Chapter 314: Family Heirloom Martial Art

It was the first time Qin Mu had encountered anything as strange as entering a world within a painting. This art of painting was different from the Deaf Mute's. The Deaf Mute's paintings affected reality; for instance, if he painted wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, and then unfurled the painting, these phenomena would suddenly erupt in the real world. Similarly, if he painted the eighteen layers of hell, the entire Imperial City of Tiantu would abruptly collapse and transform into the eighteen layers of hell. This demonstrated his art's impact on reality.

In contrast, the painting Qin Mu entered worked in reverse: it drew reality into the artwork. Upon entering this painted world, Qin Mu became part of the painting. However, he found that the world inside the painting was not two-dimensional; instead, it was three-dimensional, possessing vast space.

"This is another form of painting!" Qin Mu thought to himself, surveying his surroundings. If the Deaf Mute's art allowed his brushstrokes to invade reality, then this painting expanded an inner world. If these two approaches could be merged, it seemed possible to elevate the art of painting to an incredible level.

Qin Mu pondered: if one could achieve such a feat, by merely picking up a brush to paint, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning would sweep across a battlefield, assailing countless enemy troops. Yet, with the internal expansion of the painted world, these enemies would be drawn into the painting. Then, with a single stroke, the painting itself could be erased, effectively wiping out an entire army with one brushstroke! Such a feat truly embodied the spirit of a scholar-general, commanding all with a flourish of the hand!

Qin Mu reined in his soaring thoughts. His mastery of painting was far inferior to the Deaf Mute's, who was an insurmountable peak, worthy of profound admiration. He felt he should share this idea with the Deaf Mute, allowing that supreme master of painting to research and merge these two distinct approaches. Then, Qin Mu could learn from him, potentially mastering both art forms much faster. Since the Deaf Mute was more proficient, letting him conduct the research would save Qin Mu a significant amount of time, allowing him to pursue other matters, while also enabling the Deaf Mute's art to reach even greater heights.

He looked at the white-clad man. This man was likely a portrait of his father, Qin Hanzhen, but he had come to life within the painting. When his father was trapped within the tree, Qin Mu couldn't discern his bearing or demeanor. However, within the painting, Qin Mu could finally observe his father's true presence. The only regret was that this was not the real Qin Hanzhen, but merely a figure from a painting. There was no sound in the painting; the painted Qin Hanzhen could not speak. He could only perform actions, write, and draw. He was not the true Qin Hanzhen, but rather a self-portrait created by Qin Hanzhen, endowed with life, much like the Elder Painter.

Qin Mu approached him and saw him painting a series of cultivation diagrams. Qin Mu was slightly surprised. "The Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body!" It was already strange for a figure within a painting to be drawing, but even stranger that he was drawing the very Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body that Qin Mu practiced! Naturally, Qin Mu had profound insights into the Three Dan Art. It was through its foundational guidance technique that he had awakened his Spirit Embryo and gradually achieved his own progress. However, the Three Dan Art drawn by the man in the painting was subtly different from the version Qin Mu had seen and practiced.

The painting started with the guidance technique for the first realm. This technique already differed from the one Qin Mu practiced, being even simpler and more concise. The village chief had taught Qin Mu a version of the Three Dan Art's guidance technique that was already incredibly simplified, arguably the simplest foundation-building method in the world, perfectly suited for ordinary people. Yet, the guidance technique depicted by the man in the painting was even simpler, though its simplicity did not equate to crudeness.

Qin Mu's current understanding and perspective far surpassed his childhood insights. He now grasped the principle that the simpler the foundation, the more challenging the cultivation, and the greater the potential achievement. This was akin to painting on a blank canvas: the fewer and simpler the foundational strokes, the more exquisite and refined the subsequent additions could become. If one were to scribble and smudge haphazardly on the canvas from the start, even a divine brush would struggle to create beautiful prose or magnificent paintings upon such a messy base.

