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

With a thought, a beam of light emanated from the hole in the food bag, shining on the half-person-high stone lion at the entrance.

With a "whoosh," the stone lion shrank inch by inch in the beam of light and was pulled into the sac.

"They can even fit something this heavy inside?" Li Chang'an was somewhat surprised.

“Yes,” Lu Jin nodded. “The size of the object that can be collected depends on its volume. No matter how heavy it is, as long as the beam can completely cover the target, it can be collected.”

"I see. Can it hold living creatures?" Li Chang'an asked.

Lu Jin nodded: "It's possible, but it's best not to, because it's very troublesome. First of all, when you're collecting it, the target must not have any awareness of feedback. Once the other party gives feedback, the collection will fail. You also need to ventilate the inside every now and then, otherwise it will suffocate. Moreover, the environment inside the Devouring Sac, which is like a world without sky or earth, will also have some impact on living things, so it's best not to do it."

Li Chang'an nodded, and then he tried to release the stone lion.

He held the food pouch, aimed it at the open space, and with a thought, a beam of light flew out from the small hole. The stone lion flew out along the beam of light, growing from the size of a fingernail to its original size when it landed, and was placed exactly where it had been put away.

"If you used this to move bricks, wouldn't you earn tens of thousands a day?" Li Chang'an laughed.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin said irritably, "Theoretically speaking, it is indeed possible, but if you do it, the company will come knocking on your door in less than three days and confiscate this thing."

"The company is involved in so much?" Li Chang'an asked in surprise.

"The company doesn't allow people with supernatural abilities to freely display their skills and interfere with the lives of ordinary people. This thing is also a skill of a person with supernatural abilities. Of course, under normal circumstances, it won't be confiscated directly. Instead, we will give a warning first. Only if the warning is ineffective will we confiscate the magical artifact," Lu Jin said.

"I see!" Li Chang'an put away the food pouch: "This thing has indeed saved me a lot of trouble. Thank you for the treasure, sir."

Lu Jin waved his hand: "There's no need for such talk between us."

The two then walked into the inner courtyard together.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Lu Lin lying on a recliner under the shade of a tree, looking at the sky with a look of utter despair.

Hearing footsteps, Lu Lin lazily turned his head and glanced at them. Seeing that it was Lu Jin and Li Chang'an entering, he sat up abruptly as if a spring had been pressed, and said enthusiastically:

"Grandpa!"

"Senior brother!"

"You've been lying here for so long, how's your thinking going?" Lu Jin asked, sitting down on a stone bench.

Lu Lin scratched her head: "I'm still a little confused. It seems like there are too many things I want to do."

"Tell me, what do you all want to do?" Lu Jin asked.

Lu Lin said, "I want to go back to school to study and research those complex math problems. I want to practice my skills, and I also want to go out and see the extraordinary people outside. Anyway, I don't want to stay at home anymore."

"After lying flat for a long time, I feel uncomfortable all over. It feels like my bones are rusting. I can't really say what I like to do now, but I really don't want to lie flat anymore."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin shook his head: "So all that time I've been lying down has been for nothing."

Li Chang'an spoke up: "Grandpa, you're mistaken. It wasn't a wasted trip; didn't we find someone with a true character?"

"What do you mean by 'true nature'?"

"A true character who doesn't want to give up."

"Is this what you call being genuine?"

"Of course it counts, and it's good. Some people are just naturally inclined to lie down and rest, doing nothing. Even if they are very talented, they don't like to cultivate and will slack off whenever they have free time!"

Li Chang'an said, "My cousin can't stay in bed and wants to cultivate himself. Isn't that a good thing?"

Chapter 130 Lu Linglong's Unexpected Situation

Lu Jin thought about it and realized that it was true. He had had some conversations with Tang Miaoxing, the head of the Tang Clan, at the last apprentice-acceptance banquet.

During the conversation, Tang Miaoxing mentioned that their Tang Sect had taken in a very talented outer disciple, but this disciple was really a headache. She was always lazy and wanted to lie down. As for letting her cultivate, she was afraid of being tired, afraid of hardship, and also wanted to choose cultivation methods that she was interested in.

When I taught her to cultivate the Qi Poison of the Tang Sect, she said that external poisons were too painful to endure and she would rather die than cultivate them. She insisted on cultivating only Qi and not poison.

This is simply impossible to manage, and there's no way to control it.

Tang Miaoxing also lamented that the Tang Clan hadn't produced any good talents in all these years, and now that they finally had one, it was this kind of person—you couldn't scold or beat them, it was a real headache.

