Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Body

"What is Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Body?"

Jiang Ping An rubbed his numb right arm, utterly puzzled. It was his first time hearing this term.

"It means cultivating spiritual energy and cultivating the body, walking both paths at once," Li Yuntian explained.

Jiang Ping An suddenly understood. "Then that's exactly what I am doing."

He had first obtained the Breathing and Meditation Technique, then later cultivated the Blood Qi Art. He truly was walking two paths at once.

"Thank you, sir, for saving my life."

He raised his hands in a fist salute and bowed slightly to the Old Man before him. He had heard that this was how people of the martial world greeted one another.

If not for this old gentleman, he would definitely have been taken away by those two soldiers, then tortured to death in an inhuman place.

Li Yuntian took a sip of wine and waved his hand with a smile. "No need to thank me. Thank the general instead. It was the general's order."

"The general's kindness belongs to the general, and your kindness belongs to you, sir. The two cannot be mixed together," Jiang Ping An said seriously.

His mother had told him that one must know gratitude in life. Whoever treated him well, he had to remember it.

"Haha."

Li Yuntian liked this polite youngster very much. "We cultivators do not call people 'sir.' You should call me Senior."

"Thank you, Senior, for saving my life," Jiang Ping An said again.

"You seem to understand nothing at all. Come, sit down. I'll teach you some knowledge about cultivators."

Li Yuntian casually sat down on a stool without the slightest airs. His hair was a mess, making him look like an old farmer, approachable and warm.

He took another drink, then scratched his head. "Where should I begin? Let's start with cultivation."

"There are three major types of cultivators in this world: Spirit Cultivators, Body Cultivators, and Soul Cultivators. Spirit Cultivators are the most numerous and are the mainstream path of cultivation. Spirit cultivation can branch into Forging Masters, Rune Masters, Pill Refiners..."

Jiang Ping An sat upright beside him and listened carefully. He knew far too little about cultivation.

A magnificent and vast world of immortal cultivation unfolded before him like a scroll painting, setting his heart and spirit adrift.

So there were so many cultivation realms. So Spirit Terrace Kingdom, which he could not cross in a lifetime, was merely a small kingdom. So a Storage Bag had to be branded with Divine Sense before it could be used correctly...

Jiang Ping An listened as though entranced. So many legendary tales filled him with yearning, and he did not feel tired even after listening for an entire day.

"Your body has not fully recovered yet, so this is enough for now. I'll tell you more slowly in the future."

Li Yuntian had already finished seven or eight bottles of wine. His head felt heavy and dizzy, and he wanted to sleep.

"Senior, do you know how one becomes an immortal?" Jiang Ping An asked at last.

"Become an immortal?"

Li Yuntian, who had been drunk moments ago, suddenly sobered considerably. He raised his head toward the sky beyond the window and murmured, "The immortal path is misty and elusive. How would a small figure like me know how to become an immortal?"

"Perhaps only by learning the Supreme Secret Art left behind by the Founding Ruler of Great Summer Kingdom can one have a chance to become an immortal."

"Supreme Secret Art?" Jiang Ping An's heart jolted. "Then how can one learn the secret art left behind by the National Ruler of Great Summer Kingdom?"

He now knew that the more powerful the techniques one learned, the greater one's combat strength and cultivation realm would be.

"Burp~"

Li Yuntian let out a wine burp and returned to his drunken state.

"Don't think about it. Only the imperial family, or those who have made major contributions to Great Summer Kingdom, can learn that kind of secret art."

"If you can destroy Spirit Terrace Kingdom, perhaps you'll have a chance. Sleepy, sleepy. This old man is going back to sleep first."

Holding his Wine Gourd, Li Yuntian swayed as he headed outside.

"Senior, I'll see you off." Jiang Ping An hurriedly stood up.

"No need. This old man won't die from a fall. Hurry and cultivate. There will be a battle in winter. Oh, and don't pursue Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Body without resources, or it will consume too much energy and you won't go far. Burp~"

Li Yuntian swayed away, drinking as he left.

