Jian Zhusi grimaced. Sweats drenched his hair and clothes. If not for its hardness, his upper and lower teeth would have fused by now.

  “D-damn it! It hurts…so bad! ARGHHHH…”

  Thankfully, he lived far away from the temple and the monks’ quarters. Otherwise, knowing how kind they are, his courtyard would have been swarmed with monks by now.

  “S-status…”

  [Soul reconstruction level: 5%]

  “Fuck! Only five?!” Jian Zhusi shook his head.

  It’s been two weeks since he has been here. This courtyard in Blacksteel Forest belonged to his Third Sister. Thanks to her generous annual donation to the temple, and how devout she is to the teaching of Buddha, They have allowed her to build a courtyard at the edge of the forest. Far away from foot traffic.

  It only took Xiao Cang five days to scan the first of three sutras contained inside Yun Hun Temple. The Octa Petal Lotus Sutra.

  This sutra is the basic of basic. For those who planned to cultivate immortality using the Buddha path. They will come to the temple, and study this sutra.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Every sect, and every path, offered basic sutras such as this. They contained basic martial arts. The idea is that, in order for mortals to sense and draw qi inside their body, the easiest would be to practice martial arts.

  Remember? Healthy body, healthy mind? It’s kinda similar to that. Practicing martial arts made it easier to channel qi into the body.

  Nobody really knew why. The working theory is that the depleted physical energy will make it easier for qi to enter the body through the meridians. Which, in turn, will give more power to said martial arts.

  Of course, since they don’t form a Dantian yet, they can’t store the qi. So they are still not as strong as a certified cultivator.

  Buddha Path cultivates the soul. Which is quite similar to Jian Zhusi and Xiao Cang.

  “Xiao Cang, does the five percent include martial arts practice?”

  [I have only gained a rudimentary understanding of the palm and staff technique. Longer period of scanning is required. Apologies.]

  Jian Zhaosi chuckled. “No need for apologies, Xiao Cang. I understand.” He then remembered something. “Will it be quicker if I practiced at the same time?”

  [Consistent practice can aid in mastery.]

  “Great. Looking forward to working with you, Xiao Cang. Hehehe.”

  The Octa Petal Lotus Sutra contained only two skills. The palm technique, and the staff technique. Both are meant to be basic. But the difficulties lie in its extremities.

  The palm technique is meant to be a stand against violent martial arts practice. The soft palm meant to defend and neutralize rather than actively harmed other beings.

  But in order to do that, one needs to temper the body to stand for the abuse. You won't be impervious to pain, you'll just get used to it.

  Compared to that, Jian Zhusi was more interested in the staff technique, and it was not only because the staff is more powerful.

  Jian Zhusi saw the way the monks fully utilized the staff. Some stood one legged to meditate. Some stabbed horizontally at a tree to sleep on. Some advanced cultivators even used it to fly on. It all comes down to one thing.

  Stability.

  That's the best word to describe soul cultivation. Soul cultivation is a holistic approach.

  Yet it is quite unpopular. For three major reasons.

  It takes longer to cultivate the intangible soul, it is more painful since the body is being constantly abused, and more importantly, reading the sutras is quite boring.

  Jian Zhusi looked outside the windows.

  [Will you be out hunting, sir?]

  “Hehehe, not today I think.” He gaze on the direction of the prayer hall.

  “Maybe it's time I join the monks as well.”