Willows Planted Unwittingly, A Cultivation Method!

After parting with Old Daoist Liu, Chen Yan did not hurry back to Ping An Fang. Instead, he stopped by the old woman's home on the way.

Having been out of the city for half a month without returning, the old woman had been deeply worried about Chen Yan's safety. Fortunately, Constable Zhao Gang had come by midway and told her of Chen Yan's whereabouts. Otherwise, she might well have gone to the County Yamen to report him missing.

As usual, he helped fill the water jar and split some firewood. But before he left, the old woman forcibly pressed a jade pendant into Chen Yan's hands.

This jade pendant had been passed down through the old woman's ancestors. The ancestral instructions stated that even if someone died, this jade pendant could not be lost. Thus, Granny Chen had kept it until now.

She had originally intended to give it to Chen Yan as her granddaughter's dowry once the girl grew up and married him. But Chen Yan's unceasing help over the past few months had left the old woman feeling guilty. Her granddaughter was still too young to repay him, so she decided to give this ancestral jade pendant to Chen Yan as a token of her gratitude.

At first, Chen Yan naturally refused. Yet after noticing something unusual, he unexpectedly chose to accept it.

On the way home, Chen Yan looked at the jade slip in his hand with a rather strange expression.

That strange look even left Facai on his shoulder completely baffled, to the point that it suspected its poop-scooping servant had something wrong with his brain.

The moment he returned to his home in Ping An Fang, Chen Yan impatiently entered the Void Space, opened the Heavenly Book of Merit, and looked at his personal panel:

Name: Chen Yan

Realm: Third Blood Qi Realm

Cultivation Techniques: Blood Fiend Saber Technique (Mastery Beyond Peak), Dragon Step (Entered the Hall)

Items: Fish Dragon Saber (Thousand-Forged), Cultivation Technique Jade Slip, Evil-Slaying Talisman

Merit: 1,003

Everything was exactly as before, except for the items column.

Yes, besides the Fish Dragon Saber and the Evil-Slaying Talisman gifted by Old Daoist Liu, the items column now contained something Chen Yan had never expected—the Cultivation Technique Jade Slip.

Chen Yan had not possessed this thing at first. But ever since the old woman forced the jade pendant into his hands, he had discovered this new description in the items column.

That was why Chen Yan had initially refused, only to inexplicably accept it afterward.

There was no doubt that the Cultivation Technique Jade Slip displayed on the panel referred to the jade pendant Granny Chen had given him.

Cultivation Technique Jade Slip. As the name implied, it was a jade slip that recorded a cultivation technique.

The only thing to note was whether the cultivation technique within referred to a martial arts technique or a cultivator's method.

Chen Yan guessed it was most likely the latter. At that thought, his heart could not help pounding.

What was this?

Flowers carefully planted refused to bloom, while willows planted unwittingly cast shade?

Good repaid with good, evil repaid with evil—not that there was no retribution, only that the time had not yet come?

Only...

How exactly was he supposed to open this jade slip?

Chen Yan could only stare blankly at the jade slip in his hand.

Without a doubt, if he were a cultivator now, he could certainly use Magic Power to open this jade slip.

But wasn't he not one yet?

So the question was...

Could the power of qi and blood open the jade slip?

Chen Yan did not know, so he intended to try.

In fact, if he waited until tomorrow and asked Old Daoist Liu for a small favor, he could surely open it as well.

But for one thing, this jade slip was the old woman's family heirloom. Though she had already given it to him, it would not be good if its contents were discovered by a second person.

The other reason was that Chen Yan could not wait.

He wanted to try it right now!

The power of qi and blood was neither true force nor true qi, so Chen Yan still could not project his qi and blood outward.

Since he could not manage it on the level of power, he could only try it on the physical level.

Just as Old Daoist Liu had said before, the Heart's Yang Blood of a Qi and Blood Martial Artist contained a trace of Innate Pure Yang Qi. Since that aura could activate talismans, it should naturally be able to open a cultivator's jade slip as well.

With that thought, Chen Yan cut open his middle finger, condensed a drop of essence blood, and gently let it fall onto the jade slip.

The crimson drop of essence blood landed lightly on the jade slip's surface. Very soon, something miraculous happened.

