Becoming an Immortal and Ancestor, Starting from the Clan-protecting Divine Beast

123: Chapter 123 Martial Arts Lecture and Life-or-Death Arena”The Martial Dao is human-centric; it does not seek the external, but the internal.”

”The Martial Dao consists of three Realms: first is the Acquired Realm, second is the Xiantian Realm, and third is the Gangsha Realm, which correspond to the Immortal Dao’s Nourishing Origin, Qi Refining, and Foundation Establishment Realms, respectively.”

”Among them, the Acquired Realm can be further divided into the External Refining and Internal Strengthening stages, intended to strengthen the Physique and boost Blood Qi, laying a solid Foundation for subsequent Realms.”

In a plaza stretching a thousand zhang, Chen Zhuyun walked slowly. Before him stood rows of young boys and girls dressed in uniform attire, with a powerful, vigorous character for ’Martial’ embroidered on their chests.

These were the Disciples who had joined the martial arts hall in recent days, most of whom were fringe members of families from Qi Refining factions who had been tested and found to lack the Aptitude to Cultivate.

There were also some from Foundation Establishment factions who were unwilling to remain ordinary, thus choosing to join the Fengyun Martial Arts Hall to learn the Martial Dao from Chen Zhuyun, striving to achieve the Xiantian Realm or even the Gangsha Realm.

As for the Purple Mansion level factions, they remained in a wait-and-see attitude, hindered by the might of the Chen Family, and had not yet shown hostility toward the Fengyun Martial Arts Hall.

Before this, many Cultivators had heard of the Martial Dao, but upon learning that it could at most reach the Xiantian Realm, they all scoffed.

Because in the Cultivation World, there is an unwritten rule: only by stepping into the Foundation Establishment Realm can one be considered to have truly entered the hall, crossed the threshold of immortality, and be called a Great Cultivator.

And the previous Martial Dao could not even reach Foundation Establishment; it was no different from a dead end, a path of no return.

But now, Chen Zhuyun had burst onto the scene, bringing the Martial Dao’s Gangsha Realm, which could rival the Immortal Dao’s Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, leaving many Cultivators in shock.

A Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator is not some common vegetable; within a Purple Mansion Faction, they are the backbone, no longer at the bottom rung of the Cultivation World.

Furthermore, the Martial Dao promoted that there were no barriers to entry; everyone could practice it.

Those who lacked Spiritual Root Aptitude and were unwilling to remain ordinary would inevitably go to practice martial arts upon learning this, even if it meant bankrupting themselves to seize this opportunity.

A single spark can start a prairie fire; if all the Mortals in the world began practicing martial arts, even if only one Gangsha Realm expert emerged from every million people, the number would still be immense.

This was the point that worried the many factions in Liyuan Commandery; the rise of a new path is inevitably accompanied by blood and chaos.

Because resources are fixed, conflicts between newly risen factions and established factions are bound to erupt; it is unavoidable.

This is no less than a struggle for the Dao!

Even if the current Martial Dao could at most compare to the Immortal Dao’s Foundation Establishment, there was no guarantee that as the number of martial practitioners increased and the Martial Dao’s Luck grew, some Martial Artist might open up a Realm above the Martial Dao’s Gangsha Realm.

The Purple Mansion Realm is the backbone within a Golden Core Upper Sect, and within a commandery-level faction, they are already big shots, existences that can dominate a commandery.

Once the number of Martial Artists increases, it will inevitably impact the rule of the Immortal Dao factions in various places, which is something they will not allow.

There is a distinction between Immortals and Mortals; Cultivators stand above Mortals, as Immortal Masters, as Immortals, existences that Mortals need to respect and revere.

Since they lack the Aptitude to Cultivate, they should just be good Mortals; why practice martial arts!

Therefore, many factions were restless, only held back by fear of the Chen Family and concern for Yuan Feng; otherwise, they would have already made a move against Chen Zhuyun.

