Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

The *Neijing* (Inner Canon of Medicine) clearly states: "The pulse corresponds to the four seasons: spring is wiry, summer is hooked, autumn is fine, and winter is stone-like." The *Nanjing* (Classic of Difficult Issues) interprets "stone" as "sinking," a interpretation widely accepted by later generations. Since hooked corresponds to summer and sinking to winter, "hooked and sinking" actually refers to summer and winter, essentially meaning "spring and autumn."

...

...

Xia Dong groggily opened her eyes, a faint chime ringing in her mind.

It seemed to be far away, yet also as if it emerged from the deepest part of the earth, involuntarily inspiring a sense of coldness and awe.

In that instant, he understood many things.

He time-traveled, and his current name is Xia Dong.

This is... an ancient world.

At this moment, a mottled and dilapidated ancient bronze bell resides in his mind.

Summer and winter can even "see" it clearly.

Scarlet, distorted characters slowly appeared on the bell.

It looks like oracle bone script.

Xia Dong didn't recognize this script.

However, when he "gazes" at the clock face, the meaning of the inscriptions is naturally understood by him.

Name: Xia Dong.

Code name: Unearthing.

Talent: Once proven, forever proven.

Spiritual Root: None.

...

...

The Great You Dynasty, Pingyang County.

Xia Dong is eighteen years old this year.

My parents passed away early, leaving behind nothing of value. The only thing of value is probably this cramped little courtyard.

For the past three months, the neighbors have rarely seen Xia Dong.

But they often heard the sound of reading coming from the Xia family's courtyard.

The sound of students reading aloud created a sense of peace and tranquility.

When the neighborhood kids pass by, they all unconsciously become well-behaved.

Three days ago, the county yamen runners posted a red notice outside the gate with gongs and drums, and the neighbors learned that the orphan in the alley—the young master of the Xia family—had quietly passed the imperial examination and become a scholar.

When a respectable person emerges from the neighborhood, many neighbors naturally come to offer their congratulations.

A scholar is not a master, but he doesn't have to kneel before a master.

Besides these, there are many other benefits.

For example, if a scholar becomes a scholar in the neighborhood, and he later needs to go to the government office, at least he will have a familiar neighbor who can help him pass on a message to the county government.

Everyone happily chipped in to prepare a feast for Xia Dong, and the meal was a lively and enjoyable affair.

A few days later, the commotion subsided and calm returned.

In the small courtyard, dark moss grows on the blue bricks.

Xia Dong stood upright with her eyes closed, her legs slightly bent, one foot touching the ground, and her arms spread out smoothly like crane wings.

This is the stance training of internal martial arts from a previous life on Earth—the Crane Stance.

I do not seek to harm or kill enemies, but only to strengthen my body, regulate my qi and blood.

In summer and winter, inhale to the heels and exhale softly.

Sweat splattered on the blue bricks, shattering into pieces.

His mind gradually sank into a state of extreme stillness.

In a daze, he seemed to transform into a lone crane standing alone by the cold pool.

Let the turbulent waves of the world surge, I will remain calm and steadfast in my own little world.

A very faint crackling sound came from between the joints, and the previously stagnant blood and qi flowed smoothly through the limbs and bones like spring water breaking through ice.

Crane-shaped stake, perfect.

At that moment, deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, in the shadows where there was no movement for years, a bronze bell the size of a bell that had been floating suspended trembled slightly.

clang.

A clear and resonant bell tolled, echoing deep within the souls of Xia and Dong. Its sound, like the morning bell of an ancient temple, cleansed the spirit.

The ancient bell trembled slightly, and an indescribable, profound Daoist aura flowed through its entire body.

One certificate is valid forever.

For ordinary people, practicing martial arts is like rowing against the current; if you don't practice for a day, you'll miss out on ten. Maintaining peak physical condition is extremely difficult; aging, injuries, and laziness will all cause your skill level to decline.

But the moment the ancient bell rang, all the insights gained from the Crane-shaped stance and the ultimate trajectory of the circulation of Qi and blood were forever imprinted in Xia Dong's bones and blood, as if carved by a knife and axe.

