Chapter 250
"Senior Brother, does this mean that the first opportunity after the changes in heaven and earth has nothing to do with us?"
The black-haired, black-bearded elder said reluctantly.
"That's right. This opportunity belongs to the younger generation. Go and gather the outstanding disciples in the sect. We don’t need too many, just ten from the Precelestial and Postnatal Realms each. I have something to tell them."
The elder with an ethereal, immortal demeanor sighed.
"Yes, Senior Brother, I will go immediately."
The black-haired, black-bearded elder was about to leave but stopped suddenly.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, "Senior Brother, should we inform the other families in the secret realm about this as well?"
The elder with an ethereal, immortal demeanor thought for a moment and said, "Inform them. Otherwise, who knows what trouble they might cause when the time comes."
After his junior brother left, the elder continued to gaze at the distant flowing clouds, his eyes wistful.
"Our lineage has endured in this secret realm for tens of thousands of years, finally waiting for another change in heaven and earth, bringing hope of leaving.I wonder if the main sect and other great sects, who boarded the Void Boat and broke through the world, found a way out and if they will ever return.
I can calculate the opportunities brought by the changes in heaven and earth outside, and the other secret places should be similar.
I wonder which disciples they will send to compete for opportunities this time..."
...
"Xiao Yan, from today, your brother will officially teach you how to cultivate. Whether you can fly in the future depends on how seriously you practice."
In the morning, on a flat stone, Lu Qing said seriously.
In front of him, Xiao Yan was holding Xiao Li, sitting obediently.
"Yes, Xiao Yan will work very hard to cultivate!"
Hearing her brother's words, Xiao Yan nodded earnestly.
"Then today, I will first teach you a breathing technique. Once you master this technique and can sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, I will teach you other cultivation methods."
"Okay~"
Xiao Yan looked at Lu Qing with bright eyes full of anticipation.
Lu Qing smiled slightly, extending a finger to gently touch Xiao Yan's forehead.
His tone was very gentle, "Now close your eyes and adjust your breathing according to what I taught you."
As Xiao Yan closed her eyes, a warm spiritual force gently enveloped her, and a soothing voice echoed in her mind, guiding her to adjust her breathing slowly.
In no time, she entered an ethereal state with a unique breathing rhythm.
Lu Qing retracted his finger, looking at the meditative Xiao Yan, and felt a bit emotional.
The little girl's cultivation aptitude was indeed excellent. In such a short time, she grasped the key and entered a meditative state.
As expected, she was recognized as a cultivation genius with a trace of innate Dao body aura and the talent of Ice Muscle and Jade Bone.
Seeing Xiao Yan fully immersed in meditation, Lu Qing sat cross-legged beside her, quietly watching over her.
Xiao Li crawled into his arms, lying quietly.
Lu Qing gently stroked its head and suddenly thought of something.
"Xiao Li, I obtained something yesterday that might be useful to you. Do you want to see it?"
With a thought, Lu Qing took out an item from the Spatial Qi Bag.
It was a white fruit the size of a thumb.
Xiao Li was puzzled at first, but as it smelled the fruit's scent, its eyes widened.
"This fruit is called the Beast Spirit Fruit. It seems to have significant effects on purifying and enhancing a spirit beast's bloodline. Do you want it?"
Lu Qing dangled the white fruit in front of Xiao Li.
Xiao Li's eyes followed the fruit, nodding eagerly at Lu Qing's words, looking at him with longing.
Its innate extraordinary sense told it that this white fruit was greatly beneficial.
"Alright, it's yours."
Seeing the little creature's eager eyes, Lu Qing found it amusing and handed over the fruit.
Xiao Li's eyes shone with joy. It held the white fruit with its paws and swallowed it without hesitation.
"Xiao Li, you..."
Lu Qing was momentarily stunned, then shook his head helplessly.
He hadn't expected the little creature to be so impatient, swallowing the fruit so quickly.
Although the Beast Spirit Fruit was very beneficial to spirit beasts and could be directly consumed and refined, swallowing it whole might cause the little one to fall asleep again.
Sure enough, not long after Xiao Li swallowed the white fruit, its eyelids started to droop, and it fell asleep in Lu Qing's arms.
Now, Lu Qing had to take care of two little ones.
Holding Xiao Li, Lu Qing waited quietly. About half an hour later, Xiao Yan woke up from her meditation, her eyes bright and full of spirit.
"You're awake. How do you feel?" Lu Qing asked softly.
"Brother, Xiao Yan feels very comfortable now, as if she has endless strength!" Xiao Yan exclaimed.
"That's just an illusion, but Xiao Yan is indeed impressive. The first time practicing the breathing technique, you could meditate for half an hour. You're even better than your brother when he started."
Lu Qing didn't hold back his praise.
"Really?"
Sure enough, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.
"Of course, when has your brother ever lied to you?" Lu Qing nodded seriously.
"Hehe." Xiao Yan giggled.
After laughing, she noticed something wrong and looked at Xiao Li in Lu Qing's arms, "Brother, what's wrong with Xiao Li?"
"It's nothing. I gave it something good to eat. It fell asleep after eating, but it will be better and stronger when it wakes up." Lu Qing explained.
Xiao Yan felt relieved but couldn't help laughing, "Xiao Li is so lazy, sleeping right after eating. It's even lazier than Xiao Yan."
Lu Qing couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, let's go back. We've spent a lot of time teaching you the breathing technique today. After breakfast, we need to set off again."
Returning to the village where they stayed last night, they found that the family they rented the house from had prepared breakfast.
After eating, Lu Qing gave the family some money as thanks, then hitched the carriage and set off again.
"A Qing, did you take Xiao Yan out early to teach her cultivation?"
On the carriage, the old doctor looked at Xiao Yan, whose aura had changed significantly, and asked curiously.