Why come anywhere else? To come to Liyuan Commandery to promote the Martial Dao, isn’t this looking down on the Immortal Dao of Liyuan Commandery?

Inside the Fengyun Martial Arts Hall, Chen Zhuyun stood in front of the Disciples, dressed in a black and red martial robe. His tall, sturdy frame was planted firmly on the ground like a needle for calming the seas, his deep, resonant voice echoing through the thousand-zhang-wide training arena.

”The Martial Dao is a path carved out by countless people who refused to be ordinary, following in each other’s footsteps.”

”I am fortunate to be able to stand on the shoulders of the sages of the Martial Dao, to continue this path, and to open up the Gangsha Realm.”

”Once one enters the Gangsha Realm, the Dragon and Tiger intersect, Yin and Yang merge, and one can give birth to a Dao Foundation, sublimate True Qi, rival the Immortal Dao’s Foundation Establishment, and possess the power to protect oneself in this vast Cultivation World.”

The Disciples listened earnestly and quietly. For them, being able to step into the Gangsha Realm in this lifetime and attain a status equal to Foundation Establishment was enough.

”Hall Master, you once said that a Martial Artist at the Perfection of External Refining could rival an Immortal Cultivator at the Perfection of Nourishing Origin. Why then does the Internal Strengthening Realm exist?”

At this moment, a young boy raised his hand and asked the question that had been in his mind.

He came from a Qi Refining faction that had several Peak Qi Refining Cultivators in the clan, but perhaps due to bad Luck, they had never been able to produce a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator.

Chen Zhuyun looked at him with dark eyes, his gaze calm and his tone gentle. ”Correct. External Refining focuses on the tendons, bones, skin, and flesh. Once at Perfection, one can indeed rival an ordinary Cultivator at the Perfection of Nourishing Origin.”

”For those who possess a special Physique, who are born with divine traits, or who come from wealthy backgrounds, they will continue to accumulate in the Nourishing Origin Realm, surpassing Perfection, and reaching the limits of what they can achieve.”

”All of this is to prepare for subsequent Qi Refining. The stronger the Physical Body, the higher the quality of Spiritual Qi that can be refined. The same applies to the Martial Dao; the more sufficient the internal strengthening of Blood Qi, the stronger the Innate True Qi that is born after stepping into the Xiantian Realm.”

Once these words were spoken, the Disciples began to discuss animatedly, their desire for the Martial Dao growing even stronger.

According to what Chen Zhuyun said, the higher the level of Internal Strengthening, the stronger the Innate True Qi that could be cultivated.

Doesn’t that mean that as long as the level of Internal Strengthening is sufficient, the Innate True Qi that appears after stepping into the Xiantian Realm could rival High Grade Spiritual Power or even top-grade Spiritual Power?

”May I ask, Hall Master, how many times did you complete the tempering in the Internal Strengthening Realm?” a young girl asked curiously.

Internal strengthening of Blood Qi is also known as the Blood Qi Pass. Each time the tempering is completed, it is equivalent to completing one revolution of Blood Qi. The further one goes, the more difficult it becomes, and the greater the increase in power.

”Nine times. Nine is the extreme, perhaps the limit a Martial Artist can reach,” Chen Zhuyun said.

”As expected of the Hall Master, no wonder you are so formidable,” a somewhat thin young boy said, clenching his fists in excitement.

It was not as if no one had come to the door to challenge the hall these past few days.

They were all Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators, looking fierce and malicious, but they were all defeated by Chen Zhuyun, unable to withstand even a single move, even the Foundation Establishment Peak Great Cultivators.

Many speculated that this Hall Master of Fengyun’s Martial Dao cultivation might rival the direct descendants of the Immortal Sects; in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had already reached some kind of limit, far beyond what ordinary peers could compare to.

Against such an existence, even if a Daoist of a Golden Core Upper Sect were to strike, they would likely lose; only by sending out a Daoist of an Immortal Sect could he be suppressed.

After all, he was the one continuing a path; without exceptional Aptitude and powerful combat strength, how could he continue a broken path?

