Chapter 6

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

‘Imprint.’

With just a thought from Zhao Mu, the mysterious stone dial emitted a bright light.

Despite him having mentally prepared for it, the torrential flow of the massive mental energy still made him feel a little overwhelmed.

It felt like being hit with a sledgehammer on the head.

Ouch!

Zhao Mu gasped deeply as his body trembled slightly.

It took him several minutes to recover from the daze.

He was only at the second Mortal Stage while Spiritual Transformation was the eighth stage.

The gap between them was undeniably huge.

If not for that person only leaving behind a tiny shred of lingering will, along with the help of the mysterious stone dial, Zhao Mu would not have attempted it.

“Huo Rulie?”

Zhao Mu was processing the vast memories of that person’s life in his mind.

‘Huo Rulie, guardian of Longevity Hall. Died to Diamond Palm by Monk Nothingness of the Heavenly Dragon Temple.’

‘Eighth Mortal Stage, Spiritual Transformation Expert. Proficient arts: Presence Concealment Mantra, Tiger Crane Fists, Nine Revival Technique…’

“So he’s really a member of the demonic sects.’

Zhao Mu observed carefully. That booklet was stuffed at the bottom of the book rack as a place mat, showing no signs of movements.

It seemed the mysterious stone dial’s imprinting of mental energy to extract memories would not be noticed by others.

At least it was not noticeable by an Eighth Mortal Stage Spiritual Transformation Expert.

From Huo Rulie’s lingering will, Zhao Mu learned the names of the six demonic sects.

Blood Soul Sect, Deathless Hall, Scarlet Heart Cult, Nether Sect, Hidden Bone Mountain, and Nascent Spirit Palace.

They were the six different lineages of the demonic sects.

Of the six, the Deathless Hall sought after immortality.

They regard the physical body as merely clothing that could be swapped around, and one’s mind and soul was the only hope to break free from mortal suffering.

Because of that, they placed great importance on spiritual training.

The Nine Revival Technique that Huo Rulie cultivated was a type of extraordinary spirit tempering art that would allow one to survive dangerous encounters.

The riskier the encounter, the more it would stimulate one’s Qi and boost cultivation.

‘Therefore, the members of Deathless Hall are a bunch of people that loved to court death?’ Zhao Mu thought to himself in shock.

Judging from the memories of Huo Rulie’s lingering will, the moment the disciples of Deathless Hall enter society, they love to provoke other sects and stir up trouble.

Chaos and bloodshed would follow wherever they went.

They were a bunch of lunatics, bringer of calamity that people tried hard to avoid.

30 years ago, Hu Rulie tried to steal the Heavenly Dragon Temple’s Diamond Indestructible Art and was killed by Monk Nothingness with nine palm strikes.

Essentially, he caused his own death.

“These weird arts actually exist!” Zhao Mu exclaimed in astonishment.

However, in Huo Rulie’s lingering will, the records of Nine Revival Technique were incomplete.

Of course, Zhao Mu had no interest in such an art that required him to live on a sword’s edge.

Stability was the way to go. It would be best to be like the Sword God of Ten Miles Slope1, venturing out on the day he became unbeatable.

Therefore, Zhao Mu felt that the randomly obtained Presence Concealment Mantra was more practical.

Huo Rulie relied on that amazing art to infiltrate the Heavenly Dragon Temple for five whole years without being noticed.

It was a janitorial monk that discovered him when he snuck into the library, leading to the leader of Arhat Hall being alerted to the situation. If not for that, he would not have been beaten to death in such a tragic manner.

“Conceal all presence, let the mind be still.”

Zhao Mu memorized the mantra and imprinted it on his mind.

As for the Tiger Crane Fists that Huo Rulie was so proud of, he merely gave it a quick glance and did not continue further.

It only had a total of 81 moves. It was much weaker when compared to Tiger Demon Bone Refinement Fist!

It appeared that the martial arts of this world focused more on Qi essence, growth of internal energy, and absorption.

They cared less in the aspects of strengthening the body and tempering it through internal and external means.

“This person doesn’t have any evil intention. He’s only trying to use Little Yuan to get another chance at revival.”

After reading through Huo Rulie’s memories from his lingering will, Zhao Mu let out a sigh of relief.

This world had the concept of the cycle of reincarnation as well.

It is said that after death, one’s soul would enter the Nether World.

Just like Huo Rulie. His physical body was destroyed, and only a shred of lingering will was left behind.

Either his mental imprint fades away over time and disappears for good, or he manages to be sustained by incense and retain his consciousness, which can later look for a good family to be born into.

‘I wonder if you’re the lucky one, or Little Yuan,’ Zhao Mu thought to himself as his gaze shifted.

His brother would surely avoid a lot of erroneous paths with the guidance of a Spiritual Transformation Expert. 

If Huo Rulie worked hard without evil thoughts, it would not be hard for him to use the power from incense to maintain his shred of lingering will for reincarnation.

Compared to plotting and scheming, that was the true win-win scenario.

Seeing that his goals had been completed, Zhao Mu jumped out of the window and departed.

By the time he returned to the bed chamber of Eternal Happiness Hall, dawn was near as the edge of the horizon started brightening up.

