Chapter 97: The Method of Qi Refining

Su Fan left. He departed from Shi Long's dojo with a silk scroll in his hand; it was the *Secrets of Longevity*, though not the original, but a copy.

He did not kill Shi Long, as Shi Long had finally submitted.

What else could he do but submit? Even if Su Fan had let him go, Yuwen Huaji would not have. Between choosing one's life and freedom, perhaps some would abandon their lives for freedom.

But Shi Long would not.

After reading the *Secrets of Longevity*, Su Fan discovered that it was indeed as he had guessed: the oracle bone script on the scroll contained characters he could not recognize, but he could still understand some of the annotations left by predecessors within it.

More importantly, Su Fan understood the seven diagrams.

This *Secrets of Longevity* was indeed a method of Qi refining, not the ordinary martial arts of True Qi.

It was a method of Qi refining from the Pre-Qin era.

In True Qi martial arts, one first refines essence into Qi, cultivating acquired internal strength, continuously increasing that internal strength, clearing the meridians throughout the body, and finally opening the Ren and Du meridians to open the dual bridges of heaven and earth, allowing the human body to connect and resonate with heaven and earth.

This allows internal strength to undergo a transformation, reversing the acquired into the innate, turning it into Innate True Qi.

However, the Pre-Qin path of Qi refining begins by cultivating Innate Qi, directly ignoring the stage of refining essence into Qi.

This also resulted in the consequence of being difficult to cultivate, because from the moment a mortal is born, their meridians are gradually eroded by acquired turbid Qi, creating invisible blockages in the meridians that mortals must clear by cultivating internal strength.

But the *Secrets of Longevity* requires one to cultivate Innate Qi from the very beginning, accepting the baptism of the heaven and earth's primordial Qi. Once one already has internal strength or True Qi within their body, it will clash with it, leading to an eruption and a deviation in cultivation.

Therefore, in Su Fan's view, cultivating the *Secrets of Longevity* is even harder than ordinary Pre-Qin Qi refining techniques; it requires an Innate Dao Body with all meridians cleared to be cultivated.

Such a constitution is rare to find in a century.

Su Fan had not seen the "Twin Dragons" of this world, but based on the descriptions in the novel, the two of them were indeed possessed of a constitution rare in a century. As for whether they were Innate Dao Bodies, there was no way to know.

However, in Su Fan's view, the two of them simply possessed Spirit Roots.

Cultivation in the Main World also involves directly absorbing the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, which is similar to these Qi refiners.

But not everyone in the Main World can be an Innate Dao Body; the Main World requires Spirit Roots to cultivate. According to Su Fan's perspective, this Spirit Root is actually a medium that allows people to perceive and absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

The Twin Dragons also possessed a similar medium; even if they did not have all meridians cleared, they certainly possessed a medium that could connect with the primordial Qi of heaven and earth.

So, after finishing this *Secrets of Longevity*, Su Fan felt no ripples in his heart, because he was already prepared.

If he could recognize all the oracle bone script inside, he might be able to contemplate Guang Chengzi's martial arts philosophy, and perhaps he would gain something.

But right now, there was really no surprise. Even if it was a Pre-Qin Qi refining technique, its cultivation route was extraordinary, but compared to the cultivation techniques of the Main World, it did not have much of an advantage.

It might be stronger than Qi Refining stage techniques, but so what? There are many Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, and Golden Core cultivators in the Main World.

Their Su family already possessed several Foundation Establishment methods, and if he were to cultivate to the Purple Mansion stage in the future, he would not lack Purple Mansion techniques, because the Profound Heaven Sect had them.

At worst, he could join the Profound Heaven Sect; the Profound Heaven Sect would absolutely welcome such a cultivator. First of all, they knew his roots—he was a cultivator from a Zheng State cultivation family.

The Profound Heaven Sect itself was the co-lord of the Zheng State, while other cultivation families were like feudal lords, connected by a single lineage.

Many cultivation families originated from the Profound Heaven Sect and established their families after leaving the sect.

Therefore, Su Fan did not have high demands for techniques. Plus, he had a "cheat," so even if it were a Qi Refining stage technique, he could slowly deduce it to reach Foundation Establishment or even higher.

He collected some techniques from the martial arts world mostly for the philosophies within them; these philosophies even held great significance in the cultivation world of the Main World.

The *Secrets of Longevity* held little significance for him.

"What a pity!"

Shaking his head, Su Fan left, entered Jiangdu City, and then found the Yuwen Mansion.

"Ah! Young Master Chengji!"

The servants of the Yuwen Mansion naturally recognized Su Fan, and one by one they shouted in surprise. Soon, the mansion became lively.

Regardless, Su Fan was also a direct descendant of the Yuwen Clan, the eldest grandson of the third generation.

And now that Yuwen Shang had stepped down and Yuwen Huaji had become the Sect Leader of the Yuwen Clan, Su Fan's status had risen accordingly.

The next day!

In the living room of the Yuwen Mansion, Yuwen Huaji, Yuwen Zhiji, and others were all sitting there.

Because of Su Fan's return, they had gathered together, which was rare.

Over these past few years, Su Fan's sudden change had made the elders of the Yuwen Clan find it hard to believe, especially when they heard that Fa Nan had been beheaded by Su Fan; they were even more shocked.

The Yuwen Clan's power mainly involved the government and the military, but they were not indifferent to the Jianghu.

Fa Nan was a member of the Iron Cavalry Society, and they had even investigated and discovered that Fa Nan was also an Innate expert of the Yinkui Sect.

And just like that, he had been killed by Su Fan.

At first, they refused to believe it no matter what; after all, Su Fan's previous behavior was even more dissolute than Yuwen Huaji's had been back in the day.

How could he have been "exiled" to Wu Jun for a few years and suddenly changed, a prodigal son returning home?

However, after they sent people to investigate, they found that the facts were exactly so.

Su Fan had not only governed Wu Jun very well, but he had also become a very powerful expert himself.

Even the martial general inheritance method he had sent back had left Yuwen Shang shocked.

Although Yuwen Shang and the others cultivated True Qi martial arts, that did not mean their judgment was poor; they could discover the mysteries within the martial arts Su Fan provided.

Afterward, when Yuwen Chengdu and Yuwen Wudi cultivated it, their strength also advanced by leaps and bounds. Today, Yuwen Chengdu's strength had become that of an expert second only to Yuwen Shang.

In the army, he was even more brave and invincible; he had challenged many fierce generals of the Great Sui, and no one could defeat him.

Yuwen Chengdu dared to say he was the number one person below the Grandmaster level, and he could even fight a Grandmaster-level expert.

Even if Yuwen Shang wanted to take him down, it would take hundreds of moves.

Yuwen Wudi's progress was also fast; previously he was only a first-class Jianghu expert, but now he was advancing toward a super first-class Jianghu expert.

His talent was indeed inferior to Yuwen Chengdu's.

"Chengji, what is the matter with your return to Jiangdu this time?"

Ever since Su Fan had been exiled to Wu Jun, he had never returned home once. They were curious about his sudden return this time.

Yuwen Shang and Yuwen Huaji were silent there, while Yuwen Zhiji asked.

Yuwen Chengdu and Yuwen Wudi also looked at Su Fan curiously. This time, many experts of the Yuwen family were gathered in one hall, which was also rare.

"I heard Yang Guang was searching for the *Secrets of Longevity*, and since I happened to know about it, I went and retrieved it."

Su Fan casually tossed the silk scroll to Yuwen Huaji.

"Father, it can be presented to Yang Guang."

"Presumptuous! Is the Emperor someone you can address directly?"

Yuwen Huaji glared. ===== CHAPTER 98 =====