Blank Divine Power Conceals Incense Offerings; a New Classic Appears on the Starry Battlefield

As he pondered, the Household Ancestor Chen did some calculations with his fingers and sighed.

"It really was him!"

After saying that, he reached out and pulled the box towards him.

This box was the book box containing Military Miscellany that he had taken from Pang Qianru. According to the Household Ancestor Chen, it was because Qiu Yan and the others were not capable of possessing it.

"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime. Now that the clues in this miscellaneous book have been revealed, it will surely attract the attention of those people. I must be careful to avoid being caught off guard, but it also presents an opportunity."

As he spoke, he took the book out of the box, and the book shook violently.

Military Miscellany.

Although the book's cover was still closed, Military School scenes kept emerging from between the pages, like a flood gushing out from a crack in a dam, showing signs of being unstoppable.

Faint ripples spread slowly through the Void along with these scenes.

"I left behind the Heart Demon's offspring so that I wouldn't cut off the fortuitous opportunity of others and could also befriend Qiu Yan. Although this book is precious, forcibly taking it, while ostensibly protecting it, is practically tantamount to plundering and seizing it, thus cutting off the fortuitous opportunity of everyone present. Now it seems that this matter is not only their fortuitous opportunity, but also fortuitous opportunity!"

As he pondered, the Household Ancestor Chen rose and sat cross-legged, placing the book in front of him. With a wave of his hand, an Incense Burner flew out of the cabinet beside him with a clang, landing on the ground. Then, with another flick of his sleeve, several thin incense sticks flew out from the other side and were inserted into the Incense Burner.

Immediately afterwards, the Household Ancestor Chen's chest swelled up, his chest filled with swirling air, and his aura rapidly increased. His robes slowly billowed, making him look like an inflating balloon!

After a moment of preparation, with a shout of "Quick!", the pent-up breath was exhaled from his mouth, landing on the Incense Burner, where the incense ignited.

Three burning incense sticks emitted wisps of smoke, revealing a multitude of emotional shifts, twisting and turning like a dream, with bursts of darkness, as if space itself were distorted, connecting the interior and exterior of the Continent.

A faint scent of incense wafted from the smoke, settling onto the book, "Military Miscellany." It mingled with the Military School scenes emanating from between the pages, creating a hazy yet easily identifiable image. The Military School scenes were subtly suppressed by the smoke, flowing and shifting within it.

"I initially befriended Qiu Yan because he caused an unusual phenomenon during the Metropolitan Examination. I felt that he might have made achievements in Human Path, and I also knew that he cultivated Divine Ability. His situation was similar to mine, so I wanted to guide him and try to find an opportunity to get out of my predicament through him. I never expected that this person's actions would be so unpredictable, and his progress would far exceed my expectations."

Looking at the books shrouded in smoke, the Household Ancestor Chen did not react immediately, but waited quietly, recalling the bits and pieces of his life since he learned about Qiu Yan.

"I just thought Qiu Yan had unlimited potential, and he directly Thought-Convergent Order, becoming Grand Confucian! I've been studying this for many years and finally found a way to nurture Outer Demon and bypass the obstacles of Divine Ability. But Heart Demon to tame. Even if they are as easy to control as an arm, once they disrupt the Order, they must be allowed to enter one's heart. At that point, one can only let them do whatever they want, and even the highest level of Divine Ability will be useless. That's why I enter my dreams every day, treating each day as ten years, but I still haven't perfected it. Qiu Yan also cultivates Divine Ability, but I don't know what method he used."

"Let's leave that aside for now. We'll formally seek his Karma. I thought he'd need a few years to mature, but instead, he directly created Human Dao Canon, becoming one of the world's most Grand Confucian scholars. Once he establishes his lineage and teaches disciples, he'll likely be called a living Sage, just like the Junior Chen brothers. However, the Junior Chen co-authored a book, while Qiu Yan has a single classic to his name, which is quite different. Unfortunately, he's limited to Military School, so he'll inevitably be overshadowed by the Confucian school..."

"I originally thought it would be several years before Qiu Yan could help me with my promotion, but in just a few days, he has already figured out this Miscellaneous Military Miscellany and is about to enter another level of the world. I might be able to get out of my predicament through this. Although I didn't advance through watching Qiu Yan, it was still because of him!"

Thinking of this, the incense smoke in front of him suddenly changed, sticking tightly to the book, forming a thin layer that sealed away the Military School scenes that had been leaked.

The ripples in the Void ceased.

Then, the Household Ancestor Chen inhaled and finished his practice, his aura gradually subsided, and his bulging robes deflated.

Then, with another flick of his sleeve, a surge of energy erupted, landing on the Incense Burner and the incense sticks. The incense suddenly went out, and the two items returned to their respective places. However, a trace of residual smoke was trapped and fell into the hands of the Household Ancestor Chen.

He glanced at the wisps of smoke in his hand and sighed, "The Blank Divine Power is dwindling. In a while, it'll probably be gone. If I can't condense Blank Divine Power to burn incense, how will I keep the incense burning? It seems I need to hurry and take action."

Thinking this, he shuddered, and the Outer Demon reappeared.

