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

Where had he heard that before? He frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered that when Zhang Zhiwei competed with him back then, he seemed to have said the same thing. He had found some clues about his reversed growth, and then, seeing an opportunity, he slapped Zhang Zhiwei's dantian.

These words, coming from that old man Zhang Zhiwei, were naturally not pleasant, but coming from his own apprentice…

Why is it so...heartening? Lu Jin glanced at West Lake. He knew he couldn't be happy because of what Chang'an had said; it was just that West Lake was so beautiful.

"Hmm!" He coughed lightly. "You've discovered the weakness of the Vajra Palm?"

“It’s not exactly a weakness,” Li Chang’an thought for a moment. “It’s that we discovered its method of circulating Qi and some of its characteristics. The Qi circulation route of the Vajra Palm starts from the Dantian, goes through the Sanjiao Meridian of Hand Shaoyang, passes Jianjing, and goes all the way down to the Laogong acupoint in the palm, gathering Qi in the palm and hardening the entire hand like Vajra, and then instantly unleashing the power within the body. That’s why it’s fierce, domineering, and indestructible.”

He paused, then continued, "If our Qi transformation state of the Reverse Life Triple Stage is to bless the entire physical body, then the Vajra Palm is to concentrate on one point, only blessing the palm. The reason why Huineng was pushed more than ten meters away by my palm just now is because his life cultivation is not as good as mine. Even if he used the Vajra Palm, his absolute strength is still not as great as mine. What just happened was a contest with no skill involved."

Lu Jin nodded: "To put it bluntly, it's about overwhelming force with sheer power."

“You could say that,” Li Chang’an smiled. “But I have strength, while he lacks skill.”

"What do you mean?" Lu Jin asked.

Li Chang'an said, "He hasn't grasped the essence of the Vajra Palm. During our exchange just now, I noticed that all his attention was focused on how to make his palm as hard as a Vajra."

"But in fact, the key to the Vajra Palm technique is the word 'great strength.' 'Vajra' is just the foundation."

"There are too many protective and external martial arts techniques in Buddhism. If this palm technique only pursues the hardness of the palm, then it has no reason to exist. Why not just cover the palm with the Golden Bell Shield?"

"Therefore, the essence of this technique should be the unleashed, incomparably powerful force. The strength is not obtained by practicing this palm technique, but by one's life force cultivation."

"In other words, this palm technique improves along with one's own life cultivation level. The stronger you are, the greater the boost this palm strike will provide."

“You brat…” Lu Jin pointed at Li Chang’an, and after a long while, he managed to choke out a sentence: “The Shaolin Temple’s thousand-year-old secret technique was exposed by you just by glancing at it and exchanging a palm strike?”

“It can’t be called seeing through it, it’s just seeing a little bit of the surface,” Li Chang’an said. “Even if we want to imitate it, we can only imitate a little bit of the surface, just like how Kumārajīva in ‘Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’ used the Lesser Formless Skill to imitate the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin. However, our Reverse Life Triple Technique is no worse than the Lesser Formless Skill. It’s still no problem to imitate his Qi circulation route.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin was even more astonished, her eyes widening: "You mean, you've seen someone else's unique skill once, figured out the principles, and can now imitate it?"

"It can only imitate a little bit of the surface," Li Chang'an corrected.

"To be able to imitate even the basics is quite an achievement!"

Lu Jin pointed to the calm surface of West Lake: "Imitate one for Grandpa to see."

He was genuinely curious about what his apprentice could possibly imitate.

"With so many people here, this might not be appropriate!" Li Chang'an said, looking at the tourists around him.

"Let's go, let's find another place!" Lu Jin glanced around and led Li Chang'an to a less crowded corner: "This is it, try it out!"

"Grandpa, isn't this still West Lake? Why the rush?" Li Chang'an said, "Aren't you afraid of damaging the scenic area and causing trouble for the company?"

Chapter 128 Experimental Methods

"Damage the scenic area? What's wrong? Your palm technique is so earth-shattering?"

Lu Jin glanced at him; he didn't think Li Chang'an's impromptu experiment would have that much power.

"Use it while no one's around!"

Since his grandfather had said so, Li Chang'an didn't hold back. Facing the vast West Lake, he stood with his legs slightly apart and followed the route he had previously explored. His Qi started from his dantian, traveled along the Sanjiao Meridian of Hand-Shaoyang, passed Jianjing, and descended all the way to Laogong acupoint in the palm.

In an instant, his palm changed. When practicing the authentic Vajra Palm technique, the entire palm turns into a dark golden yellow, like cast brass.

However, Li Chang'an's palms did not turn golden; instead, they gradually turned white jade from his fingertips to his wrists.

If we were to describe his skin tone in its reversed-aging state, it could be described as "as lustrous as jade".

