Chapter 7

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Mu continued to strengthen his physical body.

He had yet to acquire a method to unblock his aperture.

He had plenty of time to solidify his foundation.

Inhale!

Exhale!

He expelled a white fog that was several feet in length. It was like a curtain, blocking off the bed within his bedchamber.

Zhao Mu once again ended his meditation. His body felt light as his internal breath turned even purer.

Being so hardworking in his practice somehow made him relive the rush, the sense of achievement when he played a game overnight to pass a level.

Be it disciples of the major sects, or members of the Sacred Sects, most of them yearned for breaking through and advancing their cultivation stage.

Only a weirdo like Zhao Mu, who acquired such vast internal energy without any hard work, would seek for perfection to that extent.

“Things sure are getting rowdy over the past few days.”

Zhao Mu blinked, his eyes giving off a bright flash.

That was the visible mark of an abundance of internal energy.

The Emperor of Zhou had just lost a son, and the imperial court lost a marquis along with an army of 50 thousand soldiers.

The wolf riders of the Yuanmeng Empire had yet to retreat and were still harassing the borders.

Within the imperial court, the atmosphere was tense, awaiting the impending chaos.

The ministers were up in arms. Some wanted to start the war while some wanted a peace treaty.

However, all those had nothing to do with Zhao Mu. His life in the cold palace was not affected.

The only thing that annoyed him was the topic of his fate of bringing harm to his brothers and father was once again being brought up.

The gossip started and quickly spread throughout Tianjing City.

To the outside world, the imprisoned Zhao Mu had already transformed into a full fledged bringer of calamity.

“Trouble comes looking for me somehow,” he sighed helplessly.

Those busybodies just had to blame him for the Third Prince and Sixth Prince’s illness, even the Crown Prince’s illness due to the invasion of evil energy.

If they add the Fifth Prince’s passing to the blame, then it would further prove Astronomer Yuan Li’s fortune telling.

However, Zhao Mu felt indignant as well. He had done nothing other than staying quietly within the cold palace for over a dozen years.

He never even interacted with the Third Prince, Sixth Prince, Crown Prince, or even the Fifth Prince.

Although they were brothers, he never met them and had no interactions with them.

If Zhao Mu’s curse was so powerful, then he had nothing to say.

Luck and fate was a thing in that world.

However, pinning all calamities, anomalies, and strange happenings on a person’s fate being bad was just too ridiculous!

“I wonder if the emperor will send me to watch over the imperial tomb in Tong Province this time?”

Zhao Mu recalled that the Crown Prince had brought up the issue of exiling him from the imperial city.

Leaving the inner districts of the imperial city would be both beneficial and detrimental for him.

Although the cold palace was a prison, it was also a good place to imprint his Dao mark and sign in.

For the past three days, he had obtained several power boosting elixirs using the mysterious stone dial, gaining another 20 years worth of internal energy within his body.

With almost 60 years of pure Qi cleansing his body, it was akin to him ingesting spiritual medicine every day.

Even the Crown Prince might not receive such benefits.

“Why think so much? I should just calmly practice martial arts.”

Zhao Mu cleared the random thoughts in his mind and waited for midnight.

Recently, the imperial palace inner sanctum was in a gloomy atmosphere. The princes and princesses were mourning. He did not have the free time to visit the library.

That day, he had free time. Furthermore, not knowing if he would be exiled from the imperial city, the matter of signing in and imprinting Dao mark would have to be moved forward.

With the moon in the sky, a black figure once again zoomed out of Eternal Happiness Palace.

Zhao Mu moved as though he was flying, blending into the night.

Even an expert of the fifth Mortal Stage would find it difficult to detect his presence.

Ever since he reached the adept level for Presence Concealment Mantra, Zhao Mu’s Qi were hidden within him and his breathing was almost undetectable.

Outsiders would never know that he was a martial arts practitioner.

Zhao Mu strode in the chilling wind. He was like a phantom, stepping on roof tiles and ridges.

He climbed in through the window in a well practiced manner and headed straight for the fourth floor.

That floor was used to store various weapons and armors. The area was heavily clad in killing intent.

At an eye catching location, a painting several feet long was hung—Seasons of Rivers and Mountains.

The ink tone and brush strokes gave off an air of magnificence and grandeur.

With one look, one could tell that it was drawn by a famous artist.

Zhao Mu took a few glances, standing in place.

Within his mind, the mysterious stone dial suddenly started shaking and a line of text streamed out of it.

‘You’ve arrived at the library. Acquired Divine Sun and Moon Scriptures!’

‘Would you like to imprint?’

Zhao Mu nodded.

A high grade cultivation art was something he lacked.

It could help him unblock his aperture and acupoints to transform his true Qi!

He had heard of Divine Sun and Moon Scriptures in his previous life.

