This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 65: The Aspiration Is Undying
Thinking of this, Yang Tianlei ignored everything else and hurriedly answered while taking something out of his arms.

"Yes, I always carry the secret manual with me. Please give me some advice, Senior!"

As he spoke, Yang Tianlei took out the so-called martial arts secret book from his arms and handed it to Zhuang Lin. The latter took it and took a look. It was a wrinkled little book.

It was a bit of a stretch to call it a book. Zhuang Lin reached out and fiddled with it, and found that including the front and back covers, there were probably only two or three pages.

Zhuang Lin unfolded the book and took a look. Well, there was actually only a folded piece of paper inside. When unfolded, it was about the width of a palm and half the length of an arm. The cover of the book was just a thicker layer of paper for protection.

Yang Tianlei watched eagerly from the side, Lu Jing and others also came over curiously, and Lu Cheng and He Yuchen couldn't help but have some envy in their eyes.

"This secret manual can be considered as a legacy from my uncle. I don't have a good aptitude, but I practice martial arts diligently and meditate frequently. After several years, I finally gained some understanding and was able to enter the realm of enlightenment, but it's only the beginning!"

Zhuang Lin nodded and looked at the unfolded paper. Apart from three postures for practicing qigong, the rest was a text that looked like a mental method.

"Plowing Hoof Technique?"

Zhuang Lin read it out subconsciously and looked at Yang Tianlei at the same time. The name was a bit strange, and the latter scratched his head.

"That's the name. My uncle said that those who practice martial arts and cultivate their bodies should eat grains, flesh and blood, transform them into qi and cultivate strength. They should step like an ox plowing the fields and practice diligently. After entering the martial arts world, their strength will increase by seven points, and if they advance further, they can increase their strength by one person. Although my family's inherited method is simple, it can greatly increase their strength through diligent practice."

Zhuang Lin nodded, without any disdain for the technique, and then carefully read every word on it.

After finishing the book, Zhuang Lin felt a faint touch in his mind. This feeling had actually appeared before when he read the evil book.

At this moment, Zhuang Lin couldn't help but have a guess in his mind.

Is it possible that the so-called martial arts secrets are, to some extent, something that was slowly modified and derived from some past practice traditions out of helplessness?
But now, the people who inherited it no longer understand its true meaning.

It says that the five grains refine our qi without losing it, and strengthen our body without losing it.
Could it be that it means that we need to refine the qi from grains and other foods, but at the same time be wary of accumulating feces and generating filth, and prevent it from nourishing the three corpse worms along with the grain qi?
Then Zhuang Lin smiled and shook his head, putting these fantasies aside for the time being, and carefully pondered the seemingly simple secret book.

"Senior Zhuang, I actually have one here too."

The one who spoke was Lu Jing, which made Zhuang Lin and others look at him in surprise. They saw that the former also took out a booklet from his arms, and it was thicker than Yang Tianlei's.

"This is a secret manual that only those in the imperial court can practice. I joined the Wuling government office mainly for this.

The reason I thought Mr. Pang valued me was because he gave me this book so early on. After I resigned from my position as captain, I should have handed it over, but I was upset and unwilling to give up, so I never took the initiative to hand it over. Who would have thought that they didn't seem to care."

The martial arts techniques of the public office are not easily available. They are usually examined by the county lieutenant, and then reported to the county government for approval before being passed on.

Wuling does not have a county lieutenant now. The county magistrate gave the secret book directly to Lu Jing, which really moved him at the time. Now it seems that the other party does not care about it at all.

Of course, these things are only in Lu Jing's mind, and there is no need to bring them all out now.

Zhuang Lin took the secret book and looked at Lu Jing again, while Lu Cheng next to him asked a straightforward question.

"Brother Lu, didn't you succeed?"

Lu Jing looked embarrassed and had no choice but to answer.

"I have wasted several years and still haven't been able to get started. It's really because I am dull."

"Has anyone in the Wuling government succeeded in this?"

Lu Jing grinned.

"If someone in Wuling Yamen has mastered it, can I still be the head of the fast class? Besides, not everyone is qualified to practice it."

Zhuang Lin closed and put away Yang Tianlei's secret book first, then looked at the booklet handed to him by Lu Jing.

