Walking the Ten Thousand Daos

Chapter 56: Martial Dao

Li Qi felt a trace of "Qi" being forcibly squeezed from his muscles and body, but as soon as this trace of Qi emerged, he immediately felt completely drained.

"Li Qi, you're awake?!" At this moment, Shen Shuibi's voice reached his ears.

Her tone sounded anxious, but also relieved.

Li Qi opened his eyes and found her holding him tightly. Where their skin touched, he could feel a smooth, soft sensation. His own body was covered in a greasy sweat, but it somehow didn't cling to Shen Shuibi, giving him a strange feeling.

"Good, good... I almost thought you wouldn't wake up. Don't you know, just now the Underworld Yin Qi surged up and almost dragged you away!" Seeing Li Qi awake, Shen Shuibi quickly got up from him and then tidied her disheveled dress.

"Underworld Yin Qi... In that case, thank you, Miss Shen," Li Qi still sounded somewhat weak. He felt so feeble he couldn't move.

However, he had at least woken up.

From Shen Shuibi's words, combined with the strange dream he had earlier, he immediately understood what had happened in that half-dream, half-awake illusion.

It was a simple deduction.

The Underworld Yin Qi wanted to drag him down, likely because he was truly on the verge of death.So, Shen Shuibi hugged him, using her Immaculate Body's characteristic of being impervious to all evils, to block those wisps of Yin Qi for him, giving him time to save himself.

He truly should thank her, otherwise, this time he might have genuinely died.

Now... what about the current situation?

Li Qi struggled to sit up from the ground.

He then realized he was in a clearing in the forest, with a canvas spread beneath him, and a messy bandage wrapped around his chest.

It should be a bandage, right? Made of coarse linen. By the looks of it, it must have been from Shen Shuibi's dress.

After all, her long dress had been transformed into a seven-tenths length skirt that exposed her calves.

And before, it was probably Shen Shuibi constantly listening to the situation with her ears, then riding the old horse, always keeping close, which allowed her to rush out in the critical moment and kick that soldier to death.

Old Horse was still reliable. Shen Shuibi might be a bit slow, but she was dependable in crucial moments.

If not for the two of them this time, he would have truly fallen.

While Li Qi was observing the situation, Shen Shuibi was squatting on the other side, tidying up the pot.

Something seemed to be stewing in the pot, bubbling away, likely something Shen Shuibi had made.

She seemed to notice Li Qi was awake, so she was tidying up.

Since there were no utensils, Li Qi usually ate directly from the pot, so she simply brought the pot over.

It looked hot, but being an Immaculate Body, impervious to hot and cold, neither extreme seemed to affect her. Even holding a boiling hot iron pot directly with her bare hands, she felt nothing, her hands still soft and smooth.

Carrying the pot over, Shen Shuibi placed it in front of Li Qi, then squatted down. She used the spoon Li Qi usually ate with to feed him a mouthful, saying, "Li Qi, you are truly amazing! To kill a ninth-rank Military Path cultivator at an unranked level, I've never seen anyone like you, not even by the Lady's side!"

"It was just relying on the terrain, and besides, most of his power wasn't used on me, but to block the mountain roots and water veins with his formation," Li Qi shook his head, not feeling that he was strong enough to have accomplished it on his own.

That officer, that ninth-rank Military Path cultivator, if it had been a fair duel on flat ground, Li Qi's head would probably have been chopped off with a single saber strike, and he wouldn't even have had the ability to resist.

After forming a formation with his subordinates, he could even briefly cut off the mountain roots and water veins, preventing others from borrowing power from the mountains and waters.

Fortunately, Li Qi couldn't even borrow power from the mountains and waters in the first place; his defense was for naught.

This was quite normal. Facing a ritual priest from Wushen Mountain who displayed the Bull Strength Art, the first thing to do was definitely to cut off their access to the power of mountains and waters.

However, this officer didn't expect Li Qi to be a half-baked amateur.

He simply couldn't use it.

Coupled with the geographical advantage of the pond and the sudden surprise attack with the willow branch, he barely managed to turn the tables and kill the opponent.

It was truly a close call, far from a level where he could gloat. He still had a hole in his chest and was lying on the ground, unable to move.

"If you did it, you did it. It doesn't matter what you used, that's what the Lady says," Shen Shuibi said, feeding Li Qi another spoonful.

Li Qi glanced at it. It seemed to be porridge made from rice cakes.

The rice cakes were crushed, then his previous mountain goods like wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms were added, along with cured meat, coarse salt, and some wild vegetables he didn't know the origin of, all stewed together.

It was a fragrant, steaming bowl of meat porridge, and its enticing aroma aroused an appetite in Li Qi's already weak body.

He swallowed a spoonful eagerly, but it wasn't nearly enough, and he eagerly awaited Shen Shuibi to feed him more.

He couldn't help it; he couldn't even lift his hands. His entire body was sore and weak, and the saber wound in his chest was constantly seeping blood, causing unbearable pain.

Shen Shuibi understood him. She ate a mouthful, then fed him another, not even minding the heat, eating noisily.

Thankfully, his physique was strong; otherwise, he probably wouldn't even be able to eat to recover his strength.

"You suffered external injuries and forcibly squeezed your physique to produce a trace of internal Qi, so you need to eat more meat. I cooked all the meat in your bag," Shen Shuibi said while feeding Li Qi.

These words suddenly startled Li Qi, and he stopped gobbling down his food.

"Wait, forcibly squeezing my physique to produce a trace of internal Qi?" Li Qi asked back.

"Yes, didn't you know? But didn't you do it yourself?" Shen Shuibi also seemed a bit surprised.

"I don't know, what is that? I was just trying to save myself, I don't understand the principle," Li Qi decisively sought her guidance.

Although Shen Shuibi's mental reactions were a bit slow, her knowledge base was truly impeccable.

When Li Qi asked, she readily answered: "This is a cultivation method of the Martial Dao's combat path. Unlike the Shaman Dao, which integrates external Qi into the human body's miniature heaven and earth, they believe the human body itself is the strongest and doesn't need external Qi."

"Therefore, Martial Dao practitioners don't absorb Qi into their bodies. Instead, they rely on eating. They eat various spiritual beasts, consume various types of Qi, and even eat people. After consuming these, they digest them through the human body's miniature heaven and earth, then transform them into a unified 'internal Qi,' which they use in combat."

"Different ways of eating lead to different branches. The Martial Dao also has many cultivation methods that teach people how to eat. Besides cultivation methods, there are different fighting styles. The Martial Dao excels at combat techniques and can use many incredible martial arts, so their direct combat ability is quite strong. You should also have a Martial Dao cultivation method, right?"

"Martial Dao cultivation method..." Li Qi looked at his own body.

Was Wave-Breaking Force actually a Martial Dao cultivation method?

(Chapter End)