Divine Tang Era

A wisp of energy travels along the palm, ascending through the meridians and entering the internal organs, skin, bones, and meridians.

At this moment, Xu Dan's entire body was laid bare before Li Zhu's eyes, and everything was laid bare before him.

"Huh? Why are your meridians blocked?" Li Zhu suddenly asked in surprise.

"What's blocking it?" Xu Dan asked, turning his head.

"Don't move, let me check again." Li Zhu channeled her true energy again, and wisps of energy flowed continuously and gently into Xu Dan's body, spreading from his back to his head, hands, feet, and internal organs. A diagram of meridians, flesh, bone marrow, and blood slowly appeared in her eyes.

For some reason, the golden lotus located in the heart went unnoticed.

After a moment, Li Zhu put down her hand and said, "I have bad news. Your meridians are blocked, so you can't practice the Qi cultivation technique to open up your acupoints and meridians. If you want to cultivate, you'll need to find a master to use his supreme power to open up all your meridians. And this master's cultivation level can't be too low."

"Is it necessary to become an apprentice?" Xu Dan frowned.

"Why are you so resistant to becoming an apprentice?" Li Zhu asked.

"The relationship between master and disciple is like that between father and son. Once you become a disciple, you have a bond with them. During holidays, I have to visit them and give them gifts every now and then. When they get old, I have to take care of them. When they die, I have to mourn and hold a funeral. There are so many troublesome things. It's better to just pay money to learn martial arts."

Xu Dan still thinks like a modern person, unaware that caring is also part of maintaining feelings and relationships.

"Relationships maintained by money are ultimately unreliable, and having someone 'open your meridians' is tantamount to putting your life and death in someone else's hands. Can you really trust someone you pay money to do that?"

Upon hearing her words, Xu Dan fell into thought.

Seeing that he had taken it to heart, Li Zhu continued, "However, there's good news in the bad news: the meridians in your body aren't naturally blocked, but formed later in life, filled with condensed spiritual energy. As long as you open up your meridians and harness this spiritual energy, it won't be difficult to ascend to great heights. Furthermore, you have abundant blood and energy, and strong bones. Even if you can't cultivate Qi, you can still practice martial arts to refine your blood and energy. Once you achieve mastery in martial arts, you can refine your essence into spirit and cultivate the art of controlling objects. At that time, with both martial arts and the divine path at your fingertips, you'll be able to roam the world freely."

Xu Dan thought for a moment and asked, "Is it really impossible to practice Qi cultivation?"

"It's not that you can't practice, but you need someone with profound skill to clear all your meridians. Your meridians are blocked, and clearing them won't be done overnight; it will consume a lot of energy. Unless you're a family member, no one will help you."

Hearing her words, Xu Dan felt a little discouraged.

"Fine then, if we can't practice, we can't practice. Let's buy a boxing manual first."

He had previously bought a copy of the Taibao Divine Fist, a boxing style that Qin Qiong left for his younger generation to build a foundation, from the Sansheng Bookstore. After practicing it for a while, he felt that it was a bit too childish and did not show his skills. So he wanted to buy a more powerful version to practice.

"Your body is rich in blood and energy, with strong muscles and bones. I happen to have a technique here called the 'Standing Cauldron and Sealing Furnace Technique' that is perfect for you. This technique mainly tempers the flesh and blood, refining the blood and energy within the body to resemble a golden cauldron or bronze furnace, making it a unified whole, inside and out. Once you reach the power of the Nine Cauldrons, you can cultivate the 'Nine Cauldrons Transformation Divine Art' to refine the vast blood and energy and strengthen your divine soul. With a strengthened divine soul, you can then cultivate techniques for controlling objects. At that time, whether it's controlling swords, beasts, or insects, as long as you master one of these techniques, you will have a place in the world."

After Li Zhu finished speaking, she took out two books and placed them in Xu Dan's hands.

Xu Dan opened the "Standing Cauldron and Sealing Furnace Technique" and discovered that this technique not only tempers the blood and qi, but also strengthens the body and builds a powerful physique.