The guidance technique drawn by the man in the painting was incredibly concise. Qin Mu attempted to circulate his vital qi according to the diagram. Initially, it felt a little stiff, but as the vital qi circulated, it became increasingly vibrant and powerful, flowing through his limbs and reaching every bone, giving him a sense of seizing the very essence of creation.

"If one used such a guidance diagram, breaking through the Spirit Embryo wall would likely be even more difficult," Qin Mu mused. He realized that when the village chief taught him the Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body, he must have made slight modifications to simplify the guidance technique for breaking through the Spirit Embryo wall. However, which version was superior remained debatable. While the modified version made it easier to break through the Spirit Embryo wall, it laid a less profound foundation compared to the painted figure's guidance technique. At that time, for Qin Mu, the most crucial task was indeed to break through the Spirit Embryo wall.

The painted man then drew the second diagram. Qin Mu had seen this second Three Dan Art diagram before in the Imperial Central Palace gorge. The one drawn by the man in the painting was largely identical to the murals in the gorge, with only minor differences. Qin Mu tried to activate it and immediately felt his Spirit Embryo connect with heaven and earth as the cultivation method circulated, causing his heart to stir. The Three Dan Art he had learned in the Imperial Central Palace did not provide this sensation. The Spirit Embryo represented a martial artist's realm; reaching this stage marked the true entry into the path of cultivation. A strong foundation was crucial, but so was the method of entry itself.

Based on Qin Mu's current understanding, the Spirit Embryo divine treasure was the gateway to opening the inner heaven and earth within one's body. As cultivation deepened, the Spirit Embryo divine treasure would differentiate into heaven and earth: the higher part as heaven, the lower as earth. The Spirit Embryo stood at the center, with the spiritual platform beneath its feet, absorbing and exhaling the five qi (metal, wood, water, fire, earth). The Spirit Embryo, with its feet on the ground and body controlling the cardinal directions, represented the heaven and earth. Having cultivated to this realm, this was his understanding of these divine treasures and stages. As for the later realms—Seven Stars, Celestial Human, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge—he did not understand them extensively but held some personal views.

At the Spirit Embryo realm, one could essentially refine a primordial spirit. The primordial spirit was the Spirit Embryo growing by absorbing soul vital qi during cultivation, fully forming into a primordial spirit at this realm. When the primordial spirit could leave the body, that typically signified the Celestial Human realm.

Previously, when Qin Mu practiced, he hadn't noticed anything amiss with his Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body. However, now, by cultivating according to the diagrams drawn by the man in the painting, he realized that something had been missing. The Spirit Embryo was meant to grow into a primordial spirit. If it couldn't connect with heaven and earth within the Spirit Embryo divine treasure, it implied incomplete cultivation. What he had lacked before might have been precisely this connection.

He then looked at the third diagram. The third diagram drawn by the man in the painting represented the Five Elements realm. When Qin Mu reached the Five Elements realm, the cultivation diagram he possessed was incomplete. He had relied on the young Patriarch and his own ingenuity to complete the cultivation route, but it had left a flaw in his left shoulder. Although Qin Mu later patched this flaw using the Grand Unification technique from the Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scripture, his vital qi circulation was still slightly less smooth, though the impact was minor. Moreover, Qin Mu was exceptionally talented, sweeping through martial artists of the Five Elements realm without encountering an opponent, and even defeating some divine ability users of slightly lower realms, so he hadn't delved deeper into this issue.

The Five Elements realm cultivation diagram drawn by the man in the painting, however, was complete. Qin Mu meticulously observed it and exhaled a sigh of relief. This diagram could perfectly mend the missing parts of his cultivation method, leaving no more flaws! Moreover, the fourth diagram was also different from the one he currently practiced, and considerably more complex.

Qin Mu paused, then looked back at the first guidance diagram. He noticed something interesting: the Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body depicted by the painted man showed a trend of increasing complexity compared to the version Qin Mu had cultivated. It was as if it first depicted a sapling breaking through the soil with only two sprouts, which then gradually grew, becoming rich with branches and leaves. In contrast, the Three Dan Art Qin Mu had cobbled together previously had some deficiencies, like a small tree with branches growing haphazardly in all directions. While it could still grow into a large tree, it would be lopsided.

