I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Chapter 327 Encountering River Bandits

Wang Yu accepted Yu Qinghou's invitation.

Although Liangchuan is still nominally under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, Li Yunxiu must take charge of military and political affairs in Ningyuan Prefecture. He can leave for a short time, but he cannot be left unattended for a long time.

Qu Lingbo also has her own affairs to attend to. She is the head of the Lingshui Hall of the Five Poisons Sect. Now that the Southern Sichuan Road has changed hands again, she is needed to mediate the relationship between the Miao tribe and the Zhenxi Army.

These days, Qu Lingbo and Yun Ling's relationship has become noticeably closer, so Qu Lingbo invited Yun Ling to join them, so that they could work together and also visit the Miao region.

Therefore, only Wang Yu accepted Yu Qinghou's invitation.

Yes, there's also Xiao Ruoying.

Instead of leaving Baiyuguan Pass and heading south, they found a passenger boat and sailed directly down the river.

It was already May, and the Jiangnan region was already hot, but the river was still quite pleasant.

Wang Yu and Yu Qinghou sat at the bow of the boat, admiring the scenery on both banks. As they chatted, the conversation turned to martial arts, and of course, the realm of martial arts.

Yu Qinghou said, "The Innate Realm is the state of transcending the mortal body, where the soul is condensed and interacts with heaven and earth."

Although Wang Yu has seen countless innate masters and martial arts grandmasters in the past two years, including three grandmasters, and many of them have even died at his hands, making the innate realm seem as common as cabbage.

But actually, the innate realm is extremely valuable!

The greatest dream of those in the martial arts world is to achieve the Innate Realm, just as the greatest dream of ordinary people in later generations in terms of making money is to achieve a small goal.

It's the kind of situation where you hear about it so much you're tired of it, and you can talk about it endlessly, but you just can't do it yourself, and you haven't heard of anyone around you doing it, or even seen anyone do it with your own eyes.

Every master born with innate talent and profound skill is a distinguished guest and a powerful figure wherever they are placed. They can build their own power and dominate a region, or they can roam the martial arts world without restraint.

Zhong Yulei built Dulong Fortress, which is almost the largest power in Shangshan Prefecture.

Despite his falling out with the Meishan Sect, Sima Fei was still able to travel freely in the Sichuan-Western Road.

They weren't even considered extremely powerful experts in the Innate Realm.

In other words, Wang Yu had an extremely high status and his martial arts skills had improved dramatically in just two years, which allowed him to witness the scenery at the top of the martial arts world.

Innate masters are not as common as cabbages; what Yu Qinghou said is the truth.

The spirit and soul unite, communicating with heaven and earth.

Therefore, generally speaking, advancing to the Innate Realm depends entirely on one's own talent and martial arts comprehension. Even the longest-standing Buddhist and Taoist lineages do not have a way to directly reach the Innate Realm after birth, or if they do, the threshold is extremely high.

Even so, we are dealing with those who have reached their limit and are stuck at the threshold, and we will help them improve by one or two points to get them to a passing grade, rather than forcing them to improve by one or two points all at once!

For example, when Yu Qinghou helped Xiao Fumeng, Xiao Fumeng's cultivation level had already reached the required level, but she was just one breath away from it. Even so, it took Yu Qinghou a lot of effort to pull Xiao Fumeng into the Innate Realm.

But Xiao Ruoying is facing not just a breath, not just a fraction of a point, but at least seven or eight points!

Yu Qinghou said, "But Your Highness was able to pull her directly into the Innate Realm. Your alchemy skills are truly terrifying. If people in the martial arts world knew about this, it would probably cause a sensation."

"When you're out and about, just call me Zhao Yu, senior."

Wang Yu chuckled and then said, "Even if people in the martial arts world know this news, it won't help, since this pill requires three rare Ganoderma lucidum, which are not things that ordinary people can find."

Furthermore, while this elixir is undeniably miraculous, it's not that extraordinary. Although it can allow someone with a decent foundation to reach the Innate Realm, it merely accelerates the process; the debt still needs to be repaid later.

