Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

Chapter 583 The Eight Realms of Martial Arts
"What are the uses of ground kudzu, three ginseng, red mulberry, familiar, and five leaves?"

"Master, the taste of Radix Glehniae is slightly bitter at first, but becomes astringent and sweet later, which can fill the stomach and relieve sleepiness; Ginseng is hot in nature, can replenish Qi and blood, and strengthen the meridians, but this herb is strong in nature, and in severe cases it can cause weakness; Red Mulberry has small fruits and tastes sour, which can strengthen the body and soul; The ripe white and hard mulberry can treat injuries to the internal organs and blood and flesh stasis; Clover is slightly bitter, cold in nature and can wake people up, which can make people clear-headed and support them through the night."

In the small courtyard, Jiang Sheng looked at Zhang Xiaojiu in front of him and nodded with satisfaction.

"very good."

Jiang Sheng randomly selected five kinds of herbs from the hundreds of herbs in front of him to check Zhang Xiaojiu's homework. It was obvious that Zhang Xiaojiu did a good job.

Before I knew it, three years had passed.

During these three years, Jiang Sheng had finally recovered from his injuries, and under Jiang Sheng's guidance, Zhang Xiaojiu became familiar with all kinds of herbs, learned to read and write, and his physique gradually became stronger.

What Jiang Sheng taught Zhang Xiaojiu was the Taoist Five Form Fist. Although it was called a fist, it was actually a complete set of physical training martial arts that included body building, boxing and kicking skills.

Taoist exercises, even those that are used to initiate physical training, are all moderate and peaceful, without any particular emphasis on strength or ferocity.

Taoism advocates going with the flow and harmonizing yin and yang. The more moderate and gentle something is, the less it will hurt your bones and the more it will strengthen your foundation.

Zhang Xiaojiu's progress in the past three years seemed slow, but each step was extremely solid. He did not practice as hard as others who used self-torture or even self-injury to improve their martial arts quickly, nor did he need too many tonic foods.

After all, Zhang Laosan doesn't have the ability to provide Zhang Xiaojiu with too much meat to replenish his consumption.

According to Jiang Sheng's method, he would eat some fruits, take a medicinal bath occasionally, and then ensure three meals a day, eat enough food, and occasionally have a fish.

These are what Zhang Xiaojiu can currently satisfy. There are fish in Liuhe River, fruits in the mountains behind Liuhe Village, and some herbs that can be used to make medicinal baths.

Under Jiang Sheng's steady teaching, Zhang Laosan watched with joy the day-to-day changes in Zhang Xiaojiu.

In three years, Zhang Xiaojiu is already twelve years old. Although he does not look strong, his eyes are particularly bright, and he is strong and healthy, and walks very fast.

The hundred kinds of herbs in front of Jiang Sheng now are not only from the back mountain of Liuhe Village, but also from other mountain villages in Shancheng Town. They were all collected by Zhang Xiaojiu alone. This was also a task Jiang Sheng gave to Zhang Xiaojiu.

Shancheng Town is originally a village in the mountains. Liuhe Village and other villages are all built on the mountains, so the thing they have the most is mountain products.

The name Jiuliancheng comes from nine connected mountain ranges. It can be seen that the entire Jiuliancheng exists on the mountains.

Zhang Xiaojiu has been running around in the mountains for the past three years and encountered many dangerous situations, including some monsters, but he avoided them all using the pharmacology taught by Jiang Sheng.

Now Zhang Xiaojiu is full of blood and energy, and although he looks young, he still has the demeanor of a young tiger.

Originally, Zhang Xiaojiu had great faith in Jiang Sheng. During the three years he followed Jiang Sheng, Zhang Xiaojiu not only learned a lot of skills, but also became a well-known child king in the entire Liuhe Village. Most of the boys in the village obeyed him.

Because no matter whether it is literacy or strength, or climbing mountains and crossing rivers, they cannot compare with Zhang Xiaojiu. Some children accidentally got injured in the mountains or by the river, and Zhang Xiaojiu could help them heal their injuries.

Such skills naturally convinced the children in the village, and even other families in the village said that Zhang Xiaojiu had made great progress.

Zhang Xiaojiu was quite proud of this, and now when he heard his master praising him, he held his head high with a look of pride.

