Chapter Ten: The Old Turtle is Just an Old Turtle

  After dinner, while Liu Ayi was washing dishes in the kitchen, Xuan Qi said to Xia Xiaoyu: "Xiaoyu, your studying is settled now. Don't think about going out to work anymore. Focus on your studies and review well during this period of time. Strive to get into Municipal No. 1 Middle School. If you want your mom to have a good life in the future, listen to Brother Qi, got it?"

  "Uh-huh, I see, thanks Brother Qi!" Xia Xiaoyu nodded heavily.

  "No need to thank me, it's only right for a brother to help his sister. Alright, I'll head back first, if there's anything, just look for me anytime."

  After finishing speaking, Xuan Qi said goodbye to Liu Qiu Ping and then went home.

  On the road, Lao Ding couldn't help but say: "The bitter tears on Xia Xiaoyu's mother's face are a sign of a hard fate, it is a sign of being oppressed by her husband. If there was no strong external force intervening, she would be destined to have a tragic life. Xia Xiaoyu following her will not have a good future."

  If someone had spoken to Xuán Qí like this in the past, they would have been scolded until their face was covered in blood. But now that he knew the outcome of future events, his feelings were naturally different.

  This old fellow is quite capable indeed.

  Xuan Qi smiled and asked: "Old Turtle, are people in the Xuanmen also studying this kind of thing?"

  "Of course, it has been a common dual cultivation practice since ancient times. When used properly, it benefits both oneself and others, not only bringing joy to the body and mind but also often achieving twice the result with half the effort. From your tone, it seems you have some prejudice against it, truly foolish beyond help."

  I'm speechless! I just casually asked, and this old man actually went on and on.

  Xuan Qi was speechless.

  Just now at dinner time, he kept talking non-stop, and Xiaoyu's mother and daughter were repeatedly criticized by him. The furniture arrangement in the house, the orientation of windows and doors were all criticized by him as being completely wrong.

  At first, Xuan Qi thought it was bearable, but after a long time, all sorts of "zhī hū zhě yě" and some ancient vocabulary he had never heard of made Xuan Qi's head dizzy, feeling as if this old man was constantly buzzing around his brain like a fly, driving him crazy.

  After returning to the room, Xuán Qí said helplessly: "Senior, can you please let me have some peace and quiet? How long has it been since you last spoke?"

  The other party was silent for a while, then said: "If I'm not mistaken, it's been at least over a thousand years."

  “……”

  Although Xuan Qi had mentally prepared himself, he was still shocked by his answer.

  No wonder this guy is a mute, for over a thousand years no one has communicated with him, if it were an ordinary person, they would have gone mad in just one year.

  Xuan Qi thought for a moment, then tried to say: "Senior, it's not a good idea for you to stay in my body all the time. Is there anything I can help you with? Just let me know and I'll do my best to make it happen!"

  "What's wrong? Are you annoyed with me?"

  "No... it's not that, how could it be?" Xuan Qi said with some discomfort. "It's just that I feel really awkward about this, senior. I'm just an ordinary person, and you staying inside me doesn't make any sense at all. Why don't you make a request, and I'll go find a host with better qualifications and more excellent genes for you?"

  "You scoundrel! I, an old man, have taken up residence in your body, and it's not clear what good fortune you've accumulated over the generations to deserve this. And yet you still dare to think about making me leave? How stupidly pig-headed! You're suffocating me!"

  Xuan Qi's temper flared up instantly: "What's wrong with being stupid? It has nothing to do with you! If you're not happy, you can leave at any time. I'm not serving you. Landlords rent out houses and still collect rent, what benefits do I get from having you living in my body? Besides, I can see everything you do, don't I have the right to privacy? In the future, if I find a wife, won't you be like a 1000-watt light bulb, shining brightly on us all the time?"

  The other party suddenly fell silent.

  Xuan Qi finished speaking, and actually felt a bit regretful. He knew that the old ghost in his body was definitely an extremely powerful figure. From his tone, it seemed that even his own ancestor, Xuan Yang Zhen Ren, wasn't taken seriously by him. Maybe he could really gain enormous benefits from this person.

  But once spoken words are like spilled water, let's take it one step at a time.

  "Haha, this young fellow has a personality, but it's just right for my taste. As a member of the Mystic Sect, one should be natural and unrestrained, not bound by trivialities. You seem to be more interesting than Xuan Yangzi."

