Son of Heaven Qi-Watching, Inner Scenery Deity Visualization

The Daoist School of the present age had countless branches. From the Primordial Era to the present, it had evolved into innumerable lineages and traditions.

The "Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art" came from the Creation Dao Sect, a branch of the Daoist School from the late Primordial Era.

To escape the chaos that swept the world at the end of the Primordial Era, the Creation Dao Sect secluded itself overseas. From then on, there had been no news of it. Its sect inheritance had been severed, though scattered techniques still circulated through the martial world.

The two most famous were the "Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art" and the "Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method," both Heaven-grade secret arts.

The Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art saw heaven and earth; the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method saw oneself.

One focused outward, observing the phenomena of heaven and earth and turning their myriad transformations to one's own use.

The other focused inward, observing the deities within one's inner scenery, unlocking the mysteries of the flesh, and breaking through the barrier between life and death.

If Chen Yuan could obtain the "Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method" this time, he could use the power of inner scenery deity visualization to control his body more perfectly and suppress the blood-fiend power that had gone out of control.

After learning why Zuo Xinglie was being hunted, Chen Yuan could not help but marvel that the old fox truly was a shrewd man.

A formidable figure who had built his foundation from nothing on the Nine-Dragon River could never be simple.

No wonder that, both in the original plot and this time, he had so decisively handed over the "Autumn Water Startled Swan Saber" and the "Surging Waves, Flowing Clouds Formula."

One reason was to deliberately throw out a target and draw attention. The other was that, after obtaining a Heaven-grade technique, he no longer thought much of those two martial arts that had made his name.

But he was already crippled. What could he do even with the "Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art"?

The "Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art" possessed strange and wondrous power, but Chen Yuan had never heard that it could reconstruct severed meridians or regenerate lost limbs.

Chen Yuan was somewhat puzzled, but after giving it some thought, he made a few guesses.

It seemed Zuo Xinglie was still unwilling to accept defeat.

He claimed that he wanted to wash his hands of the martial world and retire, but in truth, he still wanted to return and take revenge.

Only, he would not be the one returning to take revenge. He would rely on his granddaughter to do it.

His granddaughter was still young, but Daoist School techniques placed the greatest emphasis on foundations.

If he had his granddaughter cultivate the "Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art" from childhood, observing the phenomena of heaven and earth and comprehending Daoic profundities, then once she formally began martial cultivation, her progress would surely be incredibly swift.

At that moment, the leader of the six men saw Chen Yuan lost in thought for a long while without speaking. He could not help but beg, "I've told you everything I know. I truly can't return to the Mystic Whale Gang. Please, spare my life."

Chen Yuan nodded. "You truly can't return to the Mystic Whale Gang. All your subordinates are dead, and you sold the gang's secrets. Going back would be seeking death. The Mystic Whale Gang won't spare you."

Upon hearing that, a trace of joy immediately appeared on the man's face.

But in the next moment, Chen Yuan tightened his grip. A spray of blood immediately blossomed across the man's neck.

The leader stared at Chen Yuan in disbelief, his eyes filled with confusion and incomprehension. At last, he crashed to the ground.

"But you're so afraid of death. If the Mystic Whale Gang captures you, you'll definitely sell me out as well. It's safer if you're dead."

Shaking the droplets of blood from his blade, Chen Yuan pushed open the window and left directly.

Everyone the Mystic Whale Gang had sent to Youzhou to investigate Zuo Xinglie had been killed by him. That gave the old fox more time.

This time, if Zuo Xinglie went into hiding again, he would surely choose a safer place.

By that calculation, Zuo Xinglie had fobbed him off with just two techniques. It seemed Chen Yuan had gotten the worse end of the deal.

Still, Chen Yuan remembered this information. Once he no longer feared pursuit by the Murong Clan, he would definitely return to Youzhou and have another meeting with Zuo Xinglie.

Early the next morning, Chen Yuan left the inn. The people from the neighboring inn were carrying corpses outside.

The local constables merely took a casual glance before ordering the bodies dragged to the wilderness beyond town and buried.

All the dead were outsiders. At a glance, it was clearly a martial world vendetta.

The local constables could not be bothered to deal with such matters. They simply searched the bodies for silver, pocketed ninety-nine percent of it themselves, and gave the inn a tiny sum—barely enough to clean the blood from the ground. That alone counted as conscientious.

Chen Yuan took one look and left, finding a blacksmith's shop in town to have a scabbard made.

The town blacksmith was merely an ordinary smith. Usually, he made kitchen knives, axes, and the like. At most, he forged hunting knives.

When the old blacksmith saw Chen Yuan's Azure Dragon Blooddrinker, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Fine saber! A truly fine saber! Rest assured, sir, I'll definitely make you a scabbard worthy of it.

"Don't think that I only forge kitchen knives and hoes all day. My master's master's master was once a weaponsmith from the Capital City's Directorate of Palace Construction. He forged weapons specifically for princes, nobles, and aristocrats."

"It's only a scabbard. Something plain will do."

"How could that do? Just wait and see, sir!"

The old blacksmith felt that Chen Yuan did not quite trust his ability, and his competitive spirit was immediately roused. He swung his hammer and got to work.

After forging for half a day, the old blacksmith finally made the outer shell of the scabbard from fine refined iron.

He tested it and found that it fit perfectly, light yet tough.

But he was not finished. To match the dragon head on the hilt, the old blacksmith also engraved exquisite dragon patterns onto the scabbard.

Then he brought out a large chest and rummaged through it until he found a piece of blue sharkskin to wrap around the scabbard.

There were also various metal inlays and jade pieces shining with different lusters inside. The old blacksmith selected several of them as decorations and embedded them into the scabbard.

