Under the fist

Chapter 23 Breaking Through the Barrier by Drinking the Medicine, Stepping onto the Martial Path

After saying that everything was ready, Yan Lingyun had Lian Youming take out the things she had prepared one by one.

Astragalus, Platycodon, Codonopsis, Polygonatum, Polygonatum odoratum, wild ginseng, Polygonum multiflorum, Ganoderma lucidum...

Only after all the ingredients for the dietary supplements were laid out did Yan Lingyun check them one by one.

Some of these things were obtained by Lian Youming from the supply and marketing cooperative and the mountain travelers, while others were bought from Liu Da Nao. It took a lot of effort to piece them together.

Yan Lingyun remained silent, carefully selecting the herbs. Apart from a few herbs that had been improperly preserved and had lost their medicinal properties, most of them were fine.

The man turned around and opened his own chest, the contents of which were far more refined than Lian Youming's large sack. There were a whole bunch of bottles and jars, three wooden boxes, two jade boxes, a piece of coarse bone with red flesh still attached, and a bear paw with its skin and flesh removed.

Meeting Lian Youming's curious gaze, Yan Lingyun took out bezoar, musk, rhinoceros horn, and dried deer heart blood from the box. Then she opened the jade box, inside which was a bear gall bladder, amber in color and coppery yellow in color. Finally, there was a piece of coarse bone.

"Hiss, bezoar, musk, this is copper gallstone, could this be the spine of a Siberian tiger?"

Liu Da Nao was completely astonished; he stood there trembling, and even his speech was no longer stuttering.

These are all very valuable.

Yan Lingyun thought for a moment, then took out a number of well-preserved herbs from her own box and replaced them with those prepared by Lian Youming.

"The ingredients prepared from these five recipes cannot be consumed indiscriminately. Since they correspond to the five elements and their properties, they must be consumed in the order of mutual generation of the five elements. If you make a mistake, the medicinal properties may clash, and something bad might happen."

Lian Youming stood to the side, not knowing what to say, and just kept nodding.

These medicinal herbs have different effects, some entering the heart meridian, some entering the lung meridian, and others entering the liver, kidney, and spleen meridians. Some are for invigorating qi and nourishing the body, some for promoting blood circulation, some for regulating qi, and some for removing blood stasis. What Lian Youming originally saw as a miscellaneous pile was soon sorted out by Yan Lingyun.

It wasn't until Liu Da Nao went out to keep watch that Yan Lingyun said with considerable concern, "Your kung fu is different from those internal martial arts. Those martial artists mostly hone their foundation from the outside in, practicing in the sweltering heat of summer and the freezing cold of winter. They might spend two or three years just practicing their stances and stances. They do this to strengthen their qi and blood, toughen their muscles and bones, and enhance their internal energy. Only then will their master teach them fighting techniques and impart the method of swallowing qi."

“However,” she looked at Lian Youming with a serious expression, “your kung fu actually starts by nourishing the five elements with food, omitting the process of building a foundation. It works from the inside out. Once you start practicing it, you will definitely need to ingest a lot of essence and energy in a short period of time to build a foundation. The principle of the boxing seems to be derived from using form to supplement form, which is extremely unusual.”

Lian Youming raised a thick eyebrow, "Using form to supplement form?"

Yan Lingyun said softly, "If you can really strengthen yourself by consuming external things, compared to the flesh and blood of those wild animals, aren't those martial arts masters all vigorous and full of vitality..."

Upon hearing this, Lian Youming's eyelids twitched violently. "You mean eating... it can't be that weird, can it?"

Yan Lingyun sighed, "The principles of boxing are as they are, not what I thought... As for whether this skill is a miraculous technique or an evil method, I'm afraid only the creator of it knows. Brother Lian, I believe in you, so you must be very careful in this matter in the future."

After saying that, Yan Lingyun divided each dose of medicine into five portions, making a total of fifteen portions, which were then simmered in fifteen medicine pots over a low flame.

This cooking process took more than four hours.

Each medicine pot is boiled with nine bowls of water down to one bowl, and then the fifteen pots of medicine are combined into five portions according to their respective medicinal properties.

In the end, only five bowls were actually poured out of the jar.

