Martial Arts Crossover: The Sweeping Monk of Wudang? That's our patriarch!

The old man's gaze suddenly deepened, like ripples spreading across a dry well:

"Haven't you seen through it yet? The path of cultivation is fundamentally a trap."

We are not seeking immortality, but trading our lives for one—willing to exhaust ourselves to live an extra hundred years; turning our time into dregs for further progress.

The joys and sorrows, the loves and hates, that should have been experienced were all swallowed into the alchemical furnace and burned to ashes.

"And what was the result? Apart from meditation, alchemy, and magical duels, the rest of their days were not as fulfilling as those of the man selling pancakes down the mountain."

He suddenly stopped speaking, and after a moment, changed the subject, staring directly at Lin Daochen:

"So, are you willing to take over my job?"

Lin Daochen stared at his deeply lined face, filled with doubt: "Why not me?"

"Kunlun rule: The outgoing official must personally select a successor."

"So, where do you plan to go after you leave?"

With the clues gone, Lin Daochen simply put down his book, wanting to hear what else this old man had to say.

The old man let out a long sigh, his voice so soft it was almost a sigh:

"Where else can I go? I'll go see my grandson, who is so many generations removed—his blood may be my brother's, but his bones belong to the Lin family."

Go and fulfill some of the wishes you had unfulfilled in your youth. For example, visit a brothel, sample the wine and women, and be a carefree landlord for a while.

At the end, the old man laughed out loud. There was not a trace of frivolity in his laughter; rather, it was as if he had brewed a lifetime of trials and tribulations into a cup of clear tea, subtle yet flavorful.

At this moment, Lin Daochen still couldn't quite grasp the meaning behind the old man's words.

Since he had nothing better to do, he nodded slightly in agreement. The Kunlun Library had a vast collection of books, and he estimated that he would have to stay there for at least a while.

The handover procedures were completed smoothly, and Lin Daochen naturally became the new elder of the library.

Before leaving, his ex handed him a book on array formations, speaking casually as if pointing to a pleasing little object—probably because he noticed his love for studying, and that's why he left it behind.

Lin Daochen initially thought it was just an ordinary book, but when he opened it, he was suddenly stunned: it contained a system of formations that had never been seen before - not laid out in mountains and rivers or carved on objects, but directly engraved into the meridians and flesh of the human body!

What's even more surprising is that the original author's handwritten annotations are hidden in the interlayer of the book, with handwriting as sharp as a knife.

This method is called "Human Body Shaping Technique," and it was signed by Chu Kuangren.

The so-called "refinement" is not simply about forging muscles, bones, and skin; rather, it involves using arrays to penetrate the meridians and talismans to shape the body, weaving miniature array diagrams deep within the flesh and blood. It seems to have some similarity with Lin Daochen's current cultivation path, yet it is a different approach, focusing on the intimate connection between the physical body and the soul.

Upon seeing this, Lin Daochen's heart skipped a beat: the ever-flowing dark patterns on Qingluan's body might not have been drawn haphazardly by her at all, but rather honed day by day according to some ancient method!

Just as this notebook states—there is more than one ladder to heaven in the path of cultivation in this world.

These discoveries allowed him to see the flaws in his own attack methods more clearly; more importantly, they enabled him to crack the weakness of the puppets in the palace.

According to Chu Kuangren's annotations, all formations have their own rhythmic frequency. As long as one finds that line of resonance, even across thousands of mountains and rivers, one can manipulate the formation's core and alter its structure. Although this method is mentally and physically demanding, it can be considered the ultimate method for breaking formations—no matter how complex the formation in the world is, there will always be a gap that can be opened.

Having obtained the key, Lin Daochen no longer hesitated and headed straight for Qingluan's secluded retreat.

Pushing the door open failed; the door was tightly shut, and a faint spiritual light flickered on it, indicating that the protective array was in operation—it seemed she was indeed in seclusion.

