Mortal: Li Feiyu, who came from the realm of a supreme being

A few days after Li Feiyu and Han Yunshu left Jingzhou, they entered the territory of Yunzhou.

Of the thirteen prefectures of Yue Kingdom, Yun Prefecture is not particularly outstanding. It has neither a major sect of immortal cultivation nor any famous local specialties.

According to Li Feiyu, one only needs to cross this state to reach Jianzhou, where the Hidden Moon Sect is located.

However, being unable to fly, they soon got lost after entering Yunzhou.

The problem was that they had taken the wrong path. It was an abandoned official road, and when they realized it, instead of returning the way they came, they relied on their nine orifices being fully open and their true energy being almost inexhaustible, intending to use their lightness skill to directly cross the mountains in front of them.

This led to trouble. Whether it was "riding the wind" or "walking on snow without leaving a trace," light-footed skills were ultimately not true flight and couldn't completely overcome the limitations of the terrain. And what was most unfriendly to mortals in the mortal world was the vastness of its map. This mountain range stretched endlessly, with extreme elevation changes, and coupled with the perpetual fog, the two wandered around for three or four days without finding a way out.

However, Li Feiyu also noticed something unusual about it.

This deep mountain is home to many demonic beasts. Although most of them are only of the first rank, they are excellent training targets.

Judging from some more powerful traces, there are probably second-tier demonic beasts in this place, which would be a considerable challenge for them.

Although demonic beasts of the same level are often more ferocious and troublesome than cultivators, for martial cultivators like Li Feiyu and Han Yunshu, demonic beasts are actually easier to deal with than magic cultivators of the same level. With all nine orifices open and the ancestral aperture between their eyebrows, their theoretical combat power level corresponds to the Foundation Establishment stage or above. However, due to the difference in their systems, those in the Opening Stage cannot fly, which puts them at a great disadvantage in actual combat against cultivators. On the contrary, they are more well-matched when fighting demonic beasts, which also rely on physical strength and close combat.

So the two decided to stop searching for a way and instead found a natural cave halfway up the mountain to stay there temporarily.

Incidentally, the storage bag obtained from Old Xu in Huanglong Village was of surprisingly good quality. It was not the ordinary kind with only ten times the capacity that the beginner disciples of Huangfeng Valley had, but a relatively high-grade storage bag with an independent space of one zhang square inside.

The space isn't huge, but it's more than enough to hold the essential supplies for two people on a long journey.

After spending half a day tidying up the cave to a barely habitable state, they began to formally practice the Everlasting Spring Technique.

Han Yunshu practiced the technique for a while, then couldn't help but stop, asking in confusion, "This technique is quite strange. The power it draws in seems exceptionally balanced and peaceful. Is this 'spiritual energy'?"

Li Feiyu was also practicing this skill for the first time. After carefully circulating the energy through one full cycle, he also felt that something was wrong.

"It seems... I don't feel anything." He frowned slightly and began to discuss with Han Yunshu.

Although the two were novices in the Dao of Immortality, Han Yunshu had been cultivating his foundation and accumulating Qi with Li Feiyu since he was twelve years old. In just over four years, he had achieved mastery of the nine orifices, and his spirit could be projected outwards like divine consciousness. He had his own insights into the cultivation of the body.

Li Feiyu is a highly skilled practitioner, a celestial being who has undergone rebirth.

"I asked Han Li," Li Feiyu said. "When he practiced this technique, he initially felt a cool sensation, which could enhance his spirit and nourish himself. Upon reaching the fourth level, he developed divine consciousness and could use his unique spiritual senses to explore the outside world... But when I practiced this technique, I also guided wood-type spiritual energy into my body, but I didn't feel anything special."

"Fourth Brother?" Han Yunshu asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes. I didn't tell you before because I was worried that too much information would distract you. Actually, I had already passed on the martial arts cultivation method to Han Li before you did," Li Feiyu said frankly.

Han Yunshu nodded: "I guessed it. After all, when Brother Li first came to my house, it was at the request of Fourth Brother... but Brother Li didn't mention it later, so I didn't ask. And then what happened?"

"Your fourth brother also has excellent martial arts talent, but he has too many thoughts and wants to learn too many things. When we opened the ancestral aperture between our eyebrows, he had only opened seven apertures. However, he has practiced the Everlasting Spring Skill with exceptional seriousness, and has now reached the eighth level. He has already left the Seven Mysteries Sect to seek immortality and ask questions," Li Feiyu explained.

He never revealed his sister's existence to Han Li. Firstly, Han Li eventually returned to the mainstream of immortal cultivation, and secondly, if that boy knew that his sister had also embarked on the path of cultivation, given his sister-obsessed nature, he would probably have more worries.

Since our paths diverge, it's better for us to each find our own peace. If we both achieve something in a hundred or ten years, then when we meet again, we can simply wish each other well.

It also has a bit of the feel of a line from a Daoist saying, "Fellow Daoist, you've seen it all."

