The Heaven Mending Technique encompassed the true essence of Taoism; it was extremely mysterious and hard to grasp or understand. Only by trying to comprehend it personally could one know the various mysteries contained within it. With the help of the pendant and the old man, Wang Bugui entered a state of meditation, but his progress was still very slow. The more he tried to understand, the more he realized that the technique was far too amazing, and he began to fall deep into thought about other matters that were described by it.

Anyone who had the power to mend the Heavens could reverse the fate of the Universe. He or she would also take the energy from Nature for his or her own, and it was akin to being on par with the Heavens itself. The Tao contained within this method was profound beyond words.

What actually did mending the Heavens constitute? It meant being able to mend the cracks in Taoism against fate, being able to reverse past events, and rebuild the Universe. The technique was divided into the Reversal Method and Supplementary Method. The former would allow the practitioner to absorb energy from Nature for his or her use, allowing him or her to reverse any regrettable incident of life. It could be further divided into two more methods- the Universal Reversal and Reversal of Mortals and Immortals. The first method allowed the user to reverse the flow of Tao within the Universe, while the second could reverse the difference between mortals and immortals.

The Supplementary Method was also made of two techniques known as ‘Whole after Thousand Disasters’ and ‘Undecided Event’. The former was a secret healing technique. Once its practitioner managed to master it, he or she could regenerate back to full health in an instant, even when close to death. The latter was exactly like its name suggested. Once used, a Taoist code contained in the technique could alter any event that had already happened to the practitioner within a certain period of time.

Combining both the Reversal and Supplementary Methods would form the complete Heaven Mending Technique. Unfortunately, only the first halves of both methods were contained in this place. There were only records of the effects of the second halves, but they had not been passed down to later generations. It just happened that Wang Bugui had finally gained some insight into the last two techniques after a long meditation period. After all, the Heaven Mending Technique was far two powerful; no matter what technique one mastered, it would be benificial for one’s entire life.

The youth broke off from his meditation; he knew that he had wasted far too much time. He opened his blurry eyes and blinked a few times before he could finally see clearly again. He saw the painting still hanging in front of him, and that he was still sitting cross legged on the mat. Surrounding him were three heavily defensive magic formations that served to protect him, and the old man was sitting right before him.

“Senior, how long have I been in meditation?” Wang Bugui asked as he frowned.

“One year,” the old man said slowly.

“What?! One year has passed?” Wang Bugui leaped up directly from the mat in shock. Even though he tried to prepare himself, he had not expected to have spent so much time in the cave.

“What are you behaving so hastily for? The process of practitioners trying to meditate and seek better understanding of Tao has always been time consuming. Even though we’re now in the era of late arts, practitioners who are returning to the void still can live for centuries. Furthermore, you have already exceeded that level. What’s one year if you can gain a peerless technique? Tell me, what skill did you obtain?” the old man asked in a hoarse voice as he opened an eye. His voice still sounded as devoid of life as it had.

“The Heaven Mending Technique,” Wang Bugui replied honestly.

The old man immediately opened his other eye upon hearing the youth’s words, and his expression was distinctly different from when Wang Bugui had just woke up. “What?! The Heaven Mending Technique! You managed to obtain that! Did it consist of the Reversal Method and Supplementary Method?” he asked, his jaw nearly dropping.

“Yes, but there were only the first halves of both methods. The second halves were not recorded. Lady Nuwa’s Tao is really profound. I spent a year’s time but only managed to comprehend a little bit of it,” Wang Bugui could not help but feel regretful and lost at the same time. The mystical power of both methods were completely different, and the last two were evidently more powerful. He did not know where to look for them, however.

“Kid, be content. How could you possibly obtain the complete Heaven Mending Technique so easily? You should know how devastating its full form can be. It disrupted the balance on Earth, and the will of Heavens is keeping it apart. From the beginning of time, only three or fewer of countless talented people managed to obtain the skill from meditation, but you’re the only one who can obtain two kinds of methods at once.”

The old man said while wearing a serious expression on his face. Anyone who could comprehend the Heaven Mending Technique would stun everyone else on this place, and one of them managed to achieve immortality during the era of late arts. After him, no one else on the planet managed to achieve immortality.

“Are the last two techniques still in the world?” Wang Bugui asked as he stroked his chin.

“Of course, but they’ll not be easily obtainable. No one has successfully discovered them on Earth, due to the harsh requirements. You’ll have to gather all of the bits of the Divine Heaven Mending Stone, which have been scattered all over the world, and form them into a divine stone before you can obtain the last two techniques. According to my knowledge, there are a total of nine pieces of divine stone fragments,” the old man sighed.

