Chapter 211: Obtaining Four Techniques in the Tianji Pavilion, Returning Fully Loaded

## Heavenly Eye Method

**High-Level: First Advancement**

**Effect:** Allows the soul to connect with the power of heaven and earth, enabling the user to see spirits and gods, and discern magical disguises.

"The physical body, a mortal shell, obstructs the soul from truly seeing the world," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "But now, with my Heavenly Eye open, it's akin to a weakened version of divine sense or divine thought." He introspected his sea of consciousness.

His soul in the sea of consciousness looked exactly like him, though still somewhat ethereal. However, its eyes glowed with a faint golden light, appearing much more solid than the rest of its body.

The high-level Heavenly Eye Method's subsequent advancement path will lead to a divine ability called "Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing." This divine ability is exceptionally powerful; it allows one to monitor an enemy's every move from a thousand miles away. However, the emergence of such divine abilities will only be possible during the era of spiritual energy resurgence. Currently, the Heavenly Eye Method can only be cultivated to its peak level.

"Sixth-rank Heavenly Gang, Fifth-rank Pure Origin, Fourth-rank Prime Soul, Third-rank Origin Soul."

"As the soul gradually strengthens to the Third-rank realm, it will also grow more powerful, unbound by the physical body, and capable of brief out-of-body experiences."

"However, to achieve true soul travel through the void, much more support is needed." Zhao Xing recalled the 'Blood Spirit Venerable' he had once encountered in Gucheng. Figures like the 'Blood Spirit Venerable' could not only travel through the void but also split their souls. However, their method relied on blood sacrifices from believers, using others' faith, vitality, and souls as sustenance, stored in various locations around the world.

The Blood Spirit Venerable's method allowed for extensive reach, but its individual strength was relatively weak. Back in the abandoned workshop in Gucheng, an Yin God like Earl Donghu could contend with it for a long time. Yet, for the Blood Spirit Venerable, losing a part of its soul was inconsequential. As long as its main body wasn't harmed, it was like a fingernail that grows back after being clipped. If the main soul body were harmed, it would be much more troublesome, as most treasures capable of healing souls are typically Rank Seven or higher.

"Once the soul reaches Third-rank, it can wander the great void, which is when true power is attained," Zhao Xing mused. This "great void" refers to the vast expanse of space. The soul leaving the body is a dangerous endeavor, so why do some still pursue it? Of course, there are benefits.

"Once I reach the Third-rank Origin Soul realm, I can send my soul to wander the netherworld, to seek rare plants there and bring them back to cultivate myself."

"Native species of the netherworld are almost all Rank Seven or higher, such as Soul Devouring Trees, Bone Trees, and Hundred Ghost Vines… these are all powerful combat assets."

A powerful soul offers numerous advantages. Consuming a wondrous item like the Soul Pill yields extraordinary benefits. If a Seventh-rank martial artist consumed it, and their soul reached Sixth-rank, their control over their body would become exceptionally strong. For instance, if they could originally only use a single saber, they could immediately use two. This is equivalent to significantly enhancing a martial artist's innate talent! If a sword cultivator like Long Xiao consumed a Soul Pill, they might be able to control an additional flying sword! The enhancement to combat effectiveness is clearly evident!

For Zhao Xing, once his soul reached the early Sixth-rank, his control over primal energy and spells improved. Consequently, two of his spells immediately broke through. However, Zhao Xing felt that his greatest gain was neither the advanced Slumbering Bug spell nor the Heavenly Eye Method. It was the 'Straw Effigy Method'. Zhao Xing hadn't attempted it yet, but he had a feeling that if he were to try 'Four-in-One' or 'Five-in-One' now, it would be much easier than before. The number of straw effigies he could control simultaneously would also increase.

"After taking the Soul Pill, perhaps I can master the 'Self-Effigy' early on, like Old Liu, and manifest myriad techniques." Zhao Xing definitely intends to learn the Self-Effigy. The Self-Effigy manifesting myriad techniques is equivalent to low-cost trial and error. Any dangerous spells or spells with side effects can first be tested by the 'Self-Effigy'. This way, if irrecoverable injuries occur, the main body won't be harmed. The Self-Effigy is essentially a 'humanoid panel'. It allows for continuous trial and error to find the most correct path.

