Nameless Incantation

Well-fed, Zhou Yi was about to leave, regretting that he hadn't learned any secret techniques.

"I'm going to die!" Wei Chang suddenly said.

There were still ten or so days until his execution.

"Safe travels, hero. Before you go, I'll be sure to find you a bottle of century-old vintage!"

Zhou Yi said slowly, "This is all I can do."

After delivering wine for over half a month, Zhou Yi and Wei Chang had grown closer. He knew that Wei Chang had been trying to expel the poison with his inner energy, but the Brocade Guard's poison was like a bone-deep disease, and it was ultimately futile.

"This is already enough!"

Wei Chang said, "Wei never owes anyone favors. If I could escape, I'd repay you with a hundredfold of fine wine. But now that my execution is imminent, I can only pass on my martial arts to repay the debt."

Zhou Yi didn't stand on ceremony. He cupped his fist and said, "Please enlighten me, hero!"

"Wei came from humble beginnings, originally just a hunter in the countryside. I didn't start practicing martial arts until I was fifteen, and by twenty, I was dominating the area. By thirty, I was almost invincible in Yu Province. Everyone says the Flying Rainbow Swordsman is exceptionally talented, but that's not the case!"

Wei Chang said, "The real reason is that when I was hunting, I stumbled upon a cave dwelling of a predecessor and obtained a Nameless Incantation."

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up with surprise, secretly guessing that it was some kind of peerless technique.

"This incantation is quite mysterious. After Wei settled down, I tried to pass it on to my children, but none of them succeeded. Later, I passed it on to my clansmen, but it was still the same!"

Wei Chang said, "Today, I will pass this incantation to you. If you can't sense the mystery within it, then I'll pass on another technique to you."

"Thank you, hero!"

Zhou Yi said, "Even if I can't cultivate it, I will pass this incantation on to your descendants if I ever meet them in the future."

"Hmph! You're a sly one. Wei wouldn't stoop to harming people with tricks."

Wei Chang said this, but he was still comforted. He had originally planned to pass on an ordinary martial arts method, but after hearing those words, he changed it to a superior technique.

"Listen carefully!"

"The heavens and earth give birth to yin and yang, which transforms into all things..."

The Nameless Incantation had over three hundred words in total. Zhou Yi listened carefully several times and memorized it. He recited it to Wei Chang twice without any mistakes, and then immediately sat cross-legged in the prison cell.

"...Calm the mind and be natural, breathe slowly, gather the divine light, and reach the heart of heaven..."

Zhou Yi followed the guidance of the Nameless Incantation, calmed his mind to comprehend the heavens and earth, but there was no reaction at all. He couldn't sense the clear spiritual energy that Wei Chang spoke of.

Half an hour passed, and Zhou Yi's legs were sore from sitting. He had to get up and move around.

Seeing Zhou Yi's expression, Wei Chang knew the result. "There's no need to be discouraged. None of Wei's hundreds of clansmen have been able to cultivate it."

Zhou Yi wasn't discouraged because he failed to learn the technique, but because he had other guesses in his heart.

"Have you ever investigated the origin of the Nameless Incantation, hero?"

"The origin of that cave dwelling cannot be traced, but..."

Wei Chang hesitated for a moment and continued, "Perhaps it's related to the legendary Immortals. However, the idea of cultivating immortality is too ethereal, so Wei gave up after investigating for a few years."

"Immortal Dao!"

Zhou Yi muttered to himself. He was certain that Immortals existed.

The cultivation method of this Nameless Incantation was to sense the clear spiritual energy between heaven and earth, while the martial arts techniques on the market, such as body tempering and inner energy, started from the human body itself.

With such different cultivation methods, it was most likely an Immortal Dao technique.

From this, he speculated that cultivating immortality might require some kind of talent, such as bone structure, Spirit Root, or Spirit Vein.

Conversely, people who couldn't cultivate Immortal Dao techniques were those without the talent for cultivating immortality!

"..."

Zhou Yi shrugged helplessly. As expected, there were gains and losses in the world. He was somewhat discouraged, but not to the point of being completely despondent.

The Longevity Dao Fruit granted infinite lifespan.

This represented endless hope. Since Immortal Dao techniques required special talents, then he would create techniques that didn't require talent.

Of the fifty Great Daos, the heavens derive forty-nine, and all things have a glimmer of hope!

"Moreover, the Nameless Incantation might not necessarily be an Immortal Dao technique. Perhaps it's some kind of martial arts secret technique that requires a special physique."

