The subtlety of application resides in the mind.

Duan Yu watched Jiang Mingzhe gazing blankly toward the western peak, feeling secretly pleased with himself.

He thought to himself: My eldest brother is a martial artist, so he must surely love divine blades and precious swords. For the sake of my Fairy Sister, I have already coaxed him into breaking martial arts sect rules to learn the arts of the Xiaoyao Sect, which is already a grave betrayal of brotherhood. No matter what, I must somehow procure this divine sword to make him happy, otherwise, I would hardly be worthy of being his sworn brother.

With that, he voiced his conjecture: "Eldest brother, that precious sword is most likely placed there by the Fairy Sister's parents. Yet even with their formidable martial arts, suspending a precious sword inside a cliffside cave could hardly be an easy task. Such painstaking arrangement surely holds a deeper meaning. In my humble opinion, there just might be martial arts manuals or the like hidden within that cavern."

(Note: Duan Yu's conjecture was indeed his own genuine thought, as can be seen in the original text.)

Jiang Mingzhe nodded slowly, thinking to himself that the martial arts hidden within the meditation mat had been left by Li Qiushui, and Wuyazi certainly knew nothing of them. The martial arts treasures in the Langhuan Blessed Land had all been moved by Ding Chunqiu to the Manuo Manor, and Wuyazi's own supreme arts might very well truly be concealed within that suspended sword cave.

Yet, no matter how carefully he looked for a long while, he could not spot any cave on the western peak.

Duan Yu smiled and said: "Eldest brother need not be impatient. Once the moon sinks behind the western peak tonight, it will naturally become visible. The day is still young, so why not perform our oath of brotherhood first, and then you can practice the divine arts of the Xiaoyao Sect to pass the time."

Jiang Mingzhe found this rather amusing. Practicing divine arts just to pass the time—such a remark could probably only come from someone with Duan Yu's temperament, bearing quite the charm of "setting a small goal first."

He nodded and said: "What younger brother says is very true. Vast as the heavens and earth may be, nothing exceeds righteousness; deep as the mountains and waters may be, nothing exceeds affection. What are precious swords? The brotherhood between us is what truly matters."

These words struck right into Duan Yu's heart. Overjoyed, he nodded repeatedly and pulled Jiang Mingzhe down to kneel before the small stone wall. After exchanging their ages—Jiang Mingzhe was twenty-five and thus the elder brother, while Duan Yu was nineteen and thus the younger brother—they gathered earth in lieu of incense, kowtowed eight times, and swore a pact of life and death brotherhood.

Rising after the ceremony, Duan Yu's face beamed with joy as he said: "Eldest brother, now that we have kowtowed, you should learn the divine arts right away."

With that, he took out the scroll from the silk bundle and was about to unroll it for Jiang Mingzhe to see, when he suddenly remembered something. He froze stiff like a wooden puppet, cold sweat instantly streaming down his forehead.

Jiang Mingzhe asked in surprise: "Younger brother, is there something wrong with your health?"

Duan Yu shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Eldest brother, your younger brother almost committed a grave blunder. Every single figure depicted in this scroll is in the likeness of the Fairy Sister. She, she, she..."

Jiang Mingzhe understood at once: "Ah, if these are internal energy manuals, they are bound to depict the locations of meridians and acupoints, and wearing clothes while doing so would be most inconvenient!"

Duan Yu nodded pitifully: "Precisely! Eldest brother, it is not that your younger brother is stingy, but rather..."

Jiang Mingzhe cut him off: "What does this have to do with being stingy or generous? Your eldest brother is a man of honor; how could I gaze upon the body of my own sister-in-law? Hmm, this martial art is better left unlearned."

Saying this, fearing that Duan Yu might take him literally, he hurriedly sighed and said: "Alas, it is only a pity that you, brother, do not know martial arts. Otherwise, if you learned it and passed it on to your elder brother, wouldn't that have been wonderful?"

***

Duan Yu's eyes lit up: "Indeed! That method is quite feasible! Although your younger brother knows no martial arts, I can certainly recognize words and read diagrams. I shall learn it first and then pass it on to my eldest brother!"

