My cultivation method shines upon all heavens.

Lu Ming paused, his gaze fixed on the cluster of firelight that had suddenly illuminated the temple.

A ball of eerie blue flame flickered and danced before the shrine, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

The firelight cast shadows on the wall, which in a daze condensed into a giant vertical pupil.

His pupils were long and narrow, with dark golden halos around the edges, and he was being quietly observed.

After a while, the voice rang out again:

Who I am isn't important. What matters is... what I can offer you?

Before Lu Ming could speak, the voice continued on its own:

"I observe that your martial arts skills are all cobbled together from various sources. Although your foundation is not bad, you are already on the road to death."

"Seven realms, different paths; the precious raft has cracks... How can we cross this vast ocean of heaven and earth, and harness the true energy of heaven and earth?"

A sneer came from inside the temple:

"From the very beginning, the path of you ants was predetermined. The more gifted you are, the faster you advance, the quicker you will perish."

Do you sometimes feel like your heart is pounding, and you have a feeling of something stuck in your chest?

These few words struck Lu Ming's heart like a heavy hammer.

His expression changed slightly; he had indeed recently noticed the discomfort the other person mentioned.

"Different paths? Does that mean I've cultivated three different martial arts, and that different paths lead to different destinations?" A thought suddenly struck him.

He had never seen a powerful scion cultivate so haphazardly; most of them followed a single technique from beginning to end.

If what the people in the temple say is true, then who is plotting against them?

His face was grim, and the answer was obvious: powerful and influential families!

How malicious are the intentions of these powerful families?

By emasculating martial arts techniques, the path to martial arts for ordinary people was completely severed, leaving them with no right to compete.

Furthermore, this would allow them to bury martial arts prodigies among the common people in one fell swoop, eliminating future troubles forever.

Martial arts have never been a path for ordinary people to defy fate and change their destiny!

"Have you figured it out yet?"

The voices inside the temple carried a hint of amusement:

"Come in, and I can impart to you the supreme technique to rebuild your foundation, so that you can step into this turbid mortal world and truly compete with the geniuses of the universe."

Inside the temple, the flickering lights cast illusory images on the walls.

A figure wandered across the wilderness, constantly shifting its form, taking the shape of a divine beast, tempering its entire body—

When the Kui Niu appears, wind and rain follow.

A true dragon descends, and clouds surge and waves rise;

White elephants trample and mountains collapse;

Qiongqi appeared, its ferocity blotting out the sky...

Every scene drew Lu Ming's gaze involuntarily.

"Kui ox hide, true dragon tendons, white elephant meat, Qiongqi bones..."

Looking at the skin flashing with blue electricity and the veins winding like dragon tendons, Lu Ming couldn't help but murmur to himself.

These characteristics are all extraordinary phenomena that can only appear after each realm has been cultivated to its ultimate level, according to legend.

"The Seven Gods' Record, a superior-grade earth book created by Yan Lingyun... Learning it can build a superior-grade treasure raft and condense the true body of a beast god."

The voices inside the temple became incredibly enticing: "Come in...it's yours now."

A torrent of seductive words poured in.

Lu Ming's eyes were unfocused. He unconsciously took a step forward, and as he approached the temple entrance, he lifted one foot to step over the threshold—

Suddenly, a slight smile appeared on his lips, and he gently lowered his raised foot back to its original position.

"I guess—"

He gazed at the firelight inside the temple, his tone calm:

"You're imprisoned in this temple, aren't you? Do you think I'd be foolish enough to release a demon that indiscriminately slaughters my human race?"

Inside the temple, the eerie blue flames flickered violently several times.

A gust of cold wind rushed out from the crack in the door, and the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped.

The voice paused for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"Demons? Hahaha..."

His laughter was laced with undisguised arrogance and disdain. "Insolence! I am a god!"

"Without us, your human race would still be living on raw meat and drinking blood. How could you possibly establish a kingdom, a sect, and eke out a living on this vast wilderness?"

"Indiscriminate slaughter? Hahaha! We are so noble, why would we waste our time on you insects and pigs? You all delivered yourselves to our doorstep!"

"There is no race more interesting than you humans."