Yu Qinghou had anticipated this. "There will be future troubles?"

Although Yu Qinghou had anticipated potential problems, he believed they wouldn't be too severe, after all, Sun Wenzhu, who participated in the alchemy, had eaten...

Yes, Wang Yu's wife, Li Yunxiu, also ate it.

"It's not exactly a problem, but the premature understanding of the innate realm and entry into the innate realm has led to an unstable foundation and a superficial understanding of the realm."

Wang Yu said, "You need to continuously solidify your foundation and comprehend the insights you gained through elixirs until your foundation is solid, you can thoroughly understand this innate insight and completely transform it into your own understanding before you can continue to move forward."

"If you can't figure it out, you'll never be able to take another step forward in this life," Wang Yu said. "You'll just stay in the same place, seemingly having an innate realm, but actually not much stronger than an acquired one."

Wang Yu had met such a person before, Fang Bin, the Holy Son of the Red Lotus. It was said that he was not as good as Su Fengchun. Wang Yu estimated that he was about the same level as Xiao Ruoying.

However, Fang Bin, with the help of Chaoyang Dan and Mu Zhao, has entered the Xiantian realm and can indeed overpower Su Fengchun. But as a first-rate expert below the Xiantian realm, Su Fengchun can still hold his own for a short time.

Yu Qinghou was astonished. The consequences were smaller than he had imagined. "It's merely a matter of consolidating one's foundation and comprehending the level one has already reached?"

Wang Yu thought for a moment, "There's also the issue of drug resistance. We can only rely on ourselves. If we take more medication, the effect might be halved."

Yu Qinghou, "————"

What's the difference between this and having no future problems?

Not only can one enjoy the experience ahead of time, but comprehending the level already reached is also much simpler than trying to comprehend it without any clue. If one cannot comprehend this, it means that he has no hope of advancing to the Innate Realm.

If that's the case, then he actually came out ahead by being forcibly pulled to the Innate Realm!

Yu Qinghou thought for a moment and realized that his third disciple seemed to meet the requirements perfectly. After all, Feng Ting was unable to enter the Innate Realm mainly because of his inner demons. Once he entered the Innate Realm, he could complete this path in a short time.

Of course, Yu Qinghou wouldn't ask for such a miraculous elixir. He planned to gather three Ganoderma lucidum plants himself and ask Wang Yu and Sun Wenzhu to refine the elixir.

Yu Qinghou asked, "Which three kinds of exotic Ganoderma lucidum?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yu knew that Yu Qinghou might have this need. "There is no fixed type, but it needs to be Ganoderma lucidum with the effects of nourishing the mind, calming the mind, and invigorating the spirit. This time we are using Ganoderma lucidum var. purpureum, Ganoderma lucidum var. fieryum, and Ganoderma lucidum var. black cloud."

Yu Qinghou nodded. Although he was not familiar with medicine, he knew the name of this kind of Ganoderma lucidum. The base color was "base" and the lines were "cloud".

Wang Yu said, "If you find the three kinds of Ganoderma, you can come to me or Brother Sun."

Yu Qinghou nodded. "Okay."

Before leaving the valley, Wang Yu also led Sun Wenzhu and Leng Jiangzhu to meet Yu Qinghou and his wife.

Inside the cabin, Xiao Ruoying was thanking Xiao Fumeng, while Xiao Fumeng was urging Xiao Ruoying on.

Xiao Fumeng said, "Opportunity knocks but once. This trip is your and Zhao Yu's only chance. If you miss it, your future hopes will be slim."

Xiao Ruoying nodded emphatically, "I understand!"

Xiao Fumeng's lips curled into a smile, her voice barely a whisper, "Zhao Yu has a woman who's into the 'girly' faction. Want your aunt to teach you a few tricks to make sure you serve him comfortably?"

Xiao Ruoying's face quickly turned red. She wanted to refuse, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

But just as Xiao Fuming was about to continue speaking, a whistling sound suddenly came from outside, and at the same time, the sound of air being torn apart rang out around the cabin.

