Turbid World: Martial Arts Master of the Republic of China Era, I Cultivate Immortality!

Chapter 124 The Innate Gluttony Evolution... (Please Subscribe!)

"Master, what is the essence of a martial artist's qi and blood?"

"What else could it be? Qi and blood are the form of primordial essence. This is the original power that comes from the primordial qi falling into the mortal body, nurturing the muscles and bones, and strengthening the physical body. Without qi and blood, the primordial essence has no place to reside, and the body is like withered wood."

"Master, what is the essence of a martial artist's internal energy?"

"What else could it be? Internal energy is the flow of primordial energy. It is nurtured and refined by blood and qi, and flows along the meridians. It is the key to a martial artist's control of power and practice. Blood and qi are the foundation of essence, while internal energy is the application of qi. The two share the same root and both originate from the primordial primordial qi."

"Master, what is the essence of magical power?"

"Magic power is formed by the combined refinement of the three treasures. Although it is based on refining essence into qi and is similar to the path of martial arts cultivation, it requires the unity of essence, qi and spirit to be condensed."

"Got it, magical power is more powerful than internal energy!"

"Uh—that's true!"

The master's answer in the first playthrough clearly appeared in Zhao Zheng's mind, making him subconsciously think that he could break through to the level of refining essence into qi by taking the path of combining essence, qi, and spirit.

"But it seems I'm still missing one of the three treasures: essence, energy, and spirit—the spirit. Hmm? Okay, it seems I'm not lacking anything anymore—"

""

Sitting on the futon, Zhao, the Holy Lord Zheng, stretched out his hands. In his left palm, wisps of shimmering white mist curled around his palm.

The thin mist on the hands was as light as flowing smoke, floating and not dissipating. It was the manifestation of the Bing Qi of this martial arts world, which can also be understood as the embodiment of Qi among the three treasures of the human body: essence, Qi, and spirit.

Zhao Zheng turned his head to look at his right palm. As he gazed at it, a layer of warm white light slowly rippled out from his palm. The white light was condensed and did not float, nor did it leak out, as if divine will was covering his palm.

This is the outward manifestation of the internal force of the mechanical martial arts. However, this internal force is not the Qi that corresponds to the three treasures of essence, Qi, and spirit, but rather the spirit among the three treasures, the spirit that calms the soul and stabilizes the Qi channels.

"Internal strength is the essence of the primordial spirit, formed by the deep cultivation of primordial energy and its harmony with the soul. It is responsible for regulating the qi and blood, nourishing the spirit, and is the key to the return of scattered essence, qi, and spirit. Its root is also in the innate one—I am beginning to understand why the internal strength of mechanical martial arts places more emphasis on cultivation—"

Zhao, the Holy Ruler, murmured to himself. He also understood the path he should take: the path of unifying the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit.

He aims to use Qi and blood as the foundation, internal Qi as the guide, internal strength as the pivot, and magical power as the ultimate goal, so as to achieve the harmony of essence with Qi and blood, Qi with internal Qi, and spirit with internal strength. He will then use the magical power, which inherently contains the three treasures of essence, Qi, and spirit, to govern the three and thus achieve a meteoric rise to power.

This allowed him to directly attain the supreme foundation and path of the unity of essence, qi, and spirit upon breaking through to the realm of refining essence into qi.

"Want to give it a try?"

Let's give it a try!

The worst that can happen is death!

Zhao Zheng closed his eyes, assumed the posture of "five hearts facing the sky," and began to combine the four paths of Qi and blood, internal Qi, internal strength, and magical power to forge his own path.

He didn't know if anyone had walked the same path as him before, but he did know one thing: this path was a bit difficult!

Because Qi and blood are essentially connected, they are easily unified, but internal strength is somewhat isolated.

However, this is not a big problem. As a very friendly and approachable older brother, the magic power quickly became friends with the internal energy, and at the same time, it also became friends with the blood and internal energy!

And so, the silver party began—oops, I mean, the domination began—

As the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit slowly merged into one, 129,600 strands of magical power rapidly condensed into a single magical power.

Although this speed was not actually fast, Zhao Zheng did not care about that. He just looked curiously at the magic power that should have been golden, but instead had a hint of purple.

"I've cultivated an extraordinary magical power?"

As soon as Zhao Zheng conceived the idea, countless rays of light surged forth from his body, and 129,600 strands of magical power formed a chaotic net of light around him, like a galaxy rolling back.

