Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

For some reason, ever since the Xia Dong incident happened...

Qin Wan felt that her relationship with her master had become closer.

Moreover, her master warned her not to expose this matter.

This matter probably became a secret between the master and his apprentice.

In recent days, government officials from the foot of the mountain have frequently come up to discuss matters with the sect leader and their masters. Since then, the older senior brothers and sisters of the Immortal Sect have begun to descend the mountain one after another.

However, Qin Wan keenly observed that there were also cultivators from within the sect who were not government officials, who had secretly gone up the mountain.

But even though she saw it, she pretended not to know.

Later, her master reminded her of something.

It was said that if anyone tried to get the Qin family to join any religion, the Qin family should be told not to get involved, but also not to offend the other party.

Qin Wan kept this in mind.

Master then mentioned some matters concerning the area down the mountain, saying that the imperial court was planning to establish the Eagle Wolf Guard in Lin Yuan Prefecture.

In places like Lin Yuan Prefecture, which had been controlled by immortal sects for many years, the government had never established the Eagle Wolf Guard. The Eagle Wolf Guard was responsible for monitoring martial artists and cultivators.

This function was originally performed by the Qixia Immortal Sect in Linyuan Prefecture.

But now, the Qixia Immortal Sect has actually relinquished this power.

However, the disciples of Qixia Immortal Sect will also be the main members of the Eagle Wolf Guard of Linyuan Prefecture.

To be precise, most of the original enforcement teams of the Immortal Sect have now joined the Eagle Wolf Guard and are now part of the imperial court's staff. In addition to receiving spirit stones from the sect each month, the imperial court also provides them with a monthly stipend.

Moreover, the Eagle Wolf Guards can accumulate merit by completing tasks for the imperial court or making contributions, and then use these merits to exchange for the cultivation resources they need from the imperial court.

In terms of both the quantity and variety of resources, the imperial court has now surpassed the Qixia Immortal Sect.

The Eagle Wolf Guard not only includes cultivators but also powerful martial artists.

Currently, the imperial court still has an unknown number of Transcendent Realm martial artists. These martial artists can fight against top Qi Refining stage cultivators. Above the Transcendent Realm, there are True Intent Realm martial artists. Even if they encounter Foundation Establishment cultivators, they will not be afraid at all.

Compared to cultivators, the imperial court seems to be more adept at training martial artists, and is now promoting martial arts across all prefectures and cities.

Qin Wan naturally wouldn't get involved in these matters. Instead, she intensified her cultivation. No matter how the situation in the world changed, only by having sufficient strength could she protect herself.

...

...

After Qin Wan folded a thin piece of paper on the table, she flicked it, and it turned into ashes, drifting into the mountain wind outside.

That thin piece of paper was a letter that Xia Dong had entrusted someone to deliver from the mortal world.

The handwriting in the letter was neat and upright, with a restrained and subtle style.

At the end of the letter, Xia Dong solemnly promised that if any member of the Xia family had spiritual roots in the future, she would find a way to save Foundation Establishment Pills and trade with her.

Seeing these few lines of text, Qin Wan finally felt relieved.

She possesses a unique spiritual root, and even with her decent aptitude, it would take her at least ten or twenty years of painstaking effort to cultivate step by step from the Qi Refining stage to the ninth level of Qi Refining and open the door to Foundation Establishment.

She can wait, and she's not in a hurry.

Cultivating immortality is about racing against time; being able to secure long-term protection is already a great comfort.

In the letter, Xia Dong also asked for one more thing—he wanted Qin Wan to help him find a martial arts technique to control his qi and blood and unleash the potential of his physical body.

Qin Wan was slightly surprised, but then she understood. It turned out that Xia Dong had already started to walk the path of martial arts.

In the Qixia Immortal Sect, martial arts techniques are not uncommon; in fact, quite a few are casually piled up on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion. Cultivators have never really looked down on these mundane martial arts techniques.

The breathing techniques of immortals draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which can subtly cleanse the marrow and nourish the body, far surpassing the effects of ordinary martial arts.

Moreover, many external martial arts in the mortal world rely on overdrawing one's life force and destroying the physical body in exchange for temporary combat power, which is not the way to achieve immortality.

But since it was Xia Dong's request, she would do her best.

Half a day later, Qin Wan pulled out a yellowed book from a corner of the library—"The Dragon-Capturing Skill".

This skill does not cultivate internal strength but focuses on physical strength. Its core lies in seizing the spine, the "dragon," to lock the body's blood and qi and prevent them from leaking out. This greatly enhances the martial artist's control over the body's blood and qi and their instantaneous explosive power.

After obtaining the cultivation technique, Qin Wan did not hide it and went straight to the cave of the Lonely Moon Immortal to report.

In the secluded cave, Master Guyue listened to the whole story, his expression unchanged. He simply said, "No matter how vigorous a mortal martial artist's blood and energy are, they can never escape the passage of time. However, since he is willing to forge this good relationship, it would be fine to bestow upon him a cultivation technique."

After saying that, the real man slightly moved his sleeve, and an ancient token that was neither gold nor jade fell into Qin Wan's hand.

"I will first send him a message, asking you two to meet secretly in the market outside the sect. At that time, you will give him this token, which he can use to enter and exit the cultivation market in Lin Yuan Prefecture in the future." Master Gu Yue said calmly, "Although he has no spiritual root and cannot cultivate with spirit stones, there are cultivation families and ordinary martial artists coming and going in the market. He can use spirit stones to exchange for some resources that are beneficial to his martial arts cultivation."

Master Guyue casually picked up a piece of yellow paper from the table and folded it into a paper crane. With a flick of his finger, he chanted an incantation, and the aura and light of summer and winter appeared in the void. Then, he transformed into a ray of spiritual light and infused it into the paper crane. The paper crane suddenly came to life, spread its wings, and took off into the air.

A faint halo of light swirled around the paper crane, perfectly concealing its outline and aura in the night before it vanished into the sea of ​​clouds, disappearing without a trace.

……

Pingyang County, within the city.

Xia Dongzheng stood in the courtyard practicing Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation), his breathing steady and long. Under the perfect influence of the Crane-shaped Zhan Zhuang, his blood and energy were gently surging like a furnace.

Suddenly, he felt a chill and abruptly opened his eyes.

In the dark night wind, a paper crane, shimmering with light, pierced through the darkness without warning, spiraling down without a trace of smoke, and finally landed steadily in front of him.

The aura surrounding the paper crane gradually faded, transforming into a piece of paper.

Xia Dong reached out and grasped the letter, her fingertips tracing the ancient patterns on it, feeling the lingering, otherworldly aura emanating from it.

He didn't speak, but just gazed for a long time at the deep night sky where the paper cranes flew.

My palms were slightly cool, but my blood was burning hot.

This was the first time since he came into this world that he had so directly and truly encountered the lofty and unattainable methods of the immortals.