Chapter 40

The Front Word Secret, as one of the Nine Secrets, possesses immense power; after mastering it, Yang Zhu's understanding of the Dao and the Fa deepens further.

As before, each time he mastered a technique's Shen Gong, Yang Zhu would imprint the Dao patterns contained within onto his skin, strengthening his flesh while also enabling his mind to follow his will.

Everyone knows that to trigger the Nine Secrets, certain conditions must be met; for each additional secret one possesses, the probability increases by another level.

As a Sacred Body Dao Embryo, Yang Zhu's affinity and comprehension of the Dao are unmatched by others; it is an innate advantage he has always possessed, fused into his bloodline and imprinted deep within his soul.

Unlike others, Yang Zhu, relying on his own advantage and combined with his mastery of four of the Nine Secrets, can perfectly activate them with just a thought.

He does not need to repeat the circulation hundreds or thousands of times like Ye Fan does to have a slim chance of activating the Ji character secret.

The deity of the heart's divine repository having been tempered to completion, divine radiance flows throughout his body, reaching utmost brilliance.

Thereafter, Yang Zhu made a breakthrough in one fell swoop, beginning to shape a second deity; this time he chose the lung's divine repository.

To others, this divine repository is not the optimal choice, but Yang Zhu does not think so.

After the lung's divine repository was opened, his speed of energy absorption became even more exquisite, producing a tremendous qualitative change.

As a Sacred Body Dao Embryo, Yang Zhu possesses a terrifying recuperative ability; even if he fights until his spiritual sea is exhausted, within a few breaths he can drain the energy within several li around him.

All qi belong to the lung's divine repository, which connects with heaven and earth; the essential qi needed by the flesh is primarily generated from it.

If the lung's divine repository is opened, it's like adding wings to a tiger! Yang Zhu devoted himself wholeheartedly to shaping the lung's divine repository, continually comprehending the transformation of one qi into the Three Purities, while the Ji character secret was constantly tempered, and the golden figure at his brow grew ever stronger.

"I never expected him to be this capable, and I don't know what tremendous fortune he's obtained……"

Two hours later, the unscrupulous Daoist finished his stroll and returned, seeing Yang Zhu shaping a second deity, he was astonished again.

Meanwhile, his heart itched intensely; he was eager to know what treasure Yang Zhu had actually obtained.

He had already searched every corner of the underground world, digging out every nook and cranny, and would not miss a single magical treasure.

After all, it's his specialty; there's nothing else—just skill born of practice!

"Damn it, I, the Daoist, put in so much effort only to end up losing!"

Duan De cursed, "Although there are many saintly corpses here, the ages are too long; they turn to dust at a touch, so nothing can be salvaged!"

As a result, after searching around he only got some "trash"; for any other relics he wouldn't even glance at them.

But this place is truly impoverished; feeling that discarding them would be a shame, he reluctantly took them along, thinking he couldn't have come for nothing.

"Since you're in seclusion, I, the Daoist, can't stay idle either."

Having vented his inner anger, Duan De found a flat spot to sit down; being idle anyway, he simply began his seclusion.

The two entered cultivation simultaneously; the Daoist hall became exceptionally quiet, with howling yin winds above and a harmonious expanse below, an odd mix that still carried a hint of harmony.

Yang Zhu did not rush; instead he immersed himself wholeheartedly in the shaping. These concerned his own foundation; even as an imperial son, he still pursued perfection! Two days later, the lung's divine repository took shape, and like Yang Zhu himself, its surface was etched with the supreme Dao laws, making it extraordinarily powerful and terrifying.

Yang Zhu rose to his full height, his divine radiance retracted inward, and everything returned to calm.

"You've finally recovered, yet you took so long."

Duan De opened his eyes at the same moment; he had long been eager to leave this damned place.

"Did you find anything earlier?" Yang Zhu asked.

"Don't mention it; I've wasted all those divine materials the Daoist had, only finding a few pieces of trash."

Upon mentioning this, the unscrupulous Daoist's face darkened, and he angrily cursed again.

Yang Zhu glanced at the Daoist hall; indeed there was nothing abnormal—could it really be just a simple resting place?

Fortunately, having obtained the Qian character secret, compared to other divine materials and treasures, the Nine Secrets are exceedingly rare, so this trip can be said to have yielded a bountiful harvest!

"If that's the case, then let's leave."

"Alright."

Duan De had long wanted to slip away; after nodding in agreement, he began scanning the cave walls above, his expression grave as if pondering something. "What are you looking for?" Yang Zhu asked, puzzled.

"Of course I'm looking for where to dig out; the Daoist's seal only suffices for going down, so to get out we need another method."

……

It turns out this guy only has a way to get in; later he'll have to dig his own way out, and Yang Zhu was left speechless upon hearing that.

No wonder, after all, that seal consumes too many materials; merely getting in safely is already difficult.

"Stand firm."

After saying that, Yang Zhu grabbed the other's arm, executed the Xing character technique, and the two moved as if through an uninhabited realm, swiftly passing through the yin wind without any hindrance.

After his realm and divine soul rose again, Yang Zhu's mastery of the Xing character technique became ever more refined, reaching the point of consummate perfection.

"Xing character secret?! Kid, you've got plenty of treasures!"

Based on Duan De's experience and knowledge, he instantly recognized this as the Xing character secret among the Nine Secrets!

His eyes burned hot, and his breathing quickly became ragged.

Cultivating the Xing character secret can grant extreme speed under heaven, allow free entry and exit of many forbidden and perilous places, and also includes numerous assassination techniques.

This, for him digging up ancestral graves… pah! will surely be a qualitative leap in funerary geomancy!

If he manages to get hold of the Nine Secrets, even attempting an emperor's tomb would not be out of the question!

"Want to learn? Trade your broken bowl for it."

Yang Zhu naturally saw through his thoughts and teased.

"This… won't do; how about you exchange something else? Besides the broken bowl, you may choose anything else!"

Although Duan De may not now know the true identity of the broken bowl, having used it for so long he naturally knows it contains the universe within, having saved his life many times.

Without this bowl, many times he would have perished in the relics, so he naturally would not part with it for trade.

They easily arrived at the previous entrance, and then successfully departed along the cave.

"What are your plans?"

Having emerged, Duan De immediately calculated where to go next; after all, this trip had yielded only some trash, and he wanted to quickly recoup his "losses."

"Let's return to the Eastern Wasteland."

Yang Zhu wanted to visit the Jade Pool to take a look, casually searching for any trace of the great black dog.

"Mom, I want brother, I want brother..."

At that moment, a child's crying suddenly came from not far away; the two inquired and looked, only to see a little girl being held in arms, continuously crying.

The little girl is only one or two years old, looks very cute, her little face rosy and chubby, full of innocent tenderness, and at this moment she is crying sadly.

The one holding the little girl is a woman, appearance ordinary, about thirty-something, just a mortal with no cultivation at all.

Faced with the little girl's sad crying, the woman also sobs softly, her eye sockets reddened, she opened her mouth but the words got stuck.

Yang Zhu and Duan De exchanged a glance, really somewhat unable to bear, stepped forward to inquire the reason.

"Wuliang Tianzun, has the lady encountered any difficulty, this poor Daoist might be able to help."

Duan De again held the whisk, slightly adjusted his Daoist robe, really looking the part.

"Someone took my brother away..."

The woman hadn't yet opened her mouth when the little girl spoke first; she cried very sadly, her eyeballs welling up big drops, inevitably making one feel heartbroken.

(End of chapter)