Looking at the thick, gelatinous medicinal soup in front of him, Lian Youming couldn't help but swallow.

"What is this? Will it cause any problems if I drink it?"

As if noticing the resistance on Lian Youming's face, Yan Lingyun blinked her big eyes, as if she had discovered some secret, and said with a smile, "I have figured out the medicinal properties myself, there is no problem."

Lian Youming's Adam's apple bobbed. He had never drunk Chinese medicine before, but it was all soupy and watery, and this had been boiled into a paste.

After letting it cool for a while, Yan Lingyun picked up a bowl and said, "Drink it quickly, while it's hot."

Lian Youming smelled the pungent aroma of the medicine, and then, remembering that this was the key to unlocking that realm, his eyes hardened. He took the porcelain bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Then he closed his eyes and felt the medicinal power emanating from his body.

As the medicine entered his body, Lian Youming suddenly felt a surge of heat rising from his abdomen. He immediately took off his clothes, stripped to the waist, and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Yan Lingyun's voice came from beside her ear, "Can you feel the medicinal power? It's that heat. Use your breath to disperse it."

As Lian Youming's aura deepened, the method of practicing the "Three Yin Earthly Fiend Force" flashed through his mind.

"Tongue touches the palate, cheeks puff out, breath enters the throat and tongue...the spirit travels through the three yin channels..."

As he inhaled deeply, a rhythm arose naturally with each breath, surging and gaining strength, and the familiar feeling returned once more.

Half a year later, this time, Lian Youming was calm and composed, as if he had tried it countless times in his mind. He swallowed his breath and let it fall straight down, like a waterfall or a heavy hammer, smashing hard on the rising heat.

The concentrated medicinal power immediately spread out, seemingly seeping into the internal organs without being seen.

Lian Youming took a dozen breaths in a row until the steam subsided, then he drank the second bowl of medicinal soup, and then the third, the fourth, the fifth...

After drinking the five bowls of medicinal soup, Lian Youming felt hot all over, with steam rising from the top of his head. He looked radiant, as if he were taking a hot bath. But this change did not last long. As his breathing became deeper and longer, everything returned to normal.

Yan Lingyun stood to the side, watching that extremely masculine body, holding several gold needles in his hand, her small face tense, as if he was about to stab her if things went wrong.

Liu Da Naotou, carrying a stewed goose, had just entered the room when he witnessed this scene. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor, and he stammered, "Holy crap, this... this is... this is the legendary... Qigong? Is it the kind that can project power... from a distance?"

Although this person recognized the old medicine, he did not know about internal martial arts. When he saw the medicinal power emanating from Lian Youming's body, he was immediately amazed.

Lian Youming had no time to pay attention to the old man. He exhaled a long breath of hot air, trying to steady his breathing, and his face was full of joy.

Now that the five vital energies are strong, all that remains is to replenish the essence and energy through diet in order to practice the Golden Bell Cover technique.

But then Yan Lingyun suddenly turned around and took out a wooden box from her trunk.

"This box contains eleven pieces of century-old Solomon's Seal, which have been steamed and dried nine times. Brother Lian, your foundation is still shallow. When you practice in the future, you only need to take a small bite. It is much purer than meat... This is enough to last you for two or three months."

Lian Youming couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. It seemed that this little girl had really gone to great lengths for that wild ginseng with eight-grade leaves. Even he felt a little embarrassed.

She really is a precious gem.

"Don't worry, Yan. I will definitely do what I promised you and complete the task. From now on, even if you want the stars in the sky, I will pluck them down for you."

Lian Youming spoke with great conviction.

"boast!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Lingyun's cheeks flushed again. She quickly sat down at the table and started eating the stewed goose in the iron pot, burying her head in her hands.

Lian Youming also wanted to sit down, but Liu Da Nao grabbed his sleeve.

"Uncle Liu, what's wrong?"

The man kept rubbing his hands together, and even the way he looked at him changed.

The village doctor, Liu, glared fervently. "I was blind to your greatness before, and I beg you, Master Lian, to accept me as your disciple and pass on your divine skills. I will surely carry on the glory of our sect..."

They don't stutter anymore.

(End of this chapter)