Sensing Qi

Although the page boy knew some words, he didn't recognize the second character of this secret manual.

"Young Master, look at this book."

The scholar in the green robe took the book and looked at the manual: "Blood Fiend Great Method."

"Blood Fiend Sect Qi Condensation preliminary basic Cultivation Method."

"Incantation."

"Cultivation method."

"Energy circulation route."

"Includes two Magic Techniques."

As the scholar flipped through the thin book, his eyes grew wider and wider. Anyone who could read would recognize what was written.

"This is actually an Immortal Cultivation Technique!"

"What, an Immortal?" The page boy stumbled back two steps, pointing at Zhao Shi Xian's body, too astonished to speak.

He had just gone through the Immortal's belongings.

He repeatedly apologized, trembling with fear.

"Immortal, please don't be angry, Five Treasures was ignorant."

"Immortal, please don't be angry."

"If this belongs to an Immortal, then it should be to a Demonic Immortal."

The scholar in the green robe was quite bold. He squatted down to examine the wounds on Zhao Shi Xian's body.

Looking at them now, they seemed to be injuries from a Magical Duel.

A sword wound on the chest, which had split the heart, caused the Immortal's death.

"If this person is truly an Immortal, then this thing wrapped up, which looks like a Command Flag, is very likely a legendary Divine Artifact," the scholar said, grasping the Venerable Soul Banner.

It was the height of the dog days of summer, yet he felt a coolness in his hand that refreshed his heart and mind, and the sweat from walking quickly dissipated.

Even if he couldn't use it, simply using it to cool down was more than enough.

Tu Shan Jun inside the Venerable Soul Banner let out a sigh of relief.

He had been afraid the scholar wouldn't recognize its value and would throw it away as trash.

Thinking that even the villagers knew about Immortal Masters, the legends of Cultivators must be widely spread and believed.

Even the villagers knew, let alone an educated person.

Lure him with benefits, then supplement it with Cultivation Methods and Divine Abilities.

As long as he recognized its worth, he would definitely see the extraordinary nature of the Venerable Soul Banner and would never easily discard it.

Now, as long as the other party could cultivate the Cultivation Method, they could use the Venerable Soul Banner.

Tu Shan Jun's hanging heart was half relieved.

The other half was worried that the scholar didn't have a Spiritual Root.

"Five Treasures, carry the Immortal's body over."

The scholar found a desolate area where people rarely went, dug a pit with the decorative long sword he wore, and hastily buried Zhao Shi Xian's body.

He also erected an unmarked wooden plaque.

After kowtowing, he said, "Today, I, Li Qing Feng, have obtained the Immortal's Cultivation Method and Divine Artifact. If I achieve success in cultivation in the future, I will surely exhume the Immortal's body and find a place with good feng shui to rebury him."

"May the Immortal bless me."

Tu Shan Jun, who was placed in the book basket, watched everything before him.

His hatred was naturally hard to dispel.

Thinking of the suffering he had endured, a malevolent aura appeared on his face, causing the entire soul banner to tremble.

If he could, he would rather grind Zhao Shi Xian's soul into dust and bury his fleshly body upright in a Yin place, then casually command it after the body became a zombie.

But now, he was merely a Mid-Grade Venerable Soul Banner, at most with a Qi Condensation Fourth Layer Master Soul added.

After being busy for a long time, the sun had long since begun to set.

People passed by while the two were busy.

Some wore short clothes, carrying shoulder poles with unknown items, wobbling along the main road.

Others rode out in ox carts.

Most were ox carts or donkey carts.

Tu Shan Jun had only seen the initial group of Black Armored Cavalry using horse-drawn carriages.

Dusk.

Not yet dusk.

The scholar Li Qing Feng and his page boy Five Treasures set off again.

leaving behind another solitary grave.

Li Qing Feng held an umbrella to shield himself from the sun, flipping through the cultivation method in his hand. The book basket was carried by his attendant, Five Treasures.

Although his heart was filled with excitement, as if he had stumbled upon a great treasure he was afraid of others knowing about, he couldn't wait even a moment longer.

This was an immortal opportunity!

The Immortal Masters in Eight Directions City were like the Divine Dragon Seeing the Head but Not the Tail, rarely showing themselves and living in seclusion.

His family had no connections to get him into a Cultivation Sect.

He often heard rumors of Immortals' whereabouts, and everyone acknowledged their existence. He had even seen an Immortal from afar once.

However, none of that compared to the scripture in his hands. It truly made him excited and invigorated.

"Blood Fiend Great Method, the Blood Fiend Sect's basic Qi Condensation Cultivation Method."

"Requires sensing Yin and Yang at sunrise and dusk. Guiding the sensed qi to refine and store it in the Dantian will achieve Qi Condensation First Layer."

"Cultivation Method Incantation."

Li Qing Feng muttered the incantation, and immediately felt an inexplicable vibration in his mouth.

This vibration was quite rhythmic, so much so that it caused his entire head to tremble along with it, and his body felt comfortable as a result.

