981 A Strange Journey

Inside the quiet meditation room, Meng Qi who was sitting on the low bed showed a strange emptiness, as though he existed in this place but yet seemed far away. The Haotian Mirror fragment in his hand, though black and shineless, illuminated ever-changing layers of countless universes, glimmering and showing all states of life in an instant.

Different from the normal Legendary path, Meng Qi already had no additional self, hence couldn't rely on methods such as assimilating, enlightening, communicating, and containing them to form a projection, hence strengthening the link, bringing qualitative change from accumulating volume, becoming the only one in all worlds, being everywhere and using the projection to mobilize the corresponding universe's sea of energy. He could only create from scratch a marking belonging to his self, which covered subtle links, and use it to replace his additional self to communicate with and control different universes.

However, Meng Qi was still clueless about the type of marking that he should leave behind to conform to the projection characteristics of self in the corresponding universe, fit the source and build subtle links, and also how to leave behind the marking. He could only explore as he moved forward.

And relying on the specificity of the Haotian Mirror fragment itself could do more with less!

As his consciousness entered the Haotian fragment, Meng Qi's soul was dark and his spirits were blurry, as though he was flying in a vast, cold and dark universe. He couldn't see any light nor sense any way out, and could only wade endlessly.

Suddenly, the void cracked, illuminating a faint glow. Meng Qi's consciousness was wrapped by the air of the Haotian Mirror and he suddenly flew over.

Penetrating layers of drapes, with heaven and earth spinning and all things changing, Meng Qi temporarily lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, he gradually regained his consciousness. However, he realized that his eyes couldn't see anything and his ears couldn't hear any sound, and his body also lost its sense of touch. Only his spirit could spread slightly and sensed the quietness of the surroundings. He felt that his consciousness was trapped inside the body of a palm-sized puppet.

I've actually possessed a puppet?

The unprecedented encounter made Meng Qi a little shocked. This is the Path of Creating Marking demonstrated by the Haotian Mirror?

Just as this thought came to his mind, he heard sounds.

It was a ruined temple commonly seen in the wild. It was late at night with continuous sound of rain which isolated this place from the outside world, as though it was another realm.

Inside the temple were many bodies lying all around, each with different wounds, but all showing the swiftness of the murderer's swordsmanship.

"The blood has yet to dry up, this happened not too long ago," a young man with his hair tied up and holding a sword was kneeling beside the bodies and examining carefully.

He had a likeable handsome face, but with a lazy disposition that belonged to one who would choose not to work whenever possible.

Standing beside him was a middle-aged man dressed meticulously as a scholar. He had a long beard and sharp eyes, he held a sword that appeared a faint purple. At this moment, he let out a long sigh and said, "It's Chief Escort Miao and his men from the Four Seas Escort Agency."

"Chief Escort Miao?" a few voices said at the same time. There were another two males and one female. The female was quite young, around fifteen or sixteen with a young and pretty face. She was closest to the bodies and looked scared. One of the males was young and dull-looking, the other one had gray hair and wrinkles at the corner of his eyes.

It's actually Chief Escort Miao from the Four Seas Escort Agency?

He was a well-known person, and not far from being top-class. But now he laid dead in a ruined temple without anyone caring.

Could he have accepted some extraordinary escort mission?

The middle-aged man shook his head, "The innocent are harmed because of their possessions, this is how the pugilistic world is. Stop looking, Cheng-er, we'll leave once the storm stops."

After saying this, he turned and walked to the collapsed Buddha statue before sitting down.

"Yes, teacher," Xu Cheng took back his gaze, but his mind still had the remains of the wounds which seemed to have come to life, transforming into swift sword beams that made one palpitate.

What a marvelously swift sword!

"Father, you seem to know what it is about?" sensing the middle-aged man had unfinished words, the pretty young girl asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

Xu Cheng and the other disciples also cast their gaze over, eager to know more.

