Chapter 546: Still Not Pouring Water

Master Ling's treatment required eight steps, Master Su's seven, and even the Hall Master needed five to complete it. This fellow actually wanted to resolve it in a single step?

"Nonsense! That's a pipe dream!"

As I pondered this, I heard Hall Master Kang's cold snort. I looked up to see his face turn ashen, clearly displeased. "Every cultivation technique was created by our ancestors and has undergone countless tests before being passed down. How can you claim to change it on a whim? The patient is severely injured. Using an untested cultivation technique, not only will they fail to achieve Zhifan, but they might also suffer qi deviation and die from their wounds. If that were to happen, what would become of the Master Teacher's prestige?"

After hearing what the two elders said, I had initially held great hope for this fellow, but I didn't expect such a perfunctory approach.

If cultivation techniques were that easy to modify, wouldn't secret manuals be commonplace?

Furthermore, the patient's body contains an anomalous type of true qi. Without neutralizing it, healing the injuries, adjusting their state, or focusing their spirit, how could they possibly break through to a higher realm?

I truly thought he was a genius, but it turns out he's just an ignoramus!

If he were to proceed with this, not only would it fail to heal the patient, but it might even result in their death, completely destroying the Master Teacher Pavilion's authority.

"Qi deviation? You're overthinking it!"

Waving away the reprimand, Zhang Xuan calmly looked over. "I'll describe the true qi circulation route; you'll know if it's effective just by listening! The true qi circulates from the Dantian, passes through Taiyi, Guanmen, and Liangmen, then finally converges at Qishe. After three complete cycles, one can attempt to break through to Zhifan, with approximately a ninety percent chance of success!"

Possessing a Heaven's Path cultivation technique meant he had grasped the essence of cultivation. What others found difficult was, for him, quite simple.

By simply altering the cultivation route slightly, bypassing the injured areas, and neutralizing the anomalous true qi within the body, breaking through to Zhifan would not be difficult.

"Through Taiyi, Guanmen, Liangmen…"

The three men frowned.

This route sounded exceedingly peculiar, completely unlike any standard cultivation method. Even as four-star master teachers, they found it difficult to immediately ascertain its correctness or error.

Every cultivation technique requires practice to be verified. Even a master teacher cannot determine its efficacy or lack thereof, or its actual effects, simply by hearing it described once.

"Are you saying that merely by circulating true qi according to this technique, one can directly achieve a breakthrough?" Hall Master Kang's expression grew even grimmer.

For normal cultivators, breakthroughs are already challenging. To suggest that a severely injured person could break through after just three circulations of a technique — what kind of joke is that?

"Precisely!"

Zhang Xuan's expression remained calm. "I just examined the patient. This individual was injured by scorching sword qi, which possesses extreme sharpness. After piercing the left side of the chest, it surged along the meridians towards the Dantian. The patient cultivates a technique that emphasizes sharpness, akin to the saying 'first qi, then decay, then exhaustion!' This happens to align perfectly with the fierce, unyielding power of the scorching sword qi."

"When these two types of true qi clashed, it became a situation where 'on a narrow road, the brave prevail.' Ordinarily, with fierce confrontation, one's own true qi is inexhaustible, and the opposing sword qi, being 'rootless duckweed,' wouldn't be a concern. However, this cultivator's meridians are too narrow, and the collision was too violent, easily tearing them apart and crippling their cultivation! This led to a stalemate where the sword qi could not be expelled, and the injury progressively worsened!"

Zhang Xuan paused at this point, his gaze sharp as lightning as he looked over. "If I'm not mistaken, when these symptoms were recorded, it was the seventh day after this person sustained their injury, correct?"

"This…" Hall Master Kang was taken aback. "Indeed!"

He had personally resolved that individual's problem and had always been proud of it. He remembered every detail from that time with perfect clarity; it was indeed the seventh day after the injury.

Yet, the record just now only specified the injured area and the type of attack, without mentioning how many days had passed since the injury. Could it be that he deduced the timeframe simply from this limited information?

"By the seventh day of injury, the collision of true qi became uncontrollable. The pierced area in the left chest couldn't heal and even began to fester. In the current state, with two types of violent true qi clashing, forcibly using the previous cultivation technique would only intensify the collision and worsen the injury."

Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. "According to standard methods, one should first allow the patient's true qi to be completely depleted. This is akin to withdrawing soldiers from a defensive pass, allowing the sword qi to flow out of the narrow meridians. Only then should one attempt to remove it entirely."

