Chapter 4: The World is Very Dangerous

"Ling'e, do you know what qi is?"

"Qi is the pulse of heaven and earth, the breath of all living beings. All cultivation begins with qi, and all divine abilities are transformations of qi. Through breathing and circulation, it forms the Great Cycle."

"What I am teaching you today is the foundational chapter of the Yi Qi Zheng Tian Jue from our Du Xian Men tradition."

"This chapter is the method for building your Dao foundation. Even across the Wu Bu Zhou, it's considered a top-tier foundation-building technique. Even if you later cultivate other methods, you can still use this to establish your base."

"Ling'e… Ling'e?"

"Disciple is here!"

Under the shade of the willow trees by the lake, Lan Ling'e withdrew her gaze, which had unconsciously drifted toward the lake, and nervously stuck out her tongue a little.

Qi Yuan, the old Taoist, turned his head toward the lake center and chuckled. "Your senior brother is comprehending the Shui Dun technique. Don't let him distract you. Now, listen carefully as I explain this chapter's cultivation method."

"Mm!"

Lan Ling'e composed herself and carefully listened to the profound cultivation insights from her master's words, trying hard to understand their meaning.

However, after just a moment…

"Master! Senior brother has disappeared!"

Lan Ling'e widened her almond eyes and pointed at the lake surface in a soft exclamation.

Qi Yuan turned to look and couldn't help but smile helplessly, sighing. "That's an escape technique!

Come on, let's go inside the hut to cultivate.

Your senior brother has a strong interest in all kinds of escape techniques. This should be the sixth one he's mastered."

"Master, what is an escape technique?"

Qi Yuan stroked his beard and laughed. "Escape techniques are a type of spell that allows the caster to move swiftly through different environments. Shui Dun, for example, lets you shuttle quickly through water, even faster than fish.

Look, isn't your senior brother appearing by the lake now? The speed of this escape technique is already quite impressive."

Lan Ling'e stood on tiptoe to look, just in time to see her senior brother's tall figure emerging from the distant lake edge, standing quietly on the water's surface.

She whispered in admiration, "Senior brother is so amazing!"

"If we're talking about escape techniques in Du Xian Men, your senior brother truly deserves the word 'amazing,'" Qi Yuan said with a helpless expression. "If only he put half the effort into other spells that he does into escape techniques, I could rest a bit easier."

Lan Ling'e blinked lightly and followed her master into the thatched hut.

Qi Yuan casually summoned two meditation cushions, closed the wooden door of the hut, and lightly tapped his youngest disciple's head with his duster. "Pay attention and listen!"

"Oh," Lan Ling'e quickly sat cross-legged, finally managing to calm her mind.

On the lake surface, Li Changshou walked across the waves. After a couple of steps, his figure turned into a stream of water and vanished. In a few breaths, he reappeared at the lake's center.

"Shui Dun is working, but the speed is still too slow.

However, when using Shui Dun, I can merge with the water, which helps resist some magical treasure attacks.

Water nourishes all things without striving, supports a thousand boats without collapsing—it's definitely worth exploring further."

Li Changshou stood with his hands behind his back, pondering for a moment, then continued strolling on the water. Every few steps, he would disappear directly from the surface…

Through his continuous experimentation, he soon no longer needed to walk on the water; as long as he touched the lake water, he could directly perform Shui Dun.

Yet, Li Changshou was still unsatisfied and continued to delve deeper, seemingly oblivious to the passage of time.

Until the afternoon, when Qi Yuan sent a voice transmission to call him back.

"Ling'e hasn't reached the stage of fasting yet, and it's not good for her to always rely on fasting pills. Later, when you build the thatched hut, set up a stove as well. For the time before Ling'e achieves fasting, you should prepare a meal for her every day."

Li Changshou cupped his hands and replied, "Disciple obeys."

"I shall go cultivate now. Ling'e, if you have any issues, you can discuss them with your senior brother."

"Yes, Master!"

Lan Ling'e imitated her senior brother's gesture, cupping her hands neatly to respond to her master, but just then, her little belly let out a untimely rumble, making her face flush red instantly.

Qi Yuan the Daoist laughed heartily and transformed into a wisp of green smoke, disappearing from sight. Li Changshou also smiled, but he turned his gaze toward the lake to spare his little junior sister any embarrassment.

"Senior brother! Was that Yan Dun that Master just used?"

"Hmm? Yan Dun?" Li Changshou paused for a moment before chuckling. "That's an illusion technique, mainly used for self-preservation in battles. It can also harm or trap enemies—it's one of our master's specialties.

Do you want to learn it? You'll have to wait until your cultivation reaches a certain level, then Master can teach you."

"What about your Shui Dun, senior brother? Can I start cultivating it now?"

"Shui Dun comes even later; you need to reach the Lian Qi Hua Shen realm before you can cultivate it. All Five Elements escape techniques are like that. For now, don't think about it—you're just a novice qi refiner who's completed your first meditation session."

Lan Ling'e blinked. "Senior brother, what does 'novice' mean?"

"Probably something like a clumsy beginner?"

Li Changshou smiled with narrowed eyes and led Lan Ling'e toward the empty ground by the herb garden. "What would you like to eat? Our mountain has plenty of wild game. If you have no restrictions, I'll recommend something myself."

Wild game?

"Senior brother, are we having… these herbs for lunch?"

"Of course not." Li Changshou extended his right palm, and a stone flew over from the side, circled in his palm, then shot off with a sharp whistle toward the forest.

Lan Ling'e couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, and the forest erupted in chaos, with flocks of birds taking flight.

Soon, a Jinji with three-colored feathers soared through the air. The stone was embedded in its chest, and the spirit bird was already dead.

