Imperial Heaven

The residence had been swept spotless, empty and desolate, cold and quiet. Only an elderly couple served as gatekeepers; there were no other servants.

Chu Zhiyuan went to the study in the rear courtyard.

The books in the study were still there, mostly miscellaneous records, with few concerning martial arts.

The former owner probably did not practice martial arts.

Besides a carved writing desk, the study had an Arhat bed beneath the eastern wall, carved with cloud patterns for brief rests.

Chu Zhiyuan sat cross-legged on the Arhat bed, closed his eyes, and spread his Super Sensation over Earthly Soil Hall, fixing it on Feng Zhihao.

The lanterns in Earthly Soil Hall's rear courtyard had been extinguished, and cold moonlight spilled down.

Feng Zhihao was naked, prowling through the small training ground and leaving behind a string of afterimages.

The cold wind stirred the billowing white vapor rising from his body.

As he moved, he continuously thrust his palms forward, sometimes swift, sometimes slow, the directions abrupt and uncanny, impossible to guard against.

He vaguely resembled a serpent slithering at high speed, its tongue darting out with a hiss.

A serpent's structure differed from a human's, allowing it to make movements humans could not. Those same movements, performed by a human body, became bizarre and unimaginable.

That was the power of this palm art: astonishingly fast and bizarrely unpredictable.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

He knew Feng Zhihao was deeply frustrated.

This set of palm techniques was both swift and strange, impossible to defend against, yet it had been interrupted before he could unleash it. He had never gotten the chance to display its power.

Chu Zhiyuan guessed that the humiliation of being suppressed and beaten all along had enraged Feng Zhihao beyond measure. He hated his own incompetence, and only such self-tormenting training could ease it somewhat.

Chu Zhiyuan compared them inwardly.

The Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart Step and the Great Avalanche Sword Art drove power to its absolute limit, like staking everything on a single hammer blow, contrary to martial principles.

Martial artists generally used seventy percent of their strength, reserving thirty percent for unforeseen changes. Unless driven into a desperate corner, they would not stake everything on one throw.

Others used seventy percent; he used one hundred. Thus, among those of the same realm, there were almost none who could stand against him.

Feng Zhihao was only at the Second Layer. Even if he were at the same Third Layer as Chu Zhiyuan, he still would not be Chu Zhiyuan's match.

There were exceedingly few supreme arts in the world that could rival the Great Avalanche Sword Art and the Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart Step, not to mention that he also had the Earthly Yuan Art to complement them.

Feng Zhihao trained over and over beneath the moonlight and amid the cold wind, only dragging his exhausted body into the warm Quiet Room once he had utterly spent himself.

He removed the Landscape Painting, revealing the Earth Venerable Diagram. With difficulty, he sat on the bed opposite it, crossed his legs, and gradually steadied his breathing.

After a bout of self-tormenting cultivation, his mind found a brief peace. That was the best time to practice.

The room was warm as spring. Naked, he formed hand seals, while his lips shaped a word. Chu Zhiyuan determined it was "Suppress."

Feng Zhihao's gaze fell upon the "Suppress" on the Earth Venerable Diagram.

Super Sensation accurately perceived that his gaze was not fixed merely on that character, but also on the mountain beside it.

Without Super Sensation, even if one personally watched Feng Zhihao cultivate, one would be unable to truly discern the scope of his focus.

Feng Zhihao changed hand seals, his lips shaping the character "All." His gaze fell upon "All," and at the same time upon the blue sky beside it.

As Chu Zhiyuan carefully observed, he pondered.

This was the unity of heart, mouth, and intent. This Earth Venerable Diagram was equivalent to a Visualization Diagram.

From Chu Qingfeng, he had learned the path of royal cultivation: the Lesser Violet Sun Technique built the foundation, the Greater Violet Sun Technique cultivated Qi, and the Violet Sun True Scripture refined the spirit.

Upon reaching the Grandmaster Realm, one had to study the Violet Sun True Scripture, which contained the Violet Sun Visualization Diagram.

He had once guessed that the painting hanging within Bright Martial Hall was the Violet Sun Visualization Diagram. Once one reached the Grandmaster level, the Violet Sun Realm displayed by Chu Qingfeng would emerge.

According to the cultivation sequence of the Violet Sun True Scripture, one could not begin by refining the spirit. One first cultivated essence, then Qi, and only lastly refined the spirit.

The Lesser Violet Sun Technique cultivated essence, the Greater Violet Sun Technique cultivated Qi, and the Violet Sun True Scripture refined the spirit. Only then could one study the Visualization Diagram.

Breaking that sequence and directly refining the spirit was certainly a shortcut that could hasten one's cultivation progress, but it consumed the Primordial Spirit, inevitably leaving one's foundation unstable and making it far harder to attain Grandmaster status.

Grandmasters were already difficult to achieve. With that difficulty increased, the road to becoming a Grandmaster was nearly cut off.

To become a Grandmaster, one had to replenish the consumed Primordial Spirit. Without replenishing it, one could not catch that flash of Grandmaster inspiration. Most people whiled away their years in the Grandmaster Realm.

He rose and paced with his hands behind his back.

Could it be that he could not cultivate the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture?

That Phoenix Pattern could strengthen his Spiritual Power. Did that mean it was strengthening his Primordial Spirit?

In the end, he decided against acting rashly.

This concerned becoming a Grandmaster. He absolutely could not damage his Primordial Spirit merely in pursuit of speed.

Yet if he did not try cultivating the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture, he would not know whether it was the Path of Incense and Fire.

