50: Chapter 50, Thirty-Six Pictures

"Thump."

The sound came from the end of the tunnel, rhythmic, like a heartbeat, or perhaps someone striking the stone wall in the distance.

Lu Zhao stopped and listened intently.

The sound was faint, very far away, almost imperceptible. But every time it echoed, the heart of the martial ancestor in his Dantian pulsed along with it; there was an inexplicably strange resonance between the two.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

Shen Qingqiu tilted her head to listen, then shook her head: "Hear what?"

A-Fei also shook his head: "Only the wind."

Lu Zhao didn't speak again, just continued walking forward.

The stone walls on both sides of the tunnel were covered with carved human figures. There was one every three or five steps, dense and overlapping, extending from the tunnel entrance to the depths.

He watched as he walked.

The first one: A person standing with feet parallel, hands clasped in front of the abdomen, knees slightly bent. Four ancient seal characters were carved beside the figure — Stand Firm and Take Root.

This was standing meditation.

The second one: The same person, but the posture had changed. Feet one in front of the other, hands one high and one low, as if pushing something. Characters carved beside the figure — Power Rises from the Earth.

This was force exertion.

The third one: The person began to Move. A punch was thrown, the momentum fierce, robes fluttering. Characters carved beside the figure — Fist Like a Collapsing Mountain.

This was fist technique.

The fourth, the fifth, the sixth...

Looking at them one by one, Lu Zhao's pace grew slower and slower.

These carvings had much in common with the Jin Yong martial arts he had learned in his past life, yet they were vastly different. Jin Yong's martial arts focused on Internal Skill, the circulation of True Qi, and the variation of Moves; whereas these carvings focused more on the movement of blood and Qi, the tempering of tendons and bones, and the connection between humans and the earth.

For example, that "Stand Firm and Take Root" figure—if understood according to Jin Yong's martial arts, standing meditation was to stabilize the lower body and allow True Qi to circulate smoothly. But what was depicted on these carvings was a different concept—feet like tree roots, deeply embedded in the earth, drawing strength from the earth, and then transmitting this strength throughout the body through the movement of blood and Qi.

Blood and Qi were not True Qi.

They were something more fundamental, brought from the mother's womb, grown from eating grains, and tempered bit by bit through labor, walking, and practicing fist techniques.

True Qi could be exhausted, but blood and Qi could not.

Unless one died.

Lu Zhao stared at those carvings, becoming more and more engrossed, his footsteps stopping unconsciously.

Shen Qingqiu walked to his side and said softly: "What is it?"

Lu Zhao didn't answer, just stared at the carving in front of him.

This figure depicted a person doing standing meditation, but unlike the diagrams, the human figure had many lines drawn on it. Those lines were curved, starting from the soles of the feet, moving up along the legs, passing through the waist and abdomen, and finally converging at the top of the head.

That was the path of blood and Qi circulation.

It was seventy or eighty percent similar to the circulation path of the Nine Yang Divine Skill in his body. But it wasn't exactly the same. The path of the Nine Yang Divine Skill was more complex and refined, while the paths on these carvings were simpler, more direct, and more rugged.

It was like... a basic version.

Or rather, the source of the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

A thought suddenly surged in Lu Zhao's heart.

He sat down cross-legged right in front of that carving, closed his eyes, and began to Move his blood and Qi according to the path shown on the carving.

The blood and Qi rose from the soles of his feet, moving up along his legs. Past the knees, past the thighs, into the waist and abdomen, then moving up along the spine, surging into the top of his head.

After completing one cycle, he felt warm all over, indescribably comfortable.

But when he reached the second cycle, a problem arose.

The blood and Qi stalled at the knees, as if blocked by something. He tried to increase his intent to push it, and the blood and Qi barely made it through, but after passing through, it scattered and could no longer condense into form.

He opened his eyes and looked at the carving.

On the carving, a circle was drawn at the knee. Three small characters were carved inside the circle — The Knee is a Bridge.

The knee is a bridge.

A bridge?

