Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Spring has arrived.

The morning in Qingkou Town still carried the lingering chill of late winter.

For the past two weeks, Chen Ping's life has been uneventful, without any major ups and downs.

I went to Old Sun's blacksmith shop at dawn and returned to the courtyard at dusk.

He practiced his skills in the morning and evening.

After practicing the Bengshijin technique three times in the early morning, I changed into old cloth shoes and walked around the courtyard.

He incorporated the Cloud Piercing Leap into his movements, and in recent days he had found a way to practice water-stabilizing stances while practicing forging.

These past few days he has been expending a great deal of energy, and his appetite has naturally grown larger, so Old Liu has increased the amount of food he cooks twice as much.

At dusk that day, Chen Ping returned from the blacksmith's shop.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, I saw Old Liu sitting at the stone table, smoking a pipe.

Seeing him come in, Old Liu took out two small porcelain bottles from his sleeve, placed them steadily on the stone table, and said without looking up, "These are what you wanted."

Two bottles of blood-nourishing powder.

Chen Ping walked over, picked it up, weighed it in his hand, put it in his pocket, and cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you."

Old Liu exhaled a puff of choking smoke and raised his eyelids slightly: "Not practicing boxing today?"

"My flesh refinement is complete, and my qi and blood are fully replenished. Tonight, I will attempt to break through to the bone refinement realm," Chen Ping said calmly.

Old Liu slammed his pipe heavily against the edge of the stone table, sending ash fluttering to the ground.

He looked up at Chen Ping and asked, "Have you figured out which bone to start tempering first?"

Chen Ping remained silent for a moment.

"Foot bone".

Old Liu paused for a moment, his tone tinged with surprise: "Most people who enter the Bone Refining Realm first temper their hand bones. After tempering their hand bones, the bones become harder than pig iron, and the killing power is increased most directly. Are you sure you want to temper your feet first?"

"I have my own considerations," Chen Ping smiled, without explaining further.

Old Liu stared at him for a while, then didn't ask any more questions.

He got up again and walked towards the kitchen, closing the wooden door behind him.

Chen Ping turned and went into the room, took out a folded piece of coarse paper from the most hidden place on the bed board, and unfolded it on the table.

The paper had been examined countless times; the creases were very deep, and the edges were even a little frayed.

This was sent by Li Yuan a few days ago, along with a message: "I heard you're almost at the Bone Refining Realm. Here's a diagram for you. Follow the meridian pathways marked on it to guide your Qi and blood. This will make your tempering process more efficient and you'll suffer less."

The drawing depicts the outline of a human figure, with the entire skeleton precisely marked by fine vermilion lines.

The book is filled with detailed instructions on guiding Qi and blood: the two routes for tempering the hand bones and foot bones are clearly marked, indicating where each route starts, at which Qi and blood nodes it turns, and how to use the power to clear blockages when encountering blockages... Every step is written in great detail.

He went over the picture in his mind again, put it in his pocket, and strode into the courtyard to stand still.

He took off his outer garment and placed the two bottles of blood essence in the most convenient position on the stone table. Chen Ping looked down at the soles of his feet.

He had clearly calculated the cost in his mind.

Now, my walking skills are already quite advanced, and my progress is the fastest.

The foundation of this skill lies in the power generated by the soles of the feet. If the bones of the soles of the feet are tempered first, the bones will undergo a qualitative change, and the efficiency of generating power will definitely take a big leap forward.

Driven by the same Qi and blood, the walking speed will be faster, the landing will be more stable, and the power at the moment of pushing off will be transmitted more directly.

Once the foot bones are fully tempered, the explosive potential of the "Cloud Piercing Leap" movement technique will be greatly increased.

Chen Ping took a deep breath and stood still in the courtyard.

He planted his feet firmly on the ground, his toes slightly turned inward, pressing down his entire body weight.

Water-stabilizing piles.

The pent-up energy surged forth, billowing around the broad chest and abdomen, before cascading down the spine like a waterfall, rushing all the way down.

When it reached the knee, he immediately referred to the meridian diagram on the map and actively guided the flow of qi and blood, forcing it to be strongly pushed towards the lower leg.

However, the Qi and blood simply refuse to obey.

Just as water naturally flows downhill, this energy and blood instinctively want to disperse into the surrounding muscles.

If there is even the slightest lapse in concentration, it will immediately seep out in all directions, rendering all previous efforts futile.

Chen Ping clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to back down even a step, and continued to press down relentlessly.

At this time, the Qi and blood gather more and more.

Lower leg, ankle, instep.

The lower you press, the greater the resistance.

The meridians are getting narrower and narrower, and the huge amount of qi and blood is stuck in the ankle, unable to move. From the inside, the ankle is stretched high and bulges out, and the skin and flesh feel numb. There is a risk that it will burst at any time.

