Chương 32: After a long while

He looked at the father and son and said, "Do you believe there are immortals in this world?" The father and son looked at each other, and neither spoke. Xu Xiu then told them a story. One hundred and twenty years ago, he had originally been a soldier in the border army stationed at Han City. Once, while following a Hundred-Man Commander to chase down barbarian scouts, he entered the depths of Hidden Dragon Mountain. After repeated battles, the squad became scattered.

He accidentally fell into a valley and saw an old man sitting cross-legged beneath an ancient tree, meditating. Faintly, rosy light surrounded his body. He originally wanted to go forward and wake the old man to ask for directions, but the old man was like a corpse. No matter how he called, he would not wake. Helpless, he could only sit to the side, preparing to wait until the old man woke before asking. After traveling and fighting continuously, fatigue came over him, and somehow, he fell asleep.

When he woke, the old man beside him had already disappeared, leaving behind only a nameless book. Xu Xiu searched the valley but could not find any trace of the old man. Since he also had no way to leave the valley, he could only flip through that nameless book.

"That was a kind of breathing method," Xu Xiu said with melancholy.

"Breathing method?" Jiang Wenfeng felt somewhat unfamiliar with this term.

"Breathing method is the name this old man gave it, because that secret manual taught people how to breathe."

"This old man cultivated according to that breathing method all along. My body became lighter and lighter, and in the end, eighty years ago, I walked out of the valley."

"There is no sun or moon in the mountains. When this old man came out, I discovered that forty years had already passed. My homeland had become ruins, and my wife, children, and parents had all died at the hands of the barbarians."

"For several decades, this old man has cultivated according to the breathing method, but I seem to have reached some kind of bottleneck and cannot take another step forward."

"The Innate Realm martial artist you mentioned, this old man has seen one before, but they were weaker than imagined." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. An Innate Realm martial artist was still weak? After hearing this, Jiang Wenfeng could not help feeling shocked. The Innate Realm of martial arts was the stuff of legends.

People like Huang Qingzhou and Huang Yunxiao had broken through to the Acquired Realm decades ago, yet had never been able to advance further and become Innate Realm martial artists. Although Xu Xiu's story sounded somewhat bizarre, Jiang Huanyu found it very interesting after hearing it.

"May I ask, old sir, is there something special about the fish in Blackwater Pond?" Xu Xiu shook his head slightly and smiled.

"This old man does not know exactly what is special about them."

"It is just that when I passed by Blackwater Pond back then, I felt that the power of heaven and earth here was slightly denser than in other places."

"The fish in the pond also possess quite a bit of spirituality, so I thought of catching some to taste. But for some unknown reason, these fish and alligator-dragons seem to intentionally avoid this old man."

"If not for little brother helping last time, this old man might still not know the wonders of Blackwater Pond's fish." At this point, Xu Xiu chuckled.

"Speaking of what happened last time, this old man is somewhat ashamed."

"After little brother left, that alligator-dragon was caught by this old man." Jiang Huanyu understood. No wonder when he passed by Blackwater Pond last time, he saw his fishing net thrown onto the shrubs at the side.

"Although this old man does not know what is special about Blackwater Pond's fish, after eating them, I can clearly feel the power of heaven and earth within my body increase slightly." As they spoke, the alligator-dragon meat on the bonfire had already cooked. After the three shared it, Jiang Huanyu did not sense the so-called "power of heaven and earth." He only felt that after eating the alligator-dragon meat, his body clearly gained some additional strength.

Jiang Wenfeng carefully sensed it too, but unfortunately, he also felt nothing.

"This old man's aptitude is dull. After a hundred years of bitter cultivation, I gained nothing. Only in recent years have I faintly understood that if I want to take another step forward, I must cultivate the heart."

"Meeting is fate. Since little brother is unwilling to accept silver, this old man will give this breathing method and cultivation insights to your son. It can be considered forming a good connection."

"If one day your son comprehends the path ahead, and this old man has not yet passed away, please have him give this old man some guidance. How about it?" After Xu Xiu finished speaking, he took out an old book from his robes and handed it to Jiang Wenfeng. Looking at the booklet before him, Jiang Wenfeng did not reach out to take it. His gaze turned toward his father. For a moment, Jiang Huanyu also did not know what to say.

If what Xu Xiu had said just now was true, then this breathing method was something passed down by the "immortal" he spoke of. He had cultivated according to this breathing method for forty years and became a cultivator even stronger than an Innate Realm martial artist. That was enough to prove how powerful this breathing method was! Could this be the great opportunity mentioned in the divination? But he had only met Xu Xiu twice in total, and they did not have any deep friendship.

Why would he gift such a precious thing to them? Moreover, this thing was a hot potato. If handled badly, it could absolutely bring ruin to his family! Seeing that neither of them reached out to take it, Xu Xiu smiled. He placed the booklet on a nearby stone and murmured, "Ever since I came out of that valley and found that my family had died, this old man no longer had any attachments in this world."