Promise!

Chapter 131, Immortal

"Eight hundred years ago, an immortal came from beyond the East Sea. Later generations revered him as the 'Ancestor of Martial Arts' and created the martial arts. This is the origin of martial arts. The Black Fiend Technique is the first version of the martial arts technique created by the immortal..."

"To provide the Black Fiend Technique with suitable cultivation resources, the immortals took the most common and fastest-reproducing Bright Shade Grass and cultivated it into Black Jade Grass. To further accelerate the growth of Black Jade Grass, they refined the extraordinary treasure, the Azure Origin Pot. Historical records indicate that the immortals refined a total of: 256 low-grade Azure Origin Pots, 72 mid-grade Azure Origin Pots, and 9 high-grade Azure Origin Pots... The extraordinary treasure, the Azure Origin Pot, can extract common medicinal materials to produce Azure Origin Liquid. When the Azure Origin Liquid is used to irrigate Black Jade Grass, one day can achieve the growth effect of a year. Even for other medicinal materials, one day is equivalent to a month..."

Shen Xuchen's words were earth-shattering.

"An immortal?! The Martial Ancestor?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Jin felt as if his worldview had been turned upside down. Wasn't this supposed to be martial arts? How come immortals suddenly appeared? He tried hard to digest this information.

However, at this very moment, many things that I had previously overlooked suddenly came together in my mind, and many insights arose in my heart.

"Back when the Medicine King Gang recruited martial arts students, those who failed to learn martial arts within a month would be relegated to gathering herbs. I used to think these herb-gathering boys were just picking auxiliary materials for Black Yuan Powder in the wild, but now I realize that doesn't make sense. There are so many kinds of wild herbs; how could it just be those few types of auxiliary materials? This needle-in-a-haystack method of gathering herbs is probably no better than just planting them... Now I understand, it's to obtain various herbs as materials to extract Green Yuan Elixir!"

Furthermore, he had wondered why the Medicine King Gang did not intercept the procession of wealthy families from various counties under the prefecture when they came to offer tribute.
—The Shen family would certainly not make a losing deal with such a gift or bestowal. Theoretically speaking, they would have profited more by intercepting it on its way!
"Now I understand. If the Medicine King Gang were to take away the medicinal herbs offered by the wealthy families in the surrounding counties, the Shen family wouldn't be able to extract enough Azure Essence Liquid using the Azure Essence Pot, and therefore wouldn't be able to cultivate enough Black Jade Grass to provide the cultivation resources for Black Essence Powder. Furthermore, they wouldn't be able to maintain such a large number of martial artists. This is tantamount to forcing the Shen family into a desperate all-in battle!"

After figuring this out, Zhuang Jin forced himself to calm down and asked, "Eighth Young Master, what are the differences between the superior, middle, and inferior Qingyuan Pots? Why is it that the Qingyuan Liquid produced by the Qingyuan Pot works for Black Jade Grass for a day or a year, but only for other medicinal herbs for a day or a month?"

"What's the difference between the superior, medium, and inferior Qingyuan Pots? An inferior Qingyuan Pot can cultivate medicinal herbs for up to fifty years; a medium-grade Qingyuan Pot can cultivate them for up to two hundred years; and a superior Qingyuan Pot can cultivate them for up to five hundred years!"

"As for why the Azure Essence Liquid works for Black Jade Grass for a day and a year, but for other medicinal herbs for a day and a month, if Zhuang Zhenshou were to ask other people in the know, they would probably only say that the Azure Essence Pot was made by immortals specifically for Black Jade Grass, and they wouldn't be able to say anything more. But I just happened to see it in an ancient book of strange tales, which can explain this problem better."

Shen Xuchen kept everyone in suspense until Zhuang Jin, acting as a straight man, asked the question, and then said, "According to this book, the reason why the Qingyuan Liquid extracted by the Qingyuan Pot can accelerate the growth of medicinal herbs is said to be because the Qingyuan Pot extracts the primordial energy of heaven and earth contained in the medicinal herbs. Therefore, Qingyuan Liquid also has another name—Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth...Primordial energy of heaven and earth is something called 'spiritual energy' by immortals, which is formed by the combination of yin and yang and the five elements. Different proportions result in different effects. The Qingyuan Liquid extracted by the Qingyuan Pot is specially formulated for Black Jade Grass..."

'The primordial energy of heaven and earth! The primordial fluid of heaven and earth! Spiritual energy!'

Zhuang Jin was once again greatly shocked. While gaining a clearer understanding of the essence of this world, he also instantly understood the question from before. The Qingyuan Liquid produced by the Qingyuan Pot, or rather the Heaven and Earth Liquid, can be regarded as a specially made 'nutrient solution' for the Black Jade Grass, with the ratio of spiritual energy and yin-yang and five elements in it.

"Returning to the Black Fiend Technique, this is the first version of martial arts technique created by the immortals. It is fast to cultivate, but it squeezes and consumes potential, making it difficult to break through bottlenecks. Once you reach a certain level, you will be stuck..."

Shen Xuchen shook his head slightly at this point: "The immortal's initial intention was not bad. The Black Fiend Technique squeezes out potential, but refining the Black Essence Powder can also replenish potential. As long as the breakthrough is fast enough, it will not only not damage the body, but can also accumulate potential. However, human strength has its limits, and our human aptitude is far from reaching that ideal level..."

Zhuang Jin felt inexplicably implied: 'So, I've been... expelled from the human race?'

However, this is good news for him!
The Black Fiend Technique is the first version of martial arts created by the immortals. This means that the Black Fiend Technique has an extremely high ceiling and is highly widely circulated and relatively easy to obtain. This also means that Zhuang Jin does not need to change his technique and can continue to cultivate this technique that is most suitable for him.

