At midnight, the wind was high, and the moon shone faintly with sparse stars.
An old man with white hair and a white beard lay on top of the wall and said to you, "It is fate that we meet."
Li Guanyi's vigilance immediately maxed out; he was no longer new to this world, having endured ten years on the run. Even though he always kept a smile on his face, his wariness was actually quite profound. The Su Ni Bow in his hands was drawn, and the arrow was firmly aimed at the old man's throat.
The arrow and bow were moving slightly.
It was to facilitate quick confirmation and adjustment of aim based on the opponent's movement.
Target locking range: between the eyebrows, the throat, the heart.
The Xue Family's archery was cold and bright, requiring the release of Inner Qi, adopting a Dharma Form as the weapon.
He naturally couldn't do that.
However, as a bearer of the cold and bright archery technique, he already had the foundation. The furthest the top of the wall could be from his current position was not more than twenty steps. There was no wind tonight, and the bow had just been newly tuned, with elasticity and resilience in the best condition. One arrow was enough to penetrate the target.
Yet the elder seemed unconcerned, his interest piqued as he laughed, "You don't realize the magnitude of trouble you're in. I just discovered that someone far from here has noticed you; in this era, the more trouble one has, the more extraordinary they are."
"And you are especially so."
"Become my disciple, and I shall impart to you all the wonders of Yin Yang Skill."
This old man spoke somewhat eccentrically.
Li Guanyi, neither servile nor overbearing, kept his bow and arrow aimed: "If you wish to take on a disciple, please come during daylight and reveal your identity. I will respectfully receive your letter. But those who climb walls at midnight are either thieves or murderers. Please step back."
The old man who called himself Siming laughed heartily,
"You've got spirit, but as your master, I just couldn't resist the urge to meet you sooner."
"As people walk through the world, the world's rules are meant to constrain the common folk. If I wish to see my disciple, I will see him. For the mediocre masses, I only give a cold glance, but when I meet someone who delights my heart, I will light candles at night for a heartfelt talk. This is to act according to my desires and whims."
Li Guanyi, unsure of friend or foe, simply said, "Please come again tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? I think... five, four, three, two, one."
"Hmm, it's past midnight, about time."
With a clap of his hands, Siming readied to jump down.
Li Guanyi's arrow was already nocked on the bowstring, but suddenly a dull whooshing sound filled the night, and a dark object traced a perfect arc through the air before striking the elder's face precisely. The elder, who had just leapt to jump down, had his face smothered.
His balance was broken.
He cried out strangely and fell backward.
It was a pot that clanged to the ground.
Li Guanyi turned his head and saw his Aunt Murong Qiushui emerging from another room, her left hand still holding a pot, her brows raised eagerly, gesturing to Li Nu'er to step aside - it was evident that the pot just now was her exceptional 'Flying Pot Technique,' which had repelled forty-seven thieves.
The elder fell backwards, but didn't crash to the ground; instead, he landed in the void, in a space invisible to the naked eye, where a Mystic Turtle steadily caught the man. The Old Turtle gave him a look and shook his head, slowly stepping away. But the elder said,
"What?"
"You're saying that what the boy said was right, and paying a visit at midnight doesn't seem like something a gentleman would do?"
The Mystic Turtle slowly nodded.
The elder burst into hearty laughter, "Hahaha."
"Those who pry into Heavenly Secrets will suffer five deficiencies, those who alter Yin and Yang will not die a good death."
"These two types of people have always been the least bound by rules in this world. Kings establish regulations in hopes everyone will be upstanding gentlemen, while people like me are cursed as Five Poison Insects and chased out of the Capital City by spear-wielding guards."
"Yet the Emperor who cursed me has since died a violent death on the battlefield, and the tree that grew from my urine on his grave now towers large; his descendants kneel before it every time they visit the tomb, but you and I are still alive, having regrown our teeth for the fifth time. So how can worldly matters possibly constrain us, eh?"
"But he is a good kid; we are bound to meet again eventually."
"Today, I just wanted to secure our relationship as master and disciple in advance."
"After all, I was the first to utter the words 'your master.'
The elder was smugly satisfied.
The Mystic Turtle humanely rolled its eyes.
The Stargazer once wrote a letter saying he wanted to introduce a disciple to them, and accompanying him were a giant from the Mo School and a great Confucian scholar. He knew that the elder had scaled the wall in the middle of the night because he had divined something.
Striding forward, he vanished into thin air without a trace, almost simultaneously, the young man holding the Su Ni Bow had already stepped out quickly, scanning the surroundings, yet not finding a trace of the elder, not even footprints. He picked up the thrown pot and brought it back.
He had used this old pot for a long time and had properly seasoned it; it couldn't just be discarded.
Fingering the bottom of the pot, Li Guanyi's expression grew slightly solemn.
There was no change to the bottom of the pot, which meant that the blow hadn't truly hit; the elder had fallen on purpose and there was no sound of him hitting the ground. In such a short time, he had already disappeared without a trace. The young man crouched down to touch the ground but found no marks.
Perhaps, finding a way to place Aunt Murong in the Xue Family's care might be safer.
Li Guanyi, seemingly deep in thought, brought the pot back. His aunt was somewhat disappointed to learn that the person had disappeared. Li Guanyi urged his aunt to rest earlier and returned to his room. Having been disturbed by the old man who claimed to be "Siming," any trace of drowsiness he had just felt had vanished, and he felt invigorated.
Li Guanyi browsed through the "Threefold Method of Entering Realm" in his mind.
