Chapter 25: Rivaling Heaven and Earth in Skill, Farewell Midwife (Please Keep Reading!)

The Dao Fruit underwent another transformation!

He obtained a nascent divine ability……Immortal Craft·Thousand Analysis Hand!

This was something Li Che had never imagined—raising the Dao Fruit's maturity to lv3 actually brought about such a transformation!

"Nascent divine ability……"

Li Che murmured.

With a stir of his mind, in an instant he looked at his own hands; faintly, a pale jade-colored mist seemed to rise on his arms, spraying out from his pores, making his five fingers and arms appear as white as carved jade.

【Nascent Divine Ability (Immortal Craft·Thousand Analysis Hand): Absorbing divinity, nurturing divine abilities, the Immortal Craft transforms, skills ascend】

The introduction floated into view before his eyes.

Li Che merely glanced at it, and his mind trembled, shocked to the extreme.

"Absorbing divinity?!"

"Do you mean absorbing divinity? If this nascent divine ability is used, can it absorb divinity for one's own use?"

Divinity……that was a realm he had never been able to touch until now.

Although his woodcarvings were all sent to Nei Cheng for the children of aristocratic families to cultivate divinity, Li Che had never actually come into contact with divinity.

After calming down, Li Che exhaled, his eyes gleaming: "Too bad I don't yet know what divinity is used for… but absorbing divinity is just one effect of the Thousand Analysis Hand; further transformations await."

Li Che settled his mind, gazing at his arms emanating golden mist, the corners of his mouth turning up.

Looking at the Nine-Headed Guanyin Wrathful Cry Ghost-Suppressing Statue before him, Li Che raised his hand, his palm suffused with pale jade mist, and placed it upon the wood carving.

In an instant, jade mist seemed to turn into flowing light before his eyes; all the carving techniques and skills of this wood carving were fully displayed, and Li Che easily analyzed and mastered them.

Li Che released his hand, the smile between his lips growing richer: "Thousand Analysis Hand……can analyze any craft."

"'As long as one touches it, one can discern the root, like investigating things to extend knowledge, to know the true nature, and thereby acquire the skill.'"

To verify his hypothesis, he left the workshop and ran to the outside where the finished statues were placed.

Heavy snow fell in abundance.

Several scattered figures carefully placed the finished statues.

These were all the workshop's porters; Li Che used to be one of them.

"Master Li!"

Several porters seeing Li Che all showed fawning smiles.

"What wood do you need? Just give the word and we'll bring it in; in this freezing weather, why trouble yourself to come out?" A porter wiped his sweat and hurriedly said with a smile.

Li Che waved his hand: "No, I'm just looking."

After saying that, he walked up to a finished statue, reached out and covered it; a hazy jade mist drifted from his palms.

In an instant, the carving techniques and procedures of this wood statue fully appeared in his mind; unlike before, where touching a statue allowed him to grasp the technique only once a day, now he had no such limitation.

Moreover, mastering it became more refined; he could even innovate, making up for deficiencies on the basis of the original technique.

"As expected……"

Li Che released his hand, a smile blossoming in his heart; his confidence surged, giving him greater assurance in crafting the remaining nine extremely high‑difficulty mechanisms recorded in the Tangji Jianji Yaowu.

"It's time to find a moment to update the mechanisms……give Zhao Chuanxiong a bigger surprise."

One month's time.

Li Che gained a considerable transformation.

His cultivation rose, his Immortal Craft standard likewise improved, and he obtained the nascent divine ability【Thousand Analysis Hand】.

It's time to eradicate Zhao Chuanxiong, this potential danger.

Otherwise, Li Che always felt a blade hanging over his head, unable to rest or eat in peace, constantly fearing that Xixi might at any moment suffer a great calamity.

……

……

Afternoon.

Xu Beihu arrived as promised, wearing a great cloak, his stature growing ever more imposing.

"Master Li, is the wood carving ready?"

Xu Beihu's voice was gruff, his eyes gleaming with vigor; as soon as he entered the woodcarving shop, he came to find Li Che.

Upon entering the workshop, he saw the wood carving statue quietly placed on the workbench, his eyes lighting up.

"Good, good, good, not bad—Master Li's skill has improved again! This Wrathful Cry Ghost‑Suppressing Guanyin statue……is indeed excellent, full of meaning!"

Xu Beihu stared at the Wrathful Cry Ghost‑Suppressing statue, unable to take his eyes off it.

"It's a pity that the divinity I cultivate is not 'Wrathful Cry Ghost‑Suppressing'; otherwise I would certainly not sell this wood carving to the Si family……at least, I'd have to charge more, hahaha."

Xu Beihu laughed as he spoke.

"If the Second Manager needs anything, just place an order with me—a deal of five gold leaves each time; I'd love to come more often, then I'd never worry about food or clothing."

