Chapter 103: Interrogation [Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Xia Daoming closed the chest containing the Grandmaster Secret Map again, casually opened the chest containing the potent medicines, grabbed a five-hundred-year-old Lie Lin Ginseng from it, and walked out of the stone room while gnawing on it.

He had consumed two of these Lie Lin Ginsengs after he first went on a long journey with Liu Qiaolian and became a sixth-rank Great Wu Shi.

One was three hundred years old, and one was three hundred and sixty years old.

He only consumed a small section each day.

Even so, when the medicinal power surged and collided within his meridians, he felt the pain of being torn apart.

But now, as Xia Daoming walked and gnawed on the five-hundred-year-old Lie Lin Ginseng, aside from feeling a bit spicy in his mouth and a trace of warmth spreading from his stomach to his limbs and bones, he felt no discomfort at all.

"The taste is a bit worse, and the potency is weaker." Xia Daoming finished eating quickly, wiped his mouth, and his gaze fell on the spring.

Mist steamed, enveloping and nourishing the more than ten mu of land around the spring.

Xia Daoming couldn't help but recall the scene he saw in that cave and valley on Gengyun Mountain.

"It's a pity that the Xu Clan aren't cultivators; otherwise, they should have at least planted some spirit rice or transplanted some medicinal herbs here!" Xia Daoming grumbled, but his mind became active.

"I wonder if there are any requirements for planting spirit rice? If not, I happen to have spirit rice on hand; I can take some to use as seeds and reclaim a paddy field here. In the future, I can be self-sufficient in spirit rice!

Hmm, besides spirit rice, I can also reclaim a spirit herb garden here! The Ji Clan should know something about this, and even if they don't, that Ding Chu Shan is a cultivator after all, so he should know something."

With these thoughts turning in his mind, Xia Daoming left the rock cavern with a burning heart.

He walked through the long passage and returned to the secret cultivation chamber.

He pressed the mechanism button that was almost indistinguishable from the other stone textures, and the black steel rock slowly closed, leaving no trace.

Then Xia Daoming walked out of the secret cultivation chamber and gently closed the heavy iron door that required at least an eighth-rank Great Wu Shi to push open.

Returning to the backyard, Xia Daoming gave instructions to the Ji Clan disciple guarding the entrance and left the Xu Clan.

Next, Xia Daoming tirelessly searched the key areas of the Ding family, the Lin family, and the Tyrant Saber Sect.

Aside from finding many precious medicinal herbs and elixirs, and of course money, there were no unexpected discoveries in these three families.

The only small surprise was finding a token made of hundred-year-old peach wood heart in the secret room of the Tyrant Saber Sect leader, Gong Zhonghou.

Carved on this token was a mountain peak shrouded in clouds and mist, shaped like a river snail, but with the pointed tail facing down and the snail mouth facing up.

Xia Daoming couldn't make much sense of it, but precisely because of that, the fact that Gong Zhonghou hid it in a secret room made it seem somewhat abnormal.

Aside from the Xu Clan's backyard and Xu Zhiyuan's collection, Xia Daoming only picked a few precious medicinal herbs for his own "rations" for the next few days, leaving the rest for Ji Yuanzhen and Liang Jingtang to discuss, categorize, and store.

——

The Xu Clan's backyard, backed against Mount Cuiyun.

Under the sunlight, flowers vied for beauty, butterflies flitted among the flowers, and bees were busy collecting nectar.

Xia Daoming sat comfortably in an old rattan chair, eyes slightly narrowed, watching Ding Chu Shan lying on the bamboo couch in front of him.

Originally, Xia Daoming wanted to sit face-to-face with Ding Chu Shan and have a good chat.

Unfortunately, Jiao Yongbao was uneasy about the methods of cultivators and used a stick to break this guy's four limbs.

So, now this fellow could only lie down.

"Sorry about that, Young Master Chushan, my senior brother was a bit heavy-handed; actually, in my opinion, it was completely unnecessary." Xia Daoming picked up a Cold Ice Purple Shouwu, took a bite, chewed it in his mouth, and then said.

"It's okay, it's okay." Ding Chu Shan hurriedly shook his head.

"It seems Young Master Chushan still understands how to advance and retreat and knows the big picture. Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush with you." Xia Daoming placed the Cold Ice Purple Shouwu in his hand on the tea table and sat up straight.

"Xia Ye, just ask whatever you want; I will tell you everything I know, I only ask that you spare my life!" Ding Chu Shan said.

"Little Ding, whether I spare your life or not depends on the situation, alright!" Xia Daoming began to put on the tone and airs of a leader.

Uh!

Ding Chu Shan was a bit unaccustomed to Xia Daoming changing his address for him from Young Master Chushan to Little Ding.

"Xia Ye, I beg you. I am devoted to the Dao and only want to live a life of a recluse in the mountains, living a life of cultivation without worldly strife; I absolutely had no intention of participating in worldly slaughter or fighting for power and profit.

It was truly because I couldn't withstand the bitter pleas of the elders in my clan that I was forced to come out of the mountains to help; who could have imagined it would end up like this!

However, now that the Ding family is finished, I have no more attachments in the mortal world. As long as Xia Ye spares my life, I will absolutely never enter the mortal world again." Ding Chu Shan quickly said with tears and snot.

"Little Ding, we'll talk about that later; for now, let's talk about business first, alright!" Xia Daoming said.

Ding Chu Shan looked at Xia Daoming with teary eyes, nodded helplessly, and said alright.

"I heard that cultivation can only begin before the age of eight or nine; is this true?" Xia Daoming asked the question he cared about most as soon as he opened his mouth.

"This is true." Ding Chu Shan looked at Xia Daoming, and the humble and fearful look in his eyes actually faintly revealed a sense of superiority.