Now, his palm has truly become jade; the textures of bones, blood vessels, and flesh have all disappeared, as if it were carved from jade.

Li Chang'an raised his jade-like palm and struck out at the surface of West Lake in front of him.

"boom!!"

A huge white palm print flew out of his hand, accompanied by a fierce wind, and landed straight on the lake surface.

"boom!"

The lake surface was struck hard, instantly caved in, and exploded with a deafening roar, sending up several water columns several meters high.

Then, ripples spread across the lake, spreading outwards in layers.

A flock of waterbirds took flight in fright, flapping their wings and fleeing into the distance.

Tourists on the shore stopped and looked out at the lake, thinking something had exploded at the bottom.

Lu Jin stood aside, looking at the still violently churning lake, then turned to look at Li Chang'an, so shocked that she could hardly speak.

The palm strike that the monk named Huineng had previously unleashed was, while powerful, completely incomparable to the palm strike that Li Chang'an was delivering at this moment; the difference in power between the two was immense.

"You call this just learning the basics?" Lu Jin's voice was a little dry.

Li Chang'an said, "The essence of this palm strike lies in close combat. If it is struck from a distance, the palm force will be dispersed, and the power will be less as far away. The palm strike just now only looked intimidating. If it had been struck directly on a solid object at close range, the destructive power would have been at least doubled."

"Alright, alright, stop talking!" Lu Jin waved his hand and said, "You've already figured out most of the techniques after just one spar. Your talent is absolutely unique in the current world of supernatural beings."

But then Lu Jin's tone turned serious: "However, use this trick less often outside in the future. Stealing other schools' secret techniques is a major taboo in the circle. Although strictly speaking, what you did was not stealing, some things are hard to explain."

With a single palm strike, one can see through the opponent's techniques, imitate them to a great extent, and even make them far more powerful than the original.

These words were only spoken by him, the patriarch.

If I told others, they would just think it was a fantasy.

"Don't worry, sir, I know what I'm doing!" Li Chang'an said with a smile. "However, it's also a little trick. With the power of the palm strike, we'll have a way to counter ranged targets."

"You really want to use remote methods?" Lu Jin asked.

"It's always better to be prepared!" Li Chang'an said.

"Chang'an, do you know why our Sanyi Sect doesn't pay attention to these things?" Lu Jin asked.

"Because I focus on cultivating reversal of life and don't want to get too involved in fighting and killing, I don't like honing my skills in that area!" Li Chang'an replied casually.

These are all familiar sect philosophies of the Sanyi Sect.

“That’s one aspect.” Lu Jin nodded and continued, “But more importantly, for those who cultivate the Reverse Life Triple Realm, ranged attacks are not actually that necessary.”

"If you want to attack an enemy in the distance, why don't you just rush over, get close, and punch them to death?"

"The biggest advantage of the Triple Rebirth is the enhancement it provides to oneself. If you give up your strongest physical advantage and instead pursue those flashy but impractical ranged attacks, you are undoubtedly picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon."

"Moreover, if you really want to attack a long-range target, just pick up a pebble or a piece of iron from the ground, infuse it with Qi, and then launch it with the power of the Dragon and Tiger. The power will be much stronger than the power of the palm strike!"

"Grandpa, I understand." Li Chang'an nodded.

This is absolutely true. Rushing in and delivering a close-range palm strike uses the power of one's life, a strike that concentrates one's essence, energy, and spirit.

The power of the splitting palm mainly relies on the power of Qi and the control of Qi, lacking the support of life force cultivation.

Only those with weak life force need to maintain distance and employ long-range tactics.

Those with strong life cultivation should naturally take advantage of close combat.

Moreover, the body's Qi is finite. The Reverse Rebirth Triple Level is a very enduring ability, allowing one to maintain the Reverse Rebirth state for high-intensity combat, even for three days and three nights.

However, if one tries to maintain the reverse life while also employing techniques like the "splitting palm" (a technique that involves striking through the air), it will be useless except for being flashy. In fact, it might reduce the lifespan from several days to just a few hours.

Li Chang'an suddenly remembered the scene in the story where the four madmen of Quanxing gang besieged Lu Jin. At that time, many people said that Lu Jin would be defeated in the Twelve Labors of Love Formation.

But now that I think about it, it's not necessarily true.

Because the Reverse Rebirth Triple Technique is an extremely long-term skill that consumes very little Qi.

The Twelve Labors Formation, being a large-scale technique, would certainly consume a significant amount of Qi.

If the time drags on, the opponent's formation may not be able to withstand the Reverse Life Triple Regeneration.

Once the Twelve Labors Formation runs out of steam, while the Reverse Life Triple Force is still going strong, the outcome is self-evident.

After strolling around for a while, Lu Jin and Li Chang'an walked along the Su Causeway towards Lou Wai Lou.