Even if he doesn't practice this stance for the next ten years, even if he is seriously injured, as long as he stretches his arms, he will still be in the most perfect white crane posture.

Unwavering and steadfast, never retreating or turning back.

Xia Dong slowly opened her eyes.

There was no soreness or weakness in my limbs or body after practicing.

At this moment, a warm and gentle aura arose within his body, silently nourishing his internal organs.

With each breath, it was like a white crane exhaling, light yet composed.

He put away his stance and glanced at the autumn leaves that had fallen in the courtyard sometime earlier.

There is a jujube tree in the courtyard, and next to the tree is a dry well.

Thankfully, it was a dry well.

Otherwise, the previous summers and winters might not have been able to save this little courtyard.

In the county town, courtyards with individual wells belonged to wealthy families.

It was by chance that the Xia family was able to acquire this courtyard.

Because someone died in the dry well.

It's likely that the well used to have water, but after someone died there, it stopped flowing. Or perhaps it was filled in.

It's generally considered unlucky.

After passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar, Xia Dong learned more about the alley from his neighbors.

This place was originally a large, secluded mansion.

After someone died in his family's well, it gradually split into many households.

Some people who didn't believe in superstitions rented or bought the property, but they all moved out for various reasons.

In the end, Xia Dong's parents bought the courtyard.

By the way, Xia Dong's parents also have somewhat special identities.

His father was a Taoist priest.

As for the mother.

I heard it originated from a certain theater in Beijing.

After the two passed away, their funeral arrangements were entirely handled by Qin, a wealthy man from the prefectural city and a close friend of the father.

Back then, the two families even arranged a marriage between their descendants. The bride was none other than Qin Wan, the daughter of the wealthy Qin family.

Xia Dong originally wanted to deal with this old matter later, but unexpectedly, the Qin family arrived very quickly.

The one leading the group was the old steward of the Qin family.

In the cramped reception room, the old steward did not sit down, but merely bowed slightly, his expression revealing a worldly politeness and an imperceptible scrutiny: "Young Master Xia, my master has instructed that the Qin family has indeed wronged you regarding the annulment of the engagement. However, Miss is blessed with great fortune and has already been valued by the Qixia Immortal Sect. This worldly marriage is absolutely out of the question."

At this point, the old butler deliberately paused and lowered his voice, saying, "The immortal master has verified that Miss possesses a unique spiritual root."

Then the old butler patiently explained in detail.

These things are unbelievable to ordinary people, but they are not considered top secrets by those with a bit of social standing.

The Great You Dynasty not only had government officials, but also high-ranking cultivators. Within the territory of Lin Yuan Prefecture lay the training grounds of the Qixia Immortal Sect. It was a colossal entity that even the Prefectural Governor had to treat with the respect due to a junior.

The difference between immortals and mortals is as vast as clouds and mud.

The only bridge across this insurmountable barrier is the "spiritual root".

Without spiritual roots, one can only wallow in the mundane world.

Furthermore, those with unique spiritual roots are rare talents even in immortal sects, with limitless potential for immortality.

"Spiritual roots are difficult to detect when a child's blood and energy are still unstable," the old steward explained. "Most children only develop them when they are a little older, between ten and fifteen years old. Once they are over fifteen, even if they have spiritual roots, they have missed the best time to open their meridians, and the immortal sects will not accept them anymore. My young lady will be turning fifteen next July, which will be her coming-of-age ceremony."

Upon hearing this, Xia Dong showed neither the fury the old steward had anticipated from a young man humiliated, nor the shame and indignation of a poor scholar weeping bitterly.

He sat quietly in the chair, his expression as calm and undisturbed as a still well.

This unusual calmness made the old steward feel a slight unease. This former "son-in-law," who had just passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, seemed to be more cunning than he had imagined.

Xia Dong gently stroked the rough porcelain teacup with his fingertips, pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "So, I'm eighteen this year, and even if I have spiritual roots, I have no hope of becoming an immortal, is that right?"

The old steward sighed inwardly and bowed, saying, "Young Master Xia, the master instructed me to convey a truth to you. Several years ago, the master secretly asked a high-ranking official from the Immortal Sect to investigate for you. You... have no spiritual root and are destined to be unable to cultivate. The master also instructed you not to inquire about matters of the cultivation world again, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."

