Chaotic World Book
Chapter 353 - 346 Bizarre Hundred Arts

Chapter 353: Chapter 346 Bizarre Hundred Arts

On the northwest side of Yuxu Peak, was another way down the mountain Zhao Changhe had previously taken.

Halfway up the mountain, there was a Taoist temple with a sign over the gate that boldly announced "Yuxu Palace."

The dwelling wasn’t extensive, and people were few, yet it finally bore some semblance to the "Yuxu Palace" as people had imagined—a Taoist temple, a group of villains.

This was the true Yuxu Palace, not merely the three wooden huts at the summit and the old woodcutter who split logs and drank alcohol.

But Yuxu Palace had hardly any guards, for there was no need. If no one dared to climb the mountain, who would dare approach Yuxu Palace?

This time, Zhao Changhe had smeared his face yellow and changed into a set of higher-quality brocade robes, concealing the knife and gourd in his ring. This disguise finally made him feel like "another person," enough that Ye Wuzong wouldn’t scold him if he saw him... Well, next time, he would add a bit more of a wizened beard.

Snatching the Heavenly Book was something Yuxu might not care about, but those villains searching for the Heavenly Book surely would. It was imperative that no one found out it was "Zhao Changhe" behind this; otherwise, he would never have peace. It was best if Wang Daozhong took the blame first.

He silently leapt over walls, touching rooftops as lightly as a dragonfly skims water, quickly reaching the backyard.

There was some dim light in the backyard, with people idly guarding what seemed to be a storage cave.

Despite the idleness, guards were present. Not even the main gate had guards, yet this mere cave had guards placed by instinct—it pretty much confirmed the significance of what was inside.

Zhao Changhe passed by like the wind, and as snowflakes gently fell, the two guards felt a chill at the backs of their necks and collapsed weakly to the ground.

Zhao Changhe had already flashed into the cave, accomplishing the feat in one fluid motion, his shadow hardly catchable.

The Mystical Gate Ninth Layer, Half-step Secret Treasure.

Even though he still felt he had much to improve in martial arts comprehension and understanding, without forming something of his own, he really already ranked among the formidable figures of the world.

In reality, in the view of the blind man, his seeking advice from Vermilion Bird, questioning Yuxu, and his clumsy exploration, all lacked significant meaning. What he truly lacked was nothing more than time and a great deal of real combat experience.

The more you see, the more you use, and over time, you naturally develop your own understanding. Why ask others?

Like now.

"Step!" Zhao Changhe burst into the cave, and indeed, the cave was not just a cave. Through a short passageway, the sight suddenly opened up to a massive mountain peak similar to that of Yuxu Peak, towering vastly and stretching into the clouds.

It was like Russian dolls, unclear whether the outside was Kunlun or if this was in fact Kunlun, Kunlun within Kunlun.

This was a vast Secret Realm, where the spatial barriers had been broken, featuring an entire mountain range, no longer the little cottage, the small cave, or the tomb seen before.

Sensing the vast and familiar qi within the space, enveloped in an environment that basked in the "Heavenly Dao," Zhao Changhe was somewhat entranced.

He had known there would be a vast Secret Realm, and even many people residing within; yet the sight of such layered spaces was still inevitably shocking. The mysteries of space were indeed fascinating...

Speaking of which, the Chaotic World List twinkling in the sky was also a page of the Heavenly Book. It held such prestige, revered by the world. Yet the gold leaf he held was also a page, though its presence was so underwhelming—it showed that its deficiency wasn’t solely due to its incompleteness but because the woman beneath Sword Lake had placed a strong seal on it. The incomplete gold leaf struggled to unseal itself; only a more complete piece could ease the unsealing.

This meant that the page of the Heavenly Book here had never been sealed, sharing the same level as the Chaotic World List in the sky—a heavenly treasure of the Heavenly Dao, no wonder it could sustain such a vast space. Probably there was a wide territory besides the mountain, but the mountain was more central.

What form would it take?

Zhao Changhe looked up, where clouds shrouded the mountaintop. Faintly, there were myriad golden lights scattering across the world. In this space that was without sun or moon, this golden light served as the light source, casting the entire space in a hazy and sacred glow.