The voice was slow and deliberate, as if savoring a moment:

"Insects and pigs sit high on thrones, supported by all living beings, enjoying eternal glory. You ants, drained of blood and sweat in life, your souls burned as lamps in death. Look back, what is the firewood on those ghost lamps?"

Lu Ming's expression changed drastically, and he turned around to look behind him.

The pale green light flickered, resembling a series of ferocious faces, casting an uncertain glow on his face.

Ghost lamps... could they be fueled by souls?

No wonder, I've never heard of ghost lamps needing fuel.

The souls of humans who die on this path to the underworld, and even... the souls of demons, are its fuel.

The lamps of the underworld, the path to the underworld, the boundary between the Great Zhao and the wilderness—all of this seems like a clever design.

Are these people merely fuel sent to maintain the delicate balance between the two?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Are you angry?

His heart was as still as a deep well.

He would not allow anger to control his emotions if he did not have the strength to match it.

"They were exploited to the point of exhaustion both in life and death... and yet you still feel grateful to them? Hahaha, interesting, truly interesting!"

"You're nothing but a fool who's been tricked by powerful clans. Do you really think you're some great human hero?"

The voice was a mixture of mockery and seduction:

"Without my help, you, from the Seven Realms of Different Paths, will die a gruesome death. At that time, death is like a lamp going out... What then is there to talk about the greater good of humanity?"

Lu Ming's face darkened. A massive amount of information crashed into his mind like boulders, leaving him speechless for a moment.

"These worms and pigs sit high in the halls of power, sucking your blood and sweat... Don't you feel angry? Don't you feel it's unfair? Don't you feel resentful?"

The voice pressed closer and closer:

"Come in. Stand beside me, and with my help, you can take their place!"

In an instant, countless images surged through his mind—

Her father died tragically, and her mother nearly followed him in death. The widow and her orphan were forced into prostitution by Wang An, bullied by the Zhang family, and robbed and murdered by Shi Lei...

One by one, the incidents flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.

He lowered his eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly spoke: "Why should I believe you?"

"Hehehe..."

The voice laughed, its words filled with certainty:

"You don't need to believe me, nor do you need to respond immediately. I know you humans too well; when you're desperate, you'll definitely come back to me."

"I really like one of your sayings: 'Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?' If they can sit on this throne, why can't you?"

Lu Ming lowered his eyes, ignoring the other party's teasing, and calmly spoke:

"I'm not in a good situation right now. Could you please send me the 'Seven Gods Illustrated Manual' first?"

The temple fell silent for a moment.

The eerie blue flame flickered twice, as if it were deep in thought.

After a long pause, the voice rang out again:

"I can't give you the 'Seven Gods' Manual' for now... Otherwise, if you just run away, wouldn't I look like a fool?"

He paused, then continued:

"However, judging from the ambergris you smell like, I'm really afraid you won't live more than a few days. Here are some things left behind by a few talented but reckless young men, so I'll leave them to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind howled out of the temple, carrying a dark shadow that shot towards them.

Lu Ming reached out and grabbed it; it felt heavy in his hand.

Looking down, I saw a bundle casually wrapped with an old cloth curtain.

The fabric was rough, and the knots were tied carelessly, as if it had been rolled up and thrown out on a whim.

His lips twitched slightly, and he seriously doubted whether the other party was just giving him a perfunctory answer.

But he didn't say much, only gave a slight bow towards the temple:

"Well then, I'll take my leave now."

He slowly retreated, his figure completely disappearing into the green light of the underworld, vanishing into the end of the twilight.

At that moment, the dilapidated temple suddenly began to shake violently.

The eerie blue flames suddenly expanded several times over, revealing countless blood-red runes on the walls.

One by one, the lights are coming on, and then one by one they are going dark, like a rope stretched to its limit breaking one by one.

"Hahaha...you old bastard! You're too busy taking care of yourself now, you can't hold me back for long!"

Wild laughter echoed throughout the temple, crashing back and forth between the four walls:

"I told you, fate is inescapable! Even if you ascend to the highest heavens, you will eventually fall from the clouds! Hahaha!"

He believed that the human boy would definitely return.