In Jiang Sheng's eyes, Zhang Xiaojiu now looks a bit like the rooster on the fence, with a smug look on his face.

"You have learned almost everything, including the basic knowledge of herbs and the basic understanding of pharmacology."

"what?!"

Zhang Xiaojiu was stunned.

A preliminary explanation of pharmacology? !
He studied for three years, ate so many herbs, learned so many words, was punished countless times, and had countless dreams of picking and eating herbs. In the end, he thought he had learned it all, but it turned out to be only the beginning?!
Jiang Sheng glanced at Zhang Xiaojiu: "Why, you don't believe it?"

"I don't have much else, but I have a lot of knowledge."

"To really get started in the field of medicine making, one needs to learn twelve courses, including the introduction to herbs, the introduction to pharmacology, the introduction to medicine making, and the introduction to the book on alchemy. There are also courses such as identification of alchemy furnaces, the way to make medicine, herbal medicine recipes, the three paths of alchemy, and the combination of weather and blood, etc."

"Do you think it's amazing to learn the basics of herbal medicine and pharmacology in three years?"

"There were twelve introductory courses for pharmacy back then. I learned six in one year, all in two years, and in the third year I started making my own medicine and alchemy."

"And my progress is not the fastest."

"Study hard."

Zhang Xiaojiu looked at Jiang Sheng in confusion. He believed that his master would not lie to him and that his master really knew so much.

When he could only identify the medicinal properties of a certain medicinal ingredient, his master had already told him what kind of terrain would grow this medicinal ingredient, why this medicinal ingredient would grow in this terrain, and whether it is better to pick this medicinal ingredient during the day or at night, and what time and quarter should it be picked during the day and what time and quarter should it be picked at night.

This includes what kind of plasters and powders can be made with this medicinal material, what kind of medicinal material it can be used as an adjuvant for, what medicinal materials it can be combined with to cure people, what medicinal materials it can be combined with to harm people, how many days it will take for a cured person to recover, and how many days it will take for a harmed person to die.
Jiang Sheng explained all these knowledge in a rather casual manner, and Zhang Xiaojiu felt as if he had seen a god.

Not to mention Jiang Sheng's teaching of martial arts to Zhang Xiaojiu. The uprightness and gentleness of the Five Forms Fist made Zhang Xiaojiu realize why Jiang Sheng always mentioned the law of nature.

In the past three years, Zhang Xiaojiu has traveled to other villages and mountain towns many times, and met countless warriors who were eager for quick success and instant benefits. Zhang Xiaojiu has also seen what their end was.

There are countless people who have either developed lifelong illnesses or have become disabled, or have died or been injured from practicing.
He knew that Jiang Sheng really loved him, which made Zhang Xiaojiu respect Jiang Sheng even more. In the past three years, Zhang Xiaojiu and Zhang Laosan had been looking for medicinal herbs to treat Jiang Sheng's injuries. They had looked for herbs to treat internal and external injuries, and herbs to treat muscles and bones, but none of them worked.

After three years, Jiang Sheng's skin wounds had only healed and he no longer needed to be wrapped in white bandages.

Looking at Jiang Sheng's expression, you can tell that his internal injuries have not healed yet.

Zhang Laosan and Zhang Xiaojiu had no idea how great the danger was that could cause a person like Jiang Sheng to be unable to recover from his injuries for three years.

They no longer treated Jiang Sheng as an ordinary young man as they did when they first met him.

After three years of living together day and night, Jiang Sheng's knowledge, vision, understanding of martial arts, etc., all proved that Jiang Sheng was either from a prominent family or a nobleman.

In their opinion, Jiang Sheng must have been a martial arts genius before. He might even be a big figure who was famous in the whole county or even the whole continent, but he just fell into trouble.

Now, hearing Jiang Sheng's words of studying hard, Zhang Xiaojiu lowered his head, a little shy: "Yes, Master."

As he spoke, Zhang Xiaojiu suddenly raised his head again: "Master, how did you get injured so badly? Were you being hunted by your enemies?"

Zhang Xiaojiu recalled how Jiang Sheng looked when he first met him. At that time, Jiang Sheng had wounds all over his body, his clothes were tattered, his hair was unkempt, and he looked like a beggar on the street.

