Chapter 550: The Love of Ancestors for Descendants

Matching its immense power is an extreme threshold for cultivation. There is no gradual process to cultivating Dan Shi;

there are only two outcomes: "mastery upon entry" or "death upon failure," which can be described as hell-level difficulty.

Even within the Tang Sect, countless extraordinary individuals have paid with their lives to cultivate Dan Shi.

A cultivator must possess a mindset that completely disregards life—not just the lives of others,

but even more so, the cultivator's own life—a true state where there is no one in the world who cannot be killed, and no one who cannot die.

When condensing Dan Shi, one must use one's own body as a furnace; the slightest carelessness leads to a backlash, causing the cultivator to die of poisoning first.

Therefore, very few people in the history of the Tang Sect have successfully mastered Dan Shi.

The power of Dan Shi is enough to rival the "Eight Extraordinary Skills," and its combat record is legendary.

Back then, Zhang Huaiyi, who bore the "End of Techniques" Qi Body Origin Flow,

was ultimately unable to recover after being struck by Yang Lie's Dan Shi, and he begged Feng Baobao, who happened to arrive, to give him a quick end.

Even Ding Jiao'an, one of the two heroes hailed as "below the absolute peak,"

felt a massive, fatal threat when facing Xu Xin's Dan Shi.

During the Republic of China era, when facing invading island nation extraordinary individuals—what they called "Samurai," "Onmyoji," and "Ninjas"—

Dan Shi shone brilliantly in the hands of the Tang Sect's leader of that generation, the Great Master of the Tang Sect, slaughtering many beasts who were lower than pigs and dogs.

"Dan Shi is terrifying, but isn't my grandfather's Qi Body Origin Flow hailed as the 'End of Techniques'? How could it not neutralize it?"

Although Zhang Jie's explanation was logical and well-founded, and Zhang Chulan already believed it to some extent, his emotions still compelled him to question it.

He did not want to believe that his grandfather did not die of old age, but instead died at the hands of others, without a good end.

"The Qi Body Origin Flow is hailed as the 'End of Techniques' and can nearly neutralize all Qi,

especially since your grandfather cultivated it for a lifetime; his internal Qi was incomparably vast, enough to look down upon the entire world of extraordinary individuals.

But Dan Shi, as the Tang Sect's ultimate technique, naturally couldn't be as simple as ordinary Qi. Dan Shi is Qi, but it is also poison!

It is not ordinary poison, but a fatal technique that completely fuses the Tang Sect's deadly toxins with one's own 'Qi,'

forming a Qi-poison capable of killing from the Qi to the body, and even the soul!

Originally, your grandfather could have relied on his vast internal Qi and the Qi Body Origin Flow to suppress it,

but that battle was too tragic; all the invading extraordinary individuals were killed,

and your grandfather was also severely wounded, leaving him with no power to suppress the poison of Dan Shi."

Feng Baobao, who was a participant in those events, recounted the situation at the time.

"Hmm."

Zhang Jie nodded secretly; what Feng Baobao said was not much different from what he knew.

Although the essence of Dan Shi is the same, different masters use it with vastly different styles.

First is the Tang Sect's Great Master during the Jiashen period, Tang Tang Jia Ren,

who followed the "victory by quantity" AOE (area of effect) route.

His supply of Dan Shi was extremely abundant; as long as he could fight his way into close quarters,

he could form an inescapable net, leaving no blade of grass growing, and he was publicly recognized as having the strongest comprehensive combat ability.

Another is the old Tang Sect leader, Tang Bingwen, who followed the "high-precision" single-target sniping route.

His supply of Dan Shi was small (only able to condense a few at a time), but his attack range was extremely long, making it suitable for long-distance assassinations.

Finally, there is the Tang Sect's current rising star, Xu Xin; after decades of research,

his Dan Shi has reached the realm of "using it with ease." Although the range is not far, it excels in having sufficient quantity and being easily controlled.

