Chapter 117: Record of the Three Flowers

Li Heng accompanied Meng Lingyun to the Library.

"Sir? Library Historian Huang Fugui greets the Division Chief!"

The librarian of the Library had not changed since before; it was still the middle-aged, obese man Li Heng had seen previously. He gave a start, jumped straight up from his swaying grandmaster chair inside the counter, and said loudly.

He was puzzled in his heart: why had the Division Chief come?

Wait.

The young man following behind the Division Chief seemed to be that greenhorn from a few days ago who had exchanged for five different Martial Techniques.

Could it be that this greenhorn finally realized the principle that "greed leads to poor digestion," and because he was angry that he hadn't offered more warnings before, he had brought the Division Chief here to settle the score with him?

Huang Fugui muttered to himself, feeling somewhat panicked.

Although he was in the right, being in the right wasn't always useful; one had to have a loud voice. Especially since this greenhorn seemed to have some connection to the Division Chief, the Division Chief might not necessarily side with him.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt this was exactly the case. No, he had to strike first! If he let this greenhorn accuse him first, his impression in front of the Division Chief would likely be ruined.

He might even lose this job!

"Division Chief, are you here this time because of the matter regarding the young man behind you? Actually, I had already confirmed it with him once back then, but he still insisted on exchanging for five different Martial Techniques."

"With blades, spears, fists, swords, and legs, all of them, I couldn't stop him."

Huang Fugui spread his fat hands, his face full of helplessness.

Meng Lingyun had originally been puzzled as to why Huang Fugui was reacting so strongly, as he wasn't even familiar with him. But upon hearing Wang Fugui's words, he couldn't help but be stunned, then immediately raised his eyebrows, his face showing a strange expression.

"You previously exchanged for five Martial Techniques in the Library?"

He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Li Heng behind him.

Li Heng smiled slightly and nodded.

"Then how are you practicing them? The five Martial Techniques."

"Practicing them is going alright; I can barely melt them into one furnace and innovate, so it doesn't count as wasting those Merit points."

Hearing Li Heng's answer, Meng Lingyun nodded.

"That's good, let's go upstairs."

Not lingering on the first floor, the two went straight to the fourth floor.

Wang Fugui watched the two go upstairs, his mouth agape and his eyes wide, wanting to say something but unable to say anything. Could it be that these two didn't come for the previous matter?

But... melting five Martial Techniques into one furnace?

A giant question mark rose in his mind; he wouldn't even dare to brag like that. But when the Division Chief heard such words, why didn't he refute or reprimand the young man for boasting?

Wait, could it be that this is actually true!?

It was as if a thunderbolt had descended from the sky, striking Huang Fugui directly, leaving him frozen in place, speechless for a long time.

As they went upstairs, the two were silent.

Meng Lingyun tried hard to maintain his calm expression while comforting himself internally: it's fine, it's fine; the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves in front. This kid is so mysterious; what's strange about him having such talent?

But in the end, there was still a wail in his heart.

Has this kid's talent reached such a monstrous level? Directly fusing five Martial Techniques and even innovating, melting them into one furnace? Is this definitely not a Great Grandmaster opening up his own path?

When he was this age, he was still practicing dead techniques!

They arrived at the boundary between the third and fourth floors.

Meng Lingyun remained silent, using his Secret Technique with grief and indignation to remove the seal leading to the fourth floor. However, he used a bit too much force when removing it, directly shattering the seal.

"Old man, are you alright?" Li Heng said with a smile.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, let's go up."

Meng Lingyun's face turned dark; he waved his hand and went straight to the fourth floor. Li Heng looked innocent, shrugged helplessly, and followed closely behind.

The fourth floor was the top floor of the Library.

Unexpectedly, it was very empty and not filled with bookshelves like the other floors. Only a high platform was placed in the center, with an open book lying on it.

Li Heng raised his eyebrows, unable to help but be surprised.

"Old man, which deity are you planning to worship?"

He couldn't be blamed for saying this, as this situation looked too much like worshipping or offering sacrifices to something.

"Worship is not the word; I am just protecting this book."

Meng Lingyun shook his head and said.

"Isn't there the seal from just now? What, you don't even trust the seal? But I suppose that makes sense; a seal that can be shattered by a slap from you probably isn't very sturdy."

Li Heng continued to smile.

Meng Lingyun's face darkened; this kid really knew how to hit a sore spot. If he didn't suspect that he could no longer beat this kid, he would have definitely taught him a lesson.

"This is to protect the integrity of this cultivation method."

"You don't think that ordinary books, relying merely on simple black and white text, could record an Innate Level cultivation method, do you?"

Li Heng raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"It seems this cultivation method contains some artistic conception that can only be understood but not described? Or is the amount of information extremely vast?"

He guessed, thinking of the legendary Jade Slips.

Meng Lingyun couldn't help but be surprised upon hearing this.

"You kid are truly clever, and it is exactly as you guessed." He walked up to the book and tapped it lightly; the originally invisible protective shield immediately appeared, shining with brilliance.

"This cultivation method possesses that kind of spiritual artistic conception. If you haven't grasped that conception and information, even if you memorize all the words in the book, it is not a complete inheritance."

He said slowly, removing the protective shield and closing the open book, revealing three very obscure and difficult-to-understand characters that looked as if they were tangled together; it seemed to be the title of the book.