As if its surface were the sea, the jade slip swiftly absorbed Chen Yan's drop of essence blood.

The next instant, a voice steeped in ancient vicissitudes sounded beside Chen Yan's ear:

"The five grains are the lifeblood of the common people, nourishing all beneath heaven. I once sought a method that could be cultivated by all people, but my talent was dull, and I could only reach the Embryonic Breathing stage. I hope that among my Chen descendants, one may obtain this and complete this method..."

What followed was a set of cultivation method formulas.

Compared to the Heavenly Book of Merit's direct empowerment, the transmission jade slip was undoubtedly much gentler.

The former forcibly increased Chen Yan's experience, while the latter merely allowed the one who opened it to remember.

A quarter of an hour later, after reading through all the information within the jade slip, Chen Yan's eyes revealed a thoughtful look.

There was no doubt that the old woman's ancestor had once been a cultivator.

Moreover, judging from the contents recorded in this jade slip, his cultivation had even surpassed Old Daoist Liu's Dao Foundation stage. At the very least, he had reached the level of Refining Essence into Qi.

The old woman's ancestor had undoubtedly been someone of extraordinary talent. He had actually sought to open a path for all people.

Thus, he created this cultivation method known as the Five Grains Qi Nourishment Record. Unfortunately, this method was far too difficult. The old woman's ancestor had only deduced it as far as the Embryonic Breathing stage before he could deduce it no further.

He therefore left behind this jade slip, hoping that his descendants could continue and complete the unfinished work of their forebear.

Yet no one knew what happened afterward, causing the Chen Clan to which the old woman belonged to decline, until cultivators never appeared among them again. Still, this jade slip had fortunately been preserved until today, only finally coming into the light in Chen Yan's hands.

After thoroughly reading the Five Grains Qi Nourishment Record, Chen Yan felt that rather than calling it a cultivation technique, it was more fitting to call it a secret art.

According to the old woman's ancestor, cultivating the Five Grains Qi Nourishment Record did not interfere with cultivating other methods, including the qi induction formulas of other immortal and Buddhist sects.

The Five Grains Qi Nourishment Record was not so much about how to perform Qi Induction or how to refine essence into qi. Rather, it taught how to extract the essence from the "five grains" and transform it into a cultivator's own vital essence.

There was no doubt that this was a genius-level idea.

In truth, the Chen Ancestor had achieved it, but...

How should he put it?

It was indeed powerful, but it cost just a tiny little fortune.

According to the Chen Ancestor, for ordinary people to absorb the essence of the five grains and transform it into their own vital essence, the requirements for the grains themselves were extremely high.

They could not be ordinary coarse grains. They had to be the finest premium grains.

Furthermore, there were strict requirements for how they were eaten.

The five grains were rice, millet, broomcorn millet, wheat, and beans, corresponding respectively to the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. They were also linked to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth: heart-fire rice, wood-liver millet, earth-spleen broomcorn millet, metal-lung wheat, and water-kidney beans. One dou of each had to be taken—not one fraction more, not one fraction less. Eating them could equal one day of cultivation.

And that was only during the Essence Cultivation stage. At the Embryonic Breathing stage, ordinary grains could no longer meet the requirements. One had to use Spirit Rice and Spirit Grains containing spiritual qi.

Poor people need not even think about it. They could not even fill their stomachs, much less cultivate by eating the five grains.

The rich could not do it either. One dou was twelve jin, and five dou exceeded sixty jin. Even with the desire, they did not have the stomach to digest it.

After all, the Five Grains Qi Nourishment Record was only a secret art and had to follow the rules of the cultivation world. If ordinary people wanted to cultivate it, they had to follow the process, beginning with Consolidating the Foundation and Cultivating the Origin...

Only wealthy Martial Masters could give it a try.

After all, according to cultivation terminology, Qi and Blood Martial Artists were already consolidating their foundation and cultivating their origin.

Thus, Chen Yan felt that rather than opening a path for all people, this Chen Ancestor had opened a path for martial arts.

Because only Martial Masters possessed the physical constitution needed to digest sixty jin of grains in a single day.

And Chen Yan happened to be a Martial Master...

No more recommendations! Next week, whether I can rise again all depends on everyone keeping up with the chapters!!!