  Upon hearing this, Xuan Qi's heart slightly relaxed, and unexpectedly, his careless words had coincidentally hit the old man's temperament.

  "Be content with what you have, young one. In my lifetime, I've only been able to assist four people, and you are the fifth. As I always say, being able to receive my assistance is your good fortune."

  Xuan Qi tentatively asked: "Which four people have you assisted?"

  "The first is the Yellow Emperor, I'm sure you've heard of him, he's revered as the ancestor of all Chinese people. The second is Jiang Shang of the Zhou Dynasty, also known as Jiang Taigong. The third is Wang Xuan of the Warring States period, nicknamed Guiguizi. And the fourth, naturally, is your family's ancestor, Xuanyangzi. His story, your grandfather told you before, roughly the same, but what nobody knows is that he was originally just a cowherd."

  Xuanyuan Huangdi, Jiang Taigong, Guiguzi, Xuanyangzi!

  Xuan Qi was shocked by these four names and his eyes were filled with stars.

  He wanted to ask another sentence "Is it really true", but the words reached his mouth and were swallowed back into his throat.

  If this old fellow isn't lying...

  Xuan Qi felt like he had won a huge prize, and it wasn't just any ordinary reversal of fortune!

  "Alright, let's open the window and speak plainly. Tell me, what can you bring to me and what do I need to do?"

  "Alright, that's refreshing! In life, what one pursues is nothing more than satisfying one's various desires. Desires are no more than wine, women, wealth and power. With my assistance, these are not a problem."

  "Wine is a poison that pierces the intestines, lust is a steel knife that scrapes the bones. Wealth is a fierce tiger that comes down from the mountain, power is a root of trouble. To be honest with you, I'm not very interested in these things."

  "I give you the power to control another person's life and death."

  Xuan Qi shook his head: "Are you talking about martial arts? You may have been out of touch with this world for too long, now individual bravery is negligible. Even if you possess extraordinary martial skills, others can take your life with just one bullet."

  Then, Xuan Qi spent some effort to popularize knowledge of firearms to the other party and briefly explained some modern social situations. The old turtle suddenly fell silent, seemingly really not expecting that the ordinary person in his eyes would possess such powerful strength.

  After a long time, the sound started again.

  "What good is it to prolong your grandfather's life?"

  Xuan Qi's face changed upon hearing this: "What do you mean?"

  "I see that your grandfather's complexion is dark, his vitality is cut off, and he is surrounded by the aura of death. He may be in danger of losing his life soon. I can teach you the Seven-Star Lamp technique to prolong his lifespan. While living forever is not something to be hoped for, it's definitely possible to extend his life by at least half a cycle."

  Normally, if this old man had said that, Xuán Qí would have definitely spat in his face. But now, he already knew that his grandfather's life was only left with a few months' time.

  This time he came back, the main reason is for his grandfather, this is his biggest heart disease, originally this time back, it was planned to take his own grandfather to do a full body check, thinking of ways to make money, also for this purpose.

  Now hearing Lao Ding say that there is a way to extend his life, and even saying that it can be extended for "half of the Jiazi", isn't that thirty years?

  Whether the old man's words were true or false, they made it impossible for Xuán Qí to refuse.

  Lao Ding's skills, he was already very confident in them. He only said that to haggle over the price.

  "Do you understand what it means to prolong one's life?" Xuan Qi asked with an unusual calmness.

  "Of course. This kind of thing is just a small path for me. The Seven-Star Lamp Revival Technique, I don't know if you've heard of it. In the past, the Xuanmen disciple Zhuge Kongming was particularly skilled in this technique."

  Xuan Qi sank into thought for a long time before slowly saying, "As far as I know, Zhuge Liang's attempt to extend his own life was unsuccessful, and in the end he still croaked."

  "That was because his Tao was insufficient, coupled with the haste of his spell-casting and lack of preparation, which ultimately led to that outcome. He naturally didn't have the qualifications to be mentioned in the same breath as me."

  Xuan Qi heard this and said in a deep voice: "Alright, deal! Speak, what is it that you want?"

  "My requirements are not so easily met, let's talk about it later. You don't have the ability to accomplish it now, and even if I said something, it would be pointless."

  "What should I do now?"

  "What you need to do is to quickly improve your strength, and when the time comes, I will naturally tell you. Now, kowtow to the east a few times, and consider it as paying respects to your master. You should feel honored to become my fifth disciple."

  "Apprentice? No way!" Xuan Qi directly refused, "After apprenticing, wouldn't I have to call you Master in the future? I'd rather not!"