"Oh, tell me about it, why?" Xia Daoming's expression darkened slightly as he asked.

Seeing Xia Daoming's expression suddenly darken, Ding Chu Shan's heart trembled, his gaze returned to being humble and fearful, and he explained honestly.

"Humans have twelve regular meridians connected to the internal organs; what martial artists start practicing are these twelve regular meridians, and what they cultivate is acquired blood and qi strength.

At the same time, humans also have the eight extraordinary meridians, which are neither directly subordinate to the organs nor have a surface-interior relationship, yet they connect the twelve meridians, govern meridian blood and qi, and coordinate yin and yang.

These eight extraordinary meridians are the innate roots of a human, also known as the innate meridians, which hide the human's original true qi, also known as original qi or true qi. When a person is in the mother's womb, the eight extraordinary meridians are unobstructed and also contain original true qi.

Once a person is born, the umbilical cord is cut, they breathe acquired qi, and eat acquired grain and flesh, the original true qi gradually flows away and becomes turbid, and the eight extraordinary meridians also become blocked.

What cultivators start practicing are the eight extraordinary meridians, and what they cultivate is true qi and magic power. When an infant is just born, there is still a small amount of original true qi remaining, and the eight extraordinary meridians have not yet completely blocked; if one can practice then, everyone can step onto the path of cultivation.

But an infant's intelligence has not yet opened, so how could they understand cultivation? By the time they gradually grow older and start to truly understand, the original true qi has already completely flowed away and become turbid, and the eight extraordinary meridians have already blocked, so they lose the opportunity for cultivation."

Xia Daoming felt relieved upon hearing this.

"No wonder cultivation must start from childhood; children have already begun to understand a little, and the eight extraordinary meridians in their bodies have not yet completely blocked; this is considered a compromise method."

"Xia Ye is wise; that is exactly the principle. However, even so, a child's comprehension is ultimately very limited, and they are naturally lively, making it difficult for them to settle down, yet the path of cultivation is very profound and obscure, and requires entering meditation and sitting still. Just this one hurdle eliminates most children.

Not only that, if the eight extraordinary meridians are too closed, even if a child has high comprehension and can settle their heart, they cannot reopen the eight extraordinary meridians and cultivate true qi and magic power; this requires the child to have innate cultivation roots and talent, so very few people can truly walk this path of cultivation.

Martial arts are different; the twelve regular meridians of a human are always connected to the internal organs, transporting blood and qi energy, and are still connected; it's just that without practicing martial arts, they are relatively narrow and blocked, so there is no such thing as childhood for practicing martial arts; basically, as long as there are conditions, everyone can practice martial arts." Ding Chu Shan couldn't help but reveal a sense of superiority in his eyes again when he reached the end.

"According to what you say, is it really impossible to step onto the path of cultivation after childhood?" Xia Daoming narrowed his eyes, took a fierce bite of the Cold Ice Purple Shouwu, and asked, unwilling to give up.

"The Great Dao is fifty, the Heaven evolves forty-nine; there is always a glimmer of hope left for people." Speaking of this, Ding Chu Shan stared at the Cold Ice Purple Shouwu in Xia Daoming's hand, which was at least four or five hundred years old, and swallowed hard.

"Oh!" Xia Daoming's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this, and with a "snap," he broke off a small section, stood up, brought it to Ding Chu Shan, and said: "Take a bite to moisten your throat, and keep talking!"

"This, this Cold Ice Purple Shouwu is too old, its medicinal properties are too potent, I can't eat it!" Ding Chu Shan struggled to move his Adam's apple and said.

"You can't eat it, then why are you swallowing your saliva? I thought you wanted to eat it!" Xia Daoming took back the Cold Ice Purple Shouwu, sat back in the rattan chair, and said: "Continue, what methods do adults have to step onto the path of cultivation again?"

"It is said that there are some rare spirit herbs and spirit elixirs that can help people reopen the eight extraordinary meridians, sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and step onto the path of cultivation." Ding Chu Shan replied.

"What rare spirit herbs and elixirs, tell me quickly?" Xia Daoming urged.

"I am just a spirit farmer of the Spirit Saber Sect, I really don't know much; I only know there is something called a Spirit-Connecting Profound Fruit, which seems to be able to help adults reopen the eight extraordinary meridians and sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

However, unless one has excellent cultivation roots or a powerful background and can consume large amounts of spirit herbs and elixirs for replenishment, otherwise, since one is already an adult, the start is too late; even if one borrows spirit herbs to step onto the path of cultivation, one can only linger in the early stage of Qi Refinement for the rest of one's life." Ding Chu Shan felt very bitter when he reached the end.

He was someone without a background in the cultivation world and with average cultivation roots, which is why he came down the mountain to fight for a chance.

As a result, he ended up in this state.

If he had a background in the cultivation world, like those second-generation immortals who eat spirit herbs and fruits and pop spirit elixirs at every turn, even if his cultivation roots were average, he wouldn't have only reached the second layer of Qi Refinement until now.

"You don't need to worry about that! By the way, help me see what fruit this is, is it some Spirit-Connecting Profound Fruit?" Xia Daoming took out a small box and opened it.

"This, this... this is a Profound Mist Green Glass Fruit!" Ding Chu Shan's eyes widened, his breathing became coarse, and with his four limbs broken, he almost sat up from the bamboo couch.

PS: It's finally listed. I sincerely hope readers can support the genuine subscription. Please also help by casting a base monthly ticket. The monthly ticket at the beginning of the month is very important; it can help this book compete for the monthly ticket list and gain more exposure. Thank you very much! Today will be three consecutive updates, about ten thousand words, and there are two more chapters to come.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 104 =====