In fact, in a sense, Chen Zhuyun could be considered a Daoist cultivated by the Jade Blood Heavenly Sect, having refined two Yang Gang and Yin Evil Qi condensed from Blood Qi to enter the Gangsha Realm.

It was not just the Yang Gang and Yin Evil Qi; the Yao Beasts he had killed and the Yao Beast meat he had consumed over the past ten years were all infused with pure Blood Qi, continuously helping him cleanse his Physical Body, strengthening his Blood Qi, and allowing his Foundation to reach an unprecedented level.

It could be said that Chen Zhuyun’s Physique was even more formidable than many Body Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Peak; only Body Cultivators with special Physiques could compare.

Nowadays, the path of the Body Cultivator has declined as Blood Qi has become obscure, and there are few true Body Cultivators left.

Cultivators like those of the Blood Fiend Demonic Sect follow the path of the Ancient Zhou Blood Ancestor, not the true orthodoxy of Blood Qi.

Orthodox Blood Qi Cultivators are all those with powerful Physiques and vigorous Blood Qi; even Bing Fire Cultivators can hardly catch up to them.

The only difference between the Martial Dao and Blood Qi Cultivators is what they seek. Martial Artists seek the internal, while Blood Qi Cultivators still follow the Immortal Dao template, needing to connect to positions and eventually sit on a dao position.

After explaining the concepts of the Martial Dao, Chen Zhuyun let the Disciples disperse to practice, occasionally offering pointers.

Such peaceful and fulfilling days slipped by quietly, and half a year passed.

As more and more people came to challenge the hall, and even Cultivators from other commandery cities came over, Chen Zhuyun’s prestige increased significantly, and the number of Disciples joining the martial arts hall multiplied several times over.

Chen Zhuyun invited Master Huang and the older generation of Martial Artists to serve as instructors, teaching the Disciples the knowledge of the Acquired and Xiantian Realms.

At the same time, he also shared with Master Huang and the others about the Breakthrough and cultivation of the Martial Dao’s Gangsha Realm.

However, since Blood Qi is currently in decline, Gangsha is not easy to find, so Master Huang and the others were still stuck in the Xiantian Realm and had not broken through to the Martial Dao’s Gangsha Realm.

The price of Gangsha in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is quite expensive, requiring a Purple Mansion True Person to venture deep into the Nine Heavens and Yin lands to collect it, and the quantity is quite small.

”It seems I need to plan something regarding the Jade Blood Heavenly Sect ruins.”

Chen Zhuyun’s eyes gleamed. As long as the Luck of the Blood Qi Path recovered, the Gangsha born in the world would increase, and there would be no need to be as strapped for resources as he was now.

He needed the help of the Jade Blood Heavenly Sect, and this Sect also needed him. Only by helping each other could both achieve their respective goals.

By now, what he could see and what he could think of was far more than before.

The Jade Blood Heavenly Sect ruins in Liquan Town could not have pulled him in for no reason. It was likely that they valued the Martial Dao and intended to use the hand of the Martial Dao to make the Blood Qi Path reappear in the world.

And the fastest way to make the Blood Qi Path turn from hidden to manifest is to elevate it through the method of Luck.

And the fastest way to increase the Luck of the Blood Qi Path is to make the Blood Qi Path’s prestige spread far and wide, throughout the world.

Currently, the only one that can represent the Righteous Path of Blood Qi is the Jade Blood Heavenly Sect; the Blood Fiend Demonic Sect is not on the same path.

After making up his mind, Chen Zhuyun briefly left Liyuan Commandery City and went to Liquan Town.

He did not hide his identity; he went in front of the eyes of the various factions, and he returned in front of them as well.

After he returned to Liyuan Commandery City, a piece of news spread.

He was going to hold a life-and-death ring, and in the capacity of the current Daoist of the Jade Blood Heavenly Sect, he was inviting all Foundation Establishment experts in the world to battle.

The winner lives, the loser dies!