Chapter 114: The Way of Eating Sperm, Congenital Washing of the Fetus
Upon receiving the order, Li Xian immediately went to collect the staff. Everything comes at a price; the "Essence Consumption" method, which can be exchanged for twenty large staffs, is something many people seek but cannot obtain.
“A cane made of brambles is needed,” Madam Wen added softly.
"Yes!" Li Xian gritted her teeth slightly.
This ordeal was truly unpleasant.
Madam Wen watched his retreating figure, a smile playing on her lips. She weighed the pros and cons in her mind.
"This boy is only sixteen years old. It is perfectly normal for him to have strange dreams at night when he is full of vigor. The reason I am making him suffer the pain to the bone is not to discourage him, but to make him both love and fear me. Only in this way can I use him as an arm."
Lady Wen thought again, "People are trapped by appearances, and I am no exception. Although this child is thanks to my brother, which makes me want to cultivate him, his appearance is not bad and his talent is not bad. I do not reject him when he comes near me."
With a flick of her sleeve, all the delicacies on the table were discarded. Intrigued, she secretly followed to observe.
She saw Li Xian walk straight into a dark room. This was the "Punishment Room," specifically for punishing those who made mistakes.
The "Class C nurses" take turns working every day.
"Commander Li."
When the guards saw Li Xian, they thought he was here on patrol and hurriedly came to greet him.
"I'm here to receive my punishment." Li Xian frowned and then relaxed when he saw the cane in the corner. His mind was naturally calm as he pondered, "What martial arts methods in this world are easy to obtain? Since that lady said she was willing to teach me the Essence-Eating Method, it proves that my method is not wrong."
“She came to punish me with a cane, not to punish me, but to frighten me. So, I only need to be miserable enough for her to be happy.”
Although Li Xian was inexperienced, he knew what he wanted and could guess what his wife wanted.
“To be…to be punished?” The guard was taken aback.
“That’s right. The lady told me to come and collect twenty large rods, and they are thorny rods. Come on.”
"This is the Madam's order. You all must not hold back out of respect for the commander. Otherwise, you will be the ones receiving the cane!"
Li Xian was already lying on the bench.
"Then...then...Commander Li...I'm sorry to offend you."
The two men took out their thorny staffs, channeled their inner energy, and struck the staffs on the backs.
Unless it was a serious crime, a beating on the buttocks with a wooden stick was considered enough to get by.
Only by angering the lady would she resort to the cane, which would be enough to make someone faint from the pain.
After several blows, Li Xian's back was a bloody mess, riddled with bloody holes from which fresh blood gushed. The sight was horrifying, making the guard shudder.
Madam Wen observed secretly and nodded slightly, "The thorn cane is soaked with salt water, and the cane penetrates the flesh. The pain is unforgettable. Since this child has achieved so much, it is not unreasonable to pass on the way of 'eating essence' to him."
“In the future, they will eventually be of use to me.”
When she was young and adventuring in the world, she had countless suitors. She enjoyed making them suffer for her, and the more pitiful their cries, the happier she was. Although she has grown older and more experienced, she has lost that interest.
Seeing Li Xian remain silent, his eyes resolute, his pain concealing a sharp edge, they suddenly turned their attention to him.
...
...
Half an hour later.
Li Xian simply applied a plaster to "fix blood flow and close the orifices" to prevent excessive blood loss.
He put on a cloth robe and walked towards the inner courtyard.
"Commander Li, won't you take a rest?" the guard with a cane asked cautiously.
"No." Li Xian's face was pale, but her eyes were bright. She was playing the victim, so she couldn't delay for even a moment.
The caning was excessive.
But the pain persisted; every step aggravated the injury on his back, the pain being truly indescribable. After walking for a short while, the cloth covering his back was soaked with blood, sticking to his skin and flesh.
"I hope that Madam keeps her word and that I didn't suffer this beating for nothing."
Li Xian muttered something to himself and went straight into the inner courtyard. Upon seeing the lady, he cupped his hands and said, "Madam, I have returned with my cane."
