The Division of Realms

"It seemed to be resolved."

Shen Bai's voice rang out along the street, snapping the woman in yellow out of her shock.

After coming to her senses, the woman in yellow seemed hesitant, but she still gritted her teeth and said, "The arms he cultivated are completely gone. He won't go mad again."

"Will he continue cultivating afterward?" Shen Bai asked.

The woman in yellow shook her head. "After something like this, even if you gave him ten thousand times the courage, he wouldn't dare cultivate again."

Shen Bai turned to look and found that aside from the pale color in the skinny man's face, there was nothing else abnormal. No blood flowed from the severed ends of his arms either.

At that moment, the skinny man swayed, seemingly showing signs of gradually waking up.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Bai took out some silver from his robes and placed it in Yaya's hands.

Yaya looked at the money in her hands, her face full of panic.

"When your father wakes up, take him and leave Ascending Cloud County. Start some small business," Shen Bai said.

Though he had lost both hands, the conditions of the Great Zhou Dynasty had forced many children to learn right from wrong and how to survive at a very young age.

Once the skinny man awoke, he could at least set up a small stall somewhere else and make a living.

Yaya clenched the money pouch tightly, then suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Shen Bai.

Shen Bai was slightly stunned.

To be honest, this was the first time someone had kowtowed to him—and it was a five- or six-year-old little girl.

"Yaya may be young, but Yaya knows you're not a bad person. You helped Yaya save Father, and you gave Yaya money. If Yaya can meet you again after growing up, Yaya will serve you like an ox or a horse."

Shen Bai came back to his senses and helped Yaya up. "What a sensible child."

Since transmigrating here, Shen Bai had never considered himself some sort of savior.

Yet this child before him reminded him of his previous life.

Back then, he had no father or mother, but he had been just as resolute as this little girl.

That was why Shen Bai gave Yaya the silver—considering it a complete farewell to his previous life.

Shen Bai stroked Yaya's head without saying anything more, then turned to look at the woman in yellow.

"Can you still walk?"

The woman in yellow pressed a hand against her lower abdomen. "Barely. As long as I don't move too violently."

"Come with me."

Shen Bai walked ahead.

The woman in yellow looked at Shen Bai's back. After hesitating slightly, she limped after him.

A remote, deserted street.

Shen Bai found a stone and sat down with the woman in yellow.

"Name, background, purpose."

Shen Bai's words were simple, and so was his purpose.

Since he had intervened, he naturally needed to obtain useful information.

The woman in yellow bit her lower lip tightly, then took a deep breath. "Cheng Shuang."

"A disciple of the Five Immortals Sect of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

"This time, I accepted a sect mission to capture a traitor."

The Five Immortals Sect?

Shen Bai rubbed his chin. "What is its relationship with the Five Hearts Sect? Wait—five immortals, five hearts... Could the so-called sect master of the Five Hearts Sect be your traitor?"

With only a little thought, Shen Bai had grasped the key point.

Cheng Shuang was slightly stunned. "You don't know about the Five Immortals Sect? We're a well-known force in Maple Forest Province."

She could not understand it. How could someone so unfathomably powerful before her not understand the ways of the martial world?

"Go on."

Shen Bai said, "Tell me in as much detail as possible."

He knew jack shit.

He had only come into contact with the other side of this world a few days ago. Other than being fairly good at fighting, he was a complete novice in every other regard.

With Cheng Shuang here, Shen Bai could take the opportunity to ask her properly.

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Shuang said, "The Five Immortals Sect draws upon the power of the five immortals: Fox, Weasel, Hedgehog, Snake, and Rat. We can be considered a respectable force in Maple Forest Province."

"But not long ago, a traitor fled the Five Immortals Sect and turned our cultivation method into an evil art."

"He no longer borrowed the power of the five immortals. Instead, he cultivated his head and four limbs, calling them the five hearts."

"Every so often, his limbs and head wither away, so he needs to graft on those of others who also cultivate the Five Hearts Technique."

"The Five Hearts Sect was actually created by him to prolong his own life."

Cheng Shuang did not continue after saying that.

Shen Bai had already understood the general picture, thinking to himself, Why did it feel like what the Five Immortals Sect cultivated was not much more righteous than the Five Hearts Sect?

As for the five immortals—Fox, Weasel, Hedgehog, Snake, and Rat—Shen Bai had some understanding of what they were. After all, he had been here for three months and had heard plenty of curious folk tales.

The five immortals were foxes, weasels, hedgehogs, snakes, and rats.

Borrowing the power of these five immortals struck Shen Bai as strange and bizarre.

Of course, there was also the Five Hearts Sect.

Once one cultivated a limb, that limb would detach from the body. If it were the head, then like Master Qian, one would probably die on the spot.

"Do you have any leads?"

Shen Bai asked.

Cheng Shuang shook her head. "I'm a newcomer in the sect and an unfamiliar face, which is why I was sent here—to avoid alerting the enemy. So far, I haven't found any leads."

Shen Bai gave an acknowledging sound.

Cheng Shuang asked, "May I know how to address you?"

She was very curious now. Shen Bai truly seemed not to understand much, yet his strength was extraordinarily formidable. That made Cheng Shuang curious.

Shen Bai glanced at Cheng Shuang. "Ask what you should ask. Don't ask what you shouldn't."

The corner of Cheng Shuang's mouth twitched slightly.

That was not how this worked.

You asked me, and I answered.

I asked you, and you refused to say.

If not for how strong you were, I would have to ask whether that was fair.

"What realm are you at now?" Shen Bai asked again.

Cheng Shuang composed herself and said, "I'm currently in the Daoist Canon Realm."

"What kind of realm is the Daoist Canon Realm?" Shen Bai asked again.

Since he was asking anyway, he might as well get everything straight.

Since he had already started, Shen Bai naturally did not intend to hide anything.

Cheng Shuang froze once more.

She suddenly realized that Shen Bai truly seemed to know nothing.

After hesitating again and again, Cheng Shuang finally asked.

"You... could it be that some expert raised you, taught you only your skills, and never taught you the basics?"

There were all kinds of strange people in this world. Such people truly existed. The Five Immortals Sect had a martial uncle with precisely this sort of quirk, so Cheng Shuang made that guess.

Shen Bai nodded. "That is indeed the case."

Since she had guessed it herself, he simply went along with it.

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Shuang pointed at her dantian and said, "The Daoist Canon Realm is the first stage for cultivators. This place is a treasure trove to us, which is why it is called the Daoist Canon."

"The special current cultivated within is called qi. Once qi fills the dantian, one reaches the peak of the Daoist Canon Realm."

"At that point comes the Three Treasures Realm."

Cheng Shuang paused slightly at that point.

The interest in Shen Bai's eyes grew ever stronger.

This system of realms was vastly different from the novels he had read in his previous life, stirring his thoughts.

Cheng Shuang had no choice but to continue.

"The so-called three treasures are Essence, Qi, Spirit."