He turned to leave, when suddenly he heard a creak and the door to the next room quietly opened.

Qingluan stood at the door, exhaling a wisp of white breath: "Come in, wait a moment, I'm refining pills."

Upon entering the room, one is greeted by a scene of crimson hues, with lightly draped gauze curtains and a peach wood hairpin resting on the dressing table—clearly the decor of a young girl's boudoir.

But Lin Daochen clearly remembered that when she was in the Five Elements Sect, her room was full of medicine residue and talismans flying everywhere. It was nothing like this exquisite place.

"This...is this not your house?"

Qingluan's eyes flashed, her neck tensed slightly, and she retorted stubbornly, "Why not? This is my house! What, you don't believe I once had a beautiful youth?"

Lin Daochen casually picked up a plain white women's robe from the couch, unfolded it, and glanced at it, then looked down at her chest—the meaning was crystal clear.

"That's what I wore when I was younger! I wasn't fully developed back then, is that not allowed?"

Lin Daochen knew that asking any more questions would be pointless, so he simply shut up, walked to the alchemy furnace, and bent down to examine it closely.

"The Three Souls and Seven Spirits Exquisite Pill?"

"Why are you making this?"

Qingluan was taken aback, clearly not expecting him to be able to identify the name of the pill so easily, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"What kind of pills I refine is none of your business!"

Lin Daochen slowly sat down in the rattan chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest: "If I remember correctly, this pill mainly strengthens the soul and locks the spirit, while also nourishing the yang energy."

The true mystery of this elixir lies in maintaining the connection between the soul and the body—firmly anchoring the wandering consciousness to the flesh and blood, making the will as responsive as an arm and fingers, and controlling everything at will.

Ordinary cultivators have no need for such pills.

She's hiding here secretly refining this elixir, could it be... that her physical body has already developed cracks?

Recalling the warning in the notes about "body imbalance and separation of spirit and form," a thought suddenly became clear: if the method she was cultivating really had a fatal flaw, it was that the soul and body were becoming increasingly estranged—and this pill was her lifeline.

Lin Daochen slowly circled the furnace, squinted and silently calculated for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"The Three Souls and Seven Spirits Exquisite Pill requires seven pills to be successfully made. But in your furnace... there are only six left."

Upon hearing this, Qingluan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and her voice suddenly rose.

"Absolutely impossible! It's simply impossible! This can't possibly happen—I clearly used seven portions of medicinal herbs, how come I only produced six pills?!"

Are you questioning my alchemy skills?

"This must be your first time refining this kind of pill, right? Don't you even know that it's prone to 'consuming' other ingredients during the pill-making process?"

"This elixir can't withstand ordinary fire at all. Don't you even have this basic common sense?"

Qingluan froze, her gaze fixed on Lin Daochen's face, a thin layer of sweat beading on her palms. She only had this handful of herbs left; if she lost even one, the backlash within her would likely tear her meridians apart—her life hung by a thread, and she couldn't afford the slightest mistake. "Do you really have a way to save me? Seven! I must get seven! Even if… I have to give up my life!"

Even at the cost of one's life?

Lin Daochen's eyes flashed, his gaze like a hook, sweeping from her eyebrows to her fingertips, and then slowly falling back to the rise and fall of her chest.

Qingluan instinctively clutched her clothes, gasping for breath: "Grandpa, please take it easy! At your age, you're already plotting something like this? Let me make this clear—there are principles, but I absolutely need the elixir! If you insist… well, it's not like we can't discuss it…"

Before the words had even finished, Lin Daochen shook his head and sighed softly, looking down at his palm. In an instant, the lines on his palm unfolded layer by layer, spiraling and flowing in circles. Upon closer inspection, they perfectly matched the winding array patterns on Qingluan's bare forearm—only a few minor adjustments were made to the direction at the ends, the rest being exactly the same.

Qingluan trembled, immediately realizing what the old man was up to.

"Hey! Men and women shouldn't touch each other! Even if you stood there and didn't move, I would never agree to such an absurd thing!"

