4 Recovery
Mistral Foundation Art.
It was hailed as the most precious cultivation art during Kuangshan Lu Sect's glorious era. It came in the form of three chapters, the Mistral Flesh Diagram, the Bone Structure Diagram, and the Spiritual Root Path Diagram.
Not only the art itself is easy to cultivate and understand, but its also widely distributed amongst the residents of Kuangshan Mountain Prefecture for free.
"All I wish is to grant those with family a chance to live together, across nine generations in the same place." Qin Lan said. With the first Supreme Emperor standing by his side as he made his decision, millions of copies of the cultivation art made their way to the commoners, who benefitted the most.
Of course, that was because of his baptism on the Mountain Prefecture of Kuangshan.
The foundation art followed the rule of three. Starting with the Origin, to the Source, and then the Base. A calm and untainted place with thick mist was the best when it comes to practicing this art.
That was the origin chapter.
Next comes the Source, or a holding container. Mist without shape and form might seem nonexistent, but in fact, the richest and gentlest form of spiritual energy. The rule of Source allowed everything to act as the body that condenses them further until it's initial form changed.
From Dispersing to Converging.
From Vapor to Liquid.
And from Formless to a Foundation Base.
...
...
A hint of Spiritual Energy gathered in between Qin Lan's two fingers that hold the pill bottle. Weak and fragile as it could be in the eyes of an outsider, the condition of these two strands of spiritual force is, in fact, most suitable to promote the condensation process.
"Young master! We have fish and prawns today!" Xiao Yun returned from the kitchen after leaving the private courtyard early in the morning. And judging her from the smear of charcoal ash on her face, Qin Lan can accurately guess how her morning went.
"En. Coincidently, I'm looking forward to some seafood dishes today. Go wash your face and get Xiao-Ke. He should be cleaning my room right now," Qin Lan said with a face full of smiles.
"Servant understands. I'll be on my way immediately." Xiao Yun rubbed her cheek and noticed the greyish ash sticking on her hand. Embarrassed, she left quickly after giving Qin Lan a light bow.
"Young master, did you see Xiao Yun's face? She looked like she just fell head-on into the pile of charcoal ashes." Xiao-Ke came to his young master's side and pushed the wheelchair Qin Lan is seated on towards their dining table.
"Xiao-Ke, if you keep talking like this, it will take you another decade to get someone suitable to get married. Have you tried to take a look at yourself before you talk about others?" Qin Lan added.
"What's wrong with me? I didn't have anything to do with the charcoal... Ah! A spiderweb on my head! It must be from when I'm cleaning the bookshelf!" Xiao-Ke patted his own head a few times, afraid that there's a spider is lingering in between his hair.
Qin Lan smiled. He closed his eyes and leaned fully on the chair as he enjoyed the feeling of serenity while they're on their way to the dining table.
The food was already nicely presented on the table when Qin Lan and Xiao-Ke entered. Five dishes altogether, from fish to prawn, meat to two types of vegetables. Qin Tian even personally instructed the kitchen to not restrict Qin Lan from ordering his favorite dishes.
"Young master, let Xiao Yun peel a prawn for you." the girl extends her chopsticks out for a prawn and begin to peel the shells off before she gently placed half of it into Qin Lan's mouth. Little did she know that Qin Lan is now much better, notably after he consumes the drop of Changshen Dew.
Even with the memories of two lifetimes worth in his mind, Qin Lan still believes that one should enjoy while he still can. The scene before him reminds him about his days with the first Supreme Emperor, who he adopted while he traverses across the land that eventually becomes the Mountain Prefecture of Kuangshan.
The only difference is instead of getting feed with the meat, that brat is smart enough to eat them up, leaving his foster father with only the tail or the head of the prawn.
"Xiao-Ke, remember to go out to the pharmacy and collect the same ingredients again. We might need it more frequently in the upcoming week." Qin Lan instructed him.