It actually incorporates some visualization techniques, requiring practitioners to imagine themselves as a golden cauldron or bronze furnace. After successful practice, blood flows freely throughout the body, qi and blood circulate throughout the entire body, energy is abundant, physical strength is greatly increased, the body is as strong as diamond, and external evils cannot invade.

Upon seeing the words "invulnerable to external evils," Xu Dan decided to cultivate it.

There's nothing I can do; this wretched place is teeming with ghosts and monsters. I've already encountered three in just a few days, and who knows if I'll run into any more in the future? It's best to learn some martial arts for self-defense.

Let's take another look at the "Nine Cauldrons Transformation Divine Skill". This skill follows the path of refining blood and qi to nourish the spirit and soul.

Ordinary cultivation methods first refine essence into qi, then refine qi into spirit. This method, however, skips the qi refining stage and directly refines essence into spirit, omitting the step of transforming blood and essence into true qi. As a result, the required blood and qi are extremely astonishing; no wonder it's called "Nine Cauldrons Transforming into Spirit." Without the power of the Nine Cauldrons, attempting to refine essence into divine soul power would likely result in instant death.

Both cultivation manuals were good, so Xu Dan decided to take them both.

"Sister, how much are these two cultivation manuals?"

Li Zhu didn't answer, but instead asked, "Do you want to buy anything else?"

"I also want to buy a book on Qigong to practice at home."

"You're still not giving up. Fine, you won't turn back unless you practice it yourself. I have a technique here called 'The Northern Dark Tortoise's Method of Swallowing the Sun and Moon.' Take it back and take a look."

After saying that, he handed the book to Xu Dan.

This cultivation technique is actually a method of absorbing the essence of the sun, moon, and stars and expelling the impurities from the body. It describes various acupoints and meridians, and also outlines methods for activating them. It's not bad. Xu Dan put it away and then said, "I also want to buy a bow and arrows. I wonder if I have enough spirit stones?"

"Why did you buy a bow and arrow? Are you good at archery?" Li Zhu asked.

"Isn't this thing something you can just pull on and call it a day?" Xu Dan asked, looking puzzled.

The immortals beside him explained, "The art of archery, once mastered, is no less important than cultivating qi or martial arts. There are many tricks involved, and you can't learn it just by buying a book. If you want to learn, young master, you'd better find someone to teach you."

"Sister Xian'er is right. Archery is easy to learn but difficult to master. Don't think that just being able to draw a bow and shoot an arrow is archery skill; they are worlds apart. There is an elder in the Xue family who lives in the blacksmith's alley in the city. He loves to teach you young gentlemen. You might as well bring some gifts to visit him later. He doesn't care much about money. Just be respectful when you go, or that elder might kick you out," Li Zhu said.

Upon hearing the name Xue family, Xu Dan immediately became interested and asked, "Is the Xue family you're talking about the family of Xue Rengui, who famously quelled the rebellion of Xue Rengui at Tianshan with three arrows?"

"Otherwise, which one do you think it is?" Li Zhu rolled her eyes at him.

Xu Dan exclaimed, "The Xue family is amazing! They've produced a lot of talented people, like Xue Pinggui, Xue Dingshan, and Xue Gang. What's more, they married good wives. One endured eighteen years of hardship in a cold cave, another possessed supernatural powers that could turn rivers and seas upside down, and the third had amazing martial arts skills that rivaled any man. They also had two wonderful sons, Xue Jiao and Xue Kui."

He loved watching Taiwanese opera on TV since he was a child and knew the characters inside and out.

"What Xue Pinggui and Xue Dingshan, who supposedly turned the world upside down and stayed in a cold cave? Where did you read that legendary tale? The Xue family doesn't have such figures," Li Zhu said.

Zhu Yuxian thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, I have never heard of it."

"You are all very ignorant."

Xu Dan glanced at the two with disdain and beckoned them over, saying, "Come here, let me tell you the story of Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan's earth-shattering and tear-jerkingly loyal love. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Consorts Yu and Liu were vying for the emperor's favor. Consort Liu gave birth to the crown prince, which aroused Consort Yu's murderous intent. Taking advantage of Emperor Xuanzong's absence, Consort Yu wanted to harm Consort Liu and the crown prince."