As the Chaos Light Net was created, it suddenly contracted, and the Qi and blood in Zhao Zheng's body began to boil, transforming into the essence of his body and solidifying the foundation of his physical form.

At the same time, the internal energy within his body transformed into a surging tide, instantly flowing through all the meridians of his body.

When his meridians are unblocked, the internal energy within them transforms into a vast abyss, becoming a vessel for the divine and beginning to subdue the spirit and soul.

Under the pull of magical power, the three began to merge without distinction, instantly condensing into a magical power without beginning or end.

As the magic was successfully forged, Zhao Zheng heard a faint Daoist voice descending from the heavens, full of mystery, explaining the principles of the birth and death of heaven and earth.

Furthermore, Buddhist chants and sacred sounds resound throughout the ten directions, solemn and compassionate, reciting the truth that all things return to their origin. Beneath the Buddhist sounds, there are also dark and surging demonic sounds from the depths of the underworld, unruly and treacherous, chanting chapters of the reversal of yin and yang.

The three sounds intertwined without clashing; they began to resonate and harmonize with the Daoist rhythm of the Three Treasures uniting as one. As they resonated together, the extraordinary phenomena of the sun, moon, and stars suddenly appeared in the night sky outside the training room.

The sun, which should have been rising, suddenly hung high in the sky, casting down pure golden light. The moon, which should have been hidden, quietly appeared on the horizon, radiating a soft, clear light. All the stars in the sky lit up.

The light of billions of stars intertwined and condensed, merging with the light of the sun, moon, and stars, transforming into a divine light of the Three Powers that fell straight down upon Zhao Zheng, resonating with the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit within his body.

Qi, blood, internal energy, and internal strength are transformed into a single magical power under the control of magical power, a magical power condensed by the Primordial Ancestor.

This is innate, pure and unique, formless and imageless, serene and eternally still, without beginning or end, untouched by any acquired impurities. It is the original power of the unity of essence, energy, and spirit.

[Realm: Ancestor - Refining Essence into Qi]

"Hmm? I'm not facing any more minor bottlenecks?"

The moment Zhao Zheng opened his eyes, the strange phenomena of the outside world disappeared, and he curiously experienced his current realm.

Under the extraordinary power of the Primordial Ancestor that he had forged, his minor bottleneck in cultivation had disappeared.

Only four major realms remain: refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, and refining emptiness into the Dao.

His cultivation level is no longer divided into early, middle, and late stages; as long as his cultivation and accumulation are sufficient, he can break through directly.

Secondly, he can freely use the techniques, spells, and supernatural powers of Buddhism, Taoism, and Demonism, as well as martial arts. Although he could use them originally, there is a conversion rate when switching from immortality to martial arts.

As a Taoist priest, he sometimes couldn't fully unleash the original power of his martial arts, but that's no longer the case because of the formless and intangible nature of his magical power.

Furthermore, Zhao Zheng suddenly felt a slight toothache, which made him subconsciously press his tongue against his teeth.

"Um?

'

Looking at the front tooth he had caught, Zhao Zheng thought to himself that he shouldn't have done that, since it was Zhao Zheng who was lying, and it had nothing to do with him.

Why did Zhao Zheng lose his front tooth?!

A few seconds later, Zhao Zheng raised an eyebrow and looked at all the old teeth that had fallen out of his left hand. He took out a small mirror from the Five-Colored Divine Light Pearl space and looked into his mouth. What he saw was a brand new, white tooth.

The newly grown teeth, exactly forty in total, prompted Zhao Zheng to look at the newly appeared status on the panel of the "Life's Many Faces" chart with a sense of unease.

[Status: Bodhisattva Appearance]

[Introduction: One of the thirty-two marks of Buddha]

[Note: An upgraded version of the iron-chewing technique!]

"The Amazing Iron-Chewing Technique Upgrade Tool —"

Zhao Zheng remained silent, carefully putting away his old teeth and beginning to carefully sense the changes in his body. After a while, he finished sensing the changes. First, his five senses were enhanced, and he could now see at night. His vision had directly changed from 720p to 2K.

The same applies to hearing and smell!

His sixth and seventh senses have also been enhanced, enhanced in every aspect, as has his body temperature.

His body temperature was no longer thirty-five or thirty-six degrees, but had become normal. For example, the current air temperature was twenty degrees, and his body temperature also became twenty degrees, making him feel as if he had become a cold-blooded animal.

