——Again, Imperial Heaven?
An Jing still remembered that the enlightenment book in Hanging Fate Manor was the Imperial Heaven Scripture.
It was not surprising because Imperial Heaven was like Lord Heaven, the representative of the sky and all Heaven's will, widely worshiped in Da Chen and even in Embracing the Void, many of its allusions and meanings forming the source of much of Da Chen's culture and laws.
But the Imperial Heaven Scripture and this booklet were different, as the worship of Imperial Heaven was so common that many martial skills and Art of Magic were attributed to it, but they were sect-specific.
If the martial arts of Hanging Fate Manor all followed this naming pattern, it likely indicated that it was backed not by a sect but by a faith.
An Jing opened the booklet and read carefully, turning the pages one by one.
The Master of the Medicine Manor watched An Jing flipping through the booklet, observing every single detail carefully.
It was not until An Jing had finished the entire manual that he finally spoke up and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
"Both ancient and modern."
An Jing pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "The core idea is very ancient, but the specific cultivation practices are very modern... Manor Master, the Abyssal Qi Nourishing Stance and Piercing Armor True Strength that we learned before were part of this manual, right?"
The old man did not answer, so An Jing continued, "This Imperial Heaven Piercing Divine One Qi Cultivation Method is generally divided into one main outline and four major parts."
"The beginning part is the main outline."
"The first part is 'Visualization' of the vast sky, Desireless and Egoless, thus Imperial Heaven confers Heavenly Mandate upon the soul, creating the spirit, this should be the fundamental secret technique for nourishing the spirit of those with a Fate Pattern."
"The second part is 'Abyssal', nurturing qi without fear."
"The third part is 'Spirit Penetration', applying force without doubt."
"The fourth part is 'Mysterious Steps', walking without confusion."
So speaking, An Jing raised his head to meet the eyes of the smiling Master of the Medicine Manor, "Abyssal Qi Nourishing and Piercing Armor True Strength are the practices specifically derived from 'Fearless Abyssal' and 'Unquestioning Spirit Penetration' in this manual."
"This Imperial Heaven Piercing Divine One Qi Cultivation Method fundamentally means 'without doubt, without confusion, without fear, without self', and our Hanging Fate Manor's name 'Hanging Fate' is a reflection of this—born from earth, fate suspended by heaven, the union of heaven and earth calls it human."
"Those who adapt to the four seasons, heaven and earth become their parents... Without doubt, without confusion, without fear, without self, subtly adapting to seasons, drawing upon the ancient legends of Imperial Heaven as metaphor, it guides one into martial arts, ancient as a metaphor for modern."
Finally, An Jing concluded, "It has spirit cultivation, qi nourishing, martial skills, and step skills, it is truly a superior righteous method, directly leading to 'Inner Strength Five Sceneries' and even to 'Hundred Breakthroughs Martial Meridians'."
"Very good," the Master of the Medicine Manor was now fully smiling, the first genuine, warm smile since An Jing had entered the pavilion: "A single read and you can fully understand the entire Dharma Gate, even forming your own ideas and thoughts."
"You must have realized by now, right? Abyssal, Spirit Penetration, and Mysterious Steps can let you breakthrough in Inner Breath, right up to Inner Breath like Tide, which are the cultivation techniques practiced by the instructors."
"If you can awaken the Fate Pattern, you can use the method of Embracing the Void to concentrate the spirit and break through to Inner Strength."
At this, the Master of the Medicine Manor was quite curious, looking at An Jing somewhat strangely, "But why... do you think this is a method that leads directly to 'Hundred Breakthroughs Martial Meridians'?"
Hundred Breakthroughs Martial Meridians, after the realm of Inner Strength Five Sceneries, is where a martial artist, on the basis of divine abnormalities that arise, recreates their body, opening up channels within that connect to the vast sky and correspond to earth, aligning the 'heaven, earth, and human' trinity, making them capable of dominating several cities.
The Master of the Medicine Manor was very curious about the source of An Jing's speculation.
"It's simple," An Jing picked up the booklet and repeated what he had said earlier: "Those who adapt to the four seasons, heaven and earth become their parents... Knowing all things, called the Son of Heaven."
"Heaven and earth, four seasons. Since there are Imperial Heaven's four seasons, naturally, there are also Houtu's four seasons. Imperial Heaven Piercing Divine One Qi Cultivation Method mainly discusses soul condensing and qi nourishing, force-generating body methods, although sufficient, but the true Martial Scripture should have other parts."
"So I guess there's another 'Houtu Skills', most likely focusing on 'Body Refinement', divided into 'Nourishing the Spirit', 'Mastering Qi', 'Fists and Feet', and 'Swords and Arms' among other aspects."
In the astonished yet delighted gaze of the Master of the Medicine Manor, An Jing pondered for a while, then still expressed his true speculation: "All these together, are but laying the foundation. Imperial Heaven commends, forming the foundation of heart and spirit. Houtu tempers the body, forging the vessel of life."
"Just as 'the union of heaven and earth calls it human'. What imperial heaven and Houtu conceive, that is human, called the Son of Heaven."
"Only after completing both Imperial Heaven and Houtu methods, can one mold the special 'Divine Abnormality', and then forge the 'Martial Meridians', achieving the 'Son of Heaven'."
"That 'Son of Heaven Method', that is the beginning of a truly superior righteous method."
The Master of the Medicine Manor sprang to his feet.
"You, you..."
Raising his hand, pointing at the young man before him, wrinkles on the old man's aged face both relaxed and tightened, his gaze at An Jing bringing up bursts of pale green firelight: "You actually figured it all out!"
An Jing met his gaze, even feeling as if he was staring into flames, with his eyes burning up, the intangible poisonous heat forcing him to close his eyes to avoid being burned.