"Hahaha, if I have the chance to come find you……but the wood carvings I need must all be made by a woodcarving master."

"If you want to sell me wood carvings, you must become a woodcarving master; we, the direct line of the Xu family cultivating divinity, have all our divinity‑infused wood carvings made by masters; that Si Mubai……is merely at a critical breakthrough stage, so he casts a wide net, isn't picky, and needs many wood carvings, which is why he came to you."

Xu Beihu laughed as he explained.

Reluctantly letting go, Xu Beihu oddly regarded Li Che: "Master Li, your woodcarving talent……is truly outstanding; you have the makings of a master; if you diligently study divinity, you might someday become a woodcarving master."

Upon hearing this, Li Che immediately became curious: "Second Manager, I don't know how a woodcarving master differs from an ordinary woodcarver."

Xu Beihu thought highly of Li Che and did not conceal anything.

The two had the porters load the wood carving onto a prepared cart, and Xu Beihu pulled Li Che into a luxurious carriage together.

Inside the carriage, a brazier burned, boiling tea.

Xu Beihu poured Li Che a cup and explained: "The reason a woodcarving master can be called a master……is because the wood carvings they produce differ essentially from those of ordinary woodcarvers."

"This difference lies in divinity."

"The wood carvings made by the Wood Carving Master give birth to true divinity, which can be absorbed."

"This alone is the difference between heaven and earth."

Xu Beihu said softly.

Upon hearing this, Li Che's body trembled slightly; the wood carving he had made…… possessed true divinity?

"It's not hard to understand, you know what a spirit infant is…… When a child is born from the union of people, a member of heaven and earth, only then does it innately possess divinity. As for the Wood Carving Master…… crafting spirit infant wood carvings is like a pregnant woman giving birth to a spirit infant, giving the wood carving a chance to possess divinity. Although the divinity born cannot compare to that of a true spirit infant, it is equivalent to showing off before heaven and earth, capturing the wandering divinity of heaven and earth."

Xu Beihu said with a smile.

"Wood Carving Master…… do you cultivate the Divinity Method?" Li Che asked.

Xu Beihu nodded as a matter of course: "If one does not cultivate the Divinity Method, they will ultimately be like ants; without cultivating divinity, how could they feel, comprehend, or even bestow divinity?"

Perhaps thinking of something, Xu Beihu looked at Li Che with a smile: "Li Shifu, don't rush, the Divinity Method is exceedingly precious; it is the treasure at the bottom of every great clan's chest."

"Although Li Shifu's current talent is not bad, it still needs consideration; moreover…… Li Shifu is too young, he still needs to accumulate more experience and qualities before attempting to cultivate the Divinity Method, only then does he have a chance to become a Wood Carving Master."

"But that's only a chance."

The carriage passed over the bumpy outer city and soon arrived at the immensely magnificent inner city wall.

Since it was the Xu family's carriage, no inspection was needed, and it drove straight into the extremely prosperous inner city.

This was Li Che's first visit to the inner city; the clean and splendid buildings stood in close succession, and just by looking out the window, one could see all kinds of prosperous scenes.

Compared to the outer city's turmoil and the people's harsh struggle to survive in a dilapidated environment, it was simply worlds apart.

The carriage arrived before a restaurant; the restaurant was decorated with resplendent gold and azure, carved beams and painted pillars, extremely luxurious.

Inside the restaurant, several porters soon ran out, carefully carrying the wood carvings behind Xu Beihu and Li Che.

"This Golden Splendor Pavilion is one of the finest restaurants in the inner city; a basic meal starts at a hundred taels of silver. The Young Master Si of the Si family, Si Murbai, seems to value you greatly and also looks forward to your 'Grief-crying Ghost Suppression,' so he specially arranged a banquet here."

Xu Beihu laughed.

The two walked past the beautifully carved corridor; every piece of wood on the corridor had been meticulously carved by the wood carving master, extremely exquisite and pleasing to the eye.

In the distance, there was a private room open on all sides, resembling a hanging pavilion terrace, with draped curtains that swayed in the wind, causing the drapes to flutter.

Li Che could see from afar a white-clad figure seated and drinking in the middle of that hanging pavilion terrace.

Beside that white-clad figure stood an old woman, head lowered, reporting something.

Li Che's steps came to an abrupt halt.

He looked at the old woman; the gentleness on her face gradually withdrew.

Finally……

Until complete freezing!

Gazing at the old woman's face that Li Che could dream of in his dreams……

A faint killing intent spread from the depths of Li Che's eyes.

Just because.

This old woman was precisely the midwife who delivered Xixi and killed several infant midwives……

Midwife, Lei Chunlan!

ps: Tuesday's readership is crucial; don't hoard the book, I hope everyone sees it to the end! Asking for support!

(End of chapter)