232: Get beaten, flushed, hammered into right and wrong

His Heart-Nature was restless; making him sit still was more agonizing than torture.

He would either fidget like he had nails in his backside, or his eyelids would droop, yawning constantly, his thoughts long since having flown to the clouds, pondering which restaurant in the capital had the most fragrant roast chicken.

Lu Jiuyuan didn't rush him; he would just occasionally pass by and casually flick out a wisp of finger wind, either striking one of his Acupoints, causing him unbearable soreness and numbness, or interrupting his nap, making him jolt awake.

After several such instances, Cheng Shifei finally understood that this "uncle" was serious, and his methods were "ruthless." He had no choice but to compose himself and try to sense and guide the True Qi within him, which darted about like a mischievous child.

After several days, progress was minimal.

Cheng Shifei said dejectedly, "Uncle, this method is too slow! I feel like I'm casting pearls before swine, no, it's the swine casting pearls before me! This True Qi simply won't obey!"

Lu Jiuyuan glanced at him and said calmly, "Sitting still is like water; it refines the Heart-Nature. If your Heart-Nature is restless, your efforts will naturally be half-effective. Since still cultivation isn't working, let's switch to dynamic cultivation."

"Dynamic cultivation? That's great! Are you going to teach me powerful Moves now?" Cheng Shifei's eyes lit up.

"No, it's getting beaten up."

"Huh?"

Before Cheng Shifei could react, Lu Jiuyuan's figure flickered, and he was already in front of him, striking out with a palm.

This palm strike seemed slow but contained a strange force that sealed off all of Cheng Shifei's escape routes.

"Bang!"

Cheng Shifei only felt a great force, a dull ache in his chest, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into the courtyard wall, making dust fall in a flurry.

"Circulate your Qi to resist!" Lu Jiuyuan shouted.

Cheng Shifei grimaced as he climbed up, instinctively circulating True Qi to protect himself. But his True Qi was chaotic; just as he managed to gather a little, Lu Jiuyuan's second palm strike arrived.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

For the next hour, Cheng Shifei's screams and the dull thud of his body hitting the ground echoed through the separate courtyard.

Lu Jiuyuan struck with great precision, never truly inflicting heavy injuries but ensuring Cheng Shifei felt the pain and pressure squarely.

Under this extreme pressure, the True Qi hidden within Cheng Shifei was instinctively stimulated, beginning to surge more actively, attempting to protect its master.

However, his control was too poor; often, just as True Qi surged to one spot, Lu Jiuyuan's force would attack another, leaving him overwhelmed and in a sorry state.

Yunluo watched from the side, her heart pounding with both distress and anxiety, but she dared not speak to disturb them.

"Feel the flow of True Qi! Pain is the best teacher; it will tell you where True Qi should go!"

Lu Jiuyuan's calm voice came, accompanied by another palm strike.

Cheng Shifei was dizzy from the blows, but he gradually began to discern something.

In the moments of being hit repeatedly, he could indeed vaguely feel that the True Qi in certain Meridian areas within his body would spontaneously gather. Although still chaotic, it was much faster than when he deliberately guided it himself.

The "beating" training continued for several days. Cheng Shifei's resistance to blows and his speed in mobilizing True Qi under pressure indeed improved, but he was still far from "controlling it at will, with Qi moving as he pleased."

One day, Lu Jiuyuan brought the bruised and swollen Cheng Shifei to a secluded valley outside the city.

In the valley was a waterfall, like a milky way pouring down, roaring as it crashed into the deep pool below, mist swirling, creating an astonishing spectacle.

"Uncle, why did you bring me here? To bathe?"

Cheng Shifei looked at the rushing water and swallowed.

"The impact of the waterfall, with its immense force, is omnipresent. It's an excellent place to temper the Physical Body and force True Qi to circulate spontaneously."

Lu Jiuyuan pointed to a protruding boulder in the middle of the waterfall. "Take off your clothes, go up there, stand under it, and use your cultivation to resist the impact of the water flow until you can stabilize your body and feel that True Qi can naturally circulate to protect you under the impact."

Cheng Shifei looked at the water flow that seemed capable of smashing bones, his legs feeling a bit shaky: "Uncle, this... isn't this a bit too extreme? I think getting beaten up is quite good..."

"You don't have to go," Lu Jiuyuan said unhurriedly. "If a man isn't tough, how can he protect the woman he loves? If you don't agree, I don't agree either!

I don't agree with Yunluo marrying you, and I'll persuade my imperial nephew and Empress Dowager sister not to agree either."

"Who said I wanted to marry her? Uncle, don't talk nonsense..."

"Who was it who, upon first meeting, shamelessly called me uncle? You brat, anyone can see through your little schemes at a glance. Are you going or not? If not, I'm leaving."

"Don't! I'll go! Can't I just go!"

Upon hearing it concerned Yunluo, Cheng Shifei immediately gritted his teeth, stripped off his clothes, took a deep breath, and leaped towards the boulder.

"Boom—!"

As soon as he landed on the boulder, the massive current of water crashed down on his head, shoulders, and back like a heavy hammer!

He groaned, nearly swept directly into the pool, and quickly used both hands and feet to cling desperately to the edge of the rock, circulating all his cultivation to resist.

That feeling was a hundred times more unbearable than being beaten by Lu Jiuyuan!

Lu Jiuyuan had held back, but this waterfall showed no mercy.

The water flow was all-pervasive, its power relentless, impacting him until his ears buzzed, his vision blurred, and his bones seemed to groan.

The True Qi within him was thoroughly stimulated by this immense pressure, like a startled wild horse, frantically rushing through his Meridians, attempting to resist the external oppression.

Lu Jiuyuan stood by the pool, his gaze like a torch, fixed intently on Cheng Shifei in the waterfall.

How sharp his eyesight was; in this extreme state, every subtle change in Cheng Shifei's body—the bulging of his muscles, the surging of his Qi and blood, and even the uncontrolled dissipation of True Qi fluctuations—was clearly visible to him.

The patterns drawn on his body and the Secret Manual written on it were all etched into his mind.

These were not important; the most crucial thing was that when the water impact reached a certain critical point, and Cheng Shifei subconsciously wanted to activate some deeper power,

A faint, almost imperceptible golden glow would faintly appear on his body surface. Although it flashed and disappeared, and did not form a complete Invincible Vajra body,

Lu Jiuyuan keenly captured the unique signs of Qi and blood condensation and True Qi internalizing like steel before its operation.

Cheng Shifei knew that his Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill could only be used 5 times in his life, so he would never use it unless he was in extreme danger.

It was likely his body instinctively wanted to activate it, but he suppressed the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill.

"It's right here..."

Lu Jiuyuan silently recited, firmly imprinting in his mind the trajectory of Cheng Shifei's True Qi circulation at that moment, the nodes of Qi and blood surging, and even the subtle vibrations of his muscles and fascia.

Cheng Shifei struggled under the waterfall. Every time he felt he was reaching his limit, about to be swept away or knocked unconscious, a wisp of pure cultivation would surge out, helping him maintain his position.

In this repeated cycle of extreme pressure and potential activation, his perception of his own True Qi and his weak guiding ability actually grew rapidly.