What treasure could lead to the death of the famous Chief Escort Miao of the Four Seas Escort Agency?

The middle-aged man Shang Jiuming looked around and pondered for a while before saying, "There's no harm telling you since it is something widely circulating in the pugilistic world, just that you hardly come into contact with it as your levels aren't there yet."

"What exactly is it?" the pretty young girl Shang Lingxi asked doubtfully.

Shang Jiuming gently touched the body of his sword, signaling his disciples and daughter to sit down, before he started to talk, "Have you heard of the Four Great Extraordinary Books?"

"No…" Xu Cheng, Shang Lingxi and the rest shook their heads blankly. They knew much about overbearing martial skills such as the Star Changing Manual, Tiancan Skill, Sun Fire Wheel, Yin Absorbing Formula, Tianluo Demonic Skill, and Deathless Formula. They were all supreme skills used by top experts to be indomitable in the world, but the Four Great Extraordinary Books were totally unheard of.

Shang Jiuming's expression looked as though he was carried to somewhere far away, "Martial arts have been on the decline. When the Four Great Extraordinary Books existed more than a hundred years ago, there was a large number of gurus in the pugilistic world, which is something the pugilistic world today cannot match."

"The first book, 'Elixir', which origin was unknown, points directly at Dao. Once the golden elixir enters the stomach, one would be in control of his destiny. It is difficult to practice it directly, but it derived supreme Taoist skills such as the 'Star Changing Manual' and 'Tiancan Skill', creating countless Great Gurus such as Priest Tianhe. It is now kept at the holy land of Taoism, Zhitian Temple, and hasn't appeared for many years."

The Star Changing Manual and Tiancan Skill"were both derived from Elixir? Shang Lingxi covered her mouth with her right hand, feeling shocked and appalled. Xu Cheng and the other disciples were also shaken.

The top martial skill that they knew were actually only a small part of Elixir!

No wonder it's known as an extraordinary book!

"The second book is the Demonic Sect's 'Demonic Code', which they call 'Holy Code', that studies in depth heaven and man. It is divided into many volumes, each with its own overpowering demonic skills, such as 'Tianluo Demonic Skill' and 'Yin Absorbing Formula'. It is said that if the 'Demonic Code' combines into one, one could attain unformidable demonic skills and discover the secrets of the broken void. Unfortunately, the demonic sect has been splitting up for the last hundred odd years, and many volumes of the 'Demonic Code' have already been lost…" Shang Jiuming said tirelessly, making Xu Cheng, Shang Lingxi, and the others all full of envision. So this was where the "Tianluo Demonic Skill" originated from, and the various terrifying branches of the Demonic Sect are not considered at their prime now.

Shang Jiuming continued, "The 'Sun Fire Wheel' of Northern Buddhism is supreme in the world, but over a hundred years ago, their most terrifying skill wasn't this but the 'Secret Wisdom Manual'. It cultivates the spirits and completes Abhisheka, accumulating one's power to the maximum, like a Buddha on earth who is able to bring others into Samsara. It is mysterious and unpredictable, and is the most unfathomable among the extraordinary books."

Xu Cheng, Shang Lingxi, and the rest looked at one another blankly as they listened. The descriptions were more like myths and legends than martial arts secrets!

There's actually such extraordinary skills in the world?

"Unfortunately, more than a hundred years ago, the Living Buddha at that time and the Awakening Celestial Sword met with a misfortune at the current abandoned city, jointly contributing to a famous spiritual confrontation in history. Both of them entered Samsara and battled, with the Awakening Celestial Sword winning in the end while the Living Buddha losing and gaining enlightenment. The Living Buddha passed on on the spot with his flesh body turning into colored glaze. But this was an unexpected passing after all and he didn't manage to impart his spirit and wisdom. It became extremely difficult for later generations to practice the 'Secret Wisdom Manual', and none have succeeded even till today," Shang Jiuming lamented ⁠— every pugilistic tale passed down by the older generations were legends.