After being picked up, his entire body, even his head, was wrapped in bandages. Who would have thought that now that he had taken off the shackles and was only wearing a simple white robe, he looked so noble.

Zhang Xiaojiu was sure that Jiang Sheng must be from a noble family. One could tell from his fair and tender skin and his hands. His hands were fair and tender, with long and slender fingers. It was obvious that he had never done any work or practiced martial arts, otherwise he would not even have calluses.

Thinking of the knowledge Jiang Sheng taught him, Zhang Xiaojiu always felt that "gentleman like jade" was not enough to describe Jiang Sheng. Such a person should be in heaven, and he didn't know how he came to the human world.

Jiang Sheng glanced at Zhang Xiaojiu. He wondered if Zhang Xiaojiu had learned more words and started to like reading storybooks, such as The Legend of the Heroes of Sanhe and The Legend of the Emperor of Wuhua. All of them had stories about great figures being hunted down and persecuted by their enemies, forced to wander outside, and then making a comeback.

It was obvious that Zhang Xiaojiu regarded Jiang Sheng as one of those big shots.

"If you have this idea, why don't you practice the martial arts I taught you?"

"With your current abilities, you can be a monkey king in Liuhe Village, but what are you outside of Liuhe Village?"

"Refining the internal body to strengthen it is just the beginning. To achieve bronze skin and iron bones, moving blood to open the mind, unblocking the meridians and holding the elixir, and inner vision and divine storage, how many years do you think it will take you to achieve bronze skin and iron bones?"

Hearing Jiang Sheng's words, Zhang Xiaojiu looked bitter. He had just succeeded in physical training, but he hadn't achieved internal strength, so how could he talk about having skin of steel and bones?

As for moving blood, opening the orifices, unblocking the meridians and holding the elixir, Zhang Xiaojiu didn't even dare to think about it.

A warrior with bronze skin and iron bones is considered famous in the entire Shancheng Town, and even in Jiulian City.

A martial artist who has reached the Blood Moving and Awakening realm is a talent that Sanhe County needs.

To have Tongmai and Baodan, one is no longer a martial artist, but a grandmaster. Especially a great grandmaster who has reached the Baodan realm, is truly like a deity on earth, with qi and blood like a dragon, manifesting strange qi and blood phenomena, charging forward recklessly, and being able to disperse an army of one hundred thousand by himself, truly a match for ten thousand men.

As for the inner scene and divine treasure, that is beyond the description of a grandmaster.

That realm is called Martial Saint.

The state of inner scenery can evolve one's own inner world within the body, with endless Qi and blood like a vast ocean. One person can rival a million soldiers and one person can defeat an entire country.

In the Shenzang state, one's own qi, blood and spirit are integrated, and the inner scene is manifested externally, which is a martial arts phenomenon. What is Shenzang? Even the spirit must hide.

Strengthening the body is only the beginning of martial arts.

Skin of steel and bones, moving blood and opening the orifices, unblocking meridians and embracing the elixir, and inner scene and divine storage are the true realms of martial arts, known as the four phases and eight realms.

According to legend, there is another realm above the Shenzang Realm, which is a realm that could only be reached by the immortals when they were alive in the past, a true realm of immortals and gods.

Zhang Xiaojiu had never seen that level of realm before in any of the storybooks.

Nowadays, the strongest people in the Wilderness are the Martial Saints in the Inner Scenery Divine Hidden Realm, but how could such big figures appear in Liuhe Village?
There isn't even a warrior with a strong body and skin in Liuhe Village.

Jiang Sheng looked at Zhang Xiaojiu who looked depressed and said with a smile: "You should go and strengthen your bones. When your internal organs are strengthened, I will teach you a set of exercises. I guarantee that you can become a martial arts saint."

Zhang Xiaojiu's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but asked in surprise, "Really?"

The next moment, Zhang Xiaojiu pursed his lips again: "Master, are you lying to me?"

"If you have a technique that can make you a Martial Saint, why don't you practice it yourself?"

"If you practiced and really reached the realm of martial saint, how could you be beaten into this state?"

Jiang Sheng was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed: "Just think that I lied to you."

"Hurry up and practice martial arts."

(End of this chapter)