Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Mysterious Book

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Liu Lanzhi saw that Miao Shilin had fallen into deep thought, and couldn’t help sticking out her tongue mischievously. “Master, do we really possess such a powerful scripture?” she asked with bright curiosity, waving the handwritten page in her hand. “Master, is this really the Classic of Qihuang? But no matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like a manual for cultivation.” She frowned adorably at the odd posture of the Daoist depicted in the scripture.

Miao Shilin’s train of thought was interrupted by Liu Lanzhi. He glanced at her noncommittally, then his expression became more serious than ever before. “Lanzhi, from now on, just teach him the cultivation methods on this scripture. You don’t need to worry about anything else. Remember—never speak of the Classic of Qihuang again, not even its name.”

“This matter is of great consequence. You’re still a child and don’t understand the gravity of things. If someone with ulterior motives were to overhear, it could trigger a storm across the entire cultivation world.”

Realizing the gravity of the matter, Liu Lanzhi couldn’t help but click her tongue in surprise. She quickly agreed with a solemn expression, then turned around and looked down at Che Wuyou, imitating Miao Shilin’s tone with exaggerated seriousness: “Wuyou, from now on, focus on cultivating the methods in this scripture. Remember, never mention anything about the Classic of Qihuang again, not even its name. This is a matter of great consequence. You’re still a child and don’t know what’s at stake. If someone with bad intentions hears about it, there might be a huge storm in the entire cultivation world. Do you understand?”

Seeing Che Wuyou nodding blankly, Miao Shilin couldn’t help shaking his head. Lanzhi had clearly grown spoiled under his care—she was becoming more and more mischievous, even daring to mimic him now.

After Miao Shilin left, Liu Lanzhi and Che Wuyou did not continue practicing the Hundred Herbs Formula, but instead began to study the mysterious scripture together. Although Miao Shilin had instructed Liu Lanzhi to teach Che Wuyou, seeing how precious her master regarded this scripture, Liu Lanzhi couldn’t help but think to herself: “Although Master didn’t say outright that this is the legendary treasure, the Classic of Qihuang, his uncharacteristic seriousness suggests that it must be an extraordinary treasure at the very least, certainly no less valuable than the Hundred Herbs Formula.”

Her heart moved by the prospect, Liu Lanzhi silently berated her master for being so muddled: “Since we have such a good scripture, why is he only thinking of having me teach someone else, without even mentioning if I should practice it myself? Since I have to teach the fool, of course I need to study it thoroughly. If I secretly practice it while teaching him, it shouldn’t count as betraying my master’s teachings, right? Even if he finds out in the future, I’ll have an excuse, heh heh.”

With that thought, Liu Lanzhi no longer hesitated. She carefully pondered the mysterious scripture from beginning to end, and then tried to imitate the Daoist’s strange movements as depicted. Yet the page was so cryptic and obscure that, after several attempts, she still felt something was missing—there seemed to be errors in her understanding, or perhaps some part she hadn’t grasped correctly.

She brooded over it bitterly for some time but still found no solution. Feeling somewhat frustrated, she explained the scripture to Che Wuyou as best as she could. Che Wuyou, already overwhelmed by the complexity of the scripture, found himself even more lost after her explanation.

Regardless of whether Che Wuyou understood, Liu Lanzhi had him practice the Daoist’s strange movements from the scripture again and again with her.

The more Liu Lanzhi practiced, the more agitated she became. Normally, she could grasp the essence of a scripture after just one attempt, and even with more obscure manuals, a little pondering would bring sudden clarity. Even with a top-tier cultivation method like the Hundred Herbs Formula, she needed only a few attempts to reach the initial level. Yet the more she delved into this mysterious page, the more she felt at a loss.

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What kind of bizarre scripture was this? If just working through it once required such intense mental effort, how long would it take to reach the rudimentary, entry, minor completion, major completion, or even perfection stages? She found it unimaginable.

Liu Lanzhi frowned. Where exactly was the problem? With her talent, she rarely encountered setbacks like this, and the challenge only fueled her determination.

She scrutinized the page again, carefully analyzing the strange postures of the Daoist’s blurred figure. But the more she pondered, the more incomprehensible it became. She couldn’t help but mutter, “Strange, strange, something’s wrong. Why is it like this?”

