On the official road, the merchants and horses looked at those corpses, one by one, in astonishment.

  "Look at their attire, these people are all horse thieves. Everyone was killed with a single knife!" The experienced guards said to the surrounding merchants after examining the corpses, "Thirty-seven horse thieves, all killed with one knife. Looking at the scene and the knife marks, the killer should be only one person!"

  Teng Qing Shan also took a look and agreed with what the guard beside him said.

  "It's good that they're dead, those thieving horses, lazy and gluttonous, always thinking of robbing and plundering. They've met their match." Hei Zi cursed, merchants and horse thieves were originally opposing each other. In the eyes of bandits and horse thieves, businessmen were just 'fat sheep'.

  "This man, his knife skills are incredibly fierce, able to take down thirty-seven people with a single strike each. He's probably got the strength of someone on the Earth Ranking. If he were to become our caravan's guard, that would be great." Old Zhang exclaimed in admiration.

  "Come on, everyone! Hurry up!"

  Some businessmen who joined in the excitement quickly got on their horses and continued on their way.

  The merchant team advanced, and Teng Qing Shan rode on his Red Fire Horse, recalling the feeling from before.

  "In the past, if I wanted to make my horse accelerate, I would have to whip its belly. But that feeling just now... it's as if this Red Fire Horse is a part of my body. It's like when people walk, they naturally transmit power from their waist and hips to their legs and feet, taking a step forward."

  Very natural!

  Just now, Teng Qing Shan naturally transmitted his leg strength into the Chi Huo Horse, causing it to quicken its pace.

  "This is the feeling I want, what was previously called 'man and horse as one' is perfect control over the horse. But now that I'm cultivating, what I want isn't control, but... for that warhorse to become a part of my body, with just a thought, it can be naturally controlled, what I want is conditioned reflex!"

  ……

  Teng Qing Shan was immersed in how to control war horses more freely and naturally, and as time passed, Teng Qing Shan's skills were also improving.

  Teng Qing Shan gradually entered an unpredictable realm.

  It seems that he himself has become a horse, constantly moving forward, feeling the four legs, and even through the four legs, feeling the surrounding heaven and earth. This kind of harmonious unity makes Teng Qing Shan drunk. This is very similar to the feeling when practicing 'San Ti Shi'.

  Although it's not as obvious as in Three-Body, this state of immersion is no longer occasional.

  "Halt!" A loud shout rang out.

  At that moment, all the horses in the merchant group stopped one by one. Teng Qing Shan naturally stopped as well, then opened his eyes and revealed a hint of a smile on his face. He muttered softly: "Skill has reached the Way! Skill has reached the Way! So that's how it is... I had already grasped the 'Way', but was confused and didn't know."

  Teng Qing Shan finally understood that painting, writing, and practicing San Ti Shi were all able to harmonize his spirit with the true essence of heaven and earth.

  The essence is —— skill reaches the Tao!

  When skill reaches the peak, for example, in the historical story of "Pao Ding's Cow Dissection" from past lives, what is meant by Pao Ding's cow dissection is that in Pao Ding's eyes, a cow is no longer a cow but rather a skeleton and various parts of the body. He can easily completely dissect a cow without needing to consider how much force to use with his knife or where to start. None of that is necessary! Because everything follows its natural course, it all comes together like water flowing into a ditch. In his hands, dissection has become "the way".

  Skill is constantly improving, and further progress is 'Tao'. Skill advances to Tao!

  Painting, at the very least, must first have a foundation in painting basics. Later on, as one's skills improve, they can reach a point where they don't even need to pay attention to 'brushes and ink', but rather just immerse their spirit and rely on painting to express the anger, joy or sorrow within their heart through the brushstrokes.

  Having reached such a realm, it is then the 'Tao'.

  Teng Qing Shan is no exception!

  From the Twelve Forms of Xingyiquan to the Five Elements Fist, and then to the Three Bodies Form, actually the "Three Bodies Form" itself has very simple movements, but it contains the "Tao"! The Twelve Forms of Xingyiquan and the Five Elements Fist are for training "technique", reaching the extreme, the Five Elements Fist can also contain the "Tao". And the Three Bodies Form is the origin of Xingyi, containing the Tao of Xingyi.

  Riding horses is also like this!

  The master of Neijiaquan has achieved perfection in controlling the muscles of his body, and riding a horse can easily become one with the horse. However, this is intentional. Whether it's Butcher Ding cutting up an ox, painting, or practicing 'San Ti Shi', once intentional, it falls into the lower level.

  Because the boundary of Mount Tengqing has already been established.

  Once enlightened, ride a horse, and naturally water flows into the ditch.

  This is the principle of all things being interconnected!

  "Haha, fortunately, I have precise control over every muscle, bone, and skin on my body. So, in horse riding skills, I can easily reach the extreme. As long as I grasp the last layer, I can merge with heaven and earth." Teng Qing Shan's heart felt relieved, "In this way, I will cultivate on horseback during the day, and practice San Ti Shi at night... In this way, my 'divine' will improve at an astonishing speed." Teng Qing Shan's heart began to look forward to it.

  Hong Qingshan recalled his thoughts and looked ahead.

  On the side of the official road ahead, there was a family of three: a barefooted, tattered and worn-out man with disheveled long hair and a battle knife at his waist; a similarly shabbily dressed emaciated woman; and a dirty little boy.

