Chaotic World Book
Chapter 202 - 198: Impossible, Absolutely Impossible

Chapter 202: Chapter 198: Impossible, Absolutely Impossible

Vermilion Bird Venerable was so angry that he almost clenched his teeth to pieces, thinking to himself that you and Xia Chichi really think alike; no wonder you "mutually fell in love,"—your brains are filled with the exact same things.

You initially said you wanted to solve the meridian issue. Though it was a tall demand, it fell within normal expectations, but what on earth did this conversation turn into afterward?

Vermilion Bird Venerable suppressed his anger and finally gritted his teeth, saying, "Do you think the Four Symbols Sect is like a brothel? Are you here to pick girls? You might as well go to Tang Wanju; she’s the real brothel owner!"

Zhao Changhe sighed and responded, "Who do you think taught me this zither?"

"..." Vermilion Bird Venerable coldly said, "Starting to talk about other houses’ offers now, is that it?"

"That’s not it," Zhao Changhe earnestly said. "Head Tang has been completely open with me, and I wouldn’t use it as a bargaining chip in negotiations."

Vermilion Bird Venerable said, "But the Imperial and the Four Symbols Sect are in conflict. Since you’re so loyal to Tang Wanju, we do not need to discuss this further."

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Times change, why be so absolute? Half a year ago, even Vermilion Bird Venerable wouldn’t have thought about inviting me, Zhao Changhe, to join the sect. Perhaps two months ago, you might have wanted to kill me over Chichi’s affair and be done with it, and now?"

Vermilion Bird Venerable stopped talking. He regretted mentioning it. Zhao Changhe had been right under his nose back then; he could have easily allowed him into the sect, and he would probably have been very grateful for the guidance. But who knew...

But then again, that Zhao Changhe maybe wouldn’t be the Zhao Changhe he is now.

Zhao Changhe continued, "Venerable Vermilion Bird’s Demon Sect thinking is still strong. Why start by discussing conditions? Let’s get to know each other for a period first, allow me to understand your teachings deeper, and see if I truly fit in. Then we can naturally decide, wouldn’t that be better? Right now, this situation is awkward for both of us, apart from mentioning easing up on the restrictions with Chichi and me, what else can we really talk about?"

Vermilion Bird Venerable indifferently said, "Easy for you to say, where do I find the free time to get familiar with you in the long term? And don’t even mention the Holy Daughter spending time with you; no matter how long she’s with you, she’ll only have good things to say when she returns, which amounts to nothing."

"Why not interact with someone else? You seem like a good fit."

Vermilion Bird Venerable couldn’t hold back, "...Are you two born of the same father?"

Eh, this remark... does that mean Chichi also made this proposal?

That’s my wife for you.

Now when you imagine my father in your mind, you’re actually imagining Chichi’s father. That does seem somewhat reasonable.

Vermilion Bird Venerable said irritably, "We wear masks and cannot stay with you, unless you want the world to directly regard you as one of the Four Symbols Sect."

"What about showing your true face without the mask? Others won’t know who you are, right?"

"Then you would know, wouldn’t you? My true identity is my own—do you think I’d reveal it to you so easily? Besides, I also don’t have the time," stated Vermilion Bird Venerable indifferently. "Let’s leave it at that for now, I understand your point and will relay it to the Venerable. Talking conditions directly does seem a bit brute indeed, not as smooth and shameless as Tang Wanju."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"Alright, I’ll be leaving now. According to my analysis, at least during the duration of the Wang Family’s banquet, the Venerable won’t be too concerned about your relationship with the Holy Daughter. Take good care of it."

The voice became somewhat seductive and a bit amusing, and soon, flames swept through the sky and he disappeared.

Zhao Changhe shook his head slightly, not really minding, and continued playing the zither. In his opinion, engaging with the Four Symbols Sect was just basic contact, happening to coincide with everyone arriving at Langya and beginning to communicate. Now that they hadn’t even started a proper discussion, further extensive interactions were likely in the future.

Little did he know, before he had finished playing his new zither piece, Vermilion Bird returned.

Zhao Changhe, quite speechlessly stared at the seductive red lips of the Venerable before him and sighed, "Venerable, no need for concerns, just here to listen to the music?"

Vermilion Bird Venerable indifferently stated, "I’ve heard from the Winged Fire Snake that you are currently troubled by issues with your Inner Strength meridians?"

"That’s correct."

"Do not place your hopes on Dual Cultivation, otherwise, I would be very disappointed," Vermilion Bird Venerable indifferently stated. "Your meridians are set and narrow. Long-term Dual Cultivation might slightly benefit this condition, but short-term use for power breakthrough is of the lowest order, no different from the Maitreya Sect. Dual Cultivation is not a Divine Arts; it serves only as an auxiliary Magic Skill, please be aware."

Zhao Changhe said, "Venerable, you sound a bit like you’re comparing who teaches better with Head Tang."

"I can’t teach you, but I can let you taste a bit of sweetness, at least to make you realise the great benefits of joining our Holy Sect." Suddenly, Vermilion Bird Venerable stretched his hand and pointed at Zhao Changhe’s forehead.

Zhao Changhe, still without even the consciousness to dodge, resignedly accepted his fate. Now if Vermilion Bird Venerable wanted to kill him, it would just take one finger, and there was nothing worth struggling against.

As a finger pointed at his forehead, a seemingly ethereal meaning penetrated into his Spirit Platform, and Zhao Changhe’s mind exploded suddenly, seeing a sky full of stars.

