Qi Scripture

After returning to Prince An's Mansion, Zhu Youning once again sensed the inner strength within his body.

It was abundant, domineering, and freely wielded.

The Northern Dark Divine Art was indeed far superior to the Star Absorbing Great Art. The inner strength he had just absorbed had not gone to waste in the slightest; all of it had been converted into Northern Dark True Qi.

Take one measure from another, store one measure—without the slightest leakage, accumulating ever deeper and thicker. That was the strength of the Northern Dark Divine Art.

Given time, obtaining a thousand years' worth of cultivation might not be impossible!

After chewing another Lingzhi Mushroom and washing it down with a sip of water, Zhu Youning immediately rose and instructed Wu Yi to prepare a carriage.

This time, he intended to visit Prince Mi's Mansion.

Prince Mi was Zhu Youning's full brother, Zhu Youlun. Unfortunately, he had already been killed by Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, leaving behind only a widow and an orphan.

Riding in the carriage, Zhu Youning soon arrived before Prince Mi's Mansion.

Upon hearing that Zhu Youning had come, a woman quickly came out to receive him.

This woman was Zhu Youlun's widow—Zhu Youning's sister-in-law. Her surname was Li, so for the moment, she would be called Lady Li. As Prince Mi's wife, she was a genuine noblewoman in Bian Prefecture, yet she looked exceedingly haggard.

That was only natural. Her husband had died, so of course his wife would be overcome with grief.

Although Zhu Youning had been very familiar with his elder brother Zhu Youlun, he had only met this sister-in-law a few times and was not particularly close to her. After exchanging some polite pleasantries, he had people set down several gifts of money and jewelry.

Just then, a maid came hurrying in from outside. Zhu Youning immediately glanced over. The maid ran straight to Lady Li, leaned close to her ear, and whispered a few words.

Lady Li's face immediately turned pale. Gathering up her skirts, she ran outside, followed closely by a group of servants afraid that she might fall. Zhu Youning's inner strength was profound; even though the maid had spoken softly, he heard every word clearly.

The maid had clearly said, "Miss climbed up a tree and can't get down!"

Zhu Youning followed as well.

He was a little worried too. After all, the girl was his niece in name.

Zhu Youning soon reached a courtyard. The moment he entered, he heard the loud wailing of a child.

Following the cries, everyone hurried beneath a tree in the courtyard.

Up in the tree, a girl of seven or eight sat crying on a branch. The branch was neither especially high nor low, about three or four meters above the ground.

The people below immediately began pacing in circles with anxiety. Lady Li in particular was so worried she nearly jumped up and down. Her own child had climbed so high—how could she not panic? Lady Li kept berating the maid, saying, "How were you watching her? How did she climb so high?"

The maid was so anxious she was about to cry. "Miss said she wanted to go to Master's study. This servant waited outside, but in the blink of an eye, Miss had climbed up there!"

Lady Li said urgently, "Forget that for now. Go get a ladder and bring Miss down."

Upon hearing this, the maid hurried off to fetch a ladder.

By then, Zhu Youning had already walked beneath the tree and looked up.

For ordinary people, this tree was not actually difficult to climb, since it had many branches. Otherwise, the little girl could not have climbed up it.

But while climbing up was easy, climbing down was difficult. When most people looked down from a high place, they felt a certain fear that made them unable to take a single step.

However, the fear caused by such a height generally had no effect on those skilled in martial arts. Zhu Youning leaped upward and landed in the tree, then lifted the girl down.

When Lady Li saw Zhu Youning leap into the air, she was first stunned, then overjoyed. "Thank goodness for Uncle's qinggong, or Zhan'er could not have been saved."

She then rushed over and gathered little Zhan'er into her arms.

The little girl had barely felt the warmth of her mother's embrace before her bottom began to hurt.

"You're a girl! Why aren't you properly learning needlework instead of climbing trees? What would I do if something happened to you?!"

After several slaps, the little girl let out another wail. Though she was her own daughter, Lady Li showed no mercy.

It seemed Zhu Youning's sister-in-law was quite a formidable woman. But that made sense—if she were not, how could a widowed woman manage such a vast Prince Mi's Mansion?