However, there was no need to hide this matter from Han Yunshu.

She paved her way through martial arts, and now both she and Li Feiyu need to use the methods of immortality to continue their own paths, making them true fellow travelers.

Han Yunshu remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "So it was him... But why didn't he show himself for one last time with us?"

"Don't blame him. It's precisely because he cares so much that he doesn't dare to show himself. He's different from you; he left home at ten and went through life-and-death dangers, so his attachment to family is extraordinary. He's afraid that once he shows himself, he won't be able to leave," Li Feiyu comforted him.

"What right do I have to blame him?" Han Yunshu shook her head. "Aren't I the same? My parents are getting old, and I know that this parting may be forever, but I still left."

She paused, her tone uncertain: "Perhaps, it's in the nature of us Han people to be unwilling to be ordinary and to seize every opportunity to leave the fields and mountains."

Li Feiyu was taken aback upon hearing this, and upon further thought, it seemed to be indeed possible.

Their eldest brother, Han Tie, took the opportunity to become a blacksmith's apprentice in town, and later opened his own shop; their second brother, Han Zhu, also went to town to make a living after the family became well-off; Han Li and Han Yunshu need no introduction; even going back further, Han Li's third uncle was not a law-abiding person...

However, this may also be the most realistic portrayal of many ordinary people in the world.

After all, ordinary people in this world don't really have much of a choice...

After a brief moment of reflection, the two composed themselves and returned to the main topic.

"If we say that the effect of spiritual energy nourishing the physical body is like a chicken bone to us, then this part can actually be ignored," Li Feiyu concluded.

After pondering for a moment, Han Yunshu also agreed: "I also think the preliminary steps are a bit lengthy, even superfluous."

"Not bad. With all nine orifices open, our vital energy and primordial energy reserves are activated. In addition, the ancestral orifice draws in the primordial energy of heaven and earth, allowing it to merge and temper our bodies. The effect is much stronger than this spiritual energy nourishment." Li Feiyu flipped through the later parts of the "Eternal Spring Technique." "Such a basic cultivation method is indeed not very suitable for our situation. It seems that it needs to be modified."

So, Li Feiyu sat in the cave for two days and two nights, relying on his celestial-level cultivation and knowledge. Although the systems were different, his high-level understanding made it easy for him to modify a basic Qi cultivation method. Finally, based on the "Eternal Spring Skill," he deduced a more efficient cultivation method that better suited the essence of their martial arts.

The most significant feature of the revised cultivation method is that it abandons the "gradual progression" approach. Decades of seclusion and slow, gradual accumulation of skill are the path of pure spiritual cultivation.

They are martial arts practitioners, and do not need spiritual energy to slowly cleanse their bodies or to nourish their essence.

What they want is to reach the pinnacle of speed!

Specifically, the version that Han Yunshu practiced, in addition to optimizing the energy circulation route, focused on strengthening the concept of "taking".

Their "spiritual apertures" (i.e., the bridge between heaven and earth) are originally used to receive the primordial energy of heaven and earth containing the principles of law, so using them to absorb spiritual energy is naturally without hindrance, but their previous methods were too conservative. A faster way than the Heavenly Spiritual Root is to actively "take" it!

Specifically, it involves expanding the spiritual power of the ancestral aperture. After the technique identifies wood-type spiritual energy, it no longer passively waits for the spiritual aperture to absorb it, but actively captures and gathers more wood-type spiritual energy with its spiritual power, making the absorption speed several times faster than the original version.

After trying this method, Han Yunshu immediately found it effective.

Having completed the foundation-building and energy accumulation phase in just over six months, she believed that the foundation-building stage should not be so slow.

On Li Feiyu's side, it was even more "outrageous".

He uses the "Myriad Paths of the Forest" as his fundamental cultivation method. This method has the attribute of devouring. He will be pursuing the path of the Eight Paths of Complete Cultivation in the future, and he needs to familiarize himself with the feeling of "devouring" in advance.

His biggest change was that he changed the requirement for accumulating spiritual power to increase exponentially with each level, setting a total of nine levels.

The modified technique, apart from absorbing spiritual energy, generating magical power through circulation, and storing it in the dantian, is almost unrecognizable from the original "Changchun Gong" and is entirely the "shape" of a martial arts practitioner.

Using this new method of cultivation, Han Yunshu broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining in ten days.

Li Feiyu then advanced to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

However, as the amount of magical power required to accumulate increases exponentially with each level, the cultivation speed will naturally slow down gradually.

But this initial progress was already astonishing.

……

A month later.

"Does modifying the cultivation method myself still cause problems?"

Li Feiyu, who had already reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, suddenly got stuck at the seventh level for some unknown reason.

Han Yunshu's progress was slower than his, and he hadn't encountered any problems yet, but he was puzzled.

It can't be that bad. It's not like he hasn't modified cultivation techniques across different systems before. It's just basic techniques. With his cultivation level, how could he possibly create a bug?