Stranger Danger

Chapter 74: Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method

“The ‘Shadowless Hand’ is a Qi Invocation stage palm art that combines various palm techniques, finger techniques and claw techniques into one whole package. Speed is its essence, and flexibility is its lifeblood. Everchanging and shadowless, the ‘Shadowless Hand’ is best used to dismantle straightforward moves…”

“It’s okay!” determined Ye Qing. The ‘Shadowless Hand’ was clearly a palm art that focused on agility and flexibility. It was definitely not weak compared to the sea of Qi Invocation stage martial arts out there, and more importantly, combining it with the Blue Demon Hand would serve to maximize the Strange Artifact’s potential.

In the past, he would be practicing these martial arts already. Now though, he had a better idea.

“But before that, I should check out Zheng Feng’s Nature’s Shell!” said Ye Qing as he put down the martial art manual. A short while later, another pile of valuables appeared on the floor.

The contents of Zheng Feng’s Nature’s Shell was more or less the same as Yan Tieyi’s. It also contained a vast amount of silver, land deeds, manuals and more. There were three things that caught Ye Qing’s eye, however. The first was three fist-sized spirit fruits. They were purplish black in color and covered in mysterious, dark purple runes. They were glowing faintly and emanating a tremendous amount of energy.

Ye Qing had no idea what the fruits were, but he was certain that they were extraordinary.

The second thing that caught his eye was three manuals. The first manual was a Vessel Augmentation cultivation art called the “Thirty Six Impetus of Lightning”. A warrior who mastered the cultivation art could augment nine Standard Meridians, eight Extraordinary Meridians, and two hundred and sixty points. In addition, the cultivation art strove to blaze a new trail by teaching its practitioners how to “infect” one’s true qi with the power of lightning using natural lightning or lightning-attribute fruits.

The cultivation process was extremely dangerous, and the slightest mistake could cause a potentially fatal deviation. But if the warrior was successful, then their true qi would become as vast, potent, and forceful as lightning. The risks were great, but the reward was a match for it.

The second manual was a martial art manual titled the “Boundless Lightning Palm”. It was a Vessel Augmentation stage palm art. Unlike the ‘Shadowless Hand', the ‘Boundless Lightning Palm’ was a straightforward martial art that relied on sheer power and indomitable spirit to overwhelm one’s enemies. Practitioners of this art were required to move as fast as lightning, as loud as thunder, and as forceful as a raging torrent. At the adept level, one could supposedly “summon forth the thunderous might of the heavens” with a single palm strike. It was quite the powerful martial art to say the least.

Obviously, the “Thirty Six Impetus of Lightning” and the “Boundless Lightning Palm” were a two-in-one package. Only by combining the two could one unleash the full potential of the “Boundless Lightning Palm”.

That said, the “Boundless Lightning Palm” was still powerful individually. It was also why Ye Qing wanted to practice the “Boundless Lightning Palm” instead of the “Shadowless Hand”. While the “Shadowless Hand” had its own advantages, the “Boundless Lightning Palm” had greater potential and power because it was a Vessel Augmentation stage martial art. On top of poisoning and burning his enemies, he would be electrocuting them with lightning as well!

The third and final thing that caught Ye Qing’s attention was a tattered painting. It was pitch black as if shrouded by dark clouds or black ink. It was also covered in mysterious, profound-looking runes that seemed to outline a pair of eyes. It was as enigmatic as it was ancient.

“It’s just a shitty painting. Why did he go through all the effort to keep it hidden?” Ye Qing wondered out loud while examining it closely.

The painting had been hidden in a box forged from Kunshan White Jade. Kunshan White Jade was a special material that could insulate aura and prevent spiritual detection. It could be used to conceal powerful treasures from prying eyes or preserve certain natural treasures. Naturally, it was incredibly valuable.

The fact that Zheng Feng had stored this painting inside a box made of Kunshan White Jade could only mean that it was exceedingly valuable. He just hadn’t figured out the painting’s secrets just yet.

