Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

Why didn't you notify me?

"Do you even respect me as your patriarch anymore?"

"What if something goes wrong if you sneak through the level by yourself?"

Lu Jin was emotional, his voice still carrying a hint of lingering fear, as he was all too aware of the danger involved.

Back when the Sanyi Sect was at its peak, even with the master personally overseeing the trials, many fellow disciples still failed to pass the trials. Some suffered permanent illnesses, while others died on the spot.

When Lu Lin attempted the challenge two years ago, he made thorough preparations.

Now that Li Chang'an is breaking through the barrier, he didn't even inform him. Isn't he just playing with his own life?

If he fails to pass the test and loses his life, how will he face his junior brother Li Cheng, or his seniors at Sanyi?

Faced with Lu Jin's stern reprimand, Li Chang'an was not angry, but simply stood there quietly listening.

Only after Lu Jin stopped did Li Chang'an calmly speak:

"Grandpa, you misunderstand. The reason I didn't inform you in advance was not because I was secretly trying to break through the barrier, but because I didn't try to break through at all."

Lu Jin glared at him: "If you didn't break through the barrier, then what's wrong with you looking like this? Do you think I'm senile and can't even recognize the first level of Reverse Life?"

Li Chang'an laughed and said, "Not breaking through the barrier doesn't mean I can't succeed!"

"Don't try to argue with me again!"

Lu Jin was so angry that he rolled up his sleeves. He wasn't some nice guy; if you angered him, he'd hit you.

"Grandpa, I'm really not being unreasonable."

Li Chang'an explained:

"I really didn't sneak through the gate!"

"I've never touched a obstacle course before!"

"I have no interest in passing the test!"

"Besides, this level is nothing to me, I don't even need to try it."

"I just followed the steps of my practice, and then it naturally passed."

"It's as natural as eating when you're hungry or sleeping when you're tired."

As Li Chang'an spoke, Lu Jin squinted at him, her fists clenched tightly.

That's outrageous! How can it be so infuriating?!

I really want to slap this brat a few times to shut him up!

However, although he thought this way, Lu Jin did not put it into practice.

Because in his impression, Li Chang'an was very steady and composed, not the kind of reckless young man who would do such a risky thing, nor the kind of madman who would deliberately say such arrogant words.

Could it be that he went astray during the breakthrough, causing a drastic change in his mindset?

Should we invite Prince Zhong to come and take a look?

Thinking of this, Lu Jin decided not to beat up Li Chang'an for now.

Let's cooperate with him for now, and then figure out what's really going on before making any decisions.

Lu Jin's expression softened: "You said you didn't break through the barrier, so how did you break through to your current state?"

Li Chang'an shared his experience: "You only need to use the Reverse Life Triple Refinement to temper your life force. Once your life force cultivation reaches a certain level, Qi transformation will be a natural outcome."

Lu Jin frowned and said, "There are so many meridians in the human body. If you don't need to deliberately circulate your Qi to break through, as long as your life cultivation reaches a certain level, you can automatically construct the first, second, and third levels of Qi transformation state... What is the reason behind this? Can it be explained simply by saying that things will fall into place naturally? There must be some underlying logic."

Li Chang'an looked at Lu Jin, pondered for a moment, organized his thoughts, and then spoke:

"Grandpa, do you know how to tell fortunes?"

Lu Jin said, "There are many kinds of fortune telling, such as Da Liu Ren, Qi Men Dun Jia, Liu Yao Jin Qian, Tai Yi Shen Shu, etc. Which one do you want to ask about?"

Li Chang'an said, "The simplest way is to go directly into the inner realm and ask."

Lu Jin said, "I wouldn't dare say I know much about the others, but I can understand if I go directly to the inner realm to ask."

"A person's destiny is a line, and the future is the product of the inertia generated by the sum of the past and the present, constantly moving forward."

"What practitioners cultivate is to break free from the inertia of the past by fully grasping the present moment, thereby autonomously creating the future."

"That's why fortune telling is called fortune telling. Its essence is to predict the future by summarizing your past and present behavioral habits."