"I think I'm no longer afraid of heat sensing —"

Zhao Zheng touched his body temperature and felt his heartbeat slow down. He got up and left the training room.

The breakthrough just now made quite a commotion, so much so that Zhao Zheng discovered a few little mice that required his intervention, a cold-blooded animal like himself.

A few minutes later, with four more pools of filthy blood appearing in various corners of the Zhao family mansion, Zhao Zheng's attack came to an end.

Next comes eating —

"I don't think I need to eat anymore, right?"

Zhao Zheng, who did not feel hungry, carefully examined his body and found that he could indeed stop eating.

Incidentally, he no longer needs to breathe!

Strangely enough, when it comes to not needing to breathe, Zhao Zheng always felt that those cotton machines needed this skill more than he did.

"Discrimination is a bad thing!"

Zhao Zheng sighed inwardly, but it wasn't a big problem, since he never considered those dark cotton machines as people anyway.

There's not much to say about the trip to the kitchen; it was simply that Zhao Zheng revealed a portion of his current strength.

It can be roughly described as follows!

Eating, being scolded, showing off, shock, smiling, smiling, smiling —

Just like in the first playthrough, when Zhao Zheng displayed his martial arts skills at the dinner table, Zhao's father's dark expression immediately disappeared.

The concubines' attitudes improved even more, but Zhao Cheng still wore the same expression that looked like he was in more pain than if he were killed, while Zhao Zheng smiled throughout.

Time flew by, and a little over a month later, on July 29th, at 6:00 AM, in Anping County, Tianjin, at the main hall of Zuowang Temple in the east of the city.

"Having cultivated a form like a crane, beneath a thousand pines lie two volumes of scriptures—I come to inquire about the Way, but there is nothing more to say; clouds are in the blue sky, water is in the bottle—"

A man wearing a dark blue Taoist robe of better quality sat on a futon and slowly opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, the main hall, which had been somewhat dim due to the closed door, suddenly became brightly lit.

"Generating electricity in a virtual room is quite simple —"

The man in the Taoist robe, or rather Zhao Zheng, muttered something under his breath as he looked at the statue of the Three Pure Ones in front of him.

After watching for a while, Zhao Zheng withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes and silently recited the phrase "Tu Lai". After a dark red blood light, the "All Aspects of Life" panel appeared.

A Portrait of Life

[Photo by: Zhao Zheng]

Age: 18

[Constitution: Innate Yin-Yang Five Elements Daoist Body, Sacred Embryo]

[Talents: keen insight, selflessness, greed, versatility, and resilience]

[Status: Bodhisattva Appearance, Myriad Laws, Severing the Three Corpses (1/3), Unwavering Daoist Heart (3/3), Ice-like Skin and Jade Bones, Indestructible Vajra]

Invulnerable to all evils, with qi and blood as pure as mercury, able to discern form through qi, and to dispel delusion and seek truth —

[Realm: Ancestor - Refining Essence into Qi]

[Techniques: Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture, Myriad Phenomena Originally Without Salvation Scripture, Heaven-Severing and Earth-Destroying Stopping Technique, Divine Firmament Sect Five Thunder Orthodox Method]

[Supernatural Powers: Great Five Elements Destruction Divine Light, Lesser Five Elements Creation Divine Light, and the Unending Sword of Annihilation]

[Mirror of All Realms: Can be activated]

After more than a month, Zhao Zheng successfully recovered the lost data and organized his knowledge.

He incorporated all the immortal cultivation techniques he knew, except for those he couldn't integrate, into the "Scripture of the Myriad Forms of No Salvation".

The martial arts of this world and the martial arts of the mechanical world were integrated into the technique he named the Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying, and War-Stopping Technique.

Although the integration isn't perfect and looks like a mountain of crap code, it's not a big problem as long as it works.

Besides these, he successfully cultivated the traits that he could only gain by practicing the corresponding techniques in his first playthrough.

He did not cultivate corresponding techniques, such as the Taoist Golden Body Technique, and he solidified his characteristics into his state, such as indestructible Vajra and ice-like skin and jade bones.

Incidentally, he also mastered the Five Thunder Orthodox Method that his master had found for him. However, Zhao Zheng was a little embarrassed because the Five Thunder Orthodox Method that his master had found for him was actually the Five Thunder Orthodox Method of the Shenxiao Sect.

But then he thought about it again, and realized that the Shenxiao Sect was recognized as the number one in thunder magic in the cultivation world. Well, his tense expression instantly disappeared!