It appeared to have originated from Hong Kong’s manhua, Legend of the Emperors. It was the strongest technique used by generations of the Ming Sect’s leaders.

In terms of grade, it should not lose to the top grade secret arts of this world.

Buzz!

Zhao Mu closed his eyes. He silently savored the feeling of being infused by the mysterious technique, oblivious to the huge changes of the world outside the library!

Flashes of blinding golden light flowed out like a stream, creating a river and mountains painting that went on for thousands of miles!

Five of its peaks pierced through the clouds.

The river ran, splitting the continent.

It was both grand and beautiful!

It was like a long roll of painting that was unfurled, shadowing half the imperial city in an instant.

“Thousands of miles of mountains and rivers! What a grand phenomenon!”

A middle-aged burly man that walked out of the Hanging Arch Palace watched with great interest.

He was the brother of the Emperor of Zhou, a marquis with great authority.

“Is it the Crown Prince that managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage? Or perhaps…”

Marquis Zhao Kai stood outside the palace, speculating in silence with a solemn expression.

Imperial observatory, Tianjing City.

Below the 90 feet tall platform, Astronomer Yuan Li’s eyes were filled with shock.

His brows scrunched up into a frown, saying in a confused tone, “The emperor’s star is twinkling. What does this mean? Could it be… the marquis entered the palace and spooked the imperial dragon Qi?”

Astronomer Yuan Li, who was already at the Eighth Mortal Stage, the Spirit Transformation Stage, looked at the imperial city from afar.

He counted with his fingers, and the shock in his eyes grew.

The phenomena of the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains changed once again!

A majestic sun rose in all its glory, giving off its bright light and almost burnt Yuan Li’s eyes.

Following that, another cool crescent moon shot up into the sky, giving off a soft glow that illuminated the entire imperial city.

Sun and moon shared the same sky. One in the East, one in the West, each governing half the realm.

The grandeur of that weather phenomenon was beyond words.

“Could it be some great martial arts talent that reached the Foundation Establishment Stage and manifested the phenomenon in the sky?”

Astronomer Yuan Li retracted his gaze, enduring the stinging pain as he speculated.

The Zhou Kingdom had gone by several generations without seeing such a phenomenon.

Within the library, Zhao Mu, who caused the shocking scene, turned around and departed.

While the strange phenomenon was still being played out, he quickly returned to Eternal Happiness Palace.

Fortunately for him, the grand scenery and the strange signs of celestial bodies sharing the same sky covered half of the imperial city.

Even if the matter was investigated, it would take a long time before they linked it to him.

“Divine Sun and Moon Scripture…”

Back in his chamber, Zhao Mu took off his dark clothings. He bunched them into a ball and threw them into the three legged copper stove.

The charcoal was burning fiercely, creating a cloud of smoke.

“A martial art that could manifest strange phenomena? What grade would it be?”

After absorbing the experience from Huo Rulie, Zhao Mu gained some understanding of the various categorizations of the world.

Cultivation techniques were separated into common, high grade, secret art, divine art, and Dao canon.

Something that could move the essence of nature to manifest a phenomenon would be considered a divine art!

Throughout the several thousands of years within the Divine Continent, it only happened several times.

The Scattering Flowers of Mount Meru!

The Son of Yama of the Forsaken God Cult!

Dancing Star Melody of the Yin Summit Academy!

Ancient Azure Skies of Purple Firmament Palace!

North Star and Altair of the Nine Swords Peak!

Crying Gods of the Six Demonic Sects!

The strange phenomena in the records were all manifested at the six sacred grounds with no exception.

“They need to add one more now.”

Zhao Mu was elated. The drawing within the library must have had some exceptional background.

Otherwise, how would he imprint a divine art out of it?

“Divine Sun and Moon Scripture, Qi of Yin and Yang?”

Zhao Mu sat on the bed in the lotus position, absorbing the martial arts essence that was infused into his mind.

A small golden figure that seemed to be a replica of himself lectured him and provided guidance.

The Qi within his body started circulating on its own, cycling around his body, stimulating his acupoints.

Dong! Dong! Dong—

It felt as though someone was hitting the drum with sounds that moved heaven and earth.

Zhao Mu could hear the loud sounds in his ears. Following that, it was as though he had broken through some form of barrier.

The sound of ants and falling leaves were clearly picked up by his ears.

His nose had also picked up smells of cedar wood, charcoal, and the burning clothes.

Zhao Mu followed the mantra and stuck his tongue to the roof of his mouth while he salivated.

Like streams of spiritual spring, his vitality and strength grew.

“Mouth, nose, ears, eyes…all nine apertures unblocked in an instant! This is truly a technique at the divine art level!”

After circulating it for one cycle, Zhao Mu suddenly opened his eyes.

Within the pitch black room, a flash of bright light seemed to appear like lightning.

He broke through once more.

Third Mortal Stage.