Leng Yanran and Ran Qingqiu said nothing in response to Li Chang’an’s words.
What had just happened was too much for them to accept. Even now, they still hadn’t recovered from their shock and astonishment.
Li Chang’an wasn’t in a hurry for an answer.
He simply took the lead, and they soon left the eerie mountain range behind.
Only after they were completely clear of the Gobi Desert did Li Chang’an stop and look down at the martial arts manual the World-Devouring Whale had given him.
To be honest, while everything the World-Devouring Whale had said seemed to make sense, Li Chang’an was still suspicious of its true intentions.
’A tomb this large, spanning several mountains... If even we could find it, there’s no reason the Cultivators couldn’t. If the World-Devouring Whale is truly their enemy and they want it dead, they could have easily found this tomb and killed it.’
’And yet, this world has been ’harvested’ by Cultivators countless times...’
’...yet the World-Devouring Whale is still alive and well.’
Shaking his head, Li Chang’an pushed the cluttered thoughts from his mind. He opened the yellowed manual from the World-Devouring Whale and glanced through it.
The manual had no name.
Nor did it have any kind of introduction.
It began by introducing four realms: Blood Refining, Muscle Training, Bone Training, and Skin Training. The manual referred to these four realms collectively as the Body Refining Chapter.
Following the Body Refining Chapter was the Refining God Chapter for cultivating one’s spirit. According to the manual’s description, there was apparently another Chapter after that called the ’Qi and Blood Melting Furnace’.
Unfortunately, this manual didn’t include the Qi and Blood Melting Furnace Chapter, and even the Refining God Chapter was incomplete.
Li Chang’an pored over the manual for a long time.
Putting aside the completely new Refining God Chapter for a moment... the Body Refining Chapter described in this manual was far more complete than the versions currently popular in Li Yang. Just by glancing at it and circulating his qi and blood along the prescribed pathways, Li Chang’an could feel his body slowly begin to heat up.
[Due to your Heaven-defying Comprehension, you have gained insight while observing the complete Martial Arts: Body Forging Chapter. Your cultivation speed and qi and blood circulation have increased!]
[Due to your Heaven-defying Comprehension, you have gained insight while observing the incomplete Martial Arts: Refining God Chapter. Your understanding of the spirit has increased!]
[Due to your Heaven-defying Comprehension, you have gained insight from observing two peerless martial arts secret manuals. Building upon the foundation of the Nine Heavens Chaos Decision: Body Tempering Chapter and the Nine Heavens Chaos Decision: Milky Way Chapter, you have synthesized them to create the Martial Scripture (Incomplete).]
The manual from the World-Devouring Whale was only a fragment.
But by combining these fragments with his own understanding of the Martial Dao, his Heaven-defying Comprehension had managed to formulate the Martial Scripture!
Named for the very concept of "Martial," it called itself the Martial Scripture.
From its incredibly domineering name alone, one could tell just what an incredible insight Li Chang’an had gained this time.
A cultivation technique formulated by Heaven-defying Comprehension would always be most compatible with Li Chang’an himself, but even for the Martial Artists of the Main World, the Martial Scripture was an absolutely supreme technique worthy of worship!
As he processed the new information that had flooded his mind... Li Chang’an’s heart pounded in his chest, and a smile unconsciously tugged at his lips.
If he hadn’t been worried about Leng Yanran and Ran Qingqiu thinking he was a lunatic, Li Chang’an would have burst out laughing.
’So what if they’re Cultivators?’
’With this Martial Scripture in hand, I have nothing to fear!’
After they had walked some distance, Leng Yanran and Ran Qingqiu finally came to their senses. They both stopped and looked at Li Chang’an. "What is it?"
Li Chang’an said nothing, simply handing them the manual the World-Devouring Whale had given him.
Leng Yanran took it and began to study it carefully with Ran Qingqiu.
After about five minutes, Ran Qingqiu’s body began to tremble.
Another five minutes later, Leng Yanran started trembling too.
By the time they finished reading the entire manual, their expressions had changed dramatically. Ran Qingqiu’s face was pale. "So this... this is the true cultivation technique for us Martial Artists?"
Neither woman was a fool.
On the contrary, they were both remarkable women in their own right.
After reading the manual, they immediately understood the implications.
Leng Yanran’s voice was even more chilling.
She gritted her teeth. "No wonder I always felt something was wrong with my cultivation path after I started practicing Inner Qi and reached the realm of Martial Arts Mythology. No matter what, I couldn’t advance any further, only desperately absorb this world’s Spiritual Qi..."
"This is the path truly meant for us Martial Artists. Those bastard Cultivators... they tampered with the techniques they gave us!"
She was furious.
At the same time, a cold sweat broke out across her skin.
It was from fear.
After all, anyone would be utterly horrified to discover that the path they had dedicated their entire life to was nothing more than a scythe, sharpened by their enemies to one day harvest them.
After reading the manual, any trace of wishful thinking Leng Yanran might have had was gone.
She recalled what Li Chang’an had told her before, took a deep breath, and asked, "What you said earlier... that the Cultivators will descend upon this world again in twenty-six years. Is it true?"
Li Chang’an nodded. "It’s true."
Leng Yanran didn’t dwell on how Li Chang’an had obtained this information. Instead, she asked directly, "So, what’s your plan? How can I help?"
Seeing that she was no longer resistant, Li Chang’an grinned. "Sect Leader Leng, will the Demon Sect follow my orders from now on? Can you accept that?"