Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

As they spoke, Qiu Zhen followed An Kang into the An family's martial arts training ground.

The moment they entered the courtyard, An Jishi, who had been scolding his son incessantly, seemed to sense something.

Suddenly, he looked towards the two entering the courtyard, and a hint of delighted smile appeared on his displeased face:

"Little Zhen, I guessed you would come over these few days."

"Sir, you have keen insight. I just broke through the fifth level last night."

Qiu Zhen was not at all surprised that Alchemist An could see through his attainment of the "Flawless Body" with a single glance.

So fast?

An Kang and An Huayu were slightly surprised.

However, thinking that Qiu Zhen possessed a blessed fate and many opportunities, the two were no longer surprised.

As they spoke, An Kang came to An Huayu's side and whispered a few words.

An Jishi was somewhat surprised, then smiled at Qiu Zhen:

"You are very thoughtful."

"Sir, these are spiritual fruits from my own garden. Please, have a taste."

Before long, the group arrived at a pavilion in the corner of the martial arts training ground and took their seats.

"Little Zhen, have you come to ask me for guidance on the subsequent cultivation realms?"

"Precisely."

Qiu Zhen nodded.

Having cultivated the "Flawless Body" and perfected his Yin spirit, he had officially entered the "Refining Essence into Qi" realm. Cultivating the [Dragon and Tiger Intercourse Method], he was not lacking in cultivation paths in terms of immortal cultivation.

As for martial arts cultivation, he knew nothing about the realms beyond the Innate stage.

The An family's library pavilion housed countless books of all kinds, but few delved into profound martial arts, detailing the knowledge of cultivation.

Usually, when he talked with Fairy Yun Rou and Monk Zhenkong, they generally only discussed cultivation and magical powers, rarely mentioning martial arts.

"Please enlighten me, sir."

"Hmm ~"

An Jishi was not at all surprised.

Acquired martial arts were widely circulated in the countryside, and it was not difficult to inquire about them. However, the Innate realm was already a "transcendent" realm, and very few people in the countryside knew about it.

It was only natural that Qiu Zhen knew nothing about it.

"You must also know that the currently flourishing martial arts are derived from immortal cultivation, and are the life cultivation of the [Dual Cultivation of Body and Mind]. When it comes to the Innate realm, one must mention cultivating the Dao to become an immortal."

Cultivating the Dao to become an immortal?

Qiu Zhen was immediately interested.

Alchemist An was knowledgeable and had a profound realm, possessing the demeanor of a grandmaster. Even if he did not cultivate immortality, his vision and knowledge were probably far beyond his own.

Usually, he didn't dare to ask too much out of scruples. Now that Alchemist An took the initiative to mention it, he was naturally eager to learn.

"Please tell me, sir."

"Cultivating the Dao has three treasures: 'Essence, Qi, and Spirit'. Refining essence to shape the body is the prototype of martial arts life cultivation, but the foundation of cultivating the Dao lies in the Spirit, in the nature cultivation.

The Spirit is divided into Soul and魄. The Soul is the innate primordial spirit, and the魄 is the acquired conscious spirit.

The acquired conscious spirit is the tangible mortal mind. The seven emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire that you and I produce, and the six desires of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, are all controlled by the conscious spirit. All the thoughts that you and I produce are all the actions of the conscious spirit.

When people praise someone for being resolute in doing things, it comes from this.

If the conscious spirit is strong, doing things will naturally be resolute and decisive.

The innate primordial spirit is the life source that people are born with, and it is the unchanging nature.

Heaven and earth see people as mayflies that live in the morning and die in the evening. The Great Dao sees heaven and earth as ephemeral bubbles that disappear in an instant in the water. Only people's primordial spirit can transcend time and space and be eternally immortal, but people's essence and Qi decay with the decay of heaven and earth and will not last in the end."

Only the primordial spirit can transcend Yin and Yang and not be in the Three Realms.

If the "innate primordial spirit" is compared to the king of a country, then the "acquired conscious spirit" is the domineering prince and warlord.

At the beginning of cultivation, cultivators refine the body and nourish the魄, cultivating the "Yin Spirit". Although they have magical powers and their cultivation progresses, things have two sides. Just like the princes and warlords becoming powerful, they can resist foreign invasions and strengthen the country, but if the power of the princes and warlords is too great, once they form a situation where the tail wags the dog, the positions of the monarch and his subjects will be reversed, and if one is not careful, a coup will occur.

Once this happens, it means death and the dissipation of the Dao.

In cultivation, only by cultivating nature and constantly strengthening the power of the monarch, with virtuous ministers assisting, can the princes and warlords be suppressed. Cultivating nature is to strengthen the monarch's authority, to control all directions from the center."