He immediately scampered off a few paces, unrolled the scroll, and studied it until his face flushed red and his breathing grew heavy like an ox's. Only after committing every detail thoroughly to memory did he return and say: "Eldest brother, let me first explain the guiding principle of this technique to you. If there is anything you do not understand, ask me promptly. This technique is called the *Demonic Northern Ocean Divine Art*. Regarding the Northern Ocean, *Zhuangzi's Xiaoyao You* says..."

He shook his head as he rattled off a lengthy explanation, finally concluding: "Therefore, the primary principle of this art is the accumulation of internal energy. Taking the Sea of Qi as the Northern Ocean, it accommodates vessels large and small, and embraces fish both great and small. Next, younger brother shall explain the first diagram to you..."

He reached out and gestured against Jiang Mingzhe's body, starting from the left shoulder, traversing horizontally below the neck, slanting across the right nipple, passing beneath the armpit down to the right arm, and continuing along the wrist to the thumb, while saying: "Eldest brother, firmly memorize this line. Younger brother will trace it once more."

Jiang Mingzhe felt so ticklish from his gestures that he nearly shuddered, and hurriedly waved his hand to stop him: "There is no need to trace it again, I already know it. This is the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian."

Duan Yu rejoiced: "Ah, so elder brother has practiced internal energy before? That makes things simple. Well, the scroll states that the practice of all internal energy in the world starts from the Yunmen acupoint and moves toward the Shaoshang acupoint, but our Xiaoyao Sect does precisely the reverse, proceeding from Shaoshang to Yunmen."

As he spoke, he pointed out each acupoint along the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian. Jiang Mingzhe's practice of the *Tribulation-Crossing Scripture* placed the utmost importance on acupoints, so he naturally understood completely.

Then he heard Duan Yu say: "Once this technique is set in motion, the Shaoshang acupoint on the thumb comes into contact with another person, and their internal energy enters your body, storing itself within the Yunmen and other acupoints. However, one point must be noted: if the enemy's internal energy vastly surpasses your own, absorbing it is like seawater rushing backward into a river, which is extremely perilous..."

Hearing this, Jiang Mingzhe frowned slightly, thinking to himself: So after absorbing someone's internal energy with the *Demonic Northern Ocean Divine Art*, it still needs to be stored across various acupoints? The *Tribulation-Crossing Scripture* stores toxic force within acupoints; can a single warehouse possibly accommodate two different cargoes? Can acupoints already storing toxic force store internal energy as well?

He pondered incessantly within his heart, though he did not voice his thoughts aloud, remaining intently focused on Duan Yu's explanation.

Once Duan Yu finished explaining the technique for the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, he ran off again to continue studying the scroll. Alternating between reading and explaining, three or four hours passed until he had conveyed the meridians, acupoints, and techniques of all thirty-six diagrams to Jiang Mingzhe.

The techniques involved in these thirty-six diagrams varied: some absorbed others' cultivation, some purified internal energy, some cultivated internal energy, and some discharged internal energy. In short, each served its own purpose, truly deserving to be called profound and comprehensive.

Having listened to the entirety of the contents, Jiang Mingzhe finally understood that the previously mentioned storage of absorbed internal energy in the Yunmen and other acupoints was merely temporary. The logic behind it was to treat the meridians as riverbeds; when the enemy's internal energy entered, it acted like a roaring flood, and the acupoints along the way could all be regarded as flood-storage areas. By continuously diverting the internal energy, the burden on one's own meridians was reduced.

In this manner, the enemy's internal energy temporarily remained within the body and was divided into numerous portions, allowing one to cultivate and transform them section by section, adjusting and altering the nature of that internal energy until it was finally converted into pure Northern Ocean True Qi, stored within the Shanzhong acupoint. Only then could it truly be considered one's own cultivation.

This Northern Ocean True Qi possessed both yin and yang attributes. Following different routes of circulation, it could transform into pure yang, pure yin, scorching heat, or bitter cold, generating infinite changes. Truly, the mastery of its application lay entirely in the mind.

