The Eagle Shooting Heroes: From Golden-Knife Prince Consort to Emperor Guangwu of the Great Zhou Dyn

After hearing all this, Xu Zhu understood somewhat.

Having lived for so many years, he had witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties.

In addition, being a recluse, he takes many worldly views lightly!

Xu Zhu said calmly, "So, your destruction of Western Xia was also for this reason?"

Guo Liqing nodded, completely disregarding Xu Zhu's status as the "Prince Consort of Western Xia".

"That's right! Although I destroyed Western Xia, I will try my best to preserve the people of Western Xia! I will give them peace!"

"You destroy Western Xia today, and in the future... you will also destroy Song?"

Guo Liqing clasped his hands together and said, "Yes!"

Xu Zhu clasped his hands together and said, "You're doing this for the people too?"

"yes!"

"But once you start a war, there will be immense suffering and people will be displaced! Is this what you call doing for the people?"

Guo Liqing nodded and sighed, "War will inevitably result in casualties! As the saying goes, 'When the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country falls, the people suffer.' But think about it, if these wars could be fought in one generation, there would be no need for them to be fought generation after generation! This is what is meant by 'the sins are committed in the present, but the merits are passed down through the ages!'"

My goal is to bring peace to all generations!

"'The sins are committed in this generation, but the merits will last for generations,' 'To usher in an era of peace for all ages!'" Xu Zhu repeated, smiling slightly. "Talented people emerge in every generation! I never imagined you had such grand ideas. It's a pity that no one throughout history has been able to achieve them!"

"It may not have happened before, but it might happen in the future! Perhaps many years later, someone will be able to do it! It's a pity he didn't live long enough; if he had, he might really have been able to do it!"

Xu Zhu glanced at Guo Liqing and asked, "So you want to learn the Everlasting Spring Skill because you want to live longer so you can realize your ideal of 'bringing peace to all generations'?"

Guo Liqing was taken aback; he had been lost in his memories. Actually, he hadn't thought that far ahead; his desire to learn the Free and Unfettered Sect's techniques was merely curiosity about martial arts manuals.

"I guess so!"

Xu Zhu said, "Although I lack talent, I have studied martial arts for many years! In my experience, one should not have too many worldly thoughts when practicing martial arts, otherwise one will hardly achieve anything in one's lifetime!"

"I've remembered your words, Master!"

Seeing Guo Liqing's eager look, Xuzhu immediately stopped talking.

"Come in with me!"

Guo Liqing followed Xu Zhu into the cave.

It's warmer inside this cave than outside.

Guo Liqing looked into the cave and saw statues, books, calligraphy and paintings inside.

Xu Zhu pointed to the books on the bookshelf and said, "These are the martial arts techniques of the Xiaoyao Sect. The internal skills include the 'Eternal Youth and Longevity Technique,' as well as the 'Lesser Formless Technique' and the 'Northern Darkness Divine Technique.' The external skills include the 'Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand,' the 'Tianshan Six Yang Palms,' and the 'White Rainbow Palm.' The lightness skill is the 'Lingbo Steps.'"

Upon hearing this, Guo Liqing exclaimed, "Wow, that's comprehensive! And they're all top-tier martial arts manuals! We obtained them just like that!"

"These were all handwritten by my wife back then. You are welcome to borrow them, but please take good care of them and do not damage them."

"Thank you! I'll be careful."

Guo Liqing reached out and grabbed the famous "Northern Darkness Divine Art." He opened the book, and the first page read:

Our internal energy cultivation method goes against the principles of other schools and sects. Anyone who has practiced internal energy cultivation must completely forget what they have learned and concentrate on practicing the new method. If there is any confusion or disorder, the two methods will clash, causing immediate madness, vomiting blood, and the destruction of all meridians. It is extremely dangerous.

Guo Liqing was stunned. He looked up at Xu Zhu, who smiled slightly.

Xu Zhu possessed three different internal energies, yet he nearly died young despite them all. Guo Liqing knew perfectly well that he still needed to learn them, and Xu Zhu didn't know how to evaluate it.

Then, Guo Liqing took out the "Eternal Youth and Longevity Exercise".

