From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Smith exclaimed in shock, "Are you serious?"

grim Reaper.

In the minds of alchemists and magicians, Death is not a specific figure like Hela in Norse mythology or Thanatos in Greek mythology, but a concept.

A person is cursed if they enter a natural or man-made secret place without being "invited".

Whether they are ordinary people, alchemists, or magicians, once they are targeted by "Death," they will die due to various accidents.

None were spared.

To survive is simple, but you have to hide your whole life, stay in a closed, safe environment, and even when you eat, you have to chew slowly, otherwise you might choke and suffocate.

What good would it do me to lie to you?

Stephen White gritted his teeth and said, "In this land of the East, while the general society is technologically backward, those who control power are no less skilled in the art of Qi cultivation than we are in alchemy! It's unbelievable that they can create such a terrifying secret realm!"

"Could we ask them to help lift the curse?" Smith asked hopefully, thinking he could go back and apologize.

"Are you crazy?"

Stephen White looked at Smith with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot. "The curse can't be lifted! Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so cautious when they went in! If we turn back, they'll definitely tear us to pieces!"

"So what should we do?"

Smith was extremely anxious, but then a thought suddenly occurred to him. He took out three transparent beads, each the size of a fingernail, from his pocket. These beads were engraved with extremely complex runes and diagrams. "After the ghostly realm dissipated, I immediately ran to the north side. Someone had set fire to the temple there, but these three beads on the forehead of a collapsed Buddha statue were intact. I pried them off, smashed the Buddha's head, and threw them into the fire... Will this help us break the curse?"

Upon seeing the rune beads, Stephen White snatched them away, carefully sensing their properties, and said, "No! These three beads resemble alchemical items, but they are different from those used by our alchemy lineage. We cannot use them!"

"What should we do then?"

Smith shouted, "I don't want to die!"

"There is only one place that can save our lives!"

"where?"

"Nathan!"

Stephen Whitey, who has studied various forbidden arts and now has experienced the Ghost Realm, has some guesses about the Nathan Tree.

Ordinary people born within the area covered by the power of the Divine Tree will also awaken superpowers. The fundamental reason is that the area within this range is a secret realm formed by the Divine Tree releasing an invisible and intangible energy!

A secluded paradise, isolated from the outside world!

and so!

Only King Nathan and Nathan Guard were able to traverse and jump within such a vast area!

The only way is to go to Nathan Island! Join Nathan Island!

Only then can their lives be saved!

“Join Nathan!” Smith didn’t want to be isolated from the outside world, and besides, “Your son, White, isn’t he only six years old? Are you going to abandon him?”

"I have no choice but to live! Besides, the pursuit of alchemical truth is far more important than my son!" Stephen Whitey had made his decision.

# Chapter 405 Returning to Yuhang (Part 1)

After shifting his attention away from Smith and Stephen Whitey, Jiang Liu turned his gaze to the smiling tiger and said, "General Sun, please, we'll take you back to Yuhang."

The smiling tiger had finally come to his senses, but his eyes were still somewhat dazed. He simply nodded hesitantly and said, "Okay!"

Seeing this, the others couldn't help but sigh, and some even gloated.

This includes Li Muxuan.

But when he saw Si Chong staring at him, he quickly suppressed his smile and pretended to be serious.

But let's leave that little incident aside.

"Jiang Liu, what level has your cultivation reached? Could it be that it has already reached the heavens?"

On the way back to Yuhang, Gao Huan suddenly approached and inquired about Jiang Liu's cultivation level. Upon hearing this, the others all listened intently, wanting to know more.

"Reaching the heavens? It's hard to say. My cultivation has its own set of standards, called 'Golden Elixir and Sacred Embryo,' which unifies body and mind and refines life force internally. However, I am still far from that realm. I need to integrate all the skills I know and summarize them into a single cultivation method."

Indeed.

