Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 76 The Hidden Golden Bell, the Heavenly Book of Enlightenment

The tunnel was not much different from the one they had just passed through, but it was noticeably darker. Fortunately, the path was not long, and soon the four of them arrived at another stone chamber.

This stone chamber was different from the previous one. On one side were many shelves, while on the other side were some knives, spears, swords, and halberds piled up casually. The most conspicuous thing was a large axe made entirely of cast iron.

"This axe..."

Looking at the large axe in front of her, Youji felt as if she had overlooked something. Biyao walked over, reached out and gently touched it, but found nothing unusual, so she couldn't help but speak up.

"Aunt You, what's wrong with this axe? It's just an ordinary big axe, isn't it?"

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaofan glanced at Biyao, then shook his head slightly, about to ask Youji to take him to see the shelf on the side.

Just as Biyao was about to look over, she saw Zhang Xiaofan's reaction and her face turned slightly angry. As the eldest daughter of the Ghost King Sect, no one had ever dared to shake their head at her or look down on her. She quickly spoke up and gently rebuked him.

"Hey, Zhang Xiaofan, what do you mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything, I just think this axe is suitable for you to use as a magic weapon."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan chuckled. Lu Xueqi and You Ji immediately understood the meaning behind Zhang Xiaofan's words and couldn't help but laugh. You Ji even playfully slapped Zhang Xiaofan, a gesture that was quite affectionate.

Biyao was stunned for a moment, then realized that Zhang Xiaofan was indirectly saying that she was stupid. She immediately snorted and said angrily.

"If I were to use this axe as a magic weapon, I would first chop it up... chop, that's it, I remember now, the Heavenly Fiend King does not possess the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe that split the heavens and earth, this axe must be a mechanism."

As she spoke, a hint of pride flashed across Biyao's face. She looked at Zhang Xiaofan with a rather smug expression, as if to say, "This young lady is indeed exceptionally talented. Why don't you praise me?"
Youji suddenly realized what was happening and looked at the iron axe in front of her in amazement.

"The black-hearted old man truly lives up to his name; he has so many schemes up his sleeve."

"This axe is indeed the mechanism to open the secret passage, but don't forget, we came in on our own, so what do we need this secret passage for?"

Upon hearing Zhang Xiaofan's words, Biyao's face stiffened. She felt as if she had been fooled by this bastard, yet she had no way to refute him.

After all, they came in through the entrance, and they can naturally exit through the same entrance later, so this secret passage is unnecessary.

Zhang Xiaofan ignored Biyao and, with Youji's help, went to the shelf. The shelf was empty except for a small iron box in the last compartment.

Just as You Ji was about to reach for the box, Zhang Xiaofan grabbed her arm. Turning her head, she saw Zhang Xiaofan take out the long flute from his waist and gently pry open the iron box.

The next moment, Youji's pupils shrank, and she saw a wisp of black gas emerge from the iron box, float straight up to the shelf, and directly corrode through it.

"Ancient Corpse Poison! That damned, heartless old devil has truly turned his heart upside down, actually concocting such a rare poison!"

Standing not far from the shelf, Biyao gasped as she watched the poisonous gas emanating from it. After letting out a cry of alarm, she cursed.

Just now, if Youji had accidentally opened the box when she reached out to touch it, she would probably have lost half her life.

Zhang Xiaofan's expression remained unchanged. After the ancient corpse poison rose, before You Ji could react, he used his long flute to pick up the contents of the box and grabbed it in his hand.

Youji only had time to catch a glimpse of something flashing by, a small object that seemed to shimmer with a golden hue, like two bells. Before she could see it in its entirety, Zhang Xiaofan grabbed it and tucked it into his waistband.

It's unclear what she guessed, but Youji couldn't help but look up at Zhang Xiaofan, and then subconsciously glanced at Lu Xueqi, who was standing silently beside her, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

What it is?
Biyao looked at Zhang Xiaofan, who seemed completely unconcerned, with suspicion, but seeing that Youji did not react at all, she had no choice but to suppress her doubts for the time being.

"Let's go, there's nothing left here."

Upon hearing this, Youji helped Zhang Xiaofan back into the cave, and the group headed towards the tunnel on the left.

Unlike the tunnel on the right, the tunnel on the left is quite long, and it is unknown whether it was opened up by the Blood Refining Hall in the past.

After walking for a long time, the group finally saw light coming out, and there was another stone chamber ahead.

Upon entering the stone chamber, Youji frowned. The chamber was empty except for one stone wall covered with densely packed characters.

Just as Youji was about to curiously examine it, she suddenly turned to look at Zhang Xiaofan, only to see that the latter had actually let go of her and slowly walked towards the stone wall.

Youji was stunned for a moment, her jade hand unconsciously stroking her abdomen, where Zhang Xiaofan had carried her all the way, and there was still warmth left there.

Biyao and Lu Xueqi, who were behind them, had only glanced at the inscription on the stone wall when they were drawn to Zhang Xiaofan's unusual behavior.

Seeing that Zhang Xiaofan was up to something again, Biyao was about to speak when Lu Xueqi suddenly sensed something was wrong. She raised her Tianya Sword and blocked Biyao's path, silencing her. The three women stared at the strangely behaving Zhang Xiaofan with suspicion. He sat cross-legged in front of the stone wall, his hands forming a peculiar hand seal.

