Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method

Inside North Sea Market.

Ever since Chen Yuan left, Chu Hongshang had remained in the inn, not daring to leave even half a step.

Her feelings were complicated. On one hand, she wanted Chen Yuan to help avenge her; on the other, she worried for his safety.

At this point, Chu Hongshang was not yet the cold-blooded, ruthless Scarlet Chain Demon Venerable of later years, one who killed as easily as breathing.

Driven out by the Wang Family, with no family left and no way to seek revenge, Chen Yuan had been the only one to step forward and offer to help after Chu Hongshang had sunk into despair.

She hoped Chen Yuan would avenge the extermination of her family, yet she did not want this "good man" to come to harm.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Like a startled rabbit, Chu Hongshang abruptly backed away, clutching her small dagger tightly.

When she saw that Chen Yuan had entered, Chu Hongshang finally let out a breath of relief, a hint of surprise appearing on her face. "Benefactor, you're back!"

Chen Yuan placed the box behind him on the floor and opened it. Inside were four ferocious-looking heads.

"These are the heads of Zhu Chaofeng, Zhu Chengan, Zhu Chengze, and Zhu Chengzu. I blew Zhu Chengguo apart, so his head is nowhere to be found.

No one in the Zhu Family was left alive. Strictly speaking, though, there is still Zhu Chengzong, who is far away at the Radiant Extreme Sect. There's no way to kill him for now."

Chu Hongshang stared unblinkingly at the four heads. She neither cried nor spoke, instead falling into an eerie calm.

Chen Yuan understood this well.

Once a person's emotions underwent an immense upheaval, they would instinctively shut themselves off.

The same was true of both extreme joy and extreme grief.

Two streams of tears gradually slid from Chu Hongshang's eyes, yet she still did not make a sound.

After a long while, Chu Hongshang suddenly dropped to her knees before Chen Yuan.

"Thank you, Benefactor, for avenging my family's destruction. I, Chu Hongshang, am willing to toil like an ox or horse for the rest of my life to repay your kindness!"

Chen Yuan helped Chu Hongshang up and gently shook his head. "I told you before, there's no need for you to toil like an ox or horse. You only need to help me open this Heavenly Star Divine Casket."

As he spoke, Chen Yuan took out the Heavenly Star Divine Casket from behind him and placed it on the table.

At the sight of the Heavenly Star Divine Casket, Chu Hongshang's tears began flowing uncontrollably once more.

She had seen this thing as a child. After all, it was a treasure that had been passed down through the Chu Family for many years.

However, by the time she was born, the Heavenly Star Divine Casket had already been deemed worthless. It had been tossed into a corner of the Chu Family treasury, untouched for years.

Naturally, Chu Hongshang had not been interested in a lump of iron, so she had merely seen it without paying much attention.

But now, seeing the object brought back memories of her family, and the grief in her heart surged forth once again.

A moment later, Chu Hongshang wiped away her tears, looking slightly embarrassed. "But, Benefactor, I truly don't know how to open this. Everyone in my family always said it was just a lump of iron."

"You yourself are the key to opening it. Place your hand on the Heavenly Star Divine Casket now, then empty your mind."

Though Chu Hongshang was puzzled, she still did as Chen Yuan instructed.

At first, nothing changed. But as she began to empty her mind, the star maps on the Heavenly Star Divine Casket began to emit a faint glow.

The transformations of those celestial signs imprinted themselves in Chu Hongshang's mind, revolving endlessly within it.

For an instant, Chu Hongshang panicked, but Chen Yuan's voice suddenly rang out beside her ear. "Calm your heart and settle your qi. Don't overthink it. Take the initiative to harmonize with the star map in your mind."

Chu Hongshang took a deep breath, stopped resisting, and followed that star map into the depths of her mind.

In the end, the star map erupted with dazzling starlight, enveloping Chu Hongshang entirely.

A moment later, the starlight returned to the Heavenly Star Divine Casket. The casket, which had seemed like a solid lump of iron, suddenly gave off a series of metallic clanks. In an instant, orderly cracks appeared across its surface.

The divine casket split open. Its outer shell truly was nearly solid iron, but at its center lay a jade pendant no larger than a single coin.

Chen Yuan picked up the jade pendant, and in an instant, a stream of light surged into his mind.

All the information regarding the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method was completely imprinted in Chen Yuan's memories.

"This is..."

Chu Hongshang stared blankly at the scene.

She had never imagined that the Heavenly Star Divine Casket, which the Chu Family had considered worthless, could undergo such a transformation.

"At the end of the ancient era, the world fell into chaos. Among the branches of the Daoist sects in the Central Plains was one called the Creation Dao Sect, which chose to flee to the distant seas and live in seclusion.

The Creation Dao Sect possessed two extraordinary arts, known as the Son of Heaven Qi-Watching Art and the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method. Both were supreme Heaven-rank secret arts.

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

One focuses outward, observing the qi phenomena of heaven and earth and using their myriad transformations for oneself.

The other focuses inward, observing the deities of the inner scenery and unlocking the mysterious transformations of the physical body.

One is internal and one external. Cultivating both the inner and outer heavens allows one to break through the barrier between life and death, reaching the realm of seeing deities without decay.

Your Chu Family ancestor was a descendant of a Creation Dao Sect disciple and inherited the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method.

The reason the Creation Dao Sect declined was because its cultivation arts placed extremely harsh demands on talent. Those with insufficient talent could not only fail to cultivate them, but could also easily suffer qi deviation and injure themselves.

That was why your Chu Family ancestor sealed the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method within the Heavenly Star Divine Casket.