It was at this moment Ye Qing’s eyes landed on the eyes outlined on the surface of the painting. He heard a boom inside his head, and the eyes abruptly shone a pitch black light that melted away the inky blackness of the painting. Then, a silhouette whose stature seemed great enough to support both heaven and earth appeared inside his head.

The silhouette was tall and massive. He was a man wearing a gilt crown and a robe that seemed to encompass millions and millions of kilometers of land. He carried the sun and the moon on his shoulders, and his feet stretched all the way to the Nine Nethers. He was great, majestic, honorable and graceful beyond compare.

Rumble!

/p>

The next moment, the Nine Nethers shattered into pieces, and an extraordinary vehicle drawn by thousands and thousands of beasts appeared beneath the man’s feet. The sun and the moon were the vehicle’s shafts, the wind and the clouds were its wheels, and the water and the fire were the ornaments.

The next moment, the vehicle took off and soared across the world. It shone like a million suns and sundered the Nine Nethers and the Nine Heavens in half.

“ARGH!”

The moment the heavens shattered, Ye Qing’s mind and spirit were suddenly assaulted by a terrible storm. The storm was dark and relentless, and the strange vehicle was grinding down every inch of his mind and spirit into bits. There was a frightful second where he thought that his head had literally exploded, and his entire body was gripped by an unbelievable amount of pain. At the same time, bright red blood jetted out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Every time a wheel turned, Ye Qing’s mind would crumble a little more. The pain was so unbearable that he spasmed uncontrollably like he was experiencing a seizure, and he slammed his head against the floor repeatedly in hopes of finding sweet release in the void. Unfortunately, even that was impossible. It was a fate worse than death itself.

Eventually, the vehicle reached the last corners of his mind and crushed the final vestiges of his consciousness. His last thoughts were,

Is this it? Is this where I die…?

It was at this moment the Annon Sutra glowed within his shirt. Then, several dragon-serpent runes slowly swam away from the vellum and into Ye Qing’s mind.

The Annon Sutra’s light was as weak as a candle flame, but it never faded no matter how hard the storm raging in Ye Qing’s head tried to blow it away. It preserved Ye Qing’s mind and kept it from scattering into the void.

A teatime later—though it certainly felt like a lifetime to Ye Qing—the young man finally opened his eyes.

“I… I’m still alive? Ssss! Oh, it hurts so bad…”

His head throbbed painfully the second he tried to move. It wasn’t as bad as when the vehicle was grinding his mind into bits, but he still felt like someone bashing his head with a hammer from the inside again and again.

Ye Qing remained where he was until his headache had subsided a little. Then, he slowly sat up and glanced at the painting on the table with trepidation. “Cough! Cough… urgh. What the hell is this painting? Wait… it looks different!”

To Ye Qing’s surprise, the painting looked completely different from before. Previously, it was covered in dark clouds and black ink. Now, it was replaced by a man wearing a gilt crown and a robe of endless earth. He rode an unspeakable vehicle that was made of natural elements and celestial objects, and he was so tall that his stature spanned across the heavens, the mundane world, and the nethers. His appearance was grand, majestic, honorable and graceful. He was none other than the man who had appeared in his head earlier. He was—

“Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method”

Emperor Fuxi appeared in Ye Qing’s mind at the same time Ye Qing saw the painting, but unlike before he wasn’t violent or attempting to crush his mind into bits. Instead, he hovered in the nine heavens like the sun and filled the world with light. Warm, life-giving light.

Like a miracle, Ye Qing’s damaged mind and spirit started rooting, sprouting, and flourishing like a plant that had just endured winter and welcomed spring. It felt so healing that Ye Qing instinctively closed his eyes and mumbled,

“It feels good!”

An untold period of time later, Ye Qing opened his eyes once more. The room literally brightened up as his eyes shone like a pair of morning stars.

“My spirit is much stronger than before! This is unbelievable. To think that the ‘Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method’ could strengthen the spirit and the mind!”

