Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology

The path of the Martial Artist emphasizes refining essence into qi.

Essence represents the physical body. Refining the physical body generates vigor and qi. When the qi and blood grow strong, the body becomes stronger, and channeling the qi and blood can unleash extraordinary divine power.

Thus, martial arts is fundamentally a process of continuously refining essence into qi.

Compared to immortals who inhale and exhale the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, martial artists rely more on eating, converting food into qi and blood.

Therefore, the higher a martial artist's cultivation, the larger their appetite; some can even consume two whole cows in a single day.

"I don't know much about martial arts. The early stages are roughly divided into the Acquired Realm and the Innate Realm."

When one possesses the strength of a thousand jin, they can be called an Acquired Martial Artist.

Acquired training mainly focuses on the tendons, muscles, skin, and bones. At the highest level, qi and blood boil, bones become as hard as iron, skin as tough as leather, and muscle erupts with unmatched power.

The pinnacle of the Acquired Realm is marked by strength exceeding ten thousand jin.

Due to differences in an individual's physique, some max out at ten thousand jin, while others surpass one hundred thousand jin.

After the Acquired Realm comes the Innate Realm.

The Innate Realm involves refining the internal organs and bone marrow, divided into the Small Innate and Great Innate stages.

At these stages, raw strength alone no longer suffices for description.

Masters of the Innate Realm perfect the use of the physical body, even touching upon the utilization of the mind.

The killing intent of an Innate expert can not only kill humans but also ghosts!

An expert at the Great Innate stage can live up to 150 years.

"What comes after the Great Innate stage?"

"I'm not too sure… maybe something like Martial Saint or Human Immortal."

Chen Dahu admitted his lack of knowledge.

"So the realms are roughly the same, but the strength developed varies depending on one's physique?"

Song Lin pondered to himself.

He suddenly had a thought—does the Nine-Transformation Mystical Technique count as part of his physique?

The Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body, constantly modified and enhanced, no longer seemed like a Divine Skill but rather an intrinsic ability of his own.

If he were to practice martial arts methods… Song Lin felt a flicker of anticipation.

"Enough talk about that. Let me teach you some basic forms and standing postures later,"

Chen Dahu said candidly.

Song Lin didn't understand until he began learning—it was indeed a fisherman's skill.

Chen Family Village lived off the sea. After hundreds of years of experience navigating rough seas, they developed a technique for maintaining steady footing on rocking boats.

This was tentatively referred to as the "Ship Navigation Skill."

This technique emphasized a stable lower body, with one's footing rooted as if taking root in the earth, impervious to wind and rain. The waist would drive the entire body, pulling fishing nets with tremendous force.

There was also a proficiency in the use of spears.

Overall, it was a decent method. After all, it was the accumulation of centuries of practice and, by some coincidence, embodied a principle of refining essence into qi.

Second year of the Qi Land Eight Gods period.

A year passed uneventfully. Song Lin focused entirely on cultivating and heard only vague rumors of sect conflicts, possibly over territorial disputes.

Third year of the Qi Land Eight Gods period.

Still immersed in cultivation, the sect conflicts had come to an end. The ultimate victor was a sect called the Iron Sand Sect, which began collecting protection fees from Chen Family Village—twenty taels per year.

On the great sea.

The wind surged, clouds roiled, and waves towered a hundred zhang high.

A lone, tiny boat drifted aimlessly with the wind.

A solitary figure stood on the boat.

The young man wore coarse clothing, drenched by the rain. The furious storm felt as if it would sweep him into the heavens.

Yet Song Lin stood as if rooted to the deck, his strength flowing into the boat, preventing it from capsizing.

He had now mastered the entry stages of cultivation, becoming a Thousand Jin Martial Artist.

To better immerse himself in the martial path, he refrained from using spells, even abstaining from alchemy.

Now, as he contemplated the tides and observed the ocean's immense power, he wondered if he could further evolve his cultivation technique.

...

The Real World.

Yunzhou.

Refugees moved in unending streams, their faces pale and gaunt with fear.

Scattered across hills and plains were waves of displaced people, all heading in the same direction.

Along the way, they faced trials of hunger, demons, torrential storms… every ordeal claimed countless lives.

