphere.

Cha Nan put down her chopsticks, immediately stood up, and said with a smile, "Master! You didn't say when you'd be back!"

"Come on! Take my seat..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shuimu Yinji had already squeezed next to Huang Rong. Guo Jing's expression began to turn somewhat unpleasant, but he remained silent.

After all, in this era, many things and relationships are not yet fully clarified. Whether it is a deep sisterly bond or ulterior motives, it is hard to say!

Huang Rong, however, took the opportunity while serving food to Guo Xiang to get up and change seats, sitting in the seat that Cha Nan had given up.

Seeing that Jellyfish Yin Ji was showing signs of shamelessly chasing after him again, Cha Nan said, "Master! It's been a while since we last met. What have you been up to?"

Jellyfish Yin Ji tossed a scroll still stained with blood to Cha Nan.

"Since you didn't ask, I had no choice but to retrieve the Formless Divine Skill for you!" said Jellyfish Yin Ji.

Guo Jing stared at the glaring bloodstains on the scroll, his face cold and stern. He gripped his chopsticks tightly but remained silent.

He disliked this behavior, but he couldn't directly criticize Jellyfish Yin Ji, nor could he ask Cha Nan to refuse. He could only sulk.

"Master! How did you obtain it?" Cha Nan asked.

Although he knew that Jellyfish Yin Ji was not usually concerned about the lives of others, she was by no means the kind of person who would forcibly seize or plunder; in fact, she disdained such methods.

"The Wuxiang Divine Skill was first created by Mr. Dongguo and later passed on to Yu Peiyu. For many years afterward, no one was heard to have passed it on until I later heard about the Wuxiang Emperor."

"I seized this merit from the hands of the King of Wuxiang. This man was originally a wicked man of the martial world, and recently he killed several imperial spies. He is obviously plotting to seize the throne..." said Shuimu Yinji.

"Plotting to seize the throne?"

Everyone is puzzled.

While martial artists may be highly skilled and possess extraordinary abilities, it is virtually impossible for them to seize the throne without an exceptional background and relying solely on their martial prowess—at least in the mid- to low-level martial arts world.

"The secret of the Formless Divine Skill lies in formlessness. Formlessness means having no self, no other, no sentient beings, and no lifespan. If one goes astray, one will erase one's own face. Although one can transform into countless forms, one will lose one's true face, becoming neither human nor ghost!"

"That Wuxiang Emperor's plan was to assassinate the emperor and then impersonate him, but I caught him, snapped his neck, and took back this divine skill that was used to deceive others," said Shuimu Yinji.

Upon hearing this, Cha Nan was secretly surprised. Had the Water Mother Yin Ji directly stumbled into the plot of "Forbidden City Cop"?

And then they easily overturned the plot?

That makes sense!

After all, although the Emperor Wuxiang was quite powerful, he couldn't withstand Linglingfa's sword strike "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens". If he couldn't withstand "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens", how could he possibly withstand Shuimu Yinji's Heavenly Water Divine Skill?

Just as Jellyfish Yin Ji said, the Formless Emperor had mispracticed the Formless Divine Skill.

A perfectly good divine skill was turned into an evil one. Just like Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng who turned the Nine Yin Divine Claw into the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, they both failed to learn or understand it properly, and thus went astray.

According to what Jellyfish Yin Ji said before, once the Formless Divine Skill is mastered, the palm force should be able to generate a storm-like airflow, and even be able to roll a thousand-foot waterfall upwards. It belongs to the number one internal skill of the ancient system that allows one to run rampant.

In terms of profound, powerful, and domineering internal strength, the Heavenly Water Divine Skill, the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, and the Bright Jade Skill are all inferior to it.

Cha Nan, having gathered both the Formless Divine Skill and the Heavenly Water Divine Skill, has aligned the two elements of Wind and Cloud, allowing him to develop his Wind and Cloud Martial Body to its fullest potential.

Of course, strictly speaking, Cha Nan's current abilities are not just limited to the Fengyun Martial Body.

Fu Hailong pushed his water-based talent to its limit. He could learn, master, and become proficient in any internal or external martial arts related to water much faster, and even integrate and innovate upon these martial arts.

Furthermore, the speed attributes of Yunhailu raised Cha Nan's speed and reaction talent to an extremely terrifying level.

Fortunately, the Formless Divine Skill arrived not too late and was still able to keep up with Cha Nan's pace.

The main reason is that the newly acquired Asura Yin Sha Gong and Xiao Ting's Blood Moon Divine Skill are both evil martial arts, and Cha Nan does not plan to learn them before completing the disinfection and integration process.

Cha Nan had no clue how to disinfect and integrate, but that didn't matter. He had many capable people under his command, including Qiao Beiming and Xiao Ting, two evil masters who had mastered these two evil arts to the highest level, as well as a genius like Liang Xiao. He wasn't worried that they couldn't do it.

