Chapter 43: Chapter 42: My Family
With Chu Hongshang successfully becoming Shi Xueyan’s disciple, the plot, under Chen Yuan’s manipulation, had come full circle.
The only thing that had changed was perhaps the Wang Family of South Mountain City.
This time, Chen Yuan had dragged the Wang Family out to be a scapegoat, nearly scaring them to death.
Some Jianghu people overheard the conversation between Shi Xueyan and Chu Hongshang, and word began to spread.
At the same time, someone recognized Shi Xueyan, and the Wang Family instantly panicked.
They had never expected Chu Hongshang to have survived, while the Zhu Family was wiped out first.
On top of that, Chu Hongshang had even become Shi Xueyan’s disciple and joined the Ten Thousand Demon Sect.
With such hatred for the Wang Family, once her cultivation reached a certain level, wouldn’t it spell the day their entire family was exterminated?
So, after several months of panic, the Wang Family decided to flee the Beihai Collection, even going so far as to change their names and abandon their ancestry.
Of course, that was all a story for another time.
The matter at the Beihai Collection had come to a close, but Chen Yuan did not leave.
He planned to cultivate the Inner Vision God Observation Method and first resolve the latent danger of his uncontrollable Blood Fiend Power.
The Demon Sealing Conference was still a month away, so Chen Yuan had plenty of time to prepare.
The Inner Vision God Observation Method was quite peculiar. It wasn’t an Inner Power, nor was it a Martial Technique. Strictly speaking, it was a Secret Technique for developing one’s own potential.
The core philosophy of the Creation Daoist Sect was to first master one’s own nature, and then use that mastery to control the nature of heaven and earth.
The outside world was a macrocosm, while the human body was a microcosm.
The human body was incomparably profound. The upper Dantian, located at the crown of the head, was called the Rising Sun Mansion or Kunlun Peak. It was the location of the Spirit Platform’s mystic gate—the spiritual root of heaven and earth, the sea of consciousness.
The middle Dantian resided at the Shanzhong point, a region stretching from below Chengjiang down twelve levels to the Yellow Court. Here, the five viscera and six bowels each performed their function, forming the very foundation of the body.
The lower Dantian, located below the navel, was called the Qi Sea. It was the storehouse of life, where the water of the kidneys and the fire of the heart, the dragon and the tiger, converged. It governed the balance of Yin and Yang and was the location of the mystic gate of life and death.
The Creation Daoist Sect believed that the reason most people could not escape birth, aging, sickness, and death was simply because they lived in a muddle, never truly mastering the mysteries of their own bodies.
Therefore, one had to cultivate the Inner Vision God Observation Method, treating one’s own body as a ’divinity’ to be cultivated, thereby gaining complete control over the microcosm within.
Supplemented by the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill to grasp the nature of the macrocosm, one could break through the mystic gate of life and death, attain an indestructible divine form, and achieve immortality.
After carefully studying the Inner Vision God Observation Method, Chen Yuan found the first half utterly convincing, but the final claim of immortality seemed a bit exaggerated.
Even in the Ancient Era, the legendary and powerful Divine Demons had been unable to achieve true immortality.
How many heroes and prodigies of the Jianghu had ultimately turned to dust?
The so-called immortality was merely the ultimate goal of the Creation Daoist Sect, but in the end, even up to the point their lineage died out, no one had ever succeeded.
And after he began to formally cultivate the Inner Vision God Observation Method, Chen Yuan finally understood why the Creation Daoist Sect’s lineage had ultimately been extinguished.
Because the threshold to practice this thing was absurdly high!
The very first step, Introspection of the upper, middle, and lower Dantians, required an exceptionally high level of comprehension.
Subsequently, the Inner Vision Divine Observation and the step-by-step mastery of the body’s profound mysteries demanded an unprecedentedly powerful spirit from the cultivator.
Otherwise, a single misstep could easily lead to disordered meridians and a descent into madness.
Fortunately, the body Chen Yuan inhabited possessed astonishing talent and comprehension, which was the only reason he could even attempt to cultivate the Inner Vision God Observation Method.
The Chu Family’s ancestors had been disciples of the Creation Daoist Sect, but they likely hadn’t been able to cultivate the Inner Vision God Observation Method either. Otherwise, the Chu Family would never have fallen into such a state.
