Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 170: Chapter 131: Stealing Celestial Secret in the Otherworld, An Immortal Accompanies My Slumber

Before the table was a stool with three of its legs on the ground; the fourth was propped up by a piece of rubble.

It was as spartan as the abode of an ascetic monk.

The only thing that could truly be called an ”object” was the cushion on the floor in the center of the room.

It was grayish-brown, its edges frayed from wear, but its woven pattern was still visible.

It appeared to be woven from some sort of coarse hemp, coiled in circles to form a round shape. A slight depression in the center bore the marks of being sat upon for many years.

Wan Ze steadied his mind.

He walked over.

He reached out and first touched the stone bed.

[No trigger]

Undeterred, Wan Ze then touched the wooden table.

[No trigger]

Next... he touched the stool.

Still [No trigger].

Wan Ze raised his eyebrows slightly.

He continued forward.

Until his fingertips touched the cushion.

The coarse hemp fiber pressed against his finger, and a sudden chill flooded into him.

In his vision, the familiar line of text appeared.

[Stealing Celestial Secret: Magic Sense 99%]

Wan Ze was stunned for a moment, but in the next second, his eyes lit up.

’The entry point is linked to my real-world location... no, it seems to be linked. But why did I appear in a stone room when I was in the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall?’

Wan Ze focused his thoughts.

Without further hesitation,

He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged on the worn-out cushion, rested his fingers lightly on his knees, and let his breathing gradually deepen.

As he activated the Taiyin Breathing Technique,

the light in the stone room seemed to dim for an instant.

A thread of Moonlight descended from the sky.

Wan Ze guided this thread of Moonlight into his body.

Instantly, a cool, clear sensation spread from his lungs to his entire body.

Then...

A second thread.

A third thread.

A fourth thread.

A trickle gradually became a stream, and the stream surged into a river. The Moonlight, as if it had found an outlet, scrambled out of the void and converged on his wrist.

A wind slowly began to stir inside the stone room.

The flowing Moonlight created ripples in the air.

Wan Ze’s breathing grew heavier and deeper. With every breath, a thread of Moonlight was drawn in.

As time passed, more and more Moonlight surged in from all directions.

The stream became a great river, and the river coalesced into a vortex.

BOOM!

The stone room trembled.

Above the unseen dome, the blood moon seemed to have been pulled closer.

The vortex of Moonlight grew larger and larger.

It spun frantically.

Wan Ze sat cross-legged at the center of the vortex, his body enveloped in layers of Moonlight like a cocoon.

In the distance.

Deep within the darkness.

Something stirred.

It sent out an almost imperceptible tremor, as if some unknown entity had awakened.

Time flew by.

Immersed in the cocoon of Moonlight, Wan Ze was oblivious to the events in the distance. His consciousness felt as if it had sunk into deep water, yet also as if it were floating on the clouds.

The sensation was indescribable...

It was as if he were both lucid and in a trance, a unique experience all its own.

An unknown amount of time passed.

BOOM!!!

A massive explosion echoed from the far distance.

The shockwave penetrated the stone room and slammed directly into the depths of Wan Ze’s consciousness.

It was as if someone had brutally smashed a hammer against his head.

Wan Ze’s eyes flew open.

He was still in the stone room.

The light of the blood moon filtered down from the dome, dyeing everything a dark red.

He gasped for breath, cold sweat beading on his forehead, a mixture of shock and anger on his face.

Even now, the sound hadn’t stopped.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One after another.

They rang out in rapid succession.

Wan Ze felt a sense of unease.

He immediately looked at his personal Attributes.

[Intelligence -0.01-0.01-0.01...]

The number was ticking down.

With every boom, it dropped by 0.01.

’For fuck’s sake!’

’Of all the things to lose, it had to be Intelligence?’

Wan Ze gritted his teeth and pushed off the ground, trying to stand up.

’Whatever that is, I can’t stay here.’

Just as Wan Ze was about to sever his Spiritual Form and return to reality, the booming from the distance suddenly stopped.

It came to an abrupt halt.

As if none of it had ever happened.

But the fact was... Wan Ze’s Intelligence had already decreased. Thankfully, the sound hadn’t lasted long, or he would have been beaten into a moron.

Now, the stone room was terrifyingly quiet.

Wan Ze remained motionless.

Then, he heard another sound.

Very distant...

And very faint.

It sounded like someone shouting something.

’There’s... someone here!!!’

This was the first time he had ever heard a human voice in this world.

But Wan Ze felt not a shred of pleasant surprise.

On the contrary, he held his breath and concealed his aura as quickly as possible.

He strained his ears to listen.