The Heavenly Star Divine Casket was actually an aptitude tester. Only someone with outstanding talent, qualified to cultivate the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method, and possessing Chu Family blood could open it.

It was simply that some accident must have occurred back then, causing your Chu Family ancestor himself to lose knowledge of the Heavenly Star Divine Casket's true purpose and the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method within it.

Furthermore, for all these years, most members of the Chu Family had possessed mediocre talent and were not qualified to open the Heavenly Star Divine Casket.

Only you possessed exceptional talent. You are the only person in this world capable of opening the Heavenly Star Divine Casket."

As he said this, Chen Yuan could not help but feel that fate truly toyed with people.

The Chu Family had declined so greatly that they no longer knew their own origins. They had treated the Heavenly Star Divine Casket as trash, and Chu Hongshang had never had the chance to touch it.

Chu Hongshang possessed astonishing talent, but because the Chu Family doted on her and could not bear to make her suffer through martial training, they had never discovered her incredible aptitude for martial arts.

Only later, after she had become the Scarlet Chain Demon Venerable whose name shook the martial world, did she discover, after avenging herself and finding her family's relics, that the Chu Family had been begging with a golden bowl in hand all along, until they starved to death.

Chu Hongshang's expression was complicated. "Creation Dao Sect? Fate truly does toy with people.

If my Chu Family had possessed strength, we would not have been exterminated by the Zhu Family and left to be slaughtered by others!"

Chen Yuan placed the jade pendant into Chu Hongshang's hand. Instantly, the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method was imprinted in her mind as well.

Chu Hongshang was somewhat surprised.

She had not expected Chen Yuan to refrain from keeping the cultivation art for himself and instead return it to her.

"This is the Chu Family's cultivation art. You possess Chu Family blood, so you should be able to get started quickly. Your cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds.

But I advise you to destroy this thing now. A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure invites disaster. You cannot protect a Heaven-rank secret art at your current level, nor can you let anyone know about it."

Hearing Chen Yuan say this, Chu Hongshang immediately took out her small dagger and smashed the jade pendant to pieces.

The formation within failed, and the glow on the jade pendant vanished at once.

"Benefactor, can I follow you from now on?"

Chu Hongshang's eyes were red as she stared unblinkingly at Chen Yuan.

"The Chu Family is gone. What does it matter if I have obtained the Chu Family's cultivation art? I only ask that you give me a chance, Benefactor. Even if I can only stay by your side as a maidservant."

Chen Yuan was slightly surprised. The future Scarlet Chain Demon Venerable wanted to follow him?

But after pondering for a moment, Chen Yuan shook his head.

The current Chu Hongshang was not the Scarlet Chain Demon Venerable, merely a little girl with no home to return to.

If she followed him, whether she could still become the Scarlet Chain Demon Venerable remained unknown.

Besides, he had plans of his own. Keeping a little girl by his side was not suitable.

"I have no need for a maidservant. Besides, what I intend to do is dangerous. Bringing you along would only harm you."

A trace of desolation appeared in Chu Hongshang's eyes.

Her strength was too lacking. She could not help her benefactor and could only become a burden.

Chen Yuan suddenly asked, "Now that the Zhu Family has been destroyed and your great vengeance avenged, what else do you want?"

"I want power! I want to cultivate martial arts!"

Chu Hongshang's gaze was firm. "My Chu Family never fought or competed with others. We treated people kindly, yet we still met such an end. In this martial world, without power, one can only be slaughtered by others!"

There was one thing Chu Hongshang did not say.

She wanted power because she wanted to become stronger, so that she could help her benefactor rather than remain a burden.

"If that is the case, I can point you toward a path."

Chen Yuan pointed outside and said, "In two days, Shi Xueyan, the Myriad Demons Sect expert known as the Blood-Hand Fairy, will pass through North Sea Market. I am confident I can have her accept you as a disciple and bring you into the Myriad Demons Sect.

The Myriad Demons Sect is one of the foremost great sects of the demonic path. With the Inner Scenery Deity Visualization Method, you will surely stand out within the Myriad Demons Sect in the future.

However, the Myriad Demons Sect is a demonic sect. Its rules are survival of the fittest, and it is exceedingly cruel. Disciples of the sect kill one another at the slightest provocation. You may also become someone else's stepping stone."

"I am willing to join the Myriad Demons Sect!"

Chu Hongshang raised her head and agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Cruel? Could anything be crueler than her family being wiped out days ago, leaving her alone and helpless, unable to avenge them?

"Good. Then for the next two days, take the heads of the Zhu Family and offer sacrifices to the Chu Family ancestors every day in the center of North Sea Market. Remember to keep your hatred for the Zhu Family from fading. Just wait."

Chen Yuan knew the temperament of that madwoman Shi Xueyan. Though the course of events had changed slightly, he was still confident he could make Shi Xueyan accept Chu Hongshang.

Chu Hongshang nodded, then suddenly asked, "Even now, I still do not know your name, Benefactor."

Chen Yuan paused for a moment before saying, "Chen Tian."

The Heavenly Wolf Gang incident had already settled. In the eyes of everyone in Linked Mountains City, he was already "dead."

Moreover, while this place was not within the Murong Clan's sphere of influence, it was still considered part of Youzhou.

Although he believed Chu Hongshang would not speak carelessly, Chen Yuan still left behind a false name to be safe.

Yuan meant a deep pool, so Chen Yuan casually chose Tian, meaning heaven, as its opposite.

In any case, when they met again someday, she only needed to remember his face.

"Chen Tian."

Chu Hongshang murmured the name to herself, as if she wanted to imprint it deep within her mind.