  "You... forget it, if you don't want to bow then don't, from now on we'll be equals and address each other as such."

  Xuan Qi smiled and said: "That's right. You say your name is Lao Yuan, which Yuan are you?"

  "Upper origin, lower vermilion."

  The name is a bit unusual, and Xuan Qi asked several times before confirming which two characters it was. At first, Xuan Qi didn't recognize it, but after looking up the dictionary, he finally knew that "" actually means "large turtle".

  "Heavenly Cauldron... isn't it just a turtle? From now on, I'll call you Old Turtle."

  "...Do as you wish!" Old Turtle finally spat out these few words after half a day.

  "Just call me Xuan Qi directly." Xuan Qi lay on the bed, "By the way, Old Turtle, you said that our ancestor Xuan Yang Zi was originally just a cowherd? Was it because of your assistance that he was able to establish the Orthodox School of Xuan?"

  "Of course." Lao Ding's voice was somewhat proud, "He used to herd cattle in the wilderness and unexpectedly obtained the Huo Bo Yu Tu diagram. His fate only changed then. At that time, there were many Xuan Shi who thought they had received the orthodox inheritance of the Xuan Men, but under my assistance, Xuan Yang Zi finally overpowered the heroes and made them acknowledge that Xuan Yang Zi directly used 'Xuan Men Orthodox' as the name of his sect."

  Xuan Qi suddenly sat up and asked: "So, you know all the contents of 'Xuan Gong's Secret Records'?"

  "Nonsense! Without my guidance, could Xuanyangzi have written 'The Secret Records of Master Xuanyan'?"

  "Old Turtle, then tell me, what's actually in 'Xuan Gong's Secret Records'? Is it as mystical as my grandfather said?"

  "Your grandfather was right about this, the contents of 'Xuan Gong Secret Records' indeed include the five major systems of 'Shan Yi Ming Xiang Bo'. Speaking of which, Xuan Yangzi did have some talent and intelligence. The 'Xuan Gong Secret Records' is a collection of things he learned from his late master, combined with the latest achievements of other Xuanmen disciples, summarizing the past and developing new ideas on that basis. It can be said that the 'Xuan Gong Secret Records' is a culmination of all these. Heh heh, originally I had the complete version of 'Xuan Gong Secret Records' stored in my Yunbo Mountain Cave Heaven, but unfortunately you got drunk from just one cup of wine..."

  Inside the cave of Yunbo Mountain, there was actually a complete version of "Xuan Gong's Secret Records". Xuan Qi heard this and suddenly became overjoyed, but immediately felt regretful. If he hadn't been so greedy for wine, he would have probably seen it by now.

  Fortunately, there is still Lao Ding.

  Xuan Qi thought for a moment, then asked: "Old Turtle, what do you think of my qualifications? My grandfather said that I have already built my foundation and should be absorbing the energy from that piece of turtle shell, right?"

  "Your qualifications can only be said to be average." Lao Ding said bluntly, "Among the four of you, your qualifications are the worst. If it weren't for obtaining the true yuan left by Xuan Yangzi on the turtle shell that year and having your body remade, your qualifications wouldn't even meet the requirements. As for what your grandfather said about the foundation-building realm, you're still far from reaching it. You've only managed to clear your marrow and open up your meridians, but your foundation is still unstable. You need to re-temper your body, eliminate the dross and retain the essence, and stabilize your current state."

  Xuan Qi heard this and was greatly shocked, he didn't expect himself to be like that. But thinking about it, it's also understandable, his past life was really too miserable, if he had exceptional talent, he wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.

  Moreover, several others are also exceptionally talented individuals, and I naturally cannot compare to them. In any case, being able to have such an encounter is already quite fortunate.

  But as soon as he thought of his grandfather having only a few months left to live, his heart became exceptionally heavy again.

  Fortunately, Lao Ding gave him a glimmer of hope!

  Xuan Qi said resolutely: "Old Turtle, as long as you teach me the art of prolonging life, no matter how difficult your request is, I swear to do my best to fulfill it!"

  "Haha, don't worry about me, I've got plenty of time. Your grandfather only has a few months left to live, and you'll be busy with that."

  "What should I do first?"

  "As I said before, you must first solidify your current foundation stage. If you want to achieve the feat of reversing heaven and prolonging life, your current half-baked foundation state is not enough. Of course, at the same time, we also need to make some preparations."

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