"Playing with fire?" Xia Dong keenly caught the implication. "What kind of 'trouble' are you referring to?"

He didn't believe that Master Qin was bluffing; it seemed more like the other party was giving him a veiled warning.

The old steward shook his head, remaining cryptic: "Master didn't elaborate, only telling you not to delve any deeper. He instructed that if you still have many doubts, you can personally visit him to ask when you come to the prefectural city for the provincial examination next autumn."

"Why wait until next year? Can't I go now?"

"What the master said was, 'The timing is not right now...'"

Xia Dong nodded slightly and didn't ask any further questions.

He stood up, took the yellowed marriage certificate from his sleeve, and placed it flat on the table. His tone was calm: "I accept the compensation gift. You can take the marriage certificate back. If I have the opportunity next year, I will visit Uncle Qin at his residence."

The old steward breathed a sigh of relief and quickly put away the marriage certificate. In any case, he had finally finished this troublesome task. Although the young master of the Xia family was a scholar, there was a difference between immortals and mortals. Although he was in the wrong to annul the engagement, it was in accordance with the will of Heaven.

After the Qin family left, the courtyard returned to silence.

Xia Dong bolted the door to the living room and turned around to start taking stock of the few mahogany boxes left by the Qin family.

Inside were neatly arranged fifty taels of silver, as well as several old ginseng roots of excellent quality.

He was indeed short of money. Since his transmigration, he had countless ways to make money, but he dared not use them until he passed the imperial examination and obtained the "respectable" status recognized by the government.

After all, a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.

"Cultivating Immortality..."

Xia Dong held a silver ingot in his palm, feeling the cool metallic touch, a barely perceptible longing flashing in his eyes.

Master Qin wasn't lying to him; he truly didn't have any spiritual roots.

The mysterious ancient bronze bell in his sea of ​​consciousness had already made that judgment.

It would be a lie to say he has no regrets. But it's absolutely impossible for him to accept his fate and live as an ant for the rest of his life.

Since we've come to this place, we should at least see the view from the highest point.

What's more, he also has that ancient bell, and the heaven-defying talent of "one certificate for eternity".

Even now, he still hasn't figured out the deeper meaning behind the code name "Gouchen" on Zhong's body.

Is it some kind of inheritance? Or did its predecessor belong to some secret organization?

"If there is no way to cultivate immortality, then practice martial arts. Since there are immortals in this world, the path of martial arts is definitely not just about strengthening the body."

Xia Dong carefully hid the silver, pushed open the door, and walked back into the courtyard.

He closed his eyes, concentrated, and assumed a stance. The movements of the Crane Stance were executed with fluid grace.

Since he perfected his stance training, he not only has more energy than before, but also has a faint but real "qi" growing in his body.

This energy was not only silently nourishing his internal organs, but also bringing about a miraculous transformation.

Xia Dong guided that wisp of "qi" along the meridians to all parts of her body. In an instant, her body seemed to shed its superficiality and become extremely light.

This was not an illusion. When his blood and qi surged, he even felt an urge to take flight with just a light touch of his toes.

He slowly opened his eyes, suppressing the restlessness in his heart.

"With this money, many things will be easier to do." Although Xia Dong passed the county-level imperial examination, he did not pass the provincial-level examination, so the amount of money he received as gifts was very limited.

With the Qin family's gift of annulment, he was finally much better off financially.

In fact, he harbored no resentment towards the Qin family. On the contrary, in his previous life, the Qin family's actions would likely have been praised by many.

In my previous life, even returning the betrothal gifts was difficult, let alone compensating for the losses.

So this incident isn't about "don't underestimate a young person's potential" or "the tides turn every thirty years."

Xia Dong first took the money and went to the nearest pharmacy to buy high-quality wound medicine and liniment.

His next step is to verify something.

...

...

As night deepened, the courtyard fell silent, save for the occasional rustling of the jujube tree beside the dry well in the autumn wind.

Xia Dong sat under the dim oil lamp, toying with a short knife he had taken from the kitchen. Although the blade was chipped, it was still sharp and had been sterilized.