It wasn’t necessarily a good thing for a Cultivation Technique to have such a high entry barrier, as it made it incredibly difficult to pass down.
In the Central Plains Jianghu, the Cultivation Techniques of both Sects and Noble Families had been passed down and refined for generations. They were all designed to be simple at the start and grow in complexity, with a low barrier to entry but a high potential ceiling.
Such Cultivation Techniques were far more suitable for top-tier powers to use as their legacy arts.
Otherwise, no matter how powerful the Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts were, if only one or two people in a Sect of thousands could practice them, it was easy for the lineage to be broken.
The Cultivation Techniques of the Creation Daoist Sect were exactly like this—the starting requirements were too high.
In the Central Plains, they could at least rely on the massive population to find talented disciples.
But Overseas, the population was sparse and scattered across numerous islands, making the search for disciples even more arduous. Thus, the Creation Daoist Sect’s lineage gradually died out, and its remaining descendants chose to return to the Central Plains.
However, while the Inner Vision God Observation Method had a high barrier to entry, its effects were exceptionally wondrous.
After cultivating for only a single day and achieving preliminary mastery, Chen Yuan felt his control over his body increase dramatically.
Both his five senses and his explosive power had improved by a huge margin.
Furthermore, when he next channeled his killing intent and the Blood Fiend Entering the Body occurred, he could now gradually control his surging Qi Blood to suppress the Blood Fiend, rather than being swept away by it and having his Qi Blood burn away uncontrollably.
Previously, Chen Yuan could only maintain the state of Blood Fiend Entering the Body for about five breaths. Now, he could manage nearly thirty.
And that was just the completely safe duration. If he were in a true life-or-death battle, the Blood Fiend wouldn’t spiral out of control for up to a hundred breaths, and he could still suppress it afterward.
The only issue was that exceeding thirty breaths would cause some damage to his meridians, as they couldn’t withstand the rampaging Blood Fiend.
As his mastery of the Inner Vision God Observation Method deepened, it was only a matter of time before Chen Yuan could completely control the Blood Fiend Power from the Seven Kills Stele.
Chen Yuan also consumed and refined the Blazing Extreme Qi Condensing Pill he had taken from the Zhu Family.
An elixir produced by a top Major Sect like this had virtually no side effects. The medicinal power entered his body as subtly as a gentle rain, smoothly and powerfully bolstering his Inner Strength.
After a few cycles of cultivation, Chen Yuan’s Inner Strength True Qi surged. Aided by the elixir, he broke through directly into the Qi Casting Realm Middle Stage.
"This Inner Vision God Observation Method truly lives up to its Celestial Level status."
Chen Yuan let out a long breath and sighed with emotion.
Although he had relied on the elixir to break through to the Qi Casting Realm Middle Stage, the Inner Vision God Observation Method had actually played the most crucial role.
The Blazing Extreme Qi Condensing Pill was extremely effective for Martial Artists in the Blood Movement Realm, but for those in the Qi Casting Realm, it was merely a daily supplement for cultivation. A single pill was not enough to advance a minor realm.
Chen Yuan had broken through because the Inner Vision God Observation Method had given him preliminary control over his body’s profound mysteries.
He now had a perfect grasp of the workings of his meridians and acupoints, which was equivalent to re-unlocking his own potential. This process had actually left his body feeling somewhat drained of power.
Thus, when he consumed the elixir, it filled this void, allowing him to break through to the Qi Casting Realm Middle Stage as a natural consequence.
While this Secret Technique couldn’t directly increase his strength and had no offensive power, simply by achieving preliminary mastery and gaining control over his body’s mysteries, both his cultivation speed and his command over other Martial Techniques would skyrocket.
Once his cultivation stabilized, Chen Yuan finally set out for the Sealed Demon Valley to prepare for the Demon Sealing Conference.
Cultivating the Inner Vision God Observation Method was not something that could be accomplished overnight. For now, Chen Yuan’s preliminary mastery was sufficient.
From now on, he would need to observe his inner landscape daily, develop his body’s profound mysteries, and gradually master the divinity within. Once he reached Great Success, the Blood Fiend would no longer spiral out of control.
