117 The True Meaning of the Tortoise Shape: A Single Point Reveals All

Upon hearing Miss Yun’s words, Chen Jue’s interest was immediately piqued. The proficiency level of his "Greater and Lesser Heavenly Circuit" practice had been stuck at Lv0 (11/100) for a long time without any progress, and he had long been eager to use some potent supplements to facilitate a breakthrough.

During his days spent trekking through these old forests of Gongshan, his intention had been to search for signs of wild medicinal herbs.

Previously, when Chen Jue accompanied Wang Biao to visit the scenic area, he had reviewed the local information provided there. It mentioned that several of the local ethnic minorities possessed their own secret, ancient medicinal recipes. Many such folk remedies had already been analyzed and decoded by modern medical science, with only a small portion having lost their lineage or fallen into obscurity. Perhaps only in mountain villages that still adhered to primitive traditions, like the Drung people, could one still find traces of these inheritances unknown to outsiders.

Take the historically renowned Qu Huanzhang, for instance. After successfully mastering his craft at the Wudang Sect, he traveled through the famous mountains of Diannan, emulating Shennong by tasting a hundred herbs. He was not ashamed to ask questions of those local minority witch doctors, and by combining their indigenous herbs, he refined the "Baibao Dan"—the medicine for treating injuries, stopping bleeding, invigorating blood circulation, and relieving pain—which is what we now commonly call Yunnan Baiyao.

"Does such medicine really exist? Does it have a name? Could you help me prepare some? It doesn't even have to be made from wild herbs from the mountains," Chen Jue asked with utmost sincerity.

"It has a name! In the Han language, it’s called 'Golden Dew.' Brother Chen Jue, do you really want to buy this medicine?"

"Only my grandma knows how to formulate Golden Dew. I know a little bit, too, but the effect isn't as good as grandma’s. Besides, this medicine is very expensive. Even if we go to town to get the herbs, a small bottle costs several thousand yuan!" Miss Yun explained.

"Golden Dew? Several thousand yuan for a small bottle? That is indeed a bit pricey!"

"Could you help me prepare ten bottles to start with? I want to test the efficacy first." Chen Jue’s heart stirred upon hearing this; he could see that Miss Yun was not lying. As a natural-born spirit of the mountains who learned from nature and lived with innocent romanticism, and a master of Xingyi who had mastered the art without a teacher, she would never dream of swindling Chen Jue for a bit of money.

"Ten bottles will take a long time to make. It will take at least over a month," Miss Yun gestured to indicate the size of the bottle, roughly that of a canned soda.

"It’s fine, I don’t mind the wait. Once your grandma has them ready, you can just mail them to me." Seeing that Miss Yun had agreed, Chen Jue was delighted. It was, in a way, a roundabout fulfillment of his wish to enter the mountains in search of medicine.

...

As the two walked and chatted, they passed through a slippery, forested area, and Miss Yun mentioned she wanted to take Chen Jue to see the "Grandpa Turtle" she had spoken of.

Filled with curiosity, Chen Jue followed her, treading over slippery moss and muddy mountain paths until they arrived beside a small waterfall with babbling water. The waterfall was only a few meters high and surrounded by dense forest. Above, it seemed to be fed by a mountain stream, and at the base of the cascade was a small pond about ten meters wide. The pond was not deep, but the water was incredibly murky from the impact of the falling waterfall.

Miss Yun set down her basket, took out a bag of turtle food, and then removed her shoes, revealing a pair of snow-white, delicate feet. She rolled up her pant legs and stepped bit by bit into the depths of the pond.

As she approached the waterfall’s spray, a jet-black mountain turtle, roughly the size of an SUV tire, crawled slowly out of a slippery cave hidden behind the curtain of water. Miss Yun reached out, scooped up the massive black turtle, brought it to the shore, and began to feed it the turtle food bit by bit.

"Such a huge mountain turtle?"

"This should be considered the legendary 'Jianxi' tortoise!" Chen Jue was shocked by the size of the creature. He had seen people online keeping ferocious alligator snapping turtles, but in the presence of this pitch-black mountain turtle, those seemed like mere toddlers.

"Grandpa Turtle is over 200 years old! Grandma said that when she was young, she saw it here!"

"It’s just a bit lazy usually, and often hides in that cave," Miss Yun explained while continuing to feed it.

