"Senior brother, does that mean we're out of luck for the first opportunity after this change in the world?"
The old man with black hair and a black beard said somewhat unwillingly.
“Indeed, this is an opportunity for those little ones. Go and find the outstanding disciples in the sect. You don’t need too many, just ten in the Innate Realm and ten in the Acquired Realm. I have something to say to them.”
The old man, with his otherworldly air, sighed.
"Yes, senior brother, I'll go right away."
After winning, the old man with black hair and a black beard was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, "Senior brother, should we also inform the other families in the secret realm about this?"
The old man, with his sage-like demeanor, thought for a moment and said, "Let's notify them, otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause then."
After his junior brother left, the old man, with his otherworldly air, continued to gaze at the distant clouds, his eyes lingering.
"Our lineage has endured tens of thousands of years in this secret realm, and finally, we have witnessed another upheaval in the world, giving us hope of escaping."
It's just unknown whether the main sect and other major immortal sects, after boarding the Void Ship and breaking through the boundary, found a way out, or if they will ever return.
I can calculate the mechanisms of change in the outside world, and the other secret places should be similar.
I wonder which disciples they will send into the mortal world to compete for this opportunity...
...
"Xiaoyan, come here. From today onwards, your brother will officially teach you cultivation. Whether you can fly in the future depends on how seriously you cultivate."
Early in the morning, on a flat, large rock, Lu Qing spoke solemnly.
In front of him, Xiao Yan was holding Xiao Li, sitting obediently.
"Yes, Xiaoyan will work very hard in her cultivation!"
Hearing her brother's words, Xiaoyan nodded earnestly.
"Then today I'll teach you a breathing technique. Once you've mastered this technique and are able to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, I'll teach you other cultivation methods."
Okay~
Xiao Yan looked at Lu Qing with sparkling eyes, full of anticipation.
Lu Qing smiled slightly, extended a finger, and gently tapped Xiao Yan's forehead.
He said in a very gentle tone, "Then close your eyes now and regulate your breathing as your brother taught you."
As Xiaoyan closed her eyes, a very warm spiritual power gently enveloped her body. At the same time, a gentle voice rang in her mind, causing her to unconsciously adjust her breathing according to the voice's instructions.
Before long, he entered a state of ethereal tranquility with a strange breathing rhythm.
Lu Qing withdrew his finger, looked at Xiao Yan who had already entered a meditative state, and sighed.
The little guy's talent for cultivation is indeed exceptional; in such a short time, he was able to grasp the key points and enter a meditative state.
As expected of a cultivation genius certified by supernatural abilities as possessing a trace of innate Daoist essence and the talent of having ice-like skin and jade-like bones.
Seeing that Xiaoyan had completely entered a meditative state, Lu Qing sat down cross-legged and quietly waited by her side.
Xiao Li snuggled into his arms and lay quietly.
Lu Qing gently stroked its head, and suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Xiao Li, I got something yesterday that seems to be of some use to you. Would you like to take a look?"
After saying this, Lu Qing's mind stirred slightly, and he took out an item from the Qiankun Qi Bag.
It was a white fruit about the size of a thumb.
Xiao Li was initially puzzled, but when she smelled the fruit, her eyes widened suddenly.
"This fruit is called the Beast Spirit Fruit. It seems to have a significant effect on purifying and enhancing the bloodline of spirit beasts. Do you want it?"
Lu Qing held the white fruit in his hand and waved it in front of Xiao Li.
Xiao Li's eyes involuntarily followed the swaying of the fruit.
Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, he nodded his head vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice, and then looked at Lu Qing expectantly.
Its innate, strange senses told it that this white fruit would be of great benefit to it.
"Okay, then it's yours."
Seeing the little guy's longing eyes, Lu Qing found it amusing and stopped teasing it, handing the fruit over instead.
Xiao Li's eyes lit up with surprise. She picked up the white fruit with both paws, and without thinking, stuffed it into her mouth and swallowed it.
"Xiao Li, you..."
Upon seeing this, Lu Qing was first taken aback, then shook his head helplessly.
He didn't expect the little guy to be so impatient and swallow the fruit so quickly.
Although this Beast Spirit Fruit is extremely beneficial to spirit beasts, it can be directly consumed and refined.
But if it swallows it whole, the little guy will probably fall asleep again.
Sure enough, not long after Xiao Li swallowed the white fruit, its eyelids began to droop, and then it leaned against Lu Qing's chest and fell into a deep sleep.