Chen Ping did not rush to force his way down.

If you can't force it, then use the most basic method of persuasion.

He blocked the flow of qi and blood at his ankle, allowing it to seep in little by little from the acupoint.

On that diagram, a small vermilion cross was specially marked at this point, with only four words written next to it: "borrowing ankle to pull back".

Chen Ping understood immediately and rotated his ankle extremely slightly, shifting his weight slightly towards the instep.

The Qi and blood have been activated.

A quarter of an hour passed.

The swelling in my ankle had completely turned into a dull, aching pain.

It's as if someone is holding a rough, blunt iron rod and relentlessly pressing and crushing it against the outside of the bone.

A fine layer of cold sweat appeared on Chen Ping's forehead.

Keep it up!

The Qi and blood finally began to penetrate downwards on a large scale.

It seeped into the bone crevices of the instep with great difficulty, bit by bit.

At the very moment the blood and qi penetrate in.

A burning sensation came over me, as if my bones were burning inside.

It's like having a red-hot, thin iron needle slowly scraping away at your bone marrow.

Chen Ping knelt heavily on one knee, his right hand gripping the bluestone slab tightly.

The stone slabs still carried the biting chill of the late spring cold.

The coolness traveled straight from my palms to my head, a stark contrast to the molten heat on the back of my feet—a world of ice and fire.

He didn't stand up, but stubbornly held on, while remaining calm and following the markings on the diagram, forcefully drawing his qi and blood towards the five toe bones.

The toe bones are another checkpoint, even narrower than the previous one.

Chen Ping needs to continue grinding slowly, allowing the Qi and blood to gradually seep into the five toe bones, so that the Qi and blood can slowly grind and temper them.

However, the speed at which the blood and qi seep in is ridiculously slow.

Every bit of progress was accompanied by waves of burning pain.

Toe bones, one, two, three.

After each one is refined, that burning heat will penetrate deeper into the bone marrow.

The bones, which were originally light and airy, now felt heavy and dull.

When he reached the fourth stage of tempering, Chen Ping discovered that his vital energy was almost depleted.

He held onto his last bit of breath and forced his way towards the fifth toe bone with all his might.

It's just one last thread!

Chen Ping suddenly raised his right hand, grabbed the porcelain bottle on the stone table, bit off the stopper with his teeth, tilted his head back, and poured half a bottle of blood-qi powder directly down his throat.

The medicine exploded in my stomach.

A surge of heat rushed down my esophagus, swirled in my stomach, and quickly transformed into a stream of new energy and blood.

Guided by him, this new energy and blood quickly rushed to the fifth metatarsal bone.

boom!

The fifth toe bone was finally fully tempered.

A terrifying burning sensation spread instantly from the soles of my feet.

The heat surged from my ankle down my calf, and my entire leg started burning hot from the bone marrow—it was incredibly hot.

Chen Ping bent down and pressed his forehead firmly against the cold bluestone slab.

He took a dozen or so heavy breaths; the pain was still there, but it was beginning to subside.

Chen Ping lay quietly in the courtyard, letting the cold night wind dry the sweat soaking his body.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the burning heat finally subsided completely.

He supported himself on the ground with both hands, slowly stood up, and tentatively moved his ankles.

My feet felt heavier on the bluestone slab than before it was tempered.

He took a step casually.

Push off with the forefoot one-third of its length, and let your waist and hips move naturally with the momentum.

Faster than before.

A line of semi-transparent text appeared as expected in front of my retina.

Walking Proficiency +1

[Current Progress: Completed 947/4000]

[Effects: Light as a feather, increased speed, and silent footsteps]

With just one ordinary step, Chen Ping keenly noticed that the energy and blood consumption of the Ding Shui Zhuang (a type of martial arts technique) had been reduced by nearly 10%.

He walked a few more steps quickly in the courtyard.

The soles of the shoes made almost no sound when stepping on the hard stone slabs.

The wooden door to the kitchen was pushed open.

"Dinner's ready." Old Liu came out carrying a steaming hot casserole and placed it steadily on the stone table.

Lifting the lid, a rich aroma of meat rose into the air along with white steam. "Is it ready?"

"It's quenched." Chen Ping sat down on the stone bench and picked up the large, rough porcelain bowl.

Old Liu picked up a spoon and ladled a full spoonful of stewed meat into his bowl. Without asking any questions, he lowered his head and began to eat.

The cold, sharp night wind of early spring seeped in through the cracks in the courtyard gate, blowing away most of the white steam billowing above the clay pot.

Chen Ping lowered his head and took a big gulp of the thick soup.

Extremely hot, it was swallowed down my throat, and a large part of my empty stomach immediately warmed up.