The only pity is that he did not successfully regain the states of Dharma Register and Passing on the Torch, as well as the state of Remaining Untainted by Mud.

But it's not a big problem. He's strong enough now anyway. According to his calculations, he can kill at least two versions of himself from the final stages of his first playthrough with one punch!

Besides these, what made Zhao Zheng even more anxious was that his master, the Taoist of Destiny, was still dead.

It's not that Zhao Zheng couldn't save him, but that he simply couldn't save the old man. To be honest, it's really frustrating! He's already on his second playthrough, and he still can't even save his master's life.

That left him speechless!

To be honest, Zhao Zhengdu was beginning to think that his master's death was inevitable, something that could not be avoided.

"I'll try my best to save you next time!"

Zhao Zheng turned his head and glanced at his master, who was still buried by him in the small bamboo grove in the corner of the courtyard. He thought to himself that the master should have arrived. He got up from the prayer mat, patted his butt, and the next second, Zhang Laoqi's voice rang out from the gate of the Taoist temple along with the knocking.

"Master Mao, may I have a place here?"

"Let's go, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

"???"

At the entrance of the Taoist temple, Zhang Laoqi looked at Zhao Zheng, who was talking and taking off his Taoist robe, revealing a style of clothing he had never seen before, with a bewildered expression.

"Young master, I'm looking for Master Mao—"

"My master is dead. Don't worry, I can still handle your son Zhang Daqi's matter!" Zhao Zheng, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, said.

He secretly lamented that there wasn't a button to skip the story, otherwise he could have skipped it with one click and completed the game quickly.

"Young Taoist priest, you...you know!"

Zhang Laoqi stared wide-eyed at Zhao Zheng, who had already begun closing and locking the door. Zhao Zheng nodded slightly without turning his head.

"Yes, by the way, you don't have a heart condition, do you?"

"What do you mean by this, Taoist Master?"

"Hmm—we'll talk about it on the way!"

Zhao Zheng did not immediately reveal that Zhang Daqi was dead, but instead nodded to the passing neighbors.

Time flies, and a little over an hour later, we arrived at Zhang Laoqi's house.

Chatting, drawing a gun, applying a talisman, breaking the obsession, explaining, receiving money, comforting, leaving —

As always, Zhang Daqi, this dead man, died once again from gunfire and the Broken Talisman because of his filial piety.

Zhao Zheng vaguely sensed that Zhang Daqi would no longer provide ink paintings, nor would he allow his talent for sacrificing himself to become +1.

"Looks like the bug preventing me from exploiting the image is gone!"

As usual, Zhao Zheng took two silver dollars and left, glancing back at Zhang Laoqi's house. This time, he still chose to walk.

It was when I saw two male martial artists on a rooftop not far away, performing a chase scene where they would "chase me and I'll let you have your way with me" on the rooftop.

Zhao Zheng narrowed his eyes as the self-attack technique, which he had automatically learned due to the unity of his essence, energy, and spirit and his sufficient cultivation, quietly activated.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Ah! Two screams rang out as two men fell from the roof with screams of agony. Zhao Zheng frowned and muttered to himself.

"Well, now it's not just the tiles that are damaged, but also the flowers and plants—" After muttering to himself, Zhao Zheng once again used the "Witnessing Technique," which he called the "Shocking Calamity," on the two of them.

Two more screams rang out, and Zhao Zheng finally withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, continuing towards the Taoist temple. As he walked, he thought of his minister, who had even mastered the "Shocking Calamity" technique.

Isn't it time for his ministers to appear?

His elixir of immortality should have arrived by now, right?

"what?"

Zhao Zheng was slightly surprised at his sudden impulse, but he still followed his intuition and turned to walk towards the left side of the four-way intersection ahead.

Walking towards the busier street, a road opposite to his meditation retreat, Zhao Zheng's brows furrowed slightly after a short while.

It wasn't that anything happened on the street, but rather that nothing happened at all. The bluestone slabs on the ground were warm from the sun, and the jingling of the rickshaw bells echoed through the crowd as the rickshaw driver, waving a towel, pedaled swiftly.

The horses' hooves rolled over puddles, splashing up tiny droplets of water. Street vendors displayed plum juice and refreshing tea, hawkers shouted their wares, and colorful silks from the silk shop fluttered wildly in the wind.

