From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Although Huang Po was not granted a title, the appearance of the four gods together also drew out the Qi of the spleen and earth, causing the five Qi in her chest to converge and rotate. With the movement of her primordial spirit, she reversed the eight directions and generated nine layers of energy. By borrowing the effect of Qimen Dunjia, she formed an eight-nine momentum. Although her body was only covered by a thin layer of magnetic membrane that surged like flames, her aura was like a true dragon descending to earth, soaring straight into the sky. She even reached the wall above the ground, causing the internal airflow to surge.

The young woman's eyes widened, and she involuntarily took more than ten steps back. When she reached the outside of the palace gate, she patted her chest and exclaimed in surprise, "Is this a person?"

At this moment, even if Jiang Liu really said that he was a god descended to earth, she would believe it!

Such ability is beyond human capability.

A prodigy has emerged in the world of supernatural beings!

Jiang Liu raised his head, straightened his neck, and sat upright, focusing his energy in his dantian. He then lifted his leg and stepped onto the ground, causing the entire Wuliang Palace to tremble.

boom!

He stomped on the floorboards, breaking them, and the alchemy furnace swayed slightly.

Noticing the exposed metal beneath the foot, Jiang Liu realized that the object under the alchemy furnace was likely over three meters long and wide. Even if they stood near the furnace and tried to lift it, they couldn't move it properly, no matter how much force they used. At most, they could only damage the connection between the furnace and the base.

and so--

"You two, get out of the way!"

At a command, Lu Jin and Li Muxuan immediately retreated, while Jiang Liu also leaped back dozens of meters, then stepped forward, causing the bricks and stones in the pill hall to crack layer by layer, as if lotus flowers were blooming with each step. When he was three meters away from the pill furnace, he leaped into the air and kicked the pill furnace.

Boom!

A dull sound echoed throughout the underground palace, lingering endlessly, and the alchemy furnace slowly tilted to one side, revealing the shape of the object beneath it.

It was an octagonal truncated pyramid. The three legs of the alchemy furnace stood more than one meter wide, the bottom was about four meters wide, and the height was half a meter. It was divided into twenty-four layers, each of which could rotate. The inside seemed to be engraved with strange symbols, resembling insects and birds, the meaning of which was unknown.

Looking below the prism, there's a circular platform with a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) pattern on it. Pressing it with your hand will transmit Qi (vital energy) to a certain place below—

A barbican?!

Jiang Liu's arms revealed strange patterns of red and blue intertwined. With the power of Qiankun Manipulation, he guided the Mind Monkey to explore along the Bagua, which could transmit Qi. Under the shared perspective, they discovered a space buried by yellow sand.

The barbican is located directly beneath Ping Mountain, and the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) on the stone wall atop the barbican is connected to the Bagua beneath the alchemy furnace in the Wuliang Hall.

The situation that the barbican had shown before did indeed seem like someone in ancient times had set up an array to resurrect the soul of a tomb raider from later generations.

However, the barbican is connected to the alchemy furnace of the Wuliang Palace... Perhaps that person also knew that even if the spirit returned, it could not occupy another person's body for a long time, so he adopted other methods, such as combining it with alchemy!

Once the formation is activated, the alchemy furnace inside the Boundless Palace might also be activated, using the unique energy of Ping Mountain to absorb information from those who have already passed away, reassemble their spirits, and completely complete the "resurrection."

That person even factored in the possibility that the aura might change over time, but ultimately, man proposes, God disposes.

Who could have imagined that the aura of Ping Mountain would crack due to an earthquake, to the point that, hundreds of years later, the original aura has completely disappeared?

Thinking of this possibility, Jiang Liu inexplicably thought of the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley...

# Chapter 158 The Innate and Acquired Aura of Qi

The birth of the Eight Extraordinary Skills is inextricably linked to the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley.

If the Qi of Ping Mountain was exactly the same as that of the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley before the "Primordial Yang was depleted", could the ancients have also been able to comprehend some extraordinary skills from it?

Moreover, this Bottle Mountain is truly a natural formation, not something deliberately carved by humans. The ancients only carved out and built palaces in Bottle Mountain after they "enlightened themselves." Therefore, the aura of this Bottle Mountain is even more unique and extraordinary than the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley!

