All Things Have Spirits

The Earl of England opened a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf, pulled out a scroll painting, and handed it to Ming Shu to open.

"This was collected by my ancestor, the Duke of England, when he followed His Majesty the Grand Ancestor to conquer the world. Although it's not a cultivation technique, it doesn't have much practical use."

In reality, it was just an ordinary piece of paper. Ming Shu couldn't sense any spirituality or spiritual energy from it.

The painting depicted a scholar holding a scroll, a Taoist wearing a robe and carrying a magic sword on his back, and an old man standing on a high platform gazing at the starry sky. Small characters were written beneath each of them.

The Earl of England told Ming Shu, "Just remember this sentence: 'All things have spirits'!"

"This is the foundation of cultivation. All cultivation begins here."

The scholar borrowed spiritual energy to comprehend the rules and the Great Dao of heaven and earth, using these rules to borrow power from other spiritual entities.

This is called Word Spirit, where words manifest as actions.

Therefore, they themselves needed to be familiar with various rituals.

The strongest in terms of rituals were actually the Daoist Sect. They originally cultivated the Primordial Spirit. When the Immortal Realm still existed, they shed their physical bodies, and their Primordial Spirits ascended to the Immortal Realm, reshaping their bodies with immortal power.

Later, when the Immortal Realm disappeared, ascension became impossible. The Daoist Sect used the method of cultivating the Primordial Spirit to forge a new path for the soul. Especially the human soul, although fragile, became different after being refined by the Daoist Sect.

They could even remain in the world for a long time after their physical bodies died.

Some could even wield certain powers.

Martial Artists, however, did not cultivate the soul. In the early stages, they focused solely on cultivating their bodies, and only later began to cultivate both. The Martial Artists of the Central Plains actually learned from the barbarians of the north.

Their bodies were naturally stronger than those of the Central Plains people. The barbarians' Demon Locking Pagoda was formed from their battles with demon beasts, where they ate their flesh and drank their blood to strengthen themselves.

It was finally formed from the piled-up bones of those demon beasts, which also trapped the incomplete souls of countless demon beasts after their deaths.

Through the natural evolution of heaven and earth, the Demon Locking Pagoda came into being.

The Daoist Sect's expedition to the north back then was precisely to scheme for that Demon Locking Pagoda and the countless Demon Beast Spirits within it.

After a thousand years of effort, they actually succeeded.

During the great upheaval of heaven and earth, it was the departure of the Immortal Realm from this world that caused widespread natural disasters and anomalies.

The root cause that forced the Immortal Realm away was actually Heavenly Demons from beyond the domain.

They used the stars to refract their power into this world, giving birth to many Demonic Spirits.

The first to discover and learn to utilize the power of Demonic Spirits was the Star Cult, now known as the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

In that era of great change, the founding Grand Ancestor, the leaders of the Star Cult, and figures like the ancestor of the Duke of England gathered together, ultimately establishing the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, a prosperous era that lasted for a thousand years.

After its founding, the Star Cult focused on refining the Demon Subduing Hall, collecting Demonic Spirits from all regions, and conducting in-depth research. In turn, they developed the Sorcerer system to "deal with" people.

These were all secret matters.

Ming Shu eagerly recorded everything. Since he had the Fate Book, he didn't need to immerse himself in it; he could listen and record simultaneously.

As for why the Earl of England was teaching him this, he couldn't be bothered to think about it.

The Earl of England directly stated his purpose: he hoped the young man would not be content to be a pawn of the Star Cult and would have his own plans.

Whatever the Star Cult and the Sky-Toppling Observatory wanted to gain from him, they would have to pay a sufficient price.

As long as he could plant such a small seed of doubt within the Sky-Toppling Observatory, it would be enough.

The truth was often simple and unadorned.

The Sky-Toppling Observatory's schemes were too far-reaching, and the Earl of England couldn't figure them out for the moment. What could they possibly scheme to gain from Ming Shu?

As for Qing Shui County? Let the warriors from the north contend with the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

The Earl of England merely reminded Ming Shu to protect his own life first.

And to record what he had taught him tonight. When he grew older, he would naturally understand the intricacies.

The stories the Earl of England told were similar to murals found on the stone walls of some ancient sects or families. The specific content, however, had to be passed down orally.

Related records could not be written down by any text. Once written, they would possess a certain connection to mysterious powers.

They would be influenced by distant forces and erased.

Ming Shu recorded in his Fate Book while pondering how a young man should react in such a situation.

He really didn't have much acting talent. Would being stunned and blank be too surprising?

Would he be unable to grasp the twists and turns immediately?

The true history had long been buried in the dust, especially being influenced by mysterious powers. What happened before the previous dynasty was impossible to prove, leaving only speculation.

Ming Shu continued to stare blankly, as if trying hard to memorize the content of the Earl of England's teachings.

The Earl of England felt he had done enough and returned to reviewing the documents on his desk. He also called his attendant back in.

Old Zhao followed behind them and returned to Ming Shu's side. He didn't appear too curious, only looking at his young master with concern.

Ming Shu now understood the Earl of England's sudden actions tonight. Although they were adversaries with the Sky-Toppling Observatory, there was no conflict of interest between him and Ming Shu.

Furthermore, he hoped to win Ming Shu away from the Sky-Toppling Observatory; more accurately, he wanted to win over the future Ming Shu, who would have strength after being supported by the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

As an old rival of the Sky-Toppling Observatory, he understood their habit of laying plans decades in advance, so he was also planting a seed early.

Once the chess pieces develop their own thoughts, where will they go in the future? What kind of accidents might occur during that process, these are all uncertain matters.

Earl Ying had someone escort Ming Shu to the guest room to rest, but Ming Shu refused. He felt it was about time to leave. Even if it was more dangerous outside, Chong Li and Ren Yuan should still be waiting for him.

Although Ming Shu had many questions about the ancient history and the origin of various powers that Earl Ying had spoken of, he also knew that he didn't have the qualifications or capital to ask for detailed information.

And to connect those stories and form a system. Perhaps Earl Ying himself wasn't entirely clear either.

Who knew if he had mixed in his own fabrications among the things he just spoke of.

Regardless, based on what he could glean, Ming Shu's gains tonight had already exceeded expectations.

Earl Ying and the forces behind him were definitely involved in the conspiracy in Qing Shui County, and perhaps they even held a dominant position right now.

As for the enemies from the north, they were even more ruthless and frenzied, but they weren't fully prepared yet. The problems erupting now were also because Earl Ying and his people were causing trouble behind the scenes.

After Ming Shu's repeated requests, Earl Ying finally let them leave the mansion.

Meanwhile, Chong Li and Ren Yuan, who had been waiting outside for a long time, were now surrounded by a patrol of yamen runners and being questioned.