I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 115 Introduction to Mingyu Gong!
thump!
When Xie An saw these three words, he clearly felt his heart beating violently. An irrepressible feeling of excitement rushed to his head.

Although Xie An had a premonition that this would happen before he came to Tangjiabao today.

But... when I saw the three words on the cover, I still couldn't help but get excited.

He still vaguely remembered what the Plum Blossom Monster had said:
——It is said that after practicing to perfection, one can prevent the internal energy from leaking out, and the practitioner's appearance will gradually rejuvenate, as if time has gone back, youth will remain forever, and finally the practitioner will be able to return to youth.

The face gradually regains its youth...

It's like turning back time...

Youth is forever.

Rejuvenation!
Every key word deeply stimulated Xie An's little heart.

Ever since Xie An mastered the Five Animal Exercises to perfection, and combined it with the fetal breathing exercise to cultivate the Crimson Palace Qi... Xie An has personally felt the extraordinary nature of health-preserving exercises.

However, the levels of Five Animal Exercises and Fetal Breathing Exercise are still too low.

How can it compare to the top-level martial arts like Mingyu Gong?

Seeing Xie An was somewhat dazed, Tang Zhengyang thought that Xie An did not know the origin of Ming Yu Gong, so he explained seriously:

"Ming Yu Gong was created in the previous dynasty, written by a palace eunuch. The eunuch's original intention was to live a few more years so he could continue to serve the young emperor. Later, with the fall of the previous dynasty, the palace was massacred. Ming Yu Gong also fell into the hands of a monk. The monk was surprised by its true meaning and began to improve it. This is how the Ming Yu Gong we know today came into being.

At the end of the previous dynasty, Mingyu Gong once became the most top-notch health-preserving skill in the world, comparable to Yi Jin Jing, and was fought over by countless people.

The content is so complex that it cannot be fully described in a few words. Go back to the villa and read it yourself. Once you have a general understanding, I will tell you some details and experience. Otherwise, it will be useless to talk about it.

Xie An took the ancient book and said with a bow, "Thank you for your guidance, old master."

"Yes, the Mingyu Gong is extremely difficult to practice. I've practiced for a hundred years, and my progress is only a quarter. If you rush for success, you'll easily go astray. You can just flip through it first, there's no rush to practice. It won't hurt to stay in Tangjiabao for a few days."

Xie An bowed again and again, said goodbye and left.

After watching Xie An leave, the youngest Chen Donghai couldn't help but sigh, "From just beginning to feeling the Qi to tempering the Crimson Palace Qi in one month. This is amazing... Even for us brothers, from tempering the Qi to cultivating the Crimson Palace Qi, it would take at least five or six years, and at most more than ten years."

Long Xia and Yi Qiutang were speechless, but they couldn't hide the shock and envy in their eyes.

The four brothers had spent decades practicing health-preserving exercises before achieving success. Before this, they all felt that they were quite good at practicing health-preserving exercises.

Now that I've met Xie An, the tea doesn't smell as good anymore...

"Well, everyone has their own destiny. There's nothing to envy. Just stick to your heart. Besides, health-preserving exercises are a lonely and arduous journey. Even if you have great talent, if you can't endure the time, the results will be limited." Long Xia comforted his two younger brothers, then looked at Tang Zhengyang, "If it weren't for this, I'm afraid my eldest brother wouldn't have handed over the Mingyu Gong so easily. This is all great news."

After hearing this, Yi Qiutang and Chen Donghai came to their senses and smiled.

"It's indeed a great thing. Logically, we have all followed Big Brother in practicing Mingyu Gong and have vowed to take care of his family. But after all, we are not native to Qingwu County, so it's not as convenient as Xiao Xie."

"Yes, with Xiao Xie here, we feel less guilty towards Big Brother."

"Okay, stop being sentimental. I have to go see my family. I'll call you guys for the New Year's Eve dinner later. Then, we'll all have a few drinks." Tang Zhengyang waved his hand, then picked up a dragon-headed crutch and slowly walked out of the ancestral hall.

……

But after Xie An returned to the courtyard, he immediately asked Yuhe to stay in the yard. Then he went back to his room and closed the door.

In order to better suppress the excitement in his heart, Xie An used local materials and lit sandalwood.

In this world, there is a custom of burning incense and bathing whenever there is a major event.

For example, some wealthy families or well-known schools have clear regulations: before reading, one must bathe, change clothes, burn incense, straighten the hat, sit upright, and wait until the mind is calm and the intention is sincere before reading.

Although these rituals and customs seemed complicated and even pedantic, Xie An felt that the core of them was fine.

