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

Lu Jin exclaimed in amazement, "Good lad, the force you used just now would have pierced even the Iron Shirt and other external martial arts, yet it only left such a small wound on you. Is this the difference brought about by your method of breaking through the barrier?"

Li Chang'an corrected him, saying, "Grandpa, I have never had the idea of ​​breaking through the barrier."

“Alright, alright, you didn’t. You achieved the effect we only get from breaking through the barrier.” Lu Jin said, “Besides that, are there any other effects?”

Chapter 51 A New Direction for Rebirth

Li Chang'an nodded: "And things like speed, strength, and reaction time are also much greater."

"As for the rest, I will have to investigate them carefully before I can fully understand them."

"So, it's much stronger in every aspect..." Lu Jin murmured, a sudden thought flashing through her mind, and said:

"If you describe your Qi circulation path, and I follow your Qi circulation path, can I achieve your indestructible effect?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an was somewhat speechless and said:

“Grandpa, you still don’t understand, or rather, you do understand, but you’re not entirely satisfied.”

Lu Jin shook his head and said, "Grandpa has nothing to be resentful about. He is very receptive to change things and doesn't take many things to heart."

It's just a matter of verbal acceptance...

Li Chang'an thought to himself, "If that's the case, then why is Grandfather still so obsessed with Qi transformation, and even wants to gain more means by trying to break through more complex Qi circulation routes? Your idea is not very good."

"In my view, the practice of reversing the cycle of rebirth is not about how to better transform one's Qi."

"Even the so-called first, second, and third levels and their respective effects are just external appearances, not to mention the abilities of each level."

As the saying goes, "The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things."

"In mathematics, odd numbers are yang, even numbers are yin. Three is the number of lesser yang, which is the beginning of all things, and nine is the number of greater yang, which is the end of all things."

"Therefore, the three stages of reversal of life are not necessarily only three stages. The so-called Qi transformation effect can be three stages or ten thousand stages. These are not the core key."

"The key is to enter a positive state better and longer, and then improve one's spiritual cultivation."

"When one's cultivation of life force is improved, no matter how many layers or characteristics of Qi transformation there are, it will all come naturally."

"It's just like our previous external training. The purpose of our external training was very clear: it wasn't to make ourselves able to withstand more blows."

"Instead, it is through external stimulation that we build a stronger body, which is the cultivation of life force. So, being beaten more is not the goal; personal improvement is the objective."

"And you just said that you should follow my Qi circulation path to break through the barriers and gain more abilities."

"This is tantamount to training in external martial arts without pursuing physical strength, but rather pursuing how many beatings one can take."

"The first level means being able to withstand one hundred lashes, the second level means two hundred lashes, and the third level means three hundred lashes. But what happens to our bodies if we are whipped too much?"

"It won't get better, it will only be battered and bruised, it will only get worse."

Lu Jin was speechless in response to Li Chang'an's words.

Although he was unhappy that Li Chang'an compared Qi transformation to being whipped, it was the truth.

But then he felt that Li Chang'an's words sounded familiar, as if he had heard them somewhere before.

where?

Lu Jin pondered for a moment.

His eyes became somewhat unfocused.

Because he remembered hearing it somewhere before.

Right here, in almost the same spot.

But that was more than eighty years ago.

At that time, he was a boy about the same age as Li Chang'an.

Standing beside him was his master, nicknamed the Great Prosperity Immortal.

Opposite him, in the very spot where Li Chang'an is now standing, are Zhang Zhiwei in his youth and Zhang Jingqing, the Celestial Master at the time.

That day, it was the Celestial Master who invited them out.

The purpose was to provide an explanation for the incident during the day when Zhang Zhiwei slapped him and made him cry.

While explaining, Zhang Zhiwei casually commented on the Reverse Rebirth Triple Technique, saying that the Golden Light Mantra and the Reverse Rebirth Triple Technique were similar.

It is also said that the key to the Golden Light Mantra is cultivating one's life force, and as for the golden light, it is just a coincidence that occurred during cultivation, causing the body to start emitting light, and this light can be utilized.

Therefore, this golden light is just an insignificant addition; we don't need to pay attention to it. We should focus on tempering our life force.

As one's cultivation level improves, the golden light, as an added bonus, will also improve.

How similar are these words to what Li Chang'an is saying now?

However, Li Chang'an had to explain in much more detail.

Eighty years later, in the same place, I heard the same words.

The difference is that the young disciple is an old hand in the martial arts world.

The young Lu Jin of yesteryear is now old and frail.

Moreover, hearing it again after more than eighty years, my state of mind and feelings are different.

More than 80 years ago, all he could think about was how embarrassing it was to be beaten and cry during the day.

More than eighty years later, he was thinking about the future of his sect.

At this point, Lu Jin had completely accepted Li Chang'an's explanation.

Although comparing rebirth to external training sounds harsh, upon closer reflection, it's not entirely unacceptable.

