Chaotic World Book

To glimpse the mysteries through martial practice, one must eventually find a guiding thread.

Though the Four Symbols Sect boasted a rich heritage, it still had substantial limitations and gaps, and both the Vermilion Bird and Xuanwu had to find their own opportunities.

The Crystal Core of the water constructs made by the Sea Emperor was precisely the guiding thread that San Niang used to peek into the mysteries of the God Demon. It seemed that the time San Niang had spent pondering the Crystal Core really paid off as she derived many new insights. In her manipulation of water, she had finally moved beyond "using its power" and incorporated more of its characteristics.

That was the true essence of Spirit Manipulation.

The Xuanwu Venerable took the most crucial step on the path to the Imperial Realm.

And this step was inseparable from the recent session of Dual Cultivation...

Dual Cultivation had always been about mutual integration and growth, not one-sided taking or giving. San Niang's cultivation had improved, and she had also gained insights into a part of the Spring Water Sword Intent from Zhao Changhe's various intentions. The essence of Spring Water Sword Intent was not just water; its core was actually the visual deception of light refraction. The lingering image in the water wasn't something that could be achieved with water alone; it inherently involved light, and yet, just light would not be enough—it needed water.

Nothing exists in isolation; characteristics often arise from the interaction with other things. Realizing this was like a qualitative leap—a metamorphosis.

It wasn't that the principle was previously unknown, it was that it couldn't be achieved. Therefore, Xia Chichi's dual system in both the Vermilion Bird and Xuanwu's eyes was a delight and worthy of attention.

Zhao Changhe was even more delighted, "I want to learn, teach me, teach me."

San Niang packed up the water ball and turned around with a hum, "No teaching."

"Eh, come on, San Niang, I'm the most trusted general under you, the Room Fire Pig..."

"The Room Fire Pig should learn about fire, what do you need this for? Don't tell me you want to learn so you can capture the image of me undressed?"

"...If I can see directly, why would I secretly capture that?"

"So you intend to secretly capture others you can't see! Hey, wait a minute, what are you doing... hiss... be gentle, you damn stinky pig! Ah... mmm... eh? Don't stop!"

"..."

"You... you shameless! Yiyiyi, I'll teach you, is that not enough..."

Learning was accomplished, but alas, the difference in skill level was quite large.

Zhao Changhe looked at the muddled mess in his hands, barely able to discern what he had captured, vastly inferior to San Niang's 4K clarity, and it did not last long before dissipating. Still, he held onto it joyfully, endlessly taking selfies.

San Niang lay listlessly to one side, looking at his silly demeanor with a mixture of exasperation and amusement, weakly waving her hand, "Go practice your skills, you stinky pig."

Zhao Changhe bolted out and dove into the sea, to the amazement of Tang En and others who were watching outside the cabin. He plunged into the deep sea and started punching.

Tang En and his company were like mortals witnessing a deity.

Strange noises had been coming out of your cabin for hours, and anyone else would be dead tired by now, yet you could still dive into the water to throw punches! Where do you vent such strong vitality? Can that 'little San' inside the cabin handle it?

Thinking about it, that voluptuous temptress looked like she could bear children; she probably could handle it, fierce as a wolf or tiger.

But what about our chief, with her delicate and frail stature? Will she not be killed by this...

"Captain... over there in the distance... Is that a whale or an island? It's hard to see in the night."

The moon hung like a plate in the distance, and Tang En gazed far into the clear moonlight, raising his hand, "That should be a whale. No need to panic, the ship will form up, prepare the bed crossbows..."

"Whoosh!" A figure leaped from the sea, dashing towards the distant whale over the waves.

Tang En's hand was still in the air, and his mouth agape, not yet closed. Then he saw Zhao Changhe leap up, landing on the whale and throwing a punch.

All the sailors: "..."

A man and a whale fought under the moonlight; they were too far to see clearly, but it was evident that the whale's turbulent motions and the tossing waves gradually quieted, eventually falling silent.

Zhao Changhe drove the whale closer, waving from afar, "Hello, everyone!"

The whale obediently turned and began moving in parallel with the ship, effectively tamed into a mount, much like the previous encounter with the shark.

Tang En turned to the sailors, "I feel like he doesn't need our ship at all."

Someone said gloomily, "Still needed, to provide the value of a den; he can come back and embrace a woman to sleep when he's tired of playing."

"Smack!" Tang En slapped the back of the sailor's head, "Insults to others are insults to yourself, who allowed you to describe our Tang family as if it were a brothel!"

The crowd didn't know whether to be angry or laugh as they looked up to see Zhao Changhe riding a whale in the distance, braving the waves under the moonlight, and they inevitably felt a bit of envy.

It was a man's prime age, to shatter giant whales with his fists in the East Sea, to embrace beauties while drunk on his cabin boat, so spirited and bold.

...

For Zhao Changhe, aside from making a breakthrough in his last layer of relationship with San Niang, this sea voyage wasn't much different from his time on Lai Qi's ship; training was still the primary focus. He trained under the sea by day, engaging in Dual Cultivation with San Niang by night, with the only difference being that the relationship between the little pig and Venerable that Lai Qi and the others imagined became a reality.

But the results were much better than those few days on Lai Qi's ship. The gains from Dual Cultivation alone were incomparable, and even without Yuan Yin, the ongoing effects were still very noticeable, with the "Experience Bar" visibly rising, the Divine Skill truly miraculous.

