Secrets

“So that is how it was...”

Wang Xuanyang stared blankly, unable to recover from his shock for a long time.

Although he had been in Changyun County for over ten years, this was the first time he had ever heard of such a secret.

After processing it for a while, his Adam's apple bobbed as he could not help but ask:

“Patriarch... Bai Qingcang went to all that trouble, gathering so many people to surround and kill the Child of Destiny, but in the end, he didn't even recover the corpse. Wasn't it all in vain?”

“Not at all.”

Wang Zhidao shook his head:

“Since the Child of Destiny sank into the water, they naturally lacked the fate to obtain the treasures on his person.”

“However, afterward, Bai Qingcang tracked down the cave dwelling where the Child of Destiny had been cultivating in seclusion and plundered quite a few good things. Among them was a cultivation technique called the 『Yin Sunflower Sacrificial Phantom Demon Scripture』...”

“The 『Yin Sunflower Sacrificial Phantom Demon Scripture』...”

Wang Xuanyang frowned and muttered, “That technique sounds rather sinister...”

“Sinister?”

Wang Zhidao's gaze turned dark, and he let out a cold laugh:

“It is a demonic technique!”

“A demonic technique created by an ancient Demon Monarch, its methods are exceptionally venomous. Simply to break through from the Great Accomplishment of the Anjin Rank to the Huajin Rank, one must sacrifice the lives and drain the blood of eighty-one boys and girls under the age of seven.”

“Sacrificing young children alive...”

A shiver ran down Wang Xuanyang's spine. He suddenly looked up at Wang Zhidao, his pupils trembling:

“Patriarch, do you mean...”

“Indeed!”

Wang Zhidao's tone remained flat:

“How could Bai Qingcang remain unscathed after killing a Child of Destiny? When heavenly retribution descended, his bones, tendons, and acupoints solidified. No matter how hard he cultivated, his blood qi would not budge a single inch, and it even showed signs of regressing!”

“In his terror, the old scoundrel had no choice but to practice the 『Yin Sunflower Sacrificial Phantom Demon Scripture』. At the same time, he dispatched his men to secretly abduct young children from the mud-legged commoners in the Outer City, sacrificing them using the secret method.”

“The reason a demonic technique is called a demonic technique is that it is not bound by the Heavenly Dao. Even though he suffered from heavenly retribution, it stabilized the old ghost Bai's regressing cultivation and even allowed him to break through to the Huajin Rank.”

“As for the 『Dragon Creek Qi-Refining Pill』 rumored among the public...”

“Hmph! The old ghost Bai did indeed commission Grand Alchemist Mei to refine a pill using that 『Azure Dragon Carp』, but that was merely a smokescreen he put out to blind and deceive everyone.”

“So that was the truth!”

Wang Xuanyang took a sharp breath, feeling as though he were listening to a bizarre ghost story. However, his mind was sharp, and a second thought immediately made him realize something was amiss.

“But Patriarch... how did you come to know of such secrets?”

“Ha...”

Hearing this, Wang Zhidao picked up his teacup and took a sip, a look of smug self-satisfaction flashing across his face.

“Naturally, I discovered early on that the Bai family was abducting young children from the Outer City. Thus, I set up a banquet and forced Bai Qingcang to speak, making it clear that if he did not tell me the truth, I would report the matter to the Zhendong General...”

“At that time, the old ghost Bai was in the middle of bitterly cultivating the demonic technique and had already taken the lives of dozens of children.”

“He feared that this would draw the attention of your father, or invite the intervention of experts from the righteous sects in the prefectural city, which would undoubtedly spell his certain death.”

“Therefore, he spilled all those secrets like beans from a bamboo tube.”

“And to seal my lips, he even proactively offered a cultivation technique—the very boxing manual that the Child of Destiny had gifted him when they first met.”

Wang Zhidao spoke in a casual, nonchalant manner, but the faint smugness in his eyes never faded.

As for the lives of those young children sacrificed and killed by Bai Qingcang...

What did they have to do with him?

They did not even possess the qualification to make his tone pause or falter.

Wang Xuanyang was the same. Excitement rose on his face, and he asked eagerly:

“May I ask, Patriarch, what kind of boxing technique was it?”

