Forge a path to success

"This guy who spends all his time begging little girls for dried fish actually cares about this!"

“You’re different from the little girl,” Bangbangji chimed in. “That’s what the manager said.”

Huan Ge was furious: "Ugh, you bunch of disrespectful old folks! You act like peers in front of kids, but when you're with me, you start acting like you're old and powerful—"

"Who are you calling old?!" "What age?!" "Huh?!"

The three people in the bookstore... The three beasts revealed extremely terrifying expressions, and Huan Ge shrank his neck: "It's rhetoric, I used inappropriate rhetoric... But this kid has nothing to do with me anyway, why is he looking for me!"

Chu Hengkong said in a gentle tone, "I encountered some difficulties in my cultivation today..."

Upon hearing this, Huan Ge turned and left, saying, "Ha! If you want to cultivate, go find Ji Qiufeng. I can't teach your lineage of quick-fix disciples!"

Chu Hengkong remained calm and composed: "Master Ji said that he had only heard his teachers teach him about this difficult problem in the past, and he was still lacking in practical experience. If he wanted to learn it well, after much thought, he realized that he had to find Uncle Huan Ge of Jing Sha, otherwise there would be no one else..."

Huan Ge immediately stopped and turned around: "Did he really say that?"

"There are letters to prove it."

"Hmph, it's not like I can't say a few words!" Huan Ge said smugly. "What's the problem? Tell me!"

Chu Hengkong briefly expressed his confusion and asked, "What exactly is this unchanging principle?"

Huan Ge laughed three times after hearing this, then shook his head and said, "You, really! You keep the methods close at hand, learning quickly and hastily, to the point that you can't even find your core skills anymore!"

"I do have these methods?"

Huan Ge smiled enigmatically: "Isn't the unchanging method you seek precisely your specialty, 'One Qi Through a Thousand Autumns'?"

Chapter 332 Refining Blood into Qi

"Martial arts and talismanic arts change with the times, which is the change of 'skills'; the body ages and decays, but grows stronger through training, which is the change of 'humanity'; the sun, moon, and stars have existed since ancient times and are subject to the principle of alternation, which is the change of 'heaven and earth'."

Huan Ge raised three fingers, then withdrew them one by one: "Then what is the unchanging principle? Putting aside martial arts practitioners, as for people, is there anything that they firmly believe is unchanging?"

"It all comes down to one's own heart," Chu Hengkong said.

"Indeed! Skills are taught by others, the environment is beyond our control, and 'what we want to do' is a decision we make ourselves; a firm will will never change." Huan Ge shouted, "Then what exactly is will for martial artists? How do we judge a martial artist's will?"

"It's all about spirit..."

Spirit is the product of the fusion of refined martial arts skills and life energy. For martial artists on the path of returning to oneness, it is like a unique "identity card." Everyone's spirit is unique. Those who have undergone the transformation of the path of returning to oneness at the middle point can easily change their appearance, but they can still be recognized because of the uniqueness of their spirit.

Chu Hengkong recalled the previous battle, in which he first escaped danger by drawing his sword against the enemy's back, purely out of pure willpower: "So, even chaos can't affect willpower?"

"Nothing in this world is certain! It's just that a steadfast self is much harder to change than a physical structure. Imagine a martial artist; how could their temperament change so drastically without experiencing great ups and downs? This is something that even time can hardly reverse. Is your current temperament very different from what it was ten years ago?"

"Yes." Chu Hengkong nodded.

"There really is one?! Anyway, there shouldn't be any directional change after this, right?"

“That’s how it should be…” Chu Hengkong pondered, “That’s why I said the key is the One Qi Through the Ages.”

If we're talking about secret techniques for cultivating willpower, we must mention the Thousand Autumns of Qi for martial arts practitioners and the Thousand Nights of Instant Stars for those with broken hearts. These two secret teachings are quite different in direction, but their core is the strengthening and application of willpower itself.

He couldn't learn Shunxing's style at all, but he had always practiced Qianqiu extremely well. Now, opening Qianqiu had basically become an instinctive reaction. Chu Hengkong really didn't know how to take it a step further.

Huan Ge put his hands on his hips and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "So you guys who are quick-fix cultivators... are you still smugly thinking you've trained extremely well? You're actually almost on the wrong path!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Huan Ge took a sip of tea, his curiosity piqued, and looked around. "Gentlemen," he said, "what I am about to say concerns a secret within our sect. Please step aside..."

[This is my family's bookstore, you little rascal, say that again if you dare.]

