Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

One night passed.

Qiu Zhen slept on his side, a ray of dawn light from the wooden house's small window spilling into the room, forming a hazy light, appearing incomparably mystical.

The little fox Bai Shu curled up beside Qiu Zhen and slept. Although it didn't understand cultivation, staying by the side of a "divine person" and following their "breathing exercises" made it very comfortable, giving it a feeling of "cultivating and becoming stronger."

"The Mysterious Female Gate, located between the two kidneys, is called the Great Sea, also known as Weak Water. It is the Dantian, blue on the left, white on the right, red above, black below, and yellow in the center. Men store essence here, women store blood, it is the place of gestation, the root of man, and the origin of the five energies. Within is a divine tortoise, breathing in the primordial energy."

Qiu Zhen silently circulated the Qingwei Sleeping Skill's mental cultivation method, gathering the spirits within his body with each breath, still and still, inhaling the essence of the sun and moon, and the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

Suddenly.

"What a leisurely and carefree deep sleep!"

Qiu Zhen woke up leisurely from his sleep, stretched, and his whole body felt comfortable and his mood was cheerful.

This is a phenomenon that only occurs after deep sleep, feeling energetic and full of vitality.

Having lived two lives, it was the first time Qiu Zhen had slept so soundly, without any distracting thoughts, a purely deep sleep.

The Daoist school has a saying of "slaying the sleep demon."

Ordinary cultivators, when practicing still meditation, are afraid of falling asleep and delaying their cultivation, so they sit in meditation all night, forcibly resisting sleep, calling it "slaying the sleep demon."

In fact, this understanding of "slaying the sleep demon" is extremely biased.

Sleeping is the number one health preservation technique in the world. Not sleeping is not cultivating immortality and longevity, but seeking one's own death, striving to be a short-lived ghost.

The true "slaying the sleep demon" is to achieve great stability in dreams, without any distracting thoughts, not falling into various dreams, entering a state of stillness and even greater stillness.

The various "sleeping skills" created by the Daoist patriarchs are genuine methods of "slaying the sleep demon," not bitterly staying up all night to meditate and cultivate.

Qiu Zhen was skilled in still meditation, so when he first practiced the [Qingwei Sleeping Skill], he reached an extremely profound level of "slaying the sleep demon," easily achieving great stability in dreams.

If ordinary cultivators were to know this, they would probably be envious and jealous.

This can also be considered a benefit of his [Dan Dao Sudden Enlightenment Method] entry, awakening the Primordial Spirit Dharma Body, having innate wisdom, understanding many methods with a single point, and comprehending them with a single understanding.

Many methods have bottlenecks for others, but he has no obstacles.

The only regret is that his natural endowments are not good, and the speed of accumulating essence and Qi is far worse than those with extraordinary talents, requiring hard work.

With this thought, Qiu Zhen didn't delay and immediately began to practice stance and the [Five Animal Frolics].

About an hour later.

"Refreshing!"

After a round of exercising his muscles and bones, Qiu Zhen's head was steaming with heat, and he felt refreshed.

"The second level of the Medicine King Five Animal Frolics, estimated to take 531 days to complete."

Under the deduction of the Primordial Spirit Dharma Body, the progress of martial arts and life cultivation was clear at a glance.

Qiu Zhen was secretly delighted.

A few days ago, he deduced that it would take more than a thousand days, almost three years, to cultivate the second level of the [Medicine King Five Animal Frolics].

But now, if he regularly consumes the meat of fierce beasts, and also has the [Qingwei Sleeping Skill] to absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon, with both methods working together, he can save half the effort of hard cultivation.

This result greatly encouraged him.

Looking back, martial arts cultivation didn't seem so difficult after all.

After all, spiritual herbs, precious medicines, immortal pills, and divine medicines are not impossible to eat, just not for long-term and frequent consumption, just pay attention to moderation.

In a few years, he will probably be able to break through the five acquired barriers of "skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and meridians," perfect the "Yin Spirit," and officially enter the innate realm of "Refining Essence into Qi," with a promising future.

After finishing his martial arts practice, Bai Shu once again invited Qiu Zhen to go into the mountains to search for treasures and hunt fierce beasts.

Qiu Zhen was somewhat tempted, but after thinking about it, he still didn't go, letting the little fox wander around on its own.

There was no need to rush.

Compared to hunting for treasures, the most important thing for him right now was to build the Qingwei Thunder Altar and master the talisman thunder techniques, which required a lot of materials and resources in the early stages.

Once the Qingwei Thunder Altar was built, he could cultivate the "Subduing Thunder Qi Method," which would not only allow him to master the thunder technique [Golden Light Thunder Talisman] and have the power to protect himself, but also allow him to perform rituals and have the ability to pray for sunshine and rain, and summon wind and rain, possessing great supernatural powers.

Only then would he be a true cultivator, breaking away from the ranks of crude martial artists.

Going into the mountains to hunt for treasures would also have more safety guarantees and higher efficiency.

The sun was getting high, and Qiu Zhen didn't delay any longer, leaving Qiu Zhen Valley and heading towards Qingmu City.