Jiang Ping An clasped his fists and gave Li Yuntian a deep bow.

His guidance would spare Jiang Ping An many detours.

Jiang Ping An looked in the direction of Spirit Terrace Kingdom, a gleam flickering in his clear eyes. Destroy Spirit Terrace Kingdom...

He wanted to become an immortal. He wanted to exhaust every possible means to bring his parents back to life.

The imperial secret art of Great Summer Kingdom was the opportunity most likely to bring him closer to immortality.

Though Spirit Terrace Kingdom was not as powerful as Great Summer Kingdom, it had a great power backing it. Destroying it would not be easy.

But even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would not give up!

Jiang Ping An shut the door and returned to his bed.

For now, he needed to prepare for the winter battle. Both the general and Senior Li had said that war with Flat Water County would begin in winter.

There were still two or three months before winter arrived. During that time, he had to raise his strength as much as possible.

With three hundred Blood Qi Pills, he did not need to worry about resources for body cultivation.

Should I give up spirit cultivation?

His talent for spirit cultivation was not high. He had spent a huge amount of resources just to reach the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

Through his conversation with Senior Li, he learned that one Blood Qi Pill was worth about the same as one Spirit Stone.

In other words, the monthly resources of many Middle Captains amounted to only three Spirit Stones. Soldiers of higher status might receive two more.

Yet he had basically consumed ten Spirit Stones a day to raise his realm to this point.

If anyone else had received so many resources, they would have long since become a Qi Refining Tenth Layer cultivator.

Jiang Ping An pondered for a long time, but ultimately decided not to give up.

"Now that I don't lack resources for body cultivation, the Treasure Accumulation Basin would be sitting idle anyway. I might as well use it to duplicate Qi Gathering Pills and raise my spirit cultivation realm."

"Besides, spirit cultivation has more methods of attack. I can also learn talismans, alchemy, and forging."

"In battle, one more ability means one more means of preserving my life."

He had survived through one pursuit after another, so he placed enormous importance on life-saving methods. There was no harm in learning more.

If resources failed to keep up in the future, it would not be too late to give up then.

Jiang Ping An opened the "Fireball Art" he had obtained from Goatee and began studying it seriously.

It was his first time learning a technique, and he felt a little excited.

Flat Water County, General's Mansion.

Xu Tao looked at the two subordinates before him and roared in fury:

"You two useless pieces of trash! You actually let that brat get rescued by Great Summer Kingdom!"

"What? He was rescued by Great Summer Kingdom?" Great Captain Ma Lin looked shocked, as though he had only just learned of this matter.

"My spies received word that the brat is now at the General's Mansion in Continuous Mountain County!" Xu Tao was beside himself with rage.

He had sent two thousand soldiers and his two strongest Great Captains to capture a mud-legged peasant who had fled from a village, yet they had failed to catch him!

Most importantly, that brat was a genius. In just one month, he had grown strong enough to kill Xu Tao's son.

If he were allowed to keep growing, he would surely become a terrifying enemy!

"General, what should we do now? Send someone to assassinate him?" Ma Lin asked.

"Stupid question! That little bastard must die! We cannot let him keep growing! Go find a professional assassin organization. I refuse to believe they can't kill him!"

Xu Tao's face twisted viciously. He was unwilling to watch the murderer of his son continue growing.

"Also, send word out. Hurry and prepare provisions. Continuous Mountain County is preparing to attack us in winter."

Compared with one son, holding Flat Water County was far more important.

If he failed to hold it, even his head would roll.

"General, those farmers do not have much food left," the other Great Captain said.

"Bullshit! It's the autumn harvest season. How could they survive without food? They must simply be unwilling to hand it over! If they won't hand it over, take it by force!"

Xu Tao had no idea what the situation below was really like. Even if he did know, he would not care. They were merely a bunch of troublesome peasants; if they died, they died. Their lives were worth nothing.

"Yes, General."

Seeing the general angered, the two did not dare defy him.

The lives and deaths of those beneath them had nothing to do with them. In any case, they would not go hungry.