"Okay, I'm really sorry, I'll find somewhere else, so please don't splash water on me, my clothes will get wet..."

Huan Ge shrank back and apologized like a schoolchild, while the large seal splashed water at him from the pool. Gu Libo, who was watching the spectacle, exclaimed, "The shopkeeper's intimidation is unusually strong!"

“After all, we’ve watched this guy grow up, he’s like the kid next door,” said Poison Otter. “Let’s talk business at the Divine Guard, kid next door.”

"Hey? Couldn't you just rent a room in the bookstore? I really don't want to go to a place with such a strong classroom vibe—I know, I'll leave. Don't steal my honey dumplings! You ate half the plate in one bite! That's too much!!"

Huan Ge swiftly grabbed half a pot of fruit tea and half a plate of dumplings (the plate was only half full), and walked out of the bookstore dejectedly. Chu Heng left behind a note saying he was going out to cultivate, and then followed him to the headquarters of the Third Team.

Today, Cui Ke was out on business, but Huan Ge seemed to have a high level of authority, obtaining a secret room at headquarters without any formalities. He sat facing Chu Hengkong and said, "Let me ask you, when Ji Qiufeng taught you the One Qi A Thousand Autumns technique, did he demonstrate it using self-harm methods?"

"This is not."

Huan Ge patiently guided him: "When I fought you in the arena before, I suppressed all my strength to the level 3 of the material element. In theory, I could have acted like you. But why didn't I?"

Chu Hengkong did a quick calculation and confidently replied, "You're overestimating yourself."

"No way! The 'One Qi Through a Thousand Autumns' technique isn't used like that at all in the later stages!!"

Huan Ge slammed his fist on the table in anger, causing the large bundle on his back to shake violently: "You always use the 'One Qi for a Thousand Autumns' technique to exchange injuries for injuries. In your daily battles, don't you often take the initiative to suffer injuries in order to vent your anger?"

"Yes."

"If we don't do it this way, we often have to suppress our own condition in advance and use our physical strength to the limit to face a strong enemy, isn't that right?"

"We do this all the time."

Huan Ge's eyes were serious: "If you're wounded in battle, you expect the enemy to wound you but not kill you; if you're strategizing, you expect the enemy to arrive late but not early. Either way, you're judging by the enemy's actions. As a dignified martial artist, is your life and death, success or failure, truly in your own hands or in the enemy's?!"

Chu Hengkong was startled upon hearing this and remained silent for a full half minute before saying, "It almost went astray."

"So you've finally realized it," Huan Ge sighed. "I was quite surprised to see you harm yourself before, because Ji Qiufeng couldn't have been unaware of the risk. Later, seeing how easily you fought, I realized that you've experienced too many fierce battles and have to resort to unorthodox methods to survive. It's become a habit, not something you want to change, and what others say is useless!"

"But the One Qi for a Thousand Autumns is a method of sustaining war through war, and I can't think of a better purpose for it."

“You only know one side of the story.” Huan Ge walked around the conference table. “The ‘Thousand Autumns’ technique of the Point 3 cultivator is indeed used in such an extreme way as you. Because Heart Sword cultivators have to go to the battlefield, and those evil demons and heretics are so difficult to deal with, they must have a way to overcome the strong with the weak. This is to control their own destiny in desperate situations.”

But if you've overcome numerous dangers and are no longer weak, wouldn't it be putting the cart before the horse to use the old mindset of "overcoming the strong with the weak"? In chaotic situations, what kind of person is truly strong?

Chu Hengkong opened his eyes and smiled, "Remaining calm and composed in the face of danger. Those who are confident in handling all variables are the true strong ones!"

Huan Ge stopped and said seriously, "That's exactly right! A strong person's state should be determined by themselves. When to be stable and when to be at their peak depends entirely on their own thoughts, just like a force that controls nature. If cultivators like Ji Qiufeng and I use the Qi of a Thousand Autumns again, we won't need to get hurt or feel pain."

"Behold, the art of 'One Qi for a Thousand Autumns'!"

Huan Ge simply assumed a simple stance, without making any unnecessary movements, yet his aura suddenly surged in a short span of time.

Chu Hengkong's pupils turned crimson, and the remnants of the Immortal Machine's consciousness were even activated on the spot. Huan Ge, however, remained expressionless, breathing calmly, and casually said, "Three times."

His aura surged once more, a terrifying power concentrated within his body, its presence almost solidifying the surrounding air. Chu Hengkong was about to express his admiration when Huan Ge continued, "Five times!"