Upon hearing this, the eunuch Ye Xing carried the crown prince and fled the palace. To avoid being humiliated by Consort Yu, Consort Liu committed suicide.

When Consort Yu learned that Ye Xing had escaped the palace with the Crown Prince, she ordered his men to hunt them down. Emperor Xuanzong returned to the palace and, upon learning of this, immediately decreed Consort Yu's execution and hastily dispatched men to search for Ye Xing and the Crown Prince. Unexpectedly, Ye Xing was killed in the pursuit, and the Crown Prince was lost among the common people, his whereabouts unknown. Unbeknownst to many, while Ye Xing was being pursued, he had hidden the newborn Crown Prince in a desolate forest, allowing him to escape.

But after a while, the prince got hungry and couldn't help but cry out.

In the desolate wilderness, far from any human habitation, he was on the verge of starvation. Just then, a massive tigress heard the cries and slowly approached from afar. Perhaps being a new tigress herself, or perhaps moved by the cries, the tigress took her cub back to her den and raised him...

There are many versions of Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan's story, but Xu Dan's version is a fusion of television and Taiwanese opera.

The prince grew up in the tiger's den. One day, he went out into the mountains with the tiger mother and was spotted by a hunter surnamed Xue. Xue thought the tiger mother had taken the cub away, so he gathered the hunters to search the mountains and kill the tiger.

The tigress escaped with her cubs, the prince was captured, and later adopted by a hunter, who named him Xue Pinggui.

Growing up, his adoptive father was murdered. Xue Pinggui learned of his true parentage and set out to find his birth mother, ending up destitute on the streets of Chang'an, where he was taken in by two beggars. The three became sworn brothers, but lacking any skills, they lived by begging. Meanwhile, Wang Baochuan, the daughter of a high-ranking official, was ordered to marry a man. Pinggui won the embroidered ball, and a carriage carrying him to his home was arranged. Baochuan, the wealthy heiress, married the beggar, and they lived together in his humble dwelling.

After marriage, Pinggui joined the army and made many outstanding contributions, but he was framed by Deputy Marshal Wei Hu and almost lost his life in Western Liao.

Unexpectedly, he turned misfortune into blessing, catching the eye of Princess Daizhan of the Liao Kingdom and becoming the consort of the Western Liao.

When news of Xue Pinggui's death arrived at her home, Wang Baochuan refused to believe it and continued to wait patiently in her cold cave, hoping for her husband's return.

One day, the two sworn brothers heard that Xue Pinggui was in Western Liao, so they begged their way there to find him, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful.

Eighteen years later, Xue Pinggui ascended the throne of the Western Liao Kingdom. He met with his brother-in-law, the Tang envoy Su Long, who had come to congratulate him. Upon learning that Baochuan had endured eighteen years of hardship in a cold cave, he stole Princess Daizhan's gold token, rode a white horse through three passes, and traveled a thousand miles alone to reunite with his wife. Unintentionally, Xue Pinggui's true identity as the crown prince was discovered.

Wei Hu never expected that he was actually the eldest prince Li Wen, who had been living among the common people. Thinking of what he had done, he was filled with fear and decided to stage a coup.

Upon hearing of her husband's misfortune, Princess Daizhan, far away in the Liao Kingdom, immediately marched to Chang'an, leading the Western Liao army to besiege the capital and demand the handover of their people. Ultimately, Wei Hu was punished, Xue Pinggui declared himself emperor, and he reunited with Wang Baochuan at their humble abode, making her his empress and thus the king of both kingdoms.

The story of Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan combines elements of Tang Dynasty palace secrets with folk legends, blending truth and fiction. The plot is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and is quite different from the existing legends and stories of the Tang Dynasty, making listeners unconsciously fascinated.

The story is long.

Xu Dan couldn't possibly tell the whole story from beginning to end, so he shortened the plot and only talked about the most exciting parts. Even so, Li Zhu and Zhu Yuxian listened with great interest, and even the people in the building were attracted to come over.

After hearing the story, the two couldn't help but feel doubtful and began to question their own memories. They decided to investigate whether Xue Pinggui really existed in the Xue family.