Chapter 13: Kunlun Palm

Zuo Qingcang nodded. He randomly picked a jar and scooped out the jelly-like substance inside. However, this time, instead of containing clumps of mucus, the jelly held a relatively intact corpse. It was a small, dark green dwarf, only the size of a palm, with wrinkled, rough skin all over its body. It looked like a deformed human, extremely ugly.

The Old Man looked at the corpse in Zuo Qingcang’s hand and said, “This one was probably buried in recent years. If you can’t stomach it, pick another one.”

Zuo Qingcang did not switch. Instead, he asked, “The more intact the corpse, the better the effect, right? Does it have any impact on practicing Dao Arts and Martial Arts?”

“There is some impact. After all, the more complete the corpse, the richer the Spiritual Power, the more nutrients it has, and the more beneficial it is for practicing Martial Arts and Dao Arts.”

After hearing this, Zuo Qingcang nodded. “Then I understand. I will eat this one.” After saying that, he took a bite and directly tore off most of the Dwarf Spirit’s head.

It was unclear whether it was because the Dwarf Spirit was dead or due to the method of preserving the corpse, but when Zuo Qingcang bit into it, it felt like biting into a lump of paste. He didn’t need to exert much force; it was crumbly and soft. With one bite, he swallowed most of the Dwarf Spirit’s head.

However, the stench was beyond imagination. It felt as if something had exploded on his tongue. If not for his strong self-control, he would have vomited immediately.

Even veins bulged on his forehead. It took a full ten seconds before he managed to swallow it.

The Old Man nearby looked somewhat gleeful but also concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Zuo Qingcang let out a breath. The foul stench immediately made the Old Man dodge repeatedly. But Zuo Qingcang did not hesitate. He immediately took another bite. He knew that this place was the ancient burial ground of the Dwarf Spirits. Every extra second spent here meant enduring another second of danger.

So, even though he knew the thing in his hand was incredibly foul, even worse than feces, Zuo Qingcang still hurriedly finished eating the Dwarf Spirit’s corpse in two or three bites. He had no time to complain or curse the difficulty before him. Compared to dying in this unknown corner, a little stench and disgust meant nothing to him.

In the end, Zuo Qingcang even finished his corpse before the Old Man. Then, under Zuo Qingcang’s repeated urging, the Old Man, with tears, quickly finished his own corpse. Finally, the two returned the jars to their original places, crawled back into the passage, and concealed the exit again with the previous pile of dirt.

After returning to the tomb’s main hall, the Old Man rubbed his stomach and lay directly on the ground.

“I’m exhausted from today. Let me get a good sleep first.”

Indeed, today he had first saved Zuo Qingcang from the Yin Woman, then fought the Corpse Fiend together with Zuo Qingcang, and additionally walked back and forth in the Corridor for several hours. Given his age, it had truly consumed a great deal of his energy.

Zuo Qingcang glanced at him. Although he really wanted the Old Man to teach him Dao Arts and Martial Arts right away, he did not stop him from resting. Even with food and drink, staying in such an Ancient Tomb for a long time meant the Old Man’s tense body and nerves were under tremendous pressure. He probably needed more rest than he would outside.

In such a situation, let alone practicing Dao Arts and Martial Arts, most ordinary people would probably spend their time lying on the ground in a daze. Because most ordinary people simply lack the self-control to persevere and keep striving in a confined environment without giving up.

Those who remain undaunted in desperate situations and instead unleash their potential are truly one in ten thousand. Moreover, such temporarily sparked potential often lasts only a week or two, a month or two, but rarely persists indefinitely.

The Old Man had been trapped here for so many years without going insane, without committing suicide, and even making progress in his Dao Arts—this alone could be called perseverance.

But Zuo Qingcang was different. His calmness, rationality, and self-control were partly innate and partly cultivated. This deeply ingrained calmness and decisiveness had seen him through one hardship after another and had become his instinct.

Therefore, when he found himself transformed into Liu Zhicheng, he accepted it calmly. After entering the Ancient Tomb, he remained neither arrogant nor impatient. Even now, surrounded by danger with almost no visible chance of escaping the island, he still showed no signs of irritability, anxiety, or despair.

He did not act on momentary bravery, straining himself desperately, nor did he become disheartened and give up hope. He simply followed his own pace, step by step.

Since the Old Man needed to rest, Zuo Qingcang sat on the ground and decided to first recall the Martial Arts that Liu Zhicheng had learned.

As an ordinary sergeant in the Northern Garrison Army, the only Martial Arts Liu Zhicheng had learned was a technique called Kunlun Palm. This set was extremely simple, almost a common practice that everyone in the Northern Garrison Army could train in.

Zuo Qingcang thought about it and also felt that Kunlun Palm seemed to have nothing special about it. It consisted of just a few simple movements. After all, this set was not used for combat within the Northern Garrison Army; it was a set for strengthening the body and for exercise.

Its concept and meaning were somewhat similar to yoga or aerobics from Zuo Qingcang’s previous life, aimed at exercise rather than combat. As for routine combat practice, lower-level soldiers like him only practiced simple collective coordinated movements such as slashing and thrusting.

In the army, such movements were more efficient. How could they be taught street-fighting techniques?

After pondering Kunlun Palm from start to finish several times and finding nothing special, Zuo Qingcang simply stood up. He intended to practice it himself to test its effects.

The movements of Kunlun Palm were quite simple and direct. Basically, through a complete set of palm techniques, it exercised the muscles and ligaments of the hands, feet, chest, back, and waist. This allowed one to exert greater strength during combat.

Liu Zhicheng had practiced this palm set countless times. Although it was Zuo Qingcang’s first time practicing it now, his body felt extremely familiar with it. Every movement was so smooth and effortless that he completed the entire set in less than two minutes.

