Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 348: The Path of Lightning

Zhao Changhe continued his rapid ascent, shaking his head.

It appeared that some entities, such as the blind woman, existed in the weakened state of a spirit body or a divine soul. They could not enter this space themselves and needed someone to bring the Heavenly Tome out for them. Yuxu cooperated rather passively, choosing not to come in person but instead tricking evildoers into doing the task for him. He could thus tell the ancient entity or entities that he could not be accused of not helping—after all, he organized so many people to work on the task! If they failed, he could not be faulted.

With that in mind, Zhao Changhe truly admired the persistence of these villains.

After so many years, they still fought against one another, ambushing each other, and dragging each other down. Not only did this leave them in a state far short of cooperation, but given the attributes of this page of the Heavenly Tome, he believed that the page abhorred such petty behavior. Despite all the time they had been in this space, they never reflected on why they could not even get past the halfway point and continued their ways.

Yuxu selected the right people for his goal, making things much easier for himself. He did not need to care about whether or not these people could obtain the Heavenly Tome. He chopped his firewood and drank his wine, incidentally removing some evil from the world in the process.

As he continued upward, another unusual scene presented itself before Zhao Changhe.

Although the space he was in clearly did not have wind or snow, he had gone through lush vegetation and waters. Yet, the cliff ahead was covered in ice and snow, with smooth ice surfaces and steep, vertical walls that were impossible to climb.

Only a few vines of varying lengths dangled from different spots, swaying in the wind. Based on the assessment style of this page of the Heavenly Tome, these vines likely provided a complete path to the top, and all one had to do was climb them and jump between them.

However, even if there was no one else around at the moment, Zhao Changhe did not dare to climb.

The gaps between the vines were very wide, and leaping from one vine to another was perilous and extremely prone to failure. This might have been manageable, given a high enough skill level in climbing. However, there was a chaotic wind that blew to and from all directions, making the vines sway around in an unpredictable manner.

It looks like this area’s supposed to test my ability to observe wind patterns and determine the optimal path up the vines. Am I just taking some civil service exam?

Zhao Changhe felt that this test was somewhat forced. It looked like it involved utilizing and blending with nature but seemed “unnatural” and possibly misleading.

After carefully observing for some time, Zhao Changhe eventually came up with a plan.

He suddenly leaped up, grabbing the central vine, and climbed. When he reached the top of the vine he was on, he jumped to the nearest vine on the right, catching its end. Then he stopped climbing and let the wind sway him around gently.

When the wind blew to the far right, he suddenly leaped, using the momentum from swinging on the vine and soaring like an eagle to smoothly land on a distant protruding platform.

The icy cliff looked uniform at first glance. Only a close inspection would reveal this platform.

As it turned out, the platform faced a cave. Entering it, he found ascending stone steps leading directly to the top.

It turned out that the numerous vines were indeed just a distraction. Climbing them all the way up might work, but that also came with a high chance of failure.

In fact, this was not a test of observation and summary like a civil service exam. Observation was just the foundation. The training of the five senses was mainly so that one could make better observations.

Each challenge on the mountain was related to martial arts. After all, the Heavenly Dao of this world was martial arts. Every page of the Heavenly Tome was related to martial arts, and the page in this space simply highlighted the use of nature to better one’s martial arts.

Sonic attacks, an illusory maze, movement arts... This stage’s use of wind and the momentum one can manage on the vine echoes what Huangfu Qing once said about the difference between a blade moving against the wind and with the wind.

Zhao Changhe suddenly recalled Yuxu splitting wood. Yuxu had already reached the level where he could harness the wind and snow for his personal use.

Swoosh!

Zhao Changhe suddenly drew his sword.

Wind rushed into the cave, and his sword flowed with the wind, becoming almost invisible, as if it had merged with the wind.

Usually, he used the saber to invoke sword intent. At this moment, however, he used a sword to invoke saber intent. Using Hell on Earth, or perhaps a more advanced version of it that even he wasn’t aware of, he completely integrated with the environment.

Clang!

The sword shattered a reflection on ice in the dark, and a shrill scream suddenly came from behind the stone steps as a figure attempted to flee.

Zhao Changhe flicked his finger lightly.

A shard of ice was propelled by his flick, piercing the fleeing man’s back and exiting through his chest.

The man froze in place, looking down at the shard of ice protruding from his chest, and he said softly, “Who are you?”

Zhao Changhe said lightly, “Wang Daozhong of Langya.”

Thud!

The body collapsed on the stone steps, rolling down and off the platform, falling off the cliff.

Zhao Changhe kept his sword and strode up the steps.

I’ve finally come to the right place. This is the thrill I was looking for after entering this “Valley of the Wicked.” Moving alone, cutting down obstacles, and reigniting my dimmed martial spirit. The encounters in Kunlun City with Tian Lingzi and Tarantula were quite lacking.

