Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

"This is……?"

"This is a purifying pill, which is beneficial to qi, blood and meridians. It may help you perceive and control qi and blood."

"But I have already tried many medicines to improve my qi and blood, but none of them have been very effective."

Yan Hongji shook her head and reached out as if to hand the red box back.

"I only felt the effects after taking this medicine, why don't you try it?" Xi Heng pushed him away, taking a few steps back himself.

"Whether you try it or not is up to you. If you don't use it now, this medicine can extend your life by seven days when you are critically ill. In short, I have given you this medicine, and there is no reason to take it back."

After she finished speaking, she returned to her previous spot, picked up her longsword, and continued practicing her swordsmanship, leaving Yan Hongji standing there dumbfounded.

The beautiful young woman looked down at the red box in her hand, and a hint of excitement and anticipation gradually reappeared in her empty eyes.

……

Xi Heng unleashed ten consecutive Red Thread Sword strikes at the Sword Training Stone. Exhausted, he looked for a place to rest, only to find Yan Hongji had picked up her sword again and taken the Turbidity Elixir. She looked refreshed and energetic.

She wielded her longsword, each movement flowing smoothly and naturally, as if the very essence of swordsmanship should be wielded in the way she wielded it.

He started by turning, dodging, and tumbling, his long sword flashing and striking repeatedly in these movements.

The sword moves with a fluid grace, sometimes as smooth as water, and at other times as fierce as a charging beast, sweeping through the air.

Her swordplay exuded a strange momentum and sword intent, unlike the fierce and ruthless swordplay of her fellow disciples, or the life-or-death spirit of Xi Heng's self-sacrificing sword. Instead, it was an extremely unrestrained spirit, abandoning all other thoughts and intentions, focusing wholeheartedly on this moment, and striving to perform the final dance of her life.

Yan Hongji moved with light steps, her longsword flowing gracefully, her figure sometimes as swift as a startled swan, sometimes as lithe as a swimming dragon.

His swordsmanship was unpredictable, with numerous moves seamlessly connected, giving the impression that he could execute them effortlessly.

Faintly, wisps of red peeked from Yan Hongji's fingertips, flowing down the hilt of the sword and through the blade.

As the sword danced, many extremely thin, fleeting red lines were drawn in the air.

Yan Hongji showed no surprise or astonishment, her sword still moving nimbly in her hand.

She had put everything else out of her mind, only wanting to finish these last few sword strikes today and bring her months of hard work to a close.

The swordplay grew increasingly swift and fierce, with sword shadows swirling around, the cold light and red lines intertwining to create a unique and stunning visual spectacle.

Xi Heng absorbed these scenes into his eyes, and as he watched in silence, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Yan Hongji suddenly stopped slashing the ground, causing fallen leaves to scatter and dust to fly everywhere. The sword wind struck the stone slabs on the ground, making a loud bang.

The longsword stopped, and she lowered her head, panting.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of clapping, like petals falling, rang out from all around.

The sound continued incessantly, circling around her.

Yan Hongji raised her head slightly and finally saw that she was surrounded by people.

"Yan Hongji, after 178 days of mastering Qi and blood and sensing sword intent, can now enter the realm of internal strength." Senior Sister Hongmiao stepped out from the crowd and lowered her clapping hands.

“That’s good. Would you like to become a formal disciple in our academy?” she immediately extended an invitation.

Yan Hongji was clearly stunned for a moment, then looked up at her senior sister and pointed blankly at herself: "I've mastered Qi and Blood?"

Hong Miao chuckled lightly: "Just sense the dantian and you'll know."

The other person quickly snapped out of the mindset they had while practicing swordplay, clutched their lower abdomen, closed their eyes, and began to sense their surroundings.

"It really is..." She was at a loss for what to do. First, she couldn't hide her excitement and smiled slightly, but then she hesitated.

"Are you willing?" Hong Miao asked with a smile.

“Willing what? Oh, of course I’m willing, but…” She paused, unsure how to answer, before managing to stammer out, “But I received a letter from home, and I have to go back.”

"It's alright. Most of our formal disciples are traveling around, and it's common for them not to return for two or three years." Hongji extended her hand in invitation.

"Since you're willing, then come with me."

After a moment, Yan Hongji nodded in agreement.

As she followed her senior sister away from the crowd, she seemed to suddenly remember something. She immediately looked around and found Xi Heng's location. She asked her senior sister to wait a moment and then rushed towards him.

Xi Heng, amidst the crowd, had just witnessed Yan Hongji's fluid sword dance and had some insights in his heart. Just as he was about to return to an open space to continue practicing his sword, he was caught up by Yan Hongji first.

Seeing the fine beads of sweat on the person's exquisite face as he rushed to his side, slightly out of breath, Xi Heng felt a strange sense of pleasure welling up inside him.