After finishing one set of Kunlun Palm, Zuo Qingcang felt warmth all over his body, as if streams of heat were coursing through him. He knew this was because his muscles were generating heat after exercise.

‘Or, according to this world’s terminology, am I emitting Spiritual Power?’

However, after practicing this set once, Zuo Qingcang realized its effects were better than he had imagined. He had exercised more than half of the large muscle groups in the human body, and the intensity was quite high. After one set, the muscles in his shoulders already felt sore.

This indicated that the muscles in his shoulders were a relatively weak area, producing lactic acid first, and the muscle fibers were beginning to break down.

Based on Zuo Qingcang’s memory, Liu Zhicheng usually practiced Kunlun Palm fifty times a day, which took about two hours. At that point, his limbs would be sore, and he basically needed a full day’s rest to recover. And at that level, he was considered very, very diligent in the Northern Garrison Army.

Zuo Qingcang then practiced Kunlun Palm more than ten additional times. He could feel heat rising all over his body and had started to sweat. He did not stop but continued practicing. For Liu Zhicheng, this was just the beginning; for Zuo Qingcang, this level of activity was even more routine.

He had already decided to treat Kunlun Palm as his after-meal exercise.

Two hours later, visible layers of thin steam continuously rose from Zuo Qingcang’s body. This was also because Liu Zhicheng’s original muscle strength was already very impressive, hence producing this effect.

But unlike before, now every time Zuo Qingcang executed a move of Kunlun Palm, he could feel streams of heat emerging from his stomach, spreading into his limbs and bones.

That was the nutrients or energy absorbed earlier from the Dwarf Spirit’s corpse, now being transported through his circulatory system to various parts of his body. However, such clear sensory perception was something Zuo Qingcang had never felt in his previous life. It was as if he could sense himself growing stronger every moment.

The place where the heat gathered the most was in his chest. It felt like a ball of fire there, growing hotter and hotter.

He didn’t know whether this phenomenon was due to the Dwarf Spirit’s corpse or the peculiarity of human bodies in this world. But it didn’t stop him from becoming engrossed in this feeling. The sensation of constantly growing stronger was utterly intoxicating.

After Zuo Qingcang practiced Kunlun Palm repeatedly, he lost count of how many times. He could feel that almost no muscle in his body was free from soreness and pain. An unprecedented fatigue washed over him. He knew he had almost reached his limit and immediately slowed his movements, gradually coming to a stop.

Seeing him stop, the Old Man, who had woken up some time ago, said, “This palm set is quite good, but it feels like it’s missing a lot. It seems many key parts were removed, leaving only the effects of strengthening the body for ordinary people.”

Zuo Qingcang nodded in agreement. Clearly, the Imperial Court would not casually teach so-called Authentic Transmission Martial Arts to soldiers. After stopping to take a few breaths, he immediately told the Old Man about the sensations he had just experienced.

The Old Man said with a grin, “This is the effect of directly absorbing Spiritual Power by consuming the Dwarf Spirit’s corpse.” He stood up, stretched, and explained to Zuo Qingcang, “The biggest difference between Dao Arts, Martial Arts, and ordinary exercise is, first of all, the practice of visualization and meditation. This is a step absent in any other form of training.”

“Visualization seeks from without; it is the basic skill of Dao Arts. Meditation draws from within; it is the key to elevating Martial Arts.”

From the Old Man’s explanation, Zuo Qingcang learned that practicing Dao Arts involves obtaining Spiritual Power through the Life Grove—this is the energy source. Through visualization, one develops Mental Force, but Mental Force is very weak and can only perform delicate operations. Its main role is more of a catalyst.

So, using Spiritual Power as the source and Mental Force as the catalyst, plus external Dao Arts materials as ammunition, that constitutes Dao Arts.

For example, the simplest fire-based Dao Art, Fire Dragon Technique, involves using the fire Spiritual Power within one’s body—in Zuo Qingcang’s understanding, someone who can absorb thermal radiation—releasing thermal radiation to ignite the Dao Arts material, Ignition Powder. Then, Mental Force controls the Ignition Powder to form a fire dragon for attack. This is naturally countless times more powerful than simply using one’s internal fire Spiritual Power to burn someone.

Such a fire dragon, capable of freely soaring in mid-air, is one of the simplest attack methods in Dao Arts, called object control. It is also the most commonly used attack method for Taoist Priests before reaching the ‘Cultivating Heavenly Palace’ stage of Dao Arts cultivation.

But even this simplest method is enough to make a Taoist Priest a human-shaped cannon on the battlefield.

Of course, the Old Man naturally had no idea how far Zuo Qingcang’s understanding had strayed. He continued, “That’s how Dao Arts are. Naturally, Martial Arts are different. Dao Arts rely on Mental Force and Spiritual Power to affect the external world, while Martial Arts rely on the Innate Primordial Breath to affect the internal world.”

“When ordinary people practice Martial Arts, they mainly train muscles, skin, and bones. Without the Innate Primordial Breath to connect them, no matter how they train, they cannot break through the limitations of the physical body.”

“But by practicing Authentic Transmission Martial Arts, one can strengthen the Innate Primordial Breath and improve the body. In the end, not only can one possess the strength of a dragon or elephant, but walking on water or being invulnerable to swords and spears becomes ordinary.”

Seeing Zuo Qingcang listening attentively, the Old Man continued eloquently, “And the process of cultivating Authentic Transmission Martial Arts to strengthen the Innate Primordial Breath, besides the ‘movement’ aspect like the postures and actions of the Kunlun Palm you practice, must also be combined with the ‘stillness’ of breathing and meditation. Only by combining movement and stillness, allowing yin and yang to mutually generate, can one achieve true superior skill.”