"If the inertia that propels you forward remains unchanged, such as your personality and your behavioral logic, then your future can be predicted and is predetermined."

"But if the momentum that propels you forward changes, then the future will also change."

Lu Jin asked Li Chang'an, "What do you want to say with this?"

Li Chang'an laughed and said, "Grandpa, you are absolutely right, but why don't you think about this: since even the ethereal and intangible destiny has its own inertia as support, what about the cultivation techniques we practice within our bodies?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin was taken aback, feeling as if he had been struck by lightning.

Li Chang'an continued, "The operation of everything has a set of so-called rules and inertia, and the operation of cultivation techniques is no exception."

"Our Sanyi Sect's cultivation method of the Three Reversal Stages is commonly known as the Genbei Mind Method, but its proper name is the Nine Sequence Mind Method."

"The Nine Orders Mind Method itself is an extremely perfect method for tempering one's life."

"When we follow its trajectory to circulate Qi over many years, it will also generate a kind of inertia in our bodies."

"Just like the Qi in our body, it will still rotate along the natural cycle even when we are not practicing. This is also a kind of inertia."

Why are some people with innate extraordinary abilities unable to cultivate their acquired abilities?

"They cannot change the inertia of Qi's innate movement within the body; they can only passively move Qi according to this inertia."

"The difference between innate and acquired superhumans is that one is born with the ability and the other acquires it later. Otherwise, there is no difference. Innate abilities have inertia, and acquired abilities are no exception."

"Moreover, as our life cultivation becomes stronger and we refine more and more Qi, the inertia brought about by the cultivation method will become stronger and stronger."

"When it becomes powerful enough, the Qi Palace that we generate from the back of the head will be like a pool full of water, and it will begin to overflow."

"At this point, we don't need to deliberately guide it at all. The inertia of the mental technique will propel this Qi to the meridians and acupoints it is meant to go to."

"During this process, the Qi flows through certain meridians, triggering a certain ritual, and then the Qi transformation effect occurs."

Chapter 50 Reasoning

After sharing some of his thoughts, Li Chang'an concluded: "In other words, the ability of Qi transformation is simply the inevitable result of refining one's life force through the Triple Reversal of Life to a certain degree."

"The so-called 'method of breaking through barriers' is merely a summary of the experiences of our ancestors regarding the trajectory of Qi flow driven by inertia. It is a map drawn up to help future generations avoid detours."

"But this map also has a problem."

“Even if the cultivation method is the same, everyone’s constitution, the width of their meridians, their temperament, and their cultivation of life force are different. Therefore, the trajectory of Qi circulation driven by inertia will also be somewhat different.”

"It's like twins from the same family, born at the same time, and going to the same school, but their future trajectories will be different. No two people in the world are exactly the same."

"Our predecessors could summarize and come up with a seemingly accessible route for everyone to overcome the challenges. However, because this route does not fully align with each person's current inertia, there are risks involved in forcing one to overcome the challenges."

At this point, Li Chang'an asked Lu Jin, "Grandpa, when the San Yi Sect selected talents, did they all choose people based on the same mold?"

Lu Jin was engrossed in Li Chang'an's theory when she heard Li Chang'an's question and was immediately stunned, because Li Chang'an had hit the nail on the head.

Back then, this was how they selected people for the Sanyi Gate branch.

He still remembered that the two people who took the exam with him in the Lower House were both quite talented.

That boy named Liu Deshui, a child of six or seven years old, could chop up a whole house full of firewood and carry a whole yard of water.

Putting aside his innate talent for cultivation, his sheer perseverance alone is quite remarkable.

But he failed the assessment.

That talented but mischievous child also failed the test.

But he passed!

He used to think he was chosen because of his comprehension, his talent, and his sincerity.

But now, he has a new idea.

Lu Jin pondered for a moment and said, "Is it because people with similar temperaments who practice the same cultivation method will also develop similar habits?"

"Maybe!"

Li Chang'an said that he had not experienced the heyday of the Sanyi Sect, so he did not say that it was dead.

But Lu Jin already had the answer in her heart: Li Chang'an was right, at least in the general direction.

