Do you know what mythical life is?

"It's good that you're alright!"

In the old Lu family mansion in Tianhai County, Lu Chengjun looked at the letter brought back by Hei Yu. His tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Two days ago, he learned that Lu Ping'an's boat had been attacked and Lu Ping'an was missing. He was extremely anxious and immediately sent a large number of people to search along the river, but there was still no news.

The arrival of Lu Ping'an's letter immediately dispelled the gloom in his heart.

"Ping An is truly blessed with good fortune and a long life!"

When Lu Chengjun read Lu Pingan's letter, in which he said that he had not only escaped a calamity but had also awakened a powerful martial arts talent and removed the cold poison that had plagued him for over a decade, his heart trembled.

The cold poison in Lu Ping'an's body was extremely difficult to remove; not only him, but even his in-laws were unable to completely eradicate it.

But unexpectedly, it all fell apart like that.

"Should we send someone to bring Ping An back?"

Lu Chengjun pondered for a moment.

Although the Lu family is currently being targeted by the two major families of Tianhai County, they are still able to cope with the situation given their strength.

What worried him most was the sudden change that had occurred at Lu Ping'an's maternal grandfather's house.

It is unclear how deep the water is. If the storm spreads, Lu Ping'an, who has just escaped danger, will probably be drawn into new dangers.

"Yunxi County...Yunxi County, that one..."

Suddenly, Lu Chengjun's eyes lit up as he thought of someone he had unexpectedly met some time ago.

"That person's strength is probably no less than Ping An's maternal grandfather's. Now, for some reason, he has gone into seclusion in Yunxi County and opened a martial arts school. Perhaps Ping An could try to become his disciple!"

Lu Chengjun's mind raced, and he made a decision in an instant.

Let Lu Ping'an stay in Yunxi County for the time being and try to become a disciple of that master. This would not only help him avoid potential troubles but also provide him with protection and guidance, making it far safer than returning to Tianhai County.

With that in mind, he no longer hesitated and immediately took out paper and pen to write down his thoughts and plans in detail.

After finishing the letter, he took out an exquisite wooden box, placed the letter inside, and then carefully took out a martial arts manual from a hidden compartment in the bookshelf and put it in the box.

This secret manual is none other than the Lu family's clan-protecting martial art—"The Twelve Fists of Mountain Suppression".

"Someone come here."

Lu Chengjun closed the wooden box and called out in a deep voice.

"Master." An old servant answered and entered.

"Summon Liu Cang and Qin Zheng to see me immediately," Lu Chengjun ordered.

Liu Cang and Qin Zheng are both trusted confidants of the Lu family, and their cultivation has reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm, which is above the Condensation Realm. They are extremely loyal to the family.

Both of their families also live in the Lu family home.

With the two of them going to Yunxi County to protect Lu Ping'an, as long as Lu Ping'an doesn't cause any big trouble, he can be kept safe in the county town.

……

On the other side, when Lu Pingan returned to the Su family with the fish, it was almost completely dark.

Su He took the fish, her eyes lit up, and she quickly began to prepare it.

At dinner, the fish was still delicious. Even though they had eaten fish for several meals in a row, Su He and Su Shi did not get tired of it and ate with great relish.

For these two children, having fish and meat was already an unimaginable luxury.

As night deepened, Lu Pingan lay on the simple wooden bed, unable to fall asleep.

Outside, from the other end of the village, came the distant sounds of people, the flickering light of torches, and a woman's tearful cries, intermittent yet exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

It is the Zhou family and the Tian family that are looking for someone.

The commotion was quite loud, alerting almost half the village.

Lu Pingan lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his breathing steady, as if he had already fallen asleep.

He wasn't worried.

The traces on the riverbank, including the shallow drag marks left when the two men were pulled into the water, had already been cleaned up by the large turtle that quietly came ashore when he left in the evening.

As the shouts outside grew louder, Su Yongfu pushed open the door and went out to ask what had happened.

But he came back soon after.

