77: Chapter 77: This martial art is on par with the "Sunflower Manual".

Celestial geese perched in the pool, shaking water droplets from their wings and brushing off the dust from their bodies, instantly becoming radiant and eye-catching.

Zhao Fangcai found a massive rock, brushed aside the vines covering it, and gave it a light push. The rock slowly began to rotate, just like a heavy stone door.

Halfway through the rotation, a cave opening over three feet high was revealed on the right side of the rock.

Zhao Fangcai stepped into the cave. Traces of manual excavation were faintly visible on the stone walls of the passage, which wound downwards.

At a certain point, a large door appeared before him. The vermilion-lacquered door panels were decorated with bronze rings, and the door nails were quite large.

With a gentle push, the heavy wooden door let out a creak, and a thick smell of mildew instantly filled the air.

He held his breath, waiting for the mildew smell to gradually dissipate before stepping through the door.

The room was empty, the stone table covered in moss, and the patterns on it were blurred and difficult to distinguish due to their age.

There was another door opposite. Opening it revealed a circular stone chamber. Light filtered in from the left, though in the gloom, it was hard to tell if it was natural light.

In the light, shadows flitted back and forth like schools of fish.

It turned out that a massive crystal was embedded in the stone wall, facing the pool outside like a window.

A skeleton lay before the stone table in the chamber, and the surrounding utensils were very old.

Beside a bronze mirror lay a comb and other items, clearly leftovers from a lady's chamber. The bronze mirror was covered in green patina.

Thick dust had accumulated on the table; it was unknown how many years it had gone neglected.

The eastern wall was polished very smooth, with dozens of lines of text carved upon it, all from the "Zhuangzi."

Most were selected from chapters such as "Free and Easy Wandering," "The Secret of Caring for Life," "Autumn Floods," and "Supreme Happiness."

The calligraphy was elegant and free-spirited, seemingly carved with extremely strong finger strength. Due to its age, the strokes were slightly worn.

At the end of the text was a line of small characters: "Written by Wuliangzi for Sister Qiushui. There are no days or months in the cave, but it is the Supreme Happiness of the mortal world."

This place was once the secluded residence of Li Qiushui and Wuliangzi in the Southern Zhao Kingdom.

The two practiced swordplay here and were revered as Immortals by the locals. Later, the Wuliang Sword Sect originated from this.

Later, the two went their separate ways. Li Qiushui conspired with Ding Chunqiu to harm Wuliangzi, then took the Secret Manuals to Suzhou, creating a piece of the Mandala Villa's past.

Later still, Li Qiushui's daughter, Li Qingluo, married into the local area and continued the history of Mandala Villa in the Langhuan Jade Cave.

Zhao Fangcai's gaze swept the surroundings. Noticing a gap in the stone wall, he stepped forward and gave it a light push, opening the wall.

Walking down the stone steps, he encountered another door, pushed it open, and walked inside.

Suddenly, a beautiful woman in palace attire appeared before him, holding a long sword, her image lifelike.

Zhao Wuji glanced at it casually. He knew it was a jade statue, but its appearance was extremely similar to Wang Yuyan's.

Wang Yuyan's eyes were clear and pure, while the jade statue's eyes were elusive, as if filled with joy yet also sorrow, with complex affection tinged with a hint of gloom.

Zhao Fangcai circulated the True Qi within his body and executed the "Pure Yang Divine Palm," the palm force striking accurately against the jade statue's chest.

The Moves of this palm technique were clearly presented, as if he had studied them alongside her before.

With the sound of jade shattering, nearby flames flickered as cracks on the jade statue continued to spread outward.

Finally, the entire jade carving exploded completely, with jade powder drifting everywhere.

Even though he knew this jade statue was not Wang Yuyan herself, Zhao Wuji did not want to leave it for others to view at will.

Where the jade powder fell, a hidden compartment was exposed. Inside the compartment was a silk bundle about a foot long.

Opening the bundle, there was some text on the silk, mostly evaluations of the jade statue's owner and the Xiaoyao Sect Disciples by a martial artist.

Skipping over the text, he opened the inside of the bundle to find a rolled-up silk manuscript.