This was one of the many 'Divine Abnormalities' that appeared after 'Inner Strength Five Sceneries', 'Pupil Fire'.
This confirmed what An Jing had long suspected, that the strength of the Master of the Medicine Manor was indeed in the 'Inner Strength realm', his cultivation perhaps not low, nor did he know what Fate Pattern he had, or how many Divine Abnormalities he had crafted.
"That's wonderful..."
Master of the Medicine Manor took several deep breaths, only barely suppressing the joy rising in his heart. He sat back down on his chair, almost gleefully watching An Jing, his gaze intense, "Exceptional comprehension...able to see through the essence of the Dharma Gate at a glance. I never believed such a person existed, but here you are!"
"Exactly."
The old man nodded in agreement, confirming An Jing's guess, "Imperial Heaven and Houtu, indeed one entity. Apart from the 'Imperial Heaven Piercing Divine One Qi Cultivation Method,' I also have the 'Houtu Divine Mixed Yuan Body Cultivation Method' here."
"Without doubt or delusion, fearless and egoless, corresponding to Imperial Heaven; without anger or hatred, desireless and unattached, corresponding to Houtu. Only by cultivating both, one achieves a complete method of building the Martial Meridian."
"Only those who have awakened their Fate Pattern and mastered both methods can truly enter the true path of my teachings..."
At this point, the Master of the Medicine Manor raised his eyebrows, looking at An Jing, "With your wisdom, you surely have guessed what kind of organization Hanging Fate Manor is, right?"
"Rest assured," he said, "With your talent, awakening your Fate Pattern is not difficult. Once you truly enter our sect, the Northern Patrol Envoy will personally take you to the main mountain, to teach you the Houtu Body Cultivation Method."
"Thank you, Manor Master!"
Without saying much more—though still wondering, 'Who is the Northern Patrol Envoy?' 'What organization? I haven't guessed it'—An Jing nevertheless bowed respectfully and thanked him while the Vice Envoy of Medicine left his seat and personally handed the Imperial Heaven Qi Nurturing Method manual to An Jing, "No need to thank me; it's only right. If a talent like you couldn't receive the rightful teachings, the fault would be mine."
The Master of the Medicine Manor even patted An Jing's shoulder, observing the young man's calm and resolute face that revealed no hint of joy and remarked with emotion, "So calm, so composed."
"Were you born like this?"
An Jing didn't answer; he only offered a smile, and the Master of the Medicine Manor shook his head slightly, not knowing whether to laugh or sigh, and signaled that An Jing could leave.
Manual in hand, An Jing left the Medicine Pavilion. It was already evening by then, and he had spent considerable time perusing the manual; the patience of the Master of the Medicine Manor was testament to his high regard for An Jing.
The manual was neither thin nor overly thick, filled with detailed diagrams for cultivation, depicting the human body in great detail, including the muscles and internal organs, elaborately explaining the dynamics of energy motion, making it very smooth and comprehensible to read through.
An Jing's real confusion, however, still lingered on 'Hanging Fate Manor'.
"Northern Patrol Envoy, the main mountain... This is the Great Sect Mountain Gate, and within Da Chen, there aren't many such great sects, are there?"
"Shangxuan Shangqing, Star Venerable Sacred Dragon, Heaven's Will True Demon..."
An Jing contemplated various details, trying to recall which great sects existed within the Da Chen territory, but he wasn't very familiar with this area, so he ultimately couldn't determine a precise result.
"Could it possibly be..."
Suddenly, An Jing frowned, a startling possibility occurring to him, and his eyes widened in disbelief, "Impossible, could it be a demon..."
"Yo, Little An, not going to have dinner?"
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind An Jing—it was a pharmacist, pushing a cart filled with potions from the Medicine Pavilion; the same kind of potions they drank when they ate Ferocious Beast Meat.
Seeing the manual in An Jing's hands, he warmly greeted him, "If you go now, you can still get some while it's hot!"
"Thank you, Herbalist Wu."
An Jing snapped out of his daze; standing outside the Medicine Pavilion lost in thought was no good. He started to leave the Medicine Pavilion along with the pharmacist named Wu.
However, on his way to the cafeteria, An Jing noticed that Herbalist Wu did not head to the cafeteria with him but instead turned and went in another direction.
If it were anyone else, they might not have thought much of it, but An Jing was somewhat puzzled.
The potions were prepared and meant to be consumed; although potions are not necessarily better when fresher, those they drank previously were very fresh.
Herbalist Wu, pushing a cart full of potions, was not heading to the cafeteria, so where was he going?
After pondering for a while, An Jing concealed his presence and surreptitiously followed Herbalist Wu.
Herbalist Wu was not of the Inner Breath realm, merely an ordinary person with some martial skill, and he was completely unaware of An Jing following him. He had mentioned being a failed cultivator without any martial talent but had become a pharmacist at the manor due to his aptitude in medicine.
This was also why An Jing usually hesitated to suspect the true nature of Hanging Fate Manor, as too many examples showed that the outcomes for failures were not necessarily bleak; there was always a path forward.
Nonetheless, humming a tune, Herbalist Wu pushed the cart of potions towards 'East Mountain Field Manor,' located on the eastern side of Hanging Fate Manor.
So it was that place... East Mountain Field Manor, indeed, he had never been there before.
An Jing watched as Herbalist Wu took that solitary path, then turned his head and headed towards the cafeteria.
In the cafeteria, An Jing once again received a round of cheers and congratulations; his role as Eldest Senior was well deserved, universally acknowledged.
And An Jing offered a smile in response to everyone's praise, eating his share of Ferocious Beast Meat and potion as usual, without any sign of the impulses or indifference he felt inside.
That night, everyone else asleep, An Jing once again opened his eyes.