Divine Tang Era

"Why did you push your poop in front of me? Do you expect me to eat it?" Xu Dan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

The chubby guy nodded vigorously, his big head showing neck wrinkles from the force.

"Do you believe I'll beat you to death?" Xu Dan threatened fiercely.

Its chubby, round head blinked its big, dark eyes, looking at him innocently. The insect pill was something it had painstakingly cultivated; it wouldn't normally give it to just anyone, yet its master was ungrateful.

That being said, Xu Dan couldn't possibly actually kill it.

To be honest, he never doubted the efficacy of the excrement from the jade dragon, which was worth one hundred spirit stones. Even the excrement from silkworms raised by ordinary families is used in traditional Chinese medicine; how could such a spiritual object be without any effect?

I picked up a pill and looked at it, but it didn't seem as good as the one I had last time.

He can't possibly eat this stuff. What if it's poisonous and he dies? I'll buy a chicken to test it out tomorrow.

Looking outside, I saw that the moon was nearing its zenith and the night was deep. So I put away the insect pills, locked Fatty in the box, blew out the oil lamp, and went to sleep while holding the little black bear.

In the inn's lobby, the statue of Xuanwu Zhenjun exuded a majestic aura that could vanquish demons and evil spirits. The door gods on the doors, with their eyes open and their faces solemn, were lifelike, as if they were still alive.

I slept without any dreams.

After waking up in the morning and quickly washing up, Xu Dan went to the backyard to practice the Taibao Divine Fist he had memorized the night before.

Taibao Shenquan is divided into five parts. The first part is the knowledge of meridians and acupoints that must be known to practice the boxing, as well as introductory stance training and breathing techniques. The second part is the basic boxing techniques of Taibao Shenquan. The third part is the routines and methods of self-defense. The fourth part describes how to temper the body and cleanse the flesh. The fifth part discusses the medicines and formulas needed to practice the boxing.

The fourth part involves training children after their bones have fully developed, in order to avoid damaging their bodies and leaving any sequelae.

Generally, when learning martial arts, one first learns about meridians and acupoints, and then begins practicing standing meditation using breathing techniques. Once the standing meditation is solid, one then practices basic fist techniques. This step-by-step approach, progressing layer by layer, is the best training method.

Xu Dan didn't have that kind of patience. He would stand in a stance for a while using breathing techniques, and then start practicing basic boxing techniques.

After a while, feeling that it was about right, I switched to practicing the routines.

He had memorized these things yesterday and practiced them a few times, gradually becoming more and more proficient. Xu Dan was quite satisfied with his practice speed. After practicing for a while, he stopped, picked up the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer next to him, and started swinging it.

It is said that weapons are an extension of the arm. He didn't understand what that meant before, but after practicing boxing today, he finally understands.

He had never seriously practiced hammer techniques; he just swung them around casually, or he would imitate Monkey King and spin the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer.

Suddenly, I remembered the time I killed Ghost Claw. He had poured a bucket of mixed stew on Ghost Claw, making it filthy. The Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer got a little bit on it. I hadn't noticed it before, but now that I looked closely, I realized that the hammerhead was covered in a large patch of grime.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he thought he smelled a foul odor.

The Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer has never been washed since it was dug out of the ground and washed once.

Along the way, it has been used for hunting, setting up tents, and everything else, and has long lost its former appearance.

After playing with it for a while, Xu Dan couldn't stand it anymore, so he boiled a pot of water and grabbed a bunch of wood ash and sand. He first soaked the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer in it, then scrubbed it with the wood ash, and then rubbed it repeatedly with sand. Under the repeated washing with wood ash and sand, the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer slowly revealed its true form.

"Um"

Suddenly, he discovered that the patterns on the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer had transformed into eighteen figures wielding and swinging the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer.

Could it be the hammer technique? Xu Dan wondered to himself.

After thinking for a moment, he began to practice according to the movements of the figure on the screen. The eighteen movements on the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer were not difficult. He practiced one movement after another slowly, from initial unfamiliarity to proficiency, from slow as a snail to swift as the wind, in just a short time.

A moment later, Xu Dan stopped practicing, his eyes gleaming.

Good hammer technique.

Even the most ignorant among them, after practicing it, knew how difficult the hammering techniques on the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer were. It was just strange, how come he hadn't noticed it before? He clearly saw a non-slip pattern, how did it turn into a human shape? Strange, very strange.

With the hammer technique, he no longer had to foolishly swing the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer around.

If you master these skills, they will become your means of livelihood in the future.

Xu Dan touched the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, noticing some water droplets on it, and went inside to get a dry cloth to wipe it clean. The ebony-colored hammer body exuded a calm and dignified aura; the figure wrapped around the hammer body seemed to hide endless mysteries; the rounded hammerhead resembled a lotus bud, combining strength with a touch of gentleness.

Everything was so wonderful.

Xu Dan polished the mallet head until it shone with oil.

Suddenly, he noticed something strange about the hammerhead. It didn't seem like a solid, cast object, but rather a movable, living mechanism. In an instant, the hidden weapon used by the Toad Style practitioner in the martial arts manual flashed through his mind. Could this be one of them?

Xu Dan tried to twist the hammer head to see if he could unscrew it, but of course he couldn't.

He reached out and touched the hammer to see if there were any mechanisms or buttons, but he found nothing.

Seeing nothing there, he couldn't help but reach for the hammerhead. Could this sharp hammerhead only be used for stabbing, and not for any mechanism as he had imagined?

As I was touching it, I accidentally pierced my finger with the sharp tip, and blood gushed out, falling onto the lotus bud-shaped mallet head and flowing continuously to the other end along the human-shaped movement of the mallet body.

This is it, we're doomed.

Xu Dan discovered that he couldn't move his hand, and blood kept gushing from his fingers, flowing onto the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer.

In just a moment, the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer was covered in blood.

Suddenly, a burst of blood-red light shot out from the hammer, shining brightly before receding. A beam of light struck Xu Dan's forehead, and a surge of information flooded his mind, making him feel like his head was about to explode. After a while, he regained his senses and looked at the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer again; the blood on it had disappeared.

Xu Dan closed his eyes and sorted through the information in his mind. After a while, he realized that the information was about everything related to the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer.

It doesn't explain the origin of the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, but only how to use it.

Most importantly, after the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer absorbed his blood, it became connected to his mind and could change size, unlike before when it was just a silly hammer.

I never expected such a thing to happen. It seems that being sucked blood isn't all bad.

Xu Dan suddenly felt a little dizzy, a side effect of being drained of too much blood. He didn't have time to look at the messages anymore and hurriedly went out to buy something to eat and some blood-replenishing medicine, otherwise he would be finished sooner or later.