Chapter 9

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the blink of an eye, another half a month went by.

Zhao Mu’s daily routine was to imprint his Dao mark and acquire foreign items.

He had already collected several bottles of Qi condensing elixirs, meridien nurturing elixirs, and the likes.

Meanwhile, materialistic things like gold and silver were in abundance.

The Eternal Happiness Palace was too desolate, leaving him only a few places to sign in.

Apart from elixirs, gold, and silver, there was nothing else.

Even the special abilities he obtained some time ago did not appear anymore.

However, after acquiring the aperture unblocking art, Zhao Mu was content.

Condensing true Qi and breaking through cultivation stages went on without a hitch.

That day, he was alone in the meditation chamber.

His body leaned into the wooden armchair and placed both hands on by the side.

With a straight back, he breathed evenly as though he was taking a nap.

Although it seemed perfectly relaxed, he was making internal adjustments.

His entire body’s muscles were like a mesh of steel fibers, slowly intertwining into a strong force.

With almost 60 years of internal energy running through his body, the acupoints on his body were opened one after another, being refined.

“Done.”

15 minutes later, Zhao Mu let out a deep breath.

With the rush of Qi, his slightly flushed face quickly returned to its normal state.

At that point, the nine external apertures and 81 internal acupoints were unblocked.

The joins and acupoints were fully opened.

What remained was for his Qi to transform into true Qi. It was the tedious process of nurturing one’s body.

“Cultivation is like climbing a mountain. The higher it gets, the harder it is,” Zhao Mu lamented.

He used one night to form the shape, but 10 days to temper his body to completion.

As of then, it took him half a month to achieve the Unblocking Aperture Stage.

How much time would it take for the following stages of the 10 Mortal Stages?

“True Qi is the vitality of the human body. Compared to internal energy, it’s on a higher level.”

Zhao Mu felt it with his heart.

He fused the ‘education’ he received from Hu Rulie and the theories presented by Monk Yuankong and came to a conclusion.

Internal energy was just a formless Qi that traveled along the meridians. It could stimulate the human body and bring out its potential.

It was not an innate thing, but rather something acquired.

Fundamentally, Qi would connect the meridians, then using breathing methods to utilize the strength in one’s body, turning Qi into a force, and from there, creating all sorts of miraculous results.

For example, cutting others with a petal, or hitting an opponent over long distances.

One could also go the path of endurance training, covering one’s body with energy, resulting in an iron-like body that would be resistant to blades.

All in all, internal energy was a fusion of Qi and force.

A fusion of internal Qi and physical force.

It could increase someone’s strength, lighten the body, and increase one’s speed.

Meanwhile, true Qi was different.

It was an innate Qi, the essence of one’s life.

It originates from the sea of Qi within one’s dantian, also known as the foundation of life. It was where the essence, Qi, and soul reside.

Once the true Qi is formed, its essence would nurture one’s vitality and prolong one’s lifespan to 120 years.

‘Unblock the apertures and acupoints within the body, then transform the internal energy into true Qi. With that, this stage is complete.’

Zhao Mu frowned slightly, as though in deep thoughts.

To cultivate Divine Sun and Moon Scriptures, one had to manifest two distinctive Qi.

One was the Primordial Yang Qi, and the other the Mysterious Yin Qi.

The former would be strong and firm, capable of refining a pure Yang physique.

The latter would be extremely dark and cold. Yin was born from the end of Yang, creating an endless cycle.

With both complementing each other, his true Qi would be endlessly generating.

“As expected of a divine art level martial art. A combination of Yin and Yang, forming a circuit of its own, cycling around the body.”

Zhao Mu concluded.

After refining both Yin and Yang Qi, even without considering its quality, the miraculous attribute of its endlessness was sufficient to show its power.

At least he would no longer need to worry about being stuck in a group fight and run of true Qi.

During that time, the more he studied the Divine Sun and Moon Scriptures, the more he lamented the grandeur of martial arts and the wonders of a human body.

‘The first step, transforming internal energy to form true Qi.’