This experience allowed Jiang Liu to gain the radiance of the two spiritual realms of Heaven and Earth. Based on this, he granted the titles of "Huangtian" and "Houtu". Within his mind, he created the Heavenly Court above the Nine Heavens and opened the Underworld below the Nine Netherworlds. Within his body, his six internal organs functioned smoothly, allowing him to refine the six energies of the four seasons, replenish his innate Qi, and clear his primordial spirit. He was able to better control the power of his body, further deepening the connection between his body and mind.

In addition, he learned about the gene lock system, which involves the essence of life and can greatly enhance his combat power.

However, there are still some discordant points in the internal cultivation of life force. The eight extraordinary meridians take the five internal organs as the central palace and integrate yin and yang, which is fine. But the three passes and nine orifices seem to require not only the Niwan and ancestral orifices as the central palace, but perhaps the primordial spirit should also be the central palace.

Since the Later Heaven Bagua corresponds to the five internal organs, should the Earlier Heaven Bagua also correspond to a complete human organ, rather than just a single orifice?

Perhaps the concept of the "three gates and nine orifices" doesn't rely on the Niwan (upper dantian) or Zuqiao (lower dantian) as the central palace, but rather on the "Niwan" itself—the entire brain—as the central palace!

The idea resurfaced in my mind, but as I said before, it is not the right time to attempt to designate the central palace of the three passes and nine orifices as the primordial spirit.

The others, however, all looked puzzled upon hearing Jiang Liu's words.

Their cultivation of Qi was merely to temper their life force, but Jiang Liu was aiming to become an immortal or a Buddha!

However, recalling the abilities Jiang Liu displayed when competing against Zhang Zhiwei in the finals of the martial arts tournament, as well as the strength he demonstrated in the Ghost Realm, everyone had to admit that if nothing unexpected happened in the future, Jiang Liu might actually reach the cultivation level of the ancient sages.

Gao Huan asked, "Is it possible to achieve immortality by refining the Golden Elixir and the Sacred Embryo?"

Jiang Liu said, "We can reach for the moon in the heavens and capture turtles in the oceans."

"boast!"

Although Jiang Liu's abilities were indeed mysterious and unpredictable, even close to the legendary immortal arts, she didn't believe he could ascend to the heavens or descend to the five oceans.

Many of the old Taoist priests and monks present did not believe it either.

They were all well aware of the secrets of "connecting to the heavens." So-called "ascension" was merely passing away; so-called "flying to the heavens" didn't mean truly flying to the highest heavens...

However, after this experience, the forty-two people became quite familiar with each other and shared their experiences in cultivation. In particular, the older Taoist priests and monks were generous in sharing some of the truths of cultivation within their sects, explaining them to everyone. This enlightened some of the independent cultivators, making them realize that they had gone astray in their previous cultivation, or that they had discovered how to cultivate in the future.

among them.

As if hearing the principles in these Taoist scriptures and Buddhist scrolls, Si Chong sighed inwardly, truly realizing the gap between the Sanyi Sect and the real Xuanmen and Buddhist sects.

These principles of cultivation, if placed in any family or small sect, would be considered "a single, profound teaching," yet these Taoist priests and monks revealed them so simply that even this old man, who was no younger than them and in fact more than ten years older than many of them, benefited somewhat from them.

No wonder Taoism and Buddhism are the mainstream sects in the world of extraordinary people!

In terms of foundation, the Sanyi Sect, along with other families, including the Gao, Lu, Wang, and Lü families, may outwardly appear to rival the major sects, but in reality, such comparisons are like fireflies trying to compete with the moon—utterly presumptuous.

In the blink of an eye.

Half a month passed quietly.

The journey was slower due to the presence of ordinary people like Smiling Tiger, but the group returned to Yuhang after half a month. They escorted Smiling Tiger home "safely" before dispersing.

During the past two weeks, Mingfei Newspaper has been continuously reporting on the martial arts tournament and explaining the principles behind the superhuman abilities they possess, thus removing the mystique surrounding these superhumans and their powers.

