Dongting Immortal Clan

"That's strange, Hu'er is glowing!"

Suddenly, Chen Dajiang's voice came from the west room, startling the two people who were chatting.

"Could it be that they're removing the wooden core?"

Old Zhang immediately got up and walked out of the house.

Seeing that Chen Xiaohu had finished his practice and still had a faint glow on his body, he looked him up and down before approaching and reaching out to pat Chen Xiaohu's shoulders and back.

After finishing, he took a step back, nodded, and asked with a smile:

"Did it work?"

"It's done."

Chen Xiaohu responded with a smile.

His voice was louder than before, like a mountain stream striking bluestone, clear and melodious.

"The muscles and bones have indeed changed."

Old Zhang said, his tone tinged with emotion.

"You used to be like a tender twig, breaking easily; now you're like a dried willow branch, more resilient."

"Is this what a cultivator looks like after shedding their mortal form? It's definitely different from the body honed through martial arts training."

Practicing martial arts strengthens the body, muscles, bones, and skin.

Chen Xiaohu's transformation at this moment is like a complete metamorphosis, a complete change inside and out.

He himself felt that things were different.

Previously, the moonlight energy introduced into the body would only circulate within the dantian meridians, without any change to the body's muscles, bones, skin, or membranes.

But now that the wooden embryo has been shed, this moonlight energy, refined by the heart fire in the dantian, can directly penetrate into every corner of the body, nourishing bones, fascia, muscles, and skin, making them stronger.

Chen Xiaohu tried to clench his fist.

The muscles in his arms would tighten like a taut rope, making it easy to lift the stone weights used for strength training in the yard.

With his strength, he must weigh at least 500 pounds.

To know.

He was only thirteen or fourteen years old after the New Year.

Many adults don't have that kind of strength.

……

In the courtyard, the rest of the Chen family had also arrived. Chen Chuansheng sat in a chair, with Chen Dajiang and Chen Changhe standing beside him.

"Now that Xiaohu has shed its wooden form, there are some things I should make clear to you."

Old Zhang spoke slowly, and everyone looked over.

"Your family's cultivation techniques have been lost, but do you know what specific cultivation levels they encompass?"

"I know."

Chen Changhe raised an eyebrow and spoke softly:

"The Spiritual Treasury Realm can be divided into five realms: Heart Lamp, Wooden Embryo, Jade Spring, Golden Marrow, and Life Palace."

"That's true."

Old Zhang's face showed a hint of reminiscence as he sighed:

"When I was young, I worked as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) on the river. I heard a Taixu Sect cultivator say that a cultivator must first go through five steps: Heart Lamp, Wooden Embryo, Jade Spring, Golden Marrow, and Life Palace, before he can refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and achieve innate Qi Refining."

"The acquired is the spiritual treasure, the innate is the refining of qi, so that's how it is," Chen Xiaohu muttered.

Old Zhang nodded and then said:

"Just now, the radiance emanating from your body was the process by which a cultivator sheds their wooden form and forms their spiritual root."

"The brighter the radiance, the better the foundation."

"Hu'er's talent was so outstanding just now, his spiritual roots must be quite good."

Chen Changhe spoke slowly, his eyes filled with envy.

Of the three brothers in the family, Chen Xiaohu made the fastest progress, and he was the one who discovered the cultivation method of the small cauldron in the lake.

"In my opinion, joining the immortal sect is not a problem, but I don't know if I can go to the mountain to cultivate."

"Oh?"

Chen Chuansheng was very curious and pressed for an answer:

"Brother Zhang, is there some other explanation for what's going on up the mountain or down there?"

"Brother, you've never met anyone who cultivates, so you don't know that these immortal sects have complex and intertwined power structures and numerous disciples, which is why they are divided into those on the mountain and those below."

"Most of the cultivators at the foot of the mountain come from branch sects, cultivation families, and affiliated forces. They are under the jurisdiction of the immortal sect and must pay tribute on schedule in exchange for the immortal sect's rewards and protection."

"That's why there are so many outer sect cultivators at the foot of the mountain, making up 90% of the disciples of the immortal sects. They are a mixed bag, scattered all over the world."

