On the second day, as CHU WEIYANG sat down against the stone wall, cradling the bowl of meat and vegetable soup, his movements were no longer as stiff as the day before.
The whip marks on his back had scabbed over, but the accumulation of impurities in his body still caused lingering pain and itching.
However, all of these sensations were suppressed by the continuous feeling of hunger throughout the day.
Compared to the endless hunger, all other feelings were bearable, conquerable, and adaptable.
At this moment, nothing was more important than the bowl of meat and vegetable soup in his hands.
With pursed lips, the young man lowered his head, seemingly staring at the rare oil droplet in the white soup.
Meanwhile, the bald man walked slowly towards CHU WEIYANG, but instead of sitting down with him, he took a step towards the deeper part of the cave.
The last faint yellow light disappeared on him, and the bald man vanished into the hazy shadows of impurities and dust.
Only CHU WEIYANG could vaguely see the burly silhouette, half bending down, looking at him, but carefully scanning every person in the cave who was approaching him, intentionally or unintentionally.
When he spoke again, the bald man's voice was much hoarser than the night before. "Do you remember what I told you before?"
CHU WEIYANG nodded without speaking.
A faint, indistinguishable chuckle came from the hoarse voice, as if comforting CHU WEIYANG.
The bald man leaned forward, patting CHU WEIYANG's shoulder lightly. "It's okay, just give it a try. If it doesn't work out today, there's always tomorrow. If not tomorrow, there's the day after. You will eventually master the 'Five Viscera Essence Qi Technique.'"
The bald man's strength was not light, causing CHU WEIYANG's shoulder to shake slightly.
He then looked back at the silhouette in the shadow with some displeasure.
"Speak properly, don't always think about using force. You're bigger than me, but if you use too much force, I'll spill half of the soup. Then I'll have to gnaw on your bones to cultivate the 'Five Viscera Essence Qi Technique'?"
Obviously, this playful remark was not funny.
Just after saying it, CHU WEIYANG turned back, and the bald man also stood up straight in place.
He didn't respond to CHU WEIYANG's words, but simply said, "Let's begin. I will be your protector."
It was only at this moment that CHU WEIYANG slowly brought the bowl to his lips.
Steam rose, mixed with a slightly fishy smell and an inexplicable scent of decay.
The oil droplets on the surface of the white soup created irregular ripples between the floating vegetable leaves.
Facing what should have been the most anticipated moment of the day, CHU WEIYANG closed his eyes for the first time.
As the mist dispersed and the surrounding noise gradually faded, an endless silence enveloped CHU WEIYANG's mind.
In the depths of his consciousness, the somewhat vague voice of the bald man emerged from the young man's memory.
"PANWANG YUANZONG was once a flourishing sect of the demonic path, pursuing the path of the primordial, ascending to the heavens with their methods. However, there is no eternal prosperity in the world of cultivation. After several calamities, the sect declined, and many supreme scriptures were scattered. By our generation, only this 'Five Viscera Essence Qi Technique' can be traced back to the sect's inception, inheriting the lineage of the sect's main scripture."
"I tell you this because even if we die in this Demon-Sealing Cave, even if you are the last descendant of this technique, you should understand the significance of the lineage."
"Oh, I remember now. This technique has also been taken away by others. Even if we both die, it will not be lost..."
"To the point, the 'Five Viscera Essence Qi Technique' focuses on using the five viscera as the furnace, with the stomach as the cauldron in the abdomen, gathering essence, qi, and spirit as fuel. Then, by consuming precious materials from heaven and earth in the furnace of the five viscera, a great medicine is refined!"
"This technique does not follow the Ren and Du meridians but uses the five viscera as the main energy centers. After refining the five elements, only a strand of true qi remains, ethereal and intangible, formless and colorless, which is the cultivated power."
"In the future, during the day, refine the impure essence, guide the power through the Ren and Du meridians, and in the evening when practicing, use the energy from the five viscera to refine the power. This is the foundation of my ability to outlive Zhang Laoqi and Wu Erdu for so many days!"
"If the sect still existed, cultivating this technique would require much more precision. Initially, one would need to consume several types of spiritual herbs for several months, followed by the flesh and blood of demonic beasts and spirit fruit wine for three years to refine the stomach into a supreme cauldron. Then, any precious materials that could be swallowed would be refined in the cauldron to create the great medicine!"