Lu Ping'an lay in bed and could hear Su He and Su Shi in the other room talking excitedly after learning that Zhou Hu and Tian Wei had gone missing.

Lu Pingan turned over, facing the wall, and the corners of his mouth curved almost imperceptibly.

From a different perspective, he could clearly see two figures entangled in water plants in the icy river, and two pieces of silver hidden under a rock not far from them.

This was found on the two people by the giant tortoise when it was settling them down.

……

The next morning, when Lu Pingan got up, the noise from the previous night had already dissipated.

After breakfast, Su Yongfu took Su He up the mountain as usual, leaving only him and Su Shi at home.

Since he had nothing better to do, he casually used a twig to draw a grid on the muddy ground and began teaching Su Shi to play Gomoku.

Su Shi learned very quickly.

Just as Lu Ping'an deliberately let Su Shi win a few rounds and watched the little guy's face light up with excitement, the Nine Imperial Dao Book silently turned to the second page in his soul sea.

Then he saw a new line of information appear below the detailed information of his natal beast, the Heavenly Pillar Turtle with the map.

[The Divine Tortoise Has a Divination]

[Divination 1 (Minor Auspiciousness): In one hour, the Azure-Gold Blood Carp may pass by a place behind you, where it will remain motionless, disguised as a stone, and may be captured.]

[Divination 2 (Minor Auspiciousness): Downstream from Xiaoshi Village, near Xiawan Village, in the Yunxi River, there is a piece of cold iron submerged underwater. You may be able to obtain it if you go there soon.]

[Divination 3 (Great Fortune): Around noon, go to a region behind Xiaoshi Village. You will reveal your body as a pillar of heaven. Use a giant rock to temper your body. There is a chance you will encounter a middle-aged man who will take you as his disciple. If you succeed, you will obtain a superior martial arts manual.]

[Choose one of the three hexagrams to understand its details]

Lu Ping'an stared at the information displayed on the Nine Imperial Dao Book for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

He had guessed before, wondering in what form the divine tortoise of the giant tortoise would appear.

Unexpectedly, the divination results of the giant tortoise were displayed in the Nine Imperial Scriptures, and I could even choose them myself.

Lu Pingan focused his consciousness on the third hexagram of the Divine Tortoise Hexagram.

"Good fortune?"

"Become an apprentice?"

"A top-grade martial arts manual?"

Lu Pingan's eyes flickered.

Martial arts levels are divided into five grades: low grade, medium grade, high grade, top grade, and super grade.

High-grade martial arts manuals are rare, not only in Yunxi County, but also in Tianhai Prefecture.

Their Lu family's signature martial art, the "Twelve Fists of Mountain Suppression," has only just reached this level.

"Since it's considered very auspicious, there shouldn't be any danger, right?"

Lu Pingan took a deep breath.

Of the three options presented by the divine tortoise this time, the first two were also useful to him.

However, it is not very useful.

The Azure Blood Carp, though rare, is worth at most a few dozen taels of silver.

As long as he returns to the Lu family, none of these will be problems.

"Brother Lu, let's continue!"

Su Shi stared at the squares on the ground with bright eyes, her little face full of lingering excitement from winning the game.

"it is good."

Lu Pingan smiled and nodded, then casually placed a piece on the chessboard.

At the same time, with a slight thought, his mind gently touched the third hexagram in his soul sea.

"Buzz..."

A faint, almost imperceptible hum reverberated deep within his mind, and a stream of information, accompanied by an image, was clearly imprinted into his consciousness.

It was a secluded clearing located on the mountainside behind the mountain, with a few crooked old trees growing along the edge and a gray-brown boulder lying in the center.

The camera zooms out slightly, focusing on him standing beside the rock, repeatedly lifting, squatting, and straightening up.

Meanwhile, from another direction, a refined middle-aged man was slowly walking towards them.

Then, a semi-transparent hourglass appeared silently in the corner of his consciousness, the fine sand flowing slowly down, calculating the time.