So, their previous training at the Sanyi Sect was less about cultivation and more about imitation—imitating everything about their master, but not even imitating it well.

But now, among a group of imitators, an innovator has emerged.

Lu Jin took a deep breath; he was not an inflexible old stubborn.

Back when everyone was still wearing long robes.

He had already grown out his hair into a trendy style and put on a sharp suit.

The same is true now.

Some of the younger generation in the family are still using old-fashioned candybar phones, while he has already started using the new Symbian system phones and even playing Penguin Chat.

Lu Jin has always been very good at accepting new things. He looked at Li Chang'an and asked curiously:

"Is there any difference between the Qi transformation ability you obtained in this way and the Qi transformation ability I obtained by breaking through barriers?"

The reason for this question is that he sensed that Li Chang'an's aura was too powerful. Even though he had only just transformed his skin and flesh into Qi, the feeling he gave him was much stronger than that of Lu Lin, who had successfully transformed her Qi two years ago.

“The difference is…” Li Chang’an stretched out his hand: “Grandpa, take out a knife and try cutting me!”

"Chop you up?" Lu Jin looked at Li Chang'an in astonishment. He had never seen such a request in his entire life.

"Although the master is very angry, he doesn't want to kill you."

Li Chang'an laughed and said, "I'm just showing you some differences in the effects of my Reverse Life Qi Transformation. You can just keep trying to cut me with your knife."

After a pause, remembering that his grandfather was rather reckless, and to avoid any trouble, Li Chang'an added:

"Grandpa, please don't use your Qi or activate the Reverse Life Technique, otherwise I won't be able to stop you. Just use your current strength to cut, use as much force as you want."

Lu Jin said, "You're being too arrogant, kid. With my current cultivation level, even without using the Reverse Life Triple Realm, I could punch through several sandbags with one punch."

"The Qi transformation of reversal is more about self-protection in terms of recovery ability, not invincibility."

“You are not yet able to transform your internal organs and bones with Qi. If I exert even a little force, you will break your bones.”

Even so, since Li Chang'an had made the request, Lu Jin naturally had to grant it.

He tore off his expensive tie and drew several runes on it.

The tie suddenly straightened, its edges gleaming coldly like a sharp sword.

This is also a way of using talismans. You can take a piece of paper, draw a talisman on it, and the paper can be transformed into a sword. The same principle applies to using talismans on ties.

Lu Jin took his tie and twirled it like a sword: "Ready?"

Li Chang'an nodded: "Ready."

The moment he finished speaking, the tie whistled through the air and struck his forearm.

Although Li Chang'an told Lu Jin to use his strength freely, Lu Jin was still worried about hurting Li Chang'an, so he only made a light slash. Even if it was a flesh and blood body, it would only cause a minor superficial injury. Li Chang'an was in a state of Qi transformation at the moment, and he could recover with a thought.

But to his surprise, the feeling of this sword strike was neither the stiffness of cutting flesh nor the ethereal sensation of cutting Qi. Instead, it felt like cutting into an incredibly hard piece of leather, which he couldn't budge at all.

"No, this isn't the effect of reversed life force transformation. It shouldn't be this hard, but this kid didn't use any other protective methods!"

Lu Jin could see this, and, not believing in such things, he swung his tie at Li Chang'an several more times, making a loud clanging sound, but Li Chang'an remained unharmed.

"I refuse to believe it!"

Lu Jin increased his strength, even sparks flew from his strike, but he still couldn't hurt Li Chang'an in the slightest. He was shocked; this defense was almost as strong as the Golden Light Mantra!

"Grandpa, how is it?" Li Chang'an laughed, "Keep pushing, and don't worry about hurting me. If there's a problem, I'll dodge it myself."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin increased his strength again. He had been holding back his strength earlier because he was worried about hurting Li Chang'an. Seeing how tough Li Chang'an was, he felt relieved.

With increased force, the sound of the blow hitting Li Chang'an became crisper, but it still failed to break through his defenses.

They continued to apply more force, and finally managed to cut a shallow gash in Li Chang'an's body.

However, the opening only lasted for less than a second before a flash of white light appeared, and the Qi transformed into restorative power.