What? Cha Nan has an immortal body, making him naturally suited to cultivate evil arts?

After all, if one goes astray in cultivation, one will simply kill oneself and start all over again.

That won't work!
Although unorthodox practices can lead to rapid progress, often with one day of practice equaling half a month of normal practice, they also have many flaws and are more susceptible to being targeted.

Those orthodox internal energy cultivation methods from the Xuanmen and Buddhist schools are only known to be defeated because of insufficient skill, not specifically targeted and therefore ineffective.

The Heavenly Water Divine Skill that Cha Nan is currently learning, strictly speaking, actually originates from the Book of Changes, taking the meaning of "Heaven generates water" and expanding upon it.

The Formless Divine Skill is clearly a Buddhist martial art.

The righteous and divine skills in this world are often inseparable from the interpretations of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

Perhaps it is precisely because these three elements are already deeply rooted in civilization itself, becoming an inseparable part of it.

Because a constant stream of geniuses, prodigies, and prodigies flock to these three schools, they combine the strengths of many and summarize the collective wisdom. The internal cultivation methods derived from these three schools mostly have only advantages and no obvious shortcomings.

Other internal energy cultivation methods may have some ingenious ideas, but because they are not rigorous enough, they are full of flaws.

Cha Nan wasn't afraid of going astray in her martial arts practice, then exploding and dying.

However, if you fight in the future and your opponent suddenly launches a counterattack, your profound inner strength will be mostly dissipated... that would be very difficult.

Qiao Beiming's skills are strong enough!
When Fu Hailong launched his thunderous attack, he could only run away with his head in his hands.

Because he couldn't withstand the lightning.

The righteous energy of thunder was something he simply couldn't digest.

Cha Nan has experts under his command and powerful magical beasts, so he has no pressure to survive. He seeks longevity and immortality, so he naturally chooses to cultivate orthodox internal energy, or at least internal energy without obvious flaws.

Rapidly increasing one's skill and advancing one's realm is not what he seeks.

Besides, is his progress really that slow?

How long did it take him to go from a complete novice to a top-tier expert, possessing internal strength accumulated over sixty years?

"Thank you, Master!" Cha Nan said to Shui Mu Yin Ji, holding the scroll of the Wu Xiang Divine Skill.

Although when the Water Mother Yin Ji asked him to defeat Chu Liuxiang, she had already promised to tell him the whereabouts of the Formless Divine Skill.

However, there is a big difference between informing someone of the whereabouts and directly obtaining the manual.

"Not just for you, I need it too!" Jellyfish Yin Ji said, waving her hand as she spoke, already holding out her chopsticks and picking up a piece of dragon meat to put in her mouth.

As she put the dragon meat into her mouth, she narrowed her eyes.

"Such powerful primordial energy! What kind of meat is this?" asked the Water Mother Yin Ji.

She arrived later and didn't know that the feast being held now was a dragon meat banquet.

"Dragon meat!"

"what?"

“Dragon meat… of course, not from a proper divine dragon, not even a jiaolong, at most it’s… a dinosaur! Let’s call it a dinosaur!” Cha Nan said after thinking for a moment.

The dragon-type mythical beasts in the world of fantasy beasts are quite diverse.

There are dragon-like creatures such as the Fuhailong and Tengyanlong, as well as dinosaur-like creatures such as the Pecosaurus, Pikesaurus, Lianlisaurus, and Huaguansaurus, and even Western-like dragons such as the Moyuanlong, Kongwolong, and Tianyulong.

"Dinosaur?"

"It's the dragon bones dug up from the ground. After piecing the dragon bones together, you can restore it to resemble a dragon!" Cha Nan didn't explain further, saying that he would take everyone back to the Fantasy Beast World to see it when he had time.

With the unlocking of the Overturning Sea Dragon, more high-level mythical beasts will be cultivated, and it will only be a matter of time before various dragon-type mythical beasts are unsealed.

The banquet lasted until midnight, and all the dragon meat on the table was devoured.

Of course, those with less skill improved greatly after eating this dragon meat feast, while those with more skill also gained something.

Ultimately, everyone agreed that such banquets should be held more often and frequently if conditions permit.

After everyone had settled into their guest rooms to rest, Cha Nan found Jellyfish Yin Ji and expressed her gratitude once again.

Many things are done quietly by others, and you accept their kindness, but you can't take it for granted.

There's no question of who owes whom between Cha Nan and Shui Mu Yin Ji, but the proper courtesy and politeness should still be observed.

It's impossible that just because they have a few more grandmasters under their command and Fu Hailong as their trump card, they'll become arrogant and disrespectful.

"Actually, whether you come looking for me or not, I'm going to look for you anyway!"

"There were too many people at the banquet just now, so it wasn't appropriate to say anything. I've seen the Formless Divine Skill, and learning this martial art... is not easy," said Shuimu Yinji.

Cha Nan waited quietly for the next part to be said.