"Of course, this technique was later taken by the Baihua Tower. They practiced by only consuming finished elixirs and small pieces of round spirit stones. After refining them in the cauldron with intense heat, they obtained purer and more profound power. Then, as the stomach slightly moved, the refined elixirs and spirit stones turned into fine powder in an instant, making the body completely pure..."
"Ah! Of course, the people of Baihua Tower did not truly understand it. Practicing this technique was a deviation! Next, let me explain the key points to you!"
As these thoughts crossed his mind, the relentless hunger almost made CHU WEIYANG unable to bear it.
Even though his eyes were still closed, he skillfully drank the soup, swallowing the vegetable leaves and minced meat with a few chews.
A scalding warmth flowed down his central meridian, pouring into his stomach.
"Eating food into the stomach is from top to bottom; at the same time, activating the lower dantian's power, guiding essence and spirit directly into the middle dantian's vermilion palace, merging the three elements of essence, qi, and spirit into the heart fire, this is from bottom to top."
"Following the circulation through the Conception vessel and Governing vessel, this is called the meeting of the Dragon and Tiger!"
"Once the heart fire is revealed, continue to bridge the power with the heart fire, guiding it to refine the cauldron. Visualize the cauldron and the heart flame, visualize the precious materials consumed, tempering in the flames, swirling in the cauldron."
"Gradually losing its form... gradually gaining its essence..."
"Once sensing a round shape, envelop the embryo of the great medicine with the heart fire, and it will emerge from the cauldron!"
"Following the generation of the five elements, after the heart fire, comes the fire generating earth, entering the spleen to burn. After burning away the earth element in the medicine, a strand of earth element light nourishes the spleen."
"Next is the earth generating metal, enveloping the great medicine with the heart fire, entering the lungs to burn. After burning away the metal element in the medicine, a strand of metal element light nourishes the lungs."
"Then, metal generates water, enveloping the great medicine with the heart fire, entering the kidneys to burn. After burning away the water element in the medicine, a strand of water element light nourishes the kidneys."
"Furthermore, water generates wood, enveloping the great medicine with the heart fire, entering the liver to burn. After burning away the wood element in the medicine, a strand of wood element light nourishes the liver."
"At this point, with four elements gone, the great medicine loses its form, but still enveloped by the heart fire, it returns to the cauldron to be fiercely burned!"
"Burning away the fire element in the medicine, merging it into the heart fire!"
"As a result, the heart fire flies out, returning to the middle dantian's vermilion palace, the cauldron is overturned, and a strand of true qi becomes power."
"This is - the Azure Dragon entering the Heavenly Pool, the White Tiger returning to the Cave."
With the voice of the bald man echoing in his mind, CHU WEIYANG took a step, mastering the technique with ease, stepping into a new realm.
The moment the strand of true qi descended into his dantian, CHU WEIYANG's body suddenly paused.
Before he could rejoice, a boundless sense of palpitations engulfed him!
It was as if all the hunger he had ever experienced in his life was released at that moment!
Suddenly opening his eyes, CHU WEIYANG swallowed another large mouthful.
However, as the food entered the cauldron and the heart fire burned, there was no sense of satiety.
With the refinement of the true qi and the increasing radiance between the five viscera, the young man's hunger grew stronger with each passing moment.
In the next moment, CHU WEIYANG's swallowing motion stopped.
He was clearly hesitating about something.
At the same time, the voice of the bald man sounded not from memory but in his ears.
"In this world, there are no foolproof methods. Normally, this wouldn't be a flaw in the technique. But in the Demon-Sealing Cave, surrounded by impurities, cultivating the 'Five Viscera Essence Qi Technique' with just a bowl of meat soup will come at a price..."
"If you can't bear it, you can continue cultivating the 'Nourishing Essence Technique.' It's just a few days earlier death. In this Demon-Sealing Cave, it's better to endure a short pain than a long one."
With these words, CHU WEIYANG's actions no longer hesitated.
He quickly drank a few mouthfuls, finishing all the food in the bowl.
Licking the bowl clean, CHU WEIYANG then turned to look at the bald man.
"Don't need to provoke me, and don't talk about nonsense like enduring long pain. If I really wanted to seek pleasure, I should have died when I was seven years old!"
Starting with anger, then turning into anxiety, in a few days, walking became difficult, and even thinking became extremely challenging.
Emotions and feelings became burdens, thoughts and body gradually separated, and death could come at any moment.
The inexplicable anger made CHU WEIYANG realize that the escalating hunger had breached his inner defenses.