His comprehension of the water element deepened day by day, to the point where he almost felt an illusion of focusing his main cultivation in that direction, and even his research on Evil Qi was put aside for the time being.

This was thanks to the great compatibility of the Six Harmonies Divine Skill; with it as the foundation, delving into any aspect of the Law was no obstacle. So far, the Rejuvenation Technique was the most influenced, with the water's gentle and penetrating power of reviving everything becoming clearer and clearer, with signs of rejuvenation from the flesh to the Soul Sea.

If he continued, Zhao Changhe felt he might even try to treat Wanzhuang's condition again.

The images produced by the Water Mirror Technique also became clearer day by day. His control grew increasingly proficient, and he could gradually see the scars on his own face from them.

It could also be seen that the gap between the Second Layer Secret Treasure and the Third Layer was actually quite large. San Niang's level of Cultivation was unfathomable to him, including in other aspects.

San Niang similarly benefited; she didn't have to exert any effort and could lazily lie around, sleeping and letting her Cultivation grow by itself, and still feel comfortable. Just by replenishing with water, that was enough...

Zhao Changhe began to suspect she was nearing the true Imperial Realm... He wondered what the threshold for breaking through to the Imperial Realm would be...

When he tried to consult the blind man, the blind man kept silent and ignored him.

"Imperial Realm, huh... No need to ask others, I know how to practice it," sometimes San Niang would join him on the whale, enjoying the feeling of the sea breeze brushing through her hair, leaning against his chest was much more comfortable than leaning against a wooden chair at home.

The man was also always coming up with strategies for her Cultivation, which felt even better.

"Weren't there parts of the Imperial Realm techniques also lost in the inheritance of the Four Symbols Sect?"

"But we searched the Corpse Demon's Residual Soul in the Maitreya Secret Realm, right?" San Niang said leisurely. "Not only the relevant knowledge, but we also learned a lot about the Ancient Secrets, including some interesting things about the Ancient Buddhist ways."

Zhao Changhe wasn't interested in Ancient Buddhist ways: "The Spirit Manipulation Technique and Beast Soul Unification Skill that Residual Soul knew, you must have copied them, right? Pass me a copy later."

San Niang grew wary, "What do you want that for?"

Zhao Changhe played dead, looking skyward.

"The Ancient Spirit Clan still has some secrets," San Niang got serious, moving away from his embrace to look him in the eyes, "I can give you what you want, but don't let your lust lead to your death. I suggest you respect the Ancient Spirit Clan from a distance, don't meddle with them aimlessly."

Zhao Changhe was stunned, "Is it that serious?"

That's right, he had thought before that the Ancient Xuanwu was very clear about the origin of the Ancient Spirit Clan's territory; it might know that the land of the Ancient Spirit Clan had been transformed by a Great Witch. Now that Xuanwu was right in front of him, this matter might be linked together.

Sure enough, he heard San Niang continue, "I've looked at some vague records in the inheritances of the Ancient Xuanwu, combined with some of the information from the Residual Soul of Xue Wu, and there's reason to suspect that the primogenitor Great Witch of the Ancient Spirit Clan was executed by the Heavenly Dao itself when the Heavenly Dao still existed. If you believe the Heavenly Dao is sentient, then the Ancient Spirit Clan's domain is a land not embraced by the Heavenly Dao, and the Ancient Spirit Clan are cursed exiles. It could even be said that why the Heavenly Dao died, and why the previous epoch collapsed, could all be traced from here. The gravity of this... is not something you and I can involve ourselves with at our current level."

Zhao Changhe was astonished, and after a while, he said, "There was information from the Ancient Spirit Clan side, saying that the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger converge in the wild southwest, I don't know if they're also describing using the related celestial phenomena, or if it really does have some connection to your Four Symbols Sect."

"It might really be related, Emperor Ye was also pursuing this, He wanted to replace Heaven."

Zhao Changhe could guess that the title Emperor Ye was modestly chosen, as if He only governed the night and the day had nothing to do with Him. But in essence, He was the master of the stars—the master of the Heavenly Vault.

At the level of Emperor Ye, if the Heavenly Dao were mysterious, it's one thing, but if the Heavenly Dao were a concrete entity, Emperor Ye was already very close to it. When the Heavenly Dao died, it was only natural for Emperor Ye to take its place.

But the Heavenly Dao was an elusive concept—if viewed materialistically, it was the world itself. The death of the Heavenly Dao meant the death of the world, hence a new epoch begun, with all beings within the world having nothing to rely on, even Emperor Ye couldn't. Thus, the Heavenly Dao's death led to the collapse of the epoch, gods and buddhas scattered, Emperor Ye failed to replace Heaven, but barely clung to life.

This matter should pertain to the root of his own transmigration, indeed not something he could uncover at the moment, one false move could be deadly.

So far, he couldn't even defeat the water figures conjured by Sea Emperor... The good thing is, this time, he wasn't the main force. With the Sea Emperor being of a much higher level than Xue Wu and the likes of Duoluo Venerable, once he could uncover the mystery of the Sea Emperor, perhaps many of the secrets of gods and demons would lay wide open before him, laid bare for all to see.

Thinking this, a twisted Qi Field faintly emanated from the direction ahead. Gazing into the distance, the water shimmered, light bent, and a rainbow arched across the horizon like a bridge, islands at the edge of the sea and sky flickered in and out of sight, their vastness unknown.

Even estimating the distance from here was difficult.

Their maritime destination seemed to be nearing…