Chapter 9: Escape from the Xiao Family Castle

Besides this, Chen Yi He also learned the cultivation levels of the world in the book; ancient texts summarize them as the "Eight Paths, Nine Heavens."

What are the "Eight Paths"? They are the Primordial Dao, Foundation Establishment Dao, Transmutation Dao, Peerless Dao, Invincible Dao, Supreme Dao, Transcendent Dao, and Heaven-Supporting Dao.

What are the "Nine Heavens"? They are the First Heaven, Second Heaven, Third Heaven, and so on up to the Ninth Heaven.

The Primordial Dao corresponds to the First Heaven, the Foundation Establishment Dao to the Second Heaven, …, and the Heaven-Supporting Dao corresponds to the Eighth Heaven.

As for the Ninth Heaven, there is no Dao to correspond to it. One has become so strong that there is no longer any Dao limitation.

If we want to be more specific, within the Dao and the Heavens there are also early, middle, and upper stages.

However, for ordinary people cultivating, spending their whole lives, being able to reach the upper stage of the Second Heaven—that is, the upper stage of the Foundation Establishment Dao—is already quite strong.

The Third Heaven is the turning point for martial practitioners; reaching the Transmutation Dao transforms one's physique and spirit, entering another realm. This Dao is the dividing line: above it one is invincible, below it merely a strong practitioner……Countless people dream of attaining this realm but cannot. Because to reach this level requires not only effort, but also opportunity, comprehension, physique, and various other factors……

Experts of the Fourth Heaven are the legendary peerless masters; looking across the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, from ancient times to the present, they are few and far between. Anyone who reaches this realm is absolutely a leader of the martial world or a hegemon among the feudal lords. They are the outstanding few chosen from ten thousand.

As for those above the peerless masters, they are existences from ancient myths, never seen by anyone. Over time, they have become topics of conversation for jianghu folk after they have eaten their fill.

"If I had the Super Brahma Hand, I could crush the whole Great Zhou Dynasty with one hand! Hahaha!"

"If I could, in this lifetime, be fortunate enough to see an expert above the peerless masters, I would die with no regrets……"

As the Heavenly level rises, the difference between each Heaven grows greater, even becoming a chasm that one cannot cross in a lifetime.

Chen Yi He roughly understood all this. After three months of cultivation, he had already broken through the Primordial Dao and reached the early stage of the Second Heaven. In this Clear Water City, self-defense should be no problem.

These days Chen Yi He had secretly observed that Xiao Yu's level should be at the middle stage of the Second Heaven, somewhat stronger than himself, so he currently dare not provoke her. As for Xiao Feng, Chen Yi He could not see through him; whenever Xiao Feng walked past him, he would be extra careful, fearing that his cultivation would be discovered.

However, Chen Yi He rarely encounters Xiao Feng; aside from Xiao Yu tormenting him every day, what he sees most are the guards mocking him at the castle's rear gate.

"Hey, does that pigsty still smell good?" Tonight, another two off-duty guards mocked Chen Yi He.

Chen Yi He lying in the pigsty paid no attention. Every morning at dawn he had to be dragged to take a bath, otherwise Xiao Yu would not approach him.

"Hahaha, I don't know how our princess could take a liking to this kind of playmate?" Guard Jia asked with a laugh.

"Maybe he's fun to play with and can't be killed to death! Hahaha!" Guard Yi replied with a laugh.

Chen Yi He really couldn't take it anymore; he grabbed a handful of dry grass from the ground and threw it at the two guards!

"Bang! Bang!" Two sounds, and the two guards were knocked down by the dry grass!

"Ah! He knows martial arts, he knows martial arts! Quickly go tell the princess!"

"Can't expose myself!" Chen Yi He, ruthless, slapped the wall and flipped out of the pigsty, standing before the two guards, clutching their necks with both hands and twisting hard left and right.

Their necks were twisted off.

Chen Yi He was greatly astonished; he never expected himself to be this strong……so easily able to kill……He realized that Clear Water City was no place to linger; he had to leave quickly, for if Xiao Yu or Xiao Feng discovered his martial arts, that would be a dead end!

Before, three months ago he lacked the ability to flee; now Chen Yi He has this capability.

