Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 13 Five Internal Organs Fist

The earthen-yellow city wall of Qingyang Prefecture stood far at the end of the official road, like a piece of yellow millet cake that had been left out for too long, dry and hard, with cracks everywhere.

Qi Yun followed behind Xuan Jizi, trudging through the desolate landscape into the city.

A troop of soldiers blocked the city gate. Their armor was worn and tattered, but their eyes were like hooks, scrutinizing everyone who entered the city.

The knife tip was gleaming, and I gripped it so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

The air was thick with the stench of sweat and dust.

In ancient times, a travel permit was required to enter a city, and Qi Yun naturally did not have one.

Fortunately, the old Taoist had his junior brother's ordination certificate. According to him, his junior brother Xuanqing had died many years ago while slaying demons and monsters after going down the mountain, and his ordination certificate had never been cancelled by the government. He gave it to Qi Yun at this moment.

Their turn came quickly.

After confirming that the travel permit was correct, they began to check their luggage and personal belongings.

The soldier's hands were rough and hard as he groped the two men, even untying their satchels and shaking them.

It takes half a day to finish checking.

In the end, the old Taoist secretly handed the other party a few copper coins, and only then did the other party wave him away!

Upon entering the city, the hustle and bustle hit me.

There were notices posted on the earthen wall next to the city gate, the paper colors were a mix of new and old.

Most of them are old bounties, depicting indistinct figures of bandits.

The paste on the two newly pasted sheets was not completely dry.

One of the notices was from Zhang Dashan, the owner of "Zhang's Silk Shop" in the city. It read in black and white that "a baby's cry was heard in the middle of the night, and it was suspected that a vengeful ghost was causing trouble." He offered a large sum of money to hire a Taoist priest to exorcise the evil spirit.

The other one, however, was a notice from the government.

The drawing was hastily done, but half of a beautiful woman's face could be vaguely discerned, with willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, quite charming; the other half, however, resembled a skinned raccoon, with bulging muscles, bulging blue eyes, and fangs protruding from its lips, ferocious and terrifying.

Below, written in red ink, is the inscription: "Ten miles outside the city, on a slope, a wicked demon wreaks havoc and devours people! A reward is offered to eliminate it."

Qi Yun stared at the face that was half beauty and half demon, and his stomach churned.

The "Yuelai" Inn in the west of the city had a catchy name, but it was just an empty shell.

The doors were worn and the counter was covered in dust.

The innkeeper was a withered old man with droopy eyelids. When he saw that it was a poor Taoist priest with a strange boy, he simply raised his chin and pointed to the innermost room.

The room was so small that there was barely room to turn around; it contained a bed, a table, and a stool, and the smell of mildew was mixed with the smell of dust.

The window paper was torn in several places, and the wind leaked in, whistling and sobbing.

Xuanjizi put down his satchel, said only "I have something to do," and then turned and left.

The figure in the tattered Taoist robe disappeared into the dimly lit corridor, his footsteps silent.

Those who cultivate the Tao are usually aloof, but Qi Yun's experience in the Ghost Realm has shown him that the old Taoist is cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

They didn't take it seriously at all!
Qi Yun closed the door, making the room even darker.

He walked to the table and sat down; a thin layer of dust had accumulated on the surface.

He reached into his robes, his fingertips touching a thin booklet. He pulled it out; it was a thread-bound book.

The paper had a strange dark red hue, as if it had been soaked in aged cinnabar, or as if it had been stained with blood and then dried and solidified into an ochre color.

The cover features five ancient seal characters in deep, rich ink.

Five Internal Organs Fist

"The beginning of the Great Dao, the foundation of the five internal organs..." Xuanjizi's words when he handed over the booklet this morning still echoed in my ears. "Now I accept you as a disciple in name only. The formal disciple assessment will last for six months to test your character and talent!"
This boxing technique is for you to comprehend on your own; you must not ask me for guidance. It is also a test of your comprehension. If you fail the test after six months, our connection will end here!

Qi Yun recalled the old Taoist's words.

The book contains no complicated text, but mostly human figures outlined in ink, with simple and archaic postures, like monkeys stretching their arms or cranes flapping their wings.

The textual annotations are also brief, only a few words pointing out the mechanism of breathing and the place of spiritual observation.

This boxing style involves externally moving the muscles and bones, using form to guide qi, and using qi to nourish the internal organs. It harmonizes the five elements, strengthens the foundation, and cultivates vitality.

"Human life is the gathering of vital energy. When it gathers, there is life; when it disperses, there is death."

The five internal organs are the pivot of the human body and the foundation of life.

When one's vital energy is abundant, one's spirit is vigorous; when one's vital energy is deficient, one'

To strengthen the body's foundation and nourish its vital energy, one should first strengthen the Qi of the five internal organs.

Guide the breath to be harmonious, and guide the body to be supple.

"The liver (wood element) generates and flourishes, the mind focuses on the Zhangmen point (BL33); the lungs (metal element) descend and cleanse, the Qi sinks to the Zhongfu point (BL14)."

He stood up in the center of the narrow room and slowly began to rise according to the diagram.

Raise both hands from the lower abdomen, with the ten fingers slightly bent as if holding an invisible pearl. This is the "Holding the Elixir Posture", which opens the gateway to the internal organs.

The moment you move, a feeling of stiffness arises from your limbs and bones, as if your muscles are bound by invisible vines, and every stretching pulls at a deep, subtle pain.

The second move, "Azure Dragon Probing Claws," involves the left arm thrusting out diagonally like a whip, with the fingertips lightly touching the Zhangmen acupoint on the left rib.

Before the movement was even halfway done, a sharp, aching sensation suddenly exploded from under my ribs!

The liver felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, or as if a dull knife was scraping and grinding between the fascia.

Qi Yun let out a muffled groan, cold sweat instantly soaking his temples, and his movements involuntarily froze.

"Keep your mind focused and upright, let your energy follow your form..." The words in the book came to mind.

He mustered his strength and gritted his teeth to continue the performance.

The third move, "White Tiger Pressing Clouds," involves pressing both palms down on the center of the chest to draw the lung's metal energy downwards.

My chest suddenly contracted!

My ribs felt like they were being tightly bound by iron clamps, and every breath felt like swallowing razor blades, burning and piercing deep into my lungs.

A feeling of suffocation and excruciating pain surged up like a tide, my vision blurred, and my body swayed as if I were about to collapse.

Just as the pain reached its peak and his will was about to collapse!
The warm, orange-red current that had been dormant deep within his dantian, the Crimson Hunting Fire, suddenly awakened!
The fire line, like a nimble snake, swiftly traveled along the meridians of the fist technique that Qi Yun was currently practicing.

Wherever the flames passed, the piercing, bone-chilling, suffocating, and cramping pain, like snow in spring meeting the scorching sun, hissed and melted away rapidly!
The "invisible hand" clenching in the liver area was scorched by the fire and instantly turned into smoke; the "blade" in the lungs was wrapped in the warm current and melted into nothingness; the "vines" binding the limbs and bones broke off inch by inch!
An indescribable sense of clarity and lightness takes its place, as if a river channel that has been silted up for a hundred years has been suddenly opened up by a powerful torrent!

(End of this chapter)