Immortal Travel of Longevity

Seeing the flustered girl and cat, Chen Changsheng asked, “Where are you rushing off to?”

At the sight of Uncle Chen, Ruyi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Her tense mood relaxed. She said, “Uncle Chen, tell us where you’re going next time. I thought…”

Chen Changsheng paused, then understood.

“Okay.”

“Mhm.”

The group headed into the courtyard.

Ruyi walked beside him and noticed a faint smell of burnt wood clinging to Uncle Chen.

She wrinkled her nose. “Uncle Chen, where were you last night?”

Chen Changsheng answered, “There was a fire in the city last night. I went to take a look.”

“Oh, oh.”

Ruyi nodded. “No wonder there’s a smell on you.”

“Is it strong?”

“A little.”

Ruyi looked him over. “Why don’t you take that off, Uncle Chen? I’ll wash it for you.”

Chen Changsheng chuckled. “No need. I’ve worn these clothes for many years without changing them.”

Ruyi realized something and gave a light huff. “So Immortals think they’re so special.”

Chen Changsheng paused. “The truth is… I don’t have spare clothes to change into.”

Ruyi was surprised. “Just… how long has it been since you changed clothes?”

“A long time…”

So long he couldn’t really remember clearly anymore.

Maybe seventy or eighty years… or close to a hundred. It was rather fuzzy.

“I see.”

Ruyi murmured this to herself, thinking silently.

One big, one small; they stepped into the courtyard.

Chen Changsheng announced, “I’ll go brew some tea.”

The Tabby Cat trailed close behind him. It wobbled back onto the stone table and started feeling sleepy again.

Ruyi glanced over and saw something under the cat’s body. “Lihua, you’re lying on something. Go sleep over there.”

Lihua reluctantly shuffled aside.

Ruyi picked up the book.

“What’s this?”

Her eyes scanned the cover – no words. But when she opened it, she saw many pictures. The first pages showed human figures, marked with energy paths connected by lines.

“A medical book?”

Ruyi blinked, then flipped further.

But when she saw people holding swords in the later pictures, she couldn’t stay calm!

‘Martial arts secrets!’

Ruyi’s eyes lit up, and she carefully studied the pages.

She peeped nervously towards the kitchen to check, then furtively kept turning pages.

Page by page, section by section.

Just as she finished the first part, she heard movement.

Ruyi quickly put the book down, sitting up very straight.

Chen Changsheng came out. Seeing her sitting so properly, he couldn’t help but question, “Since when do you sit so politely?”

Ruyi blinked innocently. “Is Ruyi normally very rude?”

“Otherwise?”

“Uncle Chen looks down on me.”

“We shouldn’t say that.”

Two cups of tea were set on the stone table.

Chen Changsheng’s eyes also landed on the book lying there.

He looked at Ruyi. “You read it?”

Ruyi blinked rapidly. “What is Uncle Chen talking about? Ruyi doesn’t understand.”

Chen Changsheng shook his head. “You cannot lie at all, Ruyi.”

Ruyi made a little embarrassed sound. “Ah… Fine. I just looked at a bit. Just a tiny bit. Mhm.”

“Interested?”

“Sort of.”

Ruyi smacked her lips. “I can’t look?”

Chen Changsheng said, “It’s not that I won’t let you see. You travel alone often, a young woman. Being able to protect yourself is definitely best. But I haven’t studied this book myself yet. I don’t know if it could harm you.”

Ruyi was startled. “Martial arts secrets can harm people?”

“Naturally, yes.”

Chen Changsheng explained, “Proper martial arts should strengthen Qi and Blood. But throughout the ages, some people… found other ways. Some boost their Qi and Blood by using up their own life, or use dark methods. They only harm themselves in the end.”

“It can be like that?” Ruyi grew even more curious.

Chen Changsheng nodded. “So if you come across something like this, don’t rush into it impulsively. Understand?”

Ruyi lowered her head sheepishly.

Chen Changsheng then picked up the Nine Yin Manual and began to read.

The Nine Yin Manual had four parts:

Inner Art, Physique Training, Sword Art, and Healing.

It was remarkably complete. The four sections complemented each other. Using the Inner Art and Physique as a foundation to drive the Sword Art. The Healing section was also extremely detailed, even describing needle techniques targeting precise body points, plus many herbal meals and baths for support practice.

The most brilliant part was the Inner Art. It disrupted the Yin-Yang Balance, pushing towards the most extreme of six Yins. This forced a faster rotation of Qi and Blood. Practice diligently, and effects would show within a few years.

In the world of martial arts, such a manual could truly be considered supreme.

No wonder Ouyang Feng earned deadly trouble because of it.

But… as brilliant as it was…

It definitely had flaws. Practitioners would likely be affected.

Although called the Nine Yin Manual, it actually only achieved Six Yang. ‘Nine’ implies the extreme, but the extreme of Yin energy only reached six parts.

Six parts might seem minor initially. But long-term Yin-Yang imbalance has big consequences. Furthermore, surrounding coldness and Yin energies would be attracted. Affected by these, the practitioner would become gloomier, their mood gradually shifting darker.

This was likely why Ouyang Feng developed such a fierce killing intent, ultimately spiraling beyond control.

Chen Changsheng looked at Ruyi. “Did you read the Inner Art section?”

Ruyi said, “I only looked at the sword dancing pictures. The rest… I couldn’t understand.”

Chen Changsheng nodded. “Forget what you just saw. I need to make some changes to the content, then you can look again later.”

“Oh… Mhm?”

Ruyi processed his words. “For me to look at?”

She stood up. “Uncle Chen, you’d really let me learn this?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “Why not? The world is unstable. Knowing some martial arts is a good thing. Don’t you want to travel and see the outside world someday? You’ll need some skill.”

He paused, then added, “But don’t practice this one. This manual greatly affects those with less firm will. Wait until I make the changes.”

Ruyi gave a dumbfounded nod. “Ah… okay…”

“Mhm.”

Chen Changsheng nodded once, then headed towards the house to fetch ink and brush.

Excitement surged inside Ruyi. She hadn’t expected Uncle Chen to actually let her learn!

Thrilled, she scooped up Lihua, exclaiming, “Lihua, Lihua! I can learn martial arts! Uncle Chen says I can!”

Lihua, shaken awake, looked confused. “If Good Human Chen said no, then Ruyi couldn’t learn?”

Ruyi stopped. She couldn’t answer that right away.

She opened her mouth, made a little helpless sound, then said firmly, “Anyway! It means I can learn now!”

Lihua blinked, not really getting it.

She watched Ruyi grin foolishly. The more she looked, the more she felt Ruyi wasn’t very clever. Less clever than even the Dried Fish across the street.

Chen Changsheng returned from the house with ink and brush. He sat at the table in the Main Hall and started altering the Nine Yin Manual based on his reading.

Healing the Yin-Yang imbalance and stopping the harmful draw of outside energies… that part wasn’t too difficult.