In Jiang Mingzhe's view, this process was akin to an enemy attacking with swords and spears, while he used empty-handed disarming techniques to seize their weapons, toss them back into the furnace to burn away the impurities, hammer them into blocks of refined steel for storage, and then forge them into handy weapons whenever needed—transforming into a saber if a saber was desired, or a sword if a sword was desired.

Seizing weapons empty-handed was the absorption of internal energy; furnace-forging and hammering was the transformation into Northern Ocean True Qi; and forging various weapons was the application of Northern Ocean True Qi.

When Duan Yu finished his explanation, Jiang Mingzhe sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to carefully review and memorize everything. Whenever anything was unclear, he would ask Duan Yu until every detail was deeply engraved in his mind.

***

And Duan Yu, through repeatedly gesturing and explaining, had also unconsciously memorized the technique.

Having thoroughly grasped the methodology of the *Demonic Northern Ocean Divine Art*, Jiang Mingzhe mused to himself: The critical difficulty in practicing this art lies in first converting one's existing internal energy into Northern Ocean True Qi. With this true qi as a foundation, it is just like operating an old-fashioned pressure pump—one must first pour in that initial bit of water before it can draw up anyone else's internal energy.

Not only that, but when converting absorbed foreign internal energy, one must also use one's own Northern Ocean True Qi as a primer. It is just like wanting to dye a cup of water black: one must already have a drop of ink; and if one wants to dye a basin of water black, one must have a whole cup of ink...

Thinking up to this point, he suddenly understood why the manual specifically pointed out that if the opponent's internal energy vastly surpassed one's own, one must absolutely never absorb it. It was precisely out of fear that there would be too much water and too little ink, causing one to burst from being overwhelmed before the transformation could take place...

Jiang Mingzhe could not help frowning deeply. Judging by this technique, if one possessed no internal energy at all and cultivated a wisp of Northern Ocean True Qi from scratch, although difficult, it had the advantage of safety. However, if one already possessed internal energy and forcibly attempted to convert it into Northern Ocean True Qi, it would be exceptionally perilous.

He carefully reviewed the few characters in the books who had practiced the *Demonic Northern Ocean Divine Art*—

Duan Yu had possessed zero internal energy when someone struck him squarely in the Shanzhong acupoint, which was equivalent to a forced infusion of internal energy. Furthermore, the person who struck him was merely an unranked disciple of the Wuliang Sword Sect with shallow internal energy. The amount of internal energy contained in that single punch was extremely minimal, allowing Duan Yu to barely manage the transformation despite having no foundation. Following that as a foundation, he absorbed the internal energy of several disciples—a matter of sheer coincidence and extraordinary good fortune.

Later on, Duan Yu absorbed far too much internal energy and almost burst, fortunately acquiring the *Six Meridians Divine Sword* manual just in time to refine the sword qi, thus turning danger into safety. Such fortuitous encounters were truly beyond the norm for ordinary people.

Then there was Xuzhu, who originally possessed shallow internal energy and had his previous cultivation directly dissolved by Wuyazi. That was presumably achieved by leveraging the characteristics of Northern Ocean True Qi to neutralize a portion of his cultivation, directly instilling seventy years of Wuyazi's pure Northern Ocean True Qi into Xuzhu's body, thus sparing him the immense hurdle of converting his own internal energy's nature.

Later on, there was also Linghu Chong who practiced the *Suck-Star大法* (D大法). The chaotic internal energy within his body was never truly his to begin with; once he obtained the manual, whatever needed to disperse simply dispersed, presenting not the slightest difficulty...

Jiang Mingzhe thought through the entire list and was horrified to discover that not a single person had successfully transitioned to the *Demonic Northern Ocean Divine Art* after having practiced other internal martial arts!

He swallowed hard, thinking: I certainly might not possess the extraordinary luck of Duan Yu, Xuzhu, or Linghu Chong. These individuals kept blundering into various death traps yet somehow refused to die; I might not share that kind of grand fortune. If I try to follow their example, it would purely be asking for misery. It is better not to rush into practicing just yet; let me ponder it slowly, and perhaps I can figure out a proper and safe method.

Sighing with a hint of regret, he stood up and suddenly noticed that Duan Yu was holding a tree branch with a deeply focused expression, muttering to himself as he traced fluid and bizarre arcs upon the muddy ground.