It's true that extraordinary skills and techniques are difficult to master.

"First of all, to cultivate this internal skill, one needs an extremely deep foundation. It is not suitable for those without a foundation to start from scratch, unless someone is willing to expend a lot of their own internal energy and true qi to help open up the meridians and acupoints and build a foundation."

"You've passed the test in this respect. You've accumulated over sixty years of skill, and you're still only first-rate. There aren't many people with a more solid foundation than you."

Listening to Shuimu Yinji's calm tone, Cha Nan couldn't tell whether it was a compliment or a sarcastic remark.

“But in addition to that, you must also comprehend ‘no self, no person, no sentient being, no life span.’ In short, it means no form, no self, no desire. The more you don’t want to learn this martial art, the more you can learn it,” Shui Mu Yin Ji continued.

Cha Nan was speechless.

It's the same old routine again, I'm so tired of it!
Cha Nan vaguely remembered that the authentic Yi Jin Jing also had this requirement, as did the Luohan Subduing Demon Divine Skill that Brother Gou learned.

That is, the more you want to learn, the more you want to achieve results, the more things will go against your wishes, and you may even go astray.

On the contrary, it is only through unintentional cultivation, or by chance, without desire or ambition, that one can achieve mastery.

But such coincidences are easier said than done.
After all, who would practice martial arts if they didn't want to achieve a result?
Why not eat well, sleep well, and then eat well?

"But it doesn't matter, we can go around it!"

"Although our Heavenly Water Divine Skill cannot simulate any trace of internal energy in the world, water is close to the Dao. Using water to bypass the entry threshold is still feasible."

"However, in this way, the Formless Divine Art will forever be an appendage of the Heavenly Water Divine Art, and it will be impossible for it to surpass its level, unless one day you achieve enlightenment and completely integrate these two internal cultivation methods." Shui Mu Yin Ji seemed to be breathing heavily as she posed a difficult question, and then told Cha Nan after a while that it had been solved.

Is he really a bit... mischievous?
Cha Nan, who associated the jellyfish Yin Ji with the word 'mischievous', couldn't help but shudder.

“No problem, the Heavenly Water Divine Skill is my foundation, I can’t possibly switch sides!” Cha Nan said immediately, which could be considered a good deal.

Whether or not Shuimu Yinji understood, she continued to explain to Cha Nan the details that needed to be paid attention to when cultivating the Wuxiang Divine Skill.

The true core essence of cultivating this formless divine skill lies in 'formlessness,' which means having neither self nor other.

In the process of cultivation, one should strive for an extreme state of deep meditation, transforming oneself into a stone, a tree, or a flower, and then sensing and absorbing the spiritual energy and primordial energy between heaven and earth.

In this way, one can directly obtain abundant energy from heaven and earth, then digest and absorb it, transforming it into internal force.

Thus, internal energy has no fixed form or nature, and can be transformed and evolved at will, simulating any martial art in the world, which is similar to the Lesser Formless Skill in this respect.

Furthermore, once one's skill reaches a high level, one can use internal energy to directly change one's form, appearance, and even gender.

This is a highly malleable internal skill; you could say that whatever you give it, it will give back to you in return.

Of course, now that Cha Nan has chosen to use the Heavenly Water Divine Skill as a bridge to bypass the difficulty of entering the field, the Formless Divine Skill he cultivates will naturally carry the imprint of the Heavenly Water Divine Skill and be closer to its nature. It will change from ever-changing to a supplement to the Heavenly Water Divine Skill.

It's not a case of gaining a sesame seed but losing a watermelon, but it's true that the full power and potential of this divine skill cannot be developed.

However, Cha Nan knows how to be content. Although he longs for immortality, he is focused on taking each step carefully.

On the third day after mastering the Formless Divine Skill with the help of the Water Mother Yin Ji, the barrier that had imprisoned Cha Nan for several months was quietly broken.

When the Ren and Du meridians are connected, the Small Heavenly Circuit and the Great Heavenly Circuit are linked, the primordial energy of heaven and earth interacts with one's own internal energy, and the innate true energy is generated in the body accordingly.

Only when you have true qi can you truly gather the essence, qi, and spirit in your body into one place.

Its existence is extremely similar to chakra in Naruto... or rather, the concept of chakra itself is a copy of the concept of true qi.

Having reached the Innate Realm in cultivation, Cha Nan's immense internal energy began to compress for the first time.

Once Cha Nan truly integrates his own martial arts essence into the vast true energy, he will be considered to have crossed the threshold of becoming a grandmaster.

This level depends on the Wind and Cloud Divine Leg!
This unique skill, tailor-made for him, is the martial art that allows Cha Nan to most easily grasp the true meaning of martial arts.

Regardless, breaking through to the Innate Realm is something to be happy about. Cha Nan plans to take a few days off to travel around and broaden his horizons, while also seeing more of the wonderful world of martial arts.

(End of this chapter)