He practiced according to the instructions in the book and found that it was more like a breathing exercise.

Xu Zhu spoke up, reminding her, "You must be careful. When Tong Lao cultivated this skill, she needed to drink fresh blood to do so. I have recorded two cultivation methods in this technique: one is Tong Lao's original method, and the other is my modified method. I left Tong Lao's method behind for future generations to refer to, not for them to learn."

Guo Liqing nodded. Given Xu Zhu's personality, he would never voluntarily drink raw blood to cultivate. Xu Zhu must have used a new method to cultivate the "Eternal Spring Skill".

"Master Xuzhu, since you modified the cultivation method, why did you leave behind the original method?"

Xu Zhu sighed, "I am dull-witted. Although I have mastered the Everlasting Spring Technique, I cannot understand its underlying principles. Moreover, my method is not applicable to others. Therefore, I have left behind the original cultivation method, hoping that future generations can comprehend it through this."

"Your cultivation method is unusable by others?"

Xu Zhu nodded and said, "To this day, no one has succeeded in mastering it using my method."

Others couldn't master it using Xu Zhu's method, but he succeeded on his own.

What exactly is going on?

With this question in mind, Guo Liqing continued reading.

The introduction to Changchun Gong, like other exercises, involves breathing exercises to absorb true qi.

The Changchun Gong believes that the body's true energy originates from the five grains. The absorption of the five grains in the body is a slow process, and the essence of the practice is to enhance this absorption.

It employs an extreme method to improve efficiency, thereby allowing people to obtain more true qi.

In the book, Xu Zhu writes that because the true qi is generated too much and too quickly, the cultivation method not only absorbs the true qi of the five grains but also transforms one's own essence and blood into true qi. If this continues, it will endanger one's life.

Drinking blood-nourishing beverages is equivalent to replenishing essence and blood, and harmonizing yin and yang.

This is the cultivation method left behind by the Child Granny.

The cultivation method that Xu Zhu modified later seemed quite mysterious.

He consulted the cultivation method of the "Northern Darkness Divine Art" and found that both techniques focused on cultivating internal energy, one drawing energy from within and the other from without!

When Duan Yu learned the "Northern Darkness Divine Skill," he was able to absorb the internal energy of others, which can be considered as taking from outside.

However, just like drinking raw blood, Xu Zhu would not learn this behavior.

So how did Xu Zhu do it?

He also drew upon the principles of tranquility, non-action, and following the natural course of things from the "Xiao Wu Xiang Gong".

Then he introduced the Buddhist concept of "emptiness," and after entering the state of "emptiness," he naturally achieved it.

There is no need to convert one's own essence and blood into true qi, nor is there a need to absorb the internal energy of others from the outside world.

And so, after entering a meditative state, the skill was naturally mastered.

This statement was so mysterious that Guo Liqing couldn't figure it out for a while.

Among Xu Zhu's martial arts manuals, only the Lingbo Weibu (Lingbo Steps) can be considered a martial art that can be quickly mastered.

It requires practice according to the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching, while also incorporating breathing exercises.

It can not only improve physical skills, but also increase internal strength.

After browsing through all the martial arts manuals, Guo Liqing summarized one point!

The primary goal of all martial arts techniques is to accumulate internal energy!

As for external martial arts techniques such as "Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand" and "Tianshan Six Yang Palms," they are actually the same as the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms—they lack internal energy and are just ordinary techniques.

Guo Liqing stayed in Xu Zhu's cave, studying martial arts manuals for several days.

On Torre's side, seeing that Guo Liqing had not returned, he led an army of several thousand men to the Tianshan Mountains.

Only after Guo Liqing's bodyguard, Taichige, intervened and explained the situation did Torre refrain from resorting to force.

However, Torre remained uneasy until he saw Guo Liqing.

Finally, Li Mengxue had no choice but to go to Xuzhu Cave and tell him what had happened.

Guo Liqing then came from the cave in the back mountain to the main hall in the front mountain to meet with Torre.

The moment Torre saw Guo Liqing, he said, "Anda, you've come here to learn martial arts; this is going to cause a major disaster in Zhongxing Prefecture!"