The first line of the silk manuscript bore four prominent characters: "Northern Darkness Divine Art."

The Rank of this martial art was on par with the Sunflower Manual.

Zhao Fangcai was certain that this Northern Darkness Divine Art should only be given to Wang Yuyan; no one else was qualified to possess it.

Because this Secret Manual was also a portrait of Li Qiushui.

The woman in the painting was completely unclothed, her graceful figure displayed vividly through unique painting techniques.

A smile played on her lips, and her eyes and cheeks were full of a charming expression.

Behind the portrait were thirty-six more diagrams, with the figures standing or lying, joyful or sorrowful, in various postures and expressions.

Li Qiushui was Wang Yuyan's grandmother, and the two were extremely similar in appearance.

With such a resemblance, could it be considered plagiarism?

Zhao Wuji originally had other martial arts to choose from, yet he had traveled thousands of miles specifically to take this Northern Darkness Divine Art.

Could it be because this martial art was "indecent"?

With the eye of an art connoisseur, he carefully appreciated Li Qiushui's artistic skill.

It had to be said that the three generations of grandmother and granddaughters—Li Qiushui, Li Qingluo, and Wang Yuyan—all had outstanding looks. If they were in the same frame when young, they would undoubtedly be called the "Beauty Trio."

At the end of the scroll was the Heaven Rank High Grade martial art, "Buoyant Steps of the Spirit." The figure in the painting was Endless Cliff, whose footprints were arranged according to the eight trigrams, containing exquisite footwork.

As a pure Martial Skill type of martial art, it was rated as High Grade, but to reach the Heaven Rank level, one needed Internal Energy or to Breakthrough the shackles of "technique" like the Heartbreak Divine Arrow or the Little Li Flying Dagger.

Clearly, the Buoyant Steps of the Spirit was still lacking and seemed to be a branch of the Murong Family's Stars Shifting Technique.

Zhao Fangcai put away the Northern Darkness Divine Art and the Buoyant Steps of the Spirit. He never intended to Cultivate them himself, only waiting to find Murong Fu to return them to him.

The martial arts of the Langhuan Paradise had long since been cleared out; there was nothing else of value here.

Zhao Fangcai was about to leave when a thought suddenly struck him: in a place like this, wouldn't it be lacking a sense of ceremony if he didn't leave some traces behind?

Just as the ancients would write poems or carve sword marks to prove their visit, leaving a "So-and-so was here" for future generations.

He had an idea. Walking to the smooth stone wall, he circulated his True Qi to condense a Qi sword.

Amidst a "buzzing" sound, he carved several lines on the rock face: "Sunflower Manual! To Cultivate this martial art, one must first castrate oneself!"

Beside the writing, he also imitated the traces of a fragmented version of the Sunflower Manual on the rock wall, then left a signature: "Left by Wuliangzi!"

Having finished this, Zhao Fangcai clapped his hands, considering this fragmented version even more "formidable" than the Bixie Sword Manual—it didn't solve the key problem of cultivation and was purely a means to "trap" people.

In reality, even without this fragmented version, the Sunflower Manual required a System Legacy to be mastered, so he wasn't worried about the Secret Manual leaking and causing trouble.

"With these carvings, the Martial Forest of the Southern Zhao Kingdom and Western Xia will surely be thrown into turmoil."

Zhao Fangcai narrowed his eyes slightly. If the Southern Zhao Kingdom and Western Xia fell into chaos, it would be of great benefit to the Great Song Dynasty's court.

Moreover, the handwriting imitated Wuliangzi. If Li Qiushui or the Child Elder of Tianshan found out...

While he was thinking, the cry of a crane came from outside. "Hmm? Someone's here?"

Zhao Fangcai stepped out, his sleeves brushing the jade powder on the ground toward the rock wall, giving the newly carved characters a sense of age, as if they had been there for over a decade.

He returned the way he came, and once outside, he heard shouting:

"Careful, it's coming again!"

"Where did this beast come from, daring to trespass on the territory of the Wuliang Sword Sect!"

"Was it brought by the people of the Shennong Sect?"

"Senior Brother..."

"Junior Brother!"