Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

Xi Heng had also tried to condense red lines in his body using his qi and blood, but this was like trying to make lines out of a lump of water with his hands—it was impossible to maintain.

Only when the qi and blood are used in conjunction with sword techniques outside the body can a red line appear for a brief moment.

It's as if the blade is covered with water before it's slashed, so that it naturally forms a straight line when swung.

Inside the body, the red line can only last for a moment; it cannot be used to break through the barrier.

When asked about this by the senior sister, she said that there are indeed ways to quickly enhance blood and qi, but most of them are mentally and physically exhausting, and most of them will also damage the foundation, so they cannot be used for cultivation.

“I don’t mind the mental strain and physical harm, but is there a way to avoid damaging the foundation?” Xi Heng then asked.

"Human energy is limited. The so-called stimulation of latent energy and blood is to cut off one's own energy and force out the energy and blood, thus overdrawing one's own resources. This technique is an evil method and should not be sought." Hong Miao shook her head.

"Is that so?" Xi Heng ignored him and asked again.

Hong Miao stared at Xi Heng for a while, and after a moment of silence, said, "A method that does not damage the foundation of martial arts training will shorten one's lifespan."

"Shortening your lifespan?" Xi Heng blinked.

She had only asked the question tentatively, but now that she heard the words "shortening one's lifespan," she actually became quite interested.

Xi Heng is not afraid of shortening his lifespan. If his physical lifespan in this life is exhausted, he can reload his save and continue to live a carefree life in the next life.

Furthermore, the martial arts realm gained in exchange for the lifespan consumed in this life can be retained into the next life.

By using this method of shortening one's lifespan to increase one's qi and blood, the efficiency of daily cultivation will increase.

Efficiency is life, and improving efficiency is prolonging life.

So this isn't shortening your lifespan at all; it's clearly about preserving your health!

"If one is unwilling to destroy the current foundation of vital energy, one can only forcibly extract 'life force' to force out blood and qi. Life force is the vital energy that nourishes one in old age. The less of this vital energy one has, the shorter one's lifespan will be."

"Please teach me, Senior Sister!" Xi Heng clasped his hands and bowed, a rare gesture of respect to his senior sister.

"Aren't you afraid of dying?" The senior sister's tone became a little cold for the first time.

"Well... I'm not really afraid," Xi Heng said honestly.

"Foolish." Hong Miao shook her head: "In this life, what could be more important than living well?"

“There are always things that are more important than life itself,” Xi Heng objected.

"What's the matter?"

“…” Xi Heng remained silent for a while.

On the surface, it seems that he is hesitant about whether to speak out what is on his mind.

In reality, Xi Heng was quickly fabricating a reason in his mind.

After a moment, the girl's gaze hardened, and she spoke:

“I have an enemy who wants to take my life at all times.”

"Who? If it's easy, I'll kill them for you." Hong Miao didn't doubt this answer much. After all, in the martial world, how could one not have a few enemies?

"Emperor of the Great Zhao, Zhao Qianyuan." Xi Heng's words were a mixture of truth and falsehood.

That tyrant truly wanted her dead at all times. As soon as he found her, he was determined to capture her and use her as material for cultivating evil arts.

However, the emperor at that time was unaware of her existence.

"Huh?" Even the eldest sister can be surprised sometimes: "Really?"

“Really.” Xi Heng was quite serious. She recalled the time when she died together with that tyrant.

"I can't help you with this." Hong Miao even took a step back; she didn't want to go and die.

“There’s no need for Senior Sister to help me. That person shouldn’t be able to find me for a while.” Xi Heng continued, “Because I’m being chased by this person, I want to improve my strength as soon as possible. Even if I can’t kill my enemy, I should at least have some ability to protect myself… So I asked Senior Sister for advice on how to quickly improve my Qi and blood.”

"..." Now it was the senior sister's turn, and her expression became increasingly hesitant.

Finally, she shrugged:

"I won't."

