Ancient Jade and a Fragmentary Cultivation Method

"Village Chief, I have something to tell you in private."

At that moment, Wang Ping suddenly transmitted his voice to the Village Chief with a grave expression.

"Village Chief, Chi Feng should have a Latent Spirit Body. Does the village have any cultivation method that can awaken it?"

Although Life Simulation had confirmed that Chi Village possessed no such cultivation method, he still wanted to ask once more.

"Yes, and no." Wang Ping's sudden voice transmission caught the Village Chief slightly off guard. After a moment of silence, he gave this answer.

The Village Chief was not surprised. Clearly, he had long known that Chi Feng's physique was extraordinary.

"What do you mean?" Wang Ping asked in confusion.

The current development was clearly different from what had happened in Life Simulation. Evidently, the Village Chief in the simulation had concealed something.

"The Fire Spirit Art of our Chi Village was once adapted from an Earth Grade Cultivation Method. That method was the cultivation method once exclusively practiced by the Chi Clan."

The Village Chief sighed.

"However, most of it was lost, and what remained was too incomplete to cultivate. That is why the method was adapted."

"So that's how it is." Wang Ping nodded in understanding.

No wonder the Village Chief had given such an ambiguous answer. If that was the truth, then everything could be explained.

"It is truly a pity that child has a Latent Spirit Body. As we are now, no matter what method we use, it is impossible to awaken a spirit body." Remembering Wang Ping's words, the Village Chief sighed deeply. "Not only now—even three hundred years ago, it could not be done."

Wang Ping nodded.

He had more or less confirmed that point through Life Simulation as well.

"Regarding the Li Family." Wang Ping looked at the morning glow and slowly spoke. "This time, when I leave, I will strip them of the power to threaten Chi Village."

"What?" The Village Chief stared at Wang Ping in shock, nearly thinking he had misheard.

"Wait, your cultivation..." Only then did the Village Chief finally notice something was wrong.

Wang Ping looked younger, his skin had become exceptionally fair, and he carried an aura that seemed detached from the mortal world.

Beyond that, he could no longer see through Wang Ping's cultivation.

Ordinarily, one could only fail to perceive another's cultivation if the other party was at the same level or higher.

"I made a slight breakthrough." As Wang Ping said this, he revealed a wisp of his aura.

"Spirit Origin Realm!" The Village Chief's pupils suddenly contracted, his face filled with disbelief.

How long had it been? Wang Ping had actually reached the Spirit Origin Realm.

Even if he could devour Spirit Stones, his speed should not have been monstrous to such a degree.

Clearly, Wang Ping possessed secrets he did not know about.

But who in this world had no secrets? Wang Ping had shown Chi Village great goodwill and trust, so naturally the Village Chief would not pry into his secrets—nor did he dare to.

"With my current strength, I can destroy the Li Family. Once I destroy them, Chi Village will be able to live in safety."

Wang Ping spoke with confidence.

"Your physique is so special. You should cultivate for a while longer first, and only trouble the Li Family once you are completely invincible." Deeply grateful, the Village Chief hurriedly said, "Our Chi Village already owes you far too much. We truly do not want anything to happen to you because of us."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Wang Ping nodded.

He would not recklessly go straight to wipe out the Li Family.

After all, the Li Family still had that connection with the Sword Spirit Sect.

The Village Chief nodded. After letting out a sigh of relief, he walked forward and said, "Wang Ping, follow me. There are two things that may be of considerable help to you."

"What things?" Wang Ping asked in surprise as he followed.

Before long, Wang Ping followed the Village Chief into his home.

Then, Wang Ping watched as the Village Chief took a crystalline Pure White Ancient Jade from a hidden compartment beneath his bed.

The Pure White Ancient Jade bore crimson flame patterns, making it quite beautiful.

"What is this?" Wang Ping was greatly surprised.

"I do not know its origins either." The Village Chief gently stroked the ancient jade as he recalled, "It is an heirloom of Chi Village, as well as the token of the clan chief. Only the clan chief knows its secret. On the day the clan was destroyed, the clan chief only had time to let me take this item and a small portion of the clan members through the secret passage to escape."