The process of enduring hunger seemed to be replaying on his body once again.
And it seemed like the bald man had already anticipated all of this.
He reached out, offering his untouched bowl of food to CHU WEIYANG.
The young man only watched the blurry voice in the misty air and did not reach out.
The bald man chuckled lightly again. "As I said, only enough for one person to cultivate the 'Five Viscera Essence Qi Technique'..."
"You also promised me that when I die, you will perform the final rites for me. With your incense, I consider myself lucky."
Upon hearing these words, CHU WEIYANG finally reached out and took the bowl of food.
As the meat and soup entered the cauldron, and CHU WEIYANG, slightly accustomed to the intense hunger, carefully sensed the comprehensive changes brought about by practicing the 'Five Viscera Essence Qi Technique.'
The rotation of the five viscera was the essence of vitality.
With the birth of each strand of true qi power, it meant that the spiritual radiance within CHU WEIYANG's five viscera was becoming more abundant.
This was an unprecedented overall enhancement!
The abundant blood and energy even made CHU WEIYANG feel, for a moment, as if he were still living in the mortal world.
The refinement of the 'cauldron fire' was somewhat rough but more efficient than circulating the Ren and Du meridians.
Gradually, CHU WEIYANG saw the possibility of quickly restoring his cultivation to the third level of the Qi Refining Stage within a short period, even advancing towards the middle stage of the Qi Refining Stage.
Once reaching the middle stage of Qi Refining, with abundant power, all diseases would be prevented, and a long life could be enjoyed.
Seeing the opportunity for a long life in such a ghostly place was both humorous and ironic.
On the third day, CHU WEIYANG's originally sallow and withered face began to show a hint of color.
By the fourth day, as CHU WEIYANG massaged his stiff fingers invaded by impurities, he could distinctly feel the touch of flesh and blood beneath the rough skin.
However, these changes did not bring joy to CHU WEIYANG.
As he saw himself gradually gaining weight... or rather, becoming stronger, the bald man, on the other hand, was slowly losing weight.
This was a decision they had both calmly made.
But witnessing this change firsthand, for the first time, apart from hunger, an unprecedented pure pain engulfed CHU WEIYANG's mind.
Sometimes, as he watched the bald man's increasingly stiff figure, CHU WEIYANG felt like some kind of parasitic insect, the true sinister entity in this ghostly place.
He could clearly perceive the cause and effect between his strength and the bald man's emaciation.
It was like having a clear measure of life and death.
For the first time, this kind of pain was more unbearable than hunger.
On the seventh day, it was supposed to be the bald man's turn to stand at the door and receive the whip's punishment.
However, that morning, CHU WEIYANG stood in his place instead.
The whip was raised high and then brought down abruptly by the overseer, whose impatient voice echoed in the cramped cave.
"Starting today, each person must refine two and a half pots of impure essence! Those who fall short will have no dinner tonight! Those who produce less than two pots, don't blame me for being harsh. I will leave you at the door and whip you to death!"
This time, even CHU WEIYANG felt the surging undercurrents and mysterious fluctuations hidden in the Demon-Sealing Cave from the overseer's impatient voice.
Unclear, but CHU WEIYANG truly felt this way and increasingly believed the bald strong man's judgment.
On the tenth day, as CHU WEIYANG walked towards the depths of the cave with his bowl, before he could sit down against the stone wall, he saw the bald man sitting in his usual spot, holding an empty bowl with a few vegetable leaves still clinging to his lips.
CHU WEIYANG was momentarily stunned, unable to speak for a moment, staring straight at the bald man.
In place, the bald man also raised his head, staring directly back at CHU WEIYANG.
Neither of them spoke.
After a moment, CHU WEIYANG awkwardly asked, "Who are you?"
This question seemed to confuse the now lean bald man.
He hesitated, as if pondering.
"I... I am..."
"I am... I can't quite remember..."
CHU WEIYANG lowered his head with difficulty.
"You are GUO DIAN, a cultivator of the PANWANG YUANZONG sect! PANWANG YUANZONG was a flourishing sect of the demonic path in the past, and you were the elder passing down the teachings, holding the lineage of the sect in your hands!"
On the fifteenth day, in the early morning, the bald man GUO DIAN, the elder passing down the teachings of the PANWANG YUANZONG sect, died beside CHU WEIYANG.
Many books are now hard to find, so cherish what you have.