……

Chapter 18, The Deadly Path

Senior Sister Hongmiao had clearly explained the principles behind this method of overdrawing one's body to cultivate blood and energy, but at the last moment, she said, "I don't know how."

Xi Heng, of course, didn't believe it and asked several more questions.

But gradually, seeing that the other person's expression didn't seem to be lying, she had to admit that perhaps it really was true.

The conversation ended in a subtle atmosphere between the two, and Xi Heng left helplessly to continue instructing his young apprentices.

It is now the end of their third month in the hospital. If they have not yet achieved mastery in the next few days, they will either have to pay another twenty taels of silver or leave the Sword Academy.

Just like in her previous life, Lin Ying had already reached the peak of her cultivation a few days ago and was no longer under Xi Heng's control.

Of the remaining two, Li Anxue claimed that she could already sense the Qi, but it's unclear whether that's true or not.

As for Yan Hongji... she hasn't made any significant progress since the end of February, leaving Xi Heng, who lacks educational experience, at a loss as to how to teach her.

Perhaps talent is something that is truly predetermined from the very beginning...

If it can't be done, it can't be done, and there's no way to change it no matter how hard you try—this thought had crossed Xi Heng's mind before.

However, as a senior, I can only think these words in my heart and cannot actually say them out loud.

Xi Heng feigned trust and encouraged the other party, while secretly making a plan in his heart:

If it still doesn't work by the end of June, then let Yan Hongji try her own method of breaking through.

He then used the self-sacrificing sword to comprehend a trace of the Red Thread Sword's intent, thereby sensing his vital energy and breaking through to the level of internal strength.

However, this approach is somewhat troublesome, requiring one to play the bad cop or hire an expert to make her appear to be in danger, and even then, success is not guaranteed.

"Never mind..." Xi Heng shook his head.

Why go through all that trouble? She needs to practice her swordsmanship too.

If Yan Hongji can do it, great; if not, there's nothing that can be done. Just help her a little; there's no need to force her.

After Xi Heng finished practicing his sword moves, he rested on the side and quietly watched Yan Hongji diligently practicing her sword, silently admiring her.

In her previous life, was she probably seen the same way by Senior Sister Hongmiao?

Knowing it won't work, yet still insisting on doing it.

They risked everything to fight for that tiny sliver of hope.

In the end, I succeeded, but can the other person do it?

do not know.

Xi Heng collected a bamboo tube of water from the babbling spring in the courtyard and, after Yan Hongji's sword dance, approached and handed it to her.

"how?"

“I can feel a slight movement of energy, but it seems to be there and yet it seems not to be. It only appears unintentionally when I’m wielding my sword and then disappears in an instant…” Yan Hongji’s eyes showed a hint of joy, but more than that, they were filled with confusion.

Xi Heng nodded, recalling what her senior sister Hong Miao had told her in her previous life, and repeated it to her:

"If you can grasp that slight feeling, you won't be far from mastering Qi and blood."

"Really?" Yan Hongji rarely showed a hint of the joy and liveliness that a girl her age should have.

"Hmm." To be honest, Xi Heng wasn't sure whether it was true or false.

I hope it's true.

After being encouraged, Xi Heng went to stabilize his internal energy and blood again before practicing sword moves.

……

Yan Hongji paid another twenty taels of silver to stay at the Sword Academy for another three months, unlike before when she would leave before the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Li Anxue, another person who had been mentored by Xi Heng, came to borrow money again and insisted on staying.

Seeing that the other party was quite respectful and polite, and did not chatter incessantly like in his previous life, Xi Heng took out twenty taels of silver from the remainder of his savings and sent it over.

Li Anxue expressed her gratitude repeatedly, her attitude becoming even more respectful.

Xi Heng didn't pay much attention to this person. He waved his hand and told the other person to continue practicing, and then focused on his own martial arts realm.

After several days, she remained stuck at the second level of the Red Thread Sword, her progress was shallow and increasingly insignificant.

