Chapter 86: The Genius Fang Chi

“Heaven’s Mystery Mansion…”

“The Primordial Heart of Dao?”

Inside Fang Manor, Fang Cun sat quietly, having listened to the snippets Xiao Qingliu had managed to glean, a deep frown forming on his brow.

Xiao Qingliu nodded. “They were very cautious; I didn’t dare get too close. I only caught a few phrases they exchanged. But about that scripture—I heard that part clearly. They said it’s practically a worthle—eh, well, it was written by the eldest young master, so it couldn’t possibly be as worthless as they claim. Although… I did think that perhaps the eldest young master didn’t have time to finish it before he passed. Since others can’t cultivate it successfully… then young master, you…”

“They meant for you to hear that!”

Furrowing his brow, Fang Cun addressed Xiao Qingliu.

Xiao Qingliu frowned too, then said dejectedly, “I thought so as well. If that’s the case, their words are even less trustworthy!”

“If that’s the case, then their words can actually be trusted!”

Fang Cun gazed at the scripture he had taken from the box. After a long moment, he murmured, “They knew I’d have doubts. That’s why they deliberately told me the origin of this scripture through you. While this counts as a secret, it wouldn’t be hard for me to verify. Their true intent is for me to cultivate it. So, on this point, they likely wouldn’t lie…”

“He spoke one truth…”

“Since this scripture was written by my elder brother and now falls into my hands, I owe it to him to study it, regardless.”

“…”

Xiao Qingliu hesitated, wanting to say something but remembering Fang Cun’s usual admonishments about speaking out of turn. He thought better of offering his opinion now.

“And the one who appeared in Willow Lake City alongside the news of my elder brother’s passing… just who is he…”

A thread of suspicion wove its way into Fang Cun’s thoughts: “What is his purpose in remaining here?”

“Master Lan Shuang granted me the Nine Immortals Sect’s Luna Radiance Treasure Body to help me join the County Sect. Now, this person rushes to deliver the Formless Scripture written by my elder brother. Could it be that the one silently watching, making me uneasy with his silent scrutiny… is him?”

“…”

After a considerable silence, Fang Cun sighed, deciding to set those contemplations aside for the time being.

After dismissing Xiao Qingliu and the others, he focused with renewed intensity on the scripture with its plain white cover, and the achingly familiar handwriting.

The calligraphy was his elder brother’s. Fang Cun recognized it instantly.

However, this scripture wasn’t the original Formless Scripture penned by his brother years ago. It was a copy, likely replicated using cultivation methods employed by Qi Refiners. From what Xiao Qingliu overheard, it was clear the original handwritten scripture had long since been claimed by the Immortal Emperor or various Divine Kings. Its contents hadn’t been seen by just one person; countless Immortal Seedlings with exceptional talent had been sought out to cultivate its methods, all in the vain hope of uncovering secrets they themselves could not perceive…

Fang Cun sat motionless, myriad thoughts flitting through his mind.

“They want to see if I can uncover anything by cultivating this scripture… which means this copy is likely authentic!”

“But since so many esteemed figures deem it worthless… how could I possibly discern something new that eluded them?”

“They deliberately mentioned that my brother once visited a place called Heaven’s Mystery Mansion and witnessed the Primordial Heart of Dao there… Where even is that? And what profound insight could be gained from beholding something called the Primordial Heart of Dao?”

“…”

After a prolonged silence, he finally rose, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and drank it down, forcing himself into a state of calm. He then positioned an inkstone precisely in the upper left corner of his desk. Slowly, deliberately, he opened the cover of the Formless Treasure Body Scripture, meticulously deduced and created by his very own elder brother…

“Formless and shapeless, such is the Heavenly Dao…”

“The human is the spirit of Heaven and Earth, a breath tethering them, bearing witness to the cyclical dance of Yin and Yang…”

“…”

“So… it’s like this…”

After just turning a few pages, Fang Cun could already ascertain one thing.

The Formless Treasure Body Scripture was indeed a method focused on cultivating a Treasure Body. In essence, it wasn’t fundamentally different from the Nine Immortals Sect’s Glazed Jade Body, the common Great Xia Treasure Body, or the Buddhist Diamond Body or the Taoist Jade Body. What it contained was merely another technique for refining one’s physical form. The resultant physical body cultivated through this method would be the scripture’s namesake… the Formless Treasure Body!

Yet, having only progressed a few pages further, Fang Cun instantly understood why others dismissed it as worthless.

Because the method stated, right from the outset, that cultivating the Formless Treasure Body required one’s Internal Breath to flow through all pathways, harmonizing with the sun and moon, yin and yang!

