Chapter 17: Half a Year

## The Mortal Realm

Qin Sang only learned that Old Wu was surprisingly less than forty years old when Taoist Master Jixin mentioned it.

Old Wu was from Jiaoming Commandery in the Northern Region. He originally had two sons and one daughter, and they made a living by farming. Although they were poor, they managed to get by.

Last year, successive major disasters struck, and the smoke of war rose across the Northern Region's commanderies. Rebel forces acted like bandits, indiscriminately killing innocent people.

Old Wu's village was plundered by rebel soldiers, and his wife and children tragically died. He only managed to escape with his youngest daughter, but soon after, she fell seriously ill. With no money for treatment, she died on the road.

A perfectly good family of five was reduced to just Old Wu in an instant. Dazed and disoriented, he fled with fellow villagers to Sanwu City, where he made a living as a boat tracker at the First Ferry Crossing, sleeping under eaves or in doorways at night.

The old Taoist priest took pity on him and allowed him to live on the mountain.

Who could have imagined that the situation in the Northern Region had deteriorated so severely? It was unknown when this vast kingdom would finally find stability.

Spring turned to autumn.

Every morning, fallen leaves blown by the mountain wind covered the courtyard. Unconsciously, a full year had passed since he arrived in this world. Qin Sang wrapped his clothes tightly and walked towards Qingyang Hall, preparing to light a fire and decoct herbs.

After starting the fire, he happened to meet Old Wu while practicing martial arts in the courtyard.

The two nodded to each other. Old Wu, his back hunched, quietly walked away.

Qin Sang shook his head as he watched Old Wu's stooped figure disappear outside the Taoist temple.

He truly hadn't expected Old Wu's seemingly frail body to possess such strength. Old Wu had been working as a boat tracker for over half a year without any mention of returning to his hometown.

Over the past six months, Old Wu consistently left early and returned late, tracking boats every day without a single day of rest. Sometimes, when Qin Sang woke up late, he wouldn't see him all day.

Seeing Old Wu's plight, Qin Sang felt a secret sense of shame, which spurred him to work even harder, rarely slacking off.

Qin Sang had never seen Old Wu smile. Furthermore, being mute, Old Wu would only raise a hand in greeting, his face completely devoid of expression.

Qin Sang wondered if Old Wu had not yet recovered from the immense changes; his heart seemed dead, and he showed no interest in anything, giving Qin Sang the impression of a walking corpse.

Although they shared a room, Qin Sang didn't feel much inconvenience and gradually got used to it.

Over the past six months, his martial arts practice, cultivation, and medicinal baths had been continuous. After learning the effectiveness of the medicinal baths, Qin Sang became very proactive, accompanying the old Taoist priest to gather herbs on the mountain every time. He had explored dozens of mountain peaks around Mount Huanghuang.

The mountains on both banks of the Wuling River were steep and dangerous, teeming with wild beasts. It was inevitable for them to encounter danger when entering the deep mountains to gather herbs.

Their most dangerous encounter was undoubtedly with a pack of wild wolves.

It was night. Qin Sang and the old Taoist priest were making a fire and cooking in a cave when, unexpectedly, a pack of over a dozen wolves was lured by the firelight. By the time Qin Sang heard their howls and extinguished the bonfire, it was too late. He only had an iron pick he had acquired from a stonemason.

The pack of wolves surrounded the cave entrance. The beast-repelling powder the old Taoist priest made from fierce beast droppings was utterly ineffective at scaring them away. To survive, they had to fight for their lives.

Qin Sang, holding the iron pick, stood alone, blocking the cave entrance. He used the pick as a staff, applying the 'Fuhu Long Fist' technique as if he were a single man guarding a pass against an army.

He had expected a tough fight, but to his surprise, Qin Sang fought with remarkable ease. Because the cave entrance was small, at most three wolves could squeeze in at a time, and Qin Sang was able to handle even three fierce wolves at once with surplus.

With a single iron pick, Qin Sang struck the alpha wolf, causing its brains to splatter. Then, with lightning-fast movements, he killed several more, and the remaining wolves tucked their tails between their legs and fled.