'For others, this technique is fast to cultivate in the early stages, but it squeezes and depletes their potential. Once they reach a certain level, they will be stuck at a bottleneck and unable to progress any further. But I am different. I have no bottleneck. As long as I break through quickly enough, the squeezing can't keep up with the replenishment... I only enjoy the benefits and not suffer the drawbacks.'

Just look at reality!
The first to third classics represent one stage, the fourth to sixth classics another, and the seventh classics and above yet another, with each stage requiring increasingly higher levels of accumulation. However, Zhuang Jin's breakthrough speed did not decrease; in fact, it even increased. One reason for this was the use of premium beast meat, but another was Zhuang Jin's rapid breakthroughs, which allowed his potential to continuously accumulate and his aptitude to steadily improve.

"After the Black Fiend Technique, the immortal created a second version of martial arts techniques, the Five Elements version. This version is more compatible with the human body, reducing the exploitation of potential and thus lowering the cultivation speed and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks. The Five Elements Yuan Powder, the main ingredient of this version's cultivation resources, consists of the Five Elements Yuan Herbs: Metal Yuan Herb, Wood Yuan Herb, Water Yuan Herb, Fire Yuan Herb, and Earth Yuan Herb. All of these are derived from the Black Jade Grass through cultivation and mutation. For example, the Vajra Power Technique of the Medicine King Gang belongs to this version. Its cultivation resource, the Metal Yuan Powder, uses the Metal Yuan Herb as its main ingredient, which is derived from the Black Jade Grass through cultivation and mutation!"

"After the second version of the cultivation technique, the immortals later created the third version: the Five Elements Mutation Technique. This version of the technique can strengthen the foundation and cultivate the essence, accumulate strength and unleash it, prolong life and allow people to go further on the path of martial arts... The main ingredient of cultivation resources, the Yuan grass, is cultivated and mutated from the Five Elements Yuan grass... For example, the Wind and Thunder Shock Technique of my Shen family, the cultivation resource Qingyuan Powder, the main ingredient of which is Qingyuan grass, is just like this."

This is also why Shen Xuchen, despite being a young master of the Shen family with exceptional talent, is only at the seventh level of cultivation. Because of the different cultivation methods, his cultivation speed is slower, but he can go further and longer on the path of martial arts in the later stages.

That is why he felt no jealousy or fear of Zhuang Jin. He had seen many geniuses like Zhuang Jin before. With their own talent, they could break through realms as easily as drinking water when they were in the early stages. They could break through the seventh, tenth, or even twelfth meridians in one or two years, or three to five years. But once they showed signs of decline and were stuck at a bottleneck, they could not make any progress for more than ten or even several decades.

"As mentioned before, the Azure Origin Pot was crafted by immortals specifically for the Black Jade Grass. The Five Elements Origin Grass and the Five Elements Mutant Origin Grass that followed all originated from the Black Jade Grass, sharing the same origin and species. Therefore, the Azure Origin Liquid also has the effect of one day and one year on them. However, due to the mutation and loss of some of its original properties, the consumption of Azure Origin Liquid is relatively much higher."

"To be more precise, Qingyuan Liquid is specifically designed for Black Jade Grass. The greater the difference between the grass and the Black Jade Grass, the more Qingyuan Liquid is consumed. The longer the cultivation period, the more Qingyuan Liquid is consumed."

After summarizing, Shen Xuchen stated the reality: "Therefore, cultivating Black Jade Grass is the most economical in terms of Qingyuan Liquid, while cultivating Five Elements Yuan Grass consumes relatively more, and the third version of Five Elements Mutant Yuan Grass consumes even more."

No wonder.

Zhuang Jin also understood another question that had puzzled him before: the Black Fiend Technique squeezes out potential, so if one cannot become a formal martial artist within a month, the path of martial arts is cut off. Other techniques that do not squeeze out potential and strengthen the foundation should not have this problem. If one cannot become a formal martial artist within a month, one can continue to cultivate. So why did the Ninth Prince give up martial arts because his aptitude was not good?

Now it's not hard to understand this problem.

"The second version of the martial arts technique merely reduces the exploitation of potential; if one doesn't succeed within a month, continuing to cultivate it, like the Black Fiend Technique, is suicidal. The third version of the martial arts technique doesn't have this problem, but the main materials for cultivation—the mutated Five Elements Yuan Grass and the Qing Yuan Liquid—are required in vast quantities and are daily consumables, making the cost far too high. So high that even the Shen family, with their mediocre aptitude, is unwilling to forcibly invest resources into it!"

"Following this pattern, other medicinal materials, such as those for breaking through bottlenecks, consume more Qingyuan Liquid, but the effects only last for a day or a month... This is why breakthrough pills are so precious."

"I see." Zhuang Jin nodded in understanding. Cultivating other common medicinal herbs already incurred high costs with Qingyuan Liquid, and with a daily or monthly cycle, the cultivation cost was enormous. No wonder the Shen family had refused to refine pills to break through bottlenecks in the past.

'This also means that the pills for breaking through bottlenecks are high-end resources and luxuries, unlike Black Yuan Powder which can be used as daily necessities... And from this perspective, the pills for breaking through bottlenecks become increasingly precious as one progresses, so precious that it's probably not just about the age of the medicinal materials; even the direct descendants of the Shen family, like young masters like Shen Xuchen, cannot obtain them.'

Otherwise, why would the other party bother cultivating the third version of the technique? They could just cultivate the Black Fiend Technique directly, or the second version, and simply take some medicine when they encounter a bottleneck—how much more convenient!

……

(End of this chapter)