This is more fascinating and more incredible than the stories told by the storyteller… Shang Lingxi's and the other disciples' eyes glittered as thoughts ran in their minds, developing a strong interest in the extraordinary books. If they were able to get one of them and successfully practiced it, wouldn't they be able to rule the world?

"Father, what about the fourth book?" Shang Lingxi was unable to hold back her question, her eyes blinking.

"That's right, what's the fourth book?" Xu Cheng also couldn't control his curiosity. They had totally forgotten that their initial aim was to get to the bottom of what treasure led to Chief Escort Miao of the Four Seas Escort Agency being killed.

Shang Jiuming smiled, his expression slightly sentimental, "It is not a book. It is a puppet ⁠— the Celestial Sword Puppet."

At the mention of these words, he suddenly became solemn.

"Celestial Sword Puppet?" Shang Lingxi looked at her own father with innocent and confused eyes.

The last book was actually a puppet?

Shang Jiuming said with deep eyes, "Also a hundred odd years ago, the Sword Emperor and the Awakening Celestial Sword battled at Sunset Peak. Both entered the broken void, leaving behind shadows that cannot be caught up with. Since then, no one has been able to reenact this scene."

"And before their battle, they used a casually obtained puppet as paper and their swords as pen to engrave thirty characters of their individual swordplay. The first fourteen and last sixteen characters were the Sword Emperor's and the Awakening Celestial Sword's respective understanding toward swordplay. They contained the supreme swordplay belonging to them, especially the former that had the method of vital energy circulation, showing again the initial path of the Sword Emperor.

"The Celestial Sword Puppet was initially kept by the Sword Emperor's disciple, but as time went by, it ended up in the pugilistic world. Its every appearance was accompanied by bloodshed, and the person who truly possessed it would become a top swordsman. The massacre of Mu Mansion and the downfall of the Five Element Sword Sect all happened because of it, there are too many to be named."

"Chief Escort Miao died because of this?" Xu Cheng blurted.

Shang Jiuming nodded lightly, "Chief Escort Miao's martial skills improved greatly in the last few years, it was rumored that he had gotten the Celestial Sword Puppet."

The few disciples were suddenly in a daze. They didn't expect to have actually met something related to the great books.

"Actually, our sect's swordplay is also deeply connected to the Celestial Sword Puppet," Shang Jiuming suddenly sighed.

"Ah?" Shang Lingxi looked perplexed.

Shang Jiuming forced a laugh, "My ancestor was originally a commander of the forbidden army in the abandoned city. He was the one who delivered the Celestial Sword Puppet for the Sword Emperor and Awakening Celestial Sword. He saw the supreme swordplay and secretly made a copy, leaving behind two overpowering swordplays, 'Subduing Demon' and 'Awaking Celestial'. The clan strengthened after that and became a sect, prospered for a time but gradually went downhill. The copy was lost and the swordplays were also incomplete."

"I wonder when we could regain the past glories…"

His voice was low, and the scene was suddenly quiet and restrained.

As Meng Qi listened to them, he understood that he had returned to the world of the Sword Emperor and Demon Queen, and he had become the Celestial Sword Puppet that was left behind!

My past experiences and the swordsmanship I left behind had all become legends of the pugilistic world. How is this connected to leaving a marking?

How should this strange journey brought by the Haotian Mirror develop to derive a marking?

Xu Cheng's mind was filled with thoughts as he placed his hands behind his head and laid down lazily, thinking about things related to the Four Great Books.

Suddenly, his eyes brightened up when he saw a puppet with a comical smile hiding in a dark area above the beam.

Puppet?

Just as a thought came to his mind, he saw the puppet blink its eyes and a drop of tear flowed down.

Blinking… tears… feeling as though he was struck by lightning or saw a ghost, Xu Cheng's heart beat so fast that it almost exploded.