Hongji patted her chest to steady her breathing and calm her mind, then solemnly clasped her hands in a fist and bowed to Xiheng, saying:

"Thank you, Senior Sister, for bestowing upon me this miraculous medicine."

"Medicines are merely external things. Your ability to control your qi and blood stems from your ultimate comprehension of sword intent." Xi Heng said with a gentle smile, "Congratulations."

"If it weren't for Senior Sister's months of dedicated instruction and her final persuasion, I wouldn't have been able to understand," Yan Hongji declined, then took out an object from her bosom—a small jade pendant, no bigger than a thumb:

"Please accept this gift, Senior Sister. This is a token of the Yan family in the capital. In the future, no matter which property of the Yan family you visit or come directly to the family, you will be treated as an honored guest."

Before Xi Heng could agree, the jade pendant was stuffed into her hand.

He looked up and saw that the jade plaque simply had the character "Yan" engraved on the front.

She would look at Yan Hongji with a somewhat subtle expression.

In fact, the origin of that Turbidity-Clearing Pill was originally related to Yan Hongji.

It was given to me by the other person at the end of their second life...

Now, he simply resold it and gave it to Yan Hongji, who had been with him for two years.

Perhaps it could be said that the future Yan Hongji gave this elixir to her when she was young and practicing martial arts, thus fulfilling one of her regrets.

I was just a middleman.

Now, the jade token that Yan Hongji handed over could perhaps be considered a reward for completing the mission?

Xi Heng silently pondered these thoughts, then slowly clenched his five fingers.

“Yes, I’ll take it,” she said.

At this moment, the joy of finally getting results after months of hard work finally welled up in her heart, and Yan Hongji could not hide her smile, her eyes shining even brighter.

"Senior sister," she said finally, "I'm leaving now. I hope we'll meet again in the martial world."

"Farewell." Xi Heng reversed his grip on the sword hilt and raised his right palm to block his left fist.

……

……

……

Chapter Twenty: A Mysterious Swordplay Discussion

Yan Hongji mastered the Qi and Blood, and became a formal disciple of the Red Thread Sword Academy. Not long after, she left the academy with everyone seeing her off and traveled away by carriage.

In the ten days or so after Xi Heng saw her off, the news that Yan Hongji had entered the realm of internal strength under her guidance spread among the apprentices of the Sword Academy, and newcomers often came to ask her for advice.

Fortunately, there weren't many people in the Sword Academy to begin with, so Xi Heng was able to handle it easily. After giving instructions to each of them, he was no longer bothered by too many things.

The days grew increasingly peaceful and uneventful. She stopped taking on new apprentices and focused solely on practicing the Red Thread Sword Technique every day.

At the same time, every so often, he would activate the One-Day Life-Saving Technique to catalyze his lifespan into his own vital energy.

It wasn't until the third time, when she saw a faint layer of gray on her originally bright and supple black hair, that she stopped practicing the Deadly Technique.

If one continues to shorten one's lifespan and ceases to be young, it will actually hinder one's progress in martial arts training.

Just like that elder in the Red Thread Sword Academy,

The other person clearly had more Qi and blood than her, but whenever she exercised for a while, her body would become weak and she would need to be taken care of for a period of time to recover.

Having too little lifespan is also not conducive to martial arts practice, so Xi Heng kept his body in a state that could barely be considered young.

After circulating the Life-Saving Technique for a day, resting, and waking up, Xi Heng went to the mirror to wash up, then sat down, looked at his reflection, and murmured to himself, feeling the flow of qi in his dantian:

"Each time the Life-Taking Technique is used, it seems that less Qi and blood are obtained. Is this because lifespan is becoming weaker, or is it that Qi and blood themselves have some resistance to this kind of replenishment?"

The more times she used the Deadly Technique, the clearer she became of this realization.

"Or perhaps, there is always a limit to the Qi and blood in the human body, and the closer we get to this limit, the smaller the increase in Qi and blood will be?" Xi Heng guessed.

"A martial artist's skills are also driven by qi and blood strength. If qi and blood have a limit, a martial artist's physique should also have a limit."

Having been in the Sword Academy for so long, besides practicing martial arts every day, Xi Heng often chats with other senior sisters and has already learned that the highest level of martial arts is called "Transformation of Strength".

An internal strength martial artist trains their mental and physical strength to generate internal strength. Their moves have a penetrating effect, and a single hit can shatter the enemy's internal organs. Even if the opponent is wearing heavy armor, they can be killed with one blow, making them impossible to defend against.

Transforming strength is even higher than hidden strength; it is achieved after training the bones and marrow, and then through tendon and mind training.

The transformative force combines softness and hardness, lightness and darkness, and is formed by the harmonious blending of these two forces. It can spread throughout the entire body and is difficult to break even when a master of hidden force exerts their full power.

