Longevity: Starting From Getting Down The Mountain And Marrying A Wife

Arched gateway.

Jiang Ping and Yan Sandao watched from a distance as Zhong Yan walked towards the backyard training room. They looked at each other, puzzled and concerned.

After the abrupt end last night, they were worried and came early. It was the first time they saw their husband in such a state.

Yan Sandao: "What's wrong with our husband? He stood there alone all night?"

Jiang Ping shook her head slightly, "Maybe he's not in a good mood. Why don't you go and ask?"

Yan Sandao: "I dare not approach our husband with that expression. Should I ask Fourth Sister instead?"

Jiang Ping rolled her eyes, "Fourth Sister only knows how to use her tricks in bed. You go, our husband dotes on you the most. Don't you still have something to report to him? It might take quite some time..."

In the end, Yan Sandao knocked on the stone door and entered.

Zhong Yan glanced at her and a smile appeared on his lips, "You're here."

Yan Sandao felt a sudden pang of sadness, she walked up and sat beside her husband, leaning against his chest, "If my husband is unhappy, I feel the same."

Zhong Yan let out a sigh, patting his cheek and smiling, "You came early in the morning, is there something you need to discuss with Ping'er?"

Yan Sandao stood up and knelt in front of him, "I am incompetent. I failed to discover Tang Xiaoshu's flaws. She didn't contact anyone externally, or maybe she used a method that I couldn't detect."

"If it were so easy for you to find clues, I wouldn't have sent her."

Zhong Yan himself was quite impressed by Tang Xiaoshu.

Her intelligence, temperament, composure, and martial arts talent were all exceptional.

Even when he subdued her in bed, the experience points provided by the system didn't fluctuate at all.

"She understands the secrets of divination and has some means that may seem ordinary to you, but could secretly transmit information."

"In that case, how should I respond? Please teach me, husband."

Zhong Yan thought for a moment, "Waiting passively is ineffective. We need to take the initiative and make her reveal her true intentions. I'll consider this matter."

Yan Sandao nodded and looked up with reluctance, "Husband, I came to bid you farewell. I will leave the city today to recruit martial disciples. It will take at least three months to return. Eldest Sister asked me to bring Chunyu along. What do you think?"

Only Chunyu was suitable, as she had reached the fifth stage of Body Tempering. Xiahe was pregnant, Qiu Xiang was weak and had no martial arts skills, and Dongcao managed the business.

Zhong Yan said directly, "You don't need to go. Stay by my side from now on, and let Tang Xiaoshu go!"

No need to pretend anymore.

Yan Sandao was bound by the system and her experience was ten times that of the other concubines.

Improving her cultivation as soon as possible was the right path.

Being able to stay with her husband for a long time made Yan Sandao extremely happy, but she didn't forget to remind him, "Will Tang Xiaoshu suspect something? And what if she obstructs the recruitment of disciples or plants spies..."

"She won't. Instead, she will do her best in handling things. Let her leave today. During this time, you can regain my favor, and when you talk to Chunyu, pay more attention to her."

"Yes, husband!"

Zhong Yan reached out and pinched her cheek, smiling, "No need to kneel anymore. As long as I'm here, we will grow old together!"

"Yes!" Yan Sandao nodded vigorously, her smile radiant. She locked eyes with him for a moment, then pressed her face against his thigh, tears shimmering.

"My husband, meeting you, even if I were to die, it would be worth it..."

[Insight into martial arts +10, experience in talismanic arts +30, progress in cultivation +10]

...

At the hour of Si.

Zhong Yan sat high up and gave some instructions, ending with, "If you encounter anything you don't understand, consult Master Li more and pay attention to safety."

Master Li was the second strongest in the Li Family Martial Arts Hall, an Innate fifth realm martial artist. This time, the Li Family also traveled out of the city to various towns and villages nearby to find talented martial disciples.

"Yes, I promise to complete the mission!"

Tang Xiaoshu and Chunyu both wore armor and saluted together.

