Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

“The night has grown deep, and you want to play chess at this hour?”

Lu Zhichun furrowed his brow, feeling puzzled about how he had allowed this old man to enter his house.

“In this Mi Village, I’ve played countless games of chess with others, and I’ve grown tired of it. Now that I’ve run into you, 1 can’t resist the urge to play. I hope you’ll indulge me.”

The old man wore a smile on his face, already setting up the chessboard and waiting for Lu Zhichun to take a seat.

“I’m feeling a bit tired today, and I’m afraid I don’t have the energy for a game with you.”

Lu Zhichun looked at the old man and then glanced at the chessboard. He had a vague feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He couldn’t pinpoint the source of this feeling, but he decided to follow his instincts.

It’s not too late, not too late for anything.”

The old man chuckled softly, picked up a chess piece, and placed it on the board in front of him.

Lu Zhichun gazed at the chessboard, feeling a moment of dizziness, and involuntarily closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself sitting across from the old man, his right hand just lifting from the board, having made a move.

Aside from his daily cultivation, Lu Zhichun’s only significant hobby was playing chess. Seeing that he had already made a move, he set aside all other emotions and focused on the game.

However, Lu Zhichun failed to notice that with each move, he was losing a bit of his vitality and energy. These losses, though imperceptible individually, accumulated over time and had a significant impact.

Many things couldn’t withstand such gradual erosion, even a cultivator with a strong foundation. Given enough time, this kind of loss could be destructive.

Lu Zhichun’s entire being was absorbed in the chessboard, oblivious to the toll it was taking on his cultivation. It seemed that this old man possessed exceptional chess skills, and each move he made left Lu Zhichun captivated.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the loss of cultivation Lu Zhichun suffered was already on par with the entire set of techniques he had been practicing outside earlier. And the pace of this game had only just begun.

On the other side, inside Hua Daohong’s house, the two of them had already started drinking without even realizing it.

A thousand cups of wine is not too many when you meet a like-minded friend. Hua Daohong was already a lover of alcohol, and the liquor brought by the old man not only had a fragrant aroma but also left an unforgettable aftertaste. It was impossible to resist the urge to keep pouring one cup after another.

Hua Daohong didn’t drink for the sake of tasting the wine or for engaging in conversation while drinking. He simply savored the act of drinking itself. If someone was willing to join him, even in silence, it was a joy for Hua Daohong.

At this moment, the two of them didn’t exchange a word; instead, they kept pouring and drinking, as if indulging in a drunken revelry.

Seeing the old man’s drinking style, Hua Daohong was genuinely pleased, and a smile appeared on his face. He raised the fragrant wine in his hand and took a sip.

However, Hua Daohong failed to notice that with each sip, his own aura diminished by a point. Only then would the old man pour another cup and hand it to him to drink.

Each cup of wine in the old man’s hand was, in fact, Hua Daohong’s cultivation. Hua Daohong was unknowingly sacrificing his own power, piece by piece, as he drank with the old man.

At this moment, Hua Daohong was completely absorbed in the joy of drinking, unaware of this gradual loss of power.

One moment, two moments, half an hour, one hour!

Suddenly, a sense of alarm jolted Hua Daohong’s heart. The cup of wine he was about to drink stopped in mid-air. His previously hazy eyes cleared slightly due to this shock.

Hua Daohong felt a weakness in his body, not just physically, but his entire being seemed to be in a lowered state, as if he had gone without sleep for days and nights.

“What’s happening to me?”

Hua Daohong stared at the wine glass in his hand, which now looked more like a deadly poison than wine. Although he couldn’t fully grasp the situation, he instinctively knew that he must not drink any more.

Continuing to drink might lead to consequences he did not wish to face.

“I’ve only had a few sips. Why are you stopping?” the old man urged.

“I won’t drink anymore. You should leave; I need to rest!” Hua Daohong stood up and issued a dismissal to the old man.

“If you don’t like the taste of this wine, I have others. How about you try this one?” The old man wore an icy smile, beckoning Hua Daohong with his hand.

In a daze, Hua Daohong sat back down, holding the wine glass, and drank most of it.

“Pfft!”

In the past, Hua Daohong would have continued to drink after consuming most of the wine. However, the sense of alarm from earlier remained, and he immediately spat out the wine.

“Get out!”

Hua Daohong slammed the wine glass onto the ground, shattering it into pieces. His mental clarity improved slightly, and the previously overwhelming haziness diminished.

The old man wore a cold smile, nodded at Hua Daohong, and left his house with the wine.

Hua Daohong stood by the edge of the bed, looking around, with feelings of unease and alarm lingering in his mind. An intense desire to leave this place arose within him. However, this urge gradually subsided.

A strange force was suppressing Hua Daohong’s thoughts. At the same time, drowsiness washed over him. Hua Daohong unknowingly sat down on the bed, resisting the urge to fall into a deep slumber.

