“Young man, you are indeed remarkable. I usually do not praise others, as I feel the younger generation is too impetuous,” Zhang Nianquan observed for a long time before finally speaking with approval. “But you are truly different. You have completely subdued the younger generations from the Zhang family, the Mao family, and even the Zhao and Sun families.”
Su Jie didn’t know much about the Zhao and Sun families, but they were certainly two prominent families; otherwise, Zhang Nianquan, this centenarian, wouldn’t have mentioned them.
The old man before him was in good health and possessed a high level of cultivation, but his Qi had already declined. While he moved relatively quickly for an ordinary person, he still lagged behind professional fighters. In a real fight, he could handle ordinary sub-healthy individuals without issue, but against a provincial-level fighter, he probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance.
This is the sadness of aging.
However, from a physiological perspective, having such a healthy body at 115 years old was indeed a miracle among miracles.
“Thank you for the compliment,” Su Jie said as he brewed a pot of tea. “What brings you here today, old sir?”
“Firstly, I came to see your fortune. Our Zhang family understands some feng shui and fortune-telling. Although the younger generation has stopped learning it, I believe my ability to read people may not be inferior to that of Old Mao,” Zhang Nianquan replied without drinking the tea. Instead, he pulled out a thermos from his pocket that contained a medicinal tea with a strong herbal scent. “Young man, would you like to try my secret formula for Soul Nourishing Tea? I’ve managed to live this long thanks to this tea.”
“I appreciate your kindness, but I’ll pass,” Su Jie smiled. “Everyone has their own health maintenance experience; your methods may not necessarily suit me.”
Zhang Nianquan shook his head. “Young people don’t recognize good things; what a pity.” Saying this, he took a deep breath of his tea with a contented look, as if he were about to ascend to the heavens. Then he asked, “Is it okay to smoke here?”
“Feel free,” Su Jie nodded.
Zhang Nianquan took out a bag of tobacco from his pocket and produced a smoking pipe from somewhere unknown. After lighting it, he took a deep puff and exhaled deeply, creating a series of smoke rings that danced in the air. The smoke seemed to take on the form of a crane, gracefully fluttering about.
In the old society, this was considered a magical skill; one could earn a living anywhere with such talent, even performing before nobles.
Su Jie knew that mastering the technique of shaping smoke into figures was quite challenging; it required precise control over one’s breathing. Otherwise, one could never produce smoke that transformed into cranes.
Zhang Nianquan continued to inhale and exhale smoke, varying his breathing rhythm as if singing a tune or reciting an incantation.
The smoke he exhaled began to morph into cranes and then transformed into dragons and tigers after a few seconds of dispersal.
It was as if he were painting.
Su Jie had seen sand painting before—an art form where masters create exquisite works by sprinkling sand—but he had never witnessed anyone painting with smoke.
Zhang Nianquan was giving him an unexpected lesson.
Especially notable was how Zhang Nianquan painted amid the swirling smoke. The rhythm of his breathing seemed to embody some mysterious breathing technique—varying in length and intensity—that must be mastered well to transform the smoke into dragons and tigers within seconds.
Zhang Nianquan was demonstrating an ancient breathing technique long lost to time.
Without using smoke patterns to express it, the intricacies of this breathing method would be difficult to appreciate.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Suddenly, Zhang Nianquan sprayed out a puff of smoke, which condensed into an arrow, shooting straight towards Su Jie’s face, seemingly very lethal.
Su Jie waved his hand and dispersed the smoke arrow.
However, Zhang Nianquan’s smoke arrows kept coming, firing in rapid succession like a barrage, densely attacking many parts of Su Jie’s body.
Su Jie continued to wave his hands, dispersing these smoke arrows once again.
At this moment, Zhang Nianquan took a deep breath and sprayed out a large cloud of smoke that came crashing down like thunder and lightning, enveloping Su Jie within it.
Su Jie’s entire body shook as a powerful wind arose, blowing away all the smoke.
After that, all the smoke was sucked away by the air purifier, and the indoor air returned to freshness.
“How do you find my breathing technique?” Zhang Nianquan said, as he finished his last cigarette.
“Exquisite and extraordinary,” Su Jie sincerely praised. Having lived for so many years, being an old antique who had seen a century of change, from the old society to the new one and then to modern times, he had encountered all sorts of strange things from around the world. His life experience and insights were far beyond what Su Jie could compare to: “This breathing technique contains the essence of dragons and tigers, the spirit of cranes, the stillness and motion of turtles and snakes, the grandeur of blades and arrows, and the might of thunder and storm. It is indeed powerful, possessing an ancient aura, but even for experts, it would take ten or eight years to master.”
“This is indeed a unique skill,” Zhang Nianquan said. “It is my true secret weapon, called the Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Method. This is just one aspect of it—the breathing technique. There are also methods for intention guarding, body techniques, thought preservation, sky observation, earth inspection, scene arrangement, and more. I have immersed myself in it for a lifetime and finally gained some insights. Are you willing to learn?”
