Chapter 10 Xia Wei - Immortal Path
In the dark night, a ruined temple stands in the midst of snow and wind.
The main entrance of the temple has disappeared, leaving only half-collapsed doorposts. The once exquisite reliefs have long been eroded by wind, leaving only unrecognizable mottled patterns. Wide spider webs occupy the already limited space inside, and messy footprints are scattered on the dusty ground.
A figure came from afar, walked through the wind and snow, and stepped into this temporary resting place.
It was a young girl, she was alone, with a pair of pigtails, her lips were frozen purple with frost, her arms were folded in front of her body to wrap her clothes tightly, but in the deepest part of her eyes, there was a raging rage.
She was Xia Wei. After entering the dilapidated temple, she found a spot against the wall and sat down, her arms wrapped around her knees. In her palms, she clutched an ancient token tightly. Even though her hands were frozen, she didn't let go. She curled up into a ball, the cold still seeping into her bones.
Suddenly, the drowsy Xia Wei opened her eyes abruptly, her sharp brows revealing a sword-like edge. She stared straight at the opposite side until she saw the figure of the newcomer. Then her expression relaxed and her breath weakened.
“Master…”
Seeing Ye Jie, Xia Wei could no longer maintain her strength. She bit her lips tightly, and a moist light flashed in her eyes.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Ye Jie said slowly. When he was locked in by Xia Wei's aura, he felt unable to move his whole body. That was the oppressive feeling that could only be brought to him when facing a high-level ghost catcher.
"Hmm..." Xia Wei replied softly. The ghost messenger in black clothes and black robes, who looked gloomy and ominous in the eyes of ordinary people, was so reassuring in her eyes.
Ye Jie reached into his bosom and pulled out a tome with a red cover. "I've got you a low-grade local technique. To be honest, I've never seen a technique of this caliber in my life... This is a technique from the Earthly Immortal Way, but you shouldn't have any problems practicing it."
Xia Wei stared at Ye Jie with her beautiful eyes and suddenly asked, "Master, Xiao Wei is confused about something."
"What is it?"
"Master said last time that he was at the second level of the Soul Building Realm, and then told me to cultivate to the second level of the Body Building Realm. Why isn't Master at the Body Building Realm?"
Ye Jie smiled and said, "You cultivate the way of human immortals, and I cultivate the way of ghost immortals. Since the immortal paths are different, the names of the realms are naturally different."
Xia Wei pondered this carefully, nodding as if she understood, then listened to Ye Jie say, "There are five types of immortals in the world: celestial immortals, earthly immortals, human immortals, divine immortals, and ghost immortals. Correspondingly, there are five paths to immortality. Anyone can choose one of them to practice deeply, but only one is allowed."
"The path of the Celestial Immortal is to cultivate the mind and build a foundation, practicing the Five Elements' techniques. The forces of the Five Elements interact with each other, creating a complex and ever-changing world. The path of the Earthly Immortal is to cultivate the essence and build the destiny, harnessing the yin and yang forces of the sun and moon. The path of the Human Immortal is to cultivate the qi and build the body, using the flesh to refine the qi and blood to achieve the highest level of courage and strength. The path of the Divine Immortal is to cultivate the mind and build the spirit, focusing on cultivating the power of consciousness and mind, capable of telekinesis and even killing with a single glance. The path of the Ghostly Immortal is to cultivate the soul and build the spirit, focusing on attacks of surprise and stealth. No matter which path you choose, as long as you practice continuously, you will eventually reach the immortal status."
"Different immortal realms have different names, but their rank directly reflects their strength. For a peak-second-level cultivator to defeat an early-third-level cultivator is like crossing a chasm. Only the most talented, the most brilliant, can achieve a cross-level battle."
After listening to Ye Jie's explanation, the quick-thinking Xia Wei also understood something: "Master said that I can practice the skills of the Earthly Immortal Dao. Are there any restrictions?"
Ye Jie nodded. "The human body's meridians are complex and the requirements for the circulation of spiritual energy are extremely stringent. Different paths to immortality have different requirements for the circulation of spiritual energy in the meridians. When a practitioner embarks on any path to immortality, the meridians in the body will be subtly nurtured by the spiritual energy into a form suitable for that path, making it easier to practice the exercises of that path. Practicing other types of exercises will at best cause the meridians to flow backwards, causing unbearable pain, and in severe cases, even lead to insanity and death."