He knew the nature of the human race all too well: heroes emerge in great numbers, yet they always fight amongst themselves for personal gain.

You could tell from the boy's eyes that even though he was lying low in the abyss, he was still a fledgling dragon unwilling to be subservient to others.

Such a person is not tolerated by powerful and influential families and is destined to meet a dead end.

At that point, he will be the other party's only way out.

……

The drill ground and the brewery.

"call--"

Lu Ming pushed open the door and entered the room, plopped down on the wooden bed, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Having been hunted and hidden by demons for days, and now subjected to the verbal attack in the temple, I am already exhausted.

He lay back on the bed, his chest rising and falling slightly, staring blankly at the bundle of herbs hanging from the roof beam.

"Seven Realms of Different Paths... Humans... Demons..."

His mind was in turmoil, but his intuition told him that most of what the monsters in the temple said was true.

While worrying about his future, he also unconsciously began to ponder the relationship between humans and demons.

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became, and the deeper I went into it, until my mind quickly turned into a complete mess.

"I don't want to think about it anymore."

He turned over and buried his face in the pillow:

"Before reaching a certain level, others only need to provide some seemingly true information to make me draw completely wrong judgments."

He quickly put the matter out of his mind for the time being.

It has nothing to do with anything else, it's just that this matter is far beyond his current control.

In this chaotic world, all he wanted was to become stronger and protect the people he cared about so they could live well.

He got up, sat cross-legged, pulled over the bundle at the foot of the bed, untied the knot, and unfolded it to take a look:

Three porcelain bottles, a yellowed secret manual, a tattered calligraphy brush, and a dried ginseng root.

He picked up the porcelain bottles and examined them one by one.

The bottles were labeled with "Blood Circulation Pill", "Body Tempering Pill" and "Bone Forging Pill" respectively, with neat and elegant fonts.

A gentle shake reveals a soft rustling sound, indicating that it has long been damp and rotten.

He uncorked the bottle and sniffed it; a stale, sour smell hit his nostrils.

"Are they trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

His lips twitched, confirming once again that these things were nothing more than trash casually snatched up by the demons in the temple.

But soon, his gaze was drawn to the dried ginseng in front of him.

It is pure white and shaped like a coiled jade dragon. Two tendrils extend from the main body and sway slightly, giving it a lively and lifelike feel.

It is about a foot long, with a warm, jade-like luster all over its body, and you can smell a refreshing medicinal fragrance when you get close.

"A foot long... Could this be a thousand-year-old Jade Dragon Ginseng?"

A rare hint of surprise flashed in Lu Ming's eyes.

The thousand-year-old Jade Dragon Ginseng is excellent for replenishing bone marrow and generating essence. Whether used alone, in brewing wine, or in alchemy, it is a superb medicinal material.

He carefully picked up the ginseng and sniffed it.

The crisp, refreshing air penetrated my lungs through my nasal cavity, easing some of the fatigue from days of travel.

He happily wrapped the ginseng carefully and put it into the wooden box by his bedside.

Then, he picked up the yellowed manual and turned to the first page with a hint of anticipation.

The words on the cover were mostly blurred, and only the three characters "Tiger Roar Kung Fu" could be barely made out.

On the title page, a mnemonic for the "iron-haired and silver-hooked" calligraphy style immediately catches the eye:

"Learning from the tiger is not to intimidate the mountains and forests, but to listen to the sound of its bones beating like drums. One short beat followed by one long beat, shaking the very marrow of one's bones into golden waves."

Turning the page further, one sees only a few strokes of iron wire drawing on the pages.

The figures crouch, leap, pounce, and slash, their tiger-like forms and postures vividly depicted, accompanied by corresponding mnemonic annotations.

Although simple, it perfectly embodies the essence of "Tiger Roaring to Forge Bones".

This shows how profound the original owner's understanding of this martial art was and how long he had immersed himself in it.

[Discovered a low-level martial art called "Tiger's Roar Skill," should it be learned?]

Soon, the Heavenly Heart Scroll reacted.

Lu Ming looked at the line of text, a playful smile appearing on his lips:

"You told me that different martial arts would conflict with each other, but you still gave me a fourth martial art... What a clever scheme."