As a result, the people in the city became much more rational.

Even so, when ordinary people in Yuhang City see Jiang Liu, many will still go up to "take advantage" of him, hoping for good luck.

After all, the people in the city even rushed to take the bricks and stones from the collapsed Leifeng Pagoda into their homes and offer incense to them, let alone a "living Buddha".

Fortunately, Jiang Liu is still a living person. If he stopped moving one day, he might be secretly moved into someone's home and made into a golden statue!

Upon returning to Yuhang, Jiang Liu's first action was to visit the Confucian Society and inquire about recent events from Lu Mingfei.

"Nothing major happened in Yuhang. It's just that many people in the city brought their families to the Cultural Street to learn skills from masters. However, most of the children from wealthy families are spoiled and pampered. Even those with talent can't stand the loneliness and give up halfway. Most of the children give up in less than half a month..."

Lu Mingfei gave a brief report on the situation, and then said, "However, Zhao Qian has returned with news that the Northern Expedition has officially begun!"

Zhang Muzhi and Chen Yulou led their troops into the Gong faction. Because of the high quality of the soldiers trained by Zhang Muzhi, he directly became a general!

"Is that so? Then, given the uneven quality of warlords, it's estimated that the Smiling Tiger will have to step down in less than a year. However, whether he can even live past a year is still an unknown."

The Smiling Tiger had been to the Ghost Realm and lost his "past," so Jiang Liu didn't bother with him. He then asked the Quanxing, "Has the Quanxing been causing trouble in the Cultural Street area lately?"

"There was a Quanxing demon who came by. He called himself Wugensheng. He had clear eyes and looked a bit dull. He didn't seem like a bad person. He was also quite friendly. So the people on the street didn't bother him. They just wouldn't sell him anything."

Lu Mingfei said, "It seems he was tricked by the other Quanxing members into coming to cause you trouble, but when he couldn't find you, he left."

"Rootless?"

Jiang Liu sighed inwardly, thinking to himself:

You still chose this path, Feng Yao.

But this is ultimately a failed path. The Quanxing demons are a bunch of villains and troublemakers. Killing them all would be a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times better than guiding them!

I hope we never meet again.

otherwise--

I might not go easy on you!

# Chapter 406 Returning to Yuhang (Part 2)

After finishing some of the affairs of the Confucian Association, Jiang Liu returned to the Ghost Hand Wang Cai Opera Troupe to let Wang Yaozu know he was safe, only to find Zhang Zhiwei and Gao Huan there as well.

"How about I join the opera troupe?"

Gao Huan spoke first.

"welcome."

Jiang Liu smiled slightly, extended his hand, and shook hands with Gao Huan. "However, I have a question. Does the Gao family really no longer care about you?"

"It's not that I don't care, maybe I'll come and help collect my body when I die someday?" Gao Huan suggested a possibility. After all, after becoming Liao Huzi's disciple, she wanted to create her own martial arts technique, which was considered disobeying her elders... In the Gao family, such a thing would be considered extremely rebellious, so it's no wonder that her family would give her a good look.

"You must have really bad interpersonal relationships," Jiang Liu teased, and before Gao Huan could retort, he turned to Zhang Zhiwei and said, "Brother Zhiwei, are you joining us too? I'd absolutely welcome you!"

Zhang Zhiwei was about to speak when he heard Jiang Liu's words and was momentarily speechless. He then rubbed his chin and said seriously, "Well, I'm really sorry, I have no intention of becoming a magician. I'm just here to say goodbye. I'm going to travel!"

"Shouldn't you be saying this to your master?" Jiang Liu asked with a strange expression.

"There's nothing I can do. If I go back to Longhu Mountain now, my master might not let me leave." Zhang Zhiwei scratched his head and laughed.

He came to the Ghost Hand Wang Cai Opera Troupe because the only person he was familiar with besides the strange people of Longhu Mountain was Jiang Liu.