Chapter 65: Investigating the Transformations Between Heaven and Humanity, a Startling Realization!

Just as Ji Xiongying was 'fortunately encountering a rare opportunity,' Lu Yang had already arrived at the most prosperous region of Tianjing City, the place with the greatest number of martial artists.

Haoran Academy.

This place, which held one volume of the Heavenly Book and had pioneered the fourth step of the Martial Dao, had now subtly surpassed both Daoism and Buddhism to become the sacred land of the Martial Dao.

Yet strangely, ever since breaking through to the fourth step of the Martial Dao and widely disseminating the method to the world, the Dean of Haoran Academy, 'Saint-Hearted Scholar' Wang Poyuan, had gradually vanished from public view, becoming increasingly reclusive; nowadays, even the high echelons of the academy found it difficult to see him.

"What an excellent location of feng shui."

To avoid drawing attention, Lu Yang had now dispersed his physical form, transforming into a formless wisp of qi, and was observing the interior of Haoran Academy with keen interest.

In his view, this academy could truly be called a place of outstanding people and spiritual earth.

Within the entire city of Tianjing, only this place overflowed with spiritual energy; even an ordinary person, if they studied here for several years, could develop a measure of spiritual wisdom and clever insight.

Yet what was even more marvelous was that this was not a natural creation but a man-made one, encompassing the academy's overall layout, the position of every classroom, the arrangement of flowers, birds, fish, and insects, and various landscapes; it had actually sublimated the mundane 'methods of feng shui' into something that subtly qualified as the rudiments of a Spirit-Gathering Array!

Based on this point alone, Lu Yang knew that the so-called 'Saint-Hearted Scholar' definitely possessed substantial ability.

Thinking thus, Lu Yang immediately took a step forward, arriving directly at a study deep within the academy, preparing to meet this famous native.

Then he was surprised by the scene inside the study.

For the person inside the study was not the handsome scholar with a feather fan and silk headscarf he had imagined, but a slovenly man with disheveled hair and a dirty face, constantly drinking wine.

Was this the 'Saint-Hearted Scholar'?

Just then, the slovenly man suddenly raised his head, gazing drunkenly toward Lu Yang's location: "I did not expect a distinguished guest to visit."

"."

With a single thought, Lu Yang recondensed his form, transforming from formless qi into a tangible body, and bowed with clasped hands to the slovenly man: "Lu Yang pays respects to Daoist Wang."

"Poyuan pays respects to the distinguished guest."

The slovenly man returned the bow in kind, then patted his sleeves and stood up, exclaiming in admiration: "The guest possesses extraordinary abilities; the previous battle with King Zhenwu Changkong left me, Wang, awestruck, making me think several times that an immortal or deity had descended... I just wonder what the distinguished guest seeks from me, Wang?"

"I wish to discuss the Dao of Heaven and Humanity with Daoist Friend."

Lu Yang cut straight to the point, pouring out his words: "The fourth step of the Martial Dao investigates the transformations between Heaven and Humanity; although I have some realization, I have never grasped the essential principles; I beg Daoist Friend to instruct me."

Hearing this, Wang Poyuan blinked: "With the distinguished guest's capabilities, you are also interested in the Martial Dao?"

"Stones from other hills may serve to polish the jade of this one."

Lu Yang said lightly: "Is Daoist Friend willing to teach me?"

At these words, Wang Poyuan immediately burst into laughter: "Those who come are guests, especially distinguished guests; if the distinguished guest wishes to learn, I, Wang, will naturally speak without reservation and hold nothing back!"

"However, the Dao of Heaven and Humanity blooms in a hundred ways; it is created by martial artists based on their understanding of heaven and earth and their understanding of themselves, so I, Wang, cannot describe it to the distinguished guest in exhaustive detail; I can only briefly explain my personal method; if the distinguished guest has doubts, you may go ask other Heaven-and-Humanity experts."

Speaking thus, the two immediately sat facing each other.

"The fourth step of the Martial Dao, I, Wang, call 'Investigating the Transformations between Heaven and Humanity'; as the name implies, it means using one's own power to pry open heaven and earth, using human strength to peer into heavenly secrets!"

"My, Wang's, 'Fortune-Gazing Technique' is exactly like this; within it lie the transformations of the Three Powers."

"The Three Powers are Heaven, Earth, and Man: first gaze at Man to know facial features, then gaze at Earth to know feng shui, and finally gaze at Heaven to know the Mandate of Heaven! These three are interlinked!"

"By gazing at Man to perceive Earth, by gazing at Earth to perceive Heaven, by gazing at Heaven to perceive fortune... having reached my, Wang's, current step, I can know the changes of the world without leaving my home, observing shifts in national fortune: where disasters and calamities arise, where civil unrest brews, where officials do nothing, and where those who draw salaries contend with the people for profit; I, Wang, can mostly discern these."

"Although there are still errors and omissions, I can achieve accuracy in seven or eight out of ten gazes."

What surprised Lu Yang was that Wang Poyuan truly held nothing back, laying out the entire 'Fortune-Gazing Technique,' with transformations that even involved karma!