Comparing his old friends' disciples, Lu Jin felt incredibly lucky; both of his disciples were exceptionally talented and easy to manage. Not only his disciples, but even his granddaughter Lu Linglong was the same.

At first, he thought Lu Linglong was a big problem, so he took her everywhere and spoiled her in everything she did. Unexpectedly, Linglong was also very capable and made him worry-free.

Thinking of this, Lu Jin looked relieved: "Chang'an, what you said makes a lot of sense!"

He then looked at Lu Lin: "So you're planning to resume your cultivation?"

"I need to recover, I need to recover right away." Lu Lin stretched her shoulders, her joints making a crisp cracking sound. "I feel like I'm a cripple after resting for the past few days."

"And it wasn't all for nothing. The frustration and weariness that had been building up inside me have all disappeared. Now I feel very calm, and I even have an urge to do things. I feel like I'm in a much better state than before."

"Good lad, that's the spirit! Here, take this!"

Lu Jin laughed loudly, took out another sandalwood box from his pocket, and casually tossed it over.

Lu Lin subconsciously reached out and caught it, then opened it and her eyes widened in surprise.

"This is... a food pouch? Grandfather, this is far too precious, I..."

"It's just an item, how valuable could it be?"

Lu Lin was immediately moved and was about to speak.

Lu Jin interrupted him: "Alright, alright, you're not Linglong. If you can't say those cheesy things, don't force yourself. It sounds awkward to you, and it sounds awkward to me too."

"hey-hey!"

Lu Lin scratched her head and grinned foolishly, carefully putting away the food sac.

"Sigh, speaking of Linglong, the courtyard has become much quieter since Linglong left!" Lu Jin said.

"Grandpa, did you gain anything from your trip to Lingyin Temple?" Lu Lin asked.

Lu Jin glanced at Li Chang'an and smiled, "It's been very fruitful. Grandfather is full of energy now and can't wait to get started."

"Then I'm relieved!" Lu Lin said. "Linglong asked me about you this morning, and I'll give her the good news now."

"Speaking of Linglong, it's been a few days since I last spoke to her. I've come to ask how she's doing!"

Lu Jin used a 3G video call to make a call to Lu Linglong.

Lu Linglong's pink head immediately appeared on the screen.

The background appears to be a spacious dormitory room, where Lu Linglong is hunched over her desk, her phone resting on a phone stand.

"Grandpa!"

Lu Linglong waved her hand on the other end of the screen, her voice clear and crisp, "You finally called me! I thought you'd forgotten about me. My cousin told me this morning that you went to Lingyin Temple. So, did Master Jiekong give you any advice?"

Her small face was almost pressed against the camera, her eyes wide open, carefully observing Lu Jin's complexion.

Lu Jin held up his phone, his face crinkling with laughter: "Master Jiekong didn't give me any advice, but your brother Chang'an did."

"Brother Chang'an? What tricks could he possibly have up his sleeve?" Lu Linglong was somewhat skeptical.

“He said some things from the past are like a primary school student forgetting to wear their red scarf—don’t take them too seriously, just move on,” Lu Jin said with a smile.

Lu Linglong paused for a moment, then giggled: "Brother Chang'an is quite interesting. But Grandpa, I think he's right. I was so worried when I didn't wear a red scarf when I was a kid. It's funny to think about it now."

"Yes!" Lu Jin smiled and asked, "How's it feeling cultivating over there? Have you been slacking off?"

"No way."

Lu Linglong puffed out her chest on the other end of the screen, looking very proud: "I've been working hard. I get up at dawn every day to practice standing meditation, and my master says I'm improving very quickly. I've also made a lot of good friends, and we often go out together on weekends. By the way, I'm the school's big sister now, and nobody dares to bully me."

Lu Jin listened to her granddaughter's rambling, her eyes full of doting affection. Then, her expression became slightly serious, and she lowered her voice to ask:

"You haven't forgotten what Grandpa told you, have you? Have you properly limited your ability as Grandpa instructed?"

Lu Linglong straightened up on the other side of the screen, her playful expression vanished, and she nodded seriously.

"Grandpa, don't worry. I've always remembered your instructions. Aside from basic life cultivation over there, I've never used my abilities, not even once. I'm your most obedient granddaughter."

"Good, good boy." Lu Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Grandpa, where's my brother? Is he still counting ants in the yard?" Lu Linglong suddenly asked.

Lu Jin turned the camera around and pointed it at Lu Lin next to her.