The Path of Incense and Fire was something the Imperial Court would never permit.

Thus, early the next morning, he went to Bright Martial Hall again and sought Chu Qingfeng's advice on the relationship between the Primordial Spirit and Spiritual Power.

He then went to the West Side Hall of Bright Martial Hall and consulted several martial arts secret manuals and martial arts notes, before heading to Tongtian Pavilion to find discussions concerning the Primordial Spirit.

After spending an entire day on it, he finally concluded that the Phoenix Pattern could strengthen his Primordial Spirit, and that an increase in Spiritual Power also meant an increase in the Primordial Spirit.

The bright moon hung slantwise, shining over the lights of ten thousand homes in Yujing City.

Within the Quiet Room of the residence beside Phoenix Street, Chu Zhiyuan formed hand seals with both hands, exactly as Feng Zhihao did in Earthly Soil Hall's rear courtyard.

As he formed the hand seals, he silently recited the nine characters in accordance with the seals, while observing the words and images upon that painting.

After forming the seals nine times, a strange feeling welled up within him, as though he had become the Earth Venerable in the painting.

At the same time, the Earth Venerable Statue in Earthly Soil Hall's main hall suddenly flashed. A ball of light shot toward him, while a smaller ball of light flew toward Feng Zhihao.

The two balls differed in size. The one flying toward him was as large as a fist, while the one flying toward Feng Zhihao was the size of a fingernail.

He guessed it was due to the difference in their Primordial Spirits or Spiritual Power.

The ball of light landed in the Laogong points of his palms, transforming into an off-white, yellow-tinged breath that was warm and mellow.

After several attempts, Chu Zhiyuan smiled.

He did not believe every disciple of the Thick Earth Sect could receive this secret transmission. The Earth Venerable Statue could not possibly possess that much power; it needed to gather and accumulate it.

Ball after ball of light flew over. Once his Laogong points swelled painfully, the power entered his yongquan points on its own. When even the yongquan points had been filled and could receive no more, he stopped.

This Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture did not use the dantian as its dwelling place, but the Laogong points in both palms and the yongquan points in both feet.

The Laogong points in both palms were Imperial Heaven, while the yongquan points in both feet were Earthly Soil.

With a flash, he appeared in the courtyard. The Qingying Sword stabbed out again and again as he repeatedly unleashed the Great Avalanche Sword Art.

After fifty-five strikes, he finally exhausted his strength. Yet his Meridians did not feel as though they were shattering, so he activated the Earthly Yuan Art and continued using the Great Avalanche Sword Art.

After more than a hundred strikes, his Meridians ached as though about to split apart, and the Qingying Sword returned to its sheath.

Using the Dragon Transformation Technique, he guided the power of those four balls of light through his Meridians. His Meridians rapidly recovered, with immediate results.

He repeated the entire process, forming seals, chanting incantations, and visualizing. Ball after ball of light shot from the Earth Venerable Statue, until both his hands and feet brimmed with warm, mellow, yellow-tinged white breath.

After he again unleashed more than a hundred strikes of the Great Avalanche Sword Art, his Meridians were damaged.

This time, he did not use the Dragon Transformation Technique. He directly guided the four masses of breath into his Meridians, following the route of the Greater Celestial Circuit and nourishing them.

His Meridians recovered swiftly, but compared to recovery driven by the Dragon Transformation Technique, the speed was about five times slower. The difference was heaven and earth.

The Dragon Transformation Technique combined with the power of the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture healed injuries as if by divine aid!

Then was this truly the power of incense and fire?

After a while, he sat cross-legged upon the bed and activated the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique.

This time, he condensed nine Dragon Binding Ropes in one breath.

Before, he had not dared condense so many Dragon Binding Ropes. Now that he possessed the power of the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture, his courage had grown.

A quarter of an hour later, he opened his eyes. A sharp gleam burst from them before they returned to clarity.

The fourth Jade Tower had been breached, and his cultivation entered the Fifth Layer of Innate Jade Tower.

His Meridians felt on the verge of shattering. He hurriedly used the power of the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture to activate the Dragon Transformation Technique, and after the time it took to drink a cup of tea, his Meridians recovered.

The efficiency left him clicking his tongue in astonishment.

Unfortunately, this power could only heal Meridians. It could not strengthen them like the power cultivated by the Dragon Transformation Technique.

One healed wounds; the other tempered the body. They followed two separate paths.

With the power of the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture, he dared to take risks.

Thus, he activated the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique again, preparing to assault the Fifth Jade Tower. When he condensed the eighth Dragon Binding Rope, a warning suddenly arose in his heart.

His True Qi after the breakthrough far surpassed what it had been before. His Meridians could only bear seven Dragon Binding Ropes; even the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture could not change that.

So he did not continue condensing Dragon Binding Ropes, using only seven of them to assault the Jade Tower together.

The result was an utterly unsurprising failure.

His Meridians again hurt as though they were about to collapse. The Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture activated the Dragon Transformation Technique, quickly restoring them.

He shook his head helplessly.

The foundation was still the Dragon Transformation Technique. He still had to cultivate his Meridians, and the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture could not be relied upon for that. Instead, he had to rely on Minor Marrow Cleansing Pills and other Spiritual Medicine.

Feng Zhihao had already fallen asleep, yet his brows remained tightly furrowed.

Over the past few days, Feng Zhihao's anger and unwillingness had not diminished. Instead, they had grown ever fiercer, driving him to cultivate desperately.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

The young man was too competitive. He needed to be properly ground down.