Chaotic World Book
Chapter 309 - 302: The Long-Lost Blind Person

Chapter 309: Chapter 302: The Long-Lost Blind Person

San Niang left.

Zhao Changhe returned to his room with a headache, a physical one, not a metaphorical expression.

Using the Rejuvenation Technique was clearly beyond his current capabilities; the spiritual pain was like a needle pricking, still lingering from when he attempted to grasp the rudiments of the law. As a result, he wasn’t in the mood to say much to San Niang, let alone charm her with sweet talk—neither had the heart for it.

The Rejuvenation Technique was an unexpected benefit never planned for. At first glance, it seemed to provide no help to his strength improvement, yet everyone knew of its boundless potential for future growth. The only troublesome point was, it didn’t seem to match his style very well. It didn’t belong to the same system as his martial arts.

A Berserker with a healing skill was utterly incongruous...

His abilities were too mixed up at present; even if he tried hard to integrate everything into one set, a careful examination still revealed a chaotic mix of all sorts.

To step into the First Layer of the Secret Treasure and achieve the status of a "Grandmaster" as people called it was clearly not merely about a breakthrough in strength. Understanding and organizing one’s martial arts, having something of one’s own—that’s what made someone worthy of the Grandmaster title.

Like Hu Lie, whose Curved Saber melded with the Yellow Sand; like Lie Ya, whose meteor dropped onto the battlefield; like Yue Hongling, whose sunset reflected on the rivers.

They had something of their own; their martial arts were imbued with spirit.

Those so-called half-baked Ninth Layer practitioners, who couldn’t connect with the Heaven and Earth Bridge, often lacked these qualities. They merely parroted others’ wisdom without any unique understanding or transformation into something of their own. A mere accumulation of strength—what kind of Grandmaster was that?

Wasn’t being challenged by those of a lower level the reason for this...

Of course, for him at this moment, "diversity" was not a bad thing but rather an extent of knowledge. Only after having been exposed to a broad range can one verify and adopt the best parts, turning them into their own, and eventually returning to simplicity, embodying both the horizontal and the vertical.

Take the Rejuvenation Technique... At the very least, it could verify how to affect others’ bodies and Blood Qi, which was a crucial reference for the Blood Evil Saber Technique.

The Blood Evil Saber Technique, when practiced deeply, not only instilled fear as its special effect but, more importantly, caused the opponent’s Blood Qi to become chaotic, and even rush wildly, leading to a gruesome death. This was something Zhao Changhe had never fully understood how to achieve, but now it seemed he was getting a handle on it.

Under the moonlight, Zhao Changhe stood outside holding the Dragon Sparrow, standing silently for a very long time before suddenly swinging his saber.

The saber swung silently, and the moon shadow disappeared without a trace.

It was the "Hell is Like This" saber technique that had incorporated the Yellow Sand Blade Technique.

Hell can be tumultuous or it can be silent. Zhao Changhe had not previously known this silent blade technique; always ferocious and brave, he learned this silent method after his battle with Hu Lie. "Hell is Like This" was perfected when he assassinated an Envoy within Ba Tu’s army. This was an example of verification by reference.

The tumultuous hell was cruel and fierce, with fire burning the body, shocking and terrifying.

The silent hell was oppressive and hopeless, daylight unseen, fear lurking in the darkness.

Different paths with the same effect, to be used according to different environments.

Then...

A silent blade Qi rushed to the treetops, only when it was already near a sparrow did the bird realize the danger, attempting to flit away.

But it suddenly felt its Blood Qi surge violently; the blade Qi had yet to reach it, yet its blood had already burst out, leaving it to die a gruesome death.

Such was the hell on earth.

"Hell is Like This" thus reached its Great Success.

This was not a technique from the Mystical Gate Eighth Layer... it was a Secret Treasure Level, having glimpsed the profoundly subtle and exquisite doors of martial arts.

Cui Wenjing, Tang Wanju, and others had said that the Blood Evil Saber Technique was a very good saber technique. Finding another appropriate saber technique for Zhao Changhe would have been an easy task for them, but they had not done so, which showed that this saber technique really was excellent. Now it once again stood out prominently, not losing out on the realm of the Secret Treasure.

Of course, it depended on who used it.

Zhao Changhe exhaled, sheathed his saber, and went back inside to rest.

His spirit had not yet recovered, and this swing of his saber had made his headache worsen. He leaned on the bed and soon fell asleep.

...

Several times he thought the blind man would appear, but he never did.

This time he hadn’t thought of him at all, having fallen asleep exhausted, yet the blind man showed up.

Unlike before when he stood unreservedly before him or, like recently, deliberately keeping a distance at the horizon, this time the blind man hung by a tree outside the window, just where the sparrow had been—neither too close nor too far, finally appearing a lot less awkward, much more normal.

Zhao Changhe sighed, "You’ve come?"

The blind man also seemed choked up, having not seen each other for so long and then suddenly turning up, he seemed at a loss for words, only after a long time did he respond, "You have glimpsed the door to the Secret Treasure, and I felt it, so I came to see you... do you not need to solve any riddles anymore?"

