Redemption

Three days passed in a flash.

It was now the third day of the Lunar New Year.

During this time, the pawnshop remained closed. Han Li and He Chunli, his two disciples, had been staying in the small backyard cottage of Xie An. They attended to Xie An's every need, allowing him to briefly experience the life of a "master."

Since He Chunli's backside was badly injured, he had difficulty moving around while recovering. Consequently, the two disciples were not as lively as in previous years. They didn't participate in any activities or visit the lantern festival.

Every year during the Spring Festival, the town held a lantern festival. Many villagers from the countryside would come to join the festivities, release wish lanterns, and pray for peace and joy in the coming year.

However, ever since Xie An acquired his Lifelong Legacy, he had lost interest in these common customs and traditions. He was completely engrossed in his Health Cultivation Technique, unable to pull himself away.

After three days of intense cultivation, Xie An's Fetal Breathing Technique finally showed signs of a breakthrough.

That morning, Han Li was preparing breakfast while He Chunli was resting on his bed, recovering from his injuries. Xie An was in the small room next door practicing the Fetal Breathing Technique.

Xie An sat cross-legged, his entire body still and serene like a Bodhisattva.

His mouth and nose remained motionless.

Yet, the area around his navel exhibited a slight rhythmic movement, as if it were breathing.

As the subtle movement of his navel continued, Xie An distinctly felt a warmth, swelling, and purplish hue between his navel and perineum. Then, a misty, ethereal aura began to form.

His navel was truly breathing.

Furthermore, Xie An felt his Sea of Qi and lower Dantian also begin to move spontaneously.

He knew this was a sign that the final posture of the Three Styles Method, the Navel Yin Style, was on the verge of mastery. He dared not be careless, continuing to circulate the cultivation mantra, intending to break through the bottleneck in one go.

After an unknown amount of time—

Hum.

The pathway for navel breathing was completely opened.

Xie An's entire being was immediately enveloped in a profound state: his mouth and nose were sealed, and his navel was breathing.

Moreover, although the breathing speed was slow, it brought immense comfort to his body and mind, as if his body were undergoing some form of evolution.

A higher-level breathing technique?

Xie An immediately opened his status panel.

[Fetal Breathing Technique: Yin-Yang Convergence (0/100)]

"Finally, a breakthrough!"

Xie An exhaled a sigh of relief, a look of immense satisfaction on his face.

The cultivation difficulty of the Fetal Breathing Technique was more than five times that of the Five Animal Play. If not for his Lifelong Legacy, Xie An felt it would have taken him three to five years to even master the Three Styles Method, or perhaps not even reach the introductory stage.

If the Five Animal Play was like an easy question in the college entrance exam, then the Fetal Breathing Technique was the final, challenging question. The difficulty was simply on a different level.

Even with his Lifelong Legacy and Tang Qingfeng's unique medicinal prescription, it had taken Xie An a full three to four months to barely enter the second stage of the Fetal Breathing Technique.

It's too difficult...

After calming his excited emotions, Xie An quickly checked the other information on his panel.

[Current Lifelong Legacy: Level 1!]
[Five Animal Play: Strengthening the Five Viscera (5/100)]
[Fetal Breathing Technique: Yin-Yang Convergence (0/100)]
[Remaining Lifespan: 30 years]

"An increase of 4 years!"

Xie An's heart settled.

On the surface, the lifespan increase from the first stage of the Fetal Breathing Technique was less than the six years gained from the initial glimpse of the Five Animal Play. But this was not entirely true. The further one progressed, the harder it became to gain lifespan.

The four years gained from the Three Styles Method were of higher quality than the initial glimpse of the Five Animal Play.

Furthermore, Xie An confirmed another piece of information: when cultivating multiple Health Cultivation Techniques simultaneously, their lifespan-increasing effects could stack.

This was undoubtedly exhilarating news.

After cultivating Health Cultivation Techniques diligently for over half a year, his lifespan had increased by thirty years. Compared to the frail old man he was before, Xie An had undergone a fundamental transformation, both inside and out.

It was a pity that the Three Styles Method did not have any significant enhancements to physical strength, speed, or other attributes. However, Xie An vaguely sensed that his body's endurance had greatly improved.

For instance, he could previously draw a bowstring thirty times consecutively, but now, due to the Fetal Breathing Technique, he could draw it forty times.

The Fetal Breathing Technique was an internal cultivation method. As his realm improved, there would undoubtedly be great surprises in the future.

The effects of solidifying internal energy were inherently slower than external martial arts, but the degree of improvement was much better.

Xie An cautioned himself not to rush, to take it slow.

The good stuff is all in the later stages.

"Master, breakfast is ready."

Han Li's voice came from outside the door.

Xie An quickly washed up and went out to eat.

Perhaps Han Li knew Xie An was secretly practicing martial arts, so he invested in the food, buying braised pork and braised duck, a rare and lavish spread.

Xie An secretly thought Han Li was observant and thoughtful in his actions. He praised Han Li and then began to eat heartily.

"After raising you for over ten years, can't I even have a taste of the young ones?"

"Master, are you secretly practicing martial arts?" Han Li couldn't help but ask while refilling Xie An's rice bowl. "I've noticed you've become younger and stronger lately, no longer appearing as frail and aged as before."

Xie An didn't hide anything. "It's not really martial arts, just practicing the Health Cultivation Technique when I have free time. If you two are interested, I can copy out the cultivation method for the Five Animal Play for you to practice."

Han Li was extremely excited and thanked him repeatedly. He thought if his master's Health Cultivation Technique yielded such good results even at his age, then for himself, who was still young, wouldn't the cultivation be even more potent?

Xie An saw through his thoughts and knew he was overthinking things...

However, he didn't want to dampen Han Li's confidence. After the meal, he copied out several thousand words of the Five Animal Play's cultivation method for his two disciples and gave them some simple guidance. Only then did he gather all the money, a total of sixty taels.

According to the agreement he made with Chunlan, Xie An had to go to the Li Manor today to redeem himself from the master and madam.

Sixty taels was all of Xie An's current fortune.

Xie An felt that even if Li Ru asked for an exorbitant price, it should be enough to buy his freedom.

Just then, a woman's voice called from outside the door.

"Is Master Xie here?"

"Yes, I am," Xie An replied, walking outside to greet her. He muttered to himself.

It was the third day of the Lunar New Year, a busy time for the Li Manor. By rights, Chunlan should have been extremely busy too, so there was no reason for her to personally come and summon him to the Li Manor.