Li Qing Feng was overjoyed. He tucked the Cultivation Method into his embrace and thought to himself, As expected of an Immortal Cultivation Technique, it's truly miraculous.

Tu Shan Jun, inside the Venerable Soul Banner in the basket, watched Li Qing Feng's actions.

As expected, Li Qing Feng couldn't wait and began cultivating.

Because he was an intellectual, his understanding of the scriptures far surpassed that of ordinary people.

In fact, it didn't require a very profound understanding. As long as he could recite the incantation and use special qi-guiding postures, he could sense qi during the transition of Yin and Yang.

If he possessed Spiritual Roots, there was a high probability he could sense the Qi Sense mentioned.

After that, it was about strengthening the sensed qi.

The Blood Fiend Great Method was actually a mediocre Cultivation Method.

Based on the understanding from the Cultivation Technique Seed, the Blood Fiend Great Method emphasized its lack of attribute, making it suitable for any Spiritual Root. However, its conversion to Qi Condensation wasn't particularly strong.

The assistance from Blood Fiend Qi also had side effects, though relatively minor.

It wasn't that Tu Shan Jun didn't want to impart a more advanced Cultivation Method; it was just that the Blood Fiend Great Method was all he had.

He'd have to make do for now. If there was a future, he could switch to other Cultivation Methods.

The uncertainty was whether Li Qing Feng actually had Spiritual Roots.

Thanks to the understanding from the Cultivation Technique Seed, Tu Shan Jun's knowledge of Spiritual Roots was also quite clear.

Heavenly Spiritual Root Cultivators, upon getting a Cultivation Method and reading it once, would basically have Qi Sense.

Li Qing Feng had already read it several times and even started trying to memorize it, yet there was no progress. He definitely didn't have a Heavenly Spiritual Root.

He still had to wait and see.

This wait lasted for three months.

Three months flew by in the blink of an eye.

Tu Shan Jun, inside the Venerable Soul Banner, had widened his eyes, and a hint of ferocity appeared on his face.

He hadn't expected it. Li Qing Feng's talent was actually this poor.

During these three months, after Li Qing Feng returned home, he gave up on the Four Books and Five Classics, Classics, History, Philosophers, and Collections, and immersed himself day and night in studying the 'Blood Fiend Great Method'.

He also frequently visited the medical hall to inquire about acupuncture points and the flow of meridians.

Waking up during the day and cultivating at night.

He didn't dare to miss the two moments of Yin and Yang convergence throughout the day, not even for a second.

He would even bathe and change clothes beforehand.

He even declined the literary gatherings organized by his friends, not leaving the house at all.

Li Qing Feng's family had some property, enough to support his studies. He became a Cultivated Talent at seventeen or eighteen and then plunged headfirst into the gate of Cultivating Immortality.

Aside from his three meals a day, he basically didn't go out.

Even his parents thought he might be sick.

They invited doctors several times, and the news they received was that he wasn't sick, just a bit listless, with a slight deficiency in Essence and blood.

This frightened his parents, who thought a Female Ghost had entered their home.

After all, storytelling novels always said that if a scholar's home was entered by a Female Ghost, she would bewitch the scholar and absorb his Essence.

The scholar would then become addicted to women, no longer having any desire for the Imperial Examination.

Not to mention neglecting his foundation, he would eventually lose his life.

Li Qing Feng explained several times, but eventually stopped explaining. Every day, he would open the doors and windows and read, looking like he was diligently striving.

This finally put his parents' minds at ease.

But Tu Shan Jun wasn't at ease at all; he was getting a little impatient with the waiting.

For these three months, he repeated to himself over and over: "It's fine, finding the Venerable Soul Banner means we're fated, he'll definitely have a Spiritual Root."

"The fated person has a Spiritual Root."

"There's no way he doesn't, I don't believe it!"

Muttering to himself, Tu Shan Jun felt like he was turning into Xianglin's Wife.

Tu Shan Jun accepted that he didn't have a Heavenly Spiritual Root; after all, there were too few geniuses in this world.

But two or three days without sensing Qi meant he didn't have a Dual Spiritual Root.

Seven or eight days without sensing Qi meant he likely didn't have a Triple Spiritual Root either.

It was fine, a Triple Spiritual Root was already considered above average talent in this world.

But a whole month without sensing Qi – that no longer fit the pattern for Four Spirit Roots.

A month was one thing, but it had been a full three months.

Three months without sensing Qi.

Tu Shan Jun had already given up struggling and resigned himself to fate.

He just felt that there truly was no such thing as perfection in this world.

However, Li Qing Feng, sitting cross-legged on the bed, wasn't discouraged in the slightest. Although a bit dejected, he still persisted in his cultivation.

Today, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

A ray of morning sun from the east shone through the window.

Li Qing Feng, who had been sitting in the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture with his eyes closed, sensing Qi, suddenly opened his eyes.

A spiritual light flickered in his eyes.

"Success!"