Poison God's Heritage

Chapter 27: Star Technique

"This must be it," I thought to myself.

I opened the book and read :

***

Stars are beacons of the never-ending universe, they guide the way for lost travelers and help light the dim and dark space.

They can be a great source of power were to harness the energy emanating from these ancient globes.

To cultivate the energy of the stars one must follow the following diagram.

***

I saw a sketch of a person sitting in the lotus position with a small rock in his hands under a starry night sky.

He held the rock and the energy from the stars began surging into the rock and then seeped into him. They didn’t need to go through his meridians but the skin of his body acted as a white sheet being inked on. It gathered the energy and empowered the character.

This seemed to be simple enough, and I wanted to try it, but it was still morning and this technique seemed to be only applicable during the night.

Still, this begs the question, stars are always existent, so why should we only cultivate in the night?

I thought about this and then decided to start learning this technique. Even if it was daytime.

But, I was still missing something, the small rock that the man was holding. Perhaps it’s a stone from outer space, this is what my hunch is telling me. Is it focusing the energy of the stars though? Is it needed?

I kept on reading through the manual, and all I had to add to my prior hunch that the star was actually a moonstone, and they are abundant. It wouldn’t be difficult to find it in the pavilion.

As for all the cultivators of this type of style, they all start by cultivating the energy of the moon, then the sun then the stars of the starry night. They finally end up choosing one of the stars as their main and focal energy point, and whenever that star is aligned with the planet. The cultivator will be able to gain immense power.

The distance to the said star from the world plays a vital role. The farther it is, the more powerful the energy, but at the same time, the longer it would take for the star to power up the cultivator.

There was a lot to explore in this technique and I was hoping to learn more, but by the time I finished reading the manual, it was already noon.

I stood up and walked towards the main palace of the Purple Cloud sect, I needed to be in time to cure the Sect Master and I don’t think she would like it if I kept her waiting.

Once I arrived at the sect master’s chambers, I saw several elders waiting at her doorsteps, while none were granted access.

I waited patiently among the crowd until Disciple Xue, the girl I had treated yesterday spotted me and beckoned me to come over.

I nodded and came to her in a hurry under the calculative gaze of many elders.

"The Sect Master is waiting for you Junior Brother Shen Bao." Sister Xue said in a gleeful tone.

It seems that having treated her, she warmed up to me nicely.

"Let’s go in then, we wouldn’t want the sect master to have to wait. And frankly speaking, the rest of the elders are staring daggers at me, it feels like I did something wrong," I said in a hushed tone.

"Well, you still have a long way to go, most elders can easily hear what you said even if you said it in a low tone, I’ll teach you how to send your thoughts secretly once you reach Foundation Establishment."

"Disciple Xue!" one of the elders shouted, "What’s the meaning of this? Who is this brat and how come he gets to be heard and at the presence of the Sect master before us!"

"Elder Jin. He was specifically asked to come over by the Sect master, if you have any complaint I’ll forward them to her immediately."

The elder scrunched up his nostrils and hmphed loudly. He was dissatisfied but not enough to want to cross the sect master’s order of bringing me before anyone else.

Signior sister Xue opened the door for me, and once I was inside she pulled on the hem of my robe and said, "I don’t want to be rude for asking this, but could you find some time to help my sister with her hands?"

"I will once I’m done with the sect master, don’t worry. We don’t want her to be jealous or feel left out."

"Thank you so much, she was really embarrassed to ask of you directly, not after her reaction yesterday."

"Yeah, I almost lost my head there, but it’s to be expected, she really cares for you and she seems to be of a pure heart. I’ll see to her right after this."

"What are you lot talking about, Shen Bao, get your behind over here and start the treatment, I’m getting restless."

"I’m on my way Sect Master," I replied and hastily went behind the sect master and placed my hands on her shoulders, and began absorbing the poison.

Hours later I decided it was time to take a break, I was about to breakthrough and I needed to stabilize my cultivation. This method of cultivation is free of charge and amazing at the same time.

"Why did you stop?" the sect master asked though the redness of her flushed face suggested that she also needed a break.

"Sect master, I’m about to break through, and I need to stop for a while, once I reach the peak of Qi condensation. I’ll continue."

"Go ahead then, start your breakthrough."