Well, now Lu Qing has become the caregiver for the two little ones.
Holding Xiao Li, Lu Qing waited quietly. About half an hour later, Xiao Yan woke up from her meditation, her eyes bright and spirited.
"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Lu Qing asked leisurely.
"Brother, Xiaoyan feels very comfortable right now, as if she has inexhaustible energy!" the little girl exclaimed in surprise.
"That's just your imagination. But Xiaoyan is indeed very amazing. On her first attempt at practicing the breathing technique, she was able to enter a meditative state for half an hour. You're even more amazing than when your brother first started practicing!"
Lu Qing didn't hold back his praise, showering the little guy with compliments.
"Really?"
Sure enough, Xiaoyan's eyes lit up immediately.
"Of course, when has your brother ever lied to you?" Lu Qing nodded seriously.
"Hehe." Then the little guy started giggling.
After laughing, she finally realized something was wrong and looked at Lu Qing's arms: "Brother, what's wrong with Xiao Li?"
"It's nothing. I gave it some good food, and it fell asleep after eating. No, this is good for it. When Xiao Li wakes up, it will become even stronger," Lu Qing explained.
Xiaoyan felt relieved after hearing this.
But she still laughed: "Little Li, you're so shy. You go to sleep right after eating. You're even lazier than Xiao Yan."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, let's go back. We've already spent a lot of time teaching you breathing techniques today. After breakfast, we'll set off."
With Xiaoyan and Xiaoli in tow, we returned to the village where we had stayed the night before. We rented the house to the family there and prepared breakfast.
After Lu Qing and his companions finished their breakfast, they paid the farmer a little money as a token of their gratitude, then mounted their carriage and set off again.
"Ah Qing, you took Xiao Yan out so early this morning, were you teaching her cultivation methods?"
Inside the carriage, the old doctor looked at Xiao Yan, whose aura had clearly changed, and asked her curiously.
"Yes, Grandpa Chen, my brother taught me a breathing technique, it's so much fun! After practicing it, I feel energetic all over. My brother even said that when I get good at it, I'll be able to fly!"
Xiaoyan stood to the side with a smug look on her face.
"Breathing technique?" The old doctor looked at Lu Qing with some surprise.
"Breathing method is actually a preliminary exercise of breathing method. Its purpose is to regulate the breath, visualize the whole body, and cleanse the body of impurities through breathing techniques."
Ultimately, one reaches a state where qi flows throughout the body, free from impurities and defilement, and all meridians are open. Lu Qing explained.
"The Qi flows throughout the body, pure and unblemished, all the meridians are open..." The old doctor was even more astonished, "Then wouldn't that mean..."
"That's right. In our martial arts path, only after reaching the Innate Realm and receiving the blessings of heaven and earth to cultivate an Innate Body can we achieve the state where Qi flows throughout the body and all meridians are open."
Once Xiaoyan has perfected her breathing technique and opened up all her energy channels, in terms of cultivation level, she has essentially entered the Innate Realm.
However, because she hasn't undergone the tempering of her physical body with qi and blood, theoretically speaking, she'll only have the realm in name only. In a real fight, she might not be able to defeat a martial artist at the Bone and Tendon Realm.
"Then why, Ah Qing..." the old doctor asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Master, I taught Xiaoyan the breathing technique not so that she could improve her combat power, but so that she could quickly reach the state of Qi flowing throughout her body and all her meridians being open.”
When that time comes, I will continue to teach her the method of breathing exercises; that is the most important thing.
"The Qi-absorbing method, Ah Qing, you want to..."
The old doctor suddenly realized what Lu Qing was planning.
“That’s right. Xiaoyan has exceptional talent, and given the changes in the world, I want her to directly embark on the cultivation path of an ancient Qi cultivator.” Lu Qing nodded.
Although martial arts training has a low barrier to entry, the progress is slow and it is too arduous.
Xiao Yan possesses the talent of having fair skin and jade-like bones, and also has a trace of innate Daoist essence, making her an excellent natural candidate for cultivation.
Lu Qing naturally wouldn't let her follow the path of martial arts, but instead directly led her to the path of immortal cultivation.
"Now that you've made all the plans, Ah Qing, I'm relieved."
Seeing that Lu Qing seemed to know everything, the old doctor naturally stopped asking questions.
He knew that Lu Qing possessed a mysterious cultivation inheritance, and since he already had a plan, he must have made the best arrangements.