He was thoughtful and looked at the carving again. This time he looked more carefully and discovered that the path of blood and Qi at the knee did not go straight, but first sank, then lifted, bypassed a curve, and then continued upward.

Sink, lift, bypass the curve.

He closed his eyes and moved the blood and Qi again.

This time, when the blood and Qi reached the knee, he didn't force it to rush upward, but first let it sink, sink below the knee, then suddenly lifted it, bypassing a small curve.

Sure enough, it was smooth.

The blood and Qi passed the knees and continued to Move upward. When it reached the waist and abdomen, it stalled again.

He opened his eyes and looked at the carving.

A circle was also drawn at the waist and abdomen, with three characters carved inside — The Waist is an Axle.

An axle.

Like the axle of a wheel, it must be stable, flexible, and able to drive the whole body.

He tried to adjust the movement of blood and Qi in his waist and abdomen, making it no longer go straight, but rotate upward. Like wringing a towel, wringing it tighter and tighter, until the limit, then suddenly releasing—

The blood and Qi "boom" rushed through the waist and abdomen, surging into the spine.

At the spine, there was another stall.

This time he didn't need to look at the carving, he understood.

The spine is a passageway.

The blood and Qi come up from the waist and abdomen and must Move along the spine. But the spine is not straight, it has curves and segments. The blood and Qi must pass through these curves and segments, moving segment by segment, like climbing stairs, not jumping up in one step.

He slowed down and let the blood and Qi climb up segment by segment.

One segment, two segments, three segments...

When he climbed to the seventh segment, the blood and Qi suddenly accelerated on its own, like a river breaking its banks, rushing to the top of his head in one breath!

"Boom—!"

A loud noise echoed in his mind, and golden light shot before his eyes.

At that moment, he felt as if he were standing on the top of a mountain, the sky above his head, the earth under his feet. The heavenly wind was mighty, blowing his robes; the sea of clouds was surging, galloping under his feet. Between heaven and earth, only he was left, lonely, small, yet incomparably powerful.

He opened his eyes.

Before him was still that tunnel, that carving, Shen Qingqiu and A-Fei guarding him, looking worried.

But he knew, it was different.

The blood and Qi in his body were more than thirty percent more vigorous than before. His True Qi was also more solid and pure. The heart of the martial ancestor in his Dantian was beating more strongly and powerfully, and every time it beat, warm blood and Qi surged into his limbs and bones.

He stood up and clenched his fists.

The feeling of being filled with strength was truly good.

"Sir?" A-Fei asked cautiously, "Are you okay?"

Lu Zhao shook his head: "I'm fine."

Shen Qingqiu stared at him for a long time, then suddenly said: "You had a Breakthrough?"

Lu Zhao nodded.

"Qi Refining level five?"

Lu Zhao nodded again.

Shen Qingqiu was stunned, then suddenly laughed.

"In this place, facing these carvings, you sat for less than an hour, and had a Breakthrough?" she said, "Are you a human or a monster?"

Lu Zhao also laughed.

"A human," he said, "I just found the right path."

He turned and looked into the depths of the tunnel.

There, more carvings were waiting for him.

But he didn't continue walking forward, instead returning to the first carving and sitting cross-legged again.

"Wait a little longer," he said, "Let me finish looking at all of these."

This wait lasted for an hour.

Lu Zhao sat in front of the carvings, looking at them one by one, understanding them one by one. Some carvings were understood at a glance, some needed to be pondered for a long time, and some were still half-understood after looking three times, so he could only memorize them in his heart and digest them slowly later.

Shen Qingqiu and A-Fei guarded him, not daring to disturb him.

A-Fei was bored and also leaned over to look at the carvings. He couldn't understand the complex circulation paths, but he watched the simple fist Moves with great interest.

As he watched, he couldn't help but gesture, one Move after another, looking quite decent.

Shen Qingqiu focused on the sword marks.

Although Daoist Qingming had dissipated, the sword marks he left behind were still there.

The more she looked, the more she felt that there was a wonderful resonance between these sword marks and the martial arts carvings.