Zhao Mu thought internally to start from the Primordial Yang Qi. He would start with forming a shred of true Qi before worrying about anything else.

…

The Eastern Palace…

Within a warm chamber, a gentle young man was lying comfortably on a huge and soft bed.

He was wearing a black fox fur coat with sea dragon patterns along its edges that were both stunning and gave off an air of nobility.

However, his appearance was overly mundane and lacked some flair.

The two maids beside the soft bed were each holding onto the handle of a small and elegant three-legged bronze incense burner. Within them were Rui Charcoal sent as tribute from the small kingdom of Western Liang. 

It was bluish-green and tough as iron. When burnt, it glowed without producing any flames.

According to the records, each Rui Charcoal piece was over a foot long and could burn for 10 days. Its heat would also make it unapproachable.

It was something limited to the use of nobilities within the inner sanctum of the imperial city.

“Regarding that miraculous phenomenon with wide expanse, and the sun and moon sharing the same sky, is there any news from the Hanging Arch Palace?”

The young man asked nonchalantly in a lazy tone.

The warm chamber had heating tunnels built under it and bronze burners Rui Charcoal. One would not sense the slightest hint of chill in there.

However, after sitting in it for some time, one would inadvertently feel sleepy.

“High Majesty invited Marquis Zhao Kai and Astronomer Yuan Li to his court, but they don’t seem to have any clue,” replied an old eunuch with a hoarse voice.

“Even the imperial astronomer couldn’t figure it out?”

The young man was slightly surprised. He waved the maids around him away.

Yuan Li was the chief imperial astronomer that helped the Zhou Kingdom calculate the course of the country and make divination for the imperial family.

Whenever there were warfare or ceremonies, he would be the one in charge.

Apart from his cultivation at the Spiritual Transformation Stage, he was also proficient in the art of aura divination. 

He was truly a talented person.

“Eunuch Chen led a team to search the inner districts of the imperial city but couldn’t find anything.”

The old eunuch was well informed and reported honestly.

“Eunuch Shen, do you think there’s something amiss?”

The young man sat upright, seemingly growing interested.

“What could hide from Father’s knowledge within the inner district of the imperial city? That phenomenon was so grand and majestic. It surely has something to do with the imperial family.

“However, why would Father go through the trouble of summoning Marquis Zhao Kai, the imperial astronomer, and have Chen Chaoen that old…search the imperial city, yet found nothing. It doesn’t make sense.”

The young man spoke in an unrestrained manner, talking about those people in such a brazen manner.

It could only be the owner of the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince of Zhou Kingdom himself.

“Your Highness, are you trying to say that His Majesty knows about the source of that phenomenon, but is trying to keep quiet about it?” 

The old eunuch known as Eunuch Shen asked in confusion.

That man was like an old withered tree. His skinny body propping up the purple robe around him.

His movements seemed so hollow that he looked like a ghost whose feet did not touch the ground.

“I heard my mother mention that during the founding of Zhou Kingdom, to assure the throne is blessed, our great ancestors secretly formed a group of Dragon Guardians to search for the martial arts of each sect, hoping to nurture their own experts. It was to prevent the various sects and sacred grounds from threatening us and maintaining imperial order within the kingdom.

When speaking of the taboo topic, the young man subconsciously lowered his voice.

“Fifty years ago, the master of Phags-pa, Yuanmeng Empire’s previous living Buddha, Master Zhizhu, brought the eight divisions of Great Boundless Palace and attacked us all the way to Tianjing City’s walls. Even the Heavenly Dragon Temple’s monk could not hold them back. In the end, he was stopped by an unknown Innate Grandmaster… To date, this secret is known to few.”

“Eunuch Shen, do you think that person might be the one who triggered the phenomenon?”

The old eunuch’s eyes twitched, then bowed. “That’s impossible.”

“Phags-pa from the Yuanmeng Empire is ranked fifth on the ranking board. His martial arts is at an unfathomable level.

