At least a thousand years ago, the Wu clan were a warrior focused clan just like many others on this stretch of road to the Imperial City. Governed currently by the family of 15th son of the Imperial Duke of the Middle South Core Territories, 23rd Brother to the Son of Heaven, 5th in line to succeed the 3rd Dragon Throne seated to left to the Throne of Thrones and currently seated upon the Throne of Iron Dusted Jade.
Given the fief's proximity to the capital, directly seated in a guarded roadway, with its land briming with spiritual energy and mysteries, the cultivators this land breeds are far stronger than the regular not-a-hidden-dragon sects farther from there and out in the boonies.
They are approved to step into the capital, and are counted among those worthy to be conscripted into the Imperial Armies since it is considered one of the first lines of defense and their own outskirts.
This also means the techniques used here have a high likely hood of being degraded or derived from the coveted Imperial Grade, the grade that is most useful for all stages of cultivation and may offer a glimpse into Heavenly.
So back to the Wu clan, to distinguish them from the other clans in the layman's POV, they are also adept in the skills of qi medicine and qi cooking, so to cover their needs in the basic three and their chosen skills they developed The Boiling Cooker's Whistle.
If you weren't aware, pressure cookers where being made even from way before modern tech, and aside from the uses it does cooking up delicious stews it has applications in making medicine.
The breathing technique has one hold and release their breath in a pattern and funnel the air to the sides of the mouth as to not contaminate the body or when cooking and when making medicine, the ingredients.
It is to visualize yourself as a pressure cooker, churning one's water amidst the iron metal buried in earthy clay to create good stews, potions and ointments.
At least a thousand years ago, the Tang clan were a warrior focused clan just like many others. To distinguish themselves they turned to alchemy, terrible and horrifying alchemy.
Some parts of it are derived from the formulas in the Middling Far East Territories, far enough from Imperial control, petty kingdoms that know only war spring up every year, where various warlords devour precious resources like water and spend men's lives like they were sling stones making that stretch of lands the graveyard of clans.
They fashioned pills from anything they could get their hands on and to help themselves survive in such a land they developed the Red-Hot Cauldron's Smoke.
The breathing technique has one draw in great gulps of air and exult it in a long steady drawn out note to feed the fires of the alchemy cauldron burning it red hot.
It is to visualize yourself as a cauldron, your fire feeding upon the wood to burn copper alloy metal so hot it turns red and neither ashes nor moisture are not spared from its feast.
All to produce potent pills to further one's cultivation with a chance of becoming something unnatural.
When grandma Hierarch united the clans she took apart the two clans techniques and painstakingly complied and edited them into the scroll I now read, a Earth Grade reaching for the Sky. The words making up the mantra-
Learn what is useful, Discard what is not, and Make it your own.
- resurfaces in my head as I am enlightened by her actions, seeing someone in her situation surviving, adapting and then overcoming Heaven and Earth to move and change her station in life from a broodmare to a clan Hierarch all from her kitchen inspires me with following her grindset.
Speaking of-
Adapt, Survive, Overcome.
-is another good one, it almost essentially the same but different enough to be its own verse?
How the hell do people, and by people I mean Long, lack enough resources to achieve breakthroughs?
I am a middling talent and in just 4 hours I am on Body Tempering 5.9 now!
My nose drips with blood as my mind processes the relayed information, mama's hands steadying me, her words telling to go slow and really parse the knowledge the cultivation manual's qi imparts to me with care, a lesson I will keep in mind as I plan on learning another one today.
Guided by her words I breath in a great gulp in a pattern and breath out the sides of my mouth in a steady note, reciting along with her the mantra-
Consume all, to nourish all.
Water churns, Iron contains, Fire devours, Earth weighs and burns with Wood, so that Copper burns bright!
Learn what is useful, Discard what is not, and Make it your own.
To nourish all, consume all.
"The third verse Gen'er?! You know the third verse?!"
"The manual taught me mama. Wasn't there an extra fourth?"
"A fourth!" She laughs hysterically. "A fourth verse that I, Yingyue, Foundation Establishment cultivator blessed with the Great Yin-Water Scholar's Quality Talent and direct disciple to Elder Daoist Ideal-Seeker who is next in line to be Elder of Insrcyption Hall, a fourth verse I couldn't derive from this manual I learned all my life!"
"Are you sure that we haven't deviated our qi son?!"
"I am sure of it mama! Although it is almost lunch so I suppose we can ask grandma Hierarch if we were deviating once she swings by."
"Very well, very well! Your grandma should know all about it since she made it, we await her judgement."
"Still how was it like learning a real proper breathing technique my son?"
I say no words, if I speak I will be in trouble.
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"Your calf made a Sky Grade Ying'er."
Mother speaks.
We seat in a sealed chamber built for withstanding tribulations that she whisked us away to for lunch as we told her about what had occurred.
At this point I drop my chopsticks, all thoughts of the dress down and guilt tripping I had done for the sake of his well being are gone like water on pavement.
"His grasp has pushed it from Earth to the Sky, an act my feeble hands have strained to do."
"So, I formally give my apologies to you Yingyue, for all of it."
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"I apologize calling Tangen a cow and your boy a calf."