Sword Dao and Martial Dao, seemingly different, but at high levels, they actually led to the same destination.

An hour later, Lu Zhao stood up.

He walked to the last carving.

This carving was different from the previous ones. The previous ones depicted standing meditation, force exertion, and fist techniques, but this one depicted a person sitting cross-legged, hands forming seals, eyes closed, eyebrows lowered.

Eight characters were carved beside the figure: The body is a ferry, the heart is the other shore.

Lu Zhao stared at those eight characters for a long time.

The body is a ferry, the heart is the other shore.

He remembered his own Transmigration, from a piece of trash without a Spiritual Root to where he was today. This body was indeed like a ferry, carrying him across countless storms. And that heart was the other shore he wanted to reach.

He bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Senior," he said, "Although I don't know who you are, Lu Zhao will remember this Legacy."

As soon as he finished speaking, his mind suddenly cleared.

[Insight into thirty-six ancient martial arts relics, Martial Dao comprehension + 200, Civilization Points + 100.]

[Current Civilization Points: 300.]

[Branch triggered: Martial Arts Fusion. You can consume 100 Civilization Points to verify and deduce Jin Yong's martial arts with the ancient martial arts fragments. Do you want to activate it?]

Lu Zhao thought silently: Not yet.

The line of text slowly dissipated.

He turned and looked at Shen Qingqiu.

"Let's go."

The three continued to walk forward.

The tunnel became wider and brighter. There was light faintly coming from ahead, not the light of torches, nor the light of night-luminescent pearls, but a soft white light, like moonlight, or like the morning glow.

Walking to the end, the view suddenly opened up.

It was a natural stone hall.

The stone hall was no less than twenty zhang in radius and five or six zhang high. Countless stalactites hung upside down from the dome, interlocking like dog teeth, crystal clear. Countless crystals were embedded in the stone walls, emitting a soft white light, illuminating the entire stone hall as bright as day.

In the center of the stone hall, there was a stone platform.

The stone platform was about three feet high, over a zhang in radius, pitch black, and smooth as a mirror. On the stone platform, three things were placed.

A roll of ancient animal skin book, old and yellowed, with severely worn edges.

A pitch-black token, palm-sized, made of unknown material, with fine patterns carved all over the surface.

A fist-sized piece of Ore, purple all over, crystal clear, with electric light faintly flowing within it.

The three of them stared at the three things, all stunned.

Shen Qingqiu was the first to come back to her senses and looked at the surroundings of the stone platform.

On the ground around the stone platform, dense patterns were carved. Those patterns crisscrossed, layer upon layer, forming an extremely complex Formation. Every line and every node of the pattern revealed an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.

She stared at the pattern for a long time, her face gradually changing.

"This is..." her voice was tight, "the remnants of an ancient trapping and killing Formation."

Lu Zhao looked at her.

"Can it be broken?"

Shen Qingqiu shook her head.

"No," she said, "This Formation is too ancient, more complex than any Formation I have ever seen. Let alone breaking it, it is difficult for me to even understand it."

She paused.

"But one thing is certain—if we rashly step onto the stone platform and trigger the Formation, we will definitely die."

The three of them stared at the stone platform, no one daring to act rashly.

A-Fei suddenly said: "Sir, look at that ancient animal skin book—it's glowing."

Lu Zhao looked intently.

That roll of ancient animal skin book was indeed glowing. It was very faint, and if one didn't look closely, one wouldn't notice it at all. The light flashed on and off, like a heartbeat, or as if it were calling out to something.

The heart of the martial ancestor in his Dantian suddenly began to beat violently.

At the same time, the fine patterns on that pitch-black token also lit up. The purple light was exactly the same color as the Ore.

The three things were unexpectedly forming a resonance.

Shen Qingqiu's face changed: "This Formation... is waiting for something?"

Before she finished speaking, those patterns around the stone platform suddenly lit up. Not all of them, just a part—starting from the edge of the stone platform, following a certain specific path, extending outward little by little.

The direction in which those patterns extended was exactly the position where they were standing.