Alchemist An spoke eloquently, expounding the path of cultivation.

Listening to his words, Qiu Zhen's horizons were broadened, and he had a direct understanding of the matter of "cultivating the Dao", and curiosity arose in his heart:

"Sir, then why is immortal cultivation declining now?"

"The sky has clear and turbid Qi. Cultivators collect and refine the clear Qi of heaven and earth to refine the body and preserve the spirit. However, the heaven and earth have changed, and demonic thoughts run rampant in the clear Qi, occasionally sending down demons, making it extremely difficult for cultivators to cultivate."

Speaking of this, a look of regret appeared on An Jishi's face:

"You and I were born in the wrong era. The demonic thoughts contained in the clear Qi can pollute the conscious spirit, causing the conscious spirit to lose itself and indulge in desires. This is like the princes and warlords losing control and rebelling at any time, causing the country to shake. Even if cultivators cultivate nature diligently, they will easily become possessed."

"Cultivating immortality and seeking the Dao is a hundred times more difficult than in ancient times."

Qiu Zhen understood something. He had heard similar sayings before, but this time he knew it in the most comprehensive and systematic way.

"Sir, is there really no future in cultivating the Dao?"

"That's not necessarily the case."

An Jishi sighed and said:

"If one can cultivate the sudden enlightenment methods of the Pill Dao, the mind seal of the Buddha, and the unique skills of the saints, and awaken the primordial spirit early, and the power of the monarch is strengthened early, perhaps one can fight against the princes and warlords."

After speaking, An Jishi shook his head:

"It's a pity that the methods of the three saints to reach the sky in one step are now inaccessible, and there is no way to enter. After all, entering with such a sudden enlightenment method will summon the descent of demons equivalent to martial arts grandmasters and spirit refining old monsters. How can a mere hundred-day foundation building cultivator resist it."

"Cultivating sudden enlightenment methods and dying at the hands of great demons, not cultivating sudden enlightenment methods, and cultivation will become more and more difficult in the future, and hope is slim. This is equivalent to a dead knot that is difficult to break."

"This…"

Qiu Zhen's heart stirred.

Who said it was difficult to break? I have cultivated it.

Of course, although he was excited in his heart, he did not show it on his face, but instead asked:

"Sir, what about martial arts cultivation? Why is it not easy to provoke demons when cultivating martial arts?"

"Just now I mentioned that cultivators collect and refine the clear Qi of heaven and earth to cultivate, but our martial arts collect and refine the turbid evil Qi of heaven and earth, using the divine evil to suppress demons, so naturally there is no worry of becoming possessed."

An Jishi shook his head, and when he mentioned martial arts, he did not show any pride, but instead carried a bit of loneliness:

"The price of the current flourishing martial arts is that it has no chance with longevity. The turbid evil Qi restrains demons, and also restrains itself. Even if one cultivates to the Martial Saint, the lifespan is at most a few hundred years, and there is no longer any talk of immortality and living as long as heaven."

After saying that, his talent was extremely high, and his ambition was extremely high, and his emotions were a little low. He handed Qiu Zhen a painting.

"This picture is called [Demon Ape Suppressing the World Picture], which is a method of gathering turbid evil Qi and internally refining innate true Qi. Your [True Yang Saber Technique] has extremely high attainments. The true Yang is just beginning to move. At most, in a year, you will surely be able to open the mysterious pass and enter the Innate realm!"

As soon as these words came out, An Huayu and An Kang were dumbfounded and shocked.

Achieve the Innate within a year?!

On the other side, Qiu Zhen was also shocked.

It was not that An Jishi determined that he could break through the Innate within a year, but on the contrary, his hundred-day foundation building had been completed, and the mysterious pass had already been broken in the dark. As long as he had the [Demon Ape Suppressing the World Picture], he would soon be able to achieve the Innate Martial Master.

It's just that…

After listening to An Jishi's words today, his whole person was numb.

Today's martial arts collect and refine "turbid evil Qi", cultivate the divine evil, which is incompatible with the "clear Qi" he cultivates in immortal cultivation.

In other words, after the acquired refining, when it comes to the "Refining Essence into Qi" level, immortal cultivation and today's martial arts will diverge, and only one direction can be cultivated.

It's over.

Qiu Zhen's heart sank.

Looking at it this way, he simply cannot become an Innate Martial Master.

Previously, he had speculated on this aspect based on known information, but he still had some luck because he had not obtained authoritative and specific information.

Now, after Alchemist An's detailed explanation, it is basically a foregone conclusion.

This…

Could it be that he will have to prepare to stage the "corpse liberation" scene so early, sever his worldly ties and enter the mountains to cultivate?