A deafening roar erupted from the headquarters of the Divine Guard, the air, unable to withstand the intense pressure, shattering instantly. Extremely sharp and piercing aftershocks followed – a Level One alarm within the Divine Guard! All team members dropped their tasks, jumped to their feet, and prepared for battle! Requests for backup poured in like snowflakes to the captain who had gone out!

Huan Ge quickly stopped and went outside with a forced smile, saying, "Everyone was frightened; it was a false alarm..."

"Please, could you please be a little more considerate?!" "I'm having a heart attack from all this!" "Isn't this the second pulse sequence? Please have some self-awareness!"

Huan Ge apologized repeatedly, his mask covered in spittle as he shrank back, wiping his hand away: "Hey! Anyway, that's it, understand?"

“Your Qi of a Thousand Autumns can now be strengthened at will, so there’s no need for self-harm anymore…” Chu Hengkong pondered. “This means you can adjust your physical condition at will, without having to force it through severe injury… So, have you cultivated your body into Qi as well?”

"Just a little bit off! The correct answer is—"

"It's still not right. That kind of cultivation method is like an elemental body, which is even more of a wrong path." Chu Hengkong's eyes lit up. "You have found the method of fusion, where the mind and body are inseparable, so that you can do whatever you want."

Huan Ge veered dramatically to one side.

"To be honest, I'm a little scared that a genius has reached this level..."

Chu Hengkong's eyes lit up: "How did you do that? How do you refine your inner energy into your body?"

"Ahem!" Huan Ge cleared his throat. "The general idea is correct. To control one's Qi, one needs to rely on something omnipresent in the body, namely 'blood'! The next step in the One Qi Through the Ages is to refine one's Qi into the blood, or in other words, to refine the blood into Qi... transforming it into our unique 'Qi and Blood'."

You need to gradually shift the pressure from the outside in, like refining an external force, using your willpower to 'refine' your flesh, bones, and even your internal organs..."

Huan Ge said ominously, “At first, you will feel your muscles dissolving, as if you are becoming an empty shell; then, your internal organs and nerves will also be worn away, and the loss of consciousness will make you doubt your own existence; but you can still move like a normal person, because the functions of your muscles, nerves and internal organs will be replaced by ‘qi and blood’…”

In the end, even the brain that holds memories will disappear, and the very symbol of 'me' will vanish! Between skillful hands, unyielding bones, and a fierce heart, only the flow of vital energy and blood remains… As long as there is breath, the blood will not dry up; as long as the blood does not dry up, life will not perish. That is the true essence of 'One Qi for a Thousand Autumns'!

Huan Ge chuckled coldly, trembling for a moment before sitting down and saying, "Wasn't it terrifying? Now you've changed your mind—"

Chu Hengkong stared blankly at his fingertips, which had turned to blood.

"How could you try it yourself before I even started teaching you, you idiot! Are you crazy?!"

"Because I feel this method is really good..."

Huan Ge pointed frantically at his head: "Don't you have any concerns?! Your brain will fall off! Your sense of self will disappear!"

"It's a good thing that we've lost a major weakness."

"Wow..."

Chu Hengkong had no psychological burden: "Moreover, after my brain is refined, it becomes my blood, so it's not lost either way. After the refinement, my blood also has memory ability, which means I have evolved, which is a great thing."

Huan Ge turned around and quietly took off his mask to wipe his sweat.

(Ji Qiufeng, now I finally understand why you've been so stingy with your teaching... With this kid's comprehension and temperament, if I accidentally say too much, he might even figure out the cultivation methods of mortal cultivators...)

In other words, one wrong move and you could become a mediocre teacher who forces students to transcend their level of cultivation by several major points! That's terrifying!!!

Chapter 333: Stop talking

"...This blood refining method truly requires instruction through words and actions, so Ji Qiufeng cannot teach it to you." Huan Ge sighed, "I demonstrated it for you this time, and you..."

It stared at Chu Hengkong's calves, which were beginning to melt, and said, "You probably understand now."

"Ah."

"What are you humming about! I've already told you to be careful and not to practice on your own! Every year on the mountain, we see idiots who have burned themselves out. It's a lot of work for us senior brothers and masters to treat them, do you understand?!"

Chu Hengkong withdrew his aura, and his leg was completely healed. He smiled and said, "I've discovered that if one possesses an Undying and Indestructible Technique, the risks of blood refining can be significantly reduced. And refining from the outside in with the Qi Armor, or from the inside out with the Burning Night Technique, should also be a method that yields twice the result with half the effort, right?"