Liu Tianning's formidable power has its reasons! With so many Self-Effigies in his Myriad Law Palace constantly practicing spells, it's hard to imagine Liu Tianning's true combat strength. When Zhao Xing challenged the Heart-Questioning Platform, the subconscious illusion he faced ultimately required 'Liu Tianning's' help to break free from its strong interference. This was actually Zhao Xing thinking of Liu Tianning, recalling scenes from the Myriad Law Palace, and only after self-affirmation did he escape the illusion. Otherwise, he would have been unable to consolidate his thoughts, unable to concentrate, and would have been trapped in a continuous loop within the illusion.

"I now know eleven advanced spells. Liu Tianning probably knows over a hundred, doesn't he?" Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh. "He's already entered the Military Affairs Department, and that's a very high threshold." The last time the investigation team emerged, Dantaiming and Fanzhaoli were considered veterans, having lived for at least three to four hundred years, yet Liu Tianning was younger than both of them.

After taking the Soul Pill, Zhao Xing felt refreshed. After familiarizing himself with his physical condition, he re-entered the Great Dream Academy. He remembered there was still the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion he hadn't checked. Earlier, he was kicked out due to excessive exhaustion from challenging the Heart-Questioning Platform.

"Buzz"

Upon re-entry, Zhao Xing flew through the clouds and mist, directly arriving in front of a pavilion. The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion was structured like a layered tower. Zhao Xing looked up, and the pavilion soared into the clouds, its top nowhere in sight. Only the first five levels of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion were visible.

"This is a new building. The Cloud Dream Academy during the Martial Emperor's era didn't have a Heavenly Mystery Pavilion," Zhao Xing mused. Why would the Martial Emperor remove the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion? Zhao Xing could guess the reason. Because within the Military Domain of the Great Zhou, there was a mysterious organization called the 'Heavenly Mystery Hall'. It housed officials appointed by the imperial court. Great Zhou's Grand Ancestor had severely curtailed professions like geomancers and Yin-Yang masters, but the imperial family itself applied these skills. Each year, exceptional individuals from the imperial clan were selected to join the Heavenly Mystery Hall. The Heavenly Mystery Hall's function was to predict the future, observe changes in the Great Zhou's destiny, forecast the outcomes of wars, natural disasters, shifts in blessed lands, and so on. Its classic divine artifact was the Creation Plate. The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion within the Great Dream Academy likely had a similar nature to the Great Zhou's Heavenly Mystery Hall, which is why it was removed by the Martial Emperor.

"Different dynasties have different approaches. It seems the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion of the Great Li is not limited to the imperial family." Zhao Xing took a deep breath and entered the pavilion. Upon entering, a long, ancient voice whispered in his ear:

"Through calculation and deduction, exploring the source of creation; through divination and prognostication, seizing the shifts of heavenly secrets."

Zhao Xing looked up, following the sound, and saw a small bird standing on a cabinet, singing. It held a scroll in its beak, swaying its head. When Zhao Xing clearly saw the bird's appearance, he couldn't help but be startled.

"Heavenly Mandate Dark Bird?!"

"Is this a mechanical beast or a real one?"

The Heavenly Mandate Dark Bird has a long lifespan, possibly living for tens of thousands of years. Could this be a living bird? While he was stunned, the Heavenly Mandate Dark Bird unfolded the scroll and turned a page with its claw. Subsequently, the mist in the entire first floor dispersed.

"Student Zhao Xing, I am the Dark Bird Guardian. You may freely browse the first five levels of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. Learn as much as you can; do not force what you cannot learn."

Zhao Xing paused slightly, then cupped his hands and bowed to the Dark Bird Guardian: "May I ask, Guardian, do I not need to pass any tests?"

The Dark Bird looked at Zhao Xing askance: "Books of divination, destiny, physiognomy, and hexagrams; their scriptures are countless, their meanings infinite. The threshold for learning is the greatest test."

"So that's how it is." Zhao Xing suddenly understood. He stopped asking questions, bowed to the guardian, then passed the Dark Bird and walked forward. The first floor revealed rows of large standing cabinets, filled with books. Each row of bookshelves was forty to fifty meters high, like entering an ancient library.

"A treasure trove, truly a treasure trove," Zhao Xing thought to himself. He casually picked up a shimmering book—*The Grand Mystery Classic*. He opened it and, within a few seconds, felt drowsy, placing it back in its original spot. The book lived up to its name; it was too profound, utterly incomprehensible. He then picked up *The True Interpretation of Grand Mystery: The Chapter on the Genesis of Things* from the next shelf. This time, he finally understood a little.

