Chapter 1977 — A Reluctant Surrender

"Since we've thought of it, let's try it now!" Wei Zhao nodded and said, "We begin right away!"

"What do I need to do?" Granny Sun asked at once.

"Nothing at all. Just circulate the mnemonic of your cultivation method as you normally would in practice, and draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth," Wei Zhao said.

"All right!" Granny Sun nodded quickly to show she understood.

As for Wei Zhao, he grasped the pulse point at Granny Sun's wrist and set the first layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art into motion...

But that familiar sensation — true qi flowing from his own hand into Granny Sun's body — did not come. Between the two of them there seemed to be no exchange of true qi whatsoever, which left Wei Zhao deeply puzzled.

"Granny Sun, you haven't been circulating your inner-art method?" Wei Zhao asked, somewhat surprised.

"I have been!" Granny Sun nodded and said, "I've been circulating it the whole time, but from you I can't draw in any of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth..."

"Something's wrong..." Wei Zhao frowned, and went on circulating the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, converting his all-purpose true qi into true qi identical to Uncle Qing's. Yet still there was no response at all — it was as if not one shred of this true qi could be absorbed by Granny Sun.

By all reason, judging from Wei Zhao's past experience, he did not even need to deliberately employ the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art to convert true qi into some specific kind of true qi; as long as the recipient of the true qi circulated his or her own inner-art method, the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art would automatically convert the true qi into the kind the other party required.

But now this situation had met with an unexpected turn. Not only could Granny Sun not convert Wei Zhao's true qi into the true qi she required, she could not even absorb the true qi that Wei Zhao had already converted!

"Still no good..." Granny Sun shook her head and said.

"What's going on here? I've already converted my true qi into the same true qi as Uncle Qing's, and Granny Sun still can't absorb it..." Wei Zhao said with a frown.

"Eh? That is a little strange!" Uncle Qing's heart had been full of anticipation; now it turned into a head full of questions.

This was the first time Wei Zhao had ever encountered such a peculiar situation. In the past, this method of helping others advance had never failed him, and he had never once met with a case where it did not work.

"Could it be... that the Sun family's method is different from ordinary cultivation, and cannot be elevated by your special means?" Granny Sun had hit upon a very important question: "After all, the Sun family's method is not for cultivating strength — it is a support method..."

"A support method... I think I've grasped something. Let me think it over!" Wei Zhao said aloud, though in truth he meant to consult Jiao Yazi and verify whether his idea was correct. He put on an appearance of sitting with eyes closed in deep thought, but in his heart he asked, "Elder Jiao, what's going on here? Why has this happened? Isn't my true qi all-purpose true qi? Why is it useless against Granny Sun?"

Seeing Wei Zhao with his eyes closed in thought, Uncle Qing and Granny Sun did not dare disturb him; they simply sat to one side and waited quietly.

Hearing Wei Zhao's question, Elder Jiao showed little confusion; he only pondered briefly, then said, "If my inference is not mistaken, Granny Sun's method must be one that draws in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and converts it into a unique form of energy peculiar to the Sun family's method, storing it within the body. And this form of energy can, through Granny Sun's method, be converted into true qi that Uncle Qing can use, and then passed on to Uncle Qing for his use... But because of the peculiar nature of her method, she can only absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and cannot directly absorb the true qi you have already converted..."

"Oh? But why can others directly receive converted true qi? If that's the case, can I simply convert it directly into that unique form of energy of Granny Sun's?" Wei Zhao asked.

"I'm afraid that won't work either. Support-type methods are not quite the same as ordinary inner-art methods. Hers, I suspect, can only absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth — and it must be the most primal spiritual energy of heaven and earth, never subjected to any conversion, which is to say the pure energy within the jade pendant. Once it has been converted, it can no longer be absorbed," Elder Jiao said. "It is just like you: you can transmit true qi to others, but others cannot transmit true qi to you..."

"Me? Surely mine can be transmitted? The true qi of General Weiwu and the Heavenly Thunder Pig is exactly the same as the true qi in my body, and it can be used!" Wei Zhao said.

"I said other people — did I say spirit beasts? Mind you, I mean humans!" Jiao Yazi said, somewhat speechless.

"Uh... so that's how it is..." Wei Zhao was suddenly a little embarrassed. "In other words, unless Granny Sun absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth or pure energy herself, there is no other way to raise her strength?"

"That should be so. Of course, you may give me the Sun family's method to study, and I will think again on whether there are other ways," Elder Jiao said.

"It seems for the time being it won't do..." Wei Zhao nodded. Elder Jiao's inference was much the same as his own thinking, except that Wei Zhao had not analyzed it as thoroughly as Elder Jiao; Elder Jiao had explained the cause of this situation from first principles, while Wei Zhao had only roughly guessed at the result...

Wei Zhao opened his eyes and said to Uncle Qing, "If my inference is not mistaken, Granny Sun's method must be one that draws in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and converts it into a unique form of energy peculiar to the Sun family's method, storing it within the body..."

As he spoke, Wei Zhao explained Elder Jiao's words once more to Granny Sun and Uncle Qing. This passing off of freshly learned knowledge for sale earned him Jiao Yazi's considerable contempt, though Jiao Yazi said nothing more; he scarcely ever interfered in Wei Zhao's ordinary affairs, and could not be bothered to interfere, concerning himself only with guiding Wei Zhao along the path of cultivation.

"Li Fu, you needn't take it so much to heart. Being able to obtain the Sun family's method and cultivate anew is already a good thing; recovering your memory is only a matter of time, so there's no need to rush it," Granny Sun said with a faint smile. "The days ahead are long!"

"Yes, the days ahead are long!" Uncle Qing nodded and said. "It is I who have been too impatient. In truth, you have already accepted me once more; thinking it over carefully, whether or not your memory returns is no longer so very important..."

Seeing that Uncle Qing and Granny Sun took it all so philosophically, Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief as well!

Fastest updates, ad-free reading, please visit.