Huan Ge kept scratching his head, but finally couldn't resist the eager gaze of his juniors and sighed, "Alas! Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you. The three secret techniques of Longquan Township are both skills and paths. Their original purpose is to cultivate together with the One Qi Through the Thousand Autumns, helping martial artists break through the life-and-death bottlenecks..."

"The basic framework is the One Qi Through the Ages plus one of the Three Secret Transmissions."

"That's the basic framework for a mid-level cultivator. You should also know that this method is far too early for you right now!" Huan Ge's face behind the mask turned solemn. "The prerequisite for refining blood into qi is complete control over one's own body, a trait possessed only by those with the Sky-Bearing Wings. It's usually only when Sky-Bearing cultivators are preparing to break through the mortal realm that they dare to go into seclusion to study this method. But your current strength far surpasses the essence of life, and you're challenging someone who has refined blood at level 3. I've never heard of such a thing before."

"Will there be any downsides?"

"There are no downsides, only benefits!" Huan Ge sneered. "The benefit is that after you successfully refine your blood, your life essence will naturally improve. Even if you're incredibly stupid and dull-witted, you can still force your way to level 4 in terms of mass points. Even if you have a thousand reasons not to, you can still fly after you succeed!"

Chu Hengkong, who had been in a lighthearted mood, was taken aback by these words. Huan Ge shook his head upon seeing this: "But you know yourself that skill isn't the real challenge; the mental hurdle is the hardest to overcome. You have grand ambitions, yet you've bound yourself to the ground. With such a mindset, how can you truly succeed?"

Chu Hengkong scratched his head: "Do you think I'm restricting myself?"

Huan Ge retorted, "Huh, you're such a domineering guy, yet you're always sullen. Do I need to 'think' you? I think you're not happy with all the chaos in Jing Sha, and you wish you could personally step in and set things right!"

"You're joking, it's none of my business."

"I'd like to ask you something: what kind of setbacks have you suffered that make you so unable to express your feelings?"

Chu Hengkong remained silent for a while before replying, "I failed once before... so it's hard for me to return to that mindset."

A huge question mark appeared on Huan Ge's mask: "If we can't go back, why force ourselves to continue?"

"We can't afford to lose again," Chu Hengkong laughed. "We can't afford to lose anymore."

Huan Ge didn't ask any more questions. He conjured up four small flags and stuck them in the four corners of the room. He also conjured up a piece of yellow paper and placed it on the table.

As he left, he said, "My banners can block heretics below the level of 5. After all, a bookstore is not a military camp. If you want to cultivate, come inside... Everyone has their own path, so I won't say more. Just remember, if you can't see through something, don't force it. Perseverance is the true path!"

Chu Hengkong thanked him, took the yellow paper and looked at it. He found that it was the lost array of point 4, with a pair of fluffy wings drawn in the center of the array.

He went out and asked a member of the Divine Guard to deliver a letter to Ji Huaisu, telling him that he was practicing cultivation. Then he sat cross-legged in the center of the room and emptied his mind.

Refining his body wasn't simple, as he still possessed many external cultivation components. He also needed to take this opportunity to adjust his body and use the Residual Heart Reversal Technique to arrange a non-fighting spot for these "residents"...

His muscles dissolved little by little, and he let his thoughts wander, unconsciously repeating Huan Ge's last admonition: "Let nature take its course, don't force things..." This was something he could hardly achieve, even during his time as an assassin.

They are always going against the current, never stopping.

·

The cleanroom headquarters, VV Laboratory.

After days of torrential rain, the dust-free grounds finally cleared up today, and laughter filled the park. Scholars who had been cooped up for weeks were having picnics with their families on the lawn, and even the most traditional old scholars took off their brass masks.

The secretary changed into sneakers; she didn't want to walk around the grass in high heels like a compass on such a beautiful day. She checked to make sure no new messages had arrived, then sat down under the banyan tree and tore open a sandwich.

The package contained a bright green bag of synthetic vitamins and natural plant fiber, and she began to regret buying the health food.

"Give yourself a break, Hill, aren't you really going to feel nauseous?" A female colleague from the research institute next door said to her. "Try this, I made it myself."

The female colleague was easygoing and plump; her son had only recently started school. Hill accepted her gift: a heavy potato pie and some homemade egg tarts.

Thank you so much! Any good news lately?