During this time, Chen Jue sensed the incredibly subtle fluctuations of "turtle breathing" coming from her—peaceful, gentle, and with internal energy restrained—which was indeed remarkably similar to the aura emitted by this giant turtle. Coupled with the "Flower Tiger" she had mentioned earlier, it seemed that Miss Yun had, without realizing it, mastered the high-level arts of "Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound" and "Turtle-Form Fetal Breathing" that martial artists dream of.

"Since it’s an elder over 200 years old, I’ll feed it too!" Chen Jue squatted down, took half the bag of turtle food from Miss Yun, and held it out before the black giant turtle.

The old mountain turtle must have sensed the innate aura radiating from Chen Jue, for it showed no fear. It stretched out its head and ate all the food from Chen Jue’s hands.

"Miss Yun, do you come into the mountains to feed them every day?" Chen Jue asked.

"Not every day. I have to help grandma prepare medicine! Sometimes I come every few days. I’ve been coming more frequently lately because the old black bear gave birth to cubs, so I come into the mountains more often to bring them milk," Miss Yun explained.

After feeding the turtle and affectionately petting it, Miss Yun carried it and returned it to the pond. To Chen Jue's surprise, the seemingly sluggish giant turtle moved with the agility of a hare the moment it touched the water. It shot out like a sharp arrow, skimming across the surface, and within a few moments, it had vanished back into the cave behind the waterfall.

"This fellow is almost a spirit!" Chen Jue was amazed. In the Turtle-Form boxing style, there is a maneuver called "The Tortoise Listening to Thunder," used for evasion. It is said that when mastered to a high level, one can even dodge bullets aimed at one's limbs. Before practicing martial arts, Chen Jue had been skeptical, wondering how a creature known for its sluggishness could possess such reflexes. But witnessing the instant explosion of speed as the old turtle glided across the water, Chen Jue realized that this was the true essence of the turtle form—a principle of using slowness to overcome speed and striking with the force of a thunderbolt.

No wonder Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang could derive simple, profound arts like Taiji Boxing and the Xuanwu Technique from watching a battle between a tortoise and a snake.

Perhaps Miss Yun—with her natural, forty-tooth smile and the countenance of an ancient sage—was even more extraordinary than historical figures like Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng.

As that "Dragon" mentioned earlier: "Clothing is best when new, but people are best when they are old friends. The times are changing, and boxing and martial arts must naturally evolve and innovate."

Modern humans have access to more complete knowledge and information, better material living conditions, and are spared the survival pressures of famine and war found in history. Among a population of billions, it is no great surprise that a few modern prodigies like Miss Yun, who can observe animals to create their own paths of practice, should emerge.

Unless, of course, one happens to be like Chen Jue, who suddenly awakened an invisible, intangible attribute panel—that is the truly astonishing part!

...

After feeding the old mountain turtle, Chen Jue followed Miss Yun out of the deep, old forest. During the journey, Chen Jue specifically shared some of the methods and principles of alchemy and pugilism with her, even demonstrating a few simple Taiji stances and fighting techniques. Being naturally gifted, she grasped them in just a few attempts. She even combined them with the "Turtle-Form Fetal Breathing" she had learned, integrating the spirit of "quiet as a virgin, moving like a hare" into every move of the new Taiji techniques, leaving Chen Jue absolutely awe-struck.

He felt that without his attribute panel, his ability to comprehend and learn martial arts would be far inferior to Miss Yun, who learned directly from nature!

Her pure nature, combined with spending her days in the company of mountain creatures, meant her mind was not as complex as those of people who had experienced society like Chen Jue, allowing her to learn at an incredibly fast pace.

"I’ll send you all the boxing and martial arts materials later. When you have time, you can study them. They’re good for strengthening your body and self-defense."

"Okay! Thank you, Brother Chen Jue!"

The two walked together, taking three hours to emerge from the forest. When they reached a mountain road that hadn't been paved with concrete yet, Chen Jue took out his phone and saw that there was finally a signal. He asked for Miss Yun’s contact information and added her on WeChat. Her profile picture was a white cloud drifting in a blue sky—quiet and carefree—perfectly matching Miss Yun’s innocent, romantic, and unworldly personality.

Miss Yun also took out her smartphone and approved his friend request right there. Chen Jue sent her the materials he had on his phone and simultaneously transferred the money for the deposit for the Golden Dew. Ten bottles of Golden Dew cost over 80,000 yuan in total, which effectively emptied a portion of Chen Jue’s savings.