It’s just that I don’t know why the Paradise Sect hasn’t taken revenge on me.
But even so, Zhao Ya remained vigilant.
After all, no one knows if this is the calm before the storm.
The only thing Zhao Ya can do is to cultivate diligently and watch as things develop.
In the blink of an eye, autumn passed and winter came, a whistling north wind stripped the city of its leaves, and people began to wear winter clothes.
Ping’an Square, inside a small courtyard.
Wearing only a single shirt, Zhao Ya exhaled wisps of hot steam from his head and shoulders after finishing a day’s practice.
The effect of Qi Blood running at its peak.
[Eight Vajra Skills proficiency +3]
Along with this prompt, Zhao Ya felt his body slightly tremble, and then a multitude of new insights appeared in his mind.
Zhao Ya’s heart fluttered, then a light curtain, visible only to him, appeared.
Name: Zhao Ya. Age: 18 years. Remaining lifespan: 100 (+330 days) years
Skills: Eight Vajra Longevity Skill (Peak Performance 1%)
Five Tiger Fist (Peak Performance 81%)
Gale Saber Technique (Peak Performance 78%)
Light as a Feather (Peak Performance: 96%)
Concealing Breath Technique (Peak Performance 52%)
Great Stone-Throwing Hand (Refined Skill 3/5000)
Great Vajra Fist (Mastery 234/2000)
Golden Body Technique (Mastery 1872/2000)
[Kidney Unlock Progress: 28%]
More than three years have passed since I came to this world, and Zhao Ya’s remaining lifespan finally broke through the one-hundred-year mark.
Not only that, but the Eight Vajra Skills have successfully reached the realm of Peak Performance.
However, what surprised Zhao Ya the most was that upon entering the realm of Peak Performance, the name of the Eight Vajra Skills changed, adding the word Longevity.
Could it be...
Zhao Ya immediately closed his eyes and pondered carefully.
Moments later, Zhao Ya opened his eyes, his face full of ecstatic delight.
Sure enough, after the name changed, a new set of techniques named Longevity Skill appeared in Zhao Ya’s mind.
Previously, the Eight Vajra Skills were a Pure Yang Supreme Firmness technique, but now this Longevity Skill is a Pure Yin Health Cultivation Technique.
It is known that a person possesses two innate Qi, known as Qian Yang and Kun Yin.
These innate Qi are the foundation of longevity, the origin of all techniques.
The Eight Vajra Skills cultivate Qian Yang, removing all innate sickness and evil.
Now that Zhao Ya’s remaining lifespan has passed the one-hundred mark, this means Zhao Ya has eliminated all innate sickness and evil, with pure Qian Yang.
After all, when a person is free of sickness and disaster, the maximum lifespan is around one hundred and twenty years.
To extend it further, one must cultivate the Kun Yin technique.
The concept of Yin containing Yang, Yang containing Yin; Yin and Yang in harmony, then longevity is achieved.
Understanding its profoundness, Zhao Ya could not contain his joy and immediately began his cultivation.
The Longevity Skill is divided into eight forms.
The first form, Stealing a sip of Kunlun Longevity Wine.
The so-called Kunlun refers to the head, the supreme of the body’s six Yang.
Longevity Wine refers to the saliva in the mouth, also known as Golden Juice Jade Liquid.
Lv Zu once said, self-consuming Longevity Wine, carefree, who knows.
Its significance is evident.
And the first form Zhao Ya practiced has four verses of a mantra.
The dragon plays with the water of the Nine Rivers, the tiger climbs the mountains of myriad heights.
Where Yin and Yang exchange, within fire the white lotus blooms.
The so-called dragon, refers to the tongue, the sprout of the heart. The tiger, refers to the teeth, the representation of the kidneys.
The heart is Yang, the kidneys are Yin; the two in harmony produce the water of the Nine Rivers.
Thus, when Kan and Li come together, water and fire are harmonized; through mutual exchange and fusion, the white lotus blooms within fire, nourishing longevity and prolonging life.
Zhao Ya silently recited these four verses, stood relaxed and upright, his mouth closed, guiding the liquid with intention.
The tip of his tongue stirred back and forth in his mouth, while imagining his entire body’s bones, muscles, and organs being tempered by flames.
