Chapter 12: The Young Man in Penance

“Bang, bang…” A series of continuous collision sounds came from Bu Gong’s small courtyard; since two months ago, when Bu Gong confirmed from Blind Zhang that he had truly reached the body-shaping stage, he had returned home and had hardly left the house; every morning after getting up early, he would spend time with the stone table in the courtyard.
Before he reached the body-shaping stage, the thick old tree in the yard was his training partner; but since he entered the body-shaping stage, the old tree was replaced by a stone table; he used Bugong fists, elbows, shoulders, legs… and almost all of them, as long as they could touch the stone table, were used to attack the stone table.
At this time, Bu Gong was moving his body, which did not look strong, and was even a little thin, and was hitting and colliding with the stone table frantically; the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the hot and dazzling sunlight also shone on Bu Gong’s body. Drops of sweat fell along his handsome face and hit the dry and hard ground.
The place where Bu Gong stood had been covered with layers of yellow soil by his footsteps; the sweat that fell had faintly wet the ground. Bu Gong’s eyes were determined, and he repeated the same movements as always, slamming his body heavily on the stone table, as if he didn’t feel any pain at all.
…
“The physical fitness of a person who has achieved minor success in the first level of body shaping is indeed very strong.” Bu Gong was standing in his yard at this time, feeling his physical condition and muttering to himself; then he was seen sitting cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes slightly, and began to practice the body shaping technique and regulate his breathing.
As he breathed, wisps of immortal energy entered his body through his mouth and nose; in addition, the Baihui point on the top of his head was constantly absorbing wisps of immortal energy from the heaven and earth, which penetrated into Bu Gong’s body and were devoured by his internal organs, bones, muscles, etc.
All aspects of his body were constantly being strengthened, and Bu Gong could clearly feel that his body was slowly getting stronger at an imperceptible speed.
From the scroll of ‘Thunder Palace Thunder Magic’, Bu Gong knew that during the Body Shaping Stage, if a cultivator wanted to make further progress and enter the Peeping Yuan Realm, he would need to open up all 720 acupoints in his body before he could get a glimpse of the Immortal Yuan, connect the meridians, and reach the Peeping Yuan Realm.
The 720 acupoints in the human body are divided into three types: 52 single acupoints, 50 odd acupoints, and 300 double acupoints, totaling 720 acupoints. A cultivator at the first level of body shaping needs to open up the 52 single acupoints in the body before they can enter the second level of body shaping. At the second level of body shaping, they need to open up the 50 odd acupoints to reach the third level of body shaping.
As for entering the realm of peeping into the essence, it is necessary to open up the last 300 pairs of acupoints, so as to attract a large amount of heaven and earth immortal energy into the body, and let it flow through the 720 acupoints in the body to circulate throughout the body, so that one can achieve a preliminary glimpse of the immortal essence and live forever; only then can one initially store some immortal energy in the meridians, so that it will not be completely absorbed by the internal organs, bones, etc.
Therefore, in the Xianyuan Realm, when a sect recruits a disciple, it is necessary to detect the disciple’s talent for cultivation; and detecting talent is the so-called checking the firmness of the acupoints around the disciple’s body; but even if the talent is good, it is extremely difficult for a person who does not have any resources for cultivation to open up the acupoints.
…
At this time, Bu Gong was sitting cross-legged in the yard, trying hard to circulate the not-so-much immortal energy in his body and impact the acupoints in his body. Over the past two months, after Bu Gong’s continuous efforts, he was able to barely open 14 single acupoints in his body. Now, as long as he could open one more acupoint to reach 15, he could enter the middle stage of the first level of body shaping.
These fourteen acupoints were barely broken through due to Bu Gong’s almost life-threatening training and impact; otherwise, with Bu Gong’s mediocre talent and lack of resources to assist in his training, it would be strange that he could break through fourteen acupoints in just two months.
Bu Gong’s face turned slightly red, and tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. There was a tiny stream of immortal energy in his meridians, which Bu Gong controlled with all his strength, and continuously impacted the fifteenth single acupoint.
With every collision, a piercing pain would come from the acupoint; no matter how madly the immortal energy impacted, the acupoint remained motionless like a mountain.
Bu Gong had tried to break through this fifteenth single acupoint a few days ago, but failed every time. At this time, Bu Gong was very ruthless and desperately absorbed the immortal energy from the heaven and earth, then gathered it in the meridians and rushed towards this acupoint.
As Bu Gong continued to impact the acupoint, “boom boom…” the roaring sound that seemed to come from the soul sounded in Bu Gong’s heart, making his mind a little unstable.
When opening the first fourteen acupoints in Bugong, about one was opened every five or six days; and the time required to open an acupoint was about two hours, and at most three hours; but the fifteenth acupoint showed no signs of being opened for seven or eight consecutive days.
Therefore, Bu Gong also fought with it today; with each acupoint attack by Bu Gong, his whole body trembled slightly, so this fifteenth acupoint was a test of human endurance, and also a huge challenge to human mental endurance.