Although he didn't have to work at the Qingmu Medicine Shop, he still had to clock in and report. As a newly appointed "Enshrined Martial Instructor," it wouldn't be good to be late or leave early, making Shopkeeper Liu feel embarrassed.

Qingmu Medicine Shop.

"Shopkeeper Liu, feel free to tell me if you have any errands for me."

"There are no errands!"

Shopkeeper Liu smiled and asked Qiu Zhen to sit down, ordering someone to serve tea:

"You haven't been a martial instructor for long, now is the time to build a solid foundation, no rush to work. Besides, our Medicine King Valley still has some face in Changle Prefecture, and few people provoke us on weekdays. There are only the errands of patrolling the forest and protecting the grounds, and there is no need for so many people for the time being. You should practice martial arts first, and usually read more medical books to learn some medical skills."

"You are now a proper disciple of Medicine King Valley. If you are not proficient in medical skills, wouldn't that be a laughing stock."

"Thank you, Shopkeeper Liu, for your guidance and care."

Qiu Zhen understood Shopkeeper Liu's meaning and was overjoyed.

As a newly promoted disciple of Medicine King Valley, he didn't have to work for the time being, he could practice martial arts and learn medical skills without working, and he could still get ten taels of silver a month, which was wonderful.

Worthy of being a great sect in Changle Prefecture, generous and with a broad vision.

After visiting and asking for instructions from Shopkeeper Liu, Qiu Zhen didn't go directly to find Steward Li in the front yard to ask him about medical skills, but went to the back yard.

When a group of apprentices saw Qiu Zhen, they all shouted "Brother Zhen" in unison, very enthusiastically, like stars surrounding the moon.

"Brother Zhen, did you come to find us?"

A deserted corner in the backyard.

Skinny Monkey Shen Liang and Big Head Zhao Dou were very excited when they saw Qiu Zhen coming to find them, grinning and smiling.

"Yes ~"

Qiu Zhen smiled and nodded:

"I'm looking for you to help me with something."

"Brother Zhen, what is it?"

"It's not a difficult task. I'm going to learn medical skills later and can't leave, so I want to ask you to go to the market after work to buy some things for me and send them to my Sunny Little Courtyard."

As he spoke, Qiu Zhen handed over the silver.

When the two heard that Qiu Zhen was looking for them to do something, they were initially worried that they wouldn't do it well and were a little hesitant, but when they heard that it was just helping to run errands, they were very willing.

The most important thing was that Brother Zhen hadn't forgotten them and still wanted their help.

"So that's all, don't worry, Brother Zhen, leave it to us."

Zhao Dou and Shen Liang recorded the things Qiu Zhen wanted to buy, took the money, and left happily.

Qiu Zhen watched the two leave, a faint smile on his face.

Whether it was building the Thunder Altar or practicing talisman techniques, a large amount of materials was needed, not only pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, but also sesame oil, cinnabar, incense, paper horses, incense candles, oil lamps, incense, cloth, and so on, all kinds of things.

There would be no problem if these materials were bought separately, and ordinary people could use them.

But if one person purchased them all at once, it was possible that they would be targeted by someone with ulterior motives, exposing their identity as a cultivator.

As the saying goes, small concealment is in the wilderness, great concealment is in the city.

If it were in the cultivation world of the past, cultivators could still retreat into the deep mountains to cultivate, and occasionally come out to purchase materials.

But this world is different. Retreating into the mountains to cultivate can avoid it for a while, but not for a lifetime. You always have to come out occasionally.

Unless you can survive in the mountains until you have great supernatural powers and the ability to roam the world.

Otherwise, hiding in the deep mountains is not safe. Once you go out, isolated from the world, not understanding the rules outside, it is easy to expose your identity, and the Demon Suppression Division can then destroy you.

Only an "organization" can fight against an "organization."

[Miro Palace] is a huge organization belonging to cultivators, but this organization is too loose and has no cohesion.

Moreover, there are all kinds of people in [Miro Palace], there may be true cultivators like "Kong Yin," and there may also be people with ulterior motives mixed in.

That "Yun Rou" Kun Dao told him to be careful when contacting [Miro Palace] Daoists, which shows this.

In Qiu Zhen's eyes, [Miro Palace] is just a platform for cultivators to communicate, and it cannot be considered an organization yet.

The only two real organizations around him are the [Medicine King Valley] behind his master's sect, and his own relationship network, the organization created in the future.

In the future, on the one hand, he will continue to climb in [Medicine King Valley], and on the other hand, he will develop well in Qingmu Town, cultivate the people around him, create his own power, and take root downwards, intricately, turning the area around Qingmu Town into an iron plate, impenetrable.

People like "Shen Liang" and "Zhao Dou" are suitable for cultivation.

As long as the two are ambitious and unwilling to be ordinary, he can use resources to pile them up. He can't guarantee a congenital martial artist, but he can definitely pile up an ordinary martial artist.

Subsequently, as long as he develops a powerful local force, even if the Demon Suppression Division suspects you, they have to find evidence and be full of scruples, unlike lone mountain cultivators, who can attack you whenever they want.

While Qiu Zhen was thinking, he was about to walk out of the backyard of the medicine shop when someone called him from behind.

Looking back.

"Steward Kang, do you have something to ask me?"