"Yes, Grandpa Chen. Brother taught me the breathing technique. It was so much fun! Xiao Yan felt full of energy after practicing it. Brother said that when I get better, I will learn to fly!" Xiao Yan said proudly.
"Breathing technique?" The old doctor was surprised and looked at Lu Qing.
"The breathing technique is actually a preliminary method of the Qi-Eating Technique. Its purpose is to regulate the breath through breathing, visualize the body, and cleanse physical impurities.
Ultimately, it aims to achieve a state where the breath circulates throughout the body, with no impurities, and all meridians are unblocked." Lu Qing explained.
"Breath circulating throughout the body, no impurities, all meridians unblocked..." The old doctor was even more surprised, "Isn't that..."
"Yes, in the martial path, only after reaching the Precelestial Realm, receiving the fortune of heaven and earth, and cultivating a Precelestial body can one achieve this state.
Once Xiao Yan perfects the breathing technique and opens all her meridians, she will have essentially reached the Precelestial Realm.
However, since she hasn't undergone the physical tempering of Qi and blood, theoretically, she might not be able to fight against a martial artist of the Tendons and Bones Realm."
"Then why did you..." The old doctor was puzzled.
"Master, I'm not teaching Xiao Yan the breathing technique to enhance her combat power. I hope she can quickly reach the state where her breath circulates throughout her body and all meridians are unblocked.
At that point, I will teach her the Qi-Eating Technique, which is the most crucial." Lu Qing explained.
"Qi-Eating Technique? A Qing, are you planning to..."
The old doctor suddenly understood Lu Qing's intention.
"Yes, Xiao Yan's talent is extraordinary, and with the current changes in heaven and earth, I want her to directly follow the path of the ancient Qi cultivators." Lu Qing nodded.
Although the martial path has a low entry barrier, the progress is slow and arduous.
Xiao Yan has the Ice Muscle and Jade Bone talent and a trace of innate Dao body aura, making her an excellent candidate for cultivation.
Naturally, Lu Qing wouldn't let her follow the martial path but instead directly let her follow the cultivation path.
"Since you have it all planned out, I am at ease." The old doctor was reassured by Lu Qing's confident plans.
On the other hand, Wei Zi'an was completely bewildered by their conversation.
He couldn't understand terms like the breathing technique, Qi-Eating Technique, and Qi cultivators. These were all foreign to him, and he marveled at the profound and mysterious nature of cultivation.
The carriage continued to move forward, stopping at noon to let the horses rest before resuming the journey.
However, by the afternoon, the carriage's speed slowed significantly, and the ride became very bumpy.
Lu Qing furrowed his brows, holding Xiao Li closer to avoid waking it up from the jolts.
"Master, what's happening? Why is the carriage so bumpy?" Wei Zi'an asked, sensing something was amiss.
Then, the carriage came to a sudden halt.
"Brother Lu, Old Doctor, we might have a problem," Mago's voice came from the front of the carriage.
"What kind of problem?"
Lu Qing
lifted the curtain and looked outside.
Could it be bandits?
But he didn't sense any other presences nearby.
However, when Lu Qing saw the situation outside, he was stunned.
They were on a very rugged mountain road, with uneven ground and a narrow path barely wide enough for the carriage.
One of the carriage's wheels was stuck in a pothole, unable to move.
"Where are we?"
Lu Qing handed Xiao Li to Xiao Yan and got off the carriage to survey the surroundings.
They were on a narrow mountain path halfway up the mountain, with a cliff beside them, making it very dangerous.
The old doctor got off the carriage and looked around, understanding their predicament.
"We're approaching Ezhou. It's said to be the most rugged of all the states, with most of its territory covered by towering mountains, making it very difficult to traverse."
"Ezhou?"
Lu Qing understood.
In the past two years, he had been gathering information about the world, including Ezhou.
He knew it was a region with many mountains and rivers, considered a desolate and treacherous place compared to other states.
"This is quite troublesome."
Lu Qing looked around, feeling a headache.
If it were just a short stretch of difficult road, he and Mago could carry the carriage across it.
But if the entire state was like this, it would be impossible.
Would they have to abandon the carriage and walk the rest of the way?
Lu Qing was conflicted.
He didn't mind walking, but Xiao Yan and the old doctor couldn't endure such a long journey.
Even Wei Zi'an might not make it.
Moreover, they had grown attached to the carriage that sheltered them from the elements.
He didn't want to give it up unless absolutely necessary.
"In hindsight, we should have taken the longer route."
Lu Qing regretted.
He and the old doctor had discussed whether to take another route, as the old doctor had never been to Ezhou and didn't know the road conditions.
But the longer route meant a much longer journey, adding another state's worth of distance.
They wanted to reach Zhongzhou quickly and chose this route, thinking that even if Ezhou's roads were difficult, it would be better than a much longer journey.
They hadn't expected Ezhou's terrain to be so treacherous, making it nearly impossible for the carriage to pass.
"Master, what should we do?" Lu Qing looked at the old doctor.
The old doctor understood their predicament and sighed, "There are only two options: turn back or abandon the carriage and proceed on foot."
Both options were far from ideal.
Turning back would waste a lot of time, and abandoning the carriage meant leaving behind many belongings.
Lu Qing could use the Spatial Qi Bag to carry everything, but he was hesitant to reveal this ability.
And he wasn't sure if Xiao Yan could endure the hardship.
As Lu Qing pondered, Wei Zi'an lamented, "Our journey of the past two days was in vain. If only our carriage could fly."
"Don't talk nonsense. This is just an ordinary carriage, not some magical artifact that can fly. You must have been reading those storybooks with Xiao Yan and Xiao Li again," Mago scolded with a laugh.
However, Lu Qing was startled by Wei Zi'an's words.
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