Chapter 349 - 347: Mutated Martial Arts (Part 1)

"Is it really possible?" Feng Heguang couldn’t help but ask again.

Seeing this, Lou Yi remained silent.

He directly punched towards the sky.

A thunderous explosion was heard.

A column of white air, as thick as a thigh, shot vertically upwards toward the sky, seemingly connecting with the heavens above.

A wild goose happened to fly across the high sky.

It was hit by the air column and exploded into a blood-red firework in the air.

"This punch of mine holds eighty-eight thousand jin. Your great-grandfather probably couldn’t achieve that."

"Eighty-eight thousand jin..."

Feng Heguang was shaken in his heart.

As the contemporary male heir of the Feng family, he naturally understood the significance of this power.

A normal martial artist maxes out at ten thousand jin strength; even if someone manages to break through, they can’t exceed it by much.

His great-grandfather, however, was incredibly talented and had a unique encounter, allowing him to surpass quite a bit.

But even at his great-grandfather’s peak, it was less than half of this.

And after breaking the human body’s limit, every bit of increase requires an enormous price.

"Alright, I’ll give it to you, hoping you won’t be affected!" Feng Heguang’s face shifted unpredictably, eventually deciding firmly.

But according to him, the Feng family ancestor’s cultivation technique wasn’t in his residence but at his aunt’s house in the countryside, about fifty or sixty li from here.

Lou Yi rented a carriage in the city, taking Feng Heguang and his daughter along to leave the place.

"When my great-grandfather was young, he obtained a peculiar artifact and discovered that just being near it would cause the flesh and blood to mutate..."

The carriage bumped along the road, while the young girl lay asleep on her father’s lap.

Feng Heguang slowly narrated the history of the Feng family ancestor’s cultivation technique to Lou Yi.

"The mutated flesh looked like a tumor, possessed its own consciousness, as if parasitized by the artifact.

Though growing on oneself, it wasn’t entirely one’s own.

But it held terrifying power; if communication with it were possible, one could gain part of its strength.

My great-grandfather created a cultivation technique from this, known as the Demon Summoning Scripture..."

"However, not everyone can communicate with the tumor.

After my great-grandfather passed away, two generations of ancestors who practiced the Demon Summoning Scripture went insane and died, with one even going on a killing spree before death, nearly wiping out the entire family..."

At this point, a touch of pain flashed in Feng Heguang’s eyes.

Clearly, this past was a deeply painful subject for the Feng family, not to be easily touched upon.

"By the time of my grandfather’s generation, the family strictly prohibited practicing the Demon Summoning Scripture. What use is martial prowess if one loses their life?

Sadly, this tumor continued to pass down through generations, though fortunately it grew smaller with each generation. My daughter’s tumor is not very noticeable, and perhaps by the next generation, it will vanish entirely..."

Through Feng Heguang’s narration, Lou Yi grasped the situation and understood why Feng Heguang was unwilling to practice the family legacy technique.

Sadly, not practicing martial arts leaves one defenseless against malice when it seeks them out.

At least practicing martial arts allows one to hold power in their own hands.

"My father feared I couldn’t resist the temptation, so he placed the family heirloom with my aunt. My aunt is quite stubborn and may not hand it over," Feng Heguang said, furrowing his brow, a bit uncertain.

The carriage quickly arrived at a secluded village.

The dirt road was rough and uneven, flanked by crops taller than a person.

They resembled sorghum from the previous era, green tinged with red, with heavy tassels bending the stalks.

Arriving at a low, old earthen house, the carriage came to a stop.

Several naked little children played and chased outside the house, eyes brightening upon seeing Feng Heguang disembark.

"Uncle Tumor is here!"

"Sister Jingjing is here too!"

Yet upon seeing Lou Yi, dressed in Daoist attire with an extraordinary appearance, they shrank back, casting curious yet fearful glances his way.

"Heguang has come?" Feng Heguang’s aunt ran out, apron tied around her waist. She was a kind-looking elderly woman, half-gray hair, smiling, "I just made some cakes, come eat."

Her back also had a noticeable protrusion, resembling a hunchback.

Lou Yi joined for a meal, which consisted of two dry cakes and a bit of pickle. Despite living in the countryside, Feng Heguang’s aunt was more well-off than some city folk.

However, when the topic of the family legacy technique came up, her expression turned extremely stern: "No, absolutely not!"

"Heguang, have you forgotten your father’s teachings, forgotten the painful lessons our Feng family has endured over the past century?"

"If you bring this up again, leave now. I’ll consider you not my nephew! Besides, I’ve already thrown that thing into the ditch!"

"What?" Feng Heguang’s face turned bitter upon hearing this, looking towards Lou Yi.

Lou Yi’s expression remained unchanged as he stretched out his right hand, palm open.

Feng Heguang’s aunt looked at him in surprise, not knowing what this Daoist was up to.

The next moment, her eyes widened, breath quickened slightly.

In Lou Yi’s palm appeared a shiny silver ingot, looking not less than several taels, equivalent to several years of a common household’s income.

"Aunt, if you can lend me the Feng family cultivation technique for a look, this silver is yours."

"No, it’s not possible, I can’t let it harm anyone..." Aunt’s words were cut off.

Lou Yi placed the silver ingot onto the table with a ’thud’, then a second, a third.

He continued until the fifth ingot before stopping.

"Aunt, I am a disciple of the Corpse-Driving Sect, seeking this technique to study if it’s possible to eliminate the tumor on you, freeing you from others’ judgment. Rest assured, Feng Heguang won’t get to see it."

"I see these little ones, without pants to wear, might need to attend school or learn a craft in the future, all requiring silver..."

Appealing to emotions, leveraging benefits.

Lou Yi quickly obtained the item he needed.

It was a one-foot-long silver iron box, made of Profound Iron, with a small lock of the same material hanging outside.

Though there was no key, this posed no difficulty for Lou Yi.

Red True Strength seeped from his fingertips, drilling continuously at the same spot on the Profound Iron lock. After several breaths, the lock split open.

Opening the iron box revealed a yellowed blue secret manual inside.

Along with a white box made of unknown material, soft to the touch, somewhat like clay.

The manuscript’s handwritten title, "Demon Summoning Scripture," was particularly striking. Inside, the first page read:

In my youth, I obtained a peculiar artifact. Being near it caused bodily mutations, forming tumors, imbued with malicious energy. Guiding it with the heart could strengthen one’s qi-blood... Yet this method is extremely dangerous; practitioners must first rectify their mindset - Feng Jiuyue.

The second page later explained how to communicate with the tumor, channeling powerful energy into the body and enhancing one’s strength.

Feng Jiuyue divided the cultivation of the Demon Summoning Scripture into three levels, calling practitioners Abnormal People, distinguishing them from ordinary martial artists.

...