Longevity Art

Chapter Six: Longevity Art

Bi Fan was used to getting up early. He rose at dawn the next morning and continued building the bamboo hut.

If he was going to stay on Jade Maiden Peak, he would naturally need to make his long-term home a little more comfortable.

He had no idea that Xiao Feng had already gotten the facts straight. Bi Fan really had been beaten unconscious by Zhu San and dumped in the back mountain.

Zhu San had naturally ordered the medicine boys to keep quiet, but Xiao Feng had learned the truth through other channels. Those people hadn't followed along; they only knew Bi Fan had been carried to the back mountain.

By a stroke of luck, Bi Fan's lie had been made true. Even if someone claimed he'd been thrown into Myriad Snake Den, he could still come up with an excuse.

"Xiao Feng, make arrangements for Bi Fan. From now on, whenever I'm away, keep a close eye on him. Also, teach him Qingyang Sect's introductory technique, Myriad Ancestor Fist. Keep track of his progress, and you can teach him more advanced techniques according to how he's doing." After hearing about Bi Fan, Yu Si Yan made her decision.

Myriad Ancestor Fist had an imposing name, but it was only an introductory technique, widely practiced throughout the Vast Sky Great World.

If it had spread so far, Myriad Ancestor Fist naturally had something unique about it.

Myriad Ancestor Fist was used to build strength, and was suitable for cultivators below the Inner Breath Realm.

Bi Fan was full of energy, and the bamboo hut was nearing completion.

Xiao Feng soon found Bi Fan and said, "Bi Fan, you'll be staying on Jade Maiden Peak from now on, taking care of the Medicine Garden. Come to me if anything comes up."

"Yes! Yes..." Bi Fan was honest and unassuming, nodding repeatedly.

Xiao Feng was very pleased to see how obedient Bi Fan was.

"I'll take you to see the Medicine Garden. In particular, you must take good care of the precious spirit medicines growing there."

Jade Maiden Peak's Medicine Garden was vast, with hundreds of varieties of spirit medicine, more than a dozen of them particularly precious.

Bi Fan would have a heavy workload, but he wasn't afraid. Compared to before, there were no assignments here; he only had to tend the spirit medicines. That was already much easier.

Xiao Feng took Bi Fan around the garden, then tossed him the Myriad Ancestor Fist manual and left.

Xiao Feng's full name was Yu Xiao Feng, and she was Yu Si Yan's personal maid.

Since she couldn't accompany Yu Si Yan to cultivate at Mystic Maiden Palace, she had stayed on Jade Maiden Peak for years, helping Yu Si Yan manage it.

Yu Xiao Feng was very strong and treated the servants well, so she was popular on Jade Maiden Peak.

Holding the Myriad Ancestor Fist manual, Bi Fan returned to his quarters, his heart pounding with excitement.

Back when he was still a medicine boy, he had longed to cultivate.

But his constitution had been too poor for cultivation, and even if he could have cultivated, he hadn't had a cultivation technique.

Now things were different. He was strong and sturdy enough to cultivate, and someone had even brought him a technique. It seemed luck had finally come his way.

Impatient to begin, Bi Fan opened the Myriad Ancestor Fist manual and started reading.

Back when he'd tended spirit medicines, he'd had to learn specialized knowledge about them. He'd also learned to read, and now that knowledge was finally useful.

Myriad Ancestor Fist was actually quite simple. It consisted of only twelve moves, each training a different part of the body to build strength.

The manual included illustrations and written explanations, making it easy to understand.

Bi Fan studied it carefully several times, then began his first practice.

Straight punch... split kick... sweeping kick... white crane spreads its wings...

Bi Fan was extremely focused, slowly studying and practicing each move.

After a full day, he was already performing the Myriad Ancestor Fist with some skill.

For some reason, he felt that learning it came easily to him. It probably had something to do with his newfound strength and improved physique.

Bi Fan had no idea how strong he was now, but he reckoned his punching power had surpassed two hundred jin.

The Strong Body Realm was a realm he had once dreamed of reaching. Now, without even realizing it, he had achieved it—and he still could hardly believe it.

Train. Train. Train some more...

Bi Fan became so absorbed that he forgot to eat and sleep, practicing excitedly all night.

He still wasn't strong enough. Even someone as insignificant as Zhu San was a Martial Force Realm expert, so it was too soon for Bi Fan to seek revenge.

Bi Fan was stubborn to the core. He wanted to grow stronger as quickly as possible and avenge himself soon.

The next day, a maid brought him food, and only then did Bi Fan end his training.

The food on Jade Maiden Peak was good, and more importantly, Bi Fan didn't have to cook for himself. That left him much more time to cultivate.

After breakfast, Bi Fan went to the Medicine Garden. It was his first day in charge, and he needed to know the garden inside and out to prevent any problems later.

After just one day on Jade Maiden Peak, Bi Fan already didn't want to leave. If he did a poor job, he feared he wouldn't be allowed to stay.

There were quite a lot of spirit medicines in the garden, and Bi Fan inspected them carefully, checking every single plant.

Pruning, weeding, fertilizing, transplanting...

Bi Fan was thoroughly familiar with these tasks, and he handled them with ease.

Bi Fan spent the whole day in the Medicine Garden. The work was tiring, but he was in good spirits.

Yu Xiao Feng treated Bi Fan fairly well. She brought him meals at the proper times, without even checking whether he was working, which left him plenty of free time.

Once he knew the garden's routine, he could finish the work in just a few hours each day. He was free to use the rest of his time as he wished.

To improve his strength as quickly as possible, Bi Fan barely rested at all, devoting all his energy to cultivation.

Perhaps because he had consumed the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Vein Spirit Milk, his energy was inexhaustible. Even when he cultivated all night, he never felt tired.

Furthermore, Bi Fan's strength was growing rapidly, so fast he could almost feel it happening.

Every day, he could feel his strength increasing by a great deal, and his excitement went without saying.

That wasn't all. Bi Fan seemed to grow sturdier by the day. The frail, weakling he had once been was gone.

In the blink of an eye, Bi Fan had spent a month on Jade Maiden Peak. Yu Si Yan had left the peak several days earlier. Before departing, she had specifically summoned Bi Fan to test his cultivation progress.

At the time, Bi Fan thought his ears were playing tricks on him.

Yu Si Yan had actually called him a cultivation prodigy. In less than a month, his punching power had reached eight hundred jin. He had become a cultivator in the Accumulating Strength Realm, and he was not far from the Martial Force Realm.

Once upon a time, Bi Fan had been a complete waste, incapable of cultivation and even weaker than an ordinary person.

Before leaving, Yu Si Yan had personally given Bi Fan a technique for cultivating inner breath—the Qingyang Longevity Art.

The Qingyang Longevity Art was Qingyang Sect's introductory technique for cultivating inner breath. It focused on nourishing the body, and wasn't very effective at cultivating inner breath. It was the technique taught to Registered Disciples.

Though it was only an introductory technique, a medicine boy like Bi Fan would never have been taught it. Even a manager like Zhu San couldn't get his hands on the secrets of the Qingyang Longevity Art.

Yu Si Yan always seemed cold and unapproachable, as if she didn't care about anyone. Yet she treated Bi Fan differently, leaving him overwhelmed by the favor and deeply grateful.

Bi Fan wished he could cultivate inner breath soon and return every humiliation Zhu San had inflicted on him.

Unfortunately, Bi Fan couldn't begin practicing the Qingyang Longevity Art until he reached the peak of the Martial Force Realm. For now, he had no choice but to set it aside and focus on practicing Myriad Ancestor Fist.