The Cycle of Reincarnation in the Four-Courtyard House: A Journey Through the Heavens

Just moments ago, Wu Yazi had a "three-foot-long beard as black as ink and a face as flawless as jade," but now wrinkles had quietly crept onto his forehead, as if the knife of time had suddenly carved them across it.

Her once jet-black hair lost its luster at a visible speed, turning from jet black to gray, then to snow white, and lay withered and dry on her scalp.

Even his three-foot-long beard, which was no longer black and shiny, had become sparse and gray, hanging down on his chest and trembling slightly.

Wu Yazi's cheeks quickly sunken, his once full and jade-like features collapsed, his cheekbones protruded high, his eye sockets were sunken, and his once clear and bright eyes were covered with a layer of turbid mist, and he could no longer find any trace of his carefree and unrestrained spirit.

His hands still held the hand seals for transmitting power, but they had changed from being warm and strong to being withered and thin, his skin loose like dehydrated tree bark, with bulging veins, and even his fingernails were grayish.

After a full incense stick's time, Wu Yazi's body trembled slightly, and his withered hand finally slowly left Li Xiao's head.

When Li Xiao turned around, tears finally streamed down his face.

The once dashing and elegant Wu Yazi, who was a respected figure in his sect, was reduced to an old and frail body after his inner strength dissipated.

Seventy years of internal energy was the shackle that Wu Yazi forcibly locked away the years, and also the barrier that allowed him to fight against life and death.

Now that the shackles have shattered and the barriers have collapsed, the forcibly suppressed aging and decay, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly engulfed his body.

At this moment, Li Xiao felt a surge of powerful true energy, like the Yangtze River, flowing through his Baihui acupoint and forming a grand cycle within his body, eventually returning to his dantian.

This vast surge of true energy continuously helped him open one major acupoint after another. He felt his meridians swelling to the extreme, as if they would break and collapse at any moment.

Wu Yazi knew very well how strong and wide his closed-door disciple's meridians were, so in order to maximize the retention of his true essence in Li Xiao's body during this empowerment, he held nothing back.

During the initiation and transmission of power, in order to prevent damage to the recipient's meridians, the person transmitting the power must control the speed of the infusion of true energy. However, this will result in the loss of a lot of precious true energy along the way.

To maximize efficiency and avoid waste, the best approach is to infuse the body's vital energy into the source as quickly as possible.

This places high demands on the strength and resilience of the meridians of the person receiving the power.

Li Xiao's meridians were the only ones Wu Yazi had ever seen in his more than ninety years of life. Even he was full of praise for him and called him a martial arts genius!

Therefore, Wu Yazi went all out this time in passing on his skills, and he was very satisfied with the result.

His disciple's physical body and meridians withstood the impact of the surging true energy. More than 90% of his internal energy was absorbed by the disciple, with less than 10% being wasted.

"boom--"

As the energy transfer was about to end, Li Xiao felt a boom in his mind, and he felt that all eight extraordinary meridians in his body had been completely opened.

He knew very well that his master had just used the remaining true energy in his dantian to open up his Ren and Du meridians, connecting the bridge between heaven and earth.

This is the Innate Realm that countless martial arts masters dream of, and I have already achieved it in less than a year of cultivation!

What surprised him most was that, through internal observation, his originally gaseous internal energy had now been condensed into a mist, continuously circulating through his meridians.

Wu Yazi once told him that when one's internal energy becomes misty, it means that one has advanced to the True Qi Realm.

When the atomized true energy condenses into a liquid state, that is the True Essence Realm.

The highest achievement in martial arts—the Land Immortal—is to condense the true essence of one's entire body into a single golden pill within the dantian. Therefore, the Land Immortal is also known as the Golden Pill Realm of Martial Arts.

This is the origin of the idiom "Once I swallow a golden pill, my fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven."

After circulating all his true energy through his meridians for twelve cycles, Li Xiao finally opened his eyes.

When he saw Wuyazi's current state, he was suddenly startled: "Master..."

Wu Yazi's body was hunched over, and a weak smile appeared on his lips as he said in a barely audible voice, "I suppose... my appearance right now... is quite... unsightly..."

Wu Yazi truly lives up to his reputation as a member of the "appearance association." Even when he's on his deathbed, he still cares a lot about his looks.

Li Xiao quickly supported his swaying body and said in a trembling voice, "No, in my heart, Master will always be the carefree, ethereal, and snow-white-robed Wuyazi."

"I will never forget my master's kindness in teaching me over these ten months!"

A glimmer of light flashed in Wu Yazi's turbid eyes, as if his parched heart had been warmed by these fervent words. The curve of his lips eased slightly, and then he slowly closed his eyes!

......

According to the etiquette of the Northern Song Dynasty, when a master passed away, the disciple was required to observe a three-year mourning period.

The term "heart mourning" means that one does not need to wear specific mourning clothes, but must maintain a sorrowful expression for three years.

In daily life, one should refrain from entertainment, banquets, and other pleasurable activities to express mourning and respect for one's master.

However, Wu Yazi had long ago said that the purpose of the Xiaoyao School was to pursue the realm of "riding the right course of heaven and earth, controlling the changes of the six qi, and wandering in the infinite", without being bound by worldly etiquette.

So after he dies, just find a quiet place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to bury him.

Following their master's last wishes, Li Xiao and Su Xinghe found a feng shui treasure land in Leigu Mountain with excellent scenery and a sheltered atmosphere, and buried Wu Yazi there.

Back in the stone house, Li Xiao asked, "Senior brother, where do you plan to go next?"

Su Xinghe looked forlornly at the stone house where he had lived for thirty years, and said in a low voice, "I plan to stay here for a while and keep Master company. If there is anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask!"

Li Xiao quickly replied, "Senior brother, you flatter me!"

He thought for a moment and said, "Senior brother, I still have a group of loyal subordinates. I hope you can teach them some medical skills and cultivation techniques. I will be of great use to them in the future!"

Su Xinghe readily agreed, nodding and saying, "Alright, all my skills are in miscellaneous studies, while I'm inferior in martial arts. But since you have a need, I certainly won't refuse."

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother!"

......

After spending another night at Leigu Mountain, Li Xiao rode away on horseback early the next morning, taking Zhong Ling with him.

Three days later, one night, after Zhong Ling fell into a deep sleep, Li Xiao had the system bring over all twenty of his super subordinates.

Fortunately, they were all souls who had traveled through time, and time was paused in the "Siheyuan" world where their physical bodies were located.

"Lu Yuan, Xiuying, you must already know where we are, right?"

The twenty super subordinates still had a hint of excitement on their faces. Although they were subordinates given to him by the system, they had become flesh-and-blood human beings since Li Xiao activated them.

So when the system instilled memories of this world into them, their faces were filled with excitement.

What pleased Li Xiao the most was that the system had thoughtfully imparted the entire content of the novel "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" to his subordinates, giving them a clear understanding of the world as if from a God's-eye view.

Li Xiao addressed everyone, "You probably already know the general framework of this world; it's a world of martial arts!"

After Li Xiao finished speaking, he directly slapped a large blue stone weighing a thousand catties three zhang away with his palm.