I nodded and sat down. It was easy to rotate the poison Qi I just took from the sect master, and it spiraled fast enough for me to almost feel like I was about to lose control of it.

"Breath, Shen Bao! I don’t want you to go on a cultivation deviation right now. Breath in."

I did as told and suddenly the cultivation speed slowed down to a reasonable yet fast enough speed.

An explosion of energy immediately followed after and I found myself at the peak of the Qi condensation level.

"Nice!"

"Start cementing your foundation. Keep rotating the newfound energy and move it toward your newly unlocked meridians."

I did as the sect master said, though a bit differently. The breakthrough allowed me to sense even more parts of my body and I began channeling the Qi towards them. It then began condensing into my bones and marrow.

I started to sweat heavily, almost as if I was in a sauna. A green sheen of energy covered my body. Every fiber and every muscle tissue began vibrating, being enhanced and reinforced with the energy I just obtained. Old muscle tissue began to rejuvenate and my old weak bones felt as if they were being polished and nourished, the old bone became new and the weak body began to regain the strength of youth.

Suddenly I spewed out a foul black breath.

The sect master looked at me in the eyes and said, "You seem rather different... it feels as if you become younger. Perhaps I’m mistaken."

Actually, she was not wrong, I felt that some of the wrinkles I had around my eyes had lessened, and a good deal of annoying pustules that were on my back had completely disappeared.

"Thank you for the compliment, I’m ready to start the second session. But sect master I have a small request."

"Ask," she said.

"Right, now, I’ve been absorbing the poison Qi from your shoulders for the past two days, but it would be far more efficient if I were to change the position of absorption."

"Then do as you think would be best, why ask for my opinion."

"Because it might become awkward and I wouldn’t want to embarrass sect master."

"I’m not a little girl, brat, if it’s for healing, touching my breasts or thighs isn’t going to get me all flustered and red like a teenager girl. Do what you must, I have far greater worries than being touched by a man."

"Quite sensible, then, I won’t be polite," I said and placed my hands between her chest. This was the central area of her body, and the moment I placed my hands I noticed a small flush on her cheeks. She might sound and act tough, but in the end, she is still a woman.

I immediately started absorbing the poison as to not let her or my thoughts wander. The poison immediately began seeping into my body and was continuously being destroyed by the Bone and Body grinding poison, then remodeled into poison Qi that my body was able to process and use.

I also felt that when I reached the peak of Qi condensation, I was able to absorb even more poison, and was able to process a greater amount to my benefit.

Hours went by and by the end of the day, the sect master had no ice covering her at all. She looked perfect. Still, she was like a statue sitting on that chair of hers.

"Now, I’ve gotten rid of all of the Poison around your body, but for you to regain movement, I’ll need to remove the poison inside you. It’s heavily entangled with your bones muscles and joints. This will be far slower and more difficult as I’ll need to be careful."

"Do what you please, at least now, I’m able to feel the warmth of the weather, instead of the coldness of that ice block I was in."

"Right, in five days, you’ll be able to move freely, please be patient," I replied.

"You may leave." The sect master said.

"Right, but I still need to help your other disciple. Where is she?"

"Xian’Er, come here," the sect master said and her disciple immediately walked in.

After a few moments of screaming and pained grunts, Xian Er was finally healed up."

"I’m really exhausted and would like to rest for a while."

"Wait, have you started practicing the Start Technique?" asked the sect master.

"I’ve just learned the basics, I’ll try and find time for that later, also I’m still lacking a moonstone. I’ll check out at the pavilion."

"Don’t worry about the moonstone, elder Lao will have some prepared for you. But I’m afraid that the treatment of myself is taking its toll on you and consuming your time of cultivation."

"It’s okay, don’t forget that I’m actually passively cultivating when I’m here so it’s not a big deal, I’ll find time to cultivate the star technique once I have fully organized myself."

"Thank you for your aid, now you may leave."

I nodded at the sect master and left the hall, the elders were still standing at the door, and they still were not allowed entry. It was rather awkward as I walked out and disciple Xue said to the elders that the sect master was too exhausted to meet anyone.

Some of them started shouting at the injustice of having to wait all day while some unknown ’brat’ was able to see the sect master.

But I didn’t give them any heeds I still have a lot to do. Mainly cultivating that star technique.

*******

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