No delay, he must flee at once……Chen Yi He packed his belongings in the pigsty.

"Quickly go see, there are two people lying there!" A patrolling guard saw two people lying on the ground and immediately ran over.

"Quickly report to the city lord, someone has killed someone in the castle."

A clear whistle blast shattered the castle's cold tranquility, also breaking the night's utter silence. All the castle's guards sprang into action, activating first-level alert.

Chen Yi He's pigsty was immediately surrounded, because his territory was closest to where the two guards died.

"This is bad!" Chen Yi He never expected the guards to arrive so quickly.

"Since I can't run, I'll just play dead," Chen Yi He sealed all his acupoints, putting his body in a shock-like state so his qi wouldn't be detected and no one could tell he had practiced martial arts.

……

"Dad, what's wrong? Don't let people sleep." Xiao Yu rubbed her sleepy eyes and muttered.

"Yu'er, you can't sleep, something happened in the castle! Stay alert!" Xiao Feng hurriedly woke Xiao Yu, then hurried away.

Upon hearing that something had happened in the castle, the curious Xiao Yu's eyes lit up at once; with such fun to be had, how could she miss it? She followed Xiao Feng running outside the building.

"I, Xiao Feng, want to see what kind of person dares to kill someone in my Xiao Family's castle!" Xiao Feng, furious, strode straight toward the two corpses lying far on the ground.

Xiao Feng examined the corpses, checked their necks: "They all died from having their necks twisted off; you can't tell what school or sect's technique it is."

Xiao Feng looked toward the pigsty and saw Chen Yi He sleeping in the corner of the wall. After a moment's hesitation, he got up to walk toward Chen Yi He.

"Dad, could it be him? You crippled his martial arts, didn't you?" Xiao Yu, seeing her father suspect Chen Yi He, instinctively reminded him.

"That's right," Xiao Feng seemed to suddenly recall, also not sensing any qi from Chen Yi He, "to dare kill someone in my Clear Water City Xiao Family Castle and leave no trace……Well, it's only two guards dead; we just need to heighten vigilance……"

"From now on, the Xiao Family Castle enters lockdown; no one may enter or leave without my order! Violators will be killed without pardon!" Xiao Feng issued the order sternly.

Late at night, the castle returned to calm; the strange deaths of the two guards did not hinder others' rest.

Chen Yi He noticed the surrounding guards had dispersed; after another hour, his acupoints opened on their own, and only then did he dare open his eyes—self-sealing his acupoints was not a long-term solution; he had to flee!

Chen Yi He moved swiftly, taking advantage of the gaps as the guards changed shifts, he climbed the city wall, flipped over with a few steps, clapped his hands, and felt completely light!

"Hahaha! I'm finally free!"

After a night of commotion, dawn was approaching; Chen Yi He ran with all his might, regardless of direction, just to get as far from the Xiao Family Castle as possible!

"City Lord, that brat Chen Yi He has gone missing!" Chen Yi He had disappeared less than half an hour when he was discovered.

"What!?" Xiao Feng, who was sipping tea, slammed his teacup onto the table, "Lock down the whole city, issue a wanted order—alive you must see the person, dead you must see the corpse—bring him back to me!"

What Xiao Feng cared about was not Chen Yi He's life or death, but the Xiao Family's "Wither-and-Glory Heart Sutra"! It is an ancestral treasure, absolutely must not be leaked! Although Chen Yi He's martial arts were abolished by him, it cannot be ruled out that he has already memorized its contents.

At this very moment, Chen Yi He had no idea he was in danger; lost in direction, he ran all the way and ended up on the street of the Zhang Family Pawnshop.

Chen Yi He rubbed his growling belly, walked into a noodle shop. After eating his fill, he had the energy to flee, and conveniently asked about the best way out of the city.

"Sir, your noodles are here." The attendant brought up a bowl of steaming hot vegetable noodles.

"Um, hello, I'd like to ask, which way out of the city is more convenient?"

The attendant gave Chen Yi He a doubtful look, "Oh oh, Clear Water City has only one gate; go out and keep going west along this road, and you'll be able to leave the city!"

"Thank you." Chen Yi He was generous, producing a gold ingot, receiving plenty of small silver change, he gave a piece to the attendant and made a gesture to keep quiet.