Ye Jie continued, "Generally speaking, practitioners will only focus on one path to immortality. If they choose the path of celestial immortality, they will only practice the techniques of the celestial immortal path. If they choose the path of human immortality, they will only practice the techniques of the human immortal path. However, there are a few practitioners with astonishing talent in the world who are able to cultivate multiple paths to immortality simultaneously without fear of meridian conflicts, and use techniques from two or even three different immortal paths in battle."
At the end of his speech, Ye Jie looked at Xia Wei deeply and said, "You have a second-grade talent: the meridians are connected. You can practice the five immortal ways of heaven, earth, man, gods and ghosts at the same time without worrying about the meridians going against the flow and going astray."
Listening to Ye Jie's story, Xia Wei felt something in her heart. She looked down at her own hands. Infinite potential was hidden in her white little hands.
"It's widely acknowledged in the cultivation world that the Path of Heavenly Immortals is the most powerful, while the Path of Human Immortals is the fastest." Ye Jie spoke slowly, "Since you intend to improve your strength as quickly as possible and seek revenge on the bandit Hengshan, you might as well follow the Path of Human Immortals. The breathing method I'm teaching you also falls into that category."
“Master…”
Seeing that Ye Jie had already planned everything for her, Xia Wei felt a deep warmth in her heart and her eyes were filled with tears. Apart from her deceased father and brother, no one in the world had ever been so good to her.
"Cultivation and skills complement each other. Without a good skill, it's like an adult fighting with a spoon. Having a skill without cultivation is like a baby trying to lift a giant sword. This is a low-grade Earth-level skill: Turtle Hand. It can help you improve your combat power as soon as possible."
As he spoke, Ye Jie handed the technique in his hand to Xia Wei, but Xia Wei did not take it. She just looked at him with her clear eyes: "Master, Xiaowei can't read."
"You can't read?" Ye Jie scratched his head.
"Xiaowei has been helping daddy work in the fields since she was young, doing spring plowing and autumn harvest, herding cattle and ducks, and she has never learned to read. Daddy said that it is useless for a girl to know how to read, but my brother can read." Xia Wei said truthfully.
Ye Jie looked into her eyes and said, "You are not an ordinary girl. You are the reincarnation of a true immortal destined to be famous throughout the three realms. How can you not know how to read? I will slowly teach you how to read from now on."
Xia Wei pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, her youthful face filled with irrepressible joy. Then she heard Ye Jie say, "Since you can't read, I'll read the spell to you."
Opening the book, Ye Jie also browsed through the practice method of the tortoise hand. In a calm tone, he recited every word of the method for Xia Wei and patiently answered her questions.
"...When the Elephant Turtle Hands are fully developed, during the day, their arms become like elephant legs, possessing the strength of an elephant. The strength of an elephant is equivalent to the strength of ten oxen and ten horses. This is the level of an ordinary peak-level third-level cultivator. The bandit Hengshan was about the same. At night, the arms return to their normal size, and a hard shell grows on them, making them virtually invulnerable to swords and spears."
"You possess a third-grade gift: Ice Skin and Jade Bones. This not only accelerates your cultivation, but also maintains your physical form, ensuring eternal youth and lasting beauty. You don't have to worry about your appearance being altered by the Turtle Hand."
"Many earthly immortal cultivation techniques can switch their abilities through the alternation of day and night. A well-trained earthly cultivator can even display two completely different combat styles during the day and at night. If you encounter such a cultivator, you must be extra careful..."
When Ye Jie was halfway through reciting the technique, he suddenly heard a slight breathing sound. He raised his head and found that Xia Wei had fallen into a deep sleep.
Ye Jie then remembered that it was already late at night. The body of a ghost messenger would not get tired, but Xia Wei would. Even though she was the reincarnation of an immortal, after saying goodbye to her loved ones and running all the way in the wind and snow, she had reached her limit and could not continue to hold on.
Even in her deep sleep, Xia Wei clenched her fists, her long eyelashes trembling occasionally, as if she were being plagued by a nightmare. Ye Jie was afraid to wake her, so he put the book in his arms and stood by her side, motionless like a wooden sculpture.
In an ancient temple on a desolate mountain, I sit alone until dawn.