Ordinary detoxification or Qi-neutralizing methods are ineffective against Dan Shi.

Currently, it is speculated that only the perfect body digestion and absorption ability of the "Six Storehouse Immortal Thieves"

might be able to completely neutralize the Qi-poison of Dan Shi.

While the "Qi Body Origin Flow" and "Divine Spirit" can neutralize Qi, it is difficult to eradicate the essence of the deadly poison fused within it.

The great weakness of Dan Shi is that it specifically attacks internal Qi, meridians, and vitality,

so it is completely ineffective against inanimate objects like mechanical constructs that lack meridians.

He was not surprised that Zhang Huaiyi, despite possessing the Qi Body Origin Flow hailed as the "End of Techniques,"

died at the hands of others.

On one hand, it is because the power level of the world of extraordinary individuals is not high;

extraordinary individuals can be swarmed to death by ordinary people in ancient times. Even for experts like Zhang Huaiyi,

except for a few anomalies like the Old Heavenly Master Zhang Zhiwei,

a good tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves. Zhang Huaiyi was simply exhausted to death by the extraordinary individuals who besieged him.

On the other hand, although the Eight Extraordinary Skills are hailed as immortal techniques, extremely miraculous and powerful,

the fundamental abilities passed down by major sects and families for hundreds or thousands of years are not inferior in terms of strength.

Just like the Five Thunder Orthodox Method secretly passed down by the Heavenly Master's Mansion, hailed as acting on behalf of Heaven to punish,

it is upright and bright; in ancient times, there were many legends of Heavenly Masters using thunder techniques to subdue demons and eliminate evil.

Others, such as the Zhuge family's Samadhi True Fire, the Tang Sect's Dan Shi,

and the Shaolin Temple's Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing, were all created by brilliant ancestors,

and then cultivated and perfected by dozens of generations of disciples and descendants,

making them extremely extraordinary in their respective fields, not inferior to the Eight Extraordinary Skills.

Furthermore, Zhang Huaiyi's lifespan was nearing its end at the time, and he was not long for this world;

he fought with the intention of wiping out those who harbored malice toward him, leaving no hidden worries for his descendants.

Old and frail, coupled with fighting to the death without retreating, even though he possessed the Qi Body Origin Flow,

he was exhausted after barely achieving victory.

If Zhang Huaiyi had not fought to the death without retreating, with his strength, breaking through the encirclement would not have been a difficult task.

It can only be said that the love of ancestors for their descendants is a plan for the long term.

Even if the price is their remaining life, they do not hesitate.

"Grandfather..."

Hearing the details of his grandfather's passing, Zhang Chulan's face showed unconcealable sorrow.

However, being sharp, he still caught a loophole in Feng Baobao's words:

"You said you were already a temporary worker for the North China region at that time; you must have been quite old then,

but my grandfather has been dead for many years, why do you still look so young?"

Zhang Chulan stared sharply at Feng Baobao.

Although Feng Baobao's appearance was unkempt, even a bit sloppy,

she was still youthful and beautiful, looking no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.

When his grandfather died, Feng Baobao was probably not even ten years old.

At such an age, how could she have become a temporary worker for the North China region?

Could it be that the company exploits child labor, in the style of the Victorian era of the British Empire?

"Age? So you never believed it; you were doubting this."

Feng Baobao smiled upon hearing this.

That smile was like a lotus rising from the water, incomparably clear and beautiful; Zhang Chulan was stunned for a moment.

However, thinking of his grandfather, he extinguished this thought of ripples in his mind,

and continued to stare sharply at Feng Baobao: "How do you explain this question?

If you can also clear up this question, then I will believe what you said is true!"

"My age? I don't remember clearly either."

Feng Baobao counted on her fingers, as if she were counting:

"But I have known Gouwazi since he was very small.

Although it probably doesn't compare to your grandfather, it is much older than your father, Zhang Yude." ===== CHAPTER 551 =====