True Arts

Having cultivated Dharma Power, Qin Lian seemed to have found something entertaining.

He spent the next half month familiarizing himself with its many wonders.

And among those wonders, what truly delighted him were the two traits he already possessed: [Swiftness] and [Blood Burning].

In the courtyard.

Qin Lian wielded no sword, yet he moved like a phantom, darting and weaving with unbelievable speed.

Then he closed his empty hand, and the air in his palm seemed to be crushed apart by surging force, producing a deep, muffled boom.

That burst of speed and strength...

"Just as I suspected. Swiftness and Blood Burning are actually innate spells that can be cast without Dharma Power. If I follow the paths of their activation and let Dharma Power do the work instead, I can still wield both powers-and use them on other people, too."

Heaven Rewards Diligence, filling gaps and mending flaws.

Its very purpose was to complete flawed skills, bringing them into a more perfect form.

"They say that in ancient times, an immortal preached the Dao to three thousand disciples. Yet not all three thousand possessed naturally formed Dao Bodies and attained the Great Dao. Those whose aptitude fell short simplified immortal arts, divine abilities, and Daoist methods, giving rise to the sword arts, martial techniques, and cultivation methods passed down through the world..."

Qin Lian recalled this account...

Many had originally thought this was merely Spirit-Refining True Persons gilding their own faces, but now it seemed...

In all likelihood, that was indeed how it had happened.

On the path of cultivation.

Those who sought the highest pursued Spirit Refining and cultivated truth.

Those who sought the middle refined qi and condensed astral energy.

Those who sought the lowest pursued Body Refining.

In cultivation circles, everyone knew Body Refining could only take one as far as the first grade, so why did so many still practice it?

Wasn't it because Qi Refining required aptitude and comprehension?

Even getting started required sensing the mysteries of qi and condensing inner breath.

That step alone could bar eight or nine out of ten ordinary people.

Those without sufficient aptitude and comprehension might toil for more than a decade without gaining anything.

And how many families could support an able-bodied worker spending more than a decade away from productive work?

Condensing inner breath was elusive and intangible.

External Body Refining, on the other hand...

As long as one was willing to practice, there would surely be gains.

"Thinking it over carefully, every fist art and breathing method I have that improves Root Bone seems to lean toward external tempering, falling within the ordinary and advanced categories. By contrast, advanced and top-tier methods mostly awaken spell traits and Dao Bodies... so what if I practiced spells directly?"

A thought stirred in Qin Lian's mind.

Could filling gaps and mending flaws strengthen spells into divine abilities and immortal arts?

After all, when it came to strength on the path of Spirit Refining, the advantages granted by spells and Treasure Artifacts actually exceeded those of cultivation realms.

The Divine Sense realm allowed precise control when casting spells.

The Night Wandering realm allowed the Spirit-Soul Out-of-Body to occur at night, enabling spells to be cast remotely.

The Day Wandering realm allowed the Spirit-Soul Out-of-Body to occur during the day, enabling spells to be cast remotely.

The later Yin Spirit and Manifesting the Sacred realms were much the same.

Realms merely ensured health and longevity, and differences in one's state.

Spells and Treasure Artifacts were the core of a Spirit-Refining True Person's means of protecting their path and fighting.

"The Pure Yang lineage is a Yang Spirit inheritance! It left behind nine spells in total! Four volumes of true arts and five booklets of minor arts... the minor arts are Fire Avoidance, Water Entry, Praying for Clear Skies, Praying for Rain, and Sharpness. The true arts are Juggling Pellets, Dream Marriage, Revival, and Blazing Sun."

Here, minor arts and true arts were merely distinctions in a spell's power and difficulty of execution, unrelated to cultivation realm.

Dharma-practicing Daoists could cultivate true arts.

Spirit-Refining True Persons could also study minor arts.

"In the Chi Xiao Treasure Canon I cultivate, that Chi Xiao True Person swept across the world with Sharpness and Blazing Sun Art, brimming with killing intent. Blazing Sun Art, in particular, was the strongest killing art left behind by the Chunyang Patriarch. When he condensed the Blazing Sun in his hands, burning the heavens and boiling the seas might have been beyond him, but refining a hundred li in fire was certainly no empty boast."

Qin Lian pondered briefly.

He began leafing through the Chi Xiao Treasure Canon.

Before long, he indeed found some records of Blazing Sun Art.

Yet even the brief outline made his brow twitch. "Oh no, it's heaven-tier... an earth-tier cultivation method!"

He snapped the canon shut.

The difference in complexity between minor arts and true arts...

Was the difference between geometry and calculus.

Now he finally understood why some True Persons studied minor arts rather than practicing true arts.

He also understood why many Daoists might spend their entire lives mastering only one or two spells, with no more than a superficial understanding of the rest.

Was it that they didn't want to learn?

Was it that true arts weren't powerful enough?

"I need to add some comprehension and grow a brain."

Qin Lian rubbed his brow.

