Chapter 16: Spirit Turtle (Please Bookmark)

"You're Su Daoshi? Follow me!"

Sparrow, clad in military garb, was actually a young woman, seemingly a handmaiden, yet she emitted an aura of iron-blooded evil Qi, and her martial arts were quite impressive.

She sized up Zhong Shenxiu and marveled, "Our young miss's trusted aides are deemed even more precious than any squad leader. I wonder how she took a liking to you..."

Addressing Feng Xixi only as 'young miss' without using her rank of Colonel, it was clear that she was a homebred servant, loyal and dedicated, following along with the army.

"Now that the young miss has taken a fancy to you, you belong to her. From this moment on, you are to be a trusted aide and guard; this is an order from our lord, not to be defied. You must be loyal, or else... you will be cut a thousand times..."

Sparrow prattled on to Zhong Shenxiu about the rules.

Zhong Shenxiu nodded and acquiesced outwardly, but inwardly he was speechless.

Even in his past life, when talking about blessings and retribution, one still had to offer some sort of salary and benefits.

Spouting dreams without substance was just tricking ghosts.

Fortunately, Feng Xixi was quite good to her subordinates. Having said her piece, Sparrow finally handed a booklet to Zhong Shenxiu, "This is the 'Spirit Turtle Breathing Skill' from 'Ten Directions Beast Skill,' specially bestowed upon each trusted aide by our young miss. It's an 'Innate Qi Refining Technique.' Serving as our young miss's trusted aide, it would be rather shameful not to at least be at the Innate level..."

Zhong Shenxiu's face twitched.

Not Innate and it's shameful?

Then what about the Martial Arts Grandmasters of his past life? Weren't they hopeless?

"Thank you, young miss!"

He had no choice but to clasp his fists and bow in thanks.

Sparrow then smugly said, "The 'Ten Directions Beast Skill' may be widely spread, but the 'Qi Refining Chapter' is rare. You cannot divulge it to others, or else if the young miss finds out, there will be hell to pay..."

Zhong Shenxiu nodded; it was only natural.

Ordinary martial arts were better off widely spread, but when it came to the true arcane transmissions, some common martial artists could spend their entire lives toiling without ever obtaining them.

Families of warriors and even the Imperial Family and cultivation sects maintained their power by monopolizing these cultivation techniques.

In such a world, ordinary people striving to ascend only felt despair.

"Even if one masters all of 'Ten Directions Beast Skill,' one merely reaches the pinnacle of the Innate level..." Zhong Shenxiu intentionally probed with an offhand remark.

Sparrow's eyes flashed wide with indignation, "Most worldly martial artists are at the Post-Innate level, being Innate is already remarkable. Moreover... 'Ten Directions Beast Skill' is also a simplified introduction to an Immortal Cultivation Technique. It is exceptional for transforming tendons and tempering the body, creating a solid foundation. With luck and opportunity, even entering the Dao is not out of the question."

"Entering the Dao?"

Zhong Shenxiu's eyes sparkled momentarily, "Cultivating and becoming an Immortal..."

"You can forget about it. Reaching the top of Innate in this lifetime, and if fortune permits, stepping into the Gang Sha Realm, would be like smoke rising from your ancestor's grave... As for the subsequent Divine Skills, Primordial Pill... and the inexplicably profound realm of the Dissolved Corpse becoming Immortal, heh... such Immortals, even in the Imperial Family, must be treated with great respect, being conferred the title of National Guardian Immortal Master," Sparrow said dismissively.

Zhong Shenxiu just smiled faintly, offering no argument.

With his current status, anything he said would be a joke.

However, the idea that this world contained so many profound stages, awaiting his verification one by one, involuntarily raised his expectations.

Zhong Shenxiu inquired further, only to find out that following the 'Ten Directions Beast Skill,' one would need to kill a great number of wild beasts, preferably demon beasts, to refine their spirits into the body, forming a 'Ten Thousand Beasts True Body'!

