Chapter 127: This Is The Heavenly Book

Chapter 127: This Is a Celestial Tome

When he entered the room to rest, it was already the hour of the Tiger; in another hour, dawn would break.

Zhao Changhe naturally had no mind for sleep, and directly pulled out the Blissful Art to study.

The book and the gold leaf were placed together; as he touched them, the gold leaf came out as well. Zhao Changhe casually set it aside and glanced at it.

That glance left him stunned.

The gold leaf should have shown images of the night's battle—for instance, the process of his capturing the Flower-Picking Celestial Maiden alive, and the arrow that slew Fa Yuan.

Yet images were there, flickering around the edges as if serving as a background, while in the center of the gold leaf appeared text, diagrams, and meridians, page after page flashing by…

Zhao Changhe sat up with a jolt, took the gold leaf for a closer look, then opened the Blissful Art to compare.

This was the Blissful Art… but a detailed commentary, breaking down the entire technique completely: from principles to the paths of energy circulation to specific methods, how to achieve harvesting, how to progress in dual cultivation, how to stir the other's emotions and desires, how to achieve mental illusion, and even how to make it more pleasurable—every principle was laid bare.

Even a martial artist who knew nothing of the related system could easily master the whole thing.

For example, acupoint striking and unlocking…

Originally, Zhao Changhe had no special method for acupoint striking; his own method of unlocking was a crude, forceful burst.

Now, the Maitreya Sect's system contained such techniques… Different schools had different systems; the Maitreya Sect's was the simplest and most brutal. Before being struck, they could forcibly shift the acupoint slightly, so that even if you thought you had hit it, you actually hadn't. The Flower-Picking Celestial Maiden hadn't unlocked the point and fled; she had never been under your control at all.

If you didn't know this, thinking the opponent was controlled and trying to do something, they would suddenly strike back, and you wouldn't even know how you died.

Truly a fine thing.

The gold leaf revealed more than this.

It seemed somewhat disdainful; the crude methods in the Blissful Art that forcibly drained a person flashed only a few times and then stopped showing, replaced by more advanced expositions and completions, as if saying: Look, the interaction of heaven and earth, yin and yang, is not like that—it should be like this!

Zhao Changhe stared, more and more dumbfounded, then ecstatic.

He had originally thought it was just a battle recorder, but now it seemed otherwise.

Judging by this template, could it be considered… a martial arts compendium?

For practical combat, it could slow down the movements for you to study; for theoretical texts, it could analyze and explain, telling you the more perfect solution.

As long as it was related to martial arts, it all fell within its scope, and there should be even more functions, just not yet unlocked!

Only one phrase echoed in Zhao Changhe's mind: "This is a celestial tome!"

If the Chaos Chronicle was a page of the celestial tome, recording worldly martial affairs—people and events—then this page encompassed martial arts themselves!

Only something with such significance could be a celestial tome; no other treasure could bear such a grand scope. But for some reason, it seemed sealed, gradually unlocking step by step…

A good thing…

If it had shown its extraordinary nature from the start—radiating aura, myriad lights, the world gazing up—then everyone would know he had a treasure, and he would have been finished long ago. Precisely because it concealed itself, showing no special traits, slowly revealing itself, it suited Zhao Changhe's needs perfectly.

He didn't know what the predecessor who sealed the celestial tome had in mind, but now it seemed almost tailor-made for Zhao Changhe—how had the Maitreya Sect evaluated him before? He traveled alone, without a sect backing him, without a vast system of techniques, learning only what he could. And now?

What was the Blissful Art? The gold leaf showed something better, and it dissected the entire system cleanly, like a young girl without clothes. The next time he encountered a Maitreya Sect disciple, this advantage would be enormous.

Now he could take its essence and learn it—for instance, the method of shifting acupoints, the techniques of mental illusion and their counters, and the art of yin-yang union.

Without further ado, Zhao Changhe closed his eyes and began to circulate his energy, attempting the method of shifting acupoints.

As soon as he tried, he was immediately drenched in cold sweat from the pain.

Acupoints were special nodes along the meridians; shifting their positions didn't mean moving the acupoints directly, but essentially stretching the meridians, causing the acupoint's location to shift slightly.