Three days after Chen Yuan left the Beihai Collection, five Jianghu people appeared in the marketplace. They wore golden brocade robes and Golden Feather Phoenix Crowns, and rode upon fiery red Divine Steeds.
The five exuded an overwhelming aura of nobility. Their Divine Steeds were clearly rare Exotic Divine Steeds, and the Sword and Saber Scabbards at their waists were exquisitely ornate, marking them as members of a top-tier power.
"Junior Brother Zhu, I hear you were born here in the Beihai Collection?"
One of the five, a Martial Artist in his thirties with a pair of finely-trimmed mustaches, asked the question.
"That’s right. Not far from the Beihai Collection is a place called Lonely Mountain City. That’s where my Zhu Family is located."
"This little Beihai Collection doesn’t have much to offer, aside from some novel fish and other seafood."
"My senior brothers, you must be weary from the road. Why don’t we go to my Zhu Family’s home to rest for a while? You can try the local delicacies before we continue on."
A young Martial Artist of about twenty-four or twenty-five invited them with a smile.
He bore a slight resemblance to Zhu Cheng’an but was younger and more handsome. This was none other than the fifth son of the Zhu Family, Zhu Chengzong, who had joined the Major Sect of Yong Province, the Blazing Sect.
"Junior Brother Zhu, you haven’t been home in so long. There’s no reason to pass by your own doorstep without going in."
The senior brother smiled and said, "We still have two months until the Murong Ancestor’s birthday celebration. We can certainly rest at Junior Brother Zhu’s home for a few days. What do you all think?"
The other disciples of the Blazing Sect present did not object, and all voiced their agreement.
They were all from the Direct Lineage of the Blazing Sect, but Zhu Chengzong’s master was an extremely powerful Elder within the Sect, so they were willing to give him this bit of face.
And so, with Zhu Chengzong leading the way, the group passed through the Beihai Collection and headed straight for Lonely Mountain City.
As they passed along the central road of the Beihai Collection, Zhu Chengzong noticed a bloodstain on the ground.
The heads of the Zhu Family had been left there for days until they began to stink. They had only been cleared away two days prior.
Had Zhu Chengzong arrived two days earlier, he might have been able to recover intact bodies for his family.
At that moment, he simply assumed it was a bloodstain left behind by some Jianghu People who had fought and been injured on the road, so he paid it no mind.
As he made his way back to Lonely Mountain City, however, Zhu Chengzong felt that something was strange.
The expressions of the people coming and going in Lonely Mountain City changed slightly upon seeing him, and they looked at him with extremely odd gazes.
Everyone in Lonely Mountain City knew that he had joined the Blazing Sect, and the Zhu Family itself had already become the sole hegemon of the city.
So, whenever he returned, everyone in the city would rush to offer greetings and bows, eager to flatter and curry favor with him.
But this time, not a single person greeted or bowed to him. In fact, it felt as if they were avoiding him like the plague.
For some reason, an ominous feeling crept into Zhu Chengzong’s heart.
When he finally arrived back at the Zhu Family Manor, the color drained from Zhu Chengzong’s face.
The once-magnificent Zhu Family Manor was now dilapidated and in ruins. Bloodstains were splattered all around, and even the gold-inlaid plaque above the entrance had been torn down.
A faint stench of rot and decay wafted from within the manor, and the vague outlines of numerous corpses could be seen lying inside.
Chen Yuan hadn’t looted much from the Zhu Family.
But after the Zhu Family’s destruction, those who held grudges against them, along with other bold opportunists, had entered the Zhu Family Manor to plunder it, carrying away everything of value before immediately fleeing Lonely Mountain City.
In any case, with so many people involved in the looting, they were confident Zhu Chengzong would never be able to track them down even if he returned.
The senior brother from the Blazing Sect glanced at the Zhu Family Manor and shook his head slightly. "It looks like there was a tragic family annihilation in Lonely Mountain City not long ago. The entire family must have been wiped out, not a single one left. There isn’t even anyone to collect the bodies. I wonder which family was so unfortunate?"
Zhu Chengzong stared with lifeless eyes at the devastated Zhu Family Manor. "Mine."
His senior brother was speechless.
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