Chapter 89: Martial Dao! 5-Animal Frolics
Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Martial Dao! 5-Animal Frolics
CRACKLE... CRACKLE...
Flames blazed, roasting the bear meat.
Zhu Ge recounted what he had seen to the Hedgehog Girl, hoping to glean some more knowledge from her.
The Hedgehog Girl was always like this, blurting out bits of information from time to time.
This information was always very helpful to Zhu Ge.
"The Plague God Sparrow is incredibly powerful! I heard its divine intent has already transcended into a ’domain’—a Divine Domain!" The Hedgehog Girl’s face was full of awe. "Whether it’s an Immortal Realm, a Literary Domain, or a Divine Domain, they are all filled with ’intent.’ Within their domain, the creator is invincible."
A domain!
Zhu Ge was stunned.
So the Plague God Sparrow’s boundless plague was Its Divine Domain!
No wonder it was so powerful. A single glance had nearly injured him.
"What about the Yuan Yang City Lord?" Zhu Ge asked again.
The Yuan Yang City Lord was a Great Immortal; he shouldn’t be any weaker than the Plague God Sparrow.
"I heard..." The Hedgehog Girl lowered her voice, as if afraid the walls had ears. "I heard that the Yuan Yang City Lord still hasn’t formed his own Immortal Realm."
"Where on earth do you hear all this?" Zhu Ge was genuinely curious now.
Was there anything the Hedgehog Girl didn’t know?
She even knew a thing or two about a Great Immortal like the Yuan Yang City Lord.
"I don’t know!" The Hedgehog Girl tilted her head. "I just go everywhere, and there are always people talking. I remember what they say because I find it interesting."
"You don’t happen to know what color underwear the Yuan Yang City Lord wears, do you?" Zhu Ge gave her a strange look.
At this, the Hedgehog Girl leaned in conspiratorially, glancing left and right to make sure no one was listening, and whispered, "White."
Zhu Ge: "?"
’Incredible!’
’Absolutely incredible!’
"Mm, very good. Keep up the good work," Zhu Ge nodded, not knowing what else to say.
He had truly struck gold with her.
Initially, he had only tamed the hedgehog to have her stand guard, to act as a watchdog.
After all, this valley was going to be his main base, and it needed a sentry.
She could see far and shoot her long quills like an arrow tower, making her perfect for guarding the base.
He just never expected the Hedgehog Girl’s knowledge to be so extensive. She was a walking encyclopedia of gossip who knew everything about everyone.
She could even tell him the color of the Yuan Yang City Lord’s underwear. It was hard to imagine what the Hedgehog Girl had been up to all these years.
"Brother, I’m impressed," Hua Liusha sighed in his mind. "I never imagined Jianjian would have such a talent for digging up information."
"Jianjian?" Zhu Ge asked, looking at the Hedgehog Girl in confusion. "What’s your name?"
"Liu Jianjian!" the Hedgehog Girl said with a sweet smile. "Hehe, an auntie gave me that name. I think it sounds lovely."
"Mm." Zhu Ge nodded. "Here, this bear paw should be cooked. Go on, eat up."
He handed her a bear paw and picked one up for himself, starting to gnaw on it.
Even after roasting, the bear paw had an overpowering, nauseatingly gamey taste.
But the flesh, rich with Spiritual Qi, was deeply nourishing Zhu Ge’s body.
After finishing the bear paw, which was thicker than his own torso, Zhu Ge still wasn’t full. He moved on to the meat he had set aside earlier.
By the time he had finished all the Demon Beast Flesh stored in the grass bowl, Zhu Ge felt completely refreshed and invigorated.
"Master, you eat so much!" Liu Jianjian was stunned. "All this meat... you eat more than an Essence-Devouring Demon Beast!"
"It’s nothing special." As someone who practiced Body Refinement, it was never enough, no matter how much he ate.
"You stand guard here. I’m going to do some training," Zhu Ge said, his gaze shifting to the center of the valley.
After his great battle with the Long Fern Pig, the area had been flattened into an open space with just a few small ponds, making it a perfect spot to practice the martial arts he knew.
Tai Chi, Eight Pieces of Brocade, and Five Animals Qigong!
He was an avid enthusiast of these arts and had studied them extensively. Now, they could finally be put to use.
’First, a set of Tai Chi...’
Zhu Ge stood in the center of the valley, feeling the gentle breeze as he began the opening movements of Tai Chi.
He was going to follow Liu Jianjian’s advice and practice by ’observing’.
