Chapter 199: The Royal Family's Foundations

Chapter 199: The Royal Family's Foundations

2024-09-15

Gu Qingfeng’s first step was to spread the Longevity Technique.

This martial art served as the foundation of the Gu Family Manor, and for now, it was more than sufficient.

With the world still in turmoil, Gu Qingfeng had no intention of spreading this technique widely. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could lead to unforeseen consequences.

However, if the world were to fall under Gu Yang’s control, things would be different.

At that point, the spread of the Longevity Technique would elevate the Gu Family’s reputation to its peak.

Gu Qingfeng had planned this out long ago, but everything needed to be done step by step. Impatience was not an option.

Afterward, Gu Qingfeng checked his attribute panel.

With the breakthroughs of Gu Xuan and others, he now had ninety-one enhancement points.

Without hesitation, Gu Qingfeng used fifty enhancement points to advance his Pure Yang True Body to the Minor Mastery stage.

The moment the Pure Yang True Body reached Minor Mastery, a flood of memories surged into his mind. The essence energy he had refined became even more formidable.

At this level, a single drop of his essence energy could suppress evil spirits.

Unfortunately, this breakthrough did not elevate Gu Qingfeng to the later stages of the Supreme Master realm.

Gu Qingfeng accepted this calmly.

"The Pure Yang True Body is indeed a Supreme Master technique, but for me, its benefits are limited. Each step in the Supreme Master realm requires a profound foundation."

"However, Yang needs to hurry up!"

Gu Qingfeng had not forgotten his intention to have Gu Yang leave behind more descendants.

Now that he had reached the Supreme Master realm, the chances of leaving behind descendants were lower, so he needed to encourage Gu Yang and others to work harder.

Only with a sufficient number of descendants could the Gu Family truly grow and thrive.

Currently, Gu Yang had already broken through to the Bone Tempering stage. If he continued to advance, reaching the Marrow Washing or Organ Tempering stages, the chances of leaving behind descendants would be even lower.

At the same time, Gu Qingfeng considered suppressing the advancement of Gu Xuan and Gu Xi, to prevent them from breaking through too quickly.

This was a necessary measure. The stronger one became, the lower the chances of leaving behind descendants.

In Gu Qingfeng’s view, this was a form of balance. After all, the more powerful a martial artist, the greater the potential of their descendants.

...

Returning to the Sharpening Hall, Gu Qingfeng entered a closed retreat to focus on his cultivation.

His entire being was now dedicated to comprehending the Indestructible Sword Intent.

As he delved deeper into the mysteries of the broken finger, he truly understood the terrifying power of the Indestructible Sword Intent. The Heavenly Sword he had created was a supreme ruler among swords, and the Heavenly Sword Intent it contained was above all others.

However, compared to the Indestructible Sword Intent lingering in the broken finger, the Heavenly Sword Intent Gu Qingfeng had cultivated was still several levels behind.

Despite this, his efforts were not in vain.

His originally tenth-level Heavenly Sword Intent had advanced to the eleventh level.

Additionally, the initial stage of the Great Master-level martial art had also advanced to the intermediate stage.

From Gu Qingfeng’s perspective, the True Intention Great Masters who had appeared in the world likely barely reached the tenth level of true intent, just touching the threshold of the Great Master realm.

After all, comprehending Great Master true intent was extremely difficult.

Without the broken finger, even if Gu Qingfeng had ten or a hundred times more time, he might not have succeeded in reaching the eleventh level of true intent.

This demonstrated the immense difficulty of cultivating Great Master true intent.

Among the Great Masters of the world, reaching the tenth level of true intent was already a significant achievement. Advancing further was unimaginably difficult.

Of course, nothing was absolute.

There might be some extraordinary individuals who could comprehend even more powerful Great Master true intent.

Regardless, the appearance of the eleventh-level true intent had further enhanced Gu Qingfeng’s strength.

Now, he was far more powerful than he was at the Blood Mountain Manor.

If he were to face the evil spirits from the Blood Mountain Manor again, he could suppress them in ten moves or less.

...

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

During the half month Gu Qingfeng spent in closed retreat, the Gu Family Manor underwent a dramatic transformation.

This transformation was due to the Longevity Technique.

After the middle-ranking members of the Gu Family received the Longevity Technique, they all gained a glimpse into the mysteries of longevity.

Even if they cultivated the Longevity Technique to perfection, it would only grant them a mere two thousand years of life, still a long way from true immortality.

However, even this was enough to drive many to madness.

It was simple.

Previously, martial artists at the Organ Tempering stage could only live for two hundred years. Now, with perfect Organ Tempering, they could live for two thousand years, a tenfold increase in lifespan.

This change was truly earth-shattering.

Moreover, cultivating the Longevity Technique and refining a perfect physical body allowed them to completely overwhelm other martial artists of the same realm.