"Precisely…" Su Fan and Ling Hengyu nodded in unison.

Their eight-step and seven-step methods both followed this principle.

To achieve a breakthrough, one must first resolve the injury. And to heal the injury, the root cause—this very sword qi—must be neutralized.

Depleting one's own true qi is a retreat. Only by doing so can the fierce sword qi be lulled into complacency. Once it emerges from the narrow meridians, dealing with it becomes significantly easier, as several methods become available.

Hall Master Kang also nodded in agreement.

He had acted similarly in the past. Any master teacher would typically opt for this approach. Could it be... that this method is incorrect?

"Correct? Not only is it incorrect, it's a grave error!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Dispelling one's true qi is akin to removing a rock blocking a stream; it would indeed allow the sword qi to flow out. However, that is an incomparably sharp and scorching sword qi, and the blocked location is in the left lung—an area close to the heart. Should the sword qi burst forth, it could very well pierce the heart, leading to immediate death!"

"Death?" Su Fan couldn't help but interject, "The sword qi has been trapped for seven days; surely it has lost its previous sharpness…"

"While it might not be as sharp as before, and the chance of piercing the heart is less than one percent, what if it doesn't travel through the left lung meridian but instead passes through the Huichi acupoint and enters the True Heart Meridian?" Zhang Xuan inquired.

"This..." Master Su and Master Ling were both jolted.

The Huichi acupoint is the intersection of the left lung meridian and the True Heart Meridian; the former leads to the lungs, while the latter connects to the heart.

Although the sword qi, once suddenly relaxed, would naturally flow downwards towards the Dantian, there's no guarantee that the cultivator wouldn't hesitate and retain a trace of true qi within their body.

Should that occur, the sword qi could very likely flow upstream, enter the True Heart Meridian, and pierce the heart.

If that were to truly happen, not even a master teacher, let alone an immortal, could save them.

Hall Master Kang's face also paled, and his body tensed.

When he first encountered this case, he had been so focused on curing it that he hadn't considered all possibilities. He later discovered this very issue himself; although the probability was low, it was indeed possible!

One could only say his luck at the time was exceptionally good; otherwise, let alone healing, the person might have already died.

If that had happened, striving to become a four-star master teacher would have been out of the question; merely retaining his current standing and avoiding eternal infamy would have been a significant achievement.

Yet, this scenario was something he had only discovered after reaching the peak of a four-star master teacher and meticulously reviewing the past situation. This young man, however, had grasped this point with just a single glance. Could it be… that the cultivation technique he proposed was truly effective?

Previously, he had dismissed the other party as speaking idly. Now, seeing that the young man could even identify such a critical detail, it seemed the proposed technique was far from simple.

"My method fundamentally requires neither the prior dispersion of true qi nor the extraction of this sword qi!"

Disregarding the trio's shock, Zhang Xuan continued, "The Taiyi acupoint is the primary branching point of the left and right meridians. By guiding the true qi through here, it will readily create a powerful resonance, causing the sword qi to flow downwards with the current and surge directly to this point. Once it arrives, the solution becomes simple. The Taiyi acupoint is close to the Dantian, and with the cultivator's ample true qi to sustain it, the sword qi can be very easily expelled from the body!"

"If the human body is viewed as a formation, Taiyi represents 'life.' When the two collide, the sword qi will naturally erupt from this acupoint…"

Master Su's eyes widened, and he mumbled to himself.

According to the principles of a Formation Master, the human body can indeed be considered a formation, complete with eight gates: Rest, Life, Harm, Block, View, Death, Shock, and Open.

The Taiyi acupoint is the intersection of the left and right meridians, and crucially, it serves as the 'Life Gate' within the human body's formation. Drawing the sword qi to this point would inevitably cause it to escape through here, effectively eliminating it with minimal cost, without expending a single soldier.

This method was at least dozens of times more effective than the previous approach of dispersing true qi and forcibly expelling the sword qi!

"No, wait... If the sword qi comes, this method is indeed simple. But what if it doesn't?" Hall Master Kang's brows furrowed.

The sword qi has been locked in confrontation with true qi for seven days. Without withdrawing the true qi, how could it possibly be lured to the Taiyi acupoint?

It's like a battle where one side defends a strategic pass to ensure survival. If your main forces haven't retreated, why would I charge forward? Am I supposed to walk straight into a trap, waiting to be expelled?