Zhou Yi wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. In an instant, he regained his spirits. "Hero, I have no affinity with the Nameless Incantation. I still need to ask you to teach me an ordinary technique."

Wei Chang asked, "Martial arts cultivation is divided into body tempering and inner energy. Which one do you want to learn?"

Zhou Yi said decisively, "Inner energy technique!"

Wei Chang said, "Young man, don't be greedy. Do you know why inner energy techniques are rare?"

Zhou Yi guessed, "Are they rare and valuable?"

"Not because they're valuable."

Wei Chang shook his head. "External body tempering methods have low requirements for talent and progress quickly. Tempering the skin for three to five years makes you a third-rate expert. Tempering the muscles and bones for seven or eight years makes you a second-rate expert."

"If your talent isn't too bad, tempering your body for twenty to thirty years will allow you to reach the first-rate realm of refining the internal organs!"

"In comparison, cultivating inner energy requires high aptitude and comprehension. An average person can meditate for twenty to thirty years, and their martial arts combat strength will be about the same as someone in the skin tempering realm."

"Attaining second-rate inner energy within fifty years, first-rate in a hundred, and two hundred years of cultivation to equal the strength of marrow refinement!"

"Two hundred years? Who can live that long!"

Zhou Yi was stunned. He thought inner energy cultivation methods were rare because they were precious, but it turned out it was because they were too impractical.

"That's for ordinary people! Disciples of those large sects have extraordinary talent. From a young age, they nourish their bodies with medicinal baths and cleanse their muscles and bones with true energy. Their inner energy cultivation speed is three to five times faster than ordinary people."

Wei Chang said, "Add to that profound cultivation methods and the consumption of various elixirs, and they can reach two hundred years of cultivation in twenty or thirty years of arduous training!"

"The requirements for body tempering aptitude are low, and the strength increases quickly, so why bother cultivating true energy?"

Zhou Yi was puzzled. He didn't care about needing hundreds of years. Disciples of large sects consumed huge resources, so there must be a reason for perfecting inner energy cultivation.

"Body tempering and inner energy both belong to the acquired realm. Above that is the Innate Grandmaster. Cultivating inner energy is easier to break through to the innate realm than horizontal body tempering!"

Wei Chang pondered for a moment and said, "I once participated in a Jianghu alliance meeting and heard an Innate Grandmaster lecture on martial arts. Some of the cultivation essence was similar to that Nameless Incantation."

Zhou Yi's heart stirred, "Please teach me the inner energy cultivation method!"

"You've decided?"

Wei Chang reminded him, "I will only teach you one, enough to repay your kindness of offering wine!"

Zhou Yi nodded, "One must always have dreams. What if I can break through to the Innate Grandmaster realm?"

"Innate Grandmaster… If one day you can truly break through to the innate realm, please go to the Northern Frontier and take care of my wife and children."

Wei Chang suddenly thought of his family, exiled to a bitterly cold place, "Please apologize to them for me. I implicated them!"

Zhou Yi solemnly said, "I will definitely live up to your trust!"

"The inner energy cultivation method I practice is called Return to Origin Skill. Its nature is neutral and peaceful, and it is a true inheritance of the Qingcheng Daoist Sect…"

Wei Chang recited the Return to Origin incantation word by word. The entire piece was several times longer than the Nameless Incantation.

The entire text was over two thousand words, and Zhou Yi silently recited it for a full hour before memorizing it.

Zhou Yi asked, "Sir, can body tempering and inner energy be cultivated simultaneously?"

Body tempering can strengthen muscles, bones, and internal organs. After great success, one has steel tendons and iron bones, and is difficult to injure with weapons. Inner refining true energy can nourish the internal organs, and after getting sick or poisoned, one can circulate energy to treat the illness and dispel the poison.

Cultivating one inside and one outside to the realm of great success, in the mortal world, Zhou Yi would be able to live without worry!

Body tempering can effectively reduce external injuries, and true energy can nourish the internal organs and reduce illness. Cultivating one outside and one inside to the realm of great success is enough to live without worry in the mortal world.

"Yes! I cultivate both internally and externally, supplementing with inner energy to nourish the internal organs, which can speed up body tempering. Most experts in the Jianghu are like this!"

Wei Chang reminded him, "Human power is finite. When one is old and physically weak, martial arts cultivation will regress rather than advance, so there must be a choice of priorities when cultivating both."

"Thank you for your guidance!"

Zhou Yi cupped his hands in thanks. He possessed the Longevity Dao Fruit. Even if cultivating both internally and externally was slow, cultivating for hundreds of years would probably allow him to slap an Innate Grandmaster to death!