Only recently having received Master Lan Shuang’s instruction on the Nine Immortals Sect’s Glazed Jade Body method, Fang Cun was well aware that cultivating a Treasure Body meant undergoing a profound physical transformation, laying the foundation of one’s Dao path. Different Body Refining Art methods necessitated distinct flows of Internal Breath and varying meridian paths during refinement. It was precisely these differences that bestowed the unique powers upon the cultivated Treasure Body.

But the Formless Treasure Body Method demanded the refinement of every single meridian.

Where others navigated one, two, or at most three dedicated paths… this method insisted on traversing them all… simultaneously.

“This is nonsense!”

Fang Cun thought privately. “One’s Internal Breath is finite; it can never truly match the vastness of heaven and earth. Picking a few paths, like others do? The Internal Breath just might suffice. But attempting to refine all paths? Who possesses enough Internal Breath? Whose Cultivation Power could possibly sustain such an undertaking?”

“Only me.”

The answer surfaced clearly in Fang Cun’s mind.

…

These great figures had searched for so many exceptional talents, had them cultivate this method without success, failing to grasp its mysteries. That was precisely why they sent this Treasure Body Scripture to him, curious if he, the brother of the Immortal Master, differed from the rest. They likely hoped that, given time, he might perceive something unique, something previously unseen, within the Treasure Body Method.

They were right.

“Others cultivate Acquired Qi through their Internal Breath, limited in its purity no matter how refined. Only I, with the aid of the Celestial Merit Record, can cultivate all my Internal Breath into Innate Qi. Or rather, I train using Innate Qi from the outset. Only Innate Qi can fulfill the fundamental assumption underlying my elder brother’s creation of this scripture: the seamless circulation of Internal Breath throughout the heavens, boundless and formless!”

He alone could achieve this. Therefore, this scripture was crafted specifically for him.

Just one glance would tell anyone else it was a worthless scripture!

But that same single glance told him it was a Treasure Body Scripture tailored exclusively for him!

More precisely, it was a scripture written specifically for one possessing the Celestial Merit Record.

…

“So, my elder brother didn’t just leave me the Celestial Merit Record. He also painstakingly deduced an entire cultivation method just for me. Yet he also understood that while the Celestial Merit Record, along with the hidden secrets within that family letter and the Merit I accumulate hunting Demons, could reach me unnoticed by all—such a conspicuous scripture could never elude everyone’s attention.”

Fang Cun closed the Formless Treasure Body Scripture, musing internally.

“Therefore, he deliberately circulated it widely the moment he finished writing it, letting everyone study it…”

“He knew others could never successfully cultivate this method; in their eyes, it would remain worthless. He also knew they would fail to uncover its secrets yet remain unwilling to give up… thus guaranteeing they would eventually pass it to me…”

“So, what profound mystery lies within this scripture that consumed his efforts so thoroughly?”

“With the Celestial Merit Record, I already hold the potential to surpass the common. Cultivating this scripture as well…”

“Huh?”

“Wait… something seems missing…”

“…”

Fang Cun sharply latched onto a thread of thought, tracing its path quickly in his mind.

“My elder brother entered the Nine Immortals Sect years ago, cultivating the most basic Five Qi Body Refining Art. Yet, even this common method yielded extraordinary results under his effort, drawing others’ attention. As his cultivation deepened, eventually reaching the Immortal Realm, he deduced this Treasure Body refining technique. Why, at such heights, would he suddenly deviate to create a Treasure Body Scripture irrelevant to his own further advancement?”

“From those people’s words, it seemed he visited a mysterious place and gained some profound insight, prompting him to deduce it…”

…

The deeper Fang Cun delved, the colder a sudden realization gripped him.

“The Primordial Heart of Dao…”

“The Celestial Merit Record…”

“Is there a connection between these two?”

“If he truly visited the Heaven’s Mystery Mansion and witnessed the Primordial Heart of Dao just three years ago… then…”

His expression grew increasingly grave: “I always assumed he too attained the Celestial Merit Record, which explained his rigid, upright nature and intolerance for injustice. But what if… my skepticism stemmed from my past life’s knowledge? What if, ingrained to doubt true genius, I instinctively assumed he relied on a ‘Golden Finger’ to achieve such heights?”

“Could it be that after encountering the Primordial Heart of Dao three years ago… that…”

“…the Celestial Merit Record is actually linked to the Heaven’s Mystery Mansion?”

“Could it be… that he didn’t rely on the Celestial Merit Record at all to become who he was?”

“Is it possible… that he himself created this Golden Finger?”

“…”

This single thought shattered the peace of Fang Cun’s tranquil mind. The implications were astonishing, almost too much to readily accept.

The world revered his elder brother as a peerless genius, an unrivaled talent of their era. Yet he, Fang Cun, shaped by past-life memories, had clung to the belief of an external aid—never truly accepting that perhaps such transcendent, innate brilliance could genuinely exist…