Che Wuyou, watching Liu Lanzhi’s worried expression, felt anxious for her. He had rarely seen her so troubled. He wished to help, but seeing that even someone as gifted as Liu Lanzhi was stumped, he doubted that he, with his average aptitude, could do anything.

Time trickled by; the sun rose, reached its zenith, and then began to set. Che Wuyou saw Liu Lanzhi lost in thought and did not dare disturb her, waiting patiently as the sky gradually darkened. Liu Lanzhi remained motionless the whole day.

He quietly stepped closer and stood by her side. Seeing Liu Lanzhi still staring blankly at the Daoist’s forms in the scripture, he looked at the Daoist figure as well. Fortunately, Liu Lanzhi had already explained the general principles to him, and he had practiced the strange movements several times under her guidance. With the accompanying explanatory notes by the illustrations, after careful study, he began to faintly grasp their meaning.

A jolt of excitement ran through him as he studied further. Suddenly, an insight struck—was this the key? He pondered it seriously and found it wasn’t as obscure or difficult as he’d imagined; in fact, he seemed to faintly understand the crux, though he wasn’t entirely sure.

He couldn’t help recalling, “It took me a whole year to reach the threshold of the Hundred Herbs Formula, while Lanzhi understood it after only a few readings. The gap is enormous. Yet for this scripture, Lanzhi has been pondering it all day without a clue. Could my understanding really be correct?”

Che Wuyou carefully tested his insight, and, finding no flaw, began to practice according to his own understanding. At first, he felt nothing, but after several repetitions, a cool sensation arose around his body, leaving him feeling clear-headed and invigorated. Practicing a few more times, he sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him divide into two streams, each flowing along his arm’s meridians into his body.

Yet these streams did not enter his dantian, but instead circulated throughout his body’s meridians. Following the scripture’s instructions, Che Wuyou cautiously guided the energy, slowly refining his flesh and blood. As the refinement continued, a sense of power gradually welled up within him…

A long while later, Che Wuyou finally emerged from this state. He glanced at the handwritten page, marveling at its mysteries—it could draw in the energy of heaven and earth to temper the body, increasing its strength in such an extraordinary way. The only pity was that there was only this single page; who knew if there were subsequent ones?

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One had to admit, the creator of this scripture was truly an extraordinary figure. The energy of heaven and earth was notoriously volatile; every cultivator treated it with awe, and any energy drawn into the body was handled with utmost caution, lest disaster strike. Yet the author of this scripture dared to forcibly use such energy to temper the body—a bold and daring idea, truly a singular genius…

Che Wuyou looked up at Liu Lanzhi, who was still lost in thought. He was taken aback. How was it that someone as gifted as Liu Lanzhi could not grasp the key, while he could? Could it be that his own talent wasn’t so poor after all? But that seemed impossible.

Seeing Liu Lanzhi’s brows tightly knit, Che Wuyou felt a pang of sympathy and reached out to nudge her arm. Startled from her contemplation, Liu Lanzhi glared at him in displeasure and scolded, “What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you never to disturb me when I’m cultivating or meditating? Why are you so unruly?”

Seeing her arched brows and the brewing storm in her expression, Che Wuyou stammered, “I—I think—I might have found the key.”

Liu Lanzhi’s annoyed face flickered with confusion. “What key? You found it?”

Che Wuyou nodded nervously. Under her skeptical gaze, he mustered his courage and explained the difficulties he had discovered.

Though his understanding was still far more shallow than Liu Lanzhi’s, she listened in astonishment. When he finished, she finally showed a look of approval. “Not bad, not bad. You’re a teachable child. For you to reach this point is quite something. But you said you used ‘split intention’ to temper your body—how is that possible? A person’s will is a single whole. To divide it and control two streams of energy at once—is that even feasible?”

As she spoke, Liu Lanzhi followed Che Wuyou’s method and found that this time, her practice went smoothly; the two streams of energy moved in perfect harmony, without the slightest blockage. She looked at Che Wuyou in astonishment. “I really underestimated you. I didn’t think you’d come up with this. But to cultivate this way is extremely dangerous. Controlling two streams of energy simultaneously is fraught with peril. Without profound cultivation as a foundation, it’s impossible to succeed. If you fail, the consequences would be unthinkable…”