Wei Zian, standing to the side, looked completely bewildered.
He didn't understand a word Lu Qing and the old doctor said.
He didn't understand any of the terms like "breathing method," "breathing qi method," or "qi practitioner," and he had never heard of them before.
In the end, he could only sigh that the path of cultivation was indeed vast and profound, with countless mysteries he did not yet understand.
The carriage continued its journey, stopping at noon to allow the horses to rest before continuing.
However, as the afternoon approached, the carriage slowed down and became increasingly bumpy.
Lu Qing frowned and had no choice but to pick up the still-sleeping Xiao Li a little to avoid waking her up from the jostling.
"Master, what's wrong? Why is the carriage so bumpy?"
Wei Zian also sensed something was amiss and asked about it.
Then I felt the carriage suddenly jerk and come to a complete stop.
"Brother Lu Qing, Doctor, we're probably in a bit of trouble."
At that moment, Magu's voice came from the front of the carriage.
"What trouble?"
Lu Qing lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside.
Could it be that they've been robbed?
But he didn't sense any other people's presence nearby.
However, when Lu Qing saw the situation outside, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
He discovered that they were now on a very rugged mountain road. The ground was uneven, and the road itself had become much narrower, barely allowing a horse-drawn carriage to pass.
At that moment, one of the carriage wheels was stuck in a stone pit and could not move.
Where are we?
Lu Qing handed Xiao Li to Xiao Yan, stepped down from the carriage, and looked around.
They then discovered that they were on a path halfway up a mountain, with a cliff next to them, which looked quite dangerous.
The old doctor also got out of the car, looked around at the surroundings, and understood.
"We are about to enter Ezhou. It is said that Ezhou is the most dangerous of all the states in the world. Most of its territory consists of towering mountains, making it very difficult to travel."
"Ecuador?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing understood.
In the past two years, he has not only focused on cultivation, but has also been collecting information about this world.
I also have some knowledge of Ecuador.
Knowing that this state has many mountains and rivers, it can be considered a poor and remote place compared to other states.
"This is really a bit of a problem."
Lu Qing looked around at the surroundings and felt a headache coming on.
If it was just a difficult stretch of road, he and Magu and the others could easily carry the carriage across it.
However, it would be impossible if the entire state had roads like that.
Does this mean they'll have to abandon the car and walk for the rest of the journey?
Lu Qing was caught in a dilemma.
He didn't mind walking, but Xiaoyan and his master obviously couldn't let them travel like that.
Even Wei Zian might not be able to endure such a long journey.
Moreover, over this period of time, they had developed a considerable affection for the carriage that had sheltered them from the wind and rain.
I don't want to give it up unless absolutely necessary.
"If I had known, I would have preferred to take a longer route."
Lu Qing felt a little regretful.
In fact, he had discussed with his master before whether to take another path.
Because when Master traveled the world, he had never been to Ezhou, and was not familiar with the road conditions here.
But that would mean taking a much longer route, covering an entire continent.
They all wanted to get to Zhongzhou as soon as possible, so they ultimately chose this route.
Even if the roads in Ecuador are more difficult, it's still better than going through an extra state.
Unexpectedly, the terrain of Ecuador was far more treacherous than they had imagined, making it virtually impossible for a carriage to pass.
"Master, what should we do?" Lu Qing looked at his master.
The old doctor understood the current situation. After thinking for a moment, he sighed and said, "At this point, we only have two choices: one is to turn back, and the other is to abandon this carriage and walk."
Neither of these two methods can be considered good.
Going back would mean wasting more time, while abandoning the car and moving forward would mean losing many of its contents.
Lu Qing could use the Qiankun Qi Bag to pack everything away.
But he hasn't decided yet whether or not to reveal this ability directly.
Moreover, he wasn't sure if Xiaoyan could endure that kind of hardship.
Just as Lu Qing was struggling with this decision.
Wei Zian sighed, "Then all our travel over the past two days has been for nothing. I didn't expect the roads in Ezhou to be so difficult. It's a pity. If only our carriage could fly."
"What nonsense are you talking about? This is just an ordinary horse-drawn carriage. Do you think it's some kind of magical treasure from those storybooks that can fly?"
"You little rascal, you must have stolen Xiaoyan and Xiaoli's storybooks again."
Magu laughed and cursed.
However, Lu Qing was taken aback when he heard this.