"Stop crying! Tell me what happened. Why did you climb up there?"

Zhan'er was frightened by her mother once more. Sniffling softly, she said, "Something from Father's study flew into the tree. I climbed up to get Father's thing back."

Hearing this, Zhu Youning looked up and noticed a half-unfurled parchment scroll hanging from a branch.

Zhu Youning gathered his strength and leaped up again, retrieving the parchment scroll.

The parchment had originally been sealed shut, but after flying into the branches, it had inevitably been scraped open. Thus, Zhu Youning unavoidably caught sight of several lines of writing.

Taking the parchment, he gave it a rough scan and saw that it was filled with methods for circulating qi, guiding it through the body, shifting the palaces, and exerting force.

This was an internal cultivation art?

Zhu Youning's curiosity was instantly piqued. Completely disregarding the others nearby, he immediately spread open the entire parchment scroll and examined it carefully.

Several lines were written at the beginning of the scroll: This internal cultivation art is called the Qi Scripture. For the past hundred years, it has belonged exclusively to the Li Tang imperial family. I found this copy in the former residence of Li Yi, the Prince of Wei. Now, by royal command, I am traveling to Chang'an to investigate Emperor Zhaozong, Li Ye. I fear that I will soon be slain by the Buliangren and that my days are numbered. Therefore, I specially pass this internal cultivation formula to my descendants, that after my bones have withered away, they may avenge this grievance.

By this point, Zhu Youning already understood the origins of the Qi Scripture.

It turned out that Zhu Youlun had found this Qi Scripture in Li Yi's former residence.

Li Yi, the former Prince of Wei, had been Emperor Yizong of Tang's eldest son. Had he not been killed by eunuchs, the position of crown prince would surely have been his. How could it ever have fallen to the fifth son, Li Xuan?

Given Li Yi's status, it was indeed possible that he had left behind the mental cultivation method for the Qi Scripture. Even Li Kan, the fourth son, had mastered the Qi Scripture technique. As Li Kan's elder brother and Emperor Yizong of Tang's eldest son, how could Li Yi possibly not know this technique?

He continued reading. Below was the main text of the internal cultivation art.

Guide qi to move the spirit, survey intent and wander freely; let river veins, valleys, and ravines enter the waters; follow Heaven and emulate Earth, taking in all things; then the twelve meridians shall naturally flow freely.

Zhu Youning stood where he was, holding the sheepskin scroll and reading it for about a minute before a mechanical voice sounded.

[Ding, a cultivable martial art has been detected: Qi Scripture. Would you like to cultivate the martial art: Qi Scripture?]

[Ding, you have learned the martial art: Qi Scripture.]

[Ding, you have chosen to replace the martial art in the auto-cultivation slot, Cold Heart Art, with the martial art: Qi Scripture.]

[Ding, your martial art: Cold Heart Art has stopped auto-cultivating!]

[Ding, your martial art: Qi Scripture has begun auto-cultivating. It is expected to complete one training cycle in twenty-four hours. During this period, you may accelerate the cultivation process by consuming heavenly treasures!]

[]

Having learned the Qi Scripture, Zhu Youning was naturally delighted. But in the eyes of Lady Li and her daughter Zhan'er, he seemed rather strange.

"Uncle, what's wrong with you?"

Hearing Lady Li's words, Zhu Youning finally came back to his senses.

He handed the sheepskin scroll to Lady Li and said, "This scroll was left behind by my elder brother for the two of you."

Lady Li accepted the sheepskin scroll.

Zhu Youning looked at the little girl, whose eyes were red from crying, and after pondering for a moment, said, "In times like these, girls do not necessarily need to learn needlework. It would actually be better if they had martial skills to protect themselves."

"Uncle is right." Lady Li had also seen the contents of the sheepskin scroll. "After all, it was left behind by my late husband. It is only right that this child cultivates this inner art."

"Sister-in-law, there is no need to push her too hard. A peaceful, quiet life is still best." After saying this, Zhu Youning added gently, "I haven't come to visit you in a long time because I truly couldn't get away. Later, I'll have someone send over some money and silk. You should buy some household necessities as well. Consider it a gift from me, your younger brother."