When the mouth is full of saliva, swallow it in three parts slowly, imagining it descending to the lower Dantian, being forged by the fire of Yin and Yang.
Gurgle, gurgle!
Just the first form made Zhao Ya’s stomach growl.
Thankfully, he was prepared and swallowed some Golden-Spotted Black Eel.
Next is the second form, Rising and Falling, Move Along Ren and Du Meridians.
This form involves transporting the innate Qi within the body, allowing it to travel along the Ren and Du Meridians.
Though Zhao Ya is far from the Meridian Opening Realm, it doesn’t mean his meridians are completely blocked.
The postnatal Qi Blood cannot pass through, but the innate Qi guided by the Power of Will can.
Thus, Zhao Ya practiced slowly, and after completing the movement, his entire body was drenched in sweat.
Continuing with the next movement was impossible.
Yet surprisingly, despite only completing two movements, Zhao Ya’s lifespan increased again.
The remaining lifespan suddenly grew by over a year.
This demonstrates the power and consumption of the Longevity Skill, far exceeding the Vajra Skill.
In the following days, Zhao Ya diligently practiced the Longevity Skill, finally mastering the first four movements.
The two subsequent movements are the third form Inner Rotation Tai Chi and Eight Trigrams, and the fourth form Great Turning Carefree Joy.
After completing the four forms, a prompt suddenly appeared.
[Spleen Unlock Begins, Current Progress: 0%]
Seeing this prompt, Zhao Ya was immensely surprised.
Previously, an organ would be fully unlocked before moving to the next one.
But now, despite the kidneys being far from fully unlocked, the spleen began to unlock as well.
Is this the effect of the Longevity Skill?
Despite the surprise, Zhao Ya was quite happy.
After all, this means the unlocking progress will significantly accelerate.
Thus, Zhao Ya once again devoted himself to cultivation.
Another month passed quickly, with heavy snow falling, and the year-end approaching.
Many children began to look forward to the year-end arrival.
For them, the year-end means a feast of delicious food, sweet peanuts and candies, and new clothes.
Even children from poor families feel the same way.
Though their feast may not be as lavish as those from wealthy families, at least they can have a full meal; if lucky, they might even get to eat meat.
However, these children don’t notice that as the year-end draws near, their parents become increasingly worried.
The year-end expenses for food and new clothes for the children pose a considerable burden for those struggling on the bottom rung.
Zhao Ya was also worried.
Not because there was no progress in his cultivation.
In fact, since obtaining the Longevity Skill over a month ago, Zhao Ya’s cultivation had sped up like a rocket, making progress virtually every day.
Zhao Ya was worried because, with the simultaneous unlocking of two organs, his demand for Exotic Beast Flesh surged again.
Moreover, the Golden-Spotted Black Eel he previously consumed was gradually losing effectiveness.
Unlike before, increasing the quantity consumed couldn’t solve the problem; it wasn’t about inadequate Qi Blood quantity, but the quality failing to meet Zhao Ya’s current cultivation needs.
The only way to solve this is to purchase higher-grade Exotic Beast Dried Meat.
However, Golden-Spotted Black Eel is already the highest-grade meat dried Zhao Ya could buy on the market.
Higher-grade alternatives like the Seven-Star Blood Eel provided by Dingtai Martial Arts Hall surpass it.
But this grade of meat dried is only supplied to major forces and isn’t open for personal purchase.
Even when some occasionally make it to the black market, the prices are astronomical.
This means that Zhao Ya once again faced a crisis concerning Qi Blood; however, this time, it’s not a simple financial issue.
Zhao Ya had foreseen this predicament.
After all, as strength increases, the required Exotic Beast Dried Meat rises correspondingly.
High-grade meat dried is monopolized by various forces and isn’t sold publicly.
This is why there are ordinary people among Third Realm Martial Artists, but by the Fourth Realm, such occurrences are nearly non-existent.
The monopoly on Exotic Beast Flesh is one of the crucial reasons.
Facing this challenge, Zhao Ya was momentarily at a loss.
Yet, fortunately, with intense practice, Zhao Ya’s realm progressed another step from the peak of the Third Realm to half a step into the Fourth Realm.
Now Zhao Ya thinks if he faces Xia Cunyi again, he wouldn’t even need the Great Stone-Throwing Hand; just the Five Tiger Fist would suffice to beat him into a pulp.