It seemed a golden scroll floated in the sky, vaguely indistinct.

Thus, the people of Yuxu Palace fought through brambles and thorns, climbing towards the mountaintop. After many years, no one had reached the end, yet they constant persevered, countless having died here.

The temptation of the Heavenly Book was enough to exhaust people’s entire lives, betting their lives in pursuit.

Zhao Changhe cautiously avoided areas with human voices, scaling upward where there weren’t pathways.

Soon, hallucinatory sounds of music reached his ears, comparable to a stream flowing in a mountain, directly touching the soul.

Initially, the sound was soft and melodious, gradually growing louder as the stream transformed into a river, and the birdsong into the cry of a crane, reverberating in circles.

Zhao Changhe suddenly felt a surge of blood and Qi, and upon careful inspection, discovered that even his heart had been entrained to the frequency of the music, accelerating its rhythm along with the surging of his blood, synchronizing with the sound of the flowing water in the music.

He instantly understood what it meant.

The music was manipulating everything within his body, following along. If one was not careful or unable to suppress it, they would die here.

Was it a test of the Heavenly Book? Or was it merely the natural manifestation of the Heavenly Book’s power, an inevitable obstacle for those who sought to approach it?

Those villains had explored for many years but were faced with layer upon layer of barriers preventing them from ascending the mountain.

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He had already studied music theory... analyzing the vocal music from a professional perspective meant he only saw the scales and techniques, only the essence of music, no longer easily moved or resonated.

Much like how a novelist views another’s work, hardly engaging emotionally, only seeing "this phrase has spirit," "this suspense is well designed," "this emotional manipulation is brilliant," eventually realizing the joy of reading was lost.

Thus, the sounds no longer caused ripples in Zhao Changhe’s heart, replaced instead with: "Damn, how was this music created, awesome."

Because it wasn’t played by humans; it was the music of nature.

If it were integrated into martial arts, wouldn’t it be an ultimate sound-attack skill, perhaps something similar to Tang Wanju’s?

So, was this page of the Heavenly Book a branch of Qi Men, part of martial arts within the realm of gold leaf, feeling a bit redundant?

Zhao Changhe stopped pondering and continued to quietly climb higher. The people here had already reached a high point, and he needed to keep up.

The music continued to echo in his ears, following him, subtly forming a form of suppression that discouraged carelessness, as once distracted, one’s blood and Qi would follow the music, and it might be too late to prevent an explosion or madness...

Under such conditions, the scenery ahead, the trees and rocks, began to appear bizarre.

A strange feeling ensued as if the rocks and trees ahead had been seen just moments ago.

Zhao Changhe slightly furrowed his brow and peeled off a small piece of bark from a tree ahead.

Continuing upward, it wasn’t long before the tree from which he had peeled the bark reappeared before him.

A maze.

Zhao Changhe stood dumbfounded, his knowledge of arrays only covering the basics... He had wanted to learn more, but who was it that said greed outpaces digestibility, advising him to focus, and thus only taught him the basics?

Was this basic knowledge sufficient to break the maze here?

Based on the musical sounds before, it didn’t require profound knowledge, just enough to solve the basics... After all, this was the natural intention of the Heavenly Book, not deliberately setting assessment thresholds.

Zhao Changhe looked up, studying for a while, then looked down at his position, calculating for a long time, scratching his head.

Based on his amateur knowledge, he seemed to be trapped in a "repeating" position, hence the cycling back and forth.

Theoretically, moving forward from a repeat position should lead to a withdrawal position, which should allow an exit. How that worked, he couldn’t understand.

Ahead on the left was the "Soldier" position; advancing from "Soldier" one reaches "Without Pretense," which according to basic knowledge, should be correct.

However, before entering "Without Pretense," one must pass through "Soldier," which did not refer to teachers, but to military generals.

There was a battle!

Then let there be battle. If the Heavenly Book had a spirit, it was merely preventing stealthy ascent, forcing people to contest on the same narrow path, to see who was most deserving.

Zhao Changhe dashed forward to the left aggressively.

Almost simultaneously, a flash of sword aimed at his abdomen: "Where did this new face come from? Stay with me!"