After an entire night without sleep, Zhao Mu somehow felt fully energized.

Eighth level of the Mortal Stage. The martial arts experience of a Spiritual Transformation Expert opened his eyes, broadening his knowledge and vision greatly in an instant.

It was as though he had just jumped out of his little pond and discovered a whole new world.

“I see. This world is so interesting. It’s even bigger and more magnificent than the scenery I’ve read from the books.”

Zhao Mu sat on the bed, feeling his emotions going wild.

After anticipating for some time, he composed himself and shut his eyes.

Between his breaths, the 30 years of vast internal energy rumbled along and coursed through his entire body, giving him a warm feeling.

No matter what the outside world was like, focusing on his martial arts training was the way to go.

After acquiring Huo Rulie’s life experience, it helped enlighten Zhao Mu, who knew little about martial arts.

“There are actually so many things regarding the third Mortal Stage of Unblocking Aperture.”

Zhao Mu’s heart trembled. According to Huo Rulie’s thoughts, the Unblocking Aperture Stage was an extremely important gateway.

Within the human body, there were nine main apertures and 81 acupoints.

They need to be stimulated with internal energy to unblock each point and then nurture the aperture and acupoints throughout the body.

With that, it would circulate on its own and form a Qi cycle.

That was equivalent to meditating day and night to strengthen one’s Qi blood.

The mark of its completion was the transformation of internal energy into true Qi.

At that stage, one could mold iron like mud, smash apart rock columns, and tear wild beasts apart with ease.

“With higher grade aperture unblocking cultivation methods, the refined true Qi will be stronger.”

Zhao Mu contemplated. If he did not have any high grade cultivation method and the transformed true Qi turned out to be weak, then it would be extremely difficult for him to advance further in the future.

For example, Huo Rulie’s Nine Revival Technique allowed him to refine a strand of True Revival Qi. 

No matter how bad the injuries, he could still be saved as long as he held a breath of life. That gave him an extremely strong life force.

“I’ll go check out the library again tomorrow night.”

Zhao Mu decided as he placed both his hands on his knees.

After resting quietly for a moment, the sky turned bright. Suddenly, he heard some faint noises coming from outside.

“What’s going on?”

Zhao Mu got out of his bed chamber. He saw the eunuchs and maids of Eternal Happiness Palace looking pale, as though they just overheard some bad news.

Seeing the Tenth Prince being alerted, the servants quickly knelt down.

They had a complicated look in their eyes, mixed with a hint of fear.

It was as though Zhao Mu had contracted some sort of infectious disease that they wanted to stay away from.

“R-R-Reporting to the Tenth Prince,” one of the old eunuchs said in a trembling voice. He added in a stutter, “T-T-The Fifth Prince…Hong1!” 

The Fifth Prince?

Zhao Mu frowned slightly and tried to recall.

Zhao Cheng, was it?

He remembered that brother was talented in martial arts. He was a natural born commander material and was highly favored by the emperor.

In recent years, he showed signs of outshining the Crown Prince.

Apart from the pitiful duo, Zhao Mu and Zhao Yuan, who had nobody to rely on, the other princes could be separated into three factions.

The Eastern Palace’s faction with the Crown Prince at its lead.

They held great power within the imperial court, garnering the protection from many old officials.

Meanwhile, the Fifth Prince formed his own faction.

Because of his outstanding martial arts and ability to lead an army, he was respected among the military commanders.

According to rumors, the Fifth Prince was sworn brothers and had excellent ties with Fang Chengyun, who was the son of Fourth Marquis Fang. He was also the commanding general of the Divine Strategy Battalion. 

Last but not least, was the young Ninth Prince.

He was under 20 years of age, but had been granted the title of Duke, ruling over an entire province.

Rumors outside claimed that he was well connected to the rich families. Furthermore, his mother was from the Cui clan of Qinghe County, another force that should not be underestimated.

All in all, the past few years of power shifts in the imperial court were mostly caused by the fights between those three factions.

“Fifth Brother is still in his prime. How did he…” Zhao Mu asked briefly.

Hong [2] was a term used for the death of a prince or marquis.

It was recorded in the Classic of Rites: Death of an emperor, Beng. Death of Princes and Marquis, Hong. Death of ministers, Zu. Death of commoners, Si.

The Fifth Prince was already an expert of the Qi Refinement Stage, achieving the state of unity and impervious to poison. How could he die so easily?

“The Yuanmeng Empire attacked our borders. The Fifth Prince was ambushed at the Yongxue Pass.”

The eunuch did not know much and could only provide a vague answer.

The Fifth Prince most likely went to patrol the borders at the request of the emperor.

Coincidentally, it was met with the Yuanmeng Empire’s attack on the borders, launching their attack on Yongxue Pass.

With the collision of both parties, the Fifth Prince was not the only one that met his demise from the ambush.

Marquis Yang Kezhong had also lost his life in service to the kingdom, along with 50 thousand soldiers.

It was a huge loss!

That piece of news had already reached Tianjing City and caused unrest.

“Is this the start of a war?”

Zhao Mu raised his head in contemplation.