Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 16: Enlightenment Through Swordplay Under the Moon – A Gifted Talent
Under the moonlight, Chen Jin was practicing his sword.

He has now mastered the eight sword moves of the "Huang Ting Yang Wu Sword" quite well, and they have become quite lethal.

Each sword strike produced a sharp, hissing sound.

But as I said before, what we have mastered at this stage is only the superficial techniques; we have not grasped the true essence of swordsmanship.

True understanding requires a solid foundation and cannot be achieved overnight.

It's not that cheap.

No matter how much you emphasize mindset and stream of consciousness, you can't achieve invincibility out of thin air.

That would only lead to working in isolation, being impractical, and constituting "daydreaming" and "delusion."

Swish!
Sword-splitting style.

*Smack!*

With a crisp sound, the wooden sword broke apart under the force.

He gazed thoughtfully at the broken sword.

The eight sword techniques include four moves: the cleaving sword move, the cutting sword move, the intercepting sword move, and the collapsing sword move. These four moves are characterized by their fierce and powerful nature.
The core principle of the last four moves—pointing sword, thrusting sword, slicing sword, and lifting sword—is "softness."

In comparison, which is superior, "hard" or "soft"?
At first, Chen Jin thought that it was easier to exert force with a strong, open, and direct approach.

The application of soft power, however, places more emphasis on technique and is therefore more difficult.

But with daily dedication to practice, new understandings and insights emerged.

It turns out that being strong and powerful is not easy at all.

This is because the design and construction of swords are not heavy weapons; they are made relatively light and thin, so the most suitable technique is the rapier style.

In actual combat, things change in an instant, and relying on a single sword style will appear extremely monotonous and weak.

That's why there are eight sword moves, covering all aspects and enough to deal with various situations.

Using a sword to unleash a powerful move naturally increases the difficulty. If the weapon is of poor quality, it will be difficult to withstand the force, resulting in breakage or damage.

For example, this rough wooden sword.

It's time to get a really good sword.

A greatsword would be best.

It is specifically used to practice the first four moves, to thoroughly understand the power, and then gradually practice the last four moves.

In this way, with a focus, the effect should be better.

As for the money to buy the sword, it had already been arranged. Only a small portion was given to my uncle; the bulk of it was still on him. In addition to silver ingots, he also had a large gold ingot.

After gaining insight, he threw away the broken sword in his hand, saw that the moonlight was just right, and began to meditate.

With each day of practice, his understanding of the Six Qi Correct Position Method deepened, and he increasingly discovered its profound and extensive nature.

This can be considered a complete and excellent cultivation manual, but its effects on strengthening the body, nourishing health, and curing diseases are only at the beginner level.

When the upper limit is reached, one can directly reach the path to immortality.

The formula is clearly divided into two parts, upper and lower.

The upper part can be called "Six-Character Qi Cultivation," which utilizes the functions of the lips, teeth, throat, and tongue. Through changes in mouth shape, it revolves around the six movements of "blowing, sighing, exhaling, exhaling, sipping, and sipping," thereby guiding the flow of qi and blood and strengthening the five internal organs.

This starting method is quite different from traditional martial arts. Martial arts training is basically about opening the mind and opening the eight extraordinary meridians, which then converge with the twelve regular meridians to form a complete circulation.

The twelve meridians of the human body are naturally open, which is a great natural advantage for human cultivation and practice.

If meridians and acupoints are like streams and puddles, then the five internal organs are like rivers, seas, and lakes with their own sources.

Traditional methods of circulating energy through the body nourish and strengthen rivers, lakes, and seas, achieving significant results from small beginnings and progressing steadily.
The Six Qi Correct Position Method directly strengthens and builds the internal organs, making the Qi and blood vigorous, and then irrigates and unblocks the limbs and bones, as well as the meridians and acupoints throughout the body.

Neither method is inherently superior or inferior; it depends on the specific guidance of the method.

It is certain that refining the five internal organs is more difficult than opening up the meridians and acupoints.