He regretted that he was unable to present the complete Heaven Mending Technique to the world; he could not change the fact that the nine Spirit Stone shards were scattered throughout the lands and that he had no way of finding them. There were even rumors that the last person to attain immortality in the era of late arts had only managed to find four shards after searching the entire planet.

“So that’s how it is- a matter of fate. If I’m fated to find them, I will. If I’m not, I won’t even be able to see any piece of the divine stone for my entire life. It’s such a pity that such a wonderful skill will take so much effort to re-appear in this world,” Wang Bugui lamented as he shook his head.

“Yes, there was one shard of the stone kept here in the past, but it was given to an outstanding talented individual. He did not disappoint and fulfilled the duties given to him by the pendant. He managed to find only four shards of the stone and departed to the Heavens in regret,” the old man said as he looked at the painting, his tone sounding regretful, perhaps at how hard it would be to bring the Heaven Mending Technique back to the mortal world.

“Anyway, by obtaining two secret techniques, I’ve already achieved something that no one else could. Seems like I’m in luck. Since I’ve received such a gift, I must accept a responsiblity of corresponding weight. I’ll destroy all the demons that have been plaguing this world!” Wang Bugui said as he brandished his fists.

“Alright, my task here is done. Leave, young man. I shall continue slumbering, and I hope that I’ll continue to exist until you become an Emperor. After all, you’ve obtained two skills from the Heaven Mending Technique, and you’re a good person. I’m looking forward to your future, and I want to see how the world will turn out. There are two distinct destinies that emerge from the same prophecy!” the old man sighed.

“Senior, you…” Wang Bugui frowned. He had a good impression of the old man, and he had been guarding this place for so long. Was he finally giving up?

He wanted to ask if there was anyway he could ensure the old man’s safety, but the old man seemed to have read his thoughts before he could even speak. “I’m just the remnant thought of a broken soul that can’t go away. I’ve perished long ago during the Ancient era, and there’s no way to save me; I’ll simply vanish when my time’s up. Don’t worry, however. I can still hang on for about a dozen years more,” he said, waving his hands.

“I’ll not let you down, senior!” Wang Bugui proclaimed. He did not want to say much as he knew that the only way to please the old man was to train hard and become an Emperor before he vanished.

“Right, leave the. There are still many secrets of Chinese descendants waiting for you young people to uncover. I believe that you have the talent to become Emperor too. I think that you can even try to join in the struggle to get on the last path to immortality,” the old man said with a faint smile.

“Before I leave, may I know how should I address you, senior?” Wang Bugui asked as he made a sign of greeting.

“Haha. I have very nearly forgotten my own name. It’s Zhong Li’ao!” the old man said, correcting his posture as he spoke. His tone had changed suddenly, and he sounded proud like his name. From his actions, Wang Bugui could tell that the old man used to be an outstanding talent of his times, but he had perished long ago during the Ancient era for reasons unknown.

“Wang Bugui humbly bids you farewell, Senior Zhong!” Wang Bugui bowed as he cupped his hands in repect.

“Fine, I’ll wait to witness the day your light will shine over the entire world. Just don’t keep me waiting for far too long!” he laughed in a proud and aloof fashion before turning to disappear into the painting.

“It’ll definitely not take too long. You have to wait for me, senior!” Wang Bugui promised loudly as he turned and brandished one fist toward the skies.

He then walked out of Jiuhua Paradise. Before he stepped back into the outside world, he used his powers of Tao to seal the crack in space that was the entrance to the paradise. He then channeled his level two maximal speed skill and dashed out in a flash. There were many people outside, as it was the holiday season, and it was daytime. Everyone was busy observing the wonderful scenery around them, and no one paid any attention to a human that had just joined the crowd.

Wang Bugui successfully melded back into the throng of people. He hugged Puppet Chiou in his arms again, with a slight smile on his lips. He then left the area coolly, and any tourist that saw him could not help but take out their phones and cameras to take a shot of him.

One man and his puppet traveling the world together. The man was incredibly handsome, and the puppet looked extremely lifelike; her features were moving and beautiful. If there no signs from her joints that she was a puppet, or no traces of her being connected by fine wire, no one would have thought that she was a puppet.

Wang Bugui realized that the Sichuan region contained many secrets. Aside from Jiu Zhaigou, there were two more locations that gave off extraordinary amounts of aura. One of them was even emanating so much aura that he could feel it vaguely from such a great distance away.

His sense field was also affected at such a long distance away. He was already at God of War level, but the strong aura was suppressing him. He decided not to head toward this potentially dangerous spot first, and picked the other location with a slightly weaker aura.