Chapter 35

Beiheshan Ren suggested again, "Therefore, I suggest that you have a certain level of strength, and after you have enough Body Tempering Liquid for your own cultivation needs, you can secretly let your relatives and friends take it. And during this process, you need to pay attention to a few points."

"Before you have enough strength to protect yourself, try not to reveal your identity as a cultivator to avoid bringing disaster to yourself and your loved ones. This is not an exaggeration; throughout history, the number of cultivators who have suffered due to such details is enough to circle the Earth. So, before you let your relatives and friends take the Body Tempering Liquid, you need to find a reasonable excuse to cover up the source and effects of the Body Tempering Liquid."

Song Shuhang nodded, understanding this point. One should not have the intention to harm others, but one must also be cautious.

"Moreover, not everyone can take the Body Tempering Liquid. Before taking it, the body's qi and blood must be sufficient. If one is too old and the qi and blood have already declined, they absolutely cannot take the Body Tempering Liquid, or it might cost them their life. In general, even when sects give new disciples the Body Tempering Liquid, they first let the disciples train for several months or even half a year to ensure their qi and blood are at their peak before taking it," Beiheshan Ren explained patiently.

Upon hearing this, Song Shuhang felt a sense of disappointment—Song Dad and Song Mom had long passed their prime, and their qi and blood had already started to decline. Would they not be able to take the Body Tempering Liquid?

"Speaking of which, Little Friend Shuhang, you took the Body Tempering Liquid and were fine. Do you usually exercise a lot?" Beiheshan Ren suddenly wondered and asked.

"Uh... I used to maintain a certain level of exercise. But due to various reasons, I haven't exercised for over a year," Song Shuhang said, a bit embarrassed.

"Over a year without exercise? Then why didn't you feel any discomfort after taking the Body Tempering Liquid?" Beiheshan Ren was somewhat surprised. If that was the case, either Song Shuhang's physical talent was incredibly strong, or...

Song Shuhang: "I didn't feel much discomfort, except for a burning sensation in my throat at first. Later, I just felt very comfortable and full of energy."

"Interesting. Little Friend Shuhang, I have a question for you. Don't be shy, answer me loudly," Beiheshan Ren said: "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

The topic shifted so quickly. What does taking the Body Tempering Liquid have to do with having a girlfriend?

And isn't this question not something to be shy about?

Song Shuhang replied, "I just entered university, so I haven't had the chance yet."

"Meaning you haven't lost your virginity? You're still a virgin?" Beiheshan Ren asked.

Song Shuhang: "Why does the way you ask make me feel like you're mocking me?"

"Ah, indeed, you're still a virgin. Hahaha, I just asked it bluntly. It seems you prefer a more tactful way of asking? Then I'll ask you again," Beiheshan Ren chuckled: "Have you ever, like King Kong, flown a plane on top of the Empire State Building for a woman you like?"

"That's not tactful at all!! That's an old joke from twenty years ago, and anyone can see through it!" Song Shuhang complained: "Also, why King Kong? Senior Beiheshan, are you so idle that you watch movies?"

"Well, I'm one of the more up-to-date people in the group. Answer me, don't avoid the question. Have you ever flown a plane?" Beiheshan Ren said: "Young people shouldn't be shy, speak up."

"No." Song Shuhang gritted his teeth and answered with one word. Due to some shameful black history, he had never imitated King Kong. He didn't want to talk about those black histories; just thinking about them made him want to roll on the ground.

"Ah, you have a bright future ahead of you." Beiheshan Ren laughed: "One last question, have you ever had a dream where you lost something on the grassland?"

"What?" Song Shuhang couldn't keep up with Beiheshan's sudden shift in topic. Just a moment ago, he was asking if he was a virgin, and now he was talking about dreams and grasslands?

"See, if I were more tactful, you wouldn't understand. Let me ask you bluntly, have you ever had a wet dream? You're not young anymore, you're in that age range, right?" Beiheshan Ren was still playing with the tactful joke.

"..." Song Shuhang really didn't want to answer this question, but he still replied, "Alright, I don't think I've had a dream like that. But my body is definitely healthy, and I'm only eighteen. It's normal for people to have their first experience between sixteen and twenty. Even if it happens a bit later, it's not a problem!"

"Why are you making excuses? I didn't say your body was unhealthy," Beiheshan Ren said: "I just wanted to say that you are indeed a virgin. So, even though you haven't exercised for over a year, you managed to survive the Body Tempering Liquid thanks to your virginity. You should be glad you never imitated King Kong. Otherwise, you might have exploded from taking the Body Tempering Liquid. A real explosion, with blood gushing out, 'bang'!"

Song Shuhang felt like he wanted to strangle Beiheshan.

"Ah." Copper Trigram Immortal appeared and sighed deeply: "Little Friend Shuhang, although it's amusing to see you being led by Beiheshan and revealing all sorts of embarrassing secrets in the group, I can't help but remind you."

"Do you even know about the private chat function in chat tools?"

"..." Song Shuhang felt like crying.

***

After chatting in the group for a while, Song Shuhang bid farewell to the seniors in the group and logged off.

At this moment, Copper Trigram Immortal privately messaged Beiheshan: "Beiheshan, why did you recommend the cultivation methods of a wandering cultivator to Little Friend Shuhang? We both know how difficult it is to succeed as a wandering cultivator, right?"

He knew how difficult it was to be a wandering cultivator, so he didn't understand why Beiheshan would recommend such a path to Shuhang. Why not just recommend Shuhang to join one of the sects of the friends in the group?

Beiheshan sighed, "I know very well. The path of a wandering cultivator is even harder than ascending to heaven. If I could, I wouldn't recommend the path of a wandering cultivator to Little Friend Shuhang."

Copper Trigram Immortal frowned, "Then why did you recommend it? There are many sects in our group, and many of the friends have high positions in their sects. If they recommend it, finding a suitable sect for Little Friend Shuhang wouldn't be difficult."

"Because of his age," Beiheshan explained, "Don't forget Song Shuhang's age. He's already eighteen. For ordinary people, this is still the beginning of life. But for us cultivators, it's far past the best age for Foundation Establishment."

The best age for Foundation Establishment, according to contemporary cultivators, is around four to five years old. At this age, children have soft bones and, more importantly, still retain the innate true qi from the womb. If they successfully establish their foundation, they can integrate this innate true qi, laying a solid foundation for their cultivation. With this innate true qi, there are almost no bottlenecks before the Third Stage!

However, children at this age have fragile bodies and insufficient total qi and blood. Even the carefully selected disciples in sects can't all complete Foundation Establishment between four and five years old.

The best age for Foundation Establishment is between four and five years old, and the latest it can be is eight years old.

Once past eight years old, the innate true qi from the womb is completely gone. Once this opportunity is missed, it can never be regained. Without this innate true qi, even if one establishes their foundation later, cultivation will be extremely difficult. The time and resources required for each advancement will be more than double that of those who successfully established their foundation before eight years old.

And eighteen years old is already ten years past the age of eight!