But they were not stars; they were his own body’s acupoints, shining like stars.

Indeed, at the beginning of learning Inner Strength, he had felt it: Dantian like the moon, acupoints like the stars, operating the cosmos, which is to form a universe within the human body.

Regrettably, that was just an initial display of the overall "program." As his Cultivation continued, he could no longer feel that macroscopic experience and could only slowly unveil each meridian, opening each acupoint bit by bit, hoping one day to see the entire sky.

Now, this one gesture by Vermilion Bird Venerable led him back to the initial program, seeing the vastness of the night.

Different from the initial experience, under Vermilion Bird Venerable’s guided internal view, the Four Symbols Formation was greatly emphasized; the brightest stars in the night sky formed the shapes of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Xuanwu. Corresponding to the acupoints, some of them were already opened and illuminated by him, while most were not.

"This is the fundamental principle of the Four Symbols Sect’s cultivation technique. Depending on which magic skill suits you, follow that particular star chart," the voice of the Vermilion Bird Venerable echoed in his ears, "Demonstrating the star chart does not teach you the cultivation technique but a side path."

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath, "Please enlighten me."

"Suppose you can resonate with your star position, you can then summon the power of that position to break through the Mystical Gate that you have not yet breached. There’s no need to exhaust yourself blindly following a single energy channel. Just as a single arrow cannot take down a strong opponent, firing a thousand arrows naturally can," Vermilion Bird Venerable said calmly, "Now, the question is whether you can resonate with your own star constellation. If not, let’s not discuss further as it means you have no fate with our Four Symbols Sect."

"What if I can?"

"That position will be yours, and we can discuss further terms. This is also what you refer to as the familiar process of further acquaintance between us."

"Alright. How do I resonate?"

"You have not reached those acupoints in your cultivation; initially, you couldn’t resonate, but I have initiated the star chart for you. You just need to immerse your consciousness to sense these acupoints. Whichever is compatible with you will light up on my star chart, and I’ll know," Vermilion Bird explained.

Following his words, the Four Symbols Star Map that had lit up earlier now dimmed.

Zhao Changhe silently introspected, trying to sense, and to make them light up again.

He discovered this not only tested martial arts aptitude but also tested memory. With so many stars, how could he sketch out the previous formation? Zhao Changhe realized he had completely forgotten. How could he remember it?

Never mind; it doesn’t matter what shape it is. Easygoingly sensing them one by one, whatever lights up is meant to be. The Vermilion Bird probably thought the same.

Zhao Changhe attempted to light the star in the furthest corner below and found it effortless; it lit up immediately.

A spark flickered in Vermilion Bird’s eyes, muttering to himself that leaving other things aside, at least it showed Zhao Changhe was highly compatible with learning the Four Symbols Sect’s cultivation technique, with virtually no obstacles.

The second star, the third star...

Gradually, the entire southern sky lit up, including the Vermilion Bird Shape and even those stars not belonging to the Vermilion Bird constellation.

Vermilion Bird’s eyes widened in astonishment. What does this mean?

Such a phenomenon had not been seen before; utterly unaligned with the Four Symbols Formation, why could everything light up?

In the Four Symbols Sect’s perspective, each star belongs to a type of martial arts, particularly the Four Symbols, each a very distinct classification. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to harmoniously possess all types—what could that mean?

That would be Emperor Ye!

Zhao Changhe didn’t understand why, but he felt it was very effortless. It was like watching the Sword Emperor demonstrate live in the Heavenly Book Illusion Realm, where whatever part he wanted demonstrated would be shown. Each star functioned similarly; whichever he wanted to light up would light up.

Moments later, the entire night sky dazzled with stars, all were lit.

Vermilion Bird suddenly withdrew his hands, stepping back in shock.

Zhao Changhe opened his eyes in confusion, "Is something wrong? Does the fact that everything is lit indicate that it actually contradicts the intent of the Four Symbols?"

"It is... yes," Vermilion Bird’s voice trembled slightly, "This might approximately be... Emperor’s intent too. Not... not the intent of the Four Symbols, you and I..."

He wanted to say it didn’t match, but he trembled for a long time without being able to speak it out.

It might not mismatch; another possibility is that it matches.

What if it was Emperor Ye?

Certainly then, all stars under heaven could be utilized, and all martial arts in the world would be within my grasp.

Could that be possible?

Impossible, absolutely impossible...

Zhao Changhe was asking, "As you mentioned, I haven’t cultivated to these acupoints yet. Even if I can sense and light them up, how can I summon their power to help me breakthrough the Mystical Gate?"

"Their strength is already there, imperceptible to ordinary people. Since you can sense them, you can try to summon them, aiding you to break through a magic skill I’ll impart to you..." Vermilion Bird thought to give it one more try; if he couldn’t summon it, then it would be over...

The next moment Zhao Changhe closed his eyes, thousands of acupoints shining brightly, as if myriad threads of qi from all directions in the sky rained down, rushing towards the Fifth Layer Huagai Acupoint of the Mystical Gate.

Simultaneously, the Six Harmonies Divine Skill inside his Dantian activated fully, rushing along the central axis up to the Huagai.

It felt as if there was a resounding "boom" illusion, the Inner Mystical Gate Five Layer fiercely breached, without any hindrance.

Zhao Changhe opened his eyes, meeting Vermilion Bird’s gaze.

Vermilion Bird’s expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

————

PS: Making up for yesterday’s~