A Calamity Reaching the Heavens

At the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple, Zhang Xuezhou settled into a routine of study and waiting.

He feared Zou Bugui's return, yet he also had to bicker with Lonely Rogue Person Zhong Rang from time to time, and wait for his parents to bring a mountain boar to the temple on their shoulders.

Besides, his body was extremely weak, making it difficult for him to travel far from the temple under the scorching sun.

And when night fell, Zhang Xuezhou would return to the real world, leaving him utterly defenseless in the wilderness.

Constrained by all these conditions, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to give his own situation serious thought.

How was he to survive on his own once he left the safety of Zhang Household Village?

Entering the realm seemed to be one of the few choices available.

According to Lonely Rogue Person Zhong Rang, once cultivators entered the realm and grew steadily stronger, their bodies would naturally give off a powerful presence.

Just as jackals and wolves would not disturb a sleeping tiger, once a cultivator became strong enough, all evil would give way.

As long as they were not hacked to death or carried off by demons, devils, ghosts, or monsters, cultivators who had entered the realm no longer had to fear attacks from ordinary creatures such as mosquitoes, insects, rats, and ants.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that this was precisely the ability he currently lacked, so he kept pondering the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation with an anxious heart, relying on his white seed with its sprout to circulate continuously through his meridians.

He felt as though a babbling brook were sounding within his body, with countless tiny tributaries continually converging.

The brooks converged into a river, and amid the sound of surging waves crashing, the white seed seemed to have taken root, continuously drawing in the energy drifting through his meridians to grow stronger.

This was an entirely different sensation from studying the regulation instructions step by step.

"Everyone has a seed in their heart that grows as they enter the realm. It takes form from the obsession in their heart. It can take a human form or the shape of a beast. It can become a chaos-bringing fiend who kills as readily as cutting hemp, or a kind-faced immortal, god, or Buddha who saves the world. It can also become a spirit of the mountains and forests..."

Lonely Rogue Person's voice still echoed in his ears.

Whatever obsession lay in one's heart, that was the form it could take in the early stages of entering the realm.

This involved the teachings of one's master and sect and the guidance of the cultivation method used to enter the realm. In the end, it would take the form needed for one's cultivation and growth.

The subsequent cultivation of Techniques and many related matters were closely tied to one's realm-entry form. Some Techniques were unsuitable to cultivate, some could be cultivated with greater power, and others held the possibility of surpassing one's predecessors.

This was the laying of a foundation, the most important groundwork for future cultivation.

The early fate of most Rogue Person cultivators was already decided at the very beginning.

In the earliest stages of cultivation, they were very likely to take the wrong path, to say nothing of gaining an advantage in their later growth.

But for Zhang Xuezhou, who had no choice at all, how could he concern himself with the future?

He had only one cultivation technique for entering the realm.

Judging by how obediently Zou Bugui had handed over the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the sect must be the weakest of the weak.

As for being invincible in the world or number one under heaven, Zhang Xuezhou thought those were all delusions.

For now, he only wanted to pass safely through his present trouble and cultivate his way into the realm, gaining the ability to survive in the wilderness so he could leave the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple in peace.

The longer he stayed, the greater the chance that he would be exposed.

Lonely Rogue Person spoke of the various rules of cultivation, including the many Rogue Cultivators who had been skinned and had their tendons pulled out after secretly learning another sect's cultivation techniques. He also envied Zhang Xuezhou for having Zou Bugui's guidance at such a young age, sparing him so much trouble.

Those words sent a chill through Zhang Xuezhou's heart.

He could not imagine how strict and harsh the rules were in an age when cultivation knowledge was monopolized.

Unless they became one of their own, anyone who rashly practiced another school's cultivation methods would meet a miserable end.

Why is the world I dreamed up like this?

Zhang Xuezhou felt that he was trapped in an inescapably deep dream world, but dreams were more often formed as reflections of reality.

In an age of exploding knowledge, much knowledge had already become shared. There was more than anyone could learn, even if they put their heart into it, and anyone who studied and practiced diligently had a chance of becoming an expert in a particular field.

A thought stirred in Zhang Xuezhou's mind, and he suddenly recalled the message that appeared when he searched the internet for the "Gene Armory Secret Key": "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, some search results have not been displayed."

So this influence evolved from that fragment!

Once he could make sense of it, Zhang Xuezhou finally accepted the various harsh rules Lonely Rogue Person had mentioned.

He was normal, and so was his dream.

But as the dream continued to unfold and develop, he had to keep pace with it, or the nightmare would swallow him whole.

Inside his body, the trickling streams had already become a babbling river. Waves churned ceaselessly through his meridians, converging on the seed that had sprouted two leaves.

Zhang Xuezhou felt the seed of realm entry growing steadily, beginning to turn into a seedling.

The seedling looked too delicate to withstand a breeze, yet it was also brimming with vitality, as though proclaiming the boundless future that came with its new life.

"I can smell the pill he gave you on you!"

"I don't know what kind of Demon Beast's blood was used to refine this pill, but it carries a rather strong, bloody Yao Qi!"

"I just didn't expect his pill to be so effective. With the good fortune this pill has brought you, your speed of entering the realm is rare indeed!"

"Daoist Priest Kongxu specializes in healing. His text on the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation must be related to that, making it the best match for your realm entry!"

Lonely Rogue Person's incessant murmuring reached him from time to time. As Zhang Xuezhou continually circulated through his meridians to guide the seed of realm entry, he heard some of it.

It put him on high alert.

He finally understood where the bloody smell on him came from.

Even smoking himself, changing his clothes, and washing could not remove the smell. Only the passage of time or cultivation and refinement could wear it away.

That Daoist Priest Kongxu at the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple said the presence on me belonged to the Ten Yin Holy Son, but I've never met any Ten Yin Holy Son. And this Lonely Rogue Person says I took a pill that Daoist Priest Kongxu refined with Demon Beast blood, but I never took any pill he gave me. There was only...

Zhang Xuezhou looked back.

If there was anything out of the ordinary he had done recently, it was sharing the demon meat at Zhang Household Village.

Could that venomous python have something to do with the Ten Yin Holy Son?

A thought flashed through Zhang Xuezhou's mind.

When the snipe and clam fought, the fisherman profited. Zhang Household Village might have stumbled upon an enormous windfall without realizing it.

But it might also be the source of a calamity reaching the heavens.

According to Lonely Rogue Person, Zou Bugui, Daoist Priest Kongxu of the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple, was someone who was welcomed wherever he went. Thanks to his skills in healing and pill refinement, many great cultivators had to show him some respect. Yet Zou Bugui wanted to steer clear at the mere mention of the Ten Yin Holy Son's name, even setting aside sectarian boundaries to hand over the Yin Yang Nine Heavens Sect's method for entering the realm. Zhang Xuezhou did not need to think to know what a formidable figure the Ten Yin Holy Son was.

Offending the Ten Yin Holy Son would bring great disaster. If they had eaten the Ten Yin Holy Son...

Only now did Zhang Xuezhou untangle some of the connections.

As for why Daoist Priest Kongxu Zou Bugui and Lonely Rogue Person had each judged differently, perhaps it was because their cultivation differed. Zou Bugui, who specialized in pill refinement, was more sensitive to the presence on him.

For a moment, he shuddered with dread, feeling that Zhang Household Village seemed to have brought a calamity reaching the heavens upon itself.