Be respectful and sincere, and don't be too utilitarian. Only in this way can you achieve great success and gain great wisdom.

And these rituals undoubtedly have a good warning effect.

Xie An kept it simple, burning only incense. But in Tangjiabao, bathing was a complicated matter.

As the scent of sandalwood wafted out, Xie An unconsciously became a little more solemn. He took off his boots and sat down on the bed. Only after his thoughts completely calmed down did he open Ming Yu Gong and read it word by word.

Unlike the Five Animal Play's opening gimmick, the Ming Yu Gong begins with a very serious risk warning:

——To practice this skill requires immense perseverance. Once you begin, do not stop. If you stop midway, you will suffer the consequences. Think twice before practicing!
Think twice!
Think again!!

The three consecutive sentences of "Think twice", the increasing number of exclamation marks, and the scarlet font all pointed out the risks and irritated Xie An's nerves.

Xie An, who possessed a long life character, was not timid at all. Instead, he became more and more excited:

"That's right, that's right. This has the flavor of a top-level martial art."

The first sentence of the previous Five Animal Exercises was about how great the ancient immortals were...it was purely a gimmick to attract attention.

According to Xie An's experience in his previous life, only products that are difficult to sell need advertising and gimmicks to attract newbies or elderly people to buy them.

As for the top-tier products… sorry, not only are they priced higher, but you can’t even get them even if you pay more, and you have to rely on connections. You’ll even be told by many people not to buy this, that it’s not necessary…

Ming Yu Gong’s opening is just right.

Xie An was full of anticipation for what was to come.

Wow!

Xie An turned the page:
"The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the moon waxes and wanes, the sky has four seasons, and the year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Year after year, the seasons cycle back and forth."

Xie An watched and thought.

Well, well said.

It tells the story of the sun, the moon, and the cycle of time.

That's really how the world works.

But the next sentence shocked Xie An:

"The sky never ages, but man ages as he ages."

This question made Xie An feel excited and thought, "That's a good question."

"It's because people don't understand the changes in seasons, climate, and phenology. Therefore, they don't know the true meaning of the cycle of time and the eternal nature of the universe. Now, my family has made a mistake and has been punished to cultivate the fields. Observing the four seasons, I have gained a lot of insights. I have decided to emulate the cycle of time and integrate it with martial arts, and I have decided to write this book to seek the method of longevity."

Seeing this, we can see the prefix or preface of Mingyu Gong.

Although he had not yet read any of the text of the exercises, Xie An had already developed a strong interest and continued to read.

The main text is here.

"Year after year, the cycle continues. Each year is divided into four seasons, each with six solar terms. The Beginning of Spring marks the beginning of spring, when all things revive, the rise of yang energy, and the start of farming. It is also the beginning of the Mingyu Gong. Absorb this energy that revives all things and blesses oneself...

Rainy Day, the weather warms up, and it is a good time for spring plowing. It is also a good time to cultivate oneself and cultivate oneself.

On the day of Jingzhe, spring thunder awakens all things, and life flourishes. It is also the time for me to regenerate my vitality..."

The book, which is over ten thousand words long, details the functions of the twenty-four solar terms in a year and how to use them in practice to maintain good health.

After reading it, Xie An suddenly had an epiphany and a clear understanding that opened up the whole picture.

The Five Animal Exercises, however, were merely created to imitate the forms of five animals; they were very rudimentary and limited in scope. Fetal Breathing Exercises were larger in scope, but compared to the Bright Jade Exercises, they were still like a firefly compared to the bright moon.

This eunuch author actually compared the human body to the four seasons. He also made a connection between the human body and the twenty-four solar terms by deeply observing the changes of the twenty-four solar terms and using martial arts.

This will help you cultivate your body, strengthen your bones, prolong your life, and ultimately achieve the effect of increasing your lifespan.

It's quite amazing.

In the final part, the eunuch author gave a summary of Ming Yu Gong:

"The twenty-four solar terms correspond to the twenty-four levels of the Mingyu Gong. My family never mastered it until their death, but they sensed that if they could achieve the twenty-fourth level, their lifespan would increase, allowing them to glimpse the path to immortality. This inner technique was inspired by a lost ancient book. They were simply copying others' ideas."

However, the difficulty of practicing lies in the fact that the four seasons change too much, and the corresponding five elements are also different.

Spring is the season of growth and the revival of all things. It belongs to the wood element and represents growth and development.

Summer's blazing sun represents fire; autumn, the season of harvest, represents metal; winter's coolness represents water. A person's destiny is often defined by a single element. Combining the four elements of metal, water, fire, and wood is nearly impossible. This is also the most challenging aspect of Mingyu Gong. Even to my death, I never figured out how to cultivate all four elements and combine them to form the four seasons.