Furthermore, the cultivation method drawn by the man in the painting did not include divine abilities; it only showed the circulation diagrams. Yet, when activating other divine abilities, Qin Mu felt an effortless proficiency.

Suddenly, his heart jolted. The sound of the woodcutter transmitting scriptures from the stone echoed in his mind. As the chanting merged with the Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body drawn by the painted man, Qin Mu's mouth hung open in astonishment. The Grand Unification technique actually *overlapped* with the Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body drawn by the man in the painting! It wasn't a fusion; it was an exact superimposition!

The Grand Unification technique was the overarching principle of the Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scripture. It was like the sacred tree from which the woodcutter transmitted scriptures to the founding patriarch of the Heavenly Devil Cult. The Grand Unification technique was the trunk of this tree, while the Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scripture comprised its myriad roots and branches. Every successive Heavenly Devil Cult Master had to comprehend their own Grand Unification technique to fully integrate the Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scripture. Each one's comprehension of the Grand Unification technique was unique; no two were ever the same! Yet now, combining it with the scriptures transmitted from the woodcutter's stone, Qin Mu was horrified to discover that the Heavenly Devil Cult's Grand Unification technique was *identical* to the Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body! He felt a sense of temporal disorientation: the Grand Unification technique of the Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scripture was, in fact, the Three Dan Art of the Overlord Body that he himself cultivated!

"Could the Heavenly Saint Cult have originated from Carefree Village? And that woodcutter who transmitted the techniques..." His expression turned strange. "Does he also share my surname, Qin?" He didn't dwell on it, continuing to observe, completely engrossed. Unconsciously, his cultivation method began to operate according to the diagrams drawn by the man in the painting. His vital qi circulation became entirely free of any stiffness, growing livelier and smoother.

When the man in the painting finished drawing the eighth diagram, he had completed the cultivation sequence from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Divine Bridge realm. Qin Mu diligently memorized it. To his surprise, the painted man did not stop drawing but continued, now sketching the tenth diagram! "There are realms beyond the Divine Bridge realm?" Qin Mu was astonished. Wasn't the Divine Bridge divine treasure the final realm? What realm, then, did the tenth diagram represent?

The tenth diagram was extremely complex, involving all seven preceding divine treasures. When vital qi was circulated, all seven divine treasures needed to be activated, making it incredibly intricate. A single misstep could lead to qi deviation! Qin Mu focused intently on memorizing it, not daring to be careless. However, the sheer volume of information contained within this tenth diagram still left him dizzy.

After drawing the tenth diagram, the painted man put down his brush and waited for a moment. Once Qin Mu had completely memorized all ten diagrams, the man suddenly attacked Qin Mu with fierce moves. Qin Mu quickly tried to defend himself, but within a few moves, he was knocked to the ground by the painted man. The painted man knocked him down but did not continue his assault. Instead, he waited for Qin Mu to recover before resuming his attack.

"He's sparring with me!" Qin Mu's eyes lit up.

On the treasure ship's deck, numerous great shamans, shaman kings, and soldiers from the Barbarian Di Kingdom were attacking the bridge. Two white bats and the Dragon Qilin guarded the bridge entrance, preventing their entry. Meanwhile, Ban Gongcuo examined the books and treasures he had plundered from the treasure ship. "These books are sealed," he muttered. "Breaking the seals will be difficult; I'll need to call upon my past life's physical body." Ban Gongcuo looked through the books one by one, but none could be opened, which left him somewhat disappointed. He turned back to look at the ship's structures. "It's been two months, and that kid still hasn't come out..."

Suddenly, a cabin door opened, and Qin Mu, with a bruised and swollen face, peeked out. He spotted Ban Gongcuo and waved to him. Ban Gongcuo was overjoyed and immediately rushed forward.