"Things are born with forms; forms are born with numbers. Through multiplication, division, and deduction, one explores the source of creation… This speaks of calculating and deducing the principles of heaven and earth through numerology."

Zhao Xing read for a while, then put it back. *The Grand Mystery Classic* was only a general outline, without specific methods. Classics, generally, represent theories and philosophies. Spells are applications. Zhao Xing took a look and knew that *The Grand Mystery Classic* wasn't what he wanted. To learn its profound methods, one would need to understand tens of thousands of scriptures, and this entire row contained content from *The Grand Mystery Classic*. Only then might one eventually master its methods. He didn't want to learn everything. Old Master Zhao's time was now precious, so he had to allocate it wisely. Moreover, this type of metaphysics was easy to get lost in. He only needed to jot down a few notes to gain a superficial understanding.

Moving to the second row, Zhao Xing saw another book, *The Book of the Supreme Ultimate Governing the World*. This was a book that explored the origin of heaven and earth, natural changes, and social history.

"Observing the waxing and waning of heaven and earth, inferring the ebb and flow of the sun and moon, examining the degrees of yin and yang, discerning the forms of rigidity and flexibility. Thus, it is structured by Yuan, chronicled by Hui, initiated by Yun, and concluded by Shi. Based on the Way of Heaven, substantiated by human affairs, the rise and fall, order and chaos, nothing is left unrecorded."

He was quite interested because it was a book that 'deduced the past', drawing lessons from the past to govern the present and future. For example, it mentioned a passage: "In the Jia-chen year of the 2158th era, floods split the heavens, and the world fell into great chaos." One 'era' (ji) here means one hundred and twenty years. This implied that 258,960 years before the Li Dynasty, there was a devastating flood that almost split the sky, leading to widespread chaos in the world.

It also prophesied, "In the Gui-chou year of the 3247th era, the extreme polar ice sea will thaw, leading to endless disaster." The numbers were too large, so it was impossible to verify if such prophecies were correct because they couldn't be confirmed.

"The extreme polar ice sea indeed thawed in later eras, but the timing doesn't match."

"There was roughly a 50,000-year gap between the Great Li and Great Zhou dynasties. Its prophecy of the extreme polar ice sea thawing 389,000 years later is pure nonsense."

"Spiritual energy resurgence will happen in just over two thousand years; the thawing of the extreme polar ice sea isn't that far off."

"And saying that spiritual energy resurgence would occur three eras after the first year of the Li Dynasty is also pure nonsense." Zhao Xing curled his lips and put the book back on the shelf. Such methods of deduction had limited accuracy, and when it came to the era of spiritual energy resurgence, they were wildly inaccurate. However, the spiritual energy era was akin to a legend in the minds of ancient people, so if it was wrong, it was wrong; it didn't hurt much. The Great Li was merely a dynasty of providence during the primal energy era, possessing certain limitations in its deduction methods.

Zhao Xing continued to browse and soon found useful books on the second floor.

***The Great Extension Classic***

"The Great Dao has fifty, Heaven performs forty-nine, and humanity escapes one. Heaven and Earth impart their destiny, and human destinies each differ."

Upon seeing *The Great Extension Classic*, Zhao Xing immediately smiled. Finally, a useful book appeared. *The Great Extension Classic* is an exposition on destiny. On this row of bookshelves, Zhao Xing found a method called *The Great Extension Qi Observation Method*.

"The Qi Observation Method can reveal the destiny of living beings, not just humans."

"This secret method is much more practical."

By seeing others' destinies, if he encountered a Child of Destiny, he could stick close and benefit from their good fortune. If he encountered someone unlucky, he could avoid them.

"It also mentions methods for increasing one's destiny, one of which is to seize the spiritual essence of heaven and earth."

"However, it doesn't explain how to seize another person's destiny. Then again, the Great Li is a righteous dynasty of providence; how would it teach such a method? Such methods would have to be found in sects outside the established order."

The Qi Observation Method was easy to learn because its basic prerequisites were a strong soul and the Clear Sight Method. It was precisely because Zhao Xing met the prerequisites that he could enter. The Qi Observation Method is a high-level spell; it has no offensive power, but its auxiliary effects are very strong. After learning it, Zhao Xing continued to wander through the pavilion.