Difficult, difficult, difficult.

It's a pity. "

"According to our theory, if you complete the four seasons of cultivation, your youthfulness will be reversed, and you can even return to youth. This is comparable to a martial arts master's 300-year birthday. I'm no longer considered a man, my yang energy is deficient, and I can't cultivate to become a martial arts master. So I want to compete with the master on my birthday. That way, we can be evenly matched, hehe."

Of course, these are all minor matters. I've heard there's a top-tier health-preserving skill in the martial arts world called 'Zhao Ri Gong,' which is said to allow the parts of my body to regrow after being cut off. Unfortunately, this magical skill has been lost for a long time. I created the Ming Yu Gong to learn from it. This way, I can live longer and have enough time to find Zhao Ri Gong, so that... I can become a man again in this life. Actually, becoming a man again isn't entirely for my own sake. It's mainly because there's a girl I like, and I know she likes me too. We met in the martial arts world, and she didn't know I was a eunuch... Every time I faced her love confession, I had to reluctantly refuse, which was really painful. Even though I'm a high-ranking eunuch with immense power, I feel very inferior in front of her.

Well, my biggest dream is to be a man again and show some strength in front of her. That would make my life worthwhile. But I may not be able to wait until then. The Zhaori Gong is too hard to find. I hope someone who practices Mingyu Gong can master it. If you find the Zhaori Gong, I kindly ask you to hand-copy a copy and burn it at my grave. Oh, and I haven't mentioned the name yet.

"Forget my real name, it's not worth mentioning. I'm known in the palace as Xu Kangfu."

call!
After reading the entire text, Xie An breathed a sigh of relief and sighed.

Although he had never seen Xu Kangfu, through the words in this ancient book, Xie An seemed to feel that a vivid image of a eunuch came to life on the paper.

Moreover, this eunuch seemed to be quite nice. He kept pointing out the risks and explaining the difficulties, which helped those who came later to avoid many detours.

Compared to those greedy and twisted eunuchs that Xie An knew about in his previous life... they were much better.

At least that was what was shown on Ming Yu Gong. As for what this eunuch's private image was like, it was hard to judge.

Xu Kangfu...

"Okay, if I find the Sun-Shine Kung, I'll hand-copy it and burn it for you at your grave."

Xie An agreed silently, and then focused his mind on the mantra of Mingyu Gong.

There are two general sentences among them that left a particularly deep impression on Xie An.

"The four seasons are connected, and youth returns. The solar terms are complete, and youth is eternal. The heart is as clear as a mirror, and the skin is as pure as ice."

"The Mingyu Gong has twenty-four levels. If you can master the nineteenth level, you can compete with contemporary martial arts masters.

When one reaches the peak of the twenty-fourth level, their skin becomes as transparent as jade. Instead of radiating their inner strength, their power is drawn inward. Thus, practicing the power not only increases their internal energy but also increases their power. Furthermore, the Qi within their body forms a vortex of suction, drawing anything it touches like a magnet to iron. Furthermore, as their power is fully exerted, their appearance becomes increasingly transparent, resembling white ice shrouded in a cold mist. If they were to press acupuncture points on someone, the terrifying chill of the Qi would penetrate their very heart, freezing their body to ice.

Obviously, Mingyu Gong is not just a health-preserving exercise, but a comprehensive skill that integrates martial arts and magical powers.

It’s just that Mingyu Gong only develops its power in the later stages, and it doesn’t have much killing power in the early stages. It becomes more and more powerful as time goes on.

There is no clear definition between health-preserving exercises and killing martial arts.

Xie An read it twice more and memorized the key points and details.

"This is the top-notch health-preserving exercise I've been looking for. It has a powerful longevity attribute and is perfect for you."

After making sure that there was nothing missing, Xie An planned to try regulating his breathing and luck according to the above formula.

Although Old Master Tang repeatedly warned people not to practice it lightly, Xie An had a long life and felt that he could give it a try.

call.

Xie An took a deep breath, opened the ancient book to the second page, placed it in front of him, then adjusted his breathing and luck, and started to practice it bit by bit according to the formula above.

Imagine yourself as the seasons.

As expected, the energy of the Crimson Palace gathered in the chest immediately began to slowly circulate according to the formula, dispersing and transporting it to all parts of the body in a special way...

It seems to be starting off well.

But soon, Xie An felt something was wrong.

The movement of Mingyu Gong differed significantly from the Five Animal Exercises of Taixi Gong, feeling like the opposite. It immediately caused the internal Qi and blood to flow backwards, and the heat to flow backwards. Muscles began to twitch and spasm.