Whether you start with the easy path and then move to the difficult one, or vice versa, in the end, the paths lead to the same destination.

The quality of a cultivation technique manual is determined by whether it contains higher-level methods and key techniques. In the lower part of the "Six Qi Positioning Method," once the internal organs have reached a suitable strength, one can "guide Qi into the body."

Only then does one truly engage with the six natural elements of the seasons, namely "wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire," thus entering the realm of "those who nourish qi attain enlightenment and longevity."

Because the method is complete and comprehensive, this breathing technique is undoubtedly a "fundamental method".

However, Chen Jin is currently only in the early stage of "refining essence into qi", so it is too early to talk about cultivating immortality and longevity.

The four stages of cultivation are: refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, and refining emptiness into the Dao.

Each stage is further divided into early, middle, and late stages, totaling twelve realms.

The number twelve aligns with the grand principles of Heaven and has its own significance. It's used in things like the Earthly Branches for the Chinese zodiac, and in the months and hours of the day.

The Six Qi Correct Position Method is the fundamental method, while the Yellow Court Nourishing Sword belongs to the applied techniques. The two complement each other and are indispensable.

……

After completing the breathing exercise, I immediately felt light and refreshed.

This is the perfect time to learn new things.

Chen Jin immediately took out the jade slip and examined it carefully.

On the market, there are all sorts of media used to record martial arts manuals. The most common are paper, followed by cloth, leather, etc. The use of jade alone demonstrates its extraordinary nature.

This jade slip is of excellent quality, with a smooth and lustrous texture, and feels very good to the touch.

However, there are no specific words on it, only a mysterious rune. How should one begin cultivating it?

After examining the jade slip repeatedly, he placed it in front of him, concentrated his mind, and visualized the runes.

Not long after, it seemed like only a moment had passed.

Buzz!

There was a strange movement between his brows; the runes were deciphered and transformed into a text, which appeared directly in his sea of ​​consciousness, becoming a memory of experience.

There is a book called "The Theory of the Investigation of Things in the Five Elements".

"I've already learned it?"

Chen Jin was stunned for a moment, then reached out and picked up the jade slip, only to find that the runes on it were like ink that had been soaked in water, quickly becoming a complete mess.

*Smack*

The jade slip shattered, falling to the ground like crumpled dough.

"I see……"

He murmured, realizing that this method of transmitting the Dharma was novel and extraordinary, just as the saying goes, "There is a difference between immortals and mortals."

This is because the "Treatise on the Investigation of Things in the Five Elements" is a "true" manual with a very high threshold. Ordinary people, such as Wang Fu, even if they study it for a year and a half, or even ten or eight years, will not be able to get a foothold in it, as if they are facing a wordless book.

They could only learn through detailed handwritten copies.

But there are more variables when copying by hand.

For example, the introductory version of "The Six Qi Correct Position Method" handwritten by Chen Jin to his uncle Chen Tan is a first-hand material, genuine and of considerable value;
If Chen Tan were to make another copy by hand and give it to someone else, it would be a secondhand copy.

Actually, this is a relatively orderly and verifiable way of inheritance.

When these books hit the market, they were a mixed bag, with all sorts of handwritten copies flooding the market. Most people couldn't tell the difference between genuine and fake, and were easily deceived, wasting their money, time, and energy.

Chen Jin opened his vital energy channels and reached the Niwan point, which qualified him to analyze the true runes.

Linghu Xueli once said that this weapon-refining method is extremely profound and difficult, and not so easy to learn.

But Chen Jin found it easy and quickly grasped it.

He didn't think Linghu Xueli said this intentionally; it was meaningless. It's just that there's no unified standard to judge between difficulty and ease; you have to look at the reference point, just like the story of the little horse crossing the river.

The most likely explanation is that Chen Jin's opening of the Niwan acupoint was exceptionally advanced.

To put it bluntly, he is exceptionally gifted!

(End of this chapter)