Wu Piwu entered sleep in a curled position.
This was actually a form of nurturing method within the Tiger Demon Technique, known as the Tiger Nest Posture.
The Tiger Demon Technique is a variant of Xingyi Quan, resembling a tiger in form and a demon in intent.
However, this is the key to practicing the technique; during both nurturing and training, it primarily imitates the shape of a tiger, drawing on the tiger's ferocity and strength.
The Tiger Nest Posture may appear to be an uncomfortable sleeping position; for ordinary people, sleeping this way could lead to numbness in the limbs or a sore neck, making it far from comfortable and even harmful.
However, for him, it secretly facilitated the circulation of qi and blood, allowing him to grasp the subtle manipulation of qi and blood, making progress beyond the dark strength, accumulating bit by bit to reach the level of transforming strength.
Martial arts have intent; to transition from bright strength to dark strength, one must possess this intent.
In other countries' martial arts, whether it be Xingyi, Bagua, or Taiji, understanding this layer of intent often feels like a stroke of luck.
It may come through life-and-death trials, seeking in all things, or through feelings of patriotism, compassion for the masses, or mundane life matters.
This intent will accompany martial artists throughout their lives; once the intent is damaged, their power will decline, and they may even suffer a backlash of qi and blood, leading to sudden death.
However, the Tiger Demon Technique takes a different approach; it is extremely difficult to master, with nine out of ten practitioners meeting violent ends.
Yet, once one comprehends the technique amidst countless distracting and demonic thoughts, this intent truly manifests, allowing one to transition from bright strength to dark strength effortlessly.
After sleeping for a full ten hours, Wu Piwu rose and stretched his body, feeling refreshed.
He had been busy, either struggling for survival in the dream world, battling night demons, or returning to heal and awaken, facing aberrant entities and parasitic beings, leaving him no time to meticulously organize his gains, not even a moment to rest.
After this ten-hour sleep, Wu Piwu felt as if he had been reborn; his joints cracked and popped as he began to practice the Tiger Claw Posture, Tiger Leap Posture, and Tiger Tail Posture.
After several stances, he felt an inexhaustible strength in his arms and legs, and every part of his body felt invigorated.
Unable to contain himself, he roared towards the sky, his voice like thunder, akin to a tiger's roar.
After a long while, Wu Piwu finally calmed down, slowly circulating his qi and blood back to normal.
He had comprehended the true meaning of the Tiger Demon Technique.
Suppression!
Suppressing distracting thoughts, demonic thoughts, and evil thoughts.
With a bit of spiritual awareness unyielding, this spiritual awareness is him, while the countless negative and distracting demonic thoughts represent the world.
Resembling a tiger in form, intent like a demon, his true self is to suppress both the tiger and the demon together!
Only then did he grasp the true meaning of the Tiger Demon Technique, thus obtaining the resources to continue advancing.
When Wu Piwu came back to his senses, he saw Yamada and Xu Shilan quietly watching him from not far away.
As soon as he looked at them, they both smiled at him, and Xu Shilan approached with a notebook, saying, "Yesterday, you mentioned several strange types: aberration, pollution, erosion, and parasitism. Aside from aberration, which is purely physical changes in body and consciousness, what characteristics and differences do pollution, erosion, and parasitism have?"
Recalling the information he had received from his predecessors, Wu Piwu casually replied, "Pollution refers to the pink snake type we encountered before; its mere existence causes changes in the surrounding environment, leading all life and non-life within that environment to converge towards it."
Xu Shilan asked seriously, "Is it radiation? Or microorganisms? It can't be an intelligent nanomachine, right?"
Wu Piwu shrugged, "Sorry, I don't know the specifics either. I only know about that pink snake because my predecessors mentioned it often; it was the closest to our area, and we just happened to encounter a host that had awakened from its parasitism. Otherwise, I wouldn't have encountered a single instance of pollution."
Xu Shilan nodded, recording, "Pollution is a subtle change to the surrounding environment and life. Is this recording correct? Then what about erosion?"
Wu Piwu said, "Curses... you've seen curses and resentments, right?"
Yamada and Xu Shilan shook their heads simultaneously.
Wu Piwu held his head, "Right, you all are from hundreds of years later... It's somewhat like a non-physical curse effect, initially not apparent, or with very slight signs, but over time, this erosion effect can transform into various horrors, even reversing causality. For example, erosion could become an unbeatable evil spirit that kills you and sends your body back to the day you were first eroded, forcing you to consume it and become infected, thus forming a similar time loop. In short, I haven't encountered erosion either, but this thing lacks a specific subject; it's akin to a curse."
Wu Piwu thought the two would not understand, but when he finished, their expressions changed, and both looked serious.
"Meme."
The two spoke this word in unison.
However, they seemed to have some taboo or did not want to delve deeper, so Xu Shilan continued to ask, "We have aberration, pollution, and erosion; what about parasitism?"
Wu Piwu continued to recite from memory, "Parasitism refers to a horror that attaches itself to you without your notice, then drains your nutrients, ultimately consuming you entirely."
This was easy for the two to understand.
Xu Shilan recorded while saying, "It's similar to microbial infection, right?"
