Lin Nan's words rang with the force of a hammer striking the ground, prompting Yan Jingqiu and Yan Ling, mother and daughter, to exchange a glance.
They both thought this man might have something seriously wrong with his head.
"Cough, cough, cough. Since that is the case, from today onward, you are a member of True Yang Temple's Demon Hunting Team!"
Yan Jingqiu pulled an iron plaque from her robes, engraved with the three words "Demon Hunting Team."
"Ling'er, teach this young friend the basic information—cultivation methods, taboos, martial knowledge, and the like. I will come teach tomorrow."
With that, Yan Jingqiu turned and left, leaving Yan Ling and Lin Nan behind.
Yan Ling gave him a succinct overview of the situation, then brought Lin Nan to rest in the rear courtyard of True Yang Temple.
"Now that you have joined the Demon Hunting Team, you must complete missions at regular intervals. Our True Yang Temple differs from other martial schools; there is no monthly stipend. The only benefits are a limited monthly supply of meat to replenish your qi and blood, as well as one lesson from the Temple Master each month. Rest up first. Ask me if there is anything you do not understand."
After giving him a few instructions, Yan Ling stuffed two small booklets into his hands and left as well.
After tidying up his room and eating a little dry rations, Lin Nan swallowed several pieces of Taisui Flesh broken into small chunks with water.
He then completed a simple set of Origin-Revering Stance exercises. Only after seeing the number on the progress bar move slightly did he sit down on the bed in satisfaction and open the booklets.
The first booklet recorded in detail the realms beyond that of a martial artist, as well as how one should enter the next realm after achieving mastery of sinews and bones.
He quickly flipped open the pages.
The realm after a qi-and-blood martial artist was known as Martial Master.
The three realms of Martial Masters were the Viscera Realm, Uncarved Jade Realm, and Courage Soul Realm.
After a martial artist achieved mastery of sinews and bones, the only hidden danger remaining lay in the internal organs.
The first booklet recorded methods for tempering the five viscera and six bowels, cleansing away the turbid qi accumulated within them.
When the five viscera and six bowels circulated qi and blood through one another, forming a seamless whole, one reached Uncarved Jade.
Beyond Uncarved Jade came Courage Soul. At that stage, cultivation was no longer purely about the physical body, but also involved martial intent.
Lin Nan closed the booklet, and in an instant, enlightenment dawned upon him. Many points that had previously baffled him now became clear with a single touch.
He could not help but sigh inwardly. He had truly come to the right place. In the Outer City, this booklet alone would fetch an unknown fortune.
Yet here at True Yang Temple, it was treated like an introductory manual.
Still, Lin Nan guessed that things like this could not be spread far and wide. Otherwise, given the True Yang Sect's current straitened circumstances, they would likely have sold them off for money long ago.
Next, he opened the second booklet. Printed on its cover were the four words "Great Qian Dossier."
Lin Nan casually flipped through several pages, but his expression gradually grew solemn.
Besides some of True Yang Temple's history, the dossier also contained one bizarre case after another.
[Bizarre Case One: In the third year of the Kaibao Era of Great Qian, all 671 humans and livestock in Fengluo Village vanished into thin air overnight, leaving the village completely empty. The authorities dispatched ten elite constables into the mountains to investigate. All went missing.]
[Bizarre Case Two: In the fifth year of the Kaibao Era of Great Qian, the Governor of Jizhou Prefecture underwent a strange transformation in his old age. Scarlet, stiff hairs grew all over his body, an ill omen of old age. Servants in his residence vanished one after another, their whereabouts unknown.]
[Bizarre Case Three: In the fifteenth year of the Jingyan Era of Great Qian, the sky over Lin'an City in Cangzhou Prefecture turned an eerie red for three days and three nights, and foul-smelling blood rain fell from the heavens. Anyone drenched by the blood rain had their flesh rot away inch by inch, exposing white bones. They wailed without end before dying miserable deaths. The blood rain receded on its own only after three days.]
[Bizarre Case Four: In the seventeenth year of the Jingyan Era of Great Qian, the Chief Constable of Songyuan City vanished without cause from his residence late at night. No trace of him could be found anywhere in the house; only a pure white lotus-patterned brand remained on the ground. The authorities sent out two successive groups of constables to investigate. Upon returning, all had blood-red eyes and deranged minds.]
The dossier also contained quite a bit of knowledge regarding Evil Spirits.
Since the Great Qian Founding Emperor had slain the white serpent, raised an army, and established Great Qian, bizarre incidents had continued to surface one after another. The traces of demons, monsters, and Evil Spirits seemed never to have vanished, and indeed showed signs of growing fiercer by the day.
The dossier also stated that the regions Great Qian truly controlled were not extensive. Much of the world remained unexplored, filled with danger and mystery.
Closing the booklet, Lin Nan let out a soft sigh.