“Not long ago, the wolf riders of the plains once again attacked our borders. The Fifth Prince and Marquis Yang Kezhong lost their lives at Yongxue Pass… If the Zhou Kingdom starts a war, I’m afraid we can’t bear the cost. However, if we signed an alliance treaty just like that, it would make us look bad and be looked down upon by the other nations.”

The young man nodded, then said, “That’s why Father made such a huge scene! One is to have the Yuanmeng Empire know that we’re not to be taken lightly. As for the other reason…perhaps he’s trying to put me and Little Nine in place.”

The old eunuch thought that it was reasonable and nodded in agreement.

The young man touched the jade thumb ring and said in a low voice, “I’ve just only told the Household Administration of Crown Prince1 and Teacher Yuan that the imperial court won’t easily declare war. We have the downfall of the previous dynasty as an example. The Zhou Kingdom can’t repeat its mistakes.

“Moreover, Phags-pa is one of the few Innate Grandmasters in the world, only one step away from being a Human Immortal.

“With him guarding over the Great Boundless Palace and leading the Yuanmeng Empire’s various divisions in the plains, even if the Zhou Kingdom put in everything, it might not have much of an impact.”

Eunuch Shen sighed, lamenting, “Your Highness has such great wisdom and ambitions, yet is unable to utilize them.”

“The rich families, sacred grounds, and sects have plenty of experts, especially the Six Sacred Grounds of the Divine Continent. They each have their own Innate Grandmaster to guard over their sects, giving them the galls to go against the imperial law and ignore the rulings of the imperial court.”

The young man’s brows carried a hint of worry as he agreed, “The further one goes on the path of martial arts, the more one understands the terror of an Innate Grandmaster.”

“Unfortunately, I’m unable to establish my foundation after all this time, unable to manifest my innate root bone. This is as far as I’ll go for in this life.”

“If I had the talent for martial arts and a rare physique to be the first martial arts based emperor, I’d suppress the rich families, destroy the sacred grounds! How great would that be?!”

Eunuch Shen quickly shut up, unwilling to destroy the wonderful dreams of his master.

Using his own strength, and the strength of the nation to subdue the entire Divine Continent!

Through the times, when will such a chosen one be born?

“Forget it. Let’s drop the topic.”

The young man waved, then walked up to the door of the warming chamber. He looked in the direction of Eternal Happiness Palace.

“I heard that Father is planning to send that cursed child to Tong Province to watch over the tomb? He sure got away easy!”

Eunuch Shen remained silent. He knew the Crown Prince hated his brother in the cold palace.

It was because of the birth of the Tenth Prince that the Crown Prince’s body was infected with evil Qi for no reason, causing him to be unconscious for ten full days.

If not for Astronomer Yuan Li saving his life, he would most likely be dead.

He cared for things related to him, but at the same time, also deeply hated things that harmed him.

“That cursed child sure is hardy, managing to survive fifteen years in the cold palace.”

The young man seemed to have thought of something and snickered, “That Eternal Happiness Palace was the Eastern Palace of the Crown Prince from that fallen dynasty. It was burnt down one night with several hundred dead and injured, then later abandoned…”

“When the imperial astronomer supervised the construction of the imperial city, he once said that the place was filled with heavy killing intent that could eat away at one’s bones, making it uninhabitable. That’s why previous generations of emperors did not rebuild that section for use.”

Eunuch Shen’s murky eyes looked around as his heart trembled. 

If he understood the Crown Prince’s words correctly, the reason His Majesty sent the Tenth Prince to the cold palace was to leave him to his fate.

“It’s too bad that the cursed child’s life force is so great, having managed to survive that.”

The young man lamented while shaking his head, “However, with the cold Qi seeping into his bone, his road in martial arts is sealed. He’s as good as a cripple for the rest of his life.”

Thinking about Zhao Mu’s pitiful imprisonment in the cold palace for 15 years, he did not even feel like suppressing or humiliating him.

Why would a noble like himself bother stepping on a dirty mud puddle?

“Now that Old Five is gone, only Little Nine can compete with me.”

The young man looked over the imperial city, the fires of his ambitions burning fiercely in his eyes.

The vast territory of the Zhou Kingdom was destined to be his.

—