For an ordinary martial artist, especially one who had trained since childhood, this was not difficult once the method was known—just like stretching legs and bending the waist from a young age. Starting as an adult, no matter how much it hurt, the results were poor, but starting young allowed for plasticity.

In other words, stretching the meridians and shifting acupoints was actually very beneficial for Zhao Changhe, whose meridians had already set. Although it wouldn't directly expand his meridians, it would certainly help improve the situation slightly, and over time, it could even expand them a bit—provided he could endure the pain.

Fortunately, he had taken Cui Wenjing's medicine to enhance toughness; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to do it.

He didn't know what fate this was. Originally, training in external techniques required enduring pain every few days; at least internal techniques were comfortable. But now internal techniques also required enduring pain—was this heaven's great mandate, so it must torment his mind and strain his body?

Zhao Changhe clenched his teeth tightly, enduring pain akin to being flayed and having his tendons pulled, slowly trying again and again, stretching his meridians and shifting acupoints.

After an unknown time, the Jade Hall acupoint he had chosen for testing finally moved slightly.

Zhao Changhe had deliberately chosen this acupoint because it had a name in internal arts: the Fourth Gate of the Mysterious Barrier.

As soon as this acupoint was moved, Zhao Changhe immediately felt the Mysterious Barrier begin to shift. Then he gritted his teeth, activated his dantian, and his true qi surged violently, charging straight through the Jade Hall in one go.

This fellow never did things step by step; he said he was stretching meridians, but he was actually using it to pry open the Mysterious Barrier and break through.

That was why he could reach the fourth level in half a year, while few others could.

Since escorting Yuan Yang, he had been stuck at the third level of the Mysterious Barrier, unable to break through due to meridian limitations. Now, amidst excruciating pain, his internal true qi finally surged through.

Zhao Changhe let out a miserable cry, drenched in sweat as if pulled from water.

Forcing speed naturally had consequences.

He had broken through, but the pain did not disappear.

The immense agony in his meridians and acupoints stirred the Blood Fiend Art, which had long been dormant and causing no trouble, to roar again.

His skin and bones felt like a million ants biting, his meridians and acupoints like needles stabbing; the blood fiend surged upward, triggering a violent rage.

Zhao Changhe curled up on the bed, clenching his teeth tightly, gripping the bedding with all his might, the stitches of the bedding snapping under his immense strength.

Breaking through was success; he just had to endure the consequences, and it would be over!

"Creak!" The door was pushed open, a fragrant breeze swept in, and Yue Hongling appeared by the bed.

"You… go away." Zhao Changhe gritted his teeth. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"Why? Because you don't consider me one of your own? Was all that talk of 'sister' just a lie?"

"…Are you stupid? The blood fiend is surging; I'll lose my mind. Do you think I'm still the calm Zhao Changhe from the secret cave?" Zhao Changhe roared. "Still fussing over titles—women really are clueless!"

Yue Hongling, scolded, did not get angry. Instead, she sat beside him and gently wiped his sweat: "A big boy who insists on saving face, a hero in public, but secretly enduring suffering others don't see… Since you call me sister, can't your sister care for you?"

Zhao Changhe's anger froze on his face. He breathed heavily, his mind a tangled mess from the blood fiend's turmoil, unable to think calmly.

What… what did she mean?

Then he felt the slender hand wiping his forehead somehow transmit a stream of true qi, helping to calm the blood fiend's chaos and soothe the boiling blood and qi.

But it was clearly not enough. Like Xia Chichi's help by the pond back then, it could only provide some relief.

"You…" Yue Hongling hesitated, then asked, "Were you just studying the Blissful Art?"

"…" Zhao Changhe didn't know why she was asking this at such a moment, and instinctively replied, "Yes."

"Did you learn it?"

"…Yes."

Yue Hongling bit her lower lip, thinking about something, then suddenly leaned down and gently kissed him on the lips.

Zhao Changhe's eyes widened.

"Idiot, open your mouth!" Yue Hongling murmured angrily, "Don't you know that dual cultivation doesn't have just one meaning?"