The sound was intermittent, torn to shreds by the wind, but it was definitely...

a human voice.

Someone was talking.

Shouting something loudly.

At this moment, Wan Ze’s face showed only vigilance!

This place was already eerie enough to send a chill down his spine.

The bizarre explosions just now had caused his Intelligence to plummet. Who the hell knew what this ”person” who had suddenly appeared would turn out to be.

HUM!

The moment his Spiritual Form was severed, Wan Ze’s consciousness was violently yanked back.

He staggered a step before steadying himself.

Outside the window, the night was still heavy and oppressive. The teapot on the table was in the same position as when he left, and even the brightness of the lamp hadn’t changed.

Nothing around him had changed. It was just that time flowed much more slowly here than in that world.

He looked at the data panel.

...

[Illustrated Guide: Taiyin Breathing Technique] (Intermediate, Mastered)

[New Effect: Phase Spirit Yin (All Attributes +0.1)]

[Skill High Level Satisfying Conditions: Swallowing and Replenishing 30,000 Threads of Moonlight]

Wan Ze stared at the line ”Phase Spirit Yin” for three seconds.

’Phase Spirit Yin?’

He was completely bewildered.

’What Yin?’

’What Phase Spirit?’

’What on earth is this new Effect for?’

Just as he was thinking this, the moment his mind touched those three words, a stream of information appeared out of thin air in the depths of his consciousness.

[The Phase Spirit is ten. Odd numbers are Yang, even numbers are Yin... Six is Greater Yin. Extreme Yin gives birth to Yang, extreme stillness gives birth to motion. Sufficient Yin stabilizes the foundation and helps clear the path of cultivation...]

”?”

Wan Ze was stunned for a few breaths.

Then, he slowly digested the cryptic and profound statement.

’So... this ”Phase Spirit Yin,” to put it bluntly, is to help me build a foundation... It’s helpful for ”Zai Yang, Nourishing the Spirit, Qi Concealment, and Hidden Essence”...’

Wan Ze was lost in thought.

’True Yin is nourishing, Evil Yin is Yin Evil...’

He pondered the path he had taken so far.

The Martial Skills he cultivated, like the Taming the Tiger Vajra Skill and the Dragon Eagle Secret Martial Arts, were all fierce and unyielding. The Taiyin Breathing Technique, on the other hand, was cool and tranquil. Mixing them together hadn’t caused any problems; in fact, it even seemed to offer the benefit of achieving twice the result with half the effort.

’This... should be ”true” enough, right?’

Wan Ze wasn’t so sure.

But he quickly put the question out of his mind.

’If I can’t figure it out, I won’t dwell on it.’

...

「Meanwhile.」

「In the Otherworld.」

Outside the stone room, an ancient figure suddenly appeared.

Dressed in a gray-white Daoist robe, with a white beard and hair, he had a very faint Cinnabar mark between his brows. As he arrived before the stone room’s door, a trace of shock and suspicion flashed in the old Daoist’s eyes.

’This place... Hmm... Someone was here just now. There seemed to be a disturbance, but it was erased.’

Then, he raised his hand and pinched his fingers together in a divination.

The old Daoist calculated for a long time without success, muttering in surprise, ’To think someone could conceal the Celestial Secret so cleanly...’

After a moment of thought,

the old Daoist simply pulled a sheet of Talisman Paper from his sleeve.

The Talisman Paper glowed with a faint golden light, its surface covered in Cinnabar-drawn patterns that looked exceedingly complex and extraordinary.

The old Daoist glanced around, held the Talisman between two fingers, and chanted, ”By Supreme Decree, let thunder roar. Soul-Chasing and Spirit-Catching, restore... the truth!”

Spiritual Power surged.

The Talisman Paper ignited without a wind.

In the light of the fire, countless illusory trails slowly emerged, as if time were rewinding.

It was the very same Moonlight that Wan Ze had absorbed during his Cultivation.

This Moonlight spun frantically, like a vortex.

The old Daoist was stunned for a moment, and then his expression changed drastically.

Because the vortex spun faster and faster, more and more urgently, and in the blink of an eye, the Moonlight had gathered into a torrent that threatened to break through the stone room’s dome.

”This—”

Before he could finish his word, the illusory vortex of Moonlight suddenly exploded.

BOOM!

A violent force slammed into him.

The old Daoist had no time to react. He was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground thirty feet from the stone room. His Daoist robe was torn in several places, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

”How is this possible!!!!”

The old Daoist struggled to his feet, his face filled with horror as he stared in the direction of the stone room.

’Could it be...?’

’A great evil... has returned to the world!’