Chapter 1 "Dead..."

An Qisheng was stunned.

He naturally knew that these great masters of the past were no longer alive, but from Xue Zheng's words, there seemed to be something different.

"Master has been pursuing the path of the sages all these years."

Jing Xiaolou glanced at An Qisheng and explained:

"According to Master, those great masters who have left their names in history are very likely to have crossed the threshold of that limit."

"Master Gu divided the practice of martial arts into six steps: Ming (Clarity), An (Obscurity), Hua (Transformation), Dan (Elixir), Gang (Firmness), and Shen (Spirit). These six steps are already the limit of human beings. Taking half a step further is as difficult as ascending to heaven. There is no evidence to show that anyone has truly crossed that threshold."

The old man picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly:

"After reaching the Shen realm, I searched through many ancient books, trying to figure out the realm of the sages. Finally, I came to the conclusion that those few people really crossed that threshold..."

"Beyond the Shen realm?"

An Qisheng's eyes flickered.

From Daoist Juechen and Mu Longcheng to Xue Zheng, these great masters of the Shen realm all seemed to be pursuing a path ahead that they didn't know existed or not.

Just like him, who was plagued by terminal illness back then.

After thinking for a while, An Qisheng said, "Great Master, a few months ago, I saw Mu Longcheng and Daoist Juechen fight at the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain. Mu Longcheng seemed to have seen the path ahead."

"Daoist Juechen has told me about this, which is not surprising. If the sages could take that step, then our conditions today are a thousand times better than those of our predecessors. Sooner or later, someone will take the seventh step beyond the sixth realm."

Xue Zheng nodded, his expression unchanged:

"It's a pity that that step may not be as beautiful as imagined."

"What do you mean?"

An Qisheng was slightly taken aback.

"The practice of martial arts, from Ming, An, Hua, to the Dan realm, this process is not only an improvement in combat skills, but also an improvement in the limits of the human body and an increase in the level of life. Once the Dan realm is achieved, it is perfect and without leakage. Physical strength and spirit increase day by day. Gang and Shen are further enhancements of the limit."

Xue Zheng put down his teacup and said lightly:

"Only after reaching the Shen realm did I realize that everything that was considered a fantasy by later generations could be realized, such as Damo crossing the river on a reed, Sakyamuni throwing an elephant, Zhang Sanfeng turning white hair into black..."

"Master, the story of Sakyamuni throwing an elephant comes from Buddhist scriptures. It says that when Sakyamuni was a prince, he was blocked by a giant elephant while worshiping Buddha. He lifted the elephant's trunk and threw it up, and it didn't fall for three days. This, this is really not something a person can do."

Jing Xiaolou couldn't help but interrupt.

He believed in crossing the river on a reed and turning white hair into black, but this was too much.

Falling after three days, it must have been thrown into outer space, right?

"Cough, cough."

Xue Zheng coughed lightly, his old face a little embarrassed: "Even if there is some exaggeration, it doesn't matter."

"Please continue,"

An Qisheng found it funny in his heart, but his face was very calm as he offered a sentence.

"The legendary things, whether true or false, have nothing to do with what I want to say, so let's not talk about them."

The old man glared at his disciple, coughed lightly and said:

"Power does not arise from nothing. Even those in the Shen realm are mortals, not immortals. They can go without food for a week or a month, but they still have to eat, and they eat much more than ordinary people.

Fusang has military ration pills, Da Xuan has Bigu Dan (pills for abstaining from grains), and the Golden Eagles have super nutrient solutions. These are tiger and wolf drugs for ordinary people, as poisonous as lead and mercury, but for martial artists above the Dan realm, they can only be said to be snacks and rations.

The stronger the physical strength, the greater the resources required."

"You mean..."

An Qisheng vaguely guessed something.

"I, an old man, now sit quietly, eating seven military Bigu Dan a day. If I were to eat meat, it would be equivalent to a cow! This is still without fighting. If I were to fight fiercely with an enemy, the physical exertion would be even greater!"

Xue Zheng said, and couldn't help but smile:

"The classics say that Chen Tuan slept soundly all day long, sleeping for a hundred years. Everyone says that he cultivated the method of enlightenment in dreams. In my opinion, he was probably just hungry, and sleeping reduced consumption."

"...Master, if he slept for a hundred years, Chen Tuan would probably still be in Mount Hua today. Why don't I see you go and visit him?"

Jing Xiaolou ruthlessly pointed out the error in his master's words.

"You talk too much."

The old man glared.

"Are you saying that once you break through the seventh realm, you will starve to death if you don't get replenishment?"

An Qisheng understood what the old man wanted to say.

So, in this man's opinion, these legendary sages all starved to death?

The higher the realm, the less likely they are to take action, because they can't make ends meet, not because of the demeanor of a grandmaster?

"That's what I mean."

The old man nodded his head, and pointed out the fault in his words:

"Starving to death doesn't sound good, you should say sitting in meditation, ascending to immortality, transcending, attaining the Dao."

"..."

An Qisheng was speechless.

Equating these high-sounding words with starving to death was really beyond imagination.

However, it didn't seem to be without reason.

Power does not arise from nothing, and the stronger the physical strength, the more nutritional support is needed.

After all, humans cannot absorb energy like electricity, and digestion relies solely on the five internal organs and six bowels.

.......

Whirr, whirr, whirr~~~

The azure blue waves were surging, and the Fusang whaling ship 'Rixin Maru' was rising and falling in the waves.

Zoom in on the view.

The sea area where the Rixin Maru was located was surrounded by a patch of scarlet red, and the sea water was dyed red with blood.

The lower body of a pale blue behemoth was slowly hoisted onto the whaling ship under the pulling of several giant mechanical arms.

The deck was filled with a fishy stench, and the flowing blood stained Kimura Minoru's trouser legs red.

Witnessing the remains of the most enormous creature on Xuanxing, an indescribable feeling filled Kimura Minoru's heart.

"Finally, I can go home..."

Kimura Minoru sighed.

He was a sailor on the Rixin Maru, and his working hours were only from July to the end of December every year. The salary was very high, but he didn't like this kind of work.

"This big guy is a little strange. It didn't resist or shout. If it hadn't sunk to the bottom of the sea, I would have thought it was dead."

The old sailor skillfully operated the instrument, muttered, and said to Kimura Minoru:

"Prepare to cut."

He liked this young man very much. He was good-looking, hardworking, and, more importantly, not very smart.

"Yes."

Kimura Minoru replied respectfully.

Offshore salvage cannot naturally pull the entire whale back. Generally, it is cut at sea and taken away after freezing.

On the Rixin Maru, many sailors were busy, and all kinds of machinery were moving.

Slowly and skillfully dissecting this half of the corpse.

Thump~

Chunks of whale meat fell on the deck, and the sailors used their hands and feet to push the chunks of whale meat towards the ice storage.

"It stinks too much!"

Kimura Minoru's face turned green. It was his turn to deal with the whale's stomach.

The whale is a treasure all over its body, and its internal organs cannot be discarded, of course.

"Cough, cough..."

In the damp, slippery, stinky stomach bag filled with debris and minced meat, a person with an indistinguishable face slowly opened his eyes and said in a low voice:

"It's this damn scum again. This isn't the first time, this isn't the first time..."