Isn't it obvious that problems arise from going against the natural order?

If there was no problem with reversing the birth order, how could Master have passed away after breaking through to the third level?

But...

Although he had accepted it in his heart, he still couldn't quite accept it.

Because this was too cruel for the Trinity, or more precisely, for him, a remnant of the old Trinity.

The truth that young Zhang Zhiwei saw through at a glance.

Even young Li Chang'an could see the truth.

They've wasted generations of their lives, and they still haven't figured it out?!

How ironic!

Lu Jin sighed inwardly and looked at Li Chang'an:

“Chang’an, I understand what you mean. In our future cultivation, we will no longer pursue the transformation of Qi, but will focus all our energy on tempering our life force.”

"Grandpa, we don't need to go to such extremes!"

Li Chang'an pinched a small gap between his index finger and thumb:

"I consider myself to have achieved some success in sexual cultivation, and I am extremely efficient in refining my essence, energy, and spirit."

"Even so, it took a full five years to get to this point."

"For an ordinary person, it would probably take several times, or even more, time to reach my current state."

"If that's the case, it would be too exhausting, and many people might give up halfway through."

"Moreover, even the Quanzhen Dragon Gate, which focuses on cultivating life force, will also cultivate some protective methods during their cultivation."

"So my suggestion is to change the focus of cultivation. Continue to take the Marrow Cleansing Pill and continue with the external training."

"But the purpose of eating them and practicing them is no longer to reach the standard of Qi transformation, but to improve one's life cultivation."

After a pause, Li Chang'an continued:

“Grandpa, through these years of cultivation, I have gradually come to understand a principle: cultivation is a very subjective thing.”

"The more you want to achieve a goal..."

"You will find yourself in a state that is contrary to this goal."

"The stronger the goal."

"The stronger this state becomes."

"Therefore, the more you try to achieve Qi transformation, the more difficult it becomes."

"If we change the focus of our cultivation and stop deliberately pursuing it, and combine it with the experience left by my master, it might be easier and safer to transform Qi."

Chapter 52 Lu Jin's Bold Ideas

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin pondered for a moment and nodded:

“Chang’an, what you said makes a lot of sense. Grandfather’s thinking is too narrow-minded. But if we’re going to focus on cultivating our life force…”

"Although our Sanyi Sect also cultivates life force, it is only the transformation of Qi in reverse, which only has some requirements for life force."

"So we haven't delved deeply into the path of life and death, and now that we're turning to this path, we're a bit lost."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an laughed and said, "It's normal to feel lost. What road is so easy to travel and where you can see the end from the beginning?"

"But we can't stop just because the road is difficult to travel."

“Grandpa, you can’t stay confused forever. On some matters, I can only offer some ideas, but the specific implementation is up to you.”

"You are our backbone, you need to pull yourself together."

Li Chang'an and Lu Lin are different.

Lu Lin has a strong sense of responsibility; when pressure comes, he takes it all on himself.

Li Chang'an, however, never took the pressure personally and instead passed it on to Lu Jin.

He can contribute to the reconstruction of the Trinity Gate.

But rebuilding Sany was never his goal.

He wouldn't even think about it.

The mere thought of it is itself a delusion.

Lu Jin didn't find anything wrong with Li Chang'an's words, nor did he feel that Li Chang'an was putting pressure on him.

Rebuilding Trinity was his duty.

Lu Jin nodded and said, "Chang'an, you are right. Grandfather cannot be confused. You are still young. Although you have some understanding, you still lack experience."

"Although I'm a bit slow to understand, I'm not old for nothing."

"There are naturally many mysteries within this century of cultivation."

Li Chang'an listened quietly as Lu Jin spoke profound words.

"In terms of cultivating one's physical and mental well-being, others can only offer guidance; one must rely more on oneself."

"But there are patterns to follow in cultivating one's destiny!"

Lu Jin raised his head and said decisively, "I want to restart my external martial arts training."

Hearing this, Li Chang'an remained completely unmoved.

He has subdued his delusions; even if Mount Tai collapses before him, he will remain calm and composed.

If Lu Lin were here and heard those words, she would probably be frowning on the spot.

Looking at the enthusiastic Lu Jin, Li Chang'an reminded him:

"Grandpa, ordinary sparring and striking techniques are no longer effective against us."

Lu Jin said, "I know that traditional methods of striking the body are no longer very effective, but we can keep up with the times and use some high-tech methods."

Li Chang'an asked curiously, "What kind of high-tech stuff do you need?"

Lu Jin said, "I heard that Ru Hu uses a special device to release high-voltage current to stimulate muscles and cells, achieving the effect of body-strengthening. By the way, you don't know Ru Hu yet, do you?"

Li Chang'an shook his head: "I'm not sure."

That's true. The story doesn't describe Ru Hu much. My impression of him is that he's one of the Ten Elders, with a big head and thick neck. He's good at physical training and is very good at fighting.

Just how powerful are they?