Chapter 86: Guiding Qi

Boom! Boom! In the blink of an eye, several muffled thunderclaps crashed down from the sky, shaking the mountains so violently that even the smallest stones leapt into the air.

This was Mad Thunder Mountain, Gale Ridge—one of the four revered sanctuaries of martial cultivation at the Wind and Thunder Martial Hall.

At the very summit, confronted by the rolling thunder overhead, Chu Feng stood with his eyes half closed, unmoving as a mountain. He resembled an ancient pine that had weathered a thousand years, utterly still.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Suddenly, Chu Feng opened his eyes. His waist twisted sinuously like a serpent, and he began to assume a series of peculiar postures. Both arms raised high—this stance mirrored the blaze that could sweep through a prairie. Then his body bent low in a sweeping gesture, as if scooping up the moon from the sea. Next came the movement of twin dragons vying for a pearl.

Chu Feng’s movements alternated between lightning speed and the unhurried pace of a snail. These were the guiding actions from the "Grand Martial Qi Cultivation Formula," each transition from rapid to slow, from tension to relaxation, from urgency to calm, perfectly adhering to the principles of qi guidance. In this way, one could channel the energy within the dantian.

Strength begets vitality.

This adage signified that when a martial artist’s body became powerful and robust, a current of energy would naturally arise within the dantian—this was internal energy.

Strength and energy—the martial artist always gained strength first, and only then did energy follow. Internal energy was the product of strength honed to its utmost.

When a martial artist reached the fifth layer of the Body Tempering stage, known as the Iron Bone Realm, it was considered the pinnacle of external martial arts. From the sixth layer onward, one began the step-by-step cultivation of internal energy.

Sixth layer: Qi Guidance.

Seventh: Breath Nurturing.

Eighth: Internal Arts.

Ninth: Insight.

Tenth: The Five Elements Celestial Apparatus.

The cultivation of internal energy, like the training of external strength, required a gradual ascent from lower to higher stages.

At that moment, as Chu Feng guided the internal energy within his dantian, he sensed countless streams of chaotic energy converging, gathering like a dense fog drawn into a confined space.

The breath in his dantian was no longer scattered and aimless.

The process of guiding qi was profoundly mysterious. It was akin to transforming a body riddled with unfocused strength—after careful direction, all that scattered power was concentrated into a fist, or any chosen point.

Disorganized forces became a disciplined whole.

Through qi guidance, internal energy collected in the dantian, coursed through the meridians, and fortified the body.

With the support of internal energy, a martial artist could go for long periods without food, water, or sleep. They could even freely open or close their bodily senses, truly becoming master of their own form.

Exhaling, Chu Feng slowly ceased his movements and spat out a mouthful of turbid air—the impurities from his dantian’s energy.

“Haha! The sixth layer of Body Tempering, Qi Guidance—I’ve finally reached this realm!”

Feeling the surge of internal energy in his dantian, Chu Feng smiled. His strength had taken another step forward.

For martial artists, training external power and internal energy might involve different methods, but the two were closely connected.

The mightier a martial artist’s external strength, the easier it was for internal energy to arise within. The greater the internal energy in the dantian, the easier it became to guide and break through to new levels.

Chu Feng was a prime example—his body was incredibly powerful, and the energy within his dantian was dense and abundant. After channeling it with the "Grand Martial Qi Cultivation Formula," it was like muddy water being clarified; once the impurities were expelled, only pure internal energy remained in his dantian.

Upon reaching the sixth layer of Body Tempering, at the realm of Qi Guidance, not only did a martial artist’s power grow, but the transformations within their body became subtle and mysterious.

“The ‘Grand Martial Qi Cultivation Formula’ says that upon reaching the Qi Guidance realm, supported by internal energy, one’s body can become as light as a feather or as heavy as a mountain—rigid and supple, all in one vessel. I must test this for myself!”

Excitement surged within Chu Feng. He drew a deep breath.

As the internal energy flowed gently through his dantian, Chu Feng relaxed completely, retracting all his strength.

In the next instant, a light breeze swept by, and Chu Feng’s feet left the ground—his body floated upward.

Like a feather utterly free of weight, Chu Feng was swept more than six meters into the air by the breeze. Then his body turned, as if in a state of weightlessness, drifting up and down, suspended midair.

“Marvelous! What a wondrous sensation!”

Delighted beyond measure, Chu Feng closed his eyes and relished the feeling of reclining in the void.

Each time a faint wind passed, his body would rise and fall, hovering as if he were adrift upon the sea.

“The feeling of a body light as a feather is exquisite. Now, let’s see how it feels to be as heavy as a mountain.”

In the next moment, Chu Feng abruptly released the strength he had been holding back.

With a sharp hiss, his body plunged downward like a shooting star. In that six-meter drop, a distinct ripping sound split the air—the friction between his body and the atmosphere.

Boom!

He landed solidly upon the ground with an earthshaking crash. The earth cracked beneath his feet, spreading five or six jagged fissures from the point where he stood.

Each fissure was nearly a foot wide and several feet deep.

Even a hundred-ton boulder falling from such a height would not shatter the ground so, yet Chu Feng’s flesh and blood body could accomplish this.

“It seems the ‘Grand Martial Qi Cultivation Formula’ was right. Now that I’ve reached the Qi Guidance realm, my body possesses the strength of thirty Diamond Battle Rhinos—that’s 450,000 jin of force! Only such power could rend the earth like this.”

Chu Feng’s thoughts brimmed with satisfaction. His combat strength had soared, and so too had his lifespan.

He could now expect to live between two hundred and fifty and three hundred years—three to four times longer than the average mortal.

For a martial artist, longevity was the foundation of the path. Only with a lengthy lifespan could one ascend further in the martial way and attain ever-greater power.

Of the over two million inhabitants in the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Ridges, only five or six hundred martial artists had reached the sixth layer of Body Tempering—roughly one in four thousand.

With his current strength, Chu Feng was fully qualified to serve as the chief steward of a manor or the head of a major gang hall. If he entered the martial offices of the imperial court, he would already be a prime candidate for command.

“Haha, I’ve reached the Qi Guidance realm; I’ve formally begun cultivating internal energy. I’m already ahead of Fan Qianjun, Lei Jianqin, Tang Jiao, and the others!” Chu Feng thought gleefully to himself.

But as he considered the adversaries he would soon face, a chill ran through him.

“Among the experts of the Dread Gate, Xiong Zhan and Xiong Wei are the most formidable. Father and son—both at the eighth layer of Body Tempering. I’m at the sixth; I’m still two layers behind! There are just over a hundred days left until our final battle. I must not slacken for a moment!”

And so, over the next two days, Chu Feng did not let up. He remained on Gale Ridge of Mad Thunder Mountain, day and night, tirelessly guiding the internal energy within his dantian, allowing it to flow ever more smoothly through his meridians and circulate throughout his entire body.

The more effortlessly internal energy moved through the body, the more powerful and fluid one’s internal martial arts techniques would become upon reaching the eighth layer—Internal Arts—and the mightier their effect.