"So, only by becoming a cultivator on the mountain can one be considered a core member of the immortal sect."

Chen Changhe had figured things out, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

Old Zhang nodded and continued to explain:

"Those who can ascend the mountain are all true disciples of the various peaks of the Immortal Sect."

"They are either born with immortal talents or come from families of cultivators, making them incomparable to ordinary people. Once they go up the mountain, they don't come down easily."

"If they need to come down the mountain, it's either because a great demon has appeared, or because they need to challenge the world with their swords."

"How impressive!"

Chen Xiaohu's eyes lit up as he listened, and he couldn't help but imagine himself as a true disciple of the immortal sect.

"If only I could be like that!"

Old Zhang reached out and patted his head, encouraging him:

"It's not impossible."

"You should focus on your cultivation for a few more days. Once those immortal masters arrive in Yunmeng, you can go and become their disciple!"

Chen Changhe thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"Godfather".

"But what mysteries lie within the Jade Spring, Golden Marrow, and Palace of Destiny that follow the wooden embryo?"

Old Zhang let out a long breath, which looked like a wisp of air in the moonlight.

"Since you have already cultivated your inner fire, I will not say more."

"This second step, the wooden embryo, does not refer to wood, but to the mortal body, which is like a wooden rein, lacking spiritual energy. Only by shedding the wooden embryo and cultivating spiritual roots can one be considered to have undergone a complete transformation and no longer be a mortal."

The people in the courtyard listened very attentively, nodding occasionally.

"Jade Spring after the wooden embryo," Old Zhang continued.

"This Jade Spring is also a metaphor, referring to the body's Qi and blood. If one can make one's Qi and blood abundant and one's bone marrow as smooth as jade, then one has achieved cultivation."

"I heard from the cultivators of the Taixu Sect that cultivators in the Jade Spring Realm have bodies as hard as black iron, and ordinary weapons won't even leave a mark when they cut into them."

"If one reaches the fourth realm, the Golden Marrow Realm, one's blood and qi will be as fine as lead and mercury, and one's bones and muscles will be as strong as refined steel. One's body will naturally possess various mysteries that are beyond our comprehension."

At this point, Old Zhang stopped talking.

Chen Changhe quickly pressed for an answer:

"Father, what about the Life Palace Realm?"

Old Zhang shook his head:

"I don't know about that."

"The immortal master I met had only reached the fourth level of Golden Marrow. He was the head of a branch sect at the foot of the mountain. He never spoke of the mysteries of cultivation in the Life Palace. As a martial artist who escorts goods, I naturally dared not ask too many questions."

"If you want to know, you can ask those immortal masters when you meet them later."

The courtyard was quiet for a while.

Chen Dajiang suddenly stood up, walked to the center of the courtyard, assumed a horse stance, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his inner fire.

Although his inner fire was only the size of a soybean, it burned fiercely, and the essence of the moonlight was gradually accumulating within him.

Chen Changhe did not practice his martial arts.

He sat on the bench, his gaze fixed on the small cauldron in the courtyard, lost in thought.

His meridians haven't recovered yet, so he can't retain the essence of the moonlight; any practice would be in vain.

Old Zhang glanced at him but didn't say anything more.

Some things don't need to be said; saying them might hurt others.

And so another half month passed, and a layer of rain and mist shrouded the lake, making the world seem to blend into one color.

Chen Xiaohu was practicing his martial arts in the courtyard when he suddenly heard a low buzzing sound coming from afar, as if something was flying over the lake.

He looked up and followed the direction of the sound.

A streak of blue light streaked across the northeastern sky at incredible speed, reaching the sky above White Fish Mouth in the blink of an eye.

The light was not a shooting star, nor a bird, but a person.

The man appeared to be middle-aged, dressed in a blue Taoist robe, with a blue cloud beneath his feet, his robes fluttering in the wind.

Chen Xiaohu was stunned.

He had read stories of immortals riding the clouds in books, but he had never seen it with his own eyes.

At that moment, the person was suspended several dozen feet above his head, with a protective shield around his body that seemed to isolate him from the mist.

The man lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over the area above the white fish's mouth before settling on the Chen family's courtyard.