The stone flew back and forth once, then Li Changshou casually tossed it into the nearby grass, leaving Lan Ling'e watching with sparkling eyes.

Before long, Li Changshou had skillfully set up a grill by the lake, plucked and cleaned the Jinji, and brought out a few jars of his treasured seasonings, starting to tempt—well, his little junior sister's appetite.

"Senior brother, what kind of spell was that with the stone? Why did it fly back after going out?"

"It's just simple object manipulation," Li Changshou laughed. "It's only considered a minor technique.

In the current cultivation world—or rather, across the entire Wu Bu Zhou—the most popular way to fight is to refine magical treasures, infuse them with your own cultivation, and use them to smash your opponents.

This object manipulation is the foundation for controlling treasures.

You're just starting out in cultivation, so you naturally don't know these things yet. I'll explain more to you later."

"Mm," Lan Ling'e knelt beside him, smoothing a strand of hair by her ear, and whispered almost inaudibly, "I feel like all of senior brother's techniques are so amazing."

Li Changshou shook his head slightly and said earnestly, "You're wrong, junior sister; this isn't amazing at all.

Like Master, I'm just a qi refiner who hasn't become an immortal yet.

This Hong Huang world is incredibly dangerous. Becoming an immortal is just stepping out of the beginner's village. After that, you have to pass through seven or eight more major realms to barely count as an expert, and each realm has thwarted countless so-called geniuses.

Moreover, Hong Huang has existed for eons, with an endless number of top experts. It's extremely difficult for newcomers to rise.

And ultimately, cultivation is just the foundation. Even in a fight between two at the same major realm, the one without powerful treasures will end up…

Dead, with their Dao destroyed!"

Lan Ling'e shrank her neck, her senior brother's words echoing like a haunting melody, making her hairs stand on end.

Li Changshou's voice continued:

"Even if you have powerful treasures, without powerful divine abilities, you'll still end up dead with your Dao destroyed.

And even if you have both treasures and divine abilities, if your luck isn't sufficient and you attract disasters, you'll still meet the same fate.

In summary…"

"Dead… with the Dao destroyed?"

Li Changshou immediately showed a kind smile and praised, "Not bad, you've grasped it quickly."

"But senior brother," Lan Ling'e asked softly, "isn't the point of cultivation to achieve eternal life, to be free from bullying, and to roam freely in the world?"

"No, you might have it wrong—cultivation isn't some noble pursuit," Li Changshou shook his head with a gentle sigh. "We cultivate to constantly grow stronger and handle all sorts of harsh environments, thereby ensuring our survival.

Eternal life is just a cultivation realm where you won't die of natural causes, but all kinds of disasters can still take your life."

"Then, senior brother," Lan Ling'e asked a bit nervously, "how can we truly survive?"

Li Changshou slowly turned the grill in his hands and answered methodically:

"First, avoid karma as much as possible. Don't get involved in strange matters. The best way is to stay home and cultivate quietly, without wandering around or having too much contact with others.

Of course, that's hard to achieve.

For example, you and I, because we share the same master, we're connected. That creates karma. If one of us gets into trouble in the future, the other will be dragged in—that's the result.

So, even if we try to avoid karma, we can't completely escape it. In those cases, we need to judge the situation wisely, make reasonable decisions based on circumstances, and do our best to stay out of danger.

If, despite all our efforts, we still fall into danger, then we turn to the second method."

"What's the second one?"

Lan Ling'e wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth; the Jinji, now seven parts cooked, was emitting an irresistible aroma.

"A trump card."

"A trump card? What's that…"

"A trump card refers to all the abilities you keep hidden," Li Changshou tore off a piece of chicken meat and handed it to the impatient Ling'e, continuing his lesson.

This rumen education for his junior sister was something he'd prepared for a long time, organizing it in his mind for months!

"If you have a hundred percent of your strength, you can hide thirty percent and only show seventy to others.

That way, if someone tries to plot against you, you can catch them off guard…

More specifically, if you acquire any powerful spells, divine abilities, or treasures in the future, keep them hidden as your trump cards. Don't let anyone know about them, and throw them out at critical moments—they'll be your game-changing aces.

You can even hide part of your own cultivation; that counts as a trump card too."

Lan Ling'e quickly finished the piece of meat in three bites, eating with shining eyes as her taste buds savored it, even licking her fingers.

She thought carefully about her senior brother's advice and asked softly, "But senior brother, if I use all my trump cards and still can't beat the opponent, what then?"

"That's the third point," Li Changshou flicked his finger, and the cooked Jinji was instantly dismantled into pieces of spirit-infused roasted meat, floating in front of Lan Ling'e.

"The third is simple: run."

"Uh," Lan Ling'e blinked, though most of her attention was on the roasted meat, she was still trying to understand her senior brother's words.

Li Changshou said leisurely, "As the saying goes, as long as the green hills remain, there's no lack of firewood.

Acting on impulse will only ruin a bright future, and life is precious and comes only once—though those with excellent character and temperament might get a second chance by sheer luck.

Ahem, back to the point!

To escape from experts, you need strong combat reflexes, and that's where escape techniques come in. Learning one more escape technique gives you another chance at survival…"

As the sun set in the west, the aroma of meat filled the air.

By the clear lake, the young qi refiner tirelessly educated his newly initiated junior sister; the little girl, nibbling on pieces of roasted meat, gradually became engrossed in his words.

This would undoubtedly be a lesson that shaped her entire immortal life.

Yet, although Xiao Ling'e kept marveling at how sensible her senior brother sounded, upon reflection, she felt there was something… a bit off about it.