Wu Piwu shook his head, "No, it refers to everything, material and immaterial. For instance, parasitic horrors can attach themselves to your shadow, your voice, or even your memories, and what they extract is not just flesh and blood. I heard from my predecessors that there was once someone who was parasitized to the point where even the concept of their existence vanished, and then the predecessors forgot who that person was and what they had done; the only thing they remembered was that a parasitic horror had killed someone who no longer existed among them."
The two were stunned for a moment, then felt a chill run down their spines.
Xu Shilan wanted to ask more, but Wu Piwu shook his head, "Let's put this aside for now; we need to head to the dream world immediately."
Both nodded, but Xu Shilan still asked, "Why the rush?"
Wu Piwu led the two towards the sleep chamber, saying as they walked, "This is also a lesson learned; you must be hungry by now, right? I am too, and very hungry.
There was a painful lesson learned by a predecessor of a predecessor who went hungry for several days before having to enter the dream world, but as soon as they did, they were immediately attacked. Although it wasn't by strange creatures, monsters, or horrors, even an attack by ordinary people, when you're starving and weak, you can hardly resist.
So we must enter while we still have strength to face the unknown of the dream world."
The two understood, and they followed Wu Piwu to the sleep chamber, watching as he lay down in one of the empty spots.
Wu Piwu then signaled for the two to lie down as well.
Once they complied, Wu Piwu said, "Mainframe, activate downward penetration into the dream world, team mode."
The voice of the mainframe echoed in their retinas and minds.
"Activating downward penetration into the dream world. Do you agree to team up? Shall we initiate penetration?"
The three simultaneously confirmed, and in the next moment, they all vanished from the sleep chamber.
"Red cloak, red lanterns, clearing the foreign demons with divine powers!"
"Divine powers protect the body, impervious to blades and spears!"
"White sheep descends, the cycle of heavenly principles. Vacuum homeland, Mother of No Birth, grant me divine powers, liberate all beings."
On April 3, 1900, outside the city of Xuanhua in the Qing Dynasty.
In the dream world of baseline reality 0.9, the mainframe informs the personnel of the time and location upon entering the dream world, which is not available in worlds below baseline reality 0.9.
Wu Piwu and the others stood by the main road outside Xuanhua, watching a group of frail villagers as they shouted slogans while a team of women dressed in red clothing and red pants, carrying red lanterns, entered the city of Xuanhua.
"1900? Red Lantern Society?"
Wu Piwu stroked his chin, recalling carefully.
Having practiced martial arts, not only was his body strong, but his mind was also clear, allowing him to easily remember many past events.
"April 3... three months until the Eight-Nation Alliance captures Tianjin on July 14, so this should be right in the honeymoon period of Empress Dowager Cixi and the Boxer Movement."
Wu Piwu was not a history major, but he had learned this in his middle and high school history classes.
In 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China, first capturing Tianjin on July 14, then Beijing on August 14, leading to Cixi's flight westward and the burning of the Summer Palace by the Eight-Nation Alliance...
Wu Piwu remembered all this information, and he also knew about the Boxer Movement and its branch, the Red Lantern Society.
These militia organizations were valued by Empress Dowager Cixi before the invasion, considered a semi-officially recognized force against foreigners.
However, after the invasion, Cixi changed her initial stance, fearing the powerful foreign forces, and ordered a crackdown on the Boxer Movement and the Red Lantern Society in collaboration with the foreigners.
However, before that, the Boxer Movement and the Red Lantern Society could freely operate in the Zhili region; of course, it could also be a historical deviation, a unique point of this world.
Gurgle.
A rumble came from Wu Piwu's stomach.
He rubbed his belly and turned away from the Red Lantern Society's procession, saying to Yamada and Xu Shilan, "Let's go, we need to enter the city to eat."
The two naturally had no objections.
They were too far removed from this era, unlike Wu Piwu, who had to study this history in school.
For instance, Yamada was a veteran born, raised, and surviving on the battlefield; he was proficient in weaponry and combat, familiar with knowledge about weapons or bio-beasts, but if asked about history... he probably only knew about the East and West Great Wars that broke out.
As for Xu Shilan, she likely knew about this era, but she was separated from it by eight or nine hundred years, and her era was just on the brink of the Fourth World War, so she probably hadn't studied the history of this period either.
The two were unfamiliar with this dream world, so they could only follow Wu Piwu's lead.
As they walked towards the city, Yamada asked, "We don't have any money; how are we going to eat?"
Xu Shilan added, "Or should we first go earn some money? What are the characteristics of this world? What's the quickest way to make money?"
Yamada looked at the surrounding crowd and the classical city walls, taking a deep breath, "I smell the scent of war. Since it's war, it must be either arms dealers or mercenaries; these two are the most profitable, so let's become mercenaries."
Wu Piwu shook his head, leading the two towards the city gate, glancing at a certain spot in the crowd.
There were a few individuals who were clearly not villagers; they were looking at Yamada with hatred.
Two of them were tall and lanky, deliberately crouching, but their height was noticeably taller than the frail villagers, and there was a glint in their eyes, their palms calloused...
Practitioners.
"Don't worry, money..."
"Will come knocking at our door."
(End of Chapter)