Chapter 232 - 226: Secluded Cultivation

Chapter 232: Chapter 226: Secluded Cultivation

Madam Ding sat quietly before the desk. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a soft, gentle voice that nonetheless carried an inexplicable firmness. "Everything Ding Xiang has today is largely thanks to you, sir.

Whatever you wish to do, sir, you need only command it. Ding Xiang will follow with all her strength and never shrink back."

"You... you haven’t changed one bit. You’re saying the same thing you did twelve years ago."

The man’s gaze was as gentle as ever. He looked at her and sighed softly. "But times are different now.

Even if you are willing, I can no longer act so rashly on sheer bravado, like I did back then.

I have to... first plan an escape route."

He paused in thought, his voice growing a little deeper. "Before long, I fear there will be no place for us in this vast Shenghai.

I have thought of a few places we could go. If you’re willing... you can come with me when the time comes."

Madam Ding’s gaze flickered. Before she could respond, the man’s tone suddenly shifted. The gravity receded like a tide, replaced by a lightheartedness. "Enough of that. We can discuss these things later.

Regarding the matter of the gold, it’s largely thanks to you coordinating everything from behind the scenes. I heard your nephew was incredibly brave, protecting Li Huaisuang all by himself for a long time. And in the end, it was entirely thanks to the capable and unusual people under his command that the gold was saved?"

Hearing the man bring this up, a genuine smile spread across Madam Ding’s face. She nodded and said, "My nephew, Lingjun, can be a bit flamboyant and wild, but he always pulls off something amazing when it counts.

He is truly reliable when he gets things done. He’s never let anyone down."

"If you have time today, bring him over. I’d like to meet him."

"I’m afraid today won’t work..."

Madam Ding thought for a moment, then said helplessly, "I’ve only seen him twice since the incident on Minor New Year. The boy is so secretive these days, I have no idea what he’s busy with.

Once things here are settled, I’ll pick another day and formally bring him to pay his respects."

"Then it’s settled," the man said with a broad smile.

The words had barely left his mouth when a knock came from the study door. The lighthearted conversation in the room came to an abrupt halt.

"Come in."

The man’s voice was calm once more.

The door opened, and a person walked in quickly, reporting in a low voice, "Mr. Wen, Li Mingyi has arrived."

A glint flashed in the man’s eyes. He mused for a moment, then stubbed out the cigarette between his fingers. He stood up and, with a smile, said to Madam Ding, "Moshan, how about you come with me to meet this ’great talent of our generation’ who has shaken the world?"

"Yes."

.....

The lead-gray firmament was like a giant, low-hanging curtain, filtering a bleak light through the heavy cloud cover.

The ochre river water and the gray-blue seawater churned violently here, refusing to mix and forming a turbid, turbulent, chaotic expanse. God only knew how many surging undercurrents existed beneath the surface.

In the distance, the long blast of a cargo ship’s horn occasionally sounded. Seagulls drifted over the sea’s surface, swaying like torn white scraps of paper.

This was the estuary of the Huangling River, the point where its current was most rapid. Not even the most experienced and confident "sea bouncers" dared to enter the water here lightly. Only during the calmest period of the year would large, deep-draft, and daring ships risk passing through.

At this moment, on the shore of these churning, angry waves, dozens of formidable men dressed in black were scattered about. Each held a firearm, their faces alert as they stood guard.

From time to time, they would cast their gazes toward the river’s surface not far away, a hint of reverence in their eyes.

An unknown amount of time passed. The river wind, sharp as a knife, felt like it could slice a man’s skin and freeze his blood.

"SPLASH—"

A splash suddenly echoed from the heart of the river, as if a large fish had leaped in surprise.

A moment later, the river waves near the shore began to part unnaturally to either side, froth churning.

From within the turbid waves, the tall, slender figure of a young man emerged. As if walking on solid ground, he stepped on the surging waves one after another, calmly making his way to the shore.

The black-clad men waiting on the shore straightened up, their spirits lifted. They quickly gathered around him, the reverence in their eyes deepening.

A giant of a man, built like an iron tower, reacted the fastest. The moment the figure appeared, he charged forward. Though built like a mountain, his movements were as nimble and swift as a cheetah’s, leaving only a few shallow footprints on the soft tidal flats.

The giant reached the water’s edge and respectfully draped a large, dry towel, which he had prepared earlier, over the man. He then carefully wiped away the cold river water that dripped incessantly from his hair and body.

The man who had walked out of the river rubbed his wet hair with the towel, revealing a face of almost excessive beauty.