By this step, he had broken through the shackles of the Innate realm and entered a higher level of cultivation.

As for these matters, Sparrow only understood a little.

When it came to Divine Skills, Primordial Pill, and even the higher realms above Gang Sha Realm, she was even less informed.

Even though she followed an important person, she was just a trusted aide and maidservant.

As for the title of "Immortal Master", she had heard it by chance.

Having squeezed out this information from her, Zhong Shenxiu let Sparrow leave and began to sit cross-legged in his newly assigned room, studying the "Spirit Turtle Breathing Skill" in his hands.

This cultivation technique was Qigong, focusing on the Innate Qi Refining Skill.

Although there were some matching moves and dynamic exercises involved, the main aspect was adjusting the breathing and mental state to enter a "meditative" state.

This was the first barrier in cultivation.

After entering meditation, one could visualize the Spirit Turtle Breathing Map, absorb and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and form "Spirit Turtle True Qi" within the Dantian.

This strand of True Qi was rather pure and also had the effect of nourishing the body and prolonging life.

Once True Qi matured, it could be moved through the meridians, traveling and opening the thirty-six Heavenly Show Points in the body, perfectly corresponding to the Spirit Turtle Breathing Map.

When the thirty-six Heavenly Show Points were all opened, one could consider the martial art to have reached great success, and the martial artist himself would have reached the Innate Extreme Realm.

Zhong Shenxiu pondered over it word by word, very slowly.

After a long while, he couldn't help but close the book and sigh, "I have to admit, the techniques widely spread in a great world have truly gone through rigorous refinement and are much more perfected than the Qi Refining Technique I've been fumbling with alone..."

"The Innate is already like this, I wonder how powerful the Gang Sha Realm is..."

"Compared to the cultivation system of the East, the West seems to be much cruder. Although there are divisions such as Mage Warriors and the like, they are mostly distinguished by rank. The first rank is equivalent to the Houtian of the East, and the second rank is roughly Innate..."

"If that's the case, the first Heisting Count must have possessed the strength of a legendary fifth rank, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to traverse thousands of miles and establish the Earl Country here..."

Thinking this, Zhong Shenxiu felt a cold sweat form on his forehead.

He wanted to rely on the Fufeng Protector Mansion to solve this hidden danger; ordinary secret manuals would be of no use.

At a minimum, he needed to obtain a True Inheritance that directly pointed to the Primordial Pill Realm, preferably one geared towards the control of spirits or such.

"Thinking like this, it's a bit desperate, especially with Blood Moon Night possibly arriving at any time... Instead of waiting for that, should I consider how to obtain more Heavenly Show Points, to elevate the Profound Yin Soul fragment? But if there's no continuation of the technique, the Heavenly Show Points required for forcibly breaking through the realm would be terrifying..."

Zhong Shenxiu also pondered the impact today's events would have on him. In the end, he set all those thoughts aside, calmed his mind, and promptly entered a state of meditation.

Ordinary people's minds change frequently and are filled with stray thoughts, spending immeasurable effort to enter meditation.

However, having lived three lifetimes, he was extremely experienced and easily overcame this difficulty.

He then adjusted his breathing rhythm, subtle and interrupted, while simultaneously visualizing a Spirit Turtle Breathing Map.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth fluctuated slightly, gathering around him, and not long after, a strand of Spirit Turtle True Qi was born within his body.

This strand of True Qi was much purer than that formed through Innate Qigong; upon contact, it instantly swallowed the True Qi brought about by practicing Innate Qigong, strengthening itself further and beginning to impact an acupoint.

'The True Qi brought by Innate Qigong is truly... weak.'

Zhong Shenxiu opened his eyes, somewhat helpless: "But after all, I haven't practiced for several days and have been devoured by vengeful spirits, suffering great loss in True Qi... 'Spirit Turtle Breathing Skill' is more exquisite than Innate Qigong, so let's just go with it..."