Chapter 182: Secret Gu Martial Arts·Unity of Heaven and Man
Chapter 182: Secret Gu Martial Arts·Unity of Heaven and Man
The Imperial Court’s hundred thousand troops vanished without a trace, leaving only their weapons, armor, and supplies scattered behind. This directly caused a huge uproar throughout the Jianghu.
No one had seen this coming. Fear and anxiety gripped Miaojiang and the Five Immortals Sect during that time, and countless people fled.
But who could have imagined that the news arriving days later would be of this nature.
“You said she was Blood Shadow Phoenix? Then why is it Tiger Might Emperor?” Lin Feng looked at the neatly assembled eleven people, especially the newcomer, and couldn’t help asking.
“How should I know? I don’t know Tiger Might Emperor or Blood Shadow Phoenix. Besides, if I recall correctly, it was you who said it back then?” Chen Xiyi, fiddling with something in his hands, shot back at Lin Feng.
“And more importantly, you need to understand, this whole mess started with you, not me. Who could have imagined you’d manage to hook up with the Emperor? That’s just plain bizarre.”
“Look, eleven of them. With your slight frame, how long do you think you can hold out? Even one round each per night and you’d be exhausted.”
As far as Chen Xiyi was concerned, the blame was clearly Lin Feng’s, not his.
“That can’t be right, I…”
“What isn’t right? You will become Wandering Light in the future, right? And they are Wandering Light’s harem, right? So, effectively, that makes them your harem.” Chen Xiyi deployed the Interrupt skill. It was super effective.
Lin Feng was momentarily at a loss for words. It kind of made a twisted sort of sense.
“So, how exactly did you make a hundred thousand soldiers disappear all at once?” Lin Feng quickly changed the subject.
He wasn’t Wandering Light yet. What did Wandering Light’s harem have to do with him?
“Haven’t I told you before? I just know a bit of the Strange Gates Escaping Arts.” Chen Xiyi shrugged, as if it were that simple.
“But even the Strange Gates Escaping Arts couldn’t achieve something like that, could it?” Lin Feng expressed his doubt.
Chen Xiyi put down the object he was toying with and spoke seriously to Lin Feng, “If your future self could manage to send people back to this past, what’s so strange about my Strange Gates Escaping Arts accomplishing this?”
“Did you send those hundred thousand people into the future?” Lin Feng paused for a moment before asking.
“I don’t possess that kind of power. I merely sent them to where they needed to be.” Chen Xiyi didn’t specify where that ‘needed to be’ was. The implication was enough.
“That’s a real shame. I thought you could send people into the future,” Lin Feng said with some disappointment.
Chen Xiyi just sighed inwardly. He wasn’t omnipotent.
“Listen here, you’d better finish refining your Sword Art soon. Otherwise, as long as it’s incomplete, you can forget about having a single day of peace.”
“This time, it was eleven Temporal Immortals delivered. If I hadn’t been here, you might very well have already started down Wandering Light’s path. This isn’t over. Wandering Light must ensure you are properly ‘rectified’. Otherwise, once you overwrite his existence, he would cease to be.”
Seeing Lin Feng still idling about, Chen Xiyi urged him to get moving on it.
Truthfully, the current Lin Feng, compared to the Lin Feng before the historial anchoring, was vastly improved. After the Sword Concept was embedded into history, he, as its main vessel, became exceptionally privileged, especially concerning his innate understanding of all things related to the sword.
Otherwise, how could he possess both the Profound Sword Physique and Clear Sword Heart abilities?
Thus, Lin Feng now started with a far higher advantage than Wandering Light ever had in refining the Sword Art.
He not only had extraordinary talent, but also possessed part of the Sword Art itself. Simply following his own path would effortlessly allow him to seize Wandering Light’s eventual victory.
“After extracting near-Dao level sword techniques from the Temporal Immortals, I’ve already completed about two-thirds of it. It’s just that for the remaining third, I hardly have any clue.” Lin Feng also sounded helpless. He’d been pushing himself, but progress was minimal.
Chen Xiyi fell silent for a beat. “How exactly do you measure the completion level of your Sword Art? And how can you assign such an accurate percentage?”