For a moment, he could not tell whether this was a world of humans, or a world of demons, monsters, and Evil Spirits.
In such a world, even martial artists struggled with every step, as though treading on thin ice—let alone ordinary people.
The next day, dawn had only begun to break.
When Lin Nan awoke, Yan Jingqiu was somehow already standing in his room, watching him with a broad smile.
That gaze made his scalp prickle. Lin Nan hurriedly rose and clasped his fists in greeting. "Good morning, Master!"
"How did you sleep on your first day here?" Yan Jingqiu asked with narrowed, smiling eyes.
The young man before her was the only fresh blood True Yang Temple had gained in the past three years.
She had deliberately risen early today to check on him, afraid that the disciple she had finally managed to catch might run away beforehand. Such things had happened before.
"Reporting to Master, it was quite good," Lin Nan replied.
Though True Yang Temple lay within a valley, it was surprisingly quiet, unlike the clamorous nights of the Outer City.
"That is good." Yan Jingqiu tossed him a booklet bound in cowhide.
Lin Nan caught it and examined it carefully. Written on it were the five words: True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique.
"There are three cultivation methods practiced by our True Yang Temple. The Demon Hunting Team practices the True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique. Unlike ordinary stance arts, this technique not only tempers qi, blood, and flesh, but also requires one to absorb the daylight of dawn and noon to nurture one's inner breath. Once the stance art is mastered, when paired with the Thirty-Six Forms of the True Yang Evil-Breaking Fist, it possesses tremendous killing power against demons, monsters, and Evil Spirits."
Yan Jingqiu wore a smile throughout. Unlike the calculating smile of Master Jie, her smile was gentle, as though she truly were an elder patiently guiding a junior.
"I have learned that you previously cultivated the low-grade ordinary martial art of Black Serpent Martial School, the Spirit Serpent Art. Its nature differs from that of the True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique, so converting your cultivation will take some time. There is no need to rush."
Yan Jingqiu raised a hand and flicked out a thread of force with her finger.
To Lin Nan's surprise, that thread of force actually carried a faint glow, like the light of an oil lamp.
"The True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique has three levels in total: Dawn Glow, Zenith, and Sunset Radiance..."
Yan Jingqiu explained the details of the True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique to Lin Nan bit by bit.
Under her instruction, Lin Nan gradually grasped the key points of the True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique. His understanding of martial arts was no longer limited to stance exercises alone, and he gained a deeper level of insight.
Before long, dusk had fallen.
Without realizing it, she had lectured for an entire afternoon.
"Is there anything else you wish to ask?" Yan Jingqiu patted the dust from her daoist robe and prepared to rise and leave.
Lin Nan suddenly thought of something. His expression hesitated for a moment, but he still asked.
"Master, do you know of Withered Locust Village?"
"Withered Locust Village?"
Lin Nan gritted his teeth and briefly recounted what had happened at Withered Locust Village that day, omitting only the matter of the bronze cup.
Fortunately, after hearing him out, Yan Jingqiu did not forget his words like the others had. Instead, her brows knit slightly.
"If I am not mistaken, you should have encountered a Third-Order Evil Spirit."
"A Third-Order Evil Spirit?"
"That is right. First-Order Evil Spirits are commonly known as demon ghosts, the most common being things like Corpse Ghosts. Second-Order Evil Spirits are Baleful Ghosts, born from immense resentment. Such ghosts possess extremely potent yin and evil qi, making them exceptionally suppressive against martial artists..."
"...As for Third-Order Evil Spirits, they are called Ju Gui. Ordinary qi and blood cannot wear them down at all. They are objects of great calamity, possessing an innate ability to obscure cognition. Ordinary people and martial artists alike will instinctively ignore them, automatically filtering out their existence. Only Martial Masters of the Uncarved Jade Realm, who have initially formed martial awareness, can resist it."
A Third-Order Evil Spirit, with an innate ability to obscure cognition.
After hearing that, Lin Nan could only cry out in amazement.
After Yan Jingqiu finished speaking, a trace of doubt appeared on her face. "As I recall, there should not be an Evil Spirit of such a high order in the western outskirts of West City. An ancient tomb? Could there be some other hidden truth within?"
Time flowed like water, and three months passed.
Lin Nan once again devoted himself wholeheartedly to martial cultivation. The stance art of the True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique was quite different, requiring him to face the dawn at the hour of the tiger each day and refine True Yang Origin Qi within his dantian.
After practicing it over and over, and with the experience of his previous two stance arts, Lin Nan quickly gained entry into the martial artist portion of the True Yang Illuminating Origin Technique.
Just as he was about to spend all the silver Zhou Gu had earned from selling old books,
the Sixth Demon Hunting Team of True Yang Temple, to which he belonged, finally received a mission.
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