In Lu Zhichun’s room, the floor was scattered with chess pieces. Lu Zhichun’s expression was dark as he gazed at the old man in front of him. A wave of killing intent surged from his heart, but it inexplicably dissipated.

“The chessboard is scattered; let’s end this game here,” Lu Zhichun said in a deep voice.

“No rush, no rush. I’ll come find you another time.”

The old man wore a chilling smile on his face as he looked at Lu Zhichun. His eyes glinted with a greedy desire, almost spilling over, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Lu Zhichun remained silent, watching the old man leave, his gaze filled with contemplation.

Something was seriously amiss here, and he couldn’t stay any longer. Lu Zhichun took a step forward, but suddenly an overwhelming fatigue swept over him. It was so intense that even Lu Zhichun struggled to resist it, and he found himself sitting on the ground.

Resisting this exhaustion seemed almost impossible, and leaving became a distant hope.

Outside Chen Fei’s thatched cottage, he had already escorted the woman out. She held a piece of paper in her hand, on which a doodle-like drawing was sketched.

It was difficult to discern what exactly was depicted on the paper, and the term “doodle” would be too generous to describe it.

Sir, all I asked for was a painting. Why are you so heartless?”

The woman’s bare shoulder was slightly exposed, and she stood slightly taller, revealing more than one would expect. However, Chen Fei’s expression remained unchanged, showing no sign of emotion.

Whether it was the mysterious energy he had received during the day or the automatic functioning of the Dragon Suppressing Elephant, Chen Fei’s mind was relatively clear. The hazy feeling caused by the food and drink he had consumed had diminished considerably.

So when the woman appeared, requesting a painting in the middle of the night, Chen Fei instinctively felt that something was amiss. Villagers might be friendly, but they wouldn’t approach matters in such a peculiar manner.

In the dead of night, a lone man and a woman, and she asks for a painting. Chen Fei could paint, but under these circumstances, he didn’t dare to draw for her.

Chen Fei didn’t know what would happen if he did paint for her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

There were moments when he almost picked up a charcoal pencil and started to draw vigorously, but he forcibly restrained himself, opting instead to doodle and create something entirely nonsensical on the paper.

He made sure not to depict the woman’s specific appearance.

Despite the woman repeatedly displaying her figure and making suggestive comments, none of it stirred any response from Chen Fei.

The whole situation was just too strange. A woman suddenly approaching you with advances, and Chen Fei’s immediate reaction was to wonder if there was some sort of hidden agenda or plot.

“My skills are indeed disappointing, sir,” Chen Fei said, bowing slightly.

The smile on the woman’s face gradually faded, leaving only an inhuman coldness. She cast a sharp glance at Chen Fei, and the paper in her hand turned into fragments as she walked away.

Chen Fei furrowed his brow, closed the door, and his desire to leave this place surged to its maximum.

However, before Chen Fei could take any action, a sudden drowsiness overcame him, and he couldn’t help but grasp the wall for support. The drowsiness was so overpowering that it occupied all of his thoughts, leaving no room for other considerations.

After what felt like an unknown duration, the drowsiness slowly faded, and Chen Fei’s brain began to function again.

“What was I just trying to do?”

Chen Fei looked around in confusion. There should have been something extremely important he was about to do, but he found that he had forgotten it.

“Again?”

Chen Fei’s brow furrowed deeply. This feeling of forgetting things was truly terrible, and he realized that this situation seemed to have been ongoing.

At the appointed time, the village chief went door-to-door and brought Chen Fei’s group to the open area where they had been the previous day. Just like yesterday, all the villagers stood to the side, silently watching Chen Fei’s group without saying a word.

Chen Fei looked at Lu Zhichun and the others, noticing that something seemed odd about their condition, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Mi Village sincerely welcomes anyone who comes here. Yesterday, the three of you taught us your techniques, and we have greatly benefited from them. We also saw your sincerity. In return, Mi Village is willing to share something we treasure with you, hoping it will be of use to you.”

The village chief finished speaking, and several villagers stepped forward.

“Wind Gathering Technique, a minor technique. We hope it won’t disappoint you!”

An old woman stepped forward, casting a deep, sinister look at Chen Fei’s group. She pointed forward, and the area within a few meters suddenly fluctuated. A gust of wind appeared out of thin air beneath her, and the old woman slowly floated into the air.

Lu Zhichun and the others’ eyes lit up immediately. Even though their spiritual wisdom was suppressed, they could still tell that this was an incredibly powerful technique, far from ordinary.

“Wind Gathering, this technique…” The old woman proceeded to explain the essence of the Wind Gathering Technique in detail. It took nearly half an hour to explain the entire technique.

However, Lu Zhichun and the others failed to notice that as they listened, energy was continuously escaping from their crown chakras. Even Chen Fei was not exempt.

Chen Fei was listening intently, completely absorbed in the explanation. Suddenly, he noticed a line of text flickering at the bottom of his vision.

Why would there be text appearing at the bottom of his vision?