As Zhang Xiaofan moved, You Ji, Lu Xueqi, and Bi Yao all frowned, exchanged glances, and shook their heads. None of them recognized the origin of the hand seals in Zhang Xiaofan's hands.

This is neither the Daoist method of Qingyun Sect, nor the cultivation method of the Demonic Sect, nor the cultivation method of Buddhism or other major sects.

However, Youji and Biyao were both very knowledgeable, and Lu Xueqi was also a person with profound Taoist skills. They could see some traces of Taoist secrets in Zhang Xiaofan's hand seals, but they were not like the Taoist methods passed down by any Taoist cultivation sect in the world today. They were extremely mysterious.

After glancing at it a few times, Youji and the others were puzzled, but they knew that Zhang Xiaofan had really looked at the inscription on the stone wall in front of him before he had this insight, so they looked up.

Finally, Lu Xueqi, Biyao, and the other two saw several large characters at the end of the stone wall:

The First Volume of the Heavenly Book!
"A celestial book! This is actually a celestial book! I never imagined that the classics of my Holy Sect would be hidden here. No wonder I've been unable to find it!"

Biyao lowered her voice and said in surprise. Lu Xueqi's eyes flashed and she immediately looked at the Heavenly Book. Youji's eyes were even brighter as she looked at the scriptures on the stone wall.

After her initial joy, Biyao also carefully examined the scripture.

However, after only a few glances, Biyao felt dizzy and her vision blurred. She found the scriptures obscure and dry, making them difficult to read.

Biyao turned her head and saw Lu Xueqi with her eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking at the scripture with a calm expression. Although Youji also looked quite pained, she was also trying her best to remember the scripture. She sat down beside her and looked at the heavenly book with a pained expression.

For a moment, the entire stone chamber fell silent. Only four people sat cross-legged in front of the stone wall: one man and three women, one in front and three behind, all in a meditative posture.

Zhang Xiaofan was unaware that Lu Xueqi and the other two were also studying the Heavenly Book. After entering, he was immediately drawn to the ancient text and entered a state of enlightenment almost instantly.

Zhang Xiaofan was originally formed from a celestial soul, and he had experienced countless worldly affairs, including being a celestial being, a demon, a mortal, and a ghost. He had experienced all kinds of paths in the world. Now that he saw this heavenly book, all kinds of insights immediately surged up. Even the Taoist methods he had cultivated in the past now had various insights.

Lu Xueqi and the others could not possibly know that the true technique Zhang Xiaofan was using was the Star Essence Method, which was prevalent in Tianyong City in his previous life.

However, the past life and this life are quite different. Although Zhang Xiaofan's immortal soul can transform into the Chongming Bird, it is difficult for him to cultivate this Star Essence Method.

The Star Essence Method originates from reincarnation. Every soul possesses a unique imprint inherited from ancient times. This imprint contains the secrets of ancient spiritual power and life, forming a concrete image, which is the Star Essence Chart.

However, it seems that reincarnation no longer exists in the world of Jade Dynasty, or perhaps reincarnation has long since ceased to exist, making the Star Essence Technique difficult to cultivate.

However, the heavenly book before him gave Zhang Xiaofan a series of insights.

This celestial book is the first volume of the celestial book, namely the general outline of the celestial book.

The three treasures of man are essence, energy, and spirit. These three elements implicitly contain the three elements of heaven, earth, and man, and those who cultivate truth are no exception.

Among them, essence is the foundation of humanity, the root of all things, and the head of the three powers of heaven, earth, and humanity; it is humanity.

Furthermore, the harmony of essence, energy, and spirit is the way of humanity and the way of all living beings. All living beings in the world are like this. However, only humans possess all three, while most other living beings are born with deficiencies, hence their nature is ignorant.

The way of humanity and the way of heaven and earth can be considered as the three powers of heaven and earth, which give rise to all things in this world, all living beings, and the cycle of life and death.

This way of heaven and earth is also the way of yin and yang. Yang is Qian (☰), yin is Kun (☷), yang is life, yin is death, and when yang is at its peak, yin is in decline...

All these elements combined form the five volumes of the Heavenly Book.

The first volume of this Heavenly Book's general outline mainly discusses the most important fundamental principle of the human way—essence, or the physical body, and the relationship between the physical body and qi, spirit, and the yin and yang of heaven and earth.

For example, compared with the Qi and Shen of the human body, the essence of a person is Yang. Furthermore, the flourishing of essence is the prosperity of Yang, and the decline of essence is the rise of Yin, and so on, and so on, the mysterious Qi of Yin and Yang.

According to Zhang Xiaofan's speculation, the second volume should be about human energy, the third volume about human spirit, the fourth volume about yang, and the fifth volume about yin.

Therefore, the true Buddhist teachings of Tianyin Temple—the Great Brahma Prajna—are renowned for their powerful and vast nature.

The reason why Taiji Xuanqing Dao combines Yin and Yang should be that Ancestor Qingye comprehended Taiji Xuanqing Dao, a profound and mysterious method that combines Yin and Yang, from the nameless ancient scroll, which is the fifth volume of the Heavenly Book, and the Dao method originally created by Qingyunzi.

The Blood Refining Hall's secret techniques, such as Blood Refining, and even the Love Spell, were all derived from the Heavenly Book's general outline by members of the Demonic Sect. However, due to their extreme personalities and unorthodox methods, they lost their purity and became extremely wicked.

　The introduction mentions a book club; feel free to join if you're interested.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)