Chapter 213: Burying the Clothes

So this is the effect of a dual cultivation technique? Although the technique was truly embarrassing, the results were quite obvious. No wonder Senior Uncle West had recommended it so strongly.

Lian Li carefully sensed the benefits brought by the technique. He found that while his internal energy had increased, it felt somewhat unstable and “floaty.” However, it wasn’t a major issue; he could solidify this energy by sitting down and circulating his power.

After tidying himself up, Lian Li noticed a note on the cabinet next to the clothes rack.

Picking it up and reading it, he found it was a note left by Yun Huizhou explaining his absence. Only then did Lian Li suddenly remember that Yun Huizhou had mentioned yesterday that he needed to go to their Grandmaster for “remedial lessons” for a period of time.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see Yun Huizhou—nor his Master or the East Island Lord—until Yun Huizhou made his breakthrough, Lian Li felt that he shouldn’t waste this time either.

After sitting down to stabilize the internal energy gained from the dual cultivation, he ran over to his wardrobe and began rummaging through it.

Finally, in the deepest corner, he found the set of clothes he had been wearing when he first transmigrated into this world.

He meticulously examined the ties and cuffs of the outfit, then let out a long, slow breath.

It was exactly the same as the one he had seen in his dream that day.

He sat by the bed for a while, clutching the clothes. Then, he walked to the cabinet, intending to put them away again, but he hesitated as he opened the drawer.

After a long moment of indecision, he took out a bundle, wrapped the clothes inside, and headed for Jianggao City.

He found a shop and bought an exquisite box. After carving the original owner’s name, dates of birth and death, and the specific hour upon it, he went to the graves of the original owner’s parents.

Holding the box containing the original owner’s clothes, he sat before the graves for a long time. For the first time, he revisited the original owner’s memories without the goal of searching for information.

In this world, aside from himself, no one knew that a youth named Lian Li had died by the side of a small path a year ago.

Aside from himself, no one would mourn him.

By burying the box containing the original owner’s garments beside his parents’ graves, it could be considered a reunion for their family of three.

After finishing this, he stayed there until the afternoon. During that time, he spoke to the original owner whenever a thought crossed his mind.

The original owner had been the type who didn’t know how to speak up for himself, and thus had no particularly close friends. Lian Li decided that whenever he came here alone in the future, he would talk more with the original owner.

It wasn’t until the sky grew late that he bought some snacks outside and returned to Drunken Dream Island.

He didn’t return to the South Island, but headed straight for the West Island.

The West Island Lord was still reclining on a soft couch on the third floor of his open-sided pavilion, reading a book.

When Lian Li entered, the man didn’t even twitch an eyebrow, remaining focused on the book in his hand.

It wasn’t until Lian Li sat down in front of him that he deigned to give him a glance.

However, with that single look, he discerned the difference in Lian Li compared to yesterday.

With a teasing glint in his eyes, he said, “Oho~ Congratulations, congratulations. You’re no longer a green boy. Is that dual cultivation technique useful?”

Lian Li’s face heated up at his words, but he wasn’t as shy as he was when facing Yun Huizhou. He sat up straight and said to the West Island Lord, “It is useful. I felt my internal energy increase today. I stabilized it through meditation afterward, but I still feel it’s a bit too simple and too fast. I feel it shouldn’t be used frequently; otherwise, if the speed of stabilization can’t keep up with the speed of growth, it might damage my foundation. So, I came to hear Senior Uncle’s opinion.”

The West Island Lord partially hid his face behind his book, but his eyes remained fixed on Lian Li. This time, his gaze lacked the teasing quality from before, carrying a hint of seriousness instead.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. “To be able to realize that is quite good. You are much wiser than eighty percent of the people in this martial world.”

Lian Li didn’t understand why he would say that.

This dual cultivation technique was indeed formidable. As long as one used it during that time, their internal energy would grow.

Especially since Yun Huizhou’s martial arts were so much higher than his, the benefits Lian Li received were far greater than what Yun Huizhou gained.

If they did this every day, he feared his internal energy would reach first-class levels very quickly.

However, while one could progress quickly in martial arts, it was never easy.

This was something anyone who practiced martial arts seriously would know. How could this possibly relate to him being wiser than eighty percent of the martial world?

Seeing Lian Li’s confusion, the West Island Lord had no intention of explaining. The Jade Breath Technique was naturally a top-tier dual cultivation manual.

Anyone who had used it knew its benefits, and naturally, they also knew its drawbacks.

The effects were simply too good.

But knowing was one thing; the sensation of rapid internal energy growth was far too tempting.

After using it once, how could one be content to practice internal energy in the original, ordinary way?

People would indulge themselves again and again in the pleasure brought by this rapid growth, no longer spending enough time to stabilize it. In the end, they would ruin their foundations and fail to reach the heights they could have originally achieved.

Before the Jade Breath Technique came into his hands, it had once stirred up a bloodbath in the martial world. Countless people had died fighting for it.

And countless martial artists, whose talents might not have been top-tier but were certainly superior, had ruined their foundations because of it.

It might seem as though the drawbacks of this manual outweighed the benefits since it had ruined so many people’s foundations—so how could it be called a top-tier dual cultivation technique?

However, the internal energy gained each time the manual was used was genuine, and as long as one was willing to spend time, it could be completely stabilized.

Furthermore, the stabilization process did not interfere with the normal growth of internal energy during regular practice.

No other high-quality dual cultivation techniques could compare to this one; the next best thing was only half as effective.

There were some extreme techniques that would harm one of the parties involved. While these were categorized as dual cultivation, they were also known by another name: “Plucking and Supplementing” techniques.

However, such techniques carried the risk of backlash and were generally only used against those with lower martial arts than oneself.

There was another type of dual cultivation that was also extremely effective—even more so than this manual—but the internal energy gained from it could not be stabilized.

In the past, the Demonic Cult had forced its outer disciples to practice such techniques to quickly bolster their numbers.

Those with slightly higher status practiced the “Plucking and Supplementing” techniques.

Compared to those, the Jade Breath Technique had no inherent flaws.

It was only the human heart that became its flaw.

Whether it was a top-tier dual cultivation technique or an evil manual that ruined one’s foundation depended entirely on how the user employed it.

The West Island Lord had given the Jade Breath Technique to Yun Huizhou because he knew Yun Huizhou was not someone who would be controlled by a manual.

As for this kid Lian Li, he was also someone who listened to advice and knew what was good for him.

Even if he didn’t realize it himself, Yun Huizhou would certainly explain it to him in detail. Once he knew the pros and cons, he would naturally know what to do.

After a long while, the West Island Lord spoke again. “Through normal meditation, you must run at least eighty-one cycles. Only when you feel this unstable, increased internal energy has compressed to twenty percent of its original gain can you proceed with the next dual cultivation session. If you use up your internal energy and then recover it, that depends on your own situation. Regardless, you must ensure the unstable energy is compressed to twenty percent.”

This was exactly why so many people back then couldn’t resist the temptation and ultimately ruined their foundations.

The internal energy that had surged up required ten days to half a month to be compressed down to twenty percent. The disparity in that gap was not something everyone could endure.