"Turn around," Madam Wen said. After Li Xian turned around, revealing the terrible state of her back, her voice softened slightly: "Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt," Li Xian shook her head.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Madam Wen gently flicked her hand, and a gust of qi blew by. Li Xian felt as if his back was being cut by a knife.
Madam Wen said, "You mustn't hide anything from me. How could I not know if you're in pain?"
"You've learned your lesson this time, so you must remember it and never do it again."
Li Xian shook his head and said, "Li Xian dares not agree." Madam Wen frowned slightly.
Li Xian said again, "Thoughts are beyond one's control. I will certainly restrain my thoughts, but I dare not guarantee it completely, otherwise I would be deceiving you, Madam."
Madam Wen then relaxed her brows, "It's good that you're aware of this."
"The way of consuming essence... Speaking of which, Pang Long once asked me about it, but I didn't answer. Do you know why?"
Li Xian shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Madam Wen laughed and said, "Of course he is not qualified. Entering the realm of food essence is considered the beginning of transformation. But how can a martial artist who has undergone transformation be just a charlatan? If he were, wouldn't he be looked down upon?"
“I look down on him, so I’m too lazy to spread the word.”
"To be honest, the way of consuming essence is really nothing special in my eyes."
Li Xian felt sorry for Pang Long. Pang Long was loyal and devoted, yet he failed to win the favor of his wife. At the same time, she thought that if it weren't for her younger brother's ambition, leaving the manor would have been far better than staying there.
"You must have learned a lot about the so-called 'food essence' from Pang Long," Madam Wen said leisurely. "Why don't you share your insights first?"
Li Xian truthfully replied, "The Essence Absorption Realm is the process of digesting the essence of heaven and earth, causing the innate clay body to begin its transformation."
"That's right, I told Pang Long these things. The fact that he told you these things shows that you two have a good relationship." Madam Wen knew that Pang Long was loyal, and the fact that Li Xian was close to Pang Long further confirmed that he was also loyal.
He then added, "Did Pang Long also say that a clay-form martial artist should diligently practice martial arts, first filling his Qi lake, then circulating Qi throughout the body, and finally consolidating his blood and closing his orifices, then he can be considered to have made some initial progress?"
"After that... one can try to consume refined food and soup. This allows the essence of heaven and earth to enter the body, continuously entering and dispersing, repeating this process over and over again. This process is called 'washing the fetus'."
Li Xian nodded; he had indeed learned this from Pang Long.
"If I'm not mistaken, you are undergoing a fetal cleansing. Is there any precious essence to eat in Black River Village?" Madam Wen asked.
Li Xian felt there was no need to hide the matter of Crab Treasure, and that it was perfectly acceptable to talk about it, so he told her about Crab Treasure.
"I see."
Madam Wen nodded, but she looked down on this paltry sum. "You can take Pang Long's words with a grain of salt; they're not entirely true. He only has a superficial understanding of the 'Eating Essence Realm,' and the fact that he exhibited the characteristics of eating essence was purely accidental. In my opinion, he's still a flawed individual."
Even if you reach the Essence Absorption Realm, it's still just so-so.
"Leaky tire? What is a leaky tire?" Li Xian asked.
“If the fetal cleansing is not done properly, it will naturally result in a leaky fetus,” Madam Wen said. “The only way to achieve this is to seal the essence of heaven and earth within the body for as long as possible.”
"That's true... it does allow the body to retain the essence of heaven and earth, and to quickly develop the characteristics of consuming essence."
"But that's not right."
"When a martial artist is formed from clay, the essence of heaven and earth will inevitably dissipate. The real task during the cleansing stage is to guide the dissipation of the essence of heaven and earth. By dissipating it along the meridians and acupoints, the impurities of the fetus can be truly removed. Only in this way can it be considered a 'cleansing'."
"Therefore, some scions of noble families began to consume essence soup and undergo fetal cleansing from a young age."