As dusk settled, the waterbirds on the lake dispersed, leaving only the lights of the distant cruise ships shimmering on the water.

Upon arriving at Lou Wai Lou, Lu Jin ordered several special dishes, but not West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce. His great-grandfather had lived for a hundred years and had eaten more salt than many people had eaten rice.

After finishing their meal, the two walked along the lake for a while to digest.

The night view of West Lake is much quieter than during the day. The tour boats have all been taken down, and only the moonlight remains on the lake.

Lu Jin said, "The food pouch should be delivered by tomorrow when we go back. Do you think there's any local specialty you want to take back with you?"

Li Chang'an shook his head; he had nothing he wanted to take back.

Lu Jin continued, "Lin'er has been lying down for a while now, just wandering around aimlessly, spacing out, counting ants. Do you think he can figure out what he wants to do?"

"Is Grandfather in a hurry?" Li Chang'an asked.

"Nonsense, how could I not be anxious?" Lu Jin said irritably.

"It's hard to say!" Li Chang'an said. "It's all just a matter of a moment's thought. Who knows if it'll be better? We can just ask him when we get back tomorrow, right?"

“If he still can’t figure it out after lying down…” Lu Jin said, “After he finishes his college entrance exam, you two have to go out and travel. Not to talk about gaining experience, but just to learn about human relationships. You two are absolutely terrible at this.”

Chapter 129 Gift of Magical Artifacts

"Social etiquette..." Li Chang'an said, "Isn't that unnecessary?"

"What do you mean it's unnecessary?" Lu Jin retorted. "Do you think you're very good at this?"

"It's alright!"

What Li Chang'an actually wanted to say was that social niceties were unnecessary for him, but after thinking about it, he didn't say it. If he did, he would inevitably have to argue with his grandfather, and he was too lazy to waste his breath.

Lu Jin snorted irritably, "Not bad at all? You're absolutely terrible at this. Lu Lin is a little better than you, but only by a small margin."

Li Chang'an smiled and didn't continue the topic.

The two stayed in Hangzhou for one night and took the high-speed train back to Suzhou the next day.

As soon as she arrived home, an old man came to greet her; he was Lu Lin's grandfather.

"Father, please go and see Lin'er. I was just out for a short while, and I don't know what's wrong with that boy. He doesn't do anything all day long. He doesn't read books or practice his skills. He just lies in the yard all day, lost in thought. He's either counting ants or watching the clouds. If this continues, I'm afraid the child will be ruined."

Lu Jin waved his hand: "It's alright, I'm the one who made him do it."

Lu Lin's grandfather stood there, somewhat puzzled: "You asked him to do this? This is the senior year of high school, a crucial time!"

Lu Jin said, "I know how to balance things. Would I harm my own great-grandson? Alright, you don't need to worry about this anymore. By the way, did you get the things I asked you to retrieve from Tiangong Hall?"

"Found it, it's here."

The old man calmed himself down, took out two small sandalwood boxes from his pocket, and solemnly handed them to Lu Jin.

Lu Jin smiled as she took the box and handed one of the boxes to Li Chang'an.

"Chang'an, open it and take a look!"

Li Chang'an took the wooden box and opened it.

Inside the box lay a golden object, about the size of a walnut, shaped like a bell, its surface covered with extremely fine runes, and on one side of the bell was a tiny hole.

"This is……"

His first thought was that this thing looked like a Poké Ball from Pokémon.

Lu Jin said, "This is the Devouring Pouch. From now on, you can put your sword and other personal belongings in here. Come, let me teach you how to use this thing."

He explained the usage of the phlegm to Li Chang'an.

To use this thing, you need to first wrap it with your own Qi and establish a spiritual connection, then you can perceive the size of the internal space and the items stored inside.

When storing, with just a thought, a beam of light will shoot out from that pinhole-sized eye, and the items enveloped by that light will be pulled into the space along the beam of light.

While Lu Jin was explaining, Lu Lin's grandfather watched quietly from the side. Although the food-eating sac was rare and priceless, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

He already knew about Li Chang'an's killing of more than ten Quanxing members at the foot of Sanyi Mountain, and had even seen some photos of the scene through the company's channels.

In that situation, even he wouldn't dare say he could escape unscathed, yet Li Chang'an single-handedly wiped them all out.

With his temperament and strength, he wouldn't have any objections to whatever the Lu family offered him.

After listening to Lu Jin's explanation, Li Chang'an immediately tried it out, wrapping the Devouring Pouch with Qi and probing inside with his spiritual power.

In my perception, a square space of about ten square meters appeared, surrounded by nothingness.

Ten square meters, equivalent to the cargo compartment of a small truck. More than enough to store clothes and weapons.

At this moment, Li Chang'an glanced around and noticed the stone lion standing at the gate of the Lu family's house.