Urban Martial Saint

Looking at the piles of bones all around them, the three of them were filled with doubts, but even more with an unspeakable sense of terror.

They had originally come to the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master with longing and expectation. After all, this was the grave of the Taoist Sect’s greatest Great Saint in thousands of years. Since it was the tomb of an enlightened master, even if there were some mechanisms inside, it shouldn’t be anything too horrifying, right? That wasn’t the style of a Taoist Great Saint like Ghost Valley Master. Yet judging from the current situation, the circumstances inside the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master were nowhere near as good as they had imagined. In this boundless pitch‑black Cave, who knew what kind of danger was still lurking.

”For thousands of years, no one has entered the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, and for thousands of years, there has never been an era that could produce so many Peak Masters and masters beyond the peak at one time!” Fu Qingping looked at the bones all around and said in a low voice, ”Could it be that these people died here when the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master was first built? Were there really so many experts in that era?”

”For a Peak Master to break through the shackles of the peak and become a master Beyond The Pinnacle is an extremely difficult thing. In the past three hundred years, only four people—Shijia Ultimate Corpse Ghost Dragon and The Immortal Lord—have reached that realm. Even you, Master‑Ancestor, are still half a step short. That shows just how hard it is to become Beyond The Pinnacle!” Ye Qing said in a deep voice. ”In that era, the population was far smaller than today’s. Even if people back then had slightly better talent, judging by the proportion of the population, the number of Beyond The Pinnacle experts shouldn’t have been that high. But this time there are thirty or forty Beyond The Pinnacle experts here; that’s a bit unrealistic, isn’t it?”

”That’s not quite the right way to put it.” Fu Qingping shook his head and said, ”The key reason so many Beyond The Pinnacle masters can’t appear in this era is the limitation of cultivation methods. Just like the Taoist Sect—many of the most Top Level cultivation methods have already been lost. For example, the Taoist Sect’s most powerful Primal Mysterious Body, and the Innate Skill, which is the foundation of all Taoist Sect strength—these Secret Manuals no longer exist. Similarly, many Cultivation Techniques of the Buddhist Sect and Demon Sect have been lost as well. As a result, once people reach a certain level, they can no longer find higher cultivation methods, so their cultivation level naturally stagnates. If we could recover all these Cultivation Techniques, quite a few people should still be able to break through the shackles of the peak!”

”So that’s how it is!” Wen’er suddenly understood. Looking at the bones around them, she said, ”In that case, it wouldn’t be too strange for that era to have produced so many experts who surpassed the peak!”

Fu Qingping said, ”It should be like that. After all, the Secret Techniques of the three sects of Buddhist and Taoist Magic are extremely powerful. Creating several Beyond The Pinnacle experts is not difficult at all!”

While Ye Qing was shocked by all this, he was thinking even more about the Innate Skill Fu Qingping had just mentioned. He looked at Fu Qingping and asked in puzzlement, ”Master‑Ancestor, this Innate Skill is the foundation of all Taoist Sect strength?”

”That’s right!” Fu Qingping nodded and said, ”It’s not only the foundation of all Taoist Sect strength, it’s also the Taoist Sect’s most profound Cultivation Technique. It’s said that if you cultivate the Innate Skill to its deepest level, all other Taoist Sect Cultivation Techniques become as easy as turning your hand, no difficulty at all. Moreover, the Innate Skill can change a person’s constitution—that’s what makes it most special, so it’s revered as the Taoist Sect’s treasured canon!”

Ye Qing hadn’t expected that the Innate Skill he’d learned from the Wendao Stone would actually have such effects. He said in surprise and delight, ”So that means the Innate Skill would be extremely useful for you as well, Master‑Ancestor!”

”Of course!” Fu Qingping nodded and said, ”The Cultivation Techniques I’ve learned lean toward the Taoist Sect; all of them use Taoist Sect’s cultivating methods. Although I’ve never learned the most orthodox Taoist Sect Secret Manuals, everything I’ve learned is more or less similar to Taoist Sect Cultivation Techniques. It’s just that the Taoist Sect’s foundational Innate Skill has been lost. Otherwise, my current Cultivation Techniques could completely merge into one. Even breaking through the shackles of the peak would only be a matter of time!”

Fu Qingping’s words shook Ye Qing even more. After learning the Innate Skill on Mount Wendao, he had been practicing it every day, but he’d had no idea that the Innate Skill had such effects, let alone that it would be of such use to Fu Qingping. And when he returned to Shenchuan City at that time, Ye Jun being captured by the Great Lord had happened right then. Ye Qing had been busy with that mess and had completely forgotten about this matter. Now hearing Fu Qingping say this, while he was overjoyed, he also felt some regret. If he’d known earlier that the Innate Skill would have such an effect on Fu Qingping, he would have taught it to him as soon as possible. Maybe Fu Qingping would have already broken through the shackles of the peak and wouldn’t have fallen to this state and suffered such injuries.

Seeing Ye Qing’s expression, Fu Qingping couldn’t help being a bit surprised. He looked at Ye Qing and asked in puzzlement, ”Ye Qing, what’s wrong with you? Why did you suddenly ask about the Innate Skill?”

Ye Qing snapped out of it and hurriedly said, ”Master‑Ancestor, have you ever heard of the nine basic charts of the Innate Skill? They’re nine diagrams showing postures for the human body in seated meditation.”