Zhao Changhe said indifferently, "Besides your identity still being unclear to me, I don’t really have any other puzzles that I need to ask you about."

The blind man said, "Because you have integrated into this world and are living your life around the joys and sorrows of those around you. Regarding martial arts and the last epoch, you have gained your own understanding and path of exploration. Now, whether I am here or not no longer makes much difference; you are no longer in the position of when you first arrived in this world, seeking a guide to answer all your questions."

Zhao Changhe nodded, "Perhaps."

So now, seeing the blind woman no longer stirs any emotions within me. My previous anger and dissatisfaction have greatly faded; with or without her, it makes no difference.

Unless she starts stirring up trouble and drawing her saber, then it’s far from over.

The blind woman concluded, "You have now become a person of this world."

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment before asking somewhat oddly, "Is this the outcome you’ve been aiming for by flattering me all the time?"

"?," the blind woman asked in surprise, "When have I ever flattered you?"

"The Chaotic World Book has been nothing but hype about me. Long ago, people began to suspect that I had an affair with the Book Spirit. Are you really unaware of it?"

The blind woman couldn’t help but laugh, "Don’t try to probe my identity, it’s meaningless... The Chaotic World Book is a manifestation of the Heavenly Dao, and it would only provide an honest judgment of what it deems important. Your actions merit that acknowledgment, it has nothing to do with me."

"How can it have nothing to do with me? Is this sort of expectation from my perspective too?"

"Yes, because the Heavenly Dao stands at everyone’s perspective. If someone else had done the same, they would have received the same assessment."

"Fine," Zhao Changhe originally wanted to ask her opinion about Xia Longyuan, but like San Niang, once the incident passed, so did the anger. He felt the same way; now that it was over, it seemed pointless to ask.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Changhe surprisingly found that he truly had nothing he wanted to ask the blind woman. As for deeper topics, such as specific events from the previous epoch, which Heavenly Gods and Buddhas are still clinging on to life, their whereabouts, and their purposes—asking about such things would be futile, so it was better not to ask at all.

With the current situation, one could even say that her non-existence would be better, more comfortable, more carefree.

After some thought, he asked a very direct question, "It feels like the full unsealing of the gold leaf is indefinitely far off, do I need some special treasure to find?"

"The blind woman said, "No need, it only requires the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and... to be complete."

"Is it similar to Ying Wu’s concept? A complete world?"

"That’s one aspect. The key is that it itself is incomplete."

"The gold leaf is incomplete? I didn’t notice."

"This page is complete, but it is only one page."

Zhao Changhe understood. To fully unseal the gold leaf, he probably needed to collect the Heavenly Book, at least a significant part of it.

He asked straightforwardly, "How many pages in total?"

"Nine, nine is the ultimate number."

"Then, is there any clue to find the other pages?"

"None. It can only be said that they cannot possibly exist in the human world and would only be in various ancient secret realms. Some secret realms are completely isolated simply because of the existence of the Heavenly Book."

"Because of the separation between heaven and men? So it won’t fall into the human world."

"You can think of it that way."

"Then, has anyone ever found them? For example, does Xia Longyuan have any?"

The blind woman was silent for a moment and then slowly said, "Perhaps."

Perhaps... Zhao Changhe furrowed his brow and scrutinized the blind woman carefully.

If she’s the Book Spirit, she may be oblivious to everything else, but where the Heavenly Book is, she would certainly know. Could she really not be the Book Spirit? Then was my use of the Beauty Liquid in vain?

Or perhaps Xia Longyuan used his great power to block the blind woman’s perception? Hmm, this possibility seemed greater. The feeling of being watched while doing anything, Zhao Changhe might find unavoidable, but Xia Longyuan would definitely not like that—he should have a way to block it.

Zhao Changhe suddenly wondered if the blind woman watched him while he was clapping hands? Was he impressive?

"Alright," Zhao Changhe’s mood suddenly brightened quite a bit, like Ah Q, and he smiled and said, "What wind blew you here today? If there’s something to say, just say it directly, no need for such a long warm-up, we’re all friends here."

The blind woman felt like her mystery was fading, but she really did have to get involved because this matter was very important—not the time to play possum... and she couldn’t really hide it from Zhao Changhe, the guy was really smart.

After a long silence, she finally said, "When you go to Kunlun, don’t just settle for the Dragon Elephant Blood Ginseng; there will be many things..."

"Such as?"

"There’s a Heavenly Book."

Zhao Changhe almost burst out laughing, "Alright, I got it."

This was the reason she had made the long trip here after so much time.

The fear lies in the unknown, in the mystery, in having no requests, in the idea that you’re purely doing it for fun—then you’re invincible.

Now that I understand what she wants, I’ve got her figured out... Although I also highly value the Heavenly Book, it seems like the blind woman is giving me the guide. But essentially, isn’t this just you asking me to do something?

We’re all humans, with human desires and pursuits... So much for being Heavenly Gods and Buddhas!