The power of internal energy permeates the entire body, allowing control over all organs, bones, and muscles. Furthermore, each move carries the power of the mind, enabling one person to defeat many masters of internal energy.

“Perhaps the limit for a martial artist is the Transformation Realm…” Xi Heng said softly, “But even the Transformation Realm can only extend one’s lifespan by a few years at most, and still cannot transcend the limitation of lifespan.”

"The path of martial arts in the mortal world has its limits. If you want to live forever, you need to find another way."

"Should I seek the path of immortality in the future? Or perhaps try to walk the demonic path like that tyrant?"

Xi Heng still had some morals at this point and was unwilling to take this evil path.

Furthermore, even if one wants to walk the demonic path, one must sacrifice one's own blood relatives.

Even a martial artist at the Transformation Realm couldn't single-handedly storm into the Great Zhao Imperial Palace, capture the emperor, and throw him into the alchemy cauldron, could he?

"In short, we should focus on improving our strength first. Even if there is a way to achieve immortality, an ordinary Ming Jin martial artist cannot obtain it."

Xi Heng tidied his clothes one last time, took his longsword, and went to the training ground to continue practicing martial arts.

She has already mastered the second level of the Red Thread Sword technique. Once she masters the third level, she will have achieved mastery of the Ming Jin (manifest strength) and will be able to seek instruction from the elders in the An Jin (hidden strength) method.

However, this sword technique is so difficult that each level is more difficult than the last. It only took Xi Heng one or two months to master the first level. Even after he used the Life-Taking Technique to replenish his blood and qi three times, it still took him a full four months to master the second level.

I wonder how long it will take to master this third level...

Thinking this, Xi Heng took his sword and went to the courtyard to warm up for half an hour. When he saw that his senior sister had finally arrived at the sword training ground, he went over to ask her the question that had been bothering him.

"How long does the third important thing take to train?" The eldest sister pondered for a moment and said, "It would take an ordinary person five or six years."

"It's been a long time," Xi Heng clicked his tongue.

"However, since you used the Deadly Technique, your internal energy and blood are more abundant, which might shorten the time to about two years." After answering Xi Heng's question, Hong Miao suddenly brought up something that had little to do with martial arts:

“These days, I would like to ask you to pay close attention to the gate, as someone may come to challenge us.”

"Challenge the school?" Xi Heng was quite unfamiliar with this term. The peace and tranquility of the past few months had almost made her forget that the Red Thread Sword Academy was a martial arts school, not a sect.

“Yesterday, I was invited to a gathering of local martial arts practitioners in Jinshi City. Although the content of the gathering was the same old stuff—loyalty to the imperial court, development of local martial arts, and tax revenue—something went wrong during the banquet afterward,” Hong Miao said helplessly.

"The master of the Green Pine Sword Hall drank too much and, in his drunken state, made a bet with the other major martial arts schools in the city, to prove that their Green Pine Sword Technique is the most superb sword technique in Jinshi City."

"So they want to challenge us?" Xi Heng asked.

"It's supposedly an invitation to fight, but it's practically the same as challenging someone to a duel. I received the challenge letter last night; the master of the Green Pine Sword School will be coming to challenge me in the next few days with one of his prized disciples." Hong Miao took out a letter from her waist and handed it to Xi Heng:

“His disciple is at the mid-stage of Ming Jin, about the same level as you. When he comes to our door, I would like to ask you to fight him.”

"it is good."

Xi Heng didn't hesitate much. As her senior sister, the other party had taken good care of her and wasn't too opposed to her request.

Furthermore, she had been sparring with other senior and junior sisters in the Sword Academy for a long time and hoped to encounter some different opponents.

"I will do my best," Xi Heng said.

“Don’t use your full strength.” Hong Miao shook her head: “When you’ve fought enough, just find an opportunity to lose. If you win, it might be us, the Red Thread Sword, who will be pushed to the forefront.”

"Can't we defeat them?" Xi Heng frowned slightly.

"Other martial arts schools may gradually decline after their defeat, and fewer students will want to become their disciples. However, it doesn't matter for our Red Thread Sword Academy. There aren't many women's martial arts schools in the entire Jinshi City, and we are the only one that teaches swordsmanship. Even if someone challenges our school, it won't affect us too much," Hong Miao explained.

"On the contrary, if you win, you are more likely to be caught in the center of the martial arts school competition, which will attract the covetousness of others and bring other troubles."

"So it's fine to lose at will, as long as one side is safe."

"But every move of the Red Thread Sword is a full-force attack, right? It's not good to deliberately hold back."

"So we've invited you to come out." The other party waved his hand: "In my estimation, among all the junior sisters, your strength is on par with that disciple from the Green Pine Sword Pavilion, so it'll be easier to fool him."

Is this what a senior sister should say to a junior sister?

Xi Heng clicked his tongue and said finally:

"Alright, I'll take it. I'll practice my sword by the courtyard gate for the next few days."