Lu Lin leaned closer and waved to the camera: "Linglong."

"Brother, you're finally awake." Lu Linglong chuckled. "Have you rediscovered your true self? Is your true self lying in the sun all day, or counting ants?"

"Go away!" Lu Lin said irritably, "That's the process, you don't understand. I'm not lying down now. I just got the Devouring Pouch that Grandpa gave me, and I'm ready to make a big splash."

"Ah! A food-eating sac!" Lu Linglong screamed from the other side of the screen, her eyes red with envy: "Grandpa is biased! I want one too! I don't care, you have to make it up to me when I go back on vacation!"

"Yes, yes, they're all being customized. They'll send them to you once they're finished!" Lu Jin laughed heartily.

The grandfather and his grandson chatted for a long time across the screen.

Lu Linglong was telling stories about Beijing, about which roast duck was the best, and which alley had the most cats.

Lu Jin listened with great interest, and every now and then he would remind her to be careful when she was out and about.

Li Chang'an sat to the side, listening quietly to their conversation.

This harmonious atmosphere brought a sense of warmth to him, who had been focused on spiritual practice for many years.

After chatting, Lu Jin looked down at his phone, recalling Lu Linglong's smiling face. How could a man over a hundred years old be fooled by a little kid?

"Only report good news, not bad news?"

Lu Jin dialed the number of his old friend Fang Dongtian.

"Old Lu."

Fang Dongtian's voice rang out.

"Old Fang, how's Linglong doing lately?"

"I was just about to call you. Linglong is indeed very talented, but that part of her personality has been brought out."

Lu Jin tightened her grip on her phone: "What happened?"

“During the evening prayers the day before yesterday, she entered a state of greedy meditation while in deep meditation,” Fang Dongtian said.

Lu Jin frowned. Greedy Zen is a state that only appears in the third stage of meditation, which means that Linglong's meditation level is relatively high.

But at this level, illusions similar to inner visions will appear, where you will see whatever you think, almost like a dream where your wishes come true.

For most people who have reached the third level of meditation, such beautiful dreams can be controlled, but Lu Linglong is different; her situation is quite special.

As the great-grandfather, he could almost guess what Linglong would see after entering a state of deep meditation—it would definitely be related to her mother.

Chapter 131 Old Stories

"During the Zen-like state, Linglong was alright, wasn't she?" Lu Jin asked hurriedly.

“Nothing serious happened!” Fang Dongtian said, “It’s just that her Qi was disordered at the time, and her temperament suddenly became irritable. There was a bloody smell in her Qi. You know what I mean?”

“I know, it’s because of her abilities!” Lu Jin pressed, “How long did she lose control?”

"It only lasted a moment!"

Fang Dongtian said, "In just a breath, I woke her up with a calming spell. After she woke up, he asked her what she had seen, but she wouldn't say."

“I didn’t force her, but after this incident, she became a bit restless, so these past few days, I haven’t let her enter meditation again. I’ve just had her stand in meditation, read books, and even go out more to play and do some worldly chores to warm her heart up.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin said, "Old Fang, please take care of Lu Lin's matter."

Fang Dongtian said, "I watched Linglong grow up, so naturally I won't let anything happen to her. However, her problem, while it's said to be a matter of temperament, is ultimately a matter of ability. Her ability has amplified her inner problems a thousandfold."

“Old Lu, over the years, I’ve been researching Linglong’s ability. It’s not just a simple innate ability; it’s a very complex thing. It’s terrifying. Even just a brief encounter with it sends chills down my spine.”

"Old Lu, what's wrong with this child? There are some things you haven't told me!" Fang Dongtian pressed.

Lu Jin pondered for a moment and said, "Old Fang, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I don't understand what's going on myself. There are some things that I'm also confused about."

Fang Dongtian said, "Yes, I understand. However, simply preventing her from using her abilities is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. I think that to solve a problem, you need to face it first. If you want to solve Linglong's problem once and for all, her abilities are an unavoidable issue."

“Old Fang, I understand!” Lu Jin said, “I will consider this matter, but please keep an eye on Linglong for me.”

“I will. By the way…” Fang Dongtian said, “What about your problem? I heard from Linglong that you went to see Master Jiekong. What did Master Jiekong give you?”

“Master Jiekong made me cripple my methods,” Lu Jin said.

On the other end of the phone, Fang Dongtian coughed a few times and chuckled, "That old bald monk, he's always coming up with terrible ideas."

“Actually, if you think about it carefully, this is not a bad idea!” Lu Jin said, “However, I can’t do that.”