…
Finally, under Bu Gong’s desperate attack, the acupoint that seemed unbreakable began to shake slightly; Bu Gong was extremely excited when he noticed this, because after most of the day’s attack, no matter how good his endurance was, he had a vague idea of ​​giving up.
As the saying goes, you can’t force it until the opportunity comes; but when Bu Gong just had this thought in his mind, he realized that this habitual impact actually caused the fortress-like acupoint to shake slightly.
Feeling this, Bu Gong immediately increased the force of his attack; the roar that came from the soul continued to sound in Bu Gong’s heart, but he could not care about it.
At this time, Bu Gong’s forehead was covered in sweat, and his vest was almost soaked with sweat; he heard a “click” sound, as if it sounded in the depths of Bu Gong’s soul, and then he felt that the immortal energy like a tide turned into a rolling torrent, rushing through the acupoint that had just broken into a small gap.
Then, the acupoint that was indestructible just now completely collapsed under such a fierce impact; at this time, a feeling of comfort from the whole body made Bu Gong almost lose his mind.
“Break through just like that?” A trace of fluctuation flashed across Bu Gong’s indifferent eyes, and he murmured in a low voice; he originally did not hold out any hope today, but he did not expect that today his desperate move would actually allow him to break through this acupoint.
Reaching the middle stage of the first level of body shaping in just two months was considered average among those immortal cultivation sects. Although it could not be compared with the talented geniuses of those sects, it was quite good for Bu Gong. This was because it was all the result of his own efforts, without relying on any external things.
“If I want to leave Stone Town and go to the outside world, Grandpa Zhang said that I must at least reach the third level of body shaping. At this rate, won’t that take forever?” Bu Gong was very enthusiastic about this; because if he stayed in Stone Town all the time, then there would be less room for his strength to grow; besides, he also wanted to see the outside world.
Blind Zhang once said to him: “If you want to reach a higher realm, chance is part of it, but more of it is the experience of life and death”; if Bu Gong stays in Shitou Town now, his strength can be increased, but his future achievements will definitely not be too high.
However, Bu Gong was a man with high aspirations in his heart. It was obvious that if he continued to stay in Stone Town, even if he was given more time, he would not be able to reach the level of the man in blue that day. This was an intuition in his heart.
“Experience? Opportunity?” Bu Gong raised his head slightly and looked towards the huge mountain range behind the town; because he suddenly remembered that when Blind Zhang was chatting with him a few days ago, he inadvertently mentioned a few spiritual fruits called “Xianyuan Fruits” that grew in the Tiancang Mountains.
As for the ‘Tian Cang Mountains’, people only know the name of this mountain range, but do not know why it was named so.
But in the town, there is a nursery rhyme that often goes like this: “Go to the sky to seek a livelihood; shoot jackals and hunt wild leopards; in front of the sky, bless you; behind the sky, bury you in the stream”; this is a nursery rhyme that has been circulating in the town for a long time, but when asked about its origin, no one can answer. Even the older generation in the town would shake their heads when this question was raised.
In the end, they attributed the source of this sentence to the huge stone tablet at the top of the mountain range; because at the top of the Tiancang Mountains, there stands a huge dark stone tablet that is about tens of feet wide and hundreds of feet high. There are some strokes on this stone tablet that look very strange but very ancient.
In response, the people in this town regarded them as fonts. Although they said they were fonts, no one could recognize them; and they did not dare to recognize them; because as long as they stared at the huge stone tablet for a while, they would feel drowsy.
It is also said that such a thing has happened before, but those who fall asleep, whether they are old or young, their bodies will wither away day by day until they die, and they will never wake up.
Therefore, every time the young men in this town go up the mountain to chop firewood or dig medicinal herbs, they can only move around the periphery of the front half of the mountain range; but even if it is just the mountains outside the front half, it is boundless to the people in this town, because they have never reached the end of this mountain range.
Bu Gong also knew this nursery rhyme. Although he looked towards the Tiancang Mountains at this time, he had no intention of going to the top of the mountains to take a look because of the rumors in the town.
As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Bu Gong didn’t want to lose his life so soon. “I just reached the middle stage of the first level of body shaping today. Let me consolidate myself first. As for the experience between life and death? Forget it. My cultivation is too low now. Such experience is too far away for me now.” Thinking of this, Bu Gong shook his head slightly and turned to go into the house.
…
The next day!
“Oh? Boy Bu Gong, you have reached the middle stage of the first level so quickly?” A slightly old voice was heard from Blind Zhang’s pharmacy, with a hint of surprise in it.
“Well, I just reached the middle stage of the first level of body shaping yesterday afternoon.” In response to Blind Zhang’s question, Bu Gong nodded slightly and replied softly; “It’s really surprising, kid, without anyone’s guidance, you actually figured out the middle stage of the first level of body shaping by yourself.” Blind Zhang shook his head slightly and smiled bitterly.