My head is about to explode.

"I...poof!"

Before Xie An could say a word, he felt a sweetness in his throat and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

Xie An immediately stopped practicing, and waited until the heat flow stopped running, then he felt his body gradually becoming comfortable.

Bang!
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Yu He rushed in anxiously, "Master, what's wrong with you?"

Seeing Xie An vomiting blood and looking pale, Yu He was terrified and quickly took a towel and a basin of hot water to wipe the blood from the corner of Xie An's mouth, her eyes full of heartache.

"Master, what kind of Kung Fu is this? If you can't do it, don't practice it. Although the Tang Family Fort also practices health-preserving Kung Fu, it's not necessarily as good as other families' Kung Fu. It's better not to practice it."

In fact, Xie An has recovered and it's not a big deal.

He hasn't gotten started yet, so he just needs to stop.

Yuhe was overly concerned, but... looking at Yuhe's worried face, Xie An felt warm in his heart, "I'm fine, I was just careless."

Yuhe took the Mingyu Gong in front of Xie An and placed it on the bedside table next to him, "You are not allowed to practice this kung fu anymore."

He is young but has a tough attitude.

This was the first time Yuhe showed toughness.

Xie An wanted to scold her, but seeing Yu He's bulging cheeks and her concerned eyes, he couldn't bear it and took a deep breath: "Well, then we won't practice. The master is tired and needs to rest. You go out first."

Yu He glanced at the martial arts secret book on the bedside table and wanted to take it, but she was too timid to do so. She turned her head and stared at Xie An, "Then Master, you are not allowed to practice this martial arts anymore."

Xie An guessed that she wouldn't leave unless he agreed. He smiled calmly and said, "I'll just rest and stop practicing. This isn't a good skill, it's not very interesting."

Yuhe suddenly smiled and said, "Then Master, have a good rest. If you need anything, just let me know."

After Yuhe closed the door and left, Xie An opened his five senses and found that Yuhe had left the yard. He quickly got up, picked up the Mingyu Gong and sat down again.

I finally got the Mingyu Gong. If I don’t practice it... how can I sleep?

What's more, Xie An's condition only looked scary, but he knew it was not a big deal.

Since Yuhe was concerned about me, I had no choice but to tell a white lie.

"Come again!"

Xie An sat cross-legged and entered a state of meditation, entering the state of minor meditation of fetal breathing, then summarizing the experience of his previous failure and practicing slowly.

"Maybe I was too impatient last time and didn't find the right way to get started. This time, I'll take my time."

With the experience from last time, Xie An was not in a hurry this time, and he slowly explored the operation. He operated the hot spots little by little, and if he found anything wrong, he would stop immediately and adjust the operation mode.

If it were any other health-preserving practitioner, every attempt would come at a huge cost. Serious injury would be the least of their worries, but the reverse flow of Qi and blood could lead to disability. However, Xie An, with his solid foundation in fetal breathing, achieved a state of stillness and cessation of breathing after entering a state of meditation. This slowed blood flow throughout the body, and with his exceptional five senses, he could detect any aberrations and make timely adjustments to prevent the reverse flow of Qi and blood.

If an ordinary person fails in trying to maintain normal breathing and blood flow rates, it will cause a large-scale retrograde flow of qi and blood, which will be a serious trauma.

Fetal breathing gave Xie An a huge space for trial and error.

But getting started is still not easy.

Xie An himself didn't know how many failures he had experienced, how many adjustments he had made... The longevity he hoped for didn't pop up, so Xie An could only figure it out on his own.

If it were someone else, faced with so many failures, they would probably have lost their temper and would need to be depressed for a while before they could adjust.

Xie An was a man of strong will.

If you fail, try again.

At this age, it’s no big deal.

Finally, after countless failures and adjustments, Xie An felt something different for the first time: the way he operated his hotspots was completely different. It felt familiar, as if his body was truly in tune with the 24 solar terms.

The hot spots scattered throughout the body did not collide randomly, but flowed in a very special way.

Although it was very uncomfortable, Xie An felt... right.

“That’s the feeling, all over again.”

Run it over and over again, from uncomfortable to comfortable.

heat!
It's hot!

The aura in the crimson palace didn't grow thicker, but his body got hotter. Even on a cold day, Xie An's forehead was covered with a fine layer of sweat, his face flushed, and his underwear was soaked with sweat.

The feeling is getting stronger and stronger.

finally--

Information appears on the panel.

[Includes the Mingyugong twenty-four solar terms.]

[Beginning of Spring: 1/100]

Xie An was shocked, then he smiled brilliantly: "I have mastered the Mingyu Gong...!"

(End of this chapter)