Chapter 5: Tempering Bones and Cleansing Marrow, Can I Cultivate?
“Uh…” With a soft groan, Zhang Xuan opened his eyes.
At this moment, the sunlight had already shone through the window, illuminating the bedroom floor.
Zhang Xuan got up and out of bed, stretching.
He felt as if he had never slept as soundly and sweetly as he did last night.
But in such a dangerous world, why did he sleep so well yesterday?
It seemed even better than his sleep in his previous life?
Zhang Xuan was slightly confused.
“Hmm?…What’s that smell?”
Zhang Xuan suddenly smelled a sour, pungent odor.
He looked around but didn't find the source of the smell.
Feeling a slight itch in his nose, he rubbed it casually.
“Achoo…” The smell became stronger, and his fingers felt greasy.
Looking closely, he saw that his hands and arms were covered in a layer of greasy, black mud.
“Ugh…” Zhang Xuan almost threw up.
Then he looked at other parts of his body and found that he was completely covered in this layer of black mud.
At this point, it wasn't just the unpleasant smell; his whole body started to feel uncomfortable.
Zhang Xuan was so scared that he quickly ran into the courtyard, stripped off his close-fitting clothes, drew a bucket of water from the well, and poured it over his head.
Then he picked up the soapberry next to him and quickly rubbed himself.
Another bucket of water was poured down.
He washed three or four times before he was clean.
At this moment, Zhang Xuan looked at his skin and was a little stunned.
His skin seemed much fairer and also much sturdier.
It should be known that the original owner was just an ordinary low-level commoner who had to work hard every day.
He was only at the level of having enough to eat and wear, and his diet was mainly grain.
Meat was only bought a little during festivals to satisfy cravings.
He had been malnourished for a long time, his body was already thin and weak, and his skin color was sallow.
As a transmigrator, the phrase "tempering bones and cleansing marrow" suddenly popped into Zhang Xuan's mind.
After being stunned for a while, Zhang Xuan immediately became excited.
As a transmigrator, he had been in a state of panic yesterday.
After all, living in such a dangerous world, he didn't know when he might be targeted by an Evil Ghost and lose his life.
Who wouldn't be afraid.
Now it was good.
As a transmigrator, tempering his bones and cleansing his marrow would definitely greatly improve his Aptitude.
Maybe he could practice martial arts.
According to the original owner's memory, there were Martial Artists in this world.
It was said that when they cultivated to a profound level, they could walk on eaves and walls, split stone tablets with their bare hands, and kill Evil Ghosts.
He would think of a way to see if he could find a martial arts Secret Manual.
He might have a chance to get one from the Wang Family.
Of course, if he couldn't get it in the end, it wasn't without a solution.
In his previous life, Zhang Xuan had learned Tai Chi and had also seen some routines like the Eighteen Forms of Brocade and the Five Animal Play from the Qigong books he bought.
In his previous life, Zhang Xuan had practiced according to the explanations in the books, but in the end, he didn't achieve anything.
According to the saying in novels, the original world was in the Age of Dharma Decline, lacking spiritual energy, so any cultivation method was just an empty shell.
He just didn't know if the original Secret Manuals were useful in this world.
What made Zhang Xuan even more excited was that he had not only read Qigong books but also many cultivation-related books.
Perhaps he could even Cultivate to become an Immortal in this world.
However, the hope should not be high, because the original owner had no memory of cultivation at all.
If there really were cultivators, even if the original owner was just an ordinary commoner, he would most likely have heard some legends or something.
But what annoyed Zhang Xuan was that besides Tai Chi, which he remembered quite clearly, he only had a vague impression of other boxing methods and various cultivation methods.
For now, practicing them was out of the question!
Zhang Xuan's Grandpa was a Daoist of the Zhengyi Sect.
He heard from him that his family was a direct descendant of Celestial Master Zhang Daoling of Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi!
But Zhang Xuan was skeptical.
Because of this, he was beaten a lot when he was a child.
Zhang Xuan thought to himself, if his family was really a direct descendant of the Celestial Master Dao, why were they not in Jiangxi, but in Jibei Province, thousands of miles away.
Grandpa also couldn't produce very effective evidence to prove his statement.