These Outer Demon, already damaged by the movement of the box containing the books, reappeared as if all the damage had vanished. They remained agile and changeable, merging with the smoke from the hands of the Household Ancestor Chen. They flew with the wind and landed around the <Military Miscellany>, where they absorbed a thin layer of smoke from the book's surface, which slowly seeped inside.

On the other side, the Household Ancestor Chen shuddered, and the character "Dao" reappeared on his forehead. This character was as red as fire, releasing rolling heat. Before long, it even steamed and roasted the flesh on his forehead until it smelled burnt.

"Is it a soul-burning raging fire?"

The Household Ancestor Chen frowned, a hint of worry in his eyes. He shook his head. "No, it's not a simple soul-burning. I used Outer Demon to merge into this book, entering the virtual world within the miscellaneous records, and empathized with Qiu Yan. Qiu Yan possesses Divine Ability; his soul has long been tempered. Not to mention being burned by heat, even being forged by True Fire, he can withstand it, unless..."

"It uses the Samadhi True Fire to burn away the consciousness itself. In this way, the soul is nothing but a shell. Once the consciousness is burned away, what remains is nothing but an empty soul."

Thinking this, the flesh on the forehead of the Household Ancestor Chen slowly turned red.

"This must be a test before venturing into the Cosmic Primordial Wilds. Even if I wanted to help, it would be useless. However, with Qiu Yan's abilities, he shouldn't be defeated by such methods. Once he passes the test, I can lend a hand... Hmm? What's going on? It's been quite some time, and Qiu Yan's consciousness has actually been damaged. Logically speaking... Huh?"

Suddenly, a look of horror appeared on the face of the Household Ancestor Chen.

This expression hadn't appeared on his face for years. In fact, it had been a long time since the old man had experienced such rapid emotional changes, but after meeting Qiu Yan, the frequency and number of these emotional upheavals increased dramatically.

"Could it be that Qiu Yan is plotting something...? If that's the case, this person is far too terrifying and far too persistent. No wonder he was able to traverse in such a short time the path that most cultivators take decades or even centuries to complete!"

In the Military World, before the Twin Pagodas.

The burning of consciousness by flames brings a completely new feeling, as if one's own emotions, anger, evil Heart Fire are spreading uncontrollably and wantonly destroying one's own consciousness, giving one the feeling of being trapped in one's own cocoon.

Qiu Yan's consciousness had shrunk by one-tenth under the scorching heat, suffering considerable damage. However, Qiu Yan's State of Mind remained completely calm. Instead, he became even more focused, not even trying to break free, but concentrating his mind on the changes in his consciousness.

"I see. This method of burning consciousness is similar to how gods influence the thoughts of believers, but it is much more brutal. It utilizes a great power of heaven and earth. At my level, I cannot yet comprehend the workings of this power; I can only barely remember the sensations. Furthermore, although my own consciousness is firm, its essence is not high enough to persist for long. I can only explore to this extent for now."

This test mentioned by the Household Ancestor Chen was taken by Qiu Yan as an opportunity to observe the changes in the human Human Path Fleshly Body, and he investigated it, seemingly not caring about his own safety at all.

Faced with such a situation, ordinary people would either shrink back from the challenge or become so excited that they lose control of their minds and their consciousness crumbles. Even those with strong wills would only think about escaping the test and getting closer to that fortuitous opportunity.

However, Qiu Yan grasped the changes in the test itself, probing the changes in Human Path consciousness. He was subtly detached from the outside world, quite different from ordinary people, and had a kind of indifferent air about him. No wonder the Household Ancestor Chen was shocked.

However, in the end, due to the limitations of objective factors, Qiu Yan still had to calm his mind and end the observation. With a change of mind, his Heart Demon Body and Divine Spirit Body combined with his flesh and blood consciousness, and all kinds of brilliant thoughts bloomed. He actually survived the burning in an instant, dispelled the torment in his heart, and his consciousness became clear!

This made the Household Ancestor Chen, who relied on Outer Demon to connect with the Military World, widen his eyes.

Next, before Ancestor Chen could react, the entire Military World suddenly twisted with Qiu Yan's thoughts. Plains disappeared, mountains and rivers collapsed, revealing a starry sky. Qiu Yan's consciousness fell downwards at a rapid speed, with the surrounding light and shadow changing as it passed through star after star.

His consciousness focused, and he saw palaces and Spiritual Light in the stars, but he could not stop to examine them closely. The light and shadow changed like a revolving lantern, and soon a vast desert appeared below.

Qiu Yan's consciousness landed directly on it.

"Bang!"

The dull thud was heavy. Qiu Yan's consciousness bounced on the sand. Sand grains gathered and condensed into a body. Flesh and bones grew rapidly and eventually took on a physical form. Dust flew over and solidified into clothes.

A voice came from the side—

"Hmm? Another descendant of Military School strategist has fallen on the Sand Battlefield. The birth of this new Military Canon has certainly attracted a lot of attention, but it's hard to say who will ultimately succeed using this book."

Qiu Yan looked in the direction of the sound, and his gaze swept across the area, revealing a rapidly expanding field of vision. Within a radius of ten miles, he spotted numerous figures, each exuding an aura of military might.

In the center of these people stood a high platform, from which illusory books floated, their covers bearing four large characters—

The Essentials of the Military Classics! (To be continued...)