Observing the Dao of the ancestors!
However, after performing a full set of Tai Chi and Eight Pieces of Brocade, Zhu Ge felt no reaction whatsoever.
’Something’s not right...’
Zhu Ge frowned.
’Either I learned them incorrectly, or they’re too profound for me. In any case, I shouldn’t be practicing these. I should be practicing Five Animals Qigong!’
Zhu Ge’s eyes lit up.
’What is most abundant here?’
’Demon Beasts!’
’Demon Beasts are everywhere!’
The Five Animals Qigong was, according to legend, a physical conditioning method created by Hua Tuo after studying five different animals.
The five animals imitated in the Cultivation Technique each corresponded to one of the five major human organs, forming a complete system for health and wellness.
The Tiger Frolic governed the liver, the Deer Frolic the kidneys, the Bear Frolic the spleen, the Ape Frolic the heart, and the Bird (Crane) Frolic the lungs.
In his past life, Zhu Ge had been worried about weak kidneys and practiced Five Animals Qigong daily, so he knew the movements like the back of his hand.
Now that he was trying to imitate the path of the Great Powers of old before forging his own, Five Animals Qigong was absolutely the most suitable martial art for him.
After all, for a martial art like Tai Chi, unless he could observe its founder, Zhang Sanfeng, performing it, the versions he knew were unlikely to be useful—he had just learned them from the internet.
But Five Animals Qigong was different.
The core of Five Animals Qigong was to imitate and learn from the five animals.
Even if the version Zhu Ge had learned wasn’t the orthodox one truly created by Hua Tuo, he could still observe the "five animals" himself to learn and make corrections.
From there, he could integrate it with techniques like ’Incense-Lighting’ and the ’Raging-Eyed Vajra Palm’ to forge his own path.
No sooner said than done!
Zhu Ge planted his feet, took a deep breath, and slowly began to practice the forms.
First came the Tiger Frolic!
He imitated the fierce pounce of a tiger, with movements like the "Tiger’s Upreach" and "Tiger’s Pounce."
This section primarily exercised the lower back, spine, and the joints of the limbs.
According to what he remembered from his past life, this frolic could replenish vital essence, nourish the marrow, strengthen the waist, and fortify the kidneys, as well as clear the qi pathways of the Triple Burner.
The second, the Deer Frolic, imitated the tranquil stretching of a deer.
Its movements, like the "Deer’s Antler Clash" and "Deer’s Run," focused on stretching the muscles and bones, strengthening the waist and lower limbs. It was meant to soothe the liver, strengthen the tendons, and regulate the qi in the liver and gallbladder meridians.
This aligned perfectly with his Waist and Horse Skill.
As for the Bear Frolic, it imitated the steady, heavy movements of a bear, with forms like the "Bear’s Amble" and "Bear’s Sway."
As Zhu Ge performed the Bear Frolic, he recalled the movements of the bear family he had encountered, swaying his waist and abdomen to massage his spleen and stomach.
This frolic was said to enhance physical strength and regulate the spleen and stomach. Zhu Ge found it easy to practice, since he was a Body Refining Martial Artist.
The fourth frolic was the Ape Frolic, for which Zhu Ge imitated the Great Ape from the Essence-Devouring Realm he had fought before.
However, the core of the Ape Frolic lay in an ape’s dexterity and agility, with movements like the "Ape’s Lift" and "Ape’s Pluck."
It was meant to train one’s Heart Spirit and physical coordination through actions like leaping and peering.
But that Great Ape had been a strength-type Demon Beast, so imitating it didn’t help Zhu Ge grasp the true essence of the form.
Still, this frolic was said to nourish the heart, strengthen the brain, and relieve nervous tension, as well as improve the qi and blood of the Heart Meridian, so Zhu Ge took it seriously.
As for the final frolic, it was called the Bird Frolic, or sometimes the Crane Frolic.
It imitated the light and graceful stretch of a bird or crane, with movements like the "Bird’s Stretch" and "Bird’s Flight."
Impressively, the Crane Frolic also came naturally to Zhu Ge.
Perhaps it was due to his former simulation trait, [Kunpeng].
The Bird Frolic, through the expansion and contraction of the chest and the stretching of the arms, was meant to enhance respiratory function, circulate qi and blood, and clear the lung and large intestine meridians.
Tiger, Deer, Bear, Ape, Bird!
After completing a full set of the Five Animals Qigong, Zhu Ge slowly came to a stop.
’Within the Five Animals Qigong lies my Dao.’