Li Heng leaned in, unable to help but be surprised.

"Is this a Dao Pattern?"

Meng Lingyun nodded.

"That's right, this is a Dao Pattern. It seems you haven't been running to the Library for nothing; ordinary people wouldn't know about this kind of thing."

Having received confirmation from Meng Lingyun, he became interested. Using a Dao Pattern for a book title or a cultivation technique name—it seemed this was indeed a special cultivation technique.

"This cultivation technique is called the Three Flowers Record. By cultivating this technique and breaking through to the Great Innate, one can achieve the Three Flowers. And these so-called Three Flowers do not refer to flowers in Reality, but rather three concepts."

"The Essence, Qi, and Shen Three Flowers?" Li Heng suddenly spoke up at this moment.

Meng Lingyun was surprised once again.

"You can even guess this? I really suspect you know everything and are just playing dumb. That's right, it is precisely these Three Flowers: the Jing Flower, the Shen Flower, and the Qi Flower."

Li Heng smiled slightly.

Not to mention that this World already possesses such concepts. Even in the Daoism of his past life, there were sayings about the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and the Five Qi Returning to the Origin.

"You should also be clear about the general nature of the Great Innate; it is transcendence, opening the bridge between oneself and Heaven and Earth to communicate with the Original Qi of the outside world. Human power is limited, while Heaven and Earth are Infinite. As the power of Heaven and Earth, if Original Qi is harnessed by a person, it can unleash Terror, power beyond imagination."

"Take today's great battle, for instance; it illustrated this point."

Meng Lingyun said with emotion.

Li Heng nodded; he also expressed his understanding.

The fact that those two Great Innate experts could cause such a great commotion today was not because they themselves contained such power, but because they harnessed the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, and the Original Qi collided and resonated.

The two of them were merely the primary catalysts.

"The Great Innate is a goal, a realm, so it can be achieved through different methods. Some people discard their physical bodies and use their divine souls to harness Heaven and Earth Origin Qi. Others polish their physical bodies, then undergo sublimation, allowing the physical body to possess the power to communicate with and harness Heaven and Earth Origin Qi."

"Precisely because of this, the Great Innate realm also has different achievements."

Li Heng nodded, lost in thought.

As the saying goes, there are three thousand Great Daos and eight hundred side paths; as long as one can become an immortal, any method will do. And the Great Innate is exactly this kind of realm, which can be achieved through various methods.

"Do you think it's very easy to achieve the Great Innate like this?"

Meng Lingyun smiled slightly.

Li Heng shook his head; how could that be possible? Even if one can achieve the Great Innate through various methods, the feasibility of the methods remains to be considered. Perhaps a tiny mistake could cause someone to explode.

"It's good that you have this awareness." Meng Lingyun nodded.

"Although Heaven and Earth Origin Qi is everywhere, it is not something an ordinary person can touch or perceive. Even if one can perceive and absorb it through some Secret Technique, one might end up absorbing other things."

"For example, the yin energy that also exists between Heaven and Earth..."

Meng Lingyun said eerily.

Absorbing yin energy?

Well, if that were really the case, that person would definitely be a jinx.

They would either die suddenly or suffer severe damage to their Original Qi.

Thinking of this situation, Li Heng's expression became strange. Because the yin energy in Heaven and Earth is neither too much nor too little, as long as one is careful, there is generally no problem. Although it has started to increase now.

"Back to the main topic."

Do you think that harnessing Heaven and Earth Origin Qi as a Great Innate is the end of it? No, one must allow oneself to undergo an essential transformation to achieve transcendence. If you only purely harness Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, once you go to a place where Heaven and Earth Origin Qi is thin or even non-existent, then you are finished."

"This is precisely the special aspect of the Three Flowers Record: condensing the Essence, Qi, and Shen Three Flowers to make them a seamless whole, undergoing a transcendent transformation, which can lead to the San Hua Body, and even qualify one to glimpse the Great Innate!"

Meng Lingyun said with a smile, looking somewhat yearning.

"But don't ask me what powers the San Hua Body has or what the Great Innate is. I don't know that either; I haven't achieved the Great Innate myself." He spread his hands, his expression also very helpless.

Li Heng nodded.

"Then is there any way to 'get on the bus first and buy the ticket later'?"

"What do you mean?" Meng Lingyun was stunned.

"I mean, first purely harness Heaven and Earth Origin Qi to break through to the Great Innate, and after achieving the Great Innate, then go back to make up for one's deficiencies and allow one's essence to transform into transcendence," Li Heng explained.

"You kid are really smart to be able to think of this."

"According to the information I have, what you said is indeed not far off. There are also methods to allow oneself to make up for one's deficiencies after achieving the Great Innate."

"But this method is very difficult and very rare."

"Because cultivation is like building a tall building; if your foundation is not stable when you break through, then this building will definitely be flimsy. At this time, although you have stronger power, you want to make up for it. But this newly built floor will also hinder you from making up for the void in the foundation."

Meng Lingyun explained slowly, and Li Heng suddenly realized.

He was just pondering, what would happen if one didn't build a foundation and just let the building float in the sky? But immediately, he withdrew these stray thoughts; now was not the time to think about such things.

"Alright, I have finished explaining what I needed to explain."

"Do you intend to cultivate this Three Flowers Record?"

Meng Lingyun smiled faintly.