Zhao Xing searched through the pavilion, and he had seen many of the books before, but indeed, as the Dark Bird Guardian said, he couldn't learn most of them. Even if he could learn them, it depended on the era he was in. Books on destiny, physiognomy, and similar subjects were basically useless for practice in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It wasn't the right time to learn them.

Zhao Xing noted some books he wanted to learn but whose current realm was insufficient, making him drowsy upon reading them, such as *The Grand Mystery Classic*, *The Book of the Supreme Ultimate Governing the World*, *The Book of Burials*, *The Six Yao Classic*, and others. He planned to study them later when his realm improved. The above scriptures were too profound. Putting effort into them now would be unrewarding, because as long as the Great Zhou didn't collapse, divination-related professions would have to remain in the shadows, unable to rise.

However, there were three books that would be beneficial to learn now and could circumvent the Grand Ancestor's 'Great Vow of Establishing the Dao'. Even without being an official diviner, they could still have some effect. Zhao Xing chose three books he could learn, determined to master them.

First was *The Turtle Coin Divination*, which required external objects to be performed. One was the spiritual turtle of the sea. Marine creatures were not subject to the Grand Ancestor's 'Great Vow of Establishing the Dao', just as many exotic beasts were not incorporated into the providential dynasty system. The spiritual turtle could bear the cost of divination and also produce results. Second was special coins, such as ancient purple-gold coins and lucky coins. These were ancient coins passed down from the ancient divine court, possessing magical properties. Zhao Xing knew where to find them.

Second was *The Book of Prognostication*. This divination method was also related to the agricultural official profession. Because it could predict heavenly and earthly changes, such as where and when a centennial or millennial change would occur. *The Book of Prognostication* was divided into two parts: one for land prognostication and one for sea prognostication. After the war, Zhao Xing definitely intended to transfer to a civil agricultural official position. Raising horses, farming, and so on would certainly be useful then.

Third was *Five-Finger Heavenly Fate*. This was a divination method that could be performed without external objects. It was commonly known as 'a quick calculation with the fingers'. *Five-Finger Heavenly Fate* was a top-tier secret method, a spell that could be practiced in the Great Zhou even without being an official diviner. It was the fate-related deduction method Zhao Xing valued most.

"All fate deduction methods originate from deducing the changes in heaven and earth's mechanisms."

"The Five-Finger Heavenly Fate method can bypass the Grand Ancestor's 'Great Vow of Establishing the Dao' precisely because it starts from the inner Five Elements of heaven and earth."

"I divine the Five Elements inner heaven and earth of the human body, which adds a layer of separation. Then, I use the results from the inner Five Elements heaven and earth to correspond with the changes in the outer heaven and earth. This method is the Five-Finger Heavenly Fate."

Counting the Great Extension Qi Observation Method, Zhao Xing obtained a total of four spells from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion that he could practice soon and were very useful. He cupped his hands to the Dark Bird Guardian and, satisfied, exited the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. Entering the Great Dream Academy had been very fruitful.

Zhao Xing pondered and practiced his newly acquired secret methods underground. A moment later, Zhao Xing suddenly opened his eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"My soul has reached early Sixth-rank, and the first chapter of *Great Dream Spring and Autumn* inscribed on my soul armor has yielded new insights."

"Besides 'soul sensing danger' and the 'Slumbering Bug spell,' I can now cultivate in my dreams."

The first chapter, "Entering the Dream," being able to 'cultivate in dreams', meant he had truly entered the discipline. As his realm improves and his understanding deepens in the future, he will be able to achieve true 'dream walking'. This would allow him to cause people to fall into dreams, then jump into their dreams and kill them.

Just as Zhao Xing was cultivating underground, Chen Shijie walked into the Military Hall.

"Where's Zhao Xing?"

Han Bing, guarding outside, pointed to the ground and said, "He told me he went down to rest."

Chen Shijie was surprised: "What's wrong with him, sleeping underground?"

Han Bing shook his head: "I don't know, maybe all geniuses have their quirks. Some even like to sleep in coffins."

"..." Chen Shijie was speechless. "Really can't understand you young people."

"Are you sure this is the spot?"

"Yes."

Chen Shijie walked to the spot where Zhao Xing had descended underground and stomped his foot hard. Primal energy flowed down into the ground, causing earth veins to undulate, spreading information outwards: "Zhao Xing, wake up, I need to talk to you."

There's one more chapter, won't be too late. Also recommending a friend's book, please go check it out.

(End of this chapter)

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