"Although I do not know what secret this ancient jade hides, I do know that it possesses one miraculous effect. Fifty years ago, unable to forget the tragic state of the clan and hating the Li Family to the bone, I suffered a deviation in my cultivation and nearly fell into demonic deviation. In the end, it was this ancient jade that emitted a faint glow and brought me back to my senses."

"Wouldn't it be inappropriate to give something so important to me?"

Surprise filled Wang Ping's eyes as he shook his head.

Since this ancient jade was an heirloom of the Chi Clan, it was certainly no ordinary object. It definitely concealed a great secret.

He was merely an outsider; he could not casually take an heirloom of the Chi Clan.

"This thing is of no use staying with me." A bitter expression appeared on the Village Chief's face as he slowly said, "One day, our Chi Clan will become ordinary mortals, because..."

Wang Ping fell silent as he listened to the Village Chief recount Chi Village's past.

He had already learned of the Chi Clan's past through the simulation.

Chi Village's Bloodline Curse had always been affecting them.

The Chi Clan had once been so glorious, yet now even breaking through to the Innate Realm was exceedingly difficult.

If the Bloodline Curse could not be lifted, then one day, they would be unable to cultivate at all and would completely fall into becoming ordinary mortals.

Even Wang Ping could not guarantee that he would be able to break the Bloodline Curse upon the Chi Clan.

There were simply too many unanswered mysteries involved, and the matter ran deep.

Although Wang Ping possessed the Life Simulator, he did not believe that he could always turn calamity into fortune and endure in this world forever.

"Wang Ping, you are the most suitable person to hold this. Your cultivation has advanced too quickly, after all, and problems with your Dao Heart are bound to arise. This thing can save your life at a critical moment."

"This is our Chi Clan's repayment of gratitude, so accept it. Besides, even if our Chi Clan once had a glorious past, the curtain will eventually fall completely. This thing is useless to us now."

The Village Chief placed the Ancient Jade in Wang Ping's hand and sighed.

"Besides that, though this may be shameless of me, I still hope that in the future, you can protect the descendants of my clan as much as possible. You need not make them accomplished; you need only ensure that others dare not bully them. The Chi Clan Members of the future are destined to abandon martial arts for scholarship, or become merchants."

By the end, the Village Chief's expression was filled with desolation and sorrow.

Their former glory had passed like clouds before the eyes. Their present state was a helpless choice.

"Village Chief." Wang Ping held the Ancient Jade and handed it back, speaking with complicated emotions. "You needn't be like this."

Who in this world could avoid withering away?

Even though the Chi Clan had once been incomparably glorious, it had ultimately reached this point. It was truly lamentable.

Moreover, the Weird disappearance of the people of Chi Village in the Life Simulator left his heart unable to settle.

"I've already said it: we will have no use for this thing in the future. You should keep it. If you can become stronger, then our Chi Clan Members will be safer as well, and enjoy wealth and honor."

The Village Chief pushed it back again and shook his head.

"To be honest, I am very fortunate that you appeared in our Chi Village. Otherwise, I cannot imagine what would happen in the future. Even if we were not wiped out by the Li Family, the road ahead would still be extraordinarily difficult, leaving us to struggle amid the dust of the mortal world. Perhaps one day, some accident would leave Chi Village utterly without descendants."

The Village Chief's gaze was profound, fixed upon a future far away.

Wang Ping said nothing. What the Village Chief said was the truth.

If he had not appeared, even if they escaped the Li Family's calamity, there would still be the beast tide of Blackwind Forest.

Even if they escaped the beast tide, there would still be more than ten years of continuous war.

And in the future, who knew what dangers they would encounter?

In this world, staying alive was far too difficult.

That was why the average lifespan of ancient people had been so short.

And that was only in worlds without supernatural power. In a Xianxia World like this, the average lifespan would only be shorter.

"Since that is the case, then I will accept this Ancient Jade."

Wang Ping's thoughts were complicated. He did not refuse again, gripping the Ancient Jade and placing it inside his Low-grade Storage Ring.

"I have one more thing to give you."

At that moment, the Village Chief spoke again and took a yellowed book from another hidden compartment beneath the bed.

"This is...?"

Wang Ping was surprised.

"This is a cultivation method passed down by our Chi Clan a thousand years ago. The incomplete cultivation method I mentioned before."

The Village Chief spoke with a solemn expression.