Afterwards, without Qin Sang even having to ask, the old Taoist priest would always insist on Qin Sang accompanying him whenever he went to gather herbs.

After this real combat, Qin Sang finally realized that his strength seemed genuinely formidable.

Later, to confirm his own feelings, he sought out Yang Zhen's disciples at the Wuwei Escort Agency's mountain villa for sparring. Although he pretended to be outmatched each time, Qin Sang knew he had only used about half his strength.

Their boxing techniques were much stronger than 'Fuhu Long Fist', and their moves appeared incredibly powerful. However, to Qin Sang, they seemed very slow. If he wished, he could easily find their weaknesses and counter them.

With these martial arts skills, Qin Sang's thoughts inevitably became more active.

Currently, the rebellion in the Northern Region had remained unquelled for a long time. People in various commanderies were raising flags of rebellion one after another, yet the regional lords responded passively, leaving the government army exhausted and overwhelmed.

In the middle of the year, the Holy Emperor issued an edict, declaring to all righteous and ambitious individuals to join the army in the Northern Region to suppress the rebellion. If they achieved extraordinary merit, becoming a king or marquis would be within reach.

When the edict arrived, Sanwu City was abuzz with excitement. Many ambitious individuals traveled north to serve the emperor, and three of Yang Zhen's disciples even set off together, eager to achieve fame and fortune.

Qin Sang was also somewhat moved, but what he valued was not wealth and glory.

The words spoken by Taoist Master Jixin had always remained in Qin Sang's heart: even immortal masters could not abandon the seven emotions and six desires, and they too enjoyed prosperity. By approaching royalty and nobles, he might be able to come into contact with immortal masters.

However, Qin Sang had never experienced war and felt a little apprehensive. Battlefields were merciless; what if he accidentally got killed by a stray arrow? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?

Moreover, there were many talented and extraordinary individuals in this world. How strong were his martial arts really? How did they compare to martial arts masters with internal force? Could he truly stand out?

For these reasons, Qin Sang found it difficult to decide. In the end, he chose to stay in the Taoist temple and patiently cultivate the 'Netherworld Scripture', planning to make further decisions after breaking through the first layer.

Day after day, Qin Sang cultivated. The wisp of energy in his body, once as thin as a hair, could now gather into a small stream, flowing rapidly through his meridians, finally nearing a breakthrough.

Today, this tub of medicinal bath was newly prepared. As Qin Sang neared a breakthrough, his demand for the medicinal properties increased; the previous tub had only lasted five days.

In the evening, Qin Sang patiently finished his evening lessons. Waiting until late at night when all was quiet, he closed the doors and windows tightly, sat cross-legged on his bed, and silently recited the 'Qingjing Scripture' over a dozen times until his mind calmed. He then entered a meditative state and activated his cultivation technique.

In a flash, five cultivation cycles passed, and the energy circulated through his meridians. Qin Sang had an obscure feeling that after the next cycle, he would break through!

The 'Netherworld Scripture' did not mention any other bottlenecks between the two cultivation layers. Qin Sang, feeling uneasy, activated his cultivation technique. After one cycle, the energy returned to his Dantian.

Qin Sang suddenly let out a muffled groan. The energy boiled within his Dantian, and intense swelling pain started from there, rapidly spreading to all his meridians, followed by a searing, tearing pain.

Fortunately, this pain was intense but also subsided quickly. After the searing pain, what followed was a feeling of profound comfort!

A strong look of joy appeared on Qin Sang's face. He suddenly remembered the 'inner sight' mentioned in the 'Netherworld Scripture' and instinctively 'looked' towards his Dantian. With a sudden clarity, he finally truly 'saw' the energy.

A blue stream of energy coiled within his Dantian, exquisitely beautiful and mesmerizing.

Qin Sang's heart stirred, and the energy moved with his thoughts, entering his meridians and flowing like a rushing river. It circulated through his meridians several times faster than before, completing a cultivation cycle very quickly. Moreover, the improvement was more significant than when he was at the first layer.

He continued to cultivate without stopping. By the tenth cycle, the pain he remembered did not appear, which greatly surprised and pleased Qin Sang, so he temporarily stopped.