"I apologize saying all the resources spent in the process of his birth are a waste"
"I was wrong my dear daughter, please forgive me."
"I assumed wrong my child, could you ever bear to forgive your grandma for such petty slights?"
She offers a rather deep bow, far deeper than someone in Core Formation should be allowed to give.
It should seem shallow to a Foundation Establishment like me and a kowtow to my boy in the Body Tempering Stage.
"Gra-grandmother Hierarch, there is none. You only were japing with me all the time right?"
"Tch, out of malice child." She says as she rises up and goes over to Gen'er and wraps him in an embrace I have not seen nor felt since I was trapped in my father's whims saying-
"You cost me my precious marriage to the Dai clan, a seventh marriage to an elder's 5th son but still, my precious marriage to the Dai clan which should have elevated us, yet now I see it would have tied us to a losing wager."
"You were a blessing in disguise my child, and I just couldn't it, my eyes were blinded to false gold. Forgive me?"
-she says gently tussling his hair.
"What else could I do but defy Heaven in a seat of wisdom and prove my worth to you Grandmother Hierarch?"
"Better safe than sorry my Hierarch, I could been more of a disappointment ever since my birth."
"Besides, not calling me calf at this point would feel very strange my Hierarch."
"Only if you call me Grandmother, nothing stuffy to get in our way now."
"As you will Grandma."
Again, he does much better than I was in this situation, if he falls to this act of hers like I did all those years ago, he would be left with quite a few Heart Demons that only with Tangen's help I could overcome.
Yet still... oh Tangen... why do I get the feeling that even when struck down with the same afflictions that I went through, he could overcome it with ease?
Is this one of your last gifts to us manifesting through traces of your spirit?
Is... is this the difference between an Extreme and Peak Talent?
If so, I shudder to think of what the Imperial and Divine could be capable of, and I shudder even more so thinking how wide is the gulf between my own Great to his Peak.
"Now my sweet calf, I think I can ascertain the means you achieved this, yet could you show your mama and grandma on how you completed my breathing technique?"
"Of course grandma."
Dipping his fingers into his drinking cup he traces a shape on the table, he traces a shape that seems like a mountain and yet not unlike a wave or a bell.
"The novice sees a mountain."
"The journeyman sees layers of earth, of rocks, dirt and of nature."
"The master sees a mountain."
My qi stirs at the mantra, it was so long ago when my master accepted my discipleship when Feng left to join the Disciplinary Hall, how did I ever forget?!
Alas! I indeed lost quite a bit to survive my deviations, but what does Heaven plan that now Gen'er comes up with it all on his own?
Just how great is the gulf between us?! Tangen please, I don't know how protect our son from himself!
I don't think I can stop him from the clutches of unkind fate this world is preparing for him even at this instance.
I can't even stop my own mother from sinking her clutches into him!
He is just four! What would you have him do?! Tempt fate into making him die an early death by the way others and his own ambition would pace himself?!
I can't- No.
I can do something.
The old monster chuckles, coming to her own enlightenment, I can feel her qi yelling out the mantra of her breakthrough and it penetrates through, invading my head and Gen's.
"Children are cruel, so I must be very in touch with my inner child!"
She is practically vibrating with the hints of childlike glee that mantra brought her, and Heaven cannot tolerate that, just like it cannot tolerate me.
I draw my prepared resources on hand, I thought I would make use of it for a decade when I finish my guidance of Gen into the sect but I never thought his destiny would come to this.
He sits there confused for a moment and then comes to a startling realization.
He sits there in disbelief that we have grasped a sliver of Dao through the musings of a child.
I place him in our midst as we set the lunch table to the side and prepare to defy the Heavens together in the middle of the chamber.
I feed him a pill meant to be a one consumed a week into the future but his circumstances are forcing him do it now or never.
I can only hope that he will surely breakthrough.
I take my affairs in order as the thunder clouds gather about the clan manor, mother and I activate the arrays about the chamber and set it for triple cultivation.
I have to breakthrough and get stronger in order to protect him.
We seat as the first strike of lightning clashes against the pagoda the chamber is situated under, cycling through all the meditation and breathing techniques we know, muttering mantras so that Heaven would mistake it as prayers.
Everything, everything I ever was, am and will be, I gather up in my foundation as my dantians set in its formation work in excess to expand itself.
Tribulation seeks to send us down and restore the natural order, and is doubly incensed that three were with no shame colluding to defy Heaven's Will.
The chamber scatters the lighting the tribulation has ascertained to be more than enough to cease this bold usurpation as I chase down traces of a Dao Concept that will serve as the core of my Core Formation.
The chamber is pierced by a great column of Heavenly wrath directed to most dangerous person in the chamber.
Heaven's tribulation lighting is going to fall upon my son.
I make a move but mother is much faster.
Mother directs the punishment to herself and is cleansing herself of impurities by using a technique to direct Heaven's Will throughout her Core to destroy them.
In just 50 years, Wu-Tang Daywei has now ascended even closer to become a Nascent Soul.
My son leapfrogged into the 5th step of the 6th step of Body Tempering.
I have reached the 2nd step past Foundation Establishment.
"That... That was... Mother you promised we would learn your master's breathing technique next right?"
The absolute nerves of this boy, fine then, rush headlong unto death or immortality you maniac!