"absurd?"

Lin Daochen looked utterly bewildered, as if he had heard a fairy tale. "Old woman, is your head filled with mush? All I want is the diagram of the array operating within your body—draw it for me, and that's it! What kind of filthy thoughts are you having?"

"A map?"

Qingluan was taken aback, then suddenly realized. It turned out this old fellow had been watching the flow of her attack technique all along, but had simply remained inactive. She wasn't surprised—this man's comprehension was astonishing, something she had already noticed. Handing over the technique was within her expectations, but she hadn't anticipated it would be in such a sudden and unexpected way.

She had initially thought the old man was going to lay a hand on her, but it turned out he was just being rude to her: all he wanted was the pathways running through her meridians.

The secret flutter in my heart suddenly vanished, leaving only a light, bittersweet feeling.

"I have no problem giving you the diagram. But what about my pills... how do I replenish them?"

For her, offensive techniques were nothing special, and she wouldn't mind giving them to him. What was truly urgent was that if things dragged on any longer, her internal organs would likely crumble into pieces first.

"There are ways to ensure your safety—but the map must first be in my hands."

Lin Daochen rolled his eyes and opened his palm. Qingluan gritted her teeth and handed over the jade slip, which he casually stuffed into his sleeve. He then turned and grabbed a few spirit pills from the table, pouring them all into the alchemy furnace. His hands flew like lightning, his fingers flashing, and a surge of powerful spiritual energy exploded, making the furnace lid vibrate loudly.

Qingluan stared in disbelief. By the time she came to her senses, the furnace had already turned into a thick, dark green paste, and the aroma of medicine mixed with the smell of burning filled her nostrils.

"This stuff...is it really edible? The ingredients you added are more varied than the Kitchen God's New Year feast! If you get a stomachache from eating it, I'm not responsible for collecting your corpse!"

Lin Daochen ignored him, grabbed a palm-leaf fan from the side, and fanned it vigorously with a few "whoosh" sounds. The furnace fire suddenly surged, the crimson flames engulfing the furnace, crackling and popping loudly.

"This is a new refining method I'm trying out. Whether it succeeds or not depends on fate. But let me warn you—the potency is too strong. Seven pills? You'll probably be dead after just three."

For Lin Daochen, pills were nothing more than intricate pieces of a puzzle of different elements, the only difference being the amount and weight of each.

Once the true essence of the elixir formula is understood, the art of alchemy can be used to remove all redundant impurities, like scraping away bones and flesh, leaving only the purest and most suitable core of medicinal power.

The elixir refined in this way is more potent, enters the body faster, and has a more solid effect.

"How long does it take to brew this medicine?"

As soon as Qingluan finished speaking, Lin Daochen raised three fingers, then focused his mind and his fingertips flew as he officially started the furnace.

Without rest all night, as dawn broke, the alchemy furnace suddenly trembled slightly, releasing a refreshing and intoxicating fragrance—clear yet not cloying, warm yet not irritating, penetrating straight to the lungs. Qingluan, who had been drowsy, instantly opened her eyes, as if every pore on her body had opened up, her muscles and bones felt tingly, and her mind became clear.

Even before the pill entered his mouth, the mere wisp of its aroma was enough to convince him that what was produced in the furnace was no ordinary product.

Lin Daochen swiftly formed hand seals with his ten fingers, and the incantation between his lips and teeth lingered like the wind passing through a pine forest.

"rise!"

The furnace lid popped open, and sixteen glossy, round pills leaped out and landed steadily in his palm.

"The pills you requested are ready. But—you know how many to take, right?"

He had anticipated that there might not be enough, so he specially refined a few more pills; Qingluan did not refuse, reached out and grabbed them all, stuffing them into the cloth bag at her waist.

"Tell me, what brings you here in the dark last night? Have you actually found some clue?"

She had kept this to herself all night, and only now did she finally find the time to ask.