After they left, Zhong Yan looked at Yan Sandao and asked, "How is it going at the martial arts hall?"

"Replying to my husband, aside from the five that Third Sister took away, there are still seventeen people, all carefully selected. They have all entered the door and the highest has reached the peak of the Body Tempering third realm..."

Zhong Yan nodded, "Dongcao, allocate another ten thousand taels to the martial arts hall each month. Don't skimp on medicinal herbs and meat. Let them grow quickly."

"Yes, my husband!"

Martial artists also need resources for cultivation, various elixirs, expensive medicinal herbs, especially meat that increases qi and blood, which is indispensable on a daily basis. The consumption of energy is particularly high.

Unlike cultivators who can stagnate without cultivation, martial artists either progress or regress. Without the support of flesh and blood, their cultivation may decline over time.

But compared to cultivators, martial artists have a great advantage in rapid improvement.

Even if their innate talent is not that good, as long as the resources are sufficient, they can achieve what others accomplish in a lifetime in just a few years and step into the Innate realm.

In Qingyang City, there are quite a few people in their twenties who have reached the Innate realm.

"Qiuxiang, go to the Marriage Fate Pavilion another day and urge the women with spiritual roots. Also, have Lin Xuelan find two mortal women."

"Yes, my husband!"

"Ping'er, go to the Li Family's wedding celebration and help out. When sending the invitations, go along with them."

"Okay, Ping'er will go tomorrow."

After making these arrangements, Zhong Yan led Yan Sandao and Zhong Xiaozhong to the study and asked, "How is it?"

Zhong Xiaozhong bowed and said, "Replying to Master, I have been investigating and organizing. Although there is no conclusive evidence, in my opinion, Chen Xiaorong is the most suspicious. Two years ago, he redeemed a top-ranked courtesan from Xiuchun Pavilion and secretly kept her. With his military salary, it would be impossible..."

Chen Xiaorong was a high-ranking general in the City Lord's Mansion.

Regarding the interception of the mage's entourage, besides the parties involved, only Chen Xiaorong and two other trusted subordinates of Qin Ben knew about it. They were involved in arranging the horses and the dead prisoners.

The undercover agent planted in the Flying Immortal Pavilion, or rather, the one who developed it, must have come from these three people.

As for the military advisor Zhang Shun, Zhong Yan first ruled him out.

Zhang Shun was almost like Qin Ben's lackey, following him from the capital's Prince Ning's Mansion. They were partners in plotting their great cause.

If he has any questions, Zhong Yan would definitely give Qin Ben the middle finger. It's impossible for him to reach his current position.

"Suspicions alone are not enough, we need solid evidence."

"Yes, I will follow up on this matter."

Zhong Yan nodded and looked at his face, smiling, "Xiaozhong, do you have any suitable candidates to recommend to the mansion?"

Zhong Xiaozhong raised his eyelids slightly, "What does Master mean?"

Zhong Yan said, "Don't you have a fellow villager named Zhuzi? How about him?"

Zhong Yan had naturally observed and investigated Zhong Xiaozhong in secret, otherwise he wouldn't have trusted him so much and let him handle important matters.

His fellow villager had a close relationship with him, making a living in a fishing village at the dock. His family was poor, with a sick mother and a younger sister.

Zhong Xiaozhong often helped them, but never mentioned bringing them to the Zhong mansion.

Zhong Xiaozhong thought for a moment and said, "Zhuzi is straightforward and simple-minded, he hasn't studied or learned to read, and his mind isn't very sharp. I'm afraid he might make mistakes in important matters, Master."

Zhong Yan smiled and said, "It's alright, you didn't know many characters either at first. Just ask him if he's willing, he can run errands and do some manual labor."

Zhong Xiaozhong hurriedly knelt down and said, "I thank Master on behalf of Zhuzi, he will surely remember Master's great kindness and serve you with his life!"

"Go then."

...

After dealing with some trivial matters, Zhong Yan went to the cultivation room and took out the jade slip given to him by Li Lin from his storage bag.