This time the book in my hand was obviously much more formal. It was a complete book with four big characters on the cover.

"Three Chapters of Punishment."

Which three chapters? With this question in mind, Zhuang Lin flipped open the book. The four heads beside him also leaned in closer, but except for Lu Jing, the other three were hesitant and didn't dare to actually read the contents.

As he read deeper, Zhuang Lin finally understood which three chapters they were.

The martial arts in Lu Jing's hands should be a complete martial arts training system for the court officials. It is divided into swordsmanship, grappling techniques, and internal strength, each representing one chapter.

Therefore, this book "Three Chapters on Criminal Power" will be much thicker.

Even this internal skill is not all of it, it is only the lower three levels.

Zhuang Lin skipped the parts on swordsmanship and grappling, and turned directly to the third chapter to read the inner strength techniques. He spent half a quarter of an hour reading this, and his heart was also slightly moved deep in his mind.

"Three Chapters on Criminal Power" is also called "Strategies on Criminal Power" because it also includes some interrogation methods, but they are not listed as the fourth chapter.

The name of the third chapter of the mental method is "Tiger and Leopard Secret", which not only contains the content of the exercises, but also explains the origin of part of the exercises.

After seeing this part, Zhuang Lin became as interested as the technique itself.

The book states that the Tiger and Leopard Secret originated from the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of the Cao Wei army during the Three Kingdoms period. It was passed down by Cao Chun, and the elite members of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry practiced the Tiger and Leopard Secret together, forming a battle formation and becoming invincible.
Although the Jin Dynasty's rise to power was illegitimate, it was considered a successor to the Wei Dynasty, and thus many things were passed down from that time, this technique being one of them. This historical context was significantly different from Zhuang Lin's original understanding of the world, but he had long since stopped dwelling on it.

After reading this short story, Zhuang Lin asked Lu Jing curiously.

"Then do the imperial army also practice martial arts? It should be the same 'Tiger and Leopard Secret', right? But the martial arts they use are different?"

How could Lu Jing know so much? After thinking about it, he shook his head.

"I don't know what the imperial army practices. Perhaps, as the senior said, they practice the Tiger and Leopard Art."

Zhuang Lin nodded slightly without delving into it, but continued to read the rest of the content. Finally, he memorized everything in his mind, closed his eyes slightly, and simulated the operation of "Tiger and Leopard Secret" and "Ploughing Skill" in his mind.

With Zhuang Lin's mind at the realm of Zhenren, when his heart was calm enough, the artistic conception of the world at the moment of the furnace formation slowly emerged again, as if dawn had come deep in his mind.

The artistic conception of heaven and earth appeared, and the mountains and rivers were revealed again. The immortal furnace on the top of the mountain appeared again, burning hot and ethereal.
And in this artistic conception, it seemed that two Zhuang Lin appeared on the ground, one practicing the "Plowing Hoof Skill" and the other practicing the "Tiger and Leopard Skill".

In Zhuang Lin's mind, all the conditions required for the exercises were just a thought away. He first completely replicated the requirements of the exercises, and then eliminated the unreasonable parts bit by bit.

At this moment, Zhuang Lin was looking down at the martial arts training methods of the world from the perspective of a true person.

No, this is not the right way to practice Plowing Technique. If you do it this way, it will only lead to deep accumulation of filth and you won't be able to truly achieve your goal.
No, this is not the right way to practice the Tiger and Leopard Art. No wonder it's so difficult to get started. To practice this way, one must either be exceptionally gifted and force their way through, or one needs the assistance of a vast amount of Qi and blood, such as precious medicines and delicacies. However, if one starts this way, it may actually damage one's spirituality and jeopardize one's talent, making success increasingly difficult as one progresses.
Even if you only have the first three layers in your hand, the tone of the next few layers will be like this.

At this moment, Zhuang Lin was not only thinking from the perspective of martial arts, but also subconsciously incorporating some ideas from the Tao.

If so how to change it?

Zhuang Lin's heart lake rippled with his thoughts, and a third perspective appeared outside the two bodies practicing martial arts in his artistic conception. He looked towards the sky along the peak of the Immortal Furnace, as if he was looking at the outside world through his own artistic conception.

