Li Ling then asked, "Grandpa, you just said that these eight swords are related to the 'Ten Forms of Heavenly Sword' that I cultivate, as well as the 'Eight Forms of Famous Sword,' the supreme sword technique of our Famous Sword Manor. I wonder what the reason is?"
Yi Yun didn't answer, but instead asked, "Feng'er, tell me the name of the cultivation method practiced by the successors of our Famous Sword Manor."
“It’s the Five Elements Nourishing Qi Technique, Grandpa,” Li Ling blurted out.
Yi Yun nodded and said, "That's right, it's the Five Elements Nourishing Essence Technique."
After a pause, Yi Yun continued, "The human body contains Yin and Yang energies, as well as the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The process of cultivating martial arts, increasing one's power, and opening up the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians is the process of accumulating Yin and Yang energies and the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth in the body."
Li Ling listened thoughtfully.
Yi Yun then asked, "Feng'er, tell me, what are the twelve primary meridians?"
Li Ling replied, "They are the three Yin meridians of the hand: the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, the Pericardium Meridian of Hand-Jueyin, and the Heart Meridian of Hand-Shaoyin."
The three Yang meridians of the hand: Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, and Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian;
The three Yang meridians of the foot: the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming, the Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang, and the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang;
The three Yin meridians of the foot are: the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian, and the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.
There are a total of twelve meridians.
After he finished speaking, Li Ling suddenly realized and said, "Oh, I see. The twelve meridians correspond to the five internal organs of the human body: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. These five organs correspond to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."
Yi Yun smiled with satisfaction and nodded with pleasure: "That's right, the process of cultivating internal energy and opening up the twelve meridians is the process of accumulating the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth in the human body."
Correspondingly, the subsequent opening of the eight extraordinary meridians with internal energy is a process of accumulating Yin and Yang energies within the body.
Li Ling nodded and said, "The Ren meridian is known as the sea of Yin meridians; the Du meridian is known as the sea of Yang meridians. Opening up the eight extraordinary meridians is indeed about accumulating one's own Yin and Yang energies."
Yi Yun continued, "Once a martial artist has fully opened up the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians throughout his body, his Yin-Yang and Five Elements Qi will be perfected, and he will naturally undergo a transformation, commonly known as 'returning from the acquired to the innate.' At this time, a person's lifespan and physical condition will be greatly enhanced."
Li Ling then had another question: "Grandpa, since we all cultivate the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements of the human body, why do many martial artists in the martial arts world have different internal energy attributes? Some martial artists have internal energy attributes that are more Yin and cold, while others have internal energy attributes that are more Yang and explosive."
Yi Yun chuckled and stroked his beard, saying, "Feng'er, you've misunderstood. A martial artist's internal energy attributes are different from their own Yin-Yang and Five Elements Qi."
"Oh?" Li Ling asked, somewhat puzzled.
Yi Yun explained, "A martial artist's internal energy is determined by the attribute of the cultivation technique he practices. The Yin-Yang and Five Elements energies are simply what his body naturally produces when he uses his internal energy to open up the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve regular meridians. These are separate matters."
Li Ling then asked, "What about our Mingjian Manor's 'Five Elements Cultivation Technique'?"
Yi Yun said, "Back then, our ancestors discovered the connection between the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians and the Yin-Yang and Five Elements. They also realized that whether one could break through to the Innate Realm was related to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements within the body."
Some believe that practicing techniques based on a single attribute, while indirectly accumulating Yin-Yang and Five Elements energy in the body during the process of opening up meridians, is not as effective as specifically cultivating Yin-Yang and Five Elements energy.
Therefore, our ancestor collected various martial arts techniques from the martial arts world. After years of research, he finally created a technique for cultivating the Five Elements and Yin-Yang energies.
Li Ling roughly understood. Combining what Yi Yun said with his own understanding, the process of a martial artist cultivating is the process of evolving the essence of life.
To progress from the acquired to the innate requires achieving the perfection of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Moreover, in modern society, one has heard of immortals achieving "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top and Five Qi Converging at the Origin," etc. Of course, this is quite far from Li Ling's level.
These thoughts flashed through Li Ling's mind, and he stopped pondering those more profound questions. His current level was too low; he would be able to understand the mysteries when he went to a higher level world in the future.
Li Ling then asked Yi Yun, "The cultivation method for training the five elements is the 'Five Elements Nourishing Qi Cultivation Technique,' so there should also be a cultivation method for cultivating one's own Yin and Yang energies, right?"
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Chapter 148 The Mystery of the Eight Swords
Yi Yun nodded and said, "That's right. The Five Elements Nourishing Qi Cultivation Technique cultivates the five elements of the human body, strengthens the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, and makes it easier for us to open up the twelve meridians. After opening up the twelve meridians, our skill level will increase to that of a second-rate martial artist in the martial arts world."
Further on, one needs to cultivate the advanced technique "Yin Yang Two Qi Technique" to strengthen the Yin and Yang energies in the body, in order to open up the eight extraordinary meridians.
Li Ling said thoughtfully, "Grandpa, you said you were going to teach me the 'Ten Forms of Heavenly Sword' today, so I suppose you'll also teach me the 'Yin Yang Two Qi Technique' at the same time."
Yi Yun laughed and said, "Of course, Grandpa will teach you all of that as well."
After the laughter subsided, Yi Yun continued, "The Five Elements Nourishing Qi Technique and the Yin-Yang Two Qi Technique are cultivation methods, while the Heavenly Sword Ten Forms that I will pass on to you are the moves that match these cultivation methods."
As he spoke, Yi Yun pointed to the eight swords in front of him and said, "I suppose you've already noticed, Feng'er, that these eight swords correspond to the Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the seven types of energy in the human body."
Li Ling nodded. When his grandfather was introducing Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, Li Ling recalled what his grandfather had said about the materials his ancestors used to forge these eight swords. He had already made a guess. In addition, the aura emanating from the eight swords that he sensed with his mental power made him even more certain that these eight swords belonged to Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.
Li Ling pointed to the eight swords and said, "Grandpa, I understand. The Purple Lightning Sword is forged from black iron, so its attribute should be metal; the Mu Iron Sword is made from a thousand-year-old ironwood core, so its attribute is wood; the other swords correspond to water, fire, earth, yin and yang, and so on. As for the last nameless sword, it combines the attributes of yin and yang and the five elements."
The Purple Lightning Sword, with its metallic properties, possesses a fierce and sharp sword aura.
The Mu Iron Sword, which is of the wood element, possesses an unyielding and resilient sword aura.
The Xuanwu Sword, with its water attribute, unleashes a surging and continuous sword aura;
The fire-attribute glass sword explodes with scorching heat;
The white jade sword with earth attribute has a thick and all-encompassing sword aura;
The Azure Nether Sword, possessing the Yin attribute, exudes a chilling and piercing sword aura.
The Yang-attribute Deadly Sword possesses a fierce and masculine sword aura;
The last nameless sword possesses a sword aura that encompasses seven elements: Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements.
Li Ling couldn't help but admire the greatness of the ancestor of Mingjian Villa; he truly deserved to be called a legendary figure who had reached the level of a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm.
Yi Yun said, "Yes, these eight swords correspond to the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements of the human body. Our ancestors went through great hardships to forge these eight swords for the sake of future generations."
Moreover, after forging these eight swords, the ancestors discovered that the swords could autonomously absorb the Yin and Yang and Five Elements energies of heaven and earth, increasing their power. The swords were connected to the external primordial energy of heaven and earth, which is why they could float in mid-air.