After all, the twenty-four sections of Tongtian Valley were a man-made energy formation created by Zhang Boduan... or at least modified by Zhang Boduan.

Taking the difference between innate talismans and acquired talismans as an example, innate talismans are records of the essence of the flow, transformation and circulation of the innate Qi between heaven and earth, pointing directly to the origin of the Great Dao; while acquired talismans are the means of cultivation step by step according to the understanding of predecessors, and are more diverse in function.

The same applies to the innate nature and acquired human influence of Qi (energy).

The innate, naturally formed aura may not allow one to immediately comprehend any profound secrets, but it treats all things equally, including humans.

The artificial energy formations created later, such as the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valleys, are only for "people" and have a single function, as if they are meant to guide those who are destined to enter this valley onto the path of Qi cultivation.

Thinking back to this, and recalling Lin Jiu's knowledge about Qi formation, Jiang Liu suddenly realized that his previous understanding of Qi formation was flawed.

That is, no matter how peculiar the innate aura is, it generally will not deliberately target those who rashly intrude into it.

The only things these people need to be careful about are the unknown environment within this aura and the native creatures that may threaten their lives. As long as they can adapt to the changes in environment, they can generally survive in this special aura without any situation where a person's "past" is erased.

Because humans are a product of nature!

This is simply the natural law of survival of the fittest!

The greatest truth is impartiality, treating everyone equally.

Only a man-made energy field, which produces one or more specific functions, can influence a person's energy field and thus affect their destiny.

For example, in a sorcerer's Qimen Dunjia magic, by activating Qimen Dunjia, a small-scale Qi formation is set up. By having someone walk into a specific location, the conflict between that person's own Qi formation and the small-scale Qi formation created by Qimen Dunjia is altered, thereby weakening the other person and enhancing the power of the sorcerer's own magic.

And this Bottle Mountain—

When it was first discovered, the aura was most likely naturally formed and treated all living things, including humans, equally.

Later, it was discovered and modified, which should have changed the energy of the place. It may have been helpful for alchemy, or perhaps a Taoist priest had placed his hopes of reaching the heavens or even becoming an immortal on the future, and secretly transformed the place into a place for "reincarnation".

To this day, this artificial aura has been destroyed by accident, losing most of its effects!

The fact that the mechanism of the walled city could be activated and condense a fragmented Yin spirit was probably already its limit, and it is likely that the alchemy furnace played the majority of the role.

But why was this artificially created atmosphere disrupted...?

Jiang Liu felt that it was not as simple as an earthquake.

A naturally formed energy field is one with heaven and earth. However, after being modified by humans, the energy field may produce specific effects and functions on people. But if the natural connection between the energy field and heaven and earth is not considered, it is very likely to destroy the harmony between the energy field and heaven and earth.

The fact that the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley can still be effective is probably because Zhang Boduan took this into consideration. Even so, based on the plot development he knew from his previous life, Jiang Liu thought of a possibility: that the "Heavenly Dao" in the dark might be guiding Zhang Chulan and his group to explore the root cause and ultimately destroy it.

Does the Way of Heaven forbid humanity from altering nature?

It must not be.

Otherwise, the day humanity learns to make tools, the mysterious "Way of Heaven" will intervene and extinguish this spark of nascent wisdom.

The same principle applies to spiritual cultivation. Any method that forces growth will have side effects to some extent. For example, the Eight Extraordinary Techniques can be problematic if the practitioner's temperament is not strong enough.

The term "method of instigating chaos" is not just a fabricated charge, but an indisputable fact!

Cultivating one's character is a glimmer of hope given by "Heaven" to those who seek to control and manipulate chaotic techniques.

Having obtained the innate talismanic diagram, and through cultivation, mastering the four methods of shifting stars and constellations, avoiding death and prolonging life, manipulating heaven and earth, and understanding all things, coupled with the mindset cultivated in his previous life and the experiences of cultivation in this life, Jiang Liu seems to have gained a genuine understanding of the concepts of "Tao" in Taoism and "Dharma" in Buddhism...

"Does the aura really have such a great effect?"

Upon hearing Jiang Liu's speculation about a certain Taoist priest who outwardly complied but inwardly defied the rules, altering the Qi of Ping Mountain in order to seek future rebirth and cultivation, Li Muxuan frowned, his eyes revealing a hint of speechlessness: "You really know how to make assumptions. Even those supernatural tales wouldn't dare to write something like this!"