”Innate Nine Diagrams?” Fu Qingping looked at Ye Qing in astonishment and said, ”How do you know about these Nine Charts?”

So those nine charts were called the Innate Nine Diagrams. At this moment Ye Qing finally learned their name. And judging from Fu Qingping’s expression, these Nine Charts were anything but simple, which made Ye Qing all the more delighted. On thinking about it, that was only natural—how could the Secret Manual left behind by Ancestor Chen Tuan be simple?

”The Innate Nine Diagrams are only the foundation of the Innate Skill, not the complete Innate Skill, right?” Ye Qing continued to ask.

”Of course.” Fu Qingping nodded and said, ”The complete Innate Skill is extremely complex; cultivating it is not an easy task. However, the Innate Nine Diagrams are also extremely crucial—at least for Peak Masters like us, the Innate Nine Diagrams have tremendous significance. Especially for those of us whose Cultivation Techniques lean toward the Taoist Sect—if we can learn the Innate Nine Diagrams and use the foundation of the Innate Skill to merge everything we’ve learned, we can gain a much deeper understanding of Taoist Sect Cultivation Techniques. We might even be able to break through the shackles of the peak!”

Listening to this, Ye Qing was even more shaken. That meant the Innate Nine Diagrams he had obtained could even help people break through the shackles of the peak. That was news enough to shake the whole world. You had to know, so many people were fighting over the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates precisely because they wanted to obtain whatever might help them break through the shackles of the peak. If the Innate Nine Diagrams could achieve the same effect, wouldn’t that make them on par with the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates?

”Master‑Ancestor, you just asked how I knew about the Innate Nine Diagrams…” Ye Qing looked at Fu Qingping and said, ”I don’t just know about them—I’ve actually seen those Nine Charts!”

”What!?” Fu Qingping stared at Ye Qing in shock. He naturally understood the importance of the Innate Nine Diagrams far better than Ye Qing.

”I’ve seen all Nine Charts, and I’ve memorized every one of them!” Ye Qing didn’t hide anything and told Fu Qingping everything that had happened to him on Mount Wendao. As for the matter of Fat Jiao, he only mentioned it in passing and didn’t go into detail, because he didn’t want more people to disturb Fat Jiao. If some wolf‑hearted bastard tried to take Fat Jiao back as a mount, wouldn’t that be bringing trouble to Fat Jiao? Although Fat Jiao now had the strength of a Beyond The Pinnacle expert, who could say whether other Beyond The Pinnacle masters might set their sights on it?

”Mount Wendao!” A sharp light flashed in Fu Qingping’s eyes. He had also heard of Mount Wendao, but he hadn’t known that Ancestor Chen Tuan had left a Karmic Dao there, much less that he had left the Innate Nine Diagrams there. Hearing this now, he was naturally utterly stunned.

”Master‑Ancestor, please take a look at the Innate Nine Diagrams first.” Ye Qing didn’t delay. He went through the nine postures of the Innate Nine Diagrams one by one in front of Fu Qingping. As he demonstrated them, he also explained the method of channeling energy and the pathways of the Internal Breath in the body, which was essentially passing the Innate Nine Diagrams on to Fu Qingping.

Fu Qingping didn’t hesitate either. As Ye Qing demonstrated the postures, he slowly began imitating Ye Qing and practicing each posture one by one. At the beginning, he couldn’t even sit straight, and he was panting heavily while practicing the Innate Nine Diagrams. But after he finished the third diagram, his breathing gradually became steady, and his back slowly straightened. It was clear that the Innate Skill was also greatly beneficial to his injuries.

Seeing how effective the Innate Skill was for Fu Qingping, Ye Qing was very happy and slowly demonstrated all nine diagrams. After Fu Qingping finished practicing all Nine Charts, a trace of color had actually returned to his face. He looked much better than he had earlier, when his face had been deathly pale.

After finishing the last diagram, Fu Qingping didn’t stand up right away. Instead, he slowly crossed his legs and sat in meditation. After a long time, he finally stood up slowly, took a deep breath, and chuckled. ”Ye Qing, looks like I’m not going to die after all!”

Ye Qing and Wen’er were both taken aback, then immediately overjoyed.

”Master‑Ancestor, the Innate Skill can even heal your injuries?” Ye Qing asked excitedly.

”Of course!” Fu Qingping nodded and said, ”The Innate Nine Diagrams can fuse everything I’ve previously learned, guiding the power in my body to slowly heal my injuries. Judging from the current situation, I only need to practice for another three days, and my injuries will be completely healed. Moreover, my strength will also take a huge step forward. Although I still haven’t broken through the shackles of the peak, even if I run into The Immortal Lord, I’ll have the confidence to fight him!”

Hearing this, Ye Qing was even more excited. He hadn’t expected the Innate Nine Diagrams to have such a huge effect on Fu Qingping—not only healing his injuries, but most importantly, giving him the confidence to fight The Immortal Lord after further practice.

You had to know, when Fu Qingping had previously fought The Immortal Lord, he had had absolutely no confidence and had gone into the battle with a mindset of staking his life. But now that he had confidence, it meant that even if he met The Immortal Lord again, even if he couldn’t win, he would at least be able to preserve his life. This improvement was truly extraordinary!