They braved these hardships for the promise of a destination called Yinghua, under King Ying's rule, where, it was said, there was no hunger and everyone had land to farm.

There, they wouldn't have to pay crippling taxes as high as 90%, nor toil endlessly under forced labor, and they could shed the fear of vanishing without reason.

Though the commoners were unaware of the dramas among the ruling factions, they instinctively sought safety.

Even at great risk, they pressed on toward Yinghua.

Roar!!

A tiger's earth-shaking roar suddenly echoed through the forest.

In an instant, dark clouds obscured the sky, wild animals fled en masse, and weaker humans collapsed unconscious from the shock.

A black tiger emerged from the woods.

Standing at a height of one zhang, its fur dark as night and its eyes burning red, it was accompanied by ferocious, ghostly underlings.

"Demon!!"

Despair painted the faces of the refugees. Some brave youths stepped forward to shield the others, while some elders, knowing they couldn't outrun the beast, stayed behind as bait, hoping the tiger would sate its hunger and halt its pursuit.

The tiger advanced slowly.

Swish!

A sword light descended from the Nine Heavens.

The tiger was split in two.

"Immortal!"

"A savior from the heavens!"

The refugees wept with joy, falling to their knees in gratitude.

Soon after, King Ying's army arrived to escort the people away.

In the sky, Qingyu and Shi Yinhua observed the scene below. Qingyu was the one who had intervened.

Seeing the situation on the ground, Qingyu retracted the sword light, feeling somewhat irritable.

"Even with the Four Mansions and Five Forest Orders mobilized, there are still too few cultivators."

No matter how broad the recruitment, the ratio of cultivators to mortals remained dauntingly low.

In times of peace, this could be overlooked. But during moments of chaos, the scarcity of cultivators became glaringly apparent.

While more people could be recruited, resources would inevitably fall short.

Non-intervention in the mortal world by cultivators was understandable, but total detachment was equally unwise. Without intervention, mortals would eventually be devoured by demons.

Shi Yinhua sighed:

"At its core, the issue lies in mortals' inability to protect themselves. Cultivation conditions are too harsh, requiring fortuitous encounters to succeed. The Palace Master dreams of mortals fortifying themselves, but under current circumstances, mortals remain dependent on the Taoist Schools."

King Ying commands an army of 300,000 heroic troops, yet what use are they?

A mere ten Divine Establishment Taoists could annihilate them.

The 300,000 troops serve mainly to maintain order.

"As the conflicts escalate, they'll only work against us. A surplus population becomes a burden, especially since we neither abandon nor sacrifice mortals as shields or food for demons."

Shi Yinhua held similar views to Song Lin's. After all, she was also of humble origin.

Moreover, they were the mortal world's last hope in these desperate times.

Yet, even when facing hardship, one must remain grounded in reality.

Taoists were scattered across southern Yunzhou, distributing porridge, drawing talismans, healing the sick, exorcising demons, and slaying ghosts…

Accomplishing tasks others dared not, leaving an everlasting legacy of merit.

Creating legends sung for generations to come.

In unseen places, Donghua cultivators had already garnered immense prestige.

...

The World of the Qi Land Eight Gods.

Third year.

Chen Village.

Another typhoon swept across the sea, waves rising to a hundred or even a thousand zhang, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Once again, a solitary boat sailed the storm.

Song Lin stood upon it, channeling his qi and blood, his lower body as immovable as a mountain.

Then, he directed his qi and blood downward.

Boom!

The boat shattered.

The exerted force rippled outward in waves.

Wherever it reached, the waves calmed.

Soon, the storm subsided.

Song Lin opened his eyes, standing on a plank amidst the sea. His gaze was as sharp as a blade, and his qi and blood surged like rolling thunder.

Acquired Realm Peak!

Strength of one billion jin!

His physical talent surpassed that of ordinary martial artists by ten thousandfold!

The Ship Navigation Skill had evolved into the Sea Suppressing Tide Viewing Technique.

He stepped off the wooden plank. Without mana or supernatural powers, he used pure strength to walk upon the water.

This was the Innate Realm, where qi and blood refined the internal organs, and force entered a microscopic level of control.