As he spoke, Zhang Nianquan looked at Su Jie: “Although modern practitioners focus on scientific training, that only pertains to physical exercises. When it comes to real martial arts, there is still a significant gap. At least in terms of mental intention and thinking, they are still quite immature compared to ancient people. If I’m not mistaken, your intention practice is based on the Great Corpse Technique. This method is also a gateway to the path. You have done well; your realm is quite high. However, in terms of sky observation, earth inspection, and scene arrangement, you are still far behind and have essentially done none of it. Therefore, it will be difficult for you to advance further and touch that threshold of unity with heaven and man. If you learn my Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Method, I guarantee you can quickly step into a whole new realm. It would be better to do it sooner rather than later.”
Upon hearing this, Su Jie felt a stir in his heart.
If others heard Zhang Nianquan’s words, they would be utterly confused. The concepts of intention practice and thought preservation could be understood as merely mobilizing thought and emotion. But what do concepts like sky observation, earth inspection, and scene arrangement have to do with training?
However, Su Jie understood that these things were actually very important.
Take the simplest example: when ordinary people run for exercise, some prefer to run on a treadmill indoors while others find their mood much better running outdoors in a scenic area. The effectiveness of running varies greatly between these environments.
Similarly in practicing martial arts, some prefer practicing in crowded parks while others need the solitude of a closed room to get into a state. Some even need the quiet of deep night for their thoughts and inspirations to flourish.
All these factors show how environment influences human movement.
Su Jie had initially learned about feng shui and psychology from Master Ma and Master Luo and had begun to understand some clues about this. Later on, while cultivating in the deep mountains—facing the sunrise in the morning and the stars and moon at night—he finally perfected his practice of the “Thirteen Protectors’ Golden Bell Iron Shirt Dragon-Tiger Vajra Qi Gong” to a great extent.
Had he been in a bustling city, he would never have achieved such results; even after ten or eight years of training, he wouldn’t have reached that state—similar to how one cannot grasp knowledge if they cannot comprehend it.
This illustrates how environment affects the human body.
In Confucianism, there is a saying: “The place influences one’s Qi; nurturing alters one’s body,” meaning that the surrounding environment impacts one’s physical state.
In medicine, patients also need to reside in beautiful places with clear mountains and serene waters for their health to improve quickly.
Although Su Jie was aware of the significant influence of environment during his time spent in the mountains, he only knew this superficially at that time.
Now that his realm had become deeper and his mind sharper, he gradually began to perceive some subtle aspects—especially after his recent encounter with Zhang Hongqing where he barely escaped with his life through clever use of terrain and environment; his understanding of his surroundings grew even more profound.
His previous research focused on psychological qualities affecting the human body; now he added the influence of the surrounding environment on the human body.
Combined together, these three aspects actually represent the changes among heaven, earth, and humanity—an ancient philosophical principle from China.
It’s just that this philosophy hasn’t been detailed yet.
Su Jie’s earnest study of feng shui ultimately aimed at this goal: using scientific terminology to explain how the surrounding terrain’s magnetic field intersects with an individual’s life magnetic field.
This is also an extremely profound science.
“I have also studied Taoist techniques for firming grip; it is said that this is the foundation of long-lost thunder techniques. Ancient Taoists mastered a type of thunder technique that was also martial arts with immense power capable of summoning wind and rain, sweeping away demons, and intimidating evil spirits. Could it be that your Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Method is such a skill?” Su Jie did not express whether he would learn or not but instead asked.
“Indeed,” Zhang Nianquan nodded. “To acquire this skill, I can’t tell you how many famous mountains and rivers I visited; accumulating knowledge bit by bit while studying with many Taoist masters allowed me to reorganize some things. Young man, even if I told others about this technique, they would find it hard to learn or even comprehend it; only you are most suited for it. In our Zhang family, Zhang Hongqing learned it but couldn’t pass it down to his son because his son couldn’t understand it. Once I die and Hongqing dies too, this knowledge will be lost. I want to preserve a spark through you.”
Upon hearing this, Su Jie recalled Principal Liu Guanglie’s Minglun Guidance Technique.
He also passed it down but found that neither his son nor disciples could comprehend it; only Zhang Jinchuan could understand its intricacies.
However, such single transmission easily leads to loss.
Su Jie thought for a moment: “Old sir, if you wish to pass this skill down, I can help introduce someone. I just fear I might disappoint your good intentions.”
“You actually refuse?” Now it was Zhang Nianquan’s turn to be surprised: “Young man, you need to think clearly—if you learn my skill, your mind can step into a brand new level. Given your current state, it would likely take three to five years for you to reach that level; by then you would miss your prime developmental period.”