Tang Wanju immediately headed to Jinling that very day, and Zhao Changhe, who should have felt that staying in the Tang family was completely meaningless, did not rush to leave as before.
Instead, he quietly stayed in the guest house, writing another copy of the sword manual he had previously given to Sisi, intending to give it to Tang Buqi.
It was as if the chaos outside did not exist at all.
It was a curious thing, rewriting the sword manual not only wasn’t annoying but was almost amusing.
Like Tang Buqi, he had thought that Tang Wanju’s mind was filled with nothing but official matters, hardly like a real person. But he eventually realized she too made small, familial calculations, and the image of the saint he’d had burst, yet not falling apart. Instead, he felt this was how people ought to be—this was human.
Just like arms intertwined in the night, so real and tender, stepping out from the illusion of the Heavenly Book Realm, solidifying right before his eyes.
Thus, "Chief Tang" became Tang Wanju.
Writing the sword manual was essentially another way to familiarize himself with the swordsmanship, and also a way to calm his mind anew.
By day he wrote the sword manual, and at night, with the help of the Heavenly Book, he studied the Heart Technique "Moon Reflected in Water" and the Qinggong "Water Stepping," both taught by Tang Wanju.
This Heart Technique was not for cultivating Inner Strength but was a supporting magic, similar to the "Ice Heart Technique" found in many stories—if the heart is clear as ice, one will not be easily disturbed.
And "Moon Reflected in Water" was not just about focusing and clearing the mind of stray thoughts, it was akin to an advanced version of what Yue Hongling had taught about utilizing the Five Senses to observe and perceive surroundings; all subtle changes around, from senses to heart, dispelling illusions and reflecting on one’s spirit, touching upon the essence.
This was extremely beneficial in combat, making one not fear empty moves or illusions, and able to find the most appropriate strategies.
So, the premise of cultivating it was, of course, to calm down, slow down, observe everything around, experience the cleansing of music, and appreciate the beauty of Tai Lake. How could a restless soul that only knew conflict feel such subtleties?
Why must Qinggong "Water Stepping" require this Heart Technique as its foundation?
It just involved recognizing every movement of air and water around you at a glance, and exploiting it.
This had reached the level of understanding and utilizing nature, rather than merely cultivating oneself. Compared to the Blood God Sect’s "Stepping Blood Traceless," this was not even on the same level.
Perhaps all Cultivation Techniques ultimately converged. Yue Hongling likely had something similar; it’s just that back then, his ability was insufficient, his Five Senses were not keen enough, so how could he bypass the senses straight into the spirit?
Actually, even now it wasn’t enough; Zhao Changhe doubted that this technique would truly suit him until he unlocked the Secret Treasure since it bordered on concepts like "Spiritual Sense." The third rank of the Earth List wasn’t just for laughs...
For now, the most effective use was still concentration, which could stabilize the Spirit Platform and guard against Heart Demons.
Thus, that originally insignificant Blood Vicious Bead could finally be employed.
After freeloading at the Tang family for another three days and completely mastering the Heart Technique "Moon Reflected in Water", Zhao Changhe finally took out the bead that had been neglected in a corner and resumed his halted cultivation of the Blood Evil Skill.
The most significant difference in cultivating the Blood Evil Skill compared to other Cultivation Techniques is that it requires not only energy nourishment but also Evil Qi, without the core Blood Evil Qi, the Blood Evil Skill loses its superiority over other techniques.
At this stage, energy nourishment is mostly similar for everyone: eat well, drink well, and use some supplementary medicines, unless one has extreme luck with finding Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, it’s hard for anyone to make significant progress in this aspect.
After all, most encounters are still with materials of the Mortal World, at most competing over whose medicines are slightly better. By now, Zhao Changhe was nearly maxed out in this aspect—this was also why he brazenly did not outright deny being a Prince; it was the "Creation" that Chichi saw as useful for him. Without resources, truly significant achievements are hard to cultivate.
With nourishment maxed out, the focus turns elsewhere.
Materials for nourishing Evil Qi aren’t as rare as Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures; frankly, even killing more can nourish Evil Qi, more vicious condensed materials are not uncommon, such as a heavily used blade, or Dragon Sparrow. The Sword Emperor’s Tomb is also filled with strong Evil Qi, just hard to refine and utilize for oneself.
Try absorbing the Evil Qi from Dragon Sparrow and see if you aren’t flattened.