"It's not far..."

Looking at the route map in his mind, Lu Pingan understood.

After playing chess for a while, he noticed that Su Shi was a little tired, so he casually wove a grasshopper out of grass stems to amuse him.

Then I taught him a few more words.

Unbeknownst to him, the sun was rising higher, and the hourglass in his mind was already mostly empty at the top.

"Squeak."

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and Su Yongfu, carrying a hoe, and Su He, carrying a small bamboo basket, walked in one after the other. The basket was filled with some freshly dug wild vegetables.

"Uncle Su, Xiao He, you're back." Lu Ping'an stood up and patted the dust off his hands.

"Brother Lu!" Su He smiled and held up her basket. "Look, there's amaranth. We can make vegetable porridge tonight."

"Okay." Lu Pingan nodded, glanced at the sky, and said to Su Yongfu, "Uncle Su, I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back later."

"Okay, don't go too far, the mountain roads are complicated." Su Yongfu instructed, then put down his farm tools and went to wash his hands.

Lu Pingan responded, walked out of the Su family's courtyard, determined the direction, and then followed a rarely visited path behind the village toward the back mountain.

The mountain road was rugged and overgrown with weeds.

Following the route map in his mind, he made several turns and twists, and after about fifteen minutes, the view suddenly opened up before him.

A small clearing in the mountains appeared before us, exactly the place indicated by the "divine tortoise with divination".

A few old trees with sparse branches cast dappled shadows on the ground, and in the center of the open space, a gray-brown boulder lay quietly.

The boulder had a rough surface, covered with signs of weathering, and was larger than he had expected, probably weighing over 100 kilograms.

Lu Pingan glanced around; the surroundings were silent, save for the rustling of the mountain wind through the treetops.

He glanced into the corner of his mind; the fine sand above the hourglass was about to run out, and noon was approaching.

Without further hesitation, he walked to the center of the open space, took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air, took off the coarse cloth shirt given to him by the Su family, folded it neatly, and placed it on the clean grass beside him.

"The Body of the Heavenly Pillar!"

With a thought, it felt as if some shackles within my body were unlocked.

Amidst the cracking of his bones, his body grew taller and expanded at a visible speed.

His originally somewhat thin body now had bulging muscles, and the lines became clear and full of power. A dark and solid texture emerged under his skin, and his whole aura suddenly changed, like a giant awakened.

He walked to the giant rock that resembled a reclining ox, sat down, spread his arms, and gripped the cold, rough depression at the bottom of the rock with his ten fingers like hooks.

"rise!"

With a low shout, the power of his waist, back, and legs exploded out, and the heavy boulder made a muffled sound as he lifted it off the ground and held it above his head.

Lu Ping'an remained calm, adjusted his breathing, and then slowly squatted down until his thighs were almost parallel to the ground. Then, he exerted force, straightened his back, and lifted the boulder back up.

One squats, then another.

Lu Pingan exerted himself continuously, and sweat quickly seeped from his forehead and back, shimmering in the midday sun.

time flies.

Just as the last grain of sand slipped from the hourglass in the corner of Lu Ping'an's consciousness—

On a forest path not far away, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue cloth robe, with a refined demeanor, was walking slowly towards them.

His steps appeared leisurely, but with each step he took, his figure silently drifted forward several feet, making the rugged terrain of the mountains seem like flat ground to him.

Lu Ping'an was completely focused, his arm muscles bulging like iron, as he repeatedly squatted down, supporting the hundred-pound boulder above his head.

"Um?"

The middle-aged man was walking slowly along the path when suddenly his eyebrows twitched and he stopped in his tracks.

He listened intently for a moment.

Immediately, his body swayed, and he seemed to be lifted up by a gentle breeze. With a light touch of his toes on the grass, he floated away silently.

In a few leaps, he landed like a weightless green leaf in the shadow of an old tree three zhang behind Lu Ping'an.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze falling on Lu Ping'an's unusually tall and imposing figure in front of him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.