Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Two months later.

The doors and windows of the main room where Yi Yang was located were tightly closed, just as usual.

For the past two months, Yi Yang has been diligently cultivating without the slightest slackening.

In the prefectural city, strength is the best asset to speak with, and Yi Yang is working hard to build up the confidence to do so.

At this moment, Yi Yang sat cross-legged on a futon in the room, his eyes slightly closed.

There were several items on the table.

The brocade box containing the Purple Spirit Flower was wide open, with only a layer of grayish-white petal residue inside; the medicinal aroma had long since dissipated.

Five white porcelain medicine bottles lay haphazardly on the corner of the table, all empty.

A wooden bucket sat in the corner, its walls covered with dried, dark brown medicinal residue that emitted a faint, fishy smell—the residue from boiling the marrow of a strange beast.

Two months, four monthly salary pills, plus five pills found on Jingyuan and Jingming's corpses, some limited-edition pills purchased, plus all the essence of the Purple Spirit Flower that can be used to refine mid-grade pills.

It can be said that all of Yi Yang's resources were burned up in these two months.

At this moment, a line of numbers appeared on the panel in his mind.

[Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise - Internal Qi Chapter, Level 1 (149640/150000)]

This is what he has accomplished in the past two months.

360 points.

Just 360 points away from breaking through.

But Yi Yang was not in a hurry. He breathed very slowly and for a long time, and the rise and fall of his chest was almost imperceptible.

Thick, pure energy surged within his body, so full it was about to overflow, like a water sac filled to its limit, ready to burst at the slightest exertion.

two months.

For two whole months, he didn't step out of the courtyard. He practiced during the day, he practiced at night, and he even practiced his internal energy while eating.

Even Jiang Yuexin would bring the food to the door, and then Yi Yang would open the door to take it, eat it, put it back, and continue his secluded cultivation.

Even that noisy guy next door named Shen Yuebai quieted down, probably thinking he was desperately trying to meet the three-month deadline.

But what Yi Yang wanted was not the first level of the Hidden Abyss.

What he wanted was—a double level of internal energy.

The pure and the impure return to their origin.

Six times.

After six rounds of circulation, the 360 ​​progress points will be filled.

Yi Yang was very calm at this moment, and he did not give himself any psychological suggestions.

There was no elaborate ritual of taking a deep breath; it was just like every exercise in the past two months, methodically activating the Qi Sea.

Pure Qi enters the meridians.

It travels along the meridians.

The first Sunday, 6:00 AM.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth.

As the numbers on Yi Yang's cultivation panel continued to climb.

149700

149760

·············

150000.

The progress bar is finally full.

The instant the numbers reached their maximum, a dramatic change occurred within Yi Yang's body.

The overflowing pure energy in the dantian began to collapse without warning.

Instead of slowly condensing, it violently squeezed towards the center, so fast that Yi Yang had no time to react. It was as if an invisible giant hand was gripping his entire dantian in its palm and began to squeeze it forcefully.

This situation caused Yi Yang to force out a low groan from his throat.

pain.

It's not just a simple physical pain, but a tingling sensation like being torn apart and reassembled from the depths of your dantian.

As the compression continued, the originally abundant internal energy in the Qi Sea shrank by one-third in a very short time, but its density increased to a terrifying level.

It felt like a full basin of water being compressed into a palm-sized ball of mercury—the feeling was completely different: solid, heavy, and textured.

The one-third of the internal energy that was squeezed out turned into a grayish-white, hazy mist.

The turbid mist overflowed from the meridians and evaporated outwards through the 36,000 pores.

A thin layer of white smoke appeared on Yi Yang's skin, looking extremely eerie in the dim light of the main room.

Even the candlelight on the table was lowered by half an inch by the invisible shockwave.

The smog outside the body continues to evaporate.

All the impurities, stagnation, and minor flaws that had accumulated in the internal energy over the past three months were cleared away at this moment.

The pure and the impure return to their origin.

Weed out the dross and kept the essence.

After about thirty breaths, the murky fog completely dissipated.

A ring of grayish-white powder settled around Yi Yang, who had been sitting cross-legged on the futon; these were the solidified impurities from his body that had settled.

Finally, with Yi Yang's breakthrough, the air returned to calm.

The panel in my mind also pulsed silently.

[Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise - Internal Qi Chapter, Second Level - Returning to the Origin of Purity and Turbidity (0/250000)]

It became.

Yi Yang opened his eyes after successfully breaking through.

A sharp glint flashed in his pupils for a moment, but he suppressed it and returned to his usual calm and composed state.

He then looked down at his hands.

Slowly clench your right fist.

Snapped.

With a crisp crack, the air in the center of the fist was squeezed and burst.

Yi Yang didn't activate his internal energy or even exert any force; he simply moved his mind, and a sound was made as his palms and fingers closed.