  "Who's the guard? Our caravan guards aren't just anyone." A voice came from ahead.

  That savage's eyes gleamed like lightning as he said in a low voice: "I'll be your bodyguard for ten taels of silver per day!"

  "Ten taels of silver a day? Who do you think you are?" Many people burst out laughing.

  "Ten taels of silver, ordinary mountain people can earn this much in a year. You earn this much in one day? Haha... Do you think you're a master of the 'Land List'?"

  Teng Qing Shan was also very interested in looking at the wild man. In Teng Qing Shan's opinion, this wild man should be an expert. But why did he end up so miserable? Not only was he himself miserable, but his wife and son were also so miserable.

  "What's wrong with you guys?!"

  The wild man pointed at the merchant's guard with one hand, "All of you guards, if any one of you can withstand three moves from me, I'll leave!"

  That's an overstatement.

  This caused a stir among the guards, in this merchant group of several hundred people. The guards made up more than half of them. In addition to some merchants who had hired their own guards, there was also a large guard team that the entire merchant group had collectively hired.

  "Three moves?"

  "This is a big talk, just talking big." One by one laughed, although the guards were laughing, but no one went up. Because everyone knows... in this vast land of nine states, who knows where a formidable figure might emerge. Don't be reckless and stick your head out, the consequences won't be good.

  "Hmph!" The savage sneered, his right hand grasping the hilt of his knife.

  "Clang!"

  All the guards barely saw a flash of black light! By the time the black light dissipated, the barbarian's battle knife was already back in its scabbard.

  "My goodness!"

  These guards stared at the ground in shock, only to see a long ditch about 60-70 feet long on the ground. A war knife was less than four feet long, but the ditch it hacked out was 60-70 feet... Apparently, this war knife was too fast, even producing an air blade that tore through the earth.

  "Master!" Those guards suddenly understood that they had encountered a formidable master.

  "Ten taels of silver per day, starting from today, you are the guardian of our merchant group." The organizer shouted out loud, such a master, ten taels a day? Even a hundred taels of silver would be hard to hire.

  "Hmm." The savage looked around and soon spotted a cart pulled by horses beside Teng Qing Shan and the others. He immediately ran over to the cart, holding the child, and placed the child on the cart. The woman in tattered clothes also came running and sat down together with him on the cart.

  Then, the savage rode on horseback.

  The merchant fleet sets sail once again!

  "He's a master, where did such a figure emerge from in this world. Just talking about swordsmanship, it's not inferior to that Thunder God Sword 'Wu Yue' I saw in the past." Tian Qing Shan thought to himself, others didn't see clearly, but Tian Qing Shan saw it clearly. This wild man... is a formidable character.

  "Earlier, on the road, a pile of corpses was found. Was it killed by this savage?" Teng Qing Shan said quietly.

  "Never mind, forget it."

  Although this wild man made those guards fearful, Teng Qing Shan was a strong man who could kill a Xiantian Golden Elixir with one move. This wild man only sparked a hint of interest in him.

  Teng Qing Shan was once again immersed in the feeling of horseback riding, that kind of unity made Teng Qing Shan's soul seem to be cheering.

  ……

  Time is passing day by day.

  In Yangzhou, Qinghu Lake.

  In the late afternoon, the cold wind howled, and the waves on Qinghu Lake surged forward, but there was still a boat advancing through the waves.

  "Danchen, with your talent, you will definitely become a pillar of Qinghu Island in the future... But why did you choose to be sent out to Yu Prefecture and become a guardian deity for a city?" An old man and a black-robed youth were sitting cross-legged opposite each other. This black-robed youth was none other than Yan Danchen, who had been rescued by Teng Qing Shan back then.

  The old man looked at his disciple in front of him and sighed secretly.

  Since the downfall of his family, Yan Dan Chen's surname has changed greatly. He is now fully devoted to cultivation and his innate talent is extremely high. In the past, he was not serious about it and thought about taking over the family business. Now that he is fully committed to cultivation, his progress is astonishingly fast. Coupled with his expressionless face and the hidden aura of evil between his eyebrows, many fellow disciples are somewhat intimidated by this 'Yan Dan Chen'.

  "Master, this internal energy cultivation requires time and cannot be rushed. Cultivating in Qinghu Island or in Yuzhou City makes no difference to me. Moreover... I feel that my swordsmanship has also reached a bottleneck. It's better to go out and experience the world." Yan Danchen said coldly.

  "Hmm!"

  The old man nodded, "Just remember not to slack off in your cultivation and you'll be fine! Also, go to Yu Zhou, take up the post of guardian and manage intelligence messages and other matters... Lately, there haven't been any big issues. The only important thing is the pursuit and killing of Teng Qing Shan. If Teng Qing Shan escapes to Yu Zhou, you will have to spend some time on it. However, in the nine states, it's unlikely that Teng Qing Shan would escape to Yu Zhou. You can cultivate at ease."

  "Yes." Yan Danchen nodded.

  "Hmm, Dan Chen, the innate strongmen on the island have suffered significant losses. Your swordsmanship realm is already very high, work hard and strive to reach Innate before you're thirty!" The old man said.

  "Yes, Master." Yan Danchen's face remained forever expressionless.

  The boat disappeared into the dark lake waters, and Yan Danchen also left Qinghu Island, heading to the center of Jiuzhou Continent, 'Yu Zhou'.

  （）