Chen Xiyi always saw things in terms of finished or unfinished projects. He never knew the percentage completion of an ongoing experiment. The fact that Lin Feng could pinpoint his Sword Art’s completion level surprised him greatly.
“I’m not sure. But I just have this feeling. Every time I make headway on the Sword Art, I sense something… strange, deep down. Do you think it’s possible that as I refine it, two future versions of me might emerge? One becoming Wandering Light, while the other remains… me?”
Lin Feng articulated his thoughts. His understanding of his Sword Art’s progress wasn’t systematic; it relied more on intangible, esoteric feelings.
“???”
Utterly bewildered, Chen Xiyi stared. Could cultivation work like that?
So, the future version helps the past version perfect the very foundation of his ascension? Wasn’t that just blatantly overpowered?
“Does that mean my future self is a complete failure? That’s why he wouldn’t bother helping my present self?” Hearing Lin Feng’s explanation, Chen Xiyi couldn’t help but introspect.
He also employed shortcuts, others used them too. But why could others, upon using theirs, have their future selves assist their past selves, while he couldn’t?
Or was it simply that his shortcut was of an entirely different model?
“Can we please not dwell on this? Help me figure out what to do next instead,” Lin Feng suggested, thinking Chen Xiyi clearly didn’t need the help, given his strength.
Didn’t defeating a hundred thousand imperial troops speak for itself? Further assistance would only be absurdly disproportionate.
“How should I know what you should do? Do I look like a one-stop solution to all problems to you? Try this – my newly developed Secret Gu Martial Arts pill ‘Unity of Heaven and Man’. Swallow one, instantly become a Longevity Martial Artist, rise dramatically and buy yourself time. Then find a quiet place to ponder things slowly?” Chen Xiyi sounded a bit exasperated. It seemed Lin Feng really thought Chen Xiyi had all the answers.
Lin Feng eyed the Gu pill in Chen Xiyi’s hand. “That thing… it’s packed with insect eggs, right? Are you sure it’s safe to ingest?”
“Completely safe. Newest formula. Very handy. Gets rave reviews from satisfied users.”
“Have you taken it?”
“Me? No. But based on my analysis, it’s definitely harmless. Moreover, it wouldn’t affect me if I ingested it.”
Chen Xiyi lacked internal organs, bones, or muscles. Consuming it would likely just inflict a parasitic side-effect status, promptly neutralized by his immunity, preventing any symbiotic effect from establishing.
“Forget it. You keep it. Just the thought of insects crawling inside me makes me cringe. Handle your own affairs. I’m heading back to refine my Sword Art. Better finish that quick.” A shiver ran down Lin Feng’s spine. Polishing the Sword Art suddenly seemed far more appealing.
“…”
Watching Lin Feng beat a hasty retreat, Chen Xiyi shook his head in resigned silence. This was a one-way ticket to ascension!
Secret Gu Martial Arts: Unity of Heaven and Man, was a new Gu martial art Chen Xiyi developed, blending the martial and medical arts learned at the Valley of the Healing Immortals with his own knowledge.
Unlike the esoteric and extreme Calamity Poison Body path, this Unity of Heaven and Man was a more balanced, conventional Gu martial art.
The Internal Energy it fostered was profoundly balanced and enduring—essentially meaning a long energy pool and rapid energy recovery.
It also bestowed immensely powerful healing and detoxification abilities, fostering balanced physical, energetic, and spiritual development, making it a formidable all-rounder.
The major catch was mass-producing the Longevity level version. Unless he utilized those eleven Temporal Immortals as cultivation vessels, using regular Martial Artists could only produce Grandmaster tier pills. However, Xiantian level pills were considerably easier, requiring just ordinary animals.
This revolved around the specific Internal Energy requirements of each tier.
Chen Xiyi currently had no plans for large-scale production. He’d seen the truth: whether talking about the Calamity Poison Body or this Unity of Heaven and Man, the NPCs simply couldn’t be relied upon.
Unless they were friends, they might stab you in the back anytime.
Feng Qing was a prime example. Chen Xiyi still didn’t know when the man had hooked up with the Imperial Court to plot against him.
He suspected it was during the trip to the Valley of the Healing Immortals. Thinking back now, without internal assistance, transporting those voluminous archives would have been impossible. The Imperial Court definitely played a part.