That wasn't some profound technique of projecting energy outwards; it was simply the natural outflow of energy after the body and internal energy merged.

The difference between the second and first levels of internal energy was greater than he had anticipated.

After confirming that he was alright, Yi Yang supported himself on his knees and stood up.

My legs, which hadn't been used much for two months, felt numb for a moment, but as soon as I circulated my internal energy, the numbness disappeared without a trace.

He pushed open the main door and walked into the courtyard. The afternoon sun shone on his face, warm and dazzling.

The leaves of the old locust tree were even denser than when we moved in, casting a shadow over half the yard.

There was a fist-sized bluestone slab next to the well, which was usually used to weigh down the well cover. Yi Yang walked over and casually handed over his right fist.

There was no build-up of momentum, nor any display of strength.

Even without his fist touching the stone slab, in an instant, the bluestone that had been sitting in the courtyard for who knows how long was shattered silently.

After briefly testing his current strength, Yi Yang slowly withdrew his fist, cracked his knuckles, and sighed inwardly:

"That feels good."

He could clearly feel how condensed the internal energy within his body was after it had undergone the purification process.

The Qi Sea, which was once full at the first level, has now shrunk to one-third of its original size. However, the remaining two-thirds of pure internal energy is far superior in terms of density, explosive power, and endurance compared to before.

To put it roughly, the internal energy used to be like water, but now it's like mercury.

One stream of mercury is equivalent to the washing of ten streams of water.

The range of perception has also expanded.

Yi Yang focused his mind and extended his inner energy in all directions, his perception passing over the courtyard wall, the alleyway, and the rooftops of the houses three streets away, easily covering a radius of seventy feet around him.

The first level was over thirty zhang (approximately 133 meters). That's more than double the original size.

The distance of the internal energy from the body also increased dramatically from a little over three zhang to seven zhang, and the degree of solidity was on a completely different level.

The blade energy within three zhang (approximately 10 meters) can cut through gold and jade. Although it weakens beyond seven zhang (approximately 33 meters), it is still more than enough to kill a martial artist below the sixth level of Qi and Blood with a single strike.

After two months of diligent training, Yi Yang stood in the middle of the courtyard, letting the afternoon breeze caress his face.

He remembered that night in the dead woods three months ago.

Pure and distant, pure and bright.

Two eminent monks from Jinyang Temple, both at the second level of internal energy, joined forces to kill him. He fought until his dantian was depleted, broke three ribs, and almost lost his life among the withered branches and fallen leaves.

What if it were now?

Yi Yang clenched his fist, and a very slight smile appeared on his lips.

Both being at the second level of internal energy cultivation, he possesses the Perfected Nine Peaks Saber, the Great Completion Five Internal Organs Refining Strength, the Great Completion Water Crossing the River, the Minor Completion Horizontal Refining Martial Body, plus a Profound Abyss Saber and a Thunder Sound Mantra.

If ten Jingmings come this time, they will all have to walk while lying down.

No, Jingming has already fallen asleep, forever.

Thinking of this, Yi Yang suppressed his smile, strolled back to the old locust tree, and began to ponder his breakthrough.

Three months.

It took me about three months to go from the first to the second level of internal energy.

What does this number mean when it's put out in the open?

According to Yi Yang's understanding, the talented disciples of those sects in the prefecture city, with the potential to reach the second or third level, are nurtured by their families with massive resources, and it takes them an average of two to three years to break through from the first level to the second level.

Even Qi Shujian, who is now the director of the patrol team, reportedly took two and a half years to become the director of the patrol team.

He, Yi Yang, was born in the year of Bingzhong and was sixty years old.

It only took three months.

Yi Yang didn't dwell on his pride in his fast cultivation speed for long.

Because in addition to his hard work, he also consumed a lot of resources. Take those precious pills for example. If it weren't for the two people from Jinyang Temple who gave him some, it might have taken an internal energy martial artist several years to accumulate enough to obtain them.

Yi Yang thought of something, turned around and went back to the main room, and took out the scroll of "The Secret of Concealing Breath and Formlessness" from the depths of the secret compartment.

There is now exactly one month left until the three-month deadline.

Logically, at this point, one should be focusing all their efforts on cultivating the first level of Hidden Abyss to prepare for the assessment.

But Yi Yang wasn't in a hurry.

With a total progress of 10,000 points and a 60x boost, I should be able to complete it by focusing on cultivation for half a month.

So I still have half a month of free time left. After all, there will be no reward for quickly completing the cultivation, but only more tasks will be assigned.

Therefore, Yi Yang plans to use this time to continue building up combat strength.

The logic is simple: mastering the Hidden Abyss means officially joining the company; joining the company means taking on missions; and missions mean bloodshed.

What did people rely on to survive back then? Concealing their presence and disguising themselves?

Rely on fists.