"When they are able to circulate Qi throughout the body and solidify blood and close the orifices in the future, then they can let nature take its course, gradually retain the essence of heaven and earth, and try to truly digest it. They will then naturally enter the 'Essence Absorption Realm'."
Li Xian asked, "So, in fact, one doesn't need to circulate Qi throughout the body or seal the blood and close the orifices to consume refined food?"
“Yes,” the lady said. “The so-called first circulating of Qi throughout the body, then consolidating the blood and closing the orifices, and finally retaining the essence of heaven and earth is nothing but a misconception of unorthodox methods.”
"They had no way out and could only guess. So they naturally came to this conclusion. In reality, most self-taught martial arts practitioners don't even have the awareness to undergo a transformation."
"If one persists for a long time, one may eventually be considered a martial artist who consumes essence. But that's all one can achieve. As for immortality, that will be out of reach."
"You thought so before, didn't you?"
Li Xian wiped away a cold sweat, unsure whether it was the severe pain in his back that caused him to sweat profusely, or the realization that what he had heard and understood was actually a misguided path, but he felt a wave of fear.
“Indeed… I thought what Commander Pang said made a lot of sense, so…”
Madam Wen smiled and said, "Since you are working for me, you are no longer considered a nobody with no connections."
“I have a scroll called ‘The Prenatal Cleansing Diagram’. You should take it and memorize it. It records the flow of the essence of heaven and earth and how to remove the impurities from the fetus.”
"Once the impurities of the fetus are washed away, the body becomes clear and bright, and all the turbidity is gone, one is not far from the realm of nourishing essence."
Li Xian accepted the abortion-washing diagram, his joy barely concealed. This ordeal of torture had not been in vain. People often say that everything is difficult at the beginning. The most difficult part is that if you make a mistake at the start, everything will be in vain.
Li Xian asked, "Madam, I have another question I would like to ask for an answer."
"Speak," Madam Wen nodded.
"Are there any martial artists in this world who, after being cleansed by the essence of heaven and earth, gradually develop extraordinary phenomena and appearances?" Li Xian asked.
"You mean the [Transformation Form]?" Madam Wen nodded and said, "The martial arts are vast, and there is indeed a Transformation Form, and quite a few of them, but this matter is far removed from you, and you don't need to know about it for now."
Madam Wen sized up Li Xian, "Martial artists must avoid being overly ambitious. You should first master the 'Improving the Fetal Rebirth Technique.' Tomorrow, I need to open the cauldron to cook some fine food."
"You can give it a try."
...
...
The Supreme Court.
Li Xian summoned two maids who did laundry to help apply the medicine. He lay on the bed, his back covered in blood, a shocking sight. The maids tried their best to be gentle, afraid of hurting Li Xian, but he still winced in pain from time to time.
"What exactly did this commander do to deserve such punishment from the madam?" the maid asked curiously.
Li Xian was engrossed in the painting of washing the fetus.
"I see...I see..."
“The washing of the fetus, which is often overlooked by the world, is precisely the most important part.”
Li Xian suddenly realized. He was also secretly afraid. On the path of martial arts, one might be able to rely on oneself in the later stages, but without a guide in the early stages, it was truly impossible.
"The Prenatal Cleansing Diagram... uses intention and Qi as the guide, and body and breath as the lead, so that the essence of heaven and earth conforms to the texture, lines and meridians of the flesh. From the outside to the inside, from shallow to deep, it gradually washes away the five turbidities and impurities, revealing the true form of the original fetus."
"First wash the skin and flesh of the limbs, then wash the acupoints, internal organs, and nine orifices of the body... When the whole body is thoroughly cleansed and free from turbidity, the mind is clear and the will is true."
"What's so difficult about entering the realm of food essence?"
"Start preparing fine food tomorrow, and try this 'washing the fetus' method. The quality of the lady's fine food will definitely be better than those mountain crabs..."
Li Xian's eyes were bright; the Great Dao of Food Essence had dispersed the clouds and mist, and was right before his eyes.
(End of this chapter)
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