It was the cultivation experience recorded by the Xue Family's World's Number One Divine General, detailing the various levels of the technique for Entering Realm. It introduced the most basic method of Entering Realm, which involved tempering the flesh and refining Inner Qi. Once the Inner Qi and the body reached a certain level, they could naturally merge and take the opportunity to Enter Realm.
Better than this method is the Imprint of Divine Will.
"By using cultivation techniques infused with the charm of Dharma Form, one can have a preliminary experience of the charm of the Dharma Form. Breaking through to the Entering Realm with such methods, in comparison to the simple tempering of one's physique, can refine even finer aspects, which allows a Martial Artist to control an External Inner Qi Martial Skill upon Entering Realm."
"Since ancient times, the cores of the major sects and aristocratic families have all used this method."
"Yet beyond this superior method, there exists another."
"At that time, there was a living Buddha in the Western Regions, known for Empowerment, who Entered Realm at the age of three; he had many servants and White Bone Magical Artifacts. I was curious about their Magic Skills and once attempted to borrow the Empowerment Skill."
"They refused, so I attacked."
Those four words exuded an aura of ferocity and intensity.
"Later, I learned that the Empowerment Skill was actually a technique for passing down Dharma Forms. This nefarious method could transmit the Dharma Form from one person to another, but the transmitter would inevitably lie dead, their cultivation dissipated like running water. I burned their techniques, scriptures, and temples, yet I had already read their scriptures. After much contemplation, I gained some insights."
"Before Entering Realm, it's about nurturing a microcosm; it's about honing the body."
"Entering Realm is about connecting the inner and outer cosmos, what the Taoist refer to as Inner and Outer Sceneries, the Buddhist call it realizing Divine Abilities, and the Confucianists label it as establishing aspirations. In my view, all three teachings converge; the human body is like the earth, Entering Realm is like digging a canal, channeling the external water flow into the waterway; ordinary tempering is akin to blindly digging, taking the longest time and yielding the worst outcomes."
"It also carries the potential to damage the body's foundation."
"But if the general direction is correct, one can eventually reach the water and thus Enter the Realm."
"This was also the method used by Martial Artists of the oldest eras to Enter Realm."
"They then recorded their experience of Entering Realm — that is, how to train their bodies and cultivate their Qi —, these became the earliest techniques for Entering Realm, akin to having a map of water systems, knowing where the water lies, where to put in more effort, and where to build up more substantially."
"In this way, one achieves more with less, and the canals dug are also more stable. Afterwards, drawing in Primordial Qi is the most exquisite."
"However, such methods still rely on human effort, not as good as the natural forces between heaven and earth opening the channels. If one can hone the body before Entering Realm and then utilize a special sacred place to combine inner and outer forces to naturally open the meridians to Enter Realm, that would be the most superior method."
"I kindly inquired with the Taoist sect and borrowed the techniques of the Innate Sect from them."
"They opened the Book Collection Pavilion to me, and after observing for a month, I integrated the teachings of both Buddhism and Taoism."
"Exchanging views with my friend who claimed to be Shaking Light, I created a skill for Entering Realm that borrowed the power of Heaven and Earth externally and cultivated steadfast Inner Qi internally, changing and flowing naturally into the realm. With the aid of a Martial Artist at the level of Dharma Form, it should be possible to create the so-called 'Living Buddha Reincarnation' or 'Taoist Innate' root bone."
"I laughed heartily, realizing that the supreme root bone praised by the three teachings could also be achieved through human effort."
"It's just a pity I Entered the Realm at the age of eight and didn't have the opportunity to try it."
"Shaking Light, however, didn't care; the Stargazing School of the East Continent is always like that; she doesn't understand."
"If one could shake the supreme root bone molded by the mystery and authority of the three teachings, the child of Heavenly Mandate,"
"What profound significance it would hold for the world."
"But she was so beautiful that I couldn't blame her."
"After descending the mountain, Shaking Light took three years to locate a place with excellent Feng Shui near Guan Yi City in Jiangnan and set up a formation that artificially created the sacred place needed for Entering Realm. I relocated the Xue Family here and asked her how long it would take."
"She calculated and said that to gather the land's energy, it would take at least two hundred years."
"By that time, I might still be alive, but she would definitely be dead."
"Stargazers glimpse Heavenly Mandate and thus regard life and death with indifference. Their titles are passed down generation to generation. To those successors who receive the inheritance, remember to try it; you should already possess the Dharma Form by then, hahaha, only those with the Dharma Form can pick up my bow, and having the Dharma Form means definitely Entering Realm."
"That feeling of having the most perfect means to Enter Realm at your fingertips yet being unable to attain it, grinding your teeth in vexation, is also a gift from your ancestor, hahaha, after all, I was very annoyed at the time, always feeling that this experience is something that future disciples must try."
Li Guanyi cracked a smile.
This unmatched World's Number One Divine General from the records seemed to be quite playful. He continued reading: "However, you can take a successor you approve of to find this sacred place; I and Shaking Light left some interesting things there."
"If you truly create a top-notch foundation, you may then seek the Innate Sect again."
"Shaking Light mentioned that there is the youngest and most taciturn child there who might cultivate Taoist Skills and could live for several hundred years; when you go up the mountain, seek out Taoist Qingwei."
"Tell him, 'Mr. Xue of years past has come again.'
"The peach blossom wine that existed here hundreds of years ago, is it still good?"
Li Guanyi saw that Cultivation Technique, at which the line of succession ended, and his thoughts paused momentarily.
Wait a moment???
Where did you hide the secret realm?
What about the rest?
Gone?