Liou Yuan, while thinking, grit his teeth and closed the gap in the door again.
He didn't care if the old lady next door could hear his footsteps.
He strode into the backyard, to the cellar specifically used for storing food, and after some rummaging, dragged out half a barrel of lamp oil used for household lighting.
The lamp oil in Liou Yuan's house was tung oil, which could burst into flames at the slightest spark.
The fire was fierce and emitted a pungent smell.
Liou Yuan shook the wooden barrel containing the lamp oil; there was at least half a barrel left inside.
"This half barrel of lamp oil is enough to set these two houses on fire. Let's see how wicked you are, see if you're truly immune to water and fire."
Liou Yuan's expression carried a hint of ruthlessness.
This was the only method Liou Yuan could think of to deal with the Star Evil.
According to the Fixed Star Compass's evaluation of the Star Evil, it was unranked.
That proved the creature hadn't reached a transcendent level.
Attacking with fierce fire, even if it couldn't kill it, would at least strip it of its skin.
As for his own house possibly being consumed by the fire, Liou Yuan no longer cared.
Of course, that was the worst plan, something he'd rather not battle against if he could avoid it.
Liou Yuan dragged the lamp oil from the cellar, directly spreading it around the high walls and ground bordering his courtyard and the neighboring one.
With all this done and patrol officers outside for protection, Liou Yuan's heart gradually settled.
"Man proposes, heaven disposes," Liou Yuan had done everything he could.
"The rest is up to fate."
Smelling the pungent tung oil at the tip of his nose, Liou Yuan cleared his mind of distractions and turned back into the house.
Right now, he had only one thing to do: cultivate.
The danger of this world was self-evident; Liou Yuan had crossed over for barely two months and encountered a life-threatening situation.
The days ahead were sure to be turbulent.
This instilled a tremendous sense of urgency in Liou Yuan.
If even his home isn't safe, where can he expect safety?
Currently in Yanhe City, with the help of family connections, he could borrow some power from the government office to deal with those evil spirits.
But once in a different environment, he could only rely on himself.
So he had to grow stronger.
The book left by his brother Liou Zhen, the "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill," was naturally his path to power.
Bam! The door shut.
While taking out the "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill" from his bosom, Liou Yuan couldn't help but glance at the wall adjoining the neighbor's.
He knew that old lady was most likely still sticking to the wall, listening to his movements.
That was indeed the case.
His gaze moved to the wall separating them.
An old lady, head full of white hair, appeared haggard. In a bizarre posture, she clung like a gecko, ear against the wall.
She could only hear Liou Yuan's footsteps but couldn't see through the wall.
She didn't know what Liou Yuan did after returning home, nor that the youth she viewed as prey was now holding the Breathing Skill that would change his fate.
Liou Yuan quietly opened the thin "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill," having skimmed through it before going out.
He already had a preliminary understanding of this Breathing Skill.
Now he needed to delve into it.
With detailed cultivation insights left by Liou Zhen, Liou Yuan was nearly impossible to make a mistake in cultivating.
Furthermore, according to Liou Yuan's assessment, this Breathing Skill seemed to belong to the more basic cultivation methods.
If he bungled the cultivation even with Liou Zhen's guidance, he could only call himself dumb as a donkey.
In the dim candlelight of the room, Liou Yuan carefully read the pages of the cultivation technique.
"Under the shimmering starlight, lay upon the ground, allowing the five organs to be fully bathed in its radiance. Then, per the cultivation technique's instructions, move the five organs to absorb the essence of the stars."
This was one of the conditions for cultivating the "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill," lying under the starlight, letting all five organs bathe completely, and then moving them as the cultivation technique described to absorb the essence of the stars.
As for the illustration at the opening, detailing the body's internal organs, it served as an aid to practice the Breathing Skill, a method for activating the five organs, named "Yunwu Prefecture."
This method could be used not only in cultivating the "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill," but also to stimulate the body's potential, allowing the organs to operate at high load and erupt with multiple times the physical strength.
"Quite a nice thing!" Liou Yuan's eyes lit up upon reading this.
This Yunwu Prefecture was undoubtedly the method for Liou Yuan to become powerful in a short time.
The downside was that for those lacking a cultivation foundation, using the Yunwu Prefecture outside of cultivation time could burden the body greatly.
Once the technique's effect wears off, one might become limp and unable to stand, needing days of rest to recover.
But when it came to a life-and-death situation, who would care?
With both aiding in cultivation and boosting power temporarily, the benefits naturally made Liou Yuan value the "Yunwu Prefecture" method greatly, studying it several times.
Following Liou Zhen's cultivation insights, Liou Yuan quickly grasped a general idea within one incense stick's time, leaving the practical application.
Next was the method for absorbing the essence of stars from the "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill."
Another incense stick's time passed; believing he hadn't missed anything, Liou Yuan took the cultivation book and walked outside.
The "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill" stated the need to be bathed in starlight for cultivating.
The house wasn't suitable; the little courtyard could borrow the starlight.
Of course, the best place to cultivate would indeed be outside the walls at Virgo Peak.
But at this critical moment, Liou Yuan definitely couldn't leave.
So he sat in the center of the courtyard, lying face up so that starlight could illuminate his entire body.
Liou Yuan gazed at the stars above with a slightly parted mouth, inhaling deeply.
"Hoo!"
After the breath, he seemed to cease breathing.
That breath was forcibly retained in his lungs.
Then, he stretched out his fingers, starting to probe his body, locating the acupoints described in the Yunwu Prefecture, gently pressing upon them.
The 'breath' staying in his lungs suddenly surged into the Kidney Mansion.
At this point, Liou Yuan could feel the swelling in his waist and kidneys.
This was just the beginning; with Liou Yuan's fingers continually tapping on the acupoints.
The breath moved from Kidney Mansion to Liver Mansion.
The lungs being metal, the kidneys being water, and the liver being wood.
This represented the idea of metal generating water, water generating wood.
This breath became the key to moving the five mansions, the core of the Yunwu Prefecture.
When Liou Yuan activated all the acupoints, that breath had connected all five mansions, causing all his internal organs to mobilize.
The organs seemed to breathe in Liou Yuan's chest and abdomen, starting to pulse.
The starlight pouring onto Liou Yuan's body began to permeate it.
The original penetration point was just one.
Just between his breasts, where his Two-Star Gold Acupoint was located.
"That's my Two-Star Gold Acupoint!" Recognizing the position where starlight converged, Liou Yuan's mind cleared.
The connection between the Breathing Skill and the cultivator's aptitude was undeniable.
The better the aptitude, the easier the cultivation.
Liou Yuan hadn't expected that when the Gold Acupoint was filled with celestial power, his brow also began to gather starlight.
The starlight gathered at his brow side was dimmer than at his chest.
But it was indeed present.
Liou Yuan was first puzzled, then suddenly understood, mentally chanting, "Water Acupoint!"
The chest contained the Gold Acupoint, while the brow, belonged to Liou Yuan's One-Star Water Acupoint.
The Gold Acupoint and Water Acupoint could simultaneously cultivate the "Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill."
This was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.
Though Liou Yuan considered himself moldable talent, he was somewhat begrudging of his Two-Star Gold Acupoint aptitude, as two stars were only slightly better than one-star makings.
"Who would've thought, Gold Acupoint and Water Acupoint can be used for cultivation simultaneously."