Zhang Xuan believed it even less!
There was a family tree at home, but the family tree only went back to the Ming Dynasty, and there were no records before that, nor was there any record of its relationship with Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi.
Zhang Xuan's name was personally given by his Grandpa, taking the meaning from "Mysterious and even more mysterious, the gate of all wonders" in The tao te ching.
Vaguely, Zhang Xuan remembered that his Grandpa seemed to have said that the Ancestor Master Zhang Daoling, whose original name was Zhang Ling, hoped that Zhang Xuan would Cultivate well and be called "Zhang Daoxuan" in the future.
However, the original owner of this world was also named Zhang Xuan.
It has to be said that it is truly wonderful.
After washing his body, Zhang Xuan stopped the myriad thoughts in his mind and went back to the house to wash the bedding as well and hang it out to dry.
If he didn't wash it, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight; the smell was too strong.
After eating breakfast, Zhang Xuan sat in the courtyard, preparing to carve today's God Statue.
As the carving knife danced, soon, another God Statue of the land god appeared.
When "Fude Zhengshen, land god's godhood" was carved on the back of the God Statue, it was indeed a familiar feeling again.
A warm current surged and instantly flowed throughout his body.
However, it was clearly felt that this time the warm current was slightly weaker than yesterday.
He placed the land god God Statue on the stone table and continued carving.
A moment later, another land god God Statue was completed.
After carving "Fude Zhengshen, land god is here" on it, the warm current appeared again and enveloped his whole body.
He put down the wooden carved God Statue of the land god and casually put the carving knife aside.
Zhang Xuan got up and came to a corner of the courtyard.
In this corner, there was a pile of soil.
Zhang Xuan lifted the thick straw mat covering the soil and saw that the soil was a bit damp.
After all, it had rained heavily all night yesterday.
Although the straw mat was good at blocking the rain, it couldn't keep it completely dry.
This soil was the special soil used to make clay God Statues, locally called "Gao soil".
This type of soil has a fine texture and is very sticky after meeting water, making it relatively easy to mold into various shapes, and it is not easy to crack after drying, so it is a common soil for making God Statues.
He picked up a pottery basin next to him, poured out most of the rainwater in the basin, leaving a small amount, and then began to shovel soil into the basin with a shovel.
After mixing the mud, Zhang Xuan casually picked up a piece and followed the instinctive memory of the original owner with his hands, beginning to mold the clay God Statue.
At first, Zhang Xuan still felt a little awkward, but as his hands continued to move, the feel got better and better, and his movements became faster and faster.
After about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the first clay God Statue of the land god gradually took shape.
Then, he used a carving knife to carve out the facial features and various textures on the body.
A lifelike clay land god was presented before his eyes.
Finally, he carved text on the back of the God Statue, and the work was completed.
As the God Statue was completed, a warm current indeed appeared again, flowing throughout his body.
Then, Zhang Xuan's hands did not stop.
Under his concentration, time passed quickly.
Ten clay land god Statues were completed and placed on the stone table to dry.
These could be placed in the counter tomorrow.
Every time a God Statue was completed, a warm current would appear, and it didn't weaken anymore, which made Zhang Xuan overjoyed.
At this moment, Zhang Xuan was full of energy, and his whole body felt as comfortable as if he were soaking in a hot spring.
In the Drum Tower, there were seven or eight withered corpses lying on the ground at this time, and their hearts had also disappeared.
“Third Uncle, we must avenge our brothers.
They died too tragically!” Wang Jiao’s eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth.
Wang Hao also frowned tightly, looking at the corpses in front of him, and said, “We haven’t had such a great loss in a long time.
With the cultivation of Wang Wu, Feng Lu, and the others, coupled with our Wang Family’s Formation, they would be able to contend even if they encountered an ordinary Evil Ghost.
I didn’t expect that even under the condition of blood sacrifice, the entire army would be annihilated.
The three Female Ghosts you encountered last night are very likely already Evil Ghosts, or even higher…”
Just at this moment, two people suddenly ran in from outside in a hurry and cupped their hands to Wang Hao, saying, “Third Uncle, the investigation is clear!”
Seeing this, Wang Hao nodded slightly and said, “Tell me about your investigation!”