Now, thanks to the hundred-thousand-strong army vanishing without a trace, including the absent Tiger Might Emperor, the Imperial Court itself had plunged into chaos.
Tiger Might Emperor had never married, meaning he had no offspring. Anyone of royal blood could conceivably vie for the throne.
However, the chaos wasn’t confined to the court; the Jianghu was equally disturbed.
The two great Xiantian experts, one from the Righteous Path and one from the unorthodox side, went to confront Tiger Might Emperor and hadn’t returned. Coupled with the Emperor and the colossal army vanishing entirely, rumors swirled throughout the Jianghu that White Sun Master, Blood Shadow Phoenix, and Tiger Might Emperor had mutually annihilated each other.
With those three supreme Xiantian figures gone, every faction grew restless.
The truth, however, was quite different. White Sun Master and Blood Shadow Phoenix were beaten to death the very day they confronted Tiger Might Emperor. The gulf between a Longevity Martial Artist and Xiantian practitioners was so vast that they died without comprehending the how.
The White Sun Sword Sect fared somewhat better. As a Righteous Path sect known for internal unity and possessing other Xiantian masters besides White Sun Master himself, it would likely stabilize quickly.
The Blood Rain Alliance (Xue Yu Meng), however, was another story. Effectively a conglomerate of various unorthodox sects held together by force, the death of Blood Shadow Phoenix initiated internal conflict. Every faction wanted to tear strips of flesh from this Leviathan.
While the Righteous Path might harbor hypocrites, the unorthodox sects housed genuine villains.
Was it truly believed that unorthodox sects were full of flamboyantly admirable gentlemen, like in popular stories?
Impossible. Those joining unorthodox sects were almost universally depraved scoundrels.
Otherwise, the Five Immortals Sect wouldn’t merely have a somewhat notorious reputation. They had their share of members using poison arts for evil, protected only by their sheer size and the lack of a major crackdown.
The Blood Rain Alliance now faced its day of reckoning. Instead of help, it attracted countless scavengers looking to profit from its misfortune.
The White Sun Sword Sect stood in stark contrast. As a Righteous Path sect, it had built a solid reputation for commendable deeds.
While opportunists might exist, aid from allies would outweigh attacks.
‘A just cause enjoys abundant support while an unjust one finds little.’ This was more than empty prose.
“So… reflecting on this, would my actions place me among those enjoying ‘abundant support’ or finding ‘little’?”
Looking at his recent deeds, Chen Xiyi readily admitted he hadn’t performed many “good” acts by normal standards.
He maintained this clarity. He couldn’t shamelessly claim his previous actions were commendable.
The accumulation of power is bleaker; he had merely enacted that harsh process.
If he hadn’t taken extreme shortcuts but played a conventional role instead, or worked to build relationships slowly – a true “Sandbox Game” approach – he’d likely still be trapped within the Great Li Kingdom’s borders, either toiling in mines/forests or desperately flattering influential figures (“acting the lapdog”) in the hopes of acquiring items imbued with Historical Connotation.
For instance, consider asking Old Taoist Xuan Li for a portrait of his Ancestral Master. Would it be gifted? No. Could Chen Xiyi afford to buy it? Unlikely. His probable path: formal apprenticeship followed by years of service until the Taoist died.
Trading items he produced? Any hint of their value could lead to immediate captivity.
Yes, he could escape and couldn’t truly perish. Yet endless pursuit would become his reality. The adage ‘fear strength, not virtue’ reigned. If Emperor Li, upon learning of his unusual nature and discovering his current physical frailty, his first response would have been capture and imprisonment, seeking to exploit Chen Xiyi, not reverence him as an “Great Immortal.”
Hence, his only options would involve hiding like a rat in the wilderness, mining resources for escape materials.
So how could he have acquired objects like the Fengshan Jade Registry from the Imperial treasury or the Stone Chessboard deep within Duke Rui’s Mansion? Even securing the relatively simple Ancestral Master painting by growing it into a Fairy/Spirit proved impossible.
He believed virtue could bring reward. Yet, the observable truth leaned heavily toward another grim reality: “Evil deeds might gain riches while good deeds go unrewarded.”