He hadn’t just recovered fully in both mind and spirit, his spiritual power reserves were twice compared to before. All humans carried three vital energies in their body. They were the essence, qi and spirit. Those who were weak in essence would have little strength, but those who were strong in essence would be as strong as an ox. Those who were weak in qi would have a feeble body, but those who were strong in qi would be as resilient as a diamond. Finally, those who were weak in spirit were inclined to enter an early grave, but those who were strong in spirit would lead a long, healthy life!

Fundamentally, all humans be it ordinary people and warriors should always strive to improve their essence, qi and spirit, though the direction they were headed to were different. Ordinary people should strive for stability and balance, while warriors should strive for power. After all, power leads to prosperity, and prosperity leads to longevity!

Ye Qing had arrived in this strange world for some time, but he had never encountered an art that tempered the mind and strengthened the spirit until now. Since every warrior he encountered so far only focused only tempering their body or building up their qi, he didn’t know this was a thing until the near death experience.

The benefits of growing his mind and increasing his spiritual power reserves were obvious. Already, he could tell that his perception of the surrounding environment, the energies, the minute changes of the air and more were sharper than before. He wasn’t using his eyes, but he could sense the moth flapping its wings near the lamp, the ants crawling up the walls, the leaves falling off a tree outside Endless Horizons, and the plants twisting their bodies ever so subtly to face toward the sun. He could even perceive extremely minute details such as the air currents, the weather, the flow of his true qi, the expansion and contraction of his muscles, the wriggling of his innards and more. They all seemed so clear in his head.

Externally, he could perceive every activity and inactivity around him, and internally, he was like a god looking down on a mini universe of his creation.

He could control his body, vigor and true qi better than ever before. He could ensure that he was always in the most optimal condition and even fine-tune his body on the fly to handle specific circumstances. Speaking of which, he could now perceive his enemies’ movements, aura and energies like the worm in their belly. If his opponent wanted to take a step to the right, he would know the second they flexed their toes. If his opponent wanted to execute a new move, their energies and aura would inform him before they so much as twitched a muscle. He would be able to suppress them almost like he could see a second or two into the future.

The “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method” might not be an offensive art, but it was an art that allowed him to unleash his full potential. It was at least as valuable as the “Blood Shadow Divine Art”, if not more!

“This is crazy! Why didn’t Zheng Feng pick up this method as soon as he got it? If he had, I could’ve died even considering all the preparations I’ve made!” Ye Qing exclaimed in amazement. During their duel, Zheng Feng had displayed a lot of brute force but poor fine control. That could never be the case if he had studied the “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method”.

The answer came to him almost as soon as he thought about it. He had nearly died after accidentally looking at the eyes on the painting. It was only thanks to the Annon Sutra that he was still alive. Zheng Feng must have known how dangerous it was and didn’t want to put his life at risk until he was stronger.

“Now that my spirit is stronger, I should be able to refine Lightning Bolt with my spirit and make it even stronger than before.”

Every time Ye Qing recalled the lightning sword that had nearly given him a brain piercing, he would feel a bit of lingering trepidation. Just like the Blue Demon Hand, it was a Red-class Strange Artifact.

“Let’s see… Lightning Bolt is a Red-class Strange Artifact forged using a Lightning Meteorite and the blood of a Malice-class Stranger, the Roaring Thunder Beast. It can be nurtured in one’s body and used to annihilate anyone within a hundred steps of the wielder instantly.”

“The Roaring Thunder Beast is a Stranger with a roar as loud as a thunderclap, a cry as booming as a drum beat, and a screech that can split the heavens. Since Lightning Bolt is forged using its blood, the user must withstand these noises every time they use it.”

Zheng Feng had only nurtured Lightning Bolt with his blood essence and true qi, but the Strange Artifact had still exceeded his expectations and nearly killed him. Now that he had the “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method”, he could refine it with his spirit and nurture it with his mind as well. It should greatly enhance his ability to control the weapon and its power.

“I think there’s nothing else? Alright then! It’s cultivation time!” Ye Qing declared. He had everything he might need to strengthen himself—the dragon-serpent runes, the martial arts and a Strange Artifact—so it was time to put in the work!