After a moment, he cautiously opened the outline of Blazing Sun Art again...

In the end...

He still decided to turn his attention to the "Liuhe Duzun Sword Art" and the "Chasing the Wind and Pursuing the Sun Movement Art."

He would get his hands on those two "spells" first.

The capital of Yi Province.

Dressed in brocade, Black Tortoise entered the depths of the compound with delight on his face.

"Bureau Chief, good news! Heavenly Blade Han Yu is willing to serve our Heavenly Martial Bureau."

"Oh, that tough bone has finally softened."

Fang Tianqian's expression remained calm.

"A wise man recognizes the tides of the times. Han Yu understands perfectly well that Overlord Blade is already a sunken ship. If he stays aboard, he'll only be dragged down to a watery grave along with it. Rather than that, he might as well secure himself a good position while he still has some value."

Black Tortoise spoke with a smile.

"Now that Han Yu has submitted, we can speed up wrapping things up here."

After speaking, Fang Tianqian seemed to remember something. "From the reports I've read, fighting still hasn't broken out over at Chunyang?"

These words made the smile on Black Tortoise's delighted face fade slightly. "That Qin Lian is practically a turtle, hiding inside the Pure Yang Sword Sect all day and refusing to come out. Gao Qianchi has personally issued a challenge, yet he still refuses to fight."

As he spoke, he asked tentatively, "Should we approach this from another direction? Qin Lian's lineage is in Mount Tai Prefecture. Not long ago, they even wiped out a Canglang Sword Sect. Finding a pawn wouldn't be difficult."

"If we truly strike at Qin Lian's clansmen in Mount Tai Prefecture, we would undoubtedly be breaking the rules between sects. Once those rules are broken, the Pure Yang Sword Sect would hold the moral high ground and could simply have Lu Jianping of the Sword-Wielding Hall act..."

Fang Tianqian said calmly, "Besides, it isn't necessarily Qin Lian willingly playing the turtle with its head tucked in. This may well be the Pure Yang Sword Sect's response."

"You mean... Chunyang realized Taibai Mine Mountain was a trap, so they decisively abandoned the mine's profits?"

Black Tortoise understood his implication.

"Whether they did or not no longer matters. Wei Cexuan has already brought the Penglai Sea Pavilion completely under control. I'm already behind him. To keep him from claiming all the glory first, we must move faster..."

Fang Tianqian said evenly, "The second card I originally didn't want to use... can now be played."

"Have Luo Chong and the others on Heavenly Duke Mountain launch an uprising in Pingshan Prefecture?"

"No! Even Han Yu of Overlord Blade has surrendered. Liu Wuya alone is nothing but dry bones in a tomb. If I didn't still need Overlord Blade's banner standing, taking his life would be effortless. Using Luo Chong's card in Yi Province would be too wasteful. Send him to Jiangzhou."

"Jiangzhou? Our preparations there aren't as thorough as they are here..."

"No matter. Chunyang is clearly on full alert and unwilling to act rashly. I suspect they're waiting for developments on the Grand Preceptor's side. Heh, if they want to wait, let them."

Mockery appeared on Fang Tianqian's face. "You can act more boldly. Expand the tide of refugees. Transfer our people over quietly-or even openly. I'd like to see whether Song Huangting and Li Wangxu have the nerve to come down from their mountain and stop us."

"Openly..."

Black Tortoise weighed those words.

He roughly understood: not truly openly, but they could let word leak out, so long as Chunyang couldn't get hold of any evidence.

"In an age of great contention, one must forge ahead with determination. Yet the Twelve Sects under heaven are all dogs guarding what they already have. They lost the will to stake their lives on a desperate struggle long ago. Relying on their ancestors' achievements, they fence off land and proclaim themselves kings. Once the rope tightens around their necks, their deaths will be upon them."

Fang Tianqian spoke.

"A wise assessment, sir."

Black Tortoise cautiously suggested, "Perhaps we could pursue several approaches at once. On one hand, transfer our people and make arrangements. On the other, keep finding trouble for Chunyang-Taibai, Dragon Lake, and the like-leaving them no time to attend to anything else..."

"Mere trifling tricks."

Though Fang Tianqian said this, he did not dampen his trusted subordinate's enthusiasm. "The four southwestern provinces are already entirely under our control. Still, if we can take Jiangzhou and Qing Province more easily, there is no harm in that."

He narrowed his eyes. "After all, farther south of Jiangzhou and Sword Province lie the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. If the turmoil grows too great, I fear they may exploit the opening."

"The Ten Thousand Great Mountains."

The place name sent a chill through Black Tortoise's heart.

Even the Xia Emperor, at the height of this land's prosperity, bearing the might of a Celestial Person descended into the world, had only carved Jiangzhou out of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, failing to truly clear those mountains.

"Go and see to it."

Fang Tianqian gave the order.

"As you command."

Black Tortoise hurriedly bowed and withdrew.