As he walked, his Niwan Palace[1] began to pulsate again, signaling that he was about to break through.

Unexpectedly, this trip for the Heavenly Tome ended up as a journey where he integrated his martial arts comprehensively. Integrating with nature, integrating with heaven and earth, and forming his own martial dao.

Eyes, ears, body, and mind—all senses attuned; whether he used the sword or the saber, it felt natural; wind, snow, ice, and frost—all at his command.

Could I be considered a master now? No... not quite. I’m still a little shy of it.

This was because the way of nature was not his fundamental practice, his fundamental cultivation technique was the Vicious Blood Art.

This was the root of his inability to break through—he had understood many things that were different from what he practiced. Although they were correct, they fell just short of helping him break through.

According to Yuxu, this situation would indeed be a hindrance but was ultimately beneficial. Once his Vicious Blood Art was perfected, he would naturally break through, and he would break through without the aftereffects typical of demonic cultivation.

Does this count as turning a demonic cultivation technique into an orthodox cultivation technique? It doesn’t matter—demonic or orthodox, it’s just a cultivation technique. Cultivation techniques or cultivation arts don’t determine anything.

Tchk!

Zhao Changhe stepped onto the top of the stone steps. Outside, there was no ice or snow, just the mountains. The summit was in sight, with golden light seemingly within reach.

The Heavenly Tome was near at hand.

A burly man stood not far away, hands clasped behind his back, looking up at the sky.

Hearing Zhao Changhe come out, the burly man indifferently: “Are you really brother Daozhong?”

Zhao Changhe smiled and said, “Names are just labels, they don’t matter much. I don’t care to know your name.”

The burly man chuckled and said, “But I can tell you.”

“Oh?”

“I’m Yan Que.”

Thirty-third on the Ranking of Earth, Blood Demon Hand Yan Que.

Coincidentally, he ranked slightly higher than Wang Daozhong, which explained his somewhat condescending attitude.

Zhao Changhe smiled and said nothing.

Is this the reason why Yuxu suggested that I return after making it onto the Ranking of Earth? Well, it’s fine, I’ve got the blind woman with me this time.

Yan Que sighed. “I don’t know why someone from an aristocratic family like you would come here. You must have made some agreement with Daoist Yuxu, but I won’t pry. However, for you to reach this place within two hours of coming inside is truly impressive. It seems that your reputation isn’t all for show.”

This was why he had not bothered to verify if Zhao Changhe truly was Wang Daozhong. After all, even if he was not, he had to be a top-tier expert.

For so many years, no one had reached this point so quickly. Although these tests did not require absolute strength, they were extremely difficult for villains, given their vast differences in mindset and nature, not to mention their predisposition for backstabbing and schemes.

Moreover, everyone had weaknesses. Some stages might even require luck. For example, Yan Que had passed all the previous tests easily but had gotten stuck at the maze for over a year. Even after studying formations outside and returning, he could not solve it. Only after a coincidental fight did he realize that combat was the key, aligning with the Leading position. Who would have thought? If he had not fought that one time, he might still be going in circles until now. This was both luck and fate.

Yan Que believed that this “Wang Daozhong” had great fortune. Thus, he did not waste any time. “Brother Daozhong, how about we cooperate?”

Zhao Changhe asked, “To do what?”

Yan Que said, “Do you see the situation ahead?”

Zhao Changhe could see it.

It was a path of lightning.

There was lightning striking down all the way to the top of the mountain. It seemed that enduring the lightning strikes would allow one to reach the Heavenly Tome.

If it were just a short distance, it might be feasible to simply force one’s way through. However, with the path stretching for several li, it was clearly impossible to simply walk through it.

The bridge test earlier clearly proved that bringing some kind of insulating materials from outside would not work. The Heavenly Tome would not acknowledge someone who made use of such means. One had to rely on the visible resources here or martial arts that could integrate with and influence the lightning.

Obviously, Yan Que could not do it, and neither could Zhao Changhe.

Yan Que said, “I have been stuck here for a year and three months, observing the situation every day. I have some ideas, but I lack a reliable helper.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “There are plenty of villains around, how could you not find a helper?”

“They lack ability and luck, but you’re different.” Yan Que turned to face Zhao Changhe, his eyes gleaming. “I can sense that this golden page repels bloodthirsty individuals like me but may not reject someone of noble heritage such as yourself. Let’s cooperate. I’ll share my year’s worth of insights to help you obtain the page. If we succeed, just let me have a copy. What do you say?”

1. 泥丸宫 (niwangong) literally translates to “clay bead palace.” However, this actually refers to the area at the center of one’s brain. This is believed to be the residence of one’s spirit ☜