"We must figure out exactly where the boundaries of 'one certificate for life' lie."

He muttered to himself. The world of cultivation is high and mighty; the lives of mortals are as worthless as grass.

Before he could truly set foot in that world, this ancient bronze bell existing in his sea of ​​consciousness was his only trump card. He couldn't afford to have any unrealistic fantasies about his trump card.

If "one certificate for eternity" can regenerate a severed limb, then his future path can be extremely unrestrained; if not, any recklessness he makes now could lead to utter ruin.

Xia Dong did not hesitate. He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, revealing his forearm.

He took a deep breath, gripped the short knife tightly, and slashed a short, inch-long gash into the muscle of his left forearm.

The skin and flesh were torn open, and bright red blood gushed out instantly, dripping down his arm onto the blue bricks with a "drip-drip" sound. A sharp, stinging pain immediately traveled through his nerves to his brain, causing his breathing to involuntarily quicken.

Xia Dong stared intently at the wound, his brows furrowed, waiting quietly.

Ten breaths, twenty breaths, half an incense stick's time passed.

The ancient bronze bell deep within his consciousness remained silent. The wound continued to bleed, and the tearing sensation in his muscles showed no signs of healing. Apart from the bleeding being slightly slowed by the blood clotting mechanism, his arm did not scab over and heal instantly like the legendary spirits.

"It seems that creating things out of thin air or regenerating severed limbs is impossible. The physical body still follows the material laws of this world."

Xia Dong took a clean piece of linen and calmly bandaged the wound tightly. The intense pain made his left hand tremble slightly, making it extremely difficult to exert force. If it were an ordinary martial artist, even with just such an external injury, the whole body would be affected, and it would be impossible to maintain a perfect stance. Forcing oneself to practice would even lead to disordered qi and blood.

"So, what exactly is the purpose of 'one certificate for life'?"

Xia Dong stood up, walked to the center of the courtyard, and closed her eyes.

He endured the excruciating pain in his left arm and began to follow the complete memory of the "Crane Stance," lowering his shoulders and elbows, slightly bending his legs, and slowly raising his arms like a white crane spreading its wings.

The moment he raised his left arm, the intense pain from muscle damage made him instinctively want to curl up and release the force.

But in that very instant...

"clang."

Deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, that clear and resonant bell tolled once more.

Something amazing happened.

Xia Dong clearly felt that although his body was still responding to intense pain, under the control of a mysterious "law" or "instinct," his left arm did not tremble at all and remained steadily at the most standard and perfect height.

Not only that.

The gentle "qi" that arises after completing the Crane Formation begins to circulate within the body. When this qi reaches the injured meridians and muscles of the left arm, it does not dissipate or become obstructed due to the physical damage.

This "qi" seems to possess a perfect, autonomous memory. With an incredible fine-tuning, it bypasses the broken capillaries and muscle fibers, forming a perfect channel at the damaged area, and continues to flow smoothly throughout the body!

After completing a set of standing meditation exercises, Xia Dong's forehead was covered in cold sweat from the pain, but his breathing was as long and steady as an old tortoise's, and there was not the slightest stagnation in the flow of qi and blood in his body.

He stopped and stood still, looking at the linen cloth that was stained with blood, a very bright light flashing in his eyes.

"I see."

Xia Dong quickly sorted out three conclusions in his mind:

First, the conservation of matter. The bronze bell cannot conjure flesh and blood out of thin air.

"One certificate is permanent" cannot directly interfere with physical defects. If a hand is cut off, the hand is gone; if blood is shed, the blood is depleted.

Secondly, the state of being is absolutely constant. What the ancient bell locks in is the "Tao" and the "state of being".

Third, it is perfectly compatible with abnormal states.

"If physical depletion and damage don't lead to the collapse of one's cultivation level..." His thoughts drifted away instantly, "Doesn't that mean that those unorthodox methods or self-harming forbidden techniques that burn essence and overdraw potential are, for me, equivalent to having no side effects as long as I can replenish the depleted 'material' afterward?"

In this world where cultivators exist, ordinary martial arts naturally have a very low ceiling. However, those demonic techniques or forbidden arts that come at a great cost and that no one dares to practice may become an aid to his cultivation.