Of course, this was not truly divining karma.

Strictly speaking, what Wang Poyuan did was merely 'guessing'; therefore, he could not calculate details, only grasp the general outline and know of certain specific events.

Yet even so, it was sufficiently stunning!

How did he manage it?

Facing Lu Yang's confusion, Wang Poyuan shook his head: "To be honest, I, Wang, simply had a sudden inspiration one day; there is no clever shortcut."

"So that is how it is."

Hearing this, Lu Yang could only nod, and after the two exchanged ideas for several more hours, he rose to take his leave, intending to visit other Heaven-and-Humanity experts.

Meanwhile, inside the Wei family residence.

The Yun family Patriarch opened his Dharma Eye, silently witnessing the entire exchange between Lu Yang and Wang Poyuan, then withdrew his gaze without the slightest fluctuation.

"Demonic fiend, truly ignorant."

He had no interest whatsoever in Wang Poyuan's realization, because no one knew better than him that Wang Poyuan's realization was something he had induced by manipulating karma!

In any case, it was nothing that could truly comprehend karma, merely a 'method of guessing' by mortals; the Yun family Patriarch simply did not care, suppressing a cold sneer in his heart: "Discussing the Dao with the various Heaven-and-Humanity experts; does he intend to take a fifth step based on my foundation and drag the Martial Dao back onto the right path?"

Simply wishful thinking!

After all, he had manipulated karma to let Wang Poyuan pioneer the fourth step of the Martial Dao, raising the limit of the Martial Dao to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining; this was already the limit.

Because anything higher was Foundation Establishment!

And how could the method of Foundation Establishment be something Lu Yang could create? Thus, in the Yun family Patriarch's view, Lu Yang's actions were utterly meaningless and futile effort.

According to the Yun family Patriarch's calculations, the current Heaven-and-Humanity methods had already corrupted Lu Yang Saint's practice of the Saint Thief; to break the deadlock, the only solution was to first kill all the Heaven-and-Humanity experts, then ban the Heaven-and-Humanity methods entirely, and what he needed to do was slay Lu Yang's clones, forcing his true body to act personally.

In this way, Lu Yang would have fallen into the trap.

From this perspective, Wang Poyuan was merely a pawn of the Yun family Patriarch.

And toward a pawn, the Yun family Patriarch naturally had not the slightest interest; as for the astonishment it aroused in Lu Yang's eyes, in the Yun family Patriarch's eyes it was not even worth mentioning.

Including Lu Yang; although the Yun family Patriarch treated him with seriousness, he also always harbored contempt in his heart.

Because in the end, they were just a group of mortals.

"With the 'Heaven-and-Humanity Instrument' bestowed by the Sect Leader, even a Foundation Establishment True Person cannot detect my existence; how many waves can mere mortals stir up?"

Leaving Haoran Academy, Lu Yang once again transformed into formless qi, walking through the streets and alleys of Tianjing City, carefully contemplating the exchange he had just had with Wang Poyuan.

"The Three-Powers Fortune-Gazing Technique..."

Ten thousand li away, Lu Yang's main body opened his eyes, a halo of light bursting forth behind his head; the Taiwei Treasure Register operated as he silently calculated the many changes within Tianjing City.

The karma fed back showed: everything was normal.

"Tianjing City will remain very stable for the next thirty years; there has been no change in karma; this is normal, after all, since there are two Martial Dao Heaven-and-Humanity experts guarding it..."

Immediately afterward, Lu Yang suddenly changed his approach; instead of directly calculating the karma of the entire Tianjing City from a 'macro' perspective, he adopted the reasoning of Wang Poyuan's 'Fortune-Gazing Technique,' starting with the populace of Tianjing City to calculate individual karma, then using the transformations of the Three Powers to deduce backward to the karma of heaven and earth.

He did this solely to verify the 'Fortune-Gazing Technique.'

Yet the next second, Lu Yang froze.

"The breakfast stall on East Street, the Wang Erniu family of three; using the Taiwei Treasure Register to calculate, supplemented by the Fortune-Gazing Technique, they should have descendants filling the hall, yet they face a great calamity of violent death."

"Chen Qing, the patrol constable of the Six Doors... faces a great calamity of violent death."

"Li Chengrong faces a great calamity of violent death."

"Liu Xinshang faces a great calamity of violent death."

Calamity! Calamity! Calamity!

Everyone; nearly everyone Lu Yang saw within Tianjing City had a great calamity of violent death destined for them, yet when expanded to the entire city, there was absolutely no change!

How was this possible?

If truly every citizen of the entire city had such a great calamity of violent death, then the whole of Tianjing City would long ago be shrouded in dark clouds; with his personality, he would absolutely never approach...

'... o!'

In an instant, Lu Yang's pupils contracted sharply!

Seeing the minute reveals the significant; by using Man to calculate Heaven, one person might possibly miscalculate, but if ten people, a thousand people, ten thousand people are all like this, then Heaven itself is wrong!

"Heavenly secrets and karma have been obscured! Damn it, there's a Foundation Establishment True Person inside the Secret Realm trying to harm me!?"

(End of Chapter)