Xiao Ruoying hurriedly opened the hatch. "What happened?"

Five or six small boats appeared in front of and to the side of the passenger ship. The flag of the lead boat fluttered in the wind, with the words "Flying Fish" written on it.

Xiao Fumeng scoffed, "Flying Fish Gang."

The Flying Fish Gang were river pirates based in Yongshun and Zhongshun prefectures, robbing passing merchants. The three leading Flying Fish were all top-notch masters, and they were said to be fearless of anyone below the Xiantian level.

Xiao Ruoying asked curiously, "Isn't the Flying Fish Gang only plundering cargo ships?"

Xiao Fumeng knew more: "A while ago, the imperial court fought a major battle with the Changsheng Army, and requisitioned civilian boats to cross the river to transport goods, which caused losses to the profits of gangs along the Yangtze River."

Xiao Ruoying said, "They set their sights on the passenger ship."

Seeing the two of them come out, Yu Qinghou waved to them and asked them to come to the bow of the boat. "Ruoying has just reached the Innate Realm. Let her do some hands-on work, get used to her current strength, and also get a sense of her own realm."

Yu Qinghou relayed what Wang Yu had just said to the two women in just a few words.

Xiao Ruoying knew this would benefit her. Of course, she was also a chivalrous woman by nature. At this moment, she nodded repeatedly, her right hand on the hilt of her sword, looking eager to try.

But before she could make a move, another large ship approached, and a signal arrow shot straight into the sky.

A young nobleman stood at the bow of the boat and called out loudly, "Copperhead Fish, do you still recognize me?"

A burly man in tight-fitting clothes on the small boat leading the Flying Fish Gang suddenly turned around and was startled when he saw the young man. "Jiang Jiao?"

The young master brandished his folding fan. "Since you recognize me, why don't you leave at once?"

The burly man in the tight-fitting clothes, Copperhead Fish, twitched his facial muscles. After struggling for two breaths, he finally gave up in despair, directed the small boat to turn around, and bowed to the young master on the large boat, saying, "On behalf of my two elder brothers, I extend my greetings to the Three Dragons of Zhangjiang!"

The young master didn't return the greeting, but simply nodded magnanimously, "I understand, I will convey it to my two elder brothers."

Copperhead Fish stopped talking and quickly led the Flying Fish Gang's small boat away.

Seeing Wang Yu's curious gaze, Xiao Fumeng explained to him, "The Three Dragons of Zhangjiang are the names of the three brothers of the Qi family in Baiyang Prefecture in this generation."

The eldest brother, Qi Yuntian, was nicknamed the Sky-Turning Dragon; the second brother, Qi Yunhai, was nicknamed the Sea-Overturning Dragon; and the third brother, Qi Yunjiang, was nicknamed the River-Intercepting Dragon.

Xiao Fumeng said, "This is the third son of the Qi family, Qi Yunjiang, the River-Catching Dragon."

Wang Yu said, "I've heard of the Qi family of Baiyang Prefecture; they're said to be quite powerful."

He learned about the Qi family of Baiyang Prefecture from Yunling and Yan Chu's conversation. The Qi family was the source of the martial arts skills of Qi Er, one of the two tyrants of Dongshan who were subdued by the great hero Feiyun.

Xiao Fumeng was slightly taken aback. "To the average martial artist, the Qi family is indeed formidable. Although they haven't had innate masters in every generation, they do have an innate lineage. Qi Yuntian of this generation has also reached the innate realm. The Qi family's reputation in Jianghan Road is not weak."

Xiao Ruoying was a little unhappy. She was just about to show off her power when the Flying Fish Gang was drunk away.

Seeing Xiao Ruoying's somewhat sullen expression, a fiery glint flashed in Qi Yunjiang's eyes on the large ship. He unfolded his folding fan and adopted a nonchalant demeanor.

"My name is Qi Yunjiang. May I ask where you gentlemen are headed? I may offer you a ride along the way."