"It's still possible."

Lu Jin, however, was more inclined to believe Jiang Liu's seemingly far-fetched guess. "Back in the barbican, didn't you also see the fragmented spiritual body that was drawn out after the formation was activated? If Ping Mountain hadn't been hit by an earthquake that cracked open a huge ravine, the spiritual body that had been scattered for hundreds of years might have been able to re-condense!"

"I'm too lazy to argue with you!"

Even so, Li Muxuan believed Jiang Liu's guess to some extent—although he openly opposed Jiang Liu, he also regarded him as a friend.

Afterwards, the three of them, along with Miss Hong, searched the Wuliang Palace for other things, but apart from the alchemy furnace, there was nothing else there.

"who?"

Hong Guniang saw a figure near the left-hand gate of Wuliang Hall. The figure was dressed in the clothing of a woman from the Ming Dynasty, with its back to her, motionless, and lifeless, like a living dead.

Li Muxuan took a nine-foot nail from Lu Jin's waist and threw it at the figure.

pat!

The nine-foot nail pierced through the figure without any resistance, landing on the ground with a dull thud. The figure cracked and broke into fragments, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"It doesn't look human."

Jiang Liu leaned closer, using his magnetic field to manipulate a handful of fragments, carefully kneading them. He said to the three people behind him, "It's like paper that's been left out for a long time and turned to ash. It's a paper figure. It withstood the tremors when I pried open the alchemy furnace earlier, which is probably its limit. It shattered when it was touched by the nine-foot nail."

After saying that, he picked up the nine-foot nail and handed it back to Lu Jin, then said to the girl in red, "The clothes on this paper figure before it broke were from the Ming Dynasty, right?"

"Yes."

Although Hong Guniang was a bandit who joined the outlaws halfway through her life, she had seen many artifacts in Changsheng Mountain and was able to recognize the attire of this paper figure when it was intact.

"In that case, it must be the ability of that Guanshan Taibao."

Jiang Liu guessed, "He must have come down from above and released this paper figure to attract the centipede's attention, but he couldn't fool the Earth Dragon King, so he escaped to the bottom of Bottle Mountain and eventually got trapped there and died."

# Chapter 159 Leaving the Bottle Mountain

Mentioning Guanshan Taibao, Lu Jin recalled what Partridge Whistle had said before and asked Jiang Liu, "Guanshan Taibao only raids tombs for ancient books and scrolls, does that mean there are corresponding ancient books here?"

"That's possible."

The Wuliang Hall and the surrounding buildings date back to at least the Song Dynasty, and were used for alchemy; they may even contain ancient texts.

Judging from the fact that the six-winged centipede's cultivation time can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, it is likely that the general's subordinates in the Yuan Dynasty never came to the underground palace below to ensure safety. Therefore, it is very likely that the ancient books were sealed somewhere.

Furthermore, judging from the well-preserved state of the buildings here, if the books truly exist, they must be quite well-preserved...

I fear that the centipede will devour them all, or that the Guanshan Taibao, with the mentality that if he can't have it, no one else can either, will burn all the books he has collected before he dies.

Even if there's only a sliver of a possibility, Jiang Liu, Lu Jin, and Li Muxuan will still search for it.

Jiang Liu sought to gain wisdom from the ancients, while Lu Jin and Li Muxuan aimed to further enrich the foundation of the Sanyi Sect.

However, the four of them searched the entire underground palace but could not find any place where alchemical scriptures or Daoist texts were hidden.

"It seems there's a real possibility that it was destroyed by that Guanshan Taibao." Li Muxuan sighed, but he felt a surge of hatred for the tomb raiders.

Even the flowing river sighs.

Regarding the cultivation methods that may exist in ancient texts, the ancient methods may not necessarily be more powerful or perfect than the methods of today, but their content still has significant reference value for people today.

By comparing ancient and modern methods, we can use ancient methods to fill in the gaps and deficiencies in modern methods.

Perhaps it's impossible.

but!

Preserving ancient methods can prevent modern people from making the same mistakes as the ancients when creating new methods. A wrong method does not mean it is meaningless.

"Judging from your appearance, you seem no different from those tomb raiders who only seek ancient scrolls and books."

Seeing the three men sighing, Miss Red smiled.