Regardless, such things are not too hard to find, and one of Zhao Changhe’s goals in heading to Jiangnan was to seek such materials, finally commencing properly now.
Zhao Changhe carefully channeled a bit of True Qi to sense the cosmos within the bead.
He had barely probed a little when he immediately felt an onslaught of vicious energy, ferocity, regret, unwillingness, and fear — all sorts of messy emotions surged into his heart. There was energy and yet no energy, there was Evil Qi but it was impure, utterly useless, making one want to throw this thing away instantly.
Hmm, this was exactly what Maitreya did.
Under normal circumstances, Zhao Changhe would have discarded it as well, but now he had a mental method.
He let these messy auras assault his heart, and in a heart state like "Moon Reflected in Water," he could almost visualize a group of little demons gnawing incessantly at a tightly shut door, but with his Spirit Platform stable and his heart sealed, these "little demons" futilely slammed against it, unable to pry open the door. Discover more novels at novelꞁire.net
This was the "Heart Demon," if it were to be personified.
This bead was merely a corner piece material used by the Blood God to construct an array. After epochs of erosion, it had already lost its former power. What if it were something more vicious? Zhao Changhe wasn’t sure whether this newly learned mental method could still steadfastly protect his Spirit Platform.
Anyway, it was holding up for now, so why worry about the distant future?
With his heart determined, Zhao Changhe didn’t hesitate and probed his own Evil Qi to make contact with the Evil Qi inside the bead.
Almost audible was a "boom," the bead trembled, and the contained Vicious Sha Qi Blood started to wildly roll, rushing ferociously towards the blood and flesh of Zhao Changhe’s body, as if wanting to shred it apart.
The adverse effects of Evil Qi backlash, which he hadn’t experienced in a long time, began to ache faintly. Zhao Changhe gritted his teeth, allowing the Evil Qi to wash over him, merging and absorbing it with his own bloodline, step by step turning it to his own use.
This was nurturing the Sha Qi, cultivating the Sha Qi using one’s own body.
At a certain extent, when the Sha Qi howls and the Blood Viciousness fills the sky with overwhelming power, even deities and Buddhas would scatter like smoke and clouds, much less common foes? They would only be frightened to the point of weak knees in such brutal viciousness.
A very typical Evil Technique and Demon Skill, but whether as righteous as Yue Hongling or as upright as Tang Wanzhuang, not a single person opposed him practicing this Evil Technique.
Cultivation technique is judged by who wields it.
As long as his intentions are righteous, using it for good causes, then even an Evil Technique becomes a Divine Skill.
Zhao Changhe didn’t know how many days he had been cultivating, spending the earlier days writing the sword manual by day and practicing the mental method by night. Later on, he practiced the mental method and qinggong by day, and nurtured Sha Qi for cultivation by night.
After several days, the Blood Evil Skill’s Sixth Layer still felt insufficient, but Zhao Changhe no longer felt the impatience of before.
Taking it slowly, cultivation wasn’t as simple as eating or drinking. Many heroes had spent years on it, while he had only been at it for a little over half a year.
Feeling some progress was enough; one day, a breakthrough would naturally occur.
"Knock, knock, knock~" A knocking sound came, and Tang Buqi called out from outside, "Brother Zhao, sorry to bother you, is your sword manual ready?"
Zhao Changhe opened his eyes, a flash of Blood Viscousness flickered in his eyes, "It has been ready for a few days now, but I didn’t have time to find you. You can take it yourself; it’s by the window ledge."
Tang Buqi pushed the door open, coming in with a pot of wine, "Aunt just left, and Maitreya has already deployed troops. Within a few days, all places in Jiangnan responded, already shaping up like a sweeping force. Today, Hangzhou-Wuxing was lost."
"Isn’t this expected?"
"Yes, and another expected thing is the Imperial’s sluggish reaction; the Heavenly Soldiers haven’t arrived yet."
Zhao Changhe gave a wry smile, "You seem quite relaxed?"
Tang Buqi sighed, "Relaxed about what? Gusu is truly the frontline now. Why do you think I haven’t come to get the sword manual for so many days? I was too busy, running around like mad. Speaking of Maitreya, he won’t cease until he uproots Gusu. His vanguard general, Bodhisattva Fa Sheng, has probably already left Wuxing by now and is making his way around Tai Lake. You should leave soon; once the city is besieged, there’ll be no way out."
He knew Maitreya’s moves would come quickly but hadn’t expected them to be this swift.
It had only been a few days, and the troops were already at the city gates.