Therefore, the plan for this month is clear: the first half of the month is to advance the Martial Body Tempering from minor to major mastery, and the Thunder Sound Mantra from beginner to minor mastery, maximizing combat power. The second half of the month is to concentrate on conquering the Hidden Abyss.

After making his decision, Yi Yang put the silk scroll back into the hidden compartment and then drew the sword he always carried from his waist.

He held the knife, which had been with him for a long time, in his hand and weighed it.

At this moment, Yi Yang's first feeling was lightness.

Two months ago, Yi Yang found this 30-pound official-made broadsword quite easy to use, but now it felt somewhat unsuitable to hold in his hand.

Yi Yang tried to unleash a slash using the power of his second level of internal energy.

hum-

The blade emitted a piercing groan, and the entire knife trembled from tip to hilt.

Upon seeing this, Yi Yang turned the blade over to examine it and was shocked to find a thin line on the iron band at the end of the hilt.

Yi Yang knew it wouldn't work.

The knife could no longer withstand his force.

Thinking of this, he sheathed his sword and frowned.

Although the Xuan Yuan Blade is heavy and terrifyingly powerful, it absorbs 30% of one's internal energy every time it is used, and it also makes a great commotion, so it cannot be used as a conventional weapon.

Therefore, what he needs is a readily available and handy weapon, a heavy sword weighing at least seventy pounds, made of a material that can withstand the full force of a second-level internal energy infusion.

With that in mind, Yi Yang sat down at the table and calculated the amount of money he had.

Two months of cultivation had used up all the pills, but there was still a considerable amount of silver left, totaling a little over ten thousand taels of silver.

This amount of money should be enough to buy a good, handy knife in the prefectural city.

Yi Yang made up his mind to go tomorrow.

Having made up his mind, Yi Yang stopped hesitating and sat back down cross-legged on the futon.

Although the Qi Sea shrank by one-third after the breakthrough, the feeling of its operation was exhilarating, as if the silt that had accumulated in the riverbed for many years had been washed away by a flood, and the internal Qi flowed smoothly without any stagnation.

[Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise - Internal Qi Chapter, Second Level - Returning to the Origin of Purity and Turbidity (60/250000)]

Two hundred and fifty thousand.

Although it looked like a long way off, Yi Yang wasn't worried at all.

With sixty times the power at his disposal, a stable monthly supply of precious pills, and pill shops blooming all over the city, as long as he lives, reaching the third level of internal energy is only a matter of time, and there will be no bottlenecks or other obstacles.

As evening approached, Jiang Yuexin brought the food and knocked on the door as usual.

Yi Yang opened the door, but this time he did not take the tray back into the house. Instead, he sat down at the stone table in the courtyard.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuexin sat opposite, chopsticks in hand, putting food into her mouth, and secretly observing Yi Yang's complexion, saying:

"Grandpa, you've broken through to a higher level? You look... a bit younger?"

Yi Yang picked up a piece of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed, replying indistinctly, "I've broken through, but becoming younger is a matter of the fire."

Jiang Yuexin pursed her lips, clearly not believing it.

But she was used to her grandfather never answering these kinds of questions directly, so she could only keep her head down and eat her rice.

After finishing his meal and cleaning up the dishes, Yi Yang practiced standing meditation twice more in the courtyard, feeling the mercury-like, steady texture of his internal energy circulating within his body.

After nightfall, he returned to the main room and began practicing the Martial Body Tempering Technique. With the infusion of his second-level internal energy, the speed of his cultivation of this hard skill increased significantly, and the numbers on the panel visibly jumped upwards.

The next morning.

Yi Yang changed into a gray cloth outfit, carefully put the black Youquan Commander's badge close to his body, and checked the amount of silver notes in his sleeve again.

When I pushed open the courtyard gate, the alley outside was empty, and there was no sound from Shen Yuebai's courtyard next door.

"Yuexin, you'll have to make do with your own lunch. I'm going to town."

Jiang Yuexin's voice came from inside the house.

After confirming that there were no problems, Yi Yang stepped out of the alley and turned onto the main street leading into the city along the bluestone path.

The early autumn morning breeze carried a hint of coolness, and the streets were already bustling with activity.

Martial artists of all kinds came and went, queues formed in front of the medicine shops, and the shouts of the weapons shops could be heard from three streets away.

Yi Yang mingled in the crowd, walking at a leisurely pace towards "Jin Tie Tang," the largest weapons shop in the city.

By this time, the main street of the prefectural city was already packed with people at Chenshi (7-9 AM).

Breakfast vendors emerged from the alleyway, their carts billowing with steam. The aroma of fried dough sticks mingled with the bitter scent wafting from the neighboring pharmacy, creating a unique, comforting, and down-to-earth atmosphere that was neither pleasant nor pleasant.

Yi Yang walked leisurely through the crowd, his steps as relaxed as an old man taking a stroll to digest his food.

No one gave him a second glance; his appearance wouldn't even make a ripple among the martial artists of the prefectural city.