"Sigh!"

Hearing his question, Zhang Xuan sighed, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness. "It seems you're not very familiar with the cultivation methods of the injured!"

"I..." Hall Master Kang's face reddened.

It was indeed an unorthodox technique. He had heard of it but had never practiced it, so his knowledge was limited.

Admitting his limited understanding was the truth.

"The [technique name] emphasizes sharpness: 'first qi, then decay, then exhaustion!' As I just explained, guiding the true qi through the new channel three times will cause its sharp edge to dissipate. Seeing such an opportunity, the sword qi will naturally rush out, seizing the chance to disrupt the Dantian. Its arrival at the Taiyi acupoint is therefore an inevitable outcome! Surely… you must have considered this point?"

Zhang Xuan looked at him calmly.

"This…" Hall Master Kang's entire body trembled.

Having been blocked by sharp true qi for seven days, even if the sword qi lacked sentience, it would still behave like a compressed spring, poised to retaliate at the first opportunity. After its power "decays thrice" and weakens, that would be the optimal moment for it to attack; it would certainly not let such a chance slip away!

Any cultivator, if they pondered it carefully, would grasp this point.

"Still, that's not right! You claimed three circulations would lead to a breakthrough to Zhifan, but this only explains expelling the sword qi…" Even after his initial shock, Hall Master Kang remained somewhat skeptical.

"Just expelling the sword qi? Reconsider the true qi circulation path I described earlier…" Zhang Xuan smiled.

"The true qi circulates from the Dantian, passes through Taiyi, Guanmen, and Liangmen, then finally converges at Qishe…"

Hall Master Kang involuntarily recalled what the young man had just said. His expression shifted, and his eyes widened. "The true qi decays, the sword qi pursues, meeting at the Taiyi acupoint. After the collision… the sword qi erupts from the acupoint, and the cultivator's true qi, propelled by the force of that impact, surges through Guanmen and Liangmen… breaking through to Zhifan?"

"This means leveraging the violent power of the sword qi to break through the 'mysterious barrier'! The chance of success… is indeed no less than ninety percent!" Master Su's throat went dry.

As a four-star master teacher, he had an exceptional, profound understanding of the phenomena associated with true qi circulation within the body.

When the sword qi and true qi collide at the Taiyi acupoint, even though the sword qi disperses through the 'Life Gate,' the violent power it contains will merge with the true qi.

The fact that the sword qi could injure this cultivator indicates a power level superior to his own. Since this individual was capable of attempting Zhifan, they must have already reached the pinnacle of Half-Zhifan, on the verge of breaking through at any moment. If the sword qi's power was greater than his own, it implies the original wielder was a Zhifan expert, doesn't it?

The violent true qi of a Zhifan expert, merging with the cultivator's own power, would result in an infinite surge of combined might. Breaking through the barrier would naturally become significantly simpler, almost effortless!

Not merely ninety percent; one could argue that if this method were truly executed, the success rate would be one hundred percent!

"You… you…"

Everyone present had realized this point, their eyes wide with astonishment.

Upon hearing the cultivator's symptoms, their primary focus had been on how to resolve the sword qi, heal the injuries, adjust the patient's condition, and then strategize for a breakthrough to Zhifan. Yet, this individual before them had surprisingly utilized the very sword qi within the body, forging an entirely new path to create a cultivation technique that allowed for a direct breakthrough.

Most astonishingly, from the moment he finished reading the case to articulating the solution, only a few dozen breaths had passed.

How… how was this even possible?

Was he even human?

"Can my cultivation technique both heal the patient and allow them to achieve a breakthrough?" Knowing that they had finally grasped his method, Zhang Xuan calmly looked at them.

"Yes… it can be healed!" Hall Master Kang's face paled. He steadied his breathing and nodded.

He had taken a full five steps to achieve the same outcome, believing himself to be exceptionally skilled and unmatched. Yet, this individual before him had succeeded in a single step.

It seemed Master Su and Master Ling had been correct. Although this individual's cultivation strength might be lacking, his understanding of master teachers was absolutely incomparable to that of ordinary people.

"So, have I answered your question?" Zhang Xuan continued.

"Yes…" Hall Master Kang nodded.

"Since I'm correct, why are you just standing there?"

Before he even finished speaking, the young man across from him spoke with a hint of displeasure: "I've explained all this; haven't you noticed I'm thirsty? Hurry up and get me a glass of water!"