The street scene remained unchanged, just like in the Republican era, but Zhao Zheng's gaze was fixed behind the bustling street scene, or rather, on the alleyway ahead.

The vermilion doors on both sides of the alley were half-closed, and the pungent fragrance of cosmetics wafted out even before you got close. Women in brightly colored cheongsams leaned against the door frames, waving silk fans and sweetly beckoning to passersby.

They spoke in soft voices, their eyes full of flirtatiousness, but passersby were already used to it and just kept going.

Some women even chatted intimately with the rickshaw pullers who had stopped beside them, exchanging handkerchiefs and laughing. Anyone with eyes could see that these rickshaw pullers were the husbands of the women in the courtyard.

Okay, he's arrived at the Eight Great Hutongs!

Zhao Zheng was surprised to find so many centipede killers here. Just as he was wondering why his intuition had led him here, despite his usual aversion to women, he was puzzled.

He thought for a moment, then summoned the "Chart of All Life's Aspects," which, without his intervention, automatically flipped to the second picture of the Master-Guest and then to the first picture of the intermediate state.

This was repeated twice, and Zhao Zheng pondered for a second before understanding and walking into the alley with the vermilion gate half-closed.

As soon as you enter the alley, the pungent smell of cosmetics hits you. When Zhao Zheng looks at these women, they also look at him.

Upon seeing Zhao Zheng's appearance, the eyes of all the women in the alley immediately lingered on him, and the woman who was originally leaning against the door calling out even louder.

"Grandpa, come rest here for a bit. Two small dollars for a round of fun, four small dollars to keep you entertained until dawn—"

No sooner had she finished speaking than the three women beside her immediately rolled their eyes and said, "Sir, come to me, a small silver dollar will do!"

"I only need one small dollar!"

"I only charge three small dollars for an overnight stay!"

The women's sweet voices, mixed with the scent of perfume, drew closer to Zhao Zheng. Zhao Zheng, expressionless, pulled out a few copper coins, which he then gave to Xiao Yang, saying, "I'm here to find someone—if I'm not mistaken, the person I'm looking for is called Xiao Rou!"

"Xiaorou?"

The women repeated this to themselves, but instead of immediately taking the copper coin from Zhao Zheng's hand, they scrutinized Zhao Zhengdao.

"Why are you looking for Xiaorou?"

"I don't know her!"

"Are you someone she knows?"

When the women spoke, Zhao Zheng didn't answer. Instead, he took out a silver dollar. As soon as the dollar was spoken, one of the women said directly.

"The second house at the very end of the alley!"

After saying that, the woman took the silver dollar and quickly returned to her home, closing the door behind her. The other women looked at her with hostility.

Zhao Zheng thanked them and then handed the women a few copper coins, which surprised them.

A woman, looking at the two copper coins in her hand, said to Zhao Zheng, "You—be careful, I heard she's sick and hasn't opened her shop for two days—"

Seemingly afraid that Zhao Zheng would be frightened, the woman quickly added, "It's not that kind of illness. She just moved in and hasn't even started yet. It seems she caught a cold; I smelled medicine outside her house yesterday!"

Thanks for reminding me!

Zhao Zheng spoke and walked to the innermost part of the alley, arriving at the second house. As expected, the door was closed. Hearing coughing sounds from inside, he reached out and knocked on the door.

"Ahem, who is it?!"

"I am Mr. Guo's student!"

As Zhao Zheng spoke, the footsteps inside the room suddenly stopped. After a few seconds, a weak female voice rang out again: "You've got the wrong person. I don't know any Mr. Guo—"

"Do you know Guo Qing?"

Zhao Zheng looked around and spoke. There was a moment of silence inside the room, and after a long while, the weak female voice finally rang out.

"I don't know him!"

"It's okay, I don't know them!"

"???"

Xiao Rou stared at the handsome stranger who burst through the door with a question mark on her face. The next second, she was carried out by this handsome man, which startled her. She subconsciously began to struggle.

"Let me go, and my man will come back—"

"Let go of my wife—"

A coachman came running from a short distance away, but he shut up and slipped away after Zhao Zheng gave him a silver note and said, "I bought it."

Seeing the guy run off with the silver notes, Xiao Rou was stunned for a moment, but she didn't cry; she just bit her lip tightly.

She stared blankly at the food on the table, not quite understanding what Guo Qing's people were up to.

What, are you planning to let her eat her fill before selling her this time?

[The innate gluttony begins to evolve————]