---

When Greenhill Qingfeng passed down the Longevity Art, the loyalty of all the middle-ranking members of the Greenhill Family soared to an unprecedented peak.

The idea of betrayal or leaking the Longevity Art was laughable. With a world-renowned martial saint guarding the Greenhill Family Manor and bestowing such an extraordinary opportunity, only a fool would dare to betray.

Thus, the issue of betrayal simply did not exist.

At the same time, Greenhill Peng, following Greenhill Qingfeng’s instructions, taught the Longevity Art as the foundational martial art to many of the outer hall disciples. The outer hall had expanded several times over. Excluding the three thousand shadow guards, there were no fewer than six to seven thousand orphans gathered from various places. If others were included, the number of outer hall disciples had surpassed ten thousand.

These ten thousand were all carefully selected, with no issues regarding talent or loyalty. Looking at the young men and women below, Greenhill Peng felt a surge of pride.

"Give me another ten years, and the outer hall of the Greenhill Family Manor will surely shake the martial world!"

With ten thousand outer hall disciples and the Longevity Art as their foundation, it would take no more than ten years for a batch of powerful warriors to emerge, strong enough to shake the martial world. As the head of the outer hall, Greenhill Peng was eager to see this happen.

---

Southern Sun County.

The former county magistrate’s residence now served as the temporary Broad Sun Manor.

Greenhill Yang looked at the items delivered by the shadow guards, his face brightening.

"A complete Longevity Art!"

He was currently cultivating the Longevity Art, but the version he had was incomplete, stopping at the Bone Washing stage. Now, the Longevity Art sent by Greenhill Qingfeng covered the entire technique, including the stage of Perfecting the Organs.

Since becoming the Duke of Broad Sun, Greenhill Yang had received guidance from the Divine Martial Sect’s experts and later personal instruction from the Grandmaster of the Iron Sword Sect. His martial knowledge was far beyond what it used to be.

Therefore, after just a quick glance at the complete Longevity Art, Greenhill Yang understood its significance.

Then, Greenhill Yang called for Greenhill Yi and handed him the technique.

"This is the complete Longevity Art. Copy it and teach it to all the shadow guards."

"Yes, my lord!"

Greenhill Yi’s expression was solemn.

After a moment, Greenhill Yang continued, "Also, go to Broad Sun Manor and bring Zhong Li to me."

He realized he hadn’t seen Zhong Li in a long time. This time, Greenhill Qingfeng not only sent the Longevity Art but also hinted that he should leave more descendants. After careful consideration, Greenhill Yang agreed with Greenhill Qingfeng’s reasoning.

After all, he had only one descendant so far. If he were to truly stabilize the realm, such a vast legacy would need someone to inherit it. Having more descendants was not a bad idea.

Moreover, Greenhill Yang understood that the higher one’s cultivation, the lower the chance of leaving descendants. When he advanced further, it would likely become impossible.

Hearing this, Greenhill Yi immediately accepted the order and left.

Next, Greenhill Yang summoned Greenhill Yun.

"Your Highness has summoned me. Is there something you need?"

"Word has it that the higher a martial artist’s cultivation, the lower the chance of leaving descendants. As a top-tier sect, does the Divine Martial Sect have any corresponding secrets?"

Greenhill Yang spoke somewhat vaguely, but Greenhill Yun understood the implications.

He smiled and said, "Indeed, we do have some secrets in the Divine Martial Sect. As Your Highness said, the higher a martial artist’s cultivation, the lower the chance of leaving descendants. Throughout the generations, some of our sect’s experts have wanted to leave descendants but were troubled by their own cultivation levels, so they researched some secrets."

"However, these secrets have their limitations. They are effective for martial artists below the Grandmaster level, but for those above, it’s a matter of fate and cannot be forced."

"Although these secrets are ineffective for Grandmaster-level experts, in reality, they can still leave descendants, just with a much lower probability."

Greenhill Yun’s words eased Greenhill Yang’s expression.

Effective for those below the Grandmaster level was enough for him.

At that moment, before Greenhill Yang could speak, Greenhill Yun said, "I will have someone go to the Divine Martial Sect to bring back what Your Highness needs."

"Thank you, Sect Leader Greenhill!"

Greenhill Yang’s expression was filled with gratitude.

---

Broad Sun Manor.

Inside the Greenhill Family Manor.

Greenhill Qingfeng was still in seclusion, but a message from the shadow guards forced him to interrupt his cultivation.

"Report, my lord. News from the Central Plains: the imperial army has suffered a major defeat against the various rebel kings. Millions of troops are now at the capital’s gates. Many powerful immortals and noble families have joined the attack, aiming to breach the capital and wipe out the Ji family royal lineage.

"At a critical moment, five Grandmasters emerged from the Ji family, dealing a devastating blow to the attackers and securing the Ji family’s legacy."

In the main hall, a shadow guard spy reported gravely.

Upon hearing this, Greenhill Qingfeng’s previously calm expression changed.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end