"Servant understands." Xiao-Ke immediately answered. He's puzzled by his young master's weird request, but since his mind is pretty simple, he did not question the uses of these things Qin Lan asked for.
But as long as the Qin Family Pharmacy could afford it, it won't be a problem for him to even bring everything back.
...
...
"Look at that cripple." two passersby mocked as they looked at Qin Lan. The scene where Xiao Yun was feeding him with a spoonful of food made them somewhat jealous and feeling unfair.
"Big brother, since that guy is crippled now, won't the Flesh Foundation Pill that was supposed to be distributed goes to us? We're also the eldest amongst our generation." Qin Hu said.
"Grandfather already promised that we'll be getting ten pills a week. Just make sure that you put an effort in your cultivation so we'll not lose to the same generation of youngsters in our Fu-Rong Town." Qin Huang, the elder brother from another mother, said.
"As for that cripple... He won't be able to even walk anymore, so why to bother ourselves to his level?" he chuckled.
A few others from the same generation also walked past the passageway that capable of overseeing the dining table within this private courtyard. Some of them seem unintentional, but most came with a hint of mocking the owner of this courtyard.
A retarded father and a cripple son. That's what they said.
Such kind of life continues for the second, third, and very quickly, a month passed. During this period of a month, Qin Tian did not even visit Qin Lan once. There are only a few words occasionally, with some silver coins for Xiao-Ke to spend on Qin Lan.
Qin Lan is seated at the back of his own little garden once again, just like how it was for an entire month. The pill bottle in his hand has now lost its layer of a glossy finish. Two indents are clearly imprinted on the bottle, which was caused by the contact with his spiritual energy.
Both of his eyes remained closed. Using his mind eye to sense his surrounding, Qin Lan guided the collected mist surrounding him into the pill bottle as the condensation process kickstart. The process continued until another drop of Changshen Dew is finally formed inside the container.
"Finally..." Qin Lan shook the pill bottle slightly and poured its content into his mouth.
The drop of Changshen Dew rolled and left the bottle to enter Qin Lan's mouth. A warm force appeared gently within his body, recovering most of his motor ability. A healthier color also returned to Qin Lan's feature, making him seem gifted and dazzling.
He struggled to stand. The pill bottle that no longer capable of withstanding the task of condensing the Changshen Dew finally shattered into pieces as Qin Lan extent some strength in his hand.
Lingering around his wheelchair, Qin Lan tried to capture the feeling of walking once more. More of the muscle strength returned to his four limbs as he inhaled a mouthful of air into his lungs.
"Mistral Flesh Diagram! Replacing imperfection with nothingness, recovering longevity with spiritual energy!" the air with the morning mist converges and moves straight to where his navel is located. As for the remaining breath without use, he exhaled it out to take in another inhaling breath.
The riddance of Flesh Curse due to having his body mauled by the Jade Snow Tiger when he's younger finally brought out Qin Lan's cultivating potential. Although it was unfortunate that he's now a person with a destroyed core, cultivation is still possible.
All he needs is to follow a different path of cultivation, such as body tempering, spirit tempering, or searching for core replacement treasure.
Coincident or not, the Mistral Flesh Diagram his first reincarnation created is the combination of all three. And the only problem he's facing is the lack of resources and opportunity to convert his abode into a perfect cultivation dwelling.
Qin Lan continued with the inhale and exhale exercise. Almost an incense worth of time later, the morning mist that was cultivated painstakingly by him using a month is finally exhausted by the time he's done.
"I guess it's time for us to move on to the next stage..." Qin Lan returned to his wheelchair and closed both of his eyes. Not too long after that, Xiao-Ke came to the garden to push his young master back into the dining hall.
He didn't notice the changes in his master's rosy complexion. But instead, he discovered the broken pill bottle on the ground.
"I'll have to remember to bring another bottle back for young master later," Xiao-Ke whispered to himself.
Qin Lan controlled himself from laughing because that whisper is too loud.
"Count yourself lucky to have me as your master, Xiao-Ke..."