Wang Zhidao brushed his white robe, sat back down on his grand armchair, and said with a light chuckle:

“Nothing particularly extraordinary. At best, it can only be cultivated to the Huajin Rank. It is called... the 『Tongbi Fist』.”

“A Huajin Rank boxing technique? The 『Tongbi Fist』? I have never heard of it...”

“It would be a miracle if you had. This technique has long since been completely transformed.”

Wang Zhidao shook his head and laughed, then looked at Wang Xuanyang, enunciating each word:

“Its current name is the 『Tongbei Stance』.”

“The 『Tongbei Stance』?!”

Wang Xuanyang's mind buzzed, and he blurted out subconsciously:

“The 『Tongbei Stance』 of the Tongbei Martial Arts Hall?!”

“Exactly!”

Wang Zhidao narrowed his eyes, seemingly reminiscing about the events of those years:

“Bai Qingcang once confessed that when the Child of Destiny gifted him the boxing manual, he instructed that as long as he studied it diligently, it would be of great use in the future. However, as to what that use actually was, the other party refused to explain.”

“Once I obtained the boxing manual, I immediately sent someone to deliver it to your father.”

“That year, Zhifan was appreciated by His Majesty for his contributions in pledging allegiance, enfeoffed as the Count of Ji'an, and became acquainted with Daoist Master Yu of the Directorate of Astronomy in the capital. He then requested the elder to perform a divination.”

Wang Zhidao's gaze became deep and unfathomable:

“Daoist Master Yu's divination revealed: The Blessed Land will reopen in eighteen years. At that time, someone in Changyun County will come into contact with the Child of Destiny and become his follower. And that person will be born in a martial arts hall, bearing the surname... Song.”

Wang Xuanyang's heart shook violently, and he blurted out:

“Song Hengjiang!”

But soon, he shook his head:

“No, that's not right... Song Hengjiang was poisoned to death by his daughter.”

A look of confusion appeared in Wang Xuanyang's eyes as he muttered, “Could it be Song Hengjiang's only son, Song Huatang, who is locked in the secret chamber by Yan Xiao?”

“Yes and no...”

Wang Zhidao smiled and continued:

“Later, your father altered a few strokes of the most essential mental cultivation method in the 『Tongbi Fist』, causing the flow of energy in this technique to be flawed. No matter how outstanding one's talent was, they could forget about ever cultivating to the Huajin Rank using this method.”

“Then, he renamed it the 『Tongbei Stance』 and found a way to deliver it to Song Hengjiang, hinting that if he practiced this technique diligently, he could use a token to enter the Blessed Land when it reopened and obtain opportunities of ancient legacy.”

“Upon receiving such a fortuitous encounter, Song Hengjiang was overjoyed and kept it tightly hidden. But later...”

Wang Xuanyang took a deep breath and took over the conversation:

“Later, the news leaked and was discovered by his daughter, Song Yanrong, who then poisoned him to death...”

“Wait! Song Yanrong... Patriarch, do you mean that either she or Song Huatang is the one destined to contact the Child of Destiny in the divination?”

Seeing that Wang Xuanyang had finally connected the dots, a look of appreciation flashed in the depths of Wang Zhidao's eyes.

“Daoist Master Yu of the Directorate of Astronomy possesses vast divine abilities, capable of penetrating heaven and earth. The divination he cast could never be wrong!”

“No matter what unexpected changes occur, the divination is the destined outcome that no one can alter.”

At this point, a cruel smile curled at the corners of his mouth:

“I do not know whether it is Song Yanrong or Song Huatang who will follow the Child of Destiny. Since I cannot tell them apart... I simply threw out the bait, causing the father and daughter to turn against each other, and the sister and brother to slaughter one another.”

“Whoever can survive to the very end of this flesh-and-blood devouring slaughter is the one who will follow the Child of Destiny.”

“Hiss...”

Hearing this, Wang Xuanyang's scalp went numb. As all the clues connected together, he said in horror:

“The reason Song Yanrong poisoned her biological father and imprisoned and tortured her own younger brother... Could it be that you were the one who revealed the matter of the Blessed Land to her? And because Song Hengjiang indeed kept his lips sealed, it drove that venomous woman mad with jealousy and hatred, leading her to ultimately strike the lethal blow?!”

A smile appeared on Wang Zhidao's face. He leaned back in his chair and said softly:

“A teachable... youth indeed.”