His figure was well-proportioned, and his skin glowed like jade under the bleak light. At first glance, he looked like a wealthy Young Master who had decided to go for a winter swim on a whim.

Fu Juemin gave his body a quick wipe with the towel to dry the surface water. He then circulated his Qi Blood slightly, and plumes of white steam instantly rose from the pores all over his body. In a moment, all remaining dampness and cold were driven away, leaving him completely dry.

Too lazy to put on cumbersome clothing, he simply draped a soft bathrobe over himself and went straight into the windproof tent his subordinates had set up on the shore.

The tent was pleasantly warm. A smokeless charcoal stove burned brightly, and on it, a pot of coffee bubbled, "GURGLE GURGLE," its aroma filling the air.

Fu Juemin sat on a soft couch covered with a thick blanket. He took the hot coffee offered by his subordinate and took a sip. As the warmth spread through him, his thoughts settled, and he began to review the gains and losses of his underwater cultivation session.

He had currently reached Great Success in Tongxuan. He had already opened all his Hidden Acupoints through "brute force," and now, only the final step of "Perception Tempering" separated him from the Gratitude Sensing Realm.

In Fu Juemin’s view, the so-called "Perception Tempering" was all about excavating and amplifying one’s own "Sixth Sense" to the absolute limit—or, to put it more simply, "intuition."

Everyone has this intuition. Even ordinary people have the instinct to sense danger in advance.

During their years of Body Forging, a Martial Artist’s "intuition" is continuously amplified and strengthened. The Gratitude realm of the Martial Dao is about completely awakening this potential and transforming it into a clear perception that is almost like a "superpower."

During the battle at the Dragon Gate Water Gate, Yu Zhonggui, a master who had reached Great Success in the Toad Palace Gratitude Realm, had mocked Fu Juemin’s use of Vitality as crude and unbearable, saying it was nothing like what a Gratitude Sensing Realm expert should display.

His assessment was not wrong in the slightest. Fu Juemin was indeed not in the "Gratitude Sensing Realm"; he hadn’t even been in the Tongxuan Realm for very long.

Generally speaking, advancing from the Tongxuan to the Gratitude realm requires several steps—

Step one: Vitality Tempering.

Also known as "Shape Control."

It emphasizes multitasking, and there are many methods. For example, the simplest is drawing a circle with the left hand while drawing a square with the right, or using both hands and feet to draw and write, and so on.

A more advanced practice requires simultaneously controlling multiple strands of Vitality to circulate along different paths within the body, moving them through more complex cycles to train absolute, fine-tuned control over one’s Vitality.

Step two: Qi Cultivation of Transformation.

This step varies from person to person, depending on the type and style of Martial Arts they practice.

There is the water method—standing under a waterfall or in a swift current, one uses Palm Force or Finger Wind to draw patterns in the water or strike fixed river stones, feeling the resistance and changes in the water to pursue the condensation and penetration of Force.

There is the Fire Refining method—from a distance, one uses Palm Wind to control a candle flame, making it brighten, dim, and flicker without being extinguished, or even splitting the flame. This trains the endurance, flexibility, and temperature control of one’s Vitality.

There is the Gold Refining method—using Vitality from the fingertips, without physical contact, to make copper coins tremble slightly or flip over. This pursues the sharpness and precision of one’s Vitality.

And so on.

Only by reaching Perfection in both steps can one complete the "internal and external convergence, refining perception to the smallest detail," advance to the Gratitude realm, and achieve the Profound state of "Summer Cicada Feels Autumn, Ice Carp Knows Snow."

However, in the Tongxuan Realm, Fu Juemin had skipped all of these steps entirely.

Now, he wanted to skip them again, so he was using a "Heart Cultivation" method recorded in the *Spirit and Body Cultivation Book*.

This method did not follow a gradual progression but sought instant success—it required the practitioner to place themselves directly in a perilous situation, on the razor’s edge between life and death, to force out the most primitive instincts of Life and capture a wisp of spiritual light, thereby forcibly breaking through.

That was why, in the dead of winter, he had sought out this spot at the mouth of the Huangling River—where the current was fiercest and the undercurrents most treacherous—to submerge himself in the river’s heart and cultivate.

After several attempts, there were indeed some results, but perhaps it was because he had [Shadow Control] to save his life. He was fully aware that no matter how recklessly he behaved or how close to death he pushed himself in the water, he would ultimately be fine.

Or perhaps it was simply because he had skipped the step of "refining perception to the smallest detail," and so, each time, he was just a little bit off, never quite able to cross that final threshold.