Chapter 3492 — The Divine Art of Nanming

"Ah, that is wonderful. If there are other ways to advance, then Aunt Qing will have no problem at all." Bingtang was instantly set at ease, then shot Wei Zhao a glare. "Why did you not say so earlier? You had me worrying over you for nothing!"

"That is because I had not gotten my hug yet!" Wei Zhao said with a laugh.

"Hmph!" Bingtang glared at Wei Zhao again. "Then go see Yubing quickly, refine the Qi Gathering Pills, and get back to tracking down that pill formula!"

"Mm..." Wei Zhao nodded.

Yubing was doing quite well inside the Ice Palace. He could request leave to depart the palace and return to the Hidden Yu family, and here too he was something of a minor captain; he had risen from an outer-court steward to vice-executor of the Ice Palace. Above the executors came the elders. For now Yubing's strength fell short, but should his strength prove sufficient, promotion to executor would surely follow as a matter of course.

In the past the Ice Palace had never admitted a male disciple into its core ranks, but that did not mean it never would. With Wei Zhao's connection behind him, and with his own solid performance, Yubing had climbed the ranks swiftly.

"Chief, you came to see me!" Yubing was delighted at the sight of Wei Zhao. "I got in touch with the family and learned that my little sister is an inheritor and has already left. I hope you will look after her a little more, Chief, in the coming Heaven Rank Trial... my strength is certainly not enough for it, but I will stay in the mundane world and help you hold the Ice Palace, Chief!"

"Mm, I understand what you mean. But first I will raise the strength of you and Qijiu, then you can take a Qi Gathering Pill and advance to the early Heaven Rank, and help Aunt Qing guard the Ice Palace. As for the rest, we will discuss it when I return!" Wei Zhao said to Yubing.

He had already made his plans. Though after taking a Qi Gathering Pill Yubing might be unable to advance his own strength for a time, Wei Zhao would give each of them several energy stones for cultivation, until he returned—or until he had gained a firm foothold on Cloud Terrace Island and could bring them all over. Then Wei Zhao would certainly help them advance again!

"Ah? Chief Wei Zhao, can I take a Qi Gathering Pill too?" Yubing was both startled and overjoyed. Raised in the Hidden Yu family and steeped in its ways, he knew well that reaching the Heaven Rank was already a formidable achievement—otherwise Yu Xiaochen would never have fallen out with the Hidden Zhao family over a Qi Gathering Pill back then.

So Yubing felt no resistance toward the Qi Gathering Pill at all; rather, he eagerly looked forward to it. "To possess the strength of the early Heaven Rank would already be excellent. Chief, I will go fetch Zhao Qiwu right away!"

"Good!" Wei Zhao nodded...

Once the two of them were settled, Wei Zhao went off to refine the Qi Gathering Pills. He told Bingtang about giving each of them a pill, and he also left behind a number of energy stones for their cultivation.

With all of that done, it was time for Wei Zhao to set out on his return journey. Before the eve of the Heaven Rank Trial, he had to make one trip to Zhang Lifeng's ancient tomb. What came after that was the Heaven Rank Trial itself...

What the trial truly signified, Wei Zhao did not know. Had Ancestor Xuanchen devised it merely to select the entrants for the Heaven Rank Assembly? To Wei Zhao it seemed rather a needless complication... but whatever Wei Zhao thought, the Five Luminaries Sect was the originator of the Cloud Terrace Island plan. So long as they had not truly provoked Wei Zhao's wrath, he had no choice but to play by their rules.

Taking his leave of the Ice Palace, Wei Zhao returned to East Sea City with Wang Xinyan's cultivation method and mnemonic verses. He intended to settle Wang Xinyan in first, then go with Yu Xiaoke to the ancient tomb... Yu Xiaoke... At the thought, Wei Zhao's heart could not help but ache.

Instinctively he wanted to bring Yu Xiaoke along, only then remembering that she had fallen into a coma. Recalling every little moment he had shared with Yu Xiaoke, he thought of how brief their love had been, yet she had given him everything—a somewhat stubborn, yet utterly devoted girl.

She would give her life for the one she loved! Whether for the children of the orphanage in the past, or for Wei Zhao now, Yu Xiaoke had always been that way.

At this thought, Wei Zhao clenched his fist. By rights he did not need to go to Cloud Terrace Island at all; once he refined the Heaven Dao Golden Pill that Zhang Lifeng had left behind, he could break through to the Heaven Dao even in the mundane world. Yet go he must.

Back at the villa in East Sea City, Wang Xinyan and Han Jingyi were both rather surprised that Wei Zhao had returned so quickly.

"You did not stay with Feng Xiaoxiao a while longer?" Though Wang Xinyan felt this was a little unkind of her, she was happy at heart—Wei Zhao must have been thinking of her cultivation problem, and that was why he had hurried back!

That made Wang Xinyan feel she still mattered a great deal in Wei Zhao's heart—at least no less than Feng Xiaoxiao! With Tang Zhi and Gu Mengyao she did not wish to compare herself, nor was she willing to; there was no basis for comparison. But as for Feng Xiaoxiao, and Han Jingyi, Wang Xinyan felt she could stand more or less on equal footing.

"First we settle your cultivation problem. After that I plan to make a trip to Ancestor Zhang Lifeng's ancient tomb!" As he spoke, Wei Zhao took Wang Xinyan's cultivation method and mnemonic verses out of the jade pendant space. Back at the Ice Palace he had put them away without time to examine them closely; now, looking carefully at the name of the method, he could not help but start in fright!

"The Divine Art of Nanming!"

"The Divine Art of Nanming?" Wang Xinyan and Han Jingyi were likewise stunned at the name. "Why does it sound just like the Northern Darkness Divine Art and the Star Absorbing **?"

Wei Zhao, however, frowned slightly. This cultivation method was somewhat similar to Zhang Naipao's Bee-Absorbing Divine Art. On the title page of the Nanming Divine Art, later hands had written annotations in the margins—most likely the work of that elder of the Ice Palace!

"The Divine Art of Nanming: this art is a most secret method, by which one may absorb the true qi and spiritual qi of others and of other things. Keep it hidden in the treasure pavilion, and do not lightly show it to others; those of vicious heart should practice it with caution!"

"But judging from the annotations on this method, the Nanming Divine Art really does suit Xinyan. What she lacks right now is a vast quantity of true qi within her body. If she could absorb true qi from people or objects and make it her own, then there would be no problem at all," Wei Zhao explained. "It is only that this method is somewhat vicious—but Xinyan can draw energy from energy stones rather than from people!"

"That is true enough." Wang Xinyan nodded. "A knife can kill, and it can also chop vegetables; it all depends on how it is used..."

"So long as you feel no pressure about it, Xinyan, then let us see how to cultivate it!" Wei Zhao nodded. What he feared most was that Wang Xinyan would resist it, but from the look of things she did not; the name and nature of the method did not trouble her overmuch!

"Mm, rest assured, Wei Zhao. I will certainly cultivate diligently and advance to the Heaven Rank, and then... I can stay by your side always..." Wang Xinyan nodded solemnly. She too knew that the lifespan of a Heaven Rank expert could be extended without limit, and that was why she thirsted so for cultivation!