Every jade slip was extraordinary.

Unlike paper books, jade slips were made of special materials and could be preserved for a long time without being affected by wind, sun, fire, or water.

Even blank jade slips without any content would cost dozens or hundreds of spirit stones, and the better ones could cost tens of thousands.

They were mostly used to record powerful and profound inheritances, techniques, and secret divine abilities, or important historical facts.

Moreover, jade slips could be read with divine sense, so even if you couldn't read characters, you could understand their meaning.

The jade slips currently circulating in the cultivation world were mostly kept by major sects, some were self-made, some were inherited, and some came from various secret realms, ancient sites, and tombs, which were not to be taken lightly.

Zhong Yan unfolded the jade slip and saw only a few lines of ancient characters that he didn't recognize, resembling tadpoles, twisted and distorted.

They imprinted themselves on his forehead.

Countless irregularly shaped characters rapidly jumped and rushed into his sea of consciousness, turning into thoughts that Zhong Yan could understand.

"The Great Void Art!"

Almost at the same time, Zhong Yan heard the prompt sound from the system.

[Ding~ Secret art 'Great Void Art' recorded.]

Zhong Yan was stunned for a moment, quickly opened the panel, and saw the red prompt, then looked at the spell column.

[Spell: Great Void Art (Perfected 0/1000000), Gravity Art (Initiate 6575/100000000), Fireball Art (Initiate 4289/1000000)...]

His eyes widened.

He was recorded directly without even starting his cultivation, and it was ranked first, with the level displayed as 'Perfected'.

He quickly immersed his mind and examined the summary of the 'Great Void Art'.

After a long time.

He finally realized.

"Awesome~"

"This is the true orthodox divine ability!"

Zhong Yan was excited and overwhelmed with emotions.

The Great Void Art consisted of four styles, roughly summarized as:

Void Monument Hand: Activated by incantations and gestures, it was mainly used for killing, suppressing, and had the power to split mountains and seas. When perfected, it could collapse the void and tear apart the sky.

Requirements: Qi Refining (can be performed)

Void Concealment: Activated by incantations and gestures, it could conceal one's aura and blur one's figure. When perfected, one could hide in the void, appearing and disappearing without a trace.

Requirements: Divine sense, Qi Refining (can be performed)

Void Devouring: Activated by incantations and spells, it was mainly used for trapping opponents. It could drag the opponent into the void, and when perfected, one could exile the opponent in the void forever.

Requirements: Divine sense, Qi Refining (Foundation Building can be performed)

Void Crossing: Activated by incantations and gestures, it focused on speed, allowing one to move like a shooting star and shrink the distance. When perfected, one could cross the void and traverse the boundaries.

Requirements: Divine sense, Qi Refining, physical body (Soul Formation can be performed)

"I wonder where Li Lin got this secret art from. It's probably a treasure even in the immortal realm..."

He muttered to himself, repeatedly pondering the essence of the 'Great Void Art', and gained some understanding.

Once learned, it would be a complete mastery. The requirement for perfection was one million experience points, which was the threshold for achieving perfection.

And the 'Great Void Art' focused on the conditions of the cultivator themselves - divine sense, Qi Refining, and physical body.

The higher the cultivation level, the stronger the power displayed. The key lay in the incantations and gestures.

Spells like Gravity Art and Fireball Art also required Qi Refining support, but the proficiency of the spells themselves was also essential.

"Dominating!"

"A secret art as profound as this definitely requires a huge amount of Qi. I wonder if I can perform it."

Although it was stated that 'Void Monument Hand' and 'Void Concealment' could be activated with Qi Refining alone.

But there were also differences in Qi Refining levels.

For example, those geniuses with spiritual roots, the capacity of their meridians opened up in the first layer of Qi Refining might be larger than that of ordinary cultivators in the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, and they would have more stored Qi.

And those who had the resources to repeatedly temper their meridians and Qi, could release more powerful Qi, which formed the basis for fighting against higher-level opponents.

"Forget about all that, I'll learn it first!"

...