If we look back at the past, time flies by and the original intention of the technique is hard to see. But if it were me, trapped in the pain of inheritance and the danger of interruption of thinking, what should I do?
The Dharma that I am practicing today, the sages of the past will surely bring light back to the world.
The law comes second, the will must not be cut off!
As soon as this thought came out, before Zhuang Lin could think of how to change it, the sea of ​​mind was already in turmoil. The ripples even revealed the artistic conception and reflected the outside world, constantly spreading out.

Under the influence of the thoughts of the cultivators, it seemed as if they were resonating briefly with the heaven and earth.

At this moment in the mountains, it seemed as if a strong wind suddenly blew up in the sky, causing the bonfire to sway.

Lu Jing and others were watching Zhuang Lin close his eyes in deep thought, not daring to disturb him.

But now, seeing the wind rising and the previous terrifying noises, the four of them became somewhat uneasy. They wanted to call Zhuang Lin several times, but forced themselves to hold back. They could only hold the hilt of the knife and be alert to their surroundings.

For Zhuang Lin himself, the movement of heaven and earth was even more obvious. He suddenly realized something and looked up abruptly.

Even though Shang Xin was immersed in the state of mind, it was as if he was looking at the outside world through another perspective. It was originally a night sky, and the stars became even brighter. Among them, there were two phantoms that burst out with special light.

I've experienced this feeling once!
"Boom--" "Boom--"

The moment the thunder sounded, two bolts of lightning struck Zhuang Lin's brows almost without any difference in order, directly out of sight of ordinary people.

At the same moment, the weather in Zhuang Lin's artistic conception changed color, dark clouds rolled in the sky, and thunder continued. Then two bolts of lightning, one yellow and one blue, fell, hitting the two bodies deduced from the artistic conception.

"Moo-"

A burst of wild bull roars was heard, and behind one of the figures in the artistic conception, a huge shadow that looked like a bull but was not a bull appeared. It stomped its hooves and dug the mountain, roaring continuously.

"Ow--"

Behind another artistic figure, with a roar of a tiger, a huge tiger shadow with a black background and golden patterns appeared.

Zhuang Lin seemed to be experiencing two feelings at the same time, while also observing everything from a third party.

This is the afterglow of the Dharma lineage passed down from heaven to earth. Compared to the last time when he was still an ordinary person, this time Zhuang Lin saw the entire process of the Dharma lineage falling in his mind, and all the information contained in it also emerged in his mind in an instant.

Perhaps it is related to these two exercises, or perhaps it is related to Zhuang Lin himself, or perhaps it is related to the Dharma lineage itself.

What Zhuang Lin knew was that the information this time was even more fragmented, or most of it no longer existed. Only some of the contents with the deepest imprints remained, which were also some confirmations on the path of cultivation. As for some additional information, there was none at all.

What a pity, what a pity.
Zhuang Lin's outward expression showed a bit of sadness. At this moment, he felt a bit like Liu Hongyu who lamented that he was born a thousand years too late.

What a pity, it would have been better if it had happened earlier.
This Dharma lineage was broken after all. Unlike the previous ones, this time even the fundamentals were not complete!

Just at this moment, Zhuang Lin's mind suddenly moved, and his consciousness turned to the two phantoms performing the martial arts performance.

The way of heaven is to reduce the excess and make up for the deficiency
As he thought about it, two shadowy figures transformed into two streams of energy that swirled in the sky. Zhuang Lin then revealed another self. In his mindscape, he waved his sleeves and unexpectedly swept the two streams of energy directly towards the Alpine Immortal Furnace.
It seemed like a long time had passed in the artistic conception, but in the outside world it was only a moment.

Zhuang Lin finally opened his eyes, and the four people who were guarding him on high alert finally breathed a sigh of relief after noticing this.

Seeing that the four people had relaxed a little, but were still nervous and didn't dare to speak, Zhuang Lin also showed a sincere smile on his face.

"How fortunate today is! We are all fortunate!"

This time the Dharma lineage is passed down, not only the path of martial arts, but also the path of immortality has unexpected surprises, and the earth and wood elements are deeply affected!
(End of this chapter)