Now Chen Yuan believed him. His ancestral master really might have been a weaponsmith from the Directorate of Palace Construction.

Ordinary weaponsmiths in the martial world might not even know these flashy techniques.

After embedding the final jade piece, the old blacksmith handed the scabbard to Chen Yuan with satisfaction.

"Give it a try, sir."

Chen Yuan sheathed his saber, and it let out a pleasant hum.

The dragon-patterned scabbard of blue sharkskin matched the Azure Dragon Blooddrinker perfectly. Anyone unaware of the truth would think it had originally come like this.

"Master, your craftsmanship is incredible. How much?"

The old blacksmith waved his hand. "No charge. With a saber this fine, I could never forge something like it in my lifetime.

"To be able to make a scabbard for such a fine saber in this life means I haven't disgraced my ancestors' craft. Sir, you've fulfilled one of my lifelong wishes."

Chen Yuan smiled, strapped the saber to his waist, mounted his horse, and tossed a silver ingot behind him. It landed in front of the old blacksmith.

The old blacksmith picked it up and was just about to return it when he realized Chen Yuan had already vanished.

"What a good man."

The old blacksmith sighed.

Little did he know that the murder case everyone in town had been discussing was committed by that very "good man."

Chen Yuan rode southward and was now nearing the edge of Youzhou.

Past this point was no longer the Murong Clan's territory. Even if the Murong Clan discovered something, its influence could not reach this far.

Three days later, Chen Yuan arrived at a place called North Sea Market.

To find the "Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method," he had to start here.

Youzhou also had access to the sea, though there was only one coastal area, a few li north of North Sea Market.

Although this was an estuary, it was mostly rugged mountain terrain. Several small towns in the area had all been built on mountainsides.

Only North Sea Market occupied a stretch of flat land, so it became the center of trade and travel between the surrounding small towns.

At first, North Sea Market truly had only been a marketplace. But after so many years of development, it had grown to roughly the size of a small town.

Many sailors heading out to sea replenished their supplies here, while merchant caravans bound for overseas recruited martial artists here as guards.

Likewise, when martial artists returned after discovering valuable items, many would sell them directly at North Sea Market. That made the place exceptionally prosperous.

Upon entering North Sea Market, a damp, salty, fishy smell washed over him.

Many fishermen had set up stalls selling all manner of strange seafood, while some martial artists displayed rare treasures and curios supposedly recovered from overseas ruins.

Of course, ninety-nine percent of them were fake.

At the end of the Primordial Era, gods and demons vanished, and the world fell into chaos.

The countless clans, sects, and religious schools of the Central Plains fought one another in a tangled mess. Martial arts also underwent tremendous change and development during that era.

Some sects and noble families at the time had no great ambitions and did not wish to participate in the Central Plains' wars, so they fled far overseas and secluded themselves.

Thus, many Daoist lineages and inheritances unavailable in the Central Plains existed overseas, and one could indeed find many sect ruins from the late Primordial Era.

The "Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art" in Zuo Xinglie's possession had been found overseas.

But after so many years of searching, nearly every island in the nearby seas had been thoroughly scoured. There was nothing good left there long ago.

Only distant islands with fierce winds and raging waves still offered the possibility of discovery.

"Young hero, take a look. This is a Dragon-Pattern Black Gold Cauldron left behind by an ancient Daoist School. Daoist scriptures are inscribed inside it. You look like an exceptionally gifted young talent. Maybe you can comprehend some peerless technique from it."

In bustling North Sea Market, a ragged middle-aged man with a mouthful of rotten teeth stopped Chen Yuan and tried to sell him a crudely crafted little cauldron.

"From an ancient Daoist School?"

The middle-aged man patted his chest in guarantee. "Absolutely ancient!"

Chen Yuan pointed at the inscription on the cauldron with an amused smile. "Last week would be more like it. If you're going to make a fake, at least put some effort into it. You could have copied some ancient minor clan's script and written nonsense with it. Ancient cauldrons used Great Xia's official script. This fake of yours is rather blatant."

"Young hero, you're an expert."

The middle-aged man chuckled, showing no embarrassment whatsoever at being exposed.

"I've got genuine goods too. Let me show you."

Chen Yuan waved his hand. "I'm not looking at goods. Where is Myriad Connections Tavern?"

As he spoke, Chen Yuan tossed out a small piece of broken silver.

The middle-aged man immediately beamed. "Head forward, turn right when you reach the long street, and go straight to the center of North Sea Market. Are you going to Myriad Connections Tavern to hire people for a sea voyage?"

"No. I'm a blade catcher. I'm going there to take on a job."

Watching Chen Yuan depart, the middle-aged man curled his lip. "Who are you trying to fool? Just messing with me for fun."

He had seen it clearly earlier. That young man's scabbard was exceptionally exquisite—dragon-patterned sharkskin, with jade decorations embedded in it.

He used silver rather than copper coins just to ask for directions. One look was enough to tell that he was some family's young master.

How could someone like that possibly be one of those miserable blade catchers?

In truth, Chen Yuan had not given him silver because he was generous. It was because he only had silver on hand and no copper coins.

Before leaving the Heavenly Wolf Gang, he had taken quite a bit of wealth from Jiang Kaitai.

Various banknotes, gold bars, and silver ingots added up to more than ten thousand taels.

That silver was enough for Chen Yuan to live very comfortably, but it was nowhere near enough for martial cultivation.

For example, pills produced by Medicine King Valley, such as the Nine-Turn Nourishing Origin Pill, were simply unavailable for purchase. They could only be traded for all sorts of rare treasures.