"It's true that skill is honed over time, but this is taking way too long..."

After a day of practice, Xi Heng felt he hadn't made any progress.

"How can we shorten this time?" Xi Heng couldn't help but think of this again.

Previously, the senior sister mentioned a theoretically feasible method, but there were no corresponding techniques or secret arts available.

But even the senior sister didn't know, so probably no one else in the Sword Academy understood.

“No… there’s also the elder.” Xi Heng recalled his nominal master.

Although he had already become the master's disciple, Xi Heng had only accompanied the elder to water flowers and drink tea in the past few months, and had not received any martial arts instruction.

At most, I was only taught some tips and tricks, but I was not actually taught sword techniques.

"But even if the elder knew about this secret technique that overdraws on the body and shortens lifespan, he probably wouldn't pass it on to his disciples, would he?" Xi Heng wondered.

"I have to give it a try..." She slowly got up and dusted off her clothes.

I walked out of the Sword Academy along the familiar road, crossed the flower bed next to it, and knocked on the door of the elder's house.

dong dong.

A hoarse voice came from inside the room, and Xi Heng gently pushed open the door.

The curtains swayed slightly, and an elderly woman with white hair was gazing at the scenery outside the window while sipping tea. The room was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers.

"What brings you here?" the other person asked in a flat voice, glancing at me.

"There are some things I'd like to ask the elders about regarding martial arts," Xi Heng said without mincing words, getting straight to the point.

The old man nodded slowly, poured another cup of tea, and handed it towards the door.

"Sit down," she said, pointing to a wooden chair nearby.

After Xi Heng sat down and they drank tea together, the elder said, "Did you come here to ask if there is a quick way to achieve this?"

Xi Heng blinked: "Did Senior Sister tell you?"

"This is just my guess." The other party shook his head: "Martial arts are complicated and can be frustrating. Our Bloodline Sword is not as good as other high-ranking sects in terms of cultivating the mind and energy. Most people will feel anxious."

"Then, is there a quick way?" Xi Heng brought the topic back.

"Yes, murder." The elder turned his head to look at the sky outside the window, uttered these three words, and then fell silent.

Xi Heng stopped holding the tea in her left hand; she hadn't expected the elder to answer like that.

"……kill?"

"The sword is born to kill. The more you kill, the clearer you will become with the sword intent. Once you have a clear understanding of the sword intent, your sword skills will naturally improve by leaps and bounds."

Xi Heng shook his head: "Is there any other way?"

"What, you don't want to kill? Haven't you killed people before?" The elder's sharp eyes stared at him, reflecting Xi Heng's image.

"It's not that I'm unwilling, but nobody's bothering me, so why would I kill anyone?" Xi Heng stated his thoughts, while simultaneously changing the subject of the strange topic of murder.

"I want a way to activate my lifespan into qi and blood. With more qi and blood, I can increase the efficiency of my daily sword practice."

"Lifespan is life itself." The elder sneered, his tone turning stern: "Instead of wasting your own life force to enhance your qi and blood, you might as well use this lifespan to cultivate slowly! You can achieve even greater things!"

"The elder is right," Xi Heng reluctantly agreed, and then began to recount his previous deception of his senior sister about their enemies.

Upon hearing this, the elder was not concerned with Xi Heng's grudges, but instead frowned and asked:

"Is your aunt Zhao Qianqiu a member of the royal family?"

“Is that right?” Xi Heng calculated: “She should be considered a princess of the previous generation.”

"I see... No wonder..." The elder chuckled bitterly, the haze in his eyes clearing considerably, as if he finally understood something.

Then, a look of reminiscence appeared in her eyes: "The city lord of Jinshi City has taken good care of our little martial arts school. It turns out that it was because of this relationship... I thought that my sect really still had old friends."

The elder shook his head helplessly, his hunchback becoming even more pronounced.

"You want the method to extend your lifespan?" Her tone was no longer stern; she simply asked, "Really?"