“Is there any problem with coming to the pharmacy today?” After a moment’s hesitation, Blind Zhang asked; “Well, there is something I want to talk to Grandpa Zhang about,” Bu Gong said, raising his eyes slightly.
“Oh? What’s the matter? Tell me.” Blind Zhang was also curious when he heard Bu Gong say this, and then said.
“Grandpa Zhang, I want to go to the Tiancang Mountains tomorrow. In your opinion, with my current strength, I should be able to protect myself if I go in,” Bu Gong asked slowly.
“Entering the Tiancang Mountains?” Blind Zhang’s expression changed slightly after hearing this. He muttered something in a low voice and then fell silent. After a moment, he spoke again, “Bu Gong, with your current strength, you can go to some shallow areas of the Tiancang Mountains, but you can’t go deep. By the way, what are you going to do in the Tiancang Mountains?”
“Grandpa Zhang mentioned to me a few days ago about a few spiritual fruits called ‘Xianyuan Fruits’. You said at the time that you accidentally encountered them when you entered the Tiancang Mountains by chance more than ten years ago. They were not ripe at that time. According to what you said, they should have ripened in the past few years, right? Besides, you said that the fruit is of great help to cultivators in the Body Shaping Stage, so I want to go look for it,” Bu Gong said.
When Blind Zhang heard Bu Gong say this, he fell silent for a moment. After a moment, he said, “Boy Bu Gong, we don’t know if those spiritual fruits are still there. If they are not there, they may be eaten by wild beasts in the mountains. Because no one in this town knows about those things, they won’t go to pick them specifically.”
“But if it is there, it is not impossible for you to find it. However, you can only find it if you can reach the middle area of ​​the front half of the Tiancang Mountains. But there are many dangers there, and sometimes you may even lose your life if you are not careful. Are you sure you want to go?” Blind Zhang hesitated for a moment and asked again?
In response to Blind Zhang’s question, Bu Gong thought for a moment and then said, “Grandpa Zhang, you once said that at my stage, only some spiritual medicines and spiritual objects that contain rich immortal energy can help me easily break through the acupoints in my body, so that my strength can increase faster? If there is any danger, just treat it as a training for myself.”
“Uh…” Blind Zhang didn’t expect Bu Gong to say that, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say; but thinking about it, he actually said this before, then shook his head slightly, and it was not easy to persuade him anymore; so he said: “You can go, but remember not to go deep, you will definitely not survive if you go in there.” When saying this, Blind Zhang looked a little solemn.
Bu Gong understood this and nodded with a light “hmm”. After staying with Blind Zhang for a while, he got up and walked out of the pharmacy towards his home. “Bu Gong, I wish you good luck. This is also your first experience. I hope you can gain something from it.” Blind Zhang muttered to himself after Bu Gong left.
The reason why Blind Zhang said this was because he had also had an adventure when he entered the Tiancang Mountains. Originally, when he was framed and fled from the Xianyang Sect, he was only in the early stage of the second level of body shaping. But because of the opportunity he had gained in the Tiancang Mountains, his cultivation, which had been progressing slowly, soared to the peak of the third level of body shaping in just one year.
Because after he came to this town, he once went to the Tiancang Mountains occasionally, and he discovered that place by accident; although he was blind at that time, as a cultivator, he could still walk normally; but in normal times, in order not to attract the attention of people in the town, he would ask someone to help him every time he went out.
It was at that time that he encountered the opportunity in the middle area of ​​the front half of the Tiancang Mountains; he still clearly remembered that it was a small hill with slightly higher terrain.
He was using his spiritual sense to explore the way, but when his spiritual sense inadvertently swept over the small hill, he encountered an obstacle; out of curiosity, he tried his best to use his spiritual sense to explore, but as soon as he explored a trace of spiritual sense, he felt that the terrain inside was like a huge and complex maze; it made him feel dizzy.
Therefore, he just circled around the edge of the place for a few times and did not dare to actually enter; as a result, he really found a few spiritual herbs; it was because he obtained three mature “Xianyuan Fruits” that his subsequent cultivation level improved by leaps and bounds.
But at that time, there were several unripe Xianyuan fruits near the place where he found the Xianyuan Fruit, so he did not pick them; because it takes at least seven or eight years for each Xianyuan Fruit to mature; and this kind of spiritual fruit contains extremely rich Xianyuan Qi, which has a very good effect on impacting the acupoints of cultivators in the body-shaping stage.
The reason why he agreed to let Bu Gong go and told him the general route was that he always felt that the prescription contained some other good things.
Because at that time, although he circled around the edge of that place several times and did not go deep; but he could vaguely sense that the faint fluctuations of immortal energy emanating from that small hill were much richer than the immortal energy in other places; and there was also a vague calling force on the small hill to him, but he did not dare to go in.
In short, that place would not just have the Immortal Yuan Fruit, so he agreed to let Bu Gong go there. If Bu Gong really got something good there, it would be an unexpected surprise and an opportunity for Bu Gong.