The temple gate on West Street was near the desolate outskirts by the Western Hills, where all kinds of solitary graves were scattered across the mountainside. With the addition of corpses dumped here every year, this place had become a mass grave. The body of that disciple from the Yi lineage was discovered here, and Samuel Harper also disappeared nearby while investigating the Yi disciple’s corpse.

Three figures flipped down to the ground. Leonard Harper’s nose twitched, just like a dog’s, sniffing for something. Years of combat, combined with his cultivation at the early Zhongfu stage, had made Leonard Harper’s nose as sensitive as a wild dog’s, able to track even the faintest scent.

William Harper and Henry Harper were like two large birds, perching on branches, curling up in the foliage, their sharp eyes scanning the surroundings for any movement.

“At least thirty people have been here. I smell Samuel Harper’s scent—it went west. You two keep up. If you fall behind and get killed, don’t blame your grandpa.” Leonard Harper said, and with a whoosh, like a cheetah streaking across the plains, he dashed off to the west.

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Chapter Six: Nine Stars Return to Origin

“Second brother, should we follow?” Henry Harper asked. Following Leonard Harper was too dangerous.

“Mm, we can’t disobey the sect leader’s order, or we’ll be dead for sure. When the sect leader gives an order, those who defy it die!” William Harper drifted down from the tree like a leaf, landing without a sound. Leonard Harper was looking for an excuse to kill them; if they followed, Leonard Harper definitely wouldn’t let them go. Anyway, this was the most chaotic time in Xilian City, with spies from other factions flooding in, including many experts. If a few outer disciples died, no one would investigate.

“It’s not certain who will die yet.” William Harper reached his right hand into his soul ring and took out a small knife, two inches long. The knife had a very unusual design: the back half was an irregular iron handle, still unpolished, while the front had been sharpened to a point, the blade gleaming coldly, exuding a chilling aura.

This was the only usable weapon in William Harper’s soul ring at the moment—extremely hard, able to easily cut through any armor. The only drawback was that it was too small; it was fine for cutting things, but in combat, every inch shorter meant more danger. With a weapon only two inches long, William Harper couldn’t even get close to Leonard Harper’s body.

“Start cultivating now. I’ll teach you the incantation.” William Harper said. Leonard Harper could make a move at any time, so he needed Henry Harper to improve his strength as quickly as possible to deal with whatever might happen next.

“Yes.” Henry Harper replied solemnly.

“The cultivation technique I’m going to teach you is called the War God Art. It was created by an ancestor who combined countless low-level cultivation methods into a high-level technique. He used this War God Art to reach the Divine King stage and became an eternal existence.” William Harper casually made up a backstory for the War God Art.

“Divine King stage? What level is that? Isn’t everything above the Innate Realm divided into Lower Xuan, Zhongfu, Shangyuan, and Taibai?” Henry Harper asked in confusion.

“And above Shangyuan and Taibai?” William Harper countered.

Henry Harper was stunned. Right, what’s above Shangyuan and Taibai? This was something he’d never encountered or heard anyone mention. In his mind, the elders at the high Shangyuan stage and the sect leader at the early Taibai stage were already the highest there was. As for what lay beyond, he’d never thought about it, nor dared to.

“The Divine King stage must be a very high level.” Henry Harper said after a while. Divine King—just the name sounded extraordinary, so the cultivation method William Harper spoke of must be a very advanced one.

“Above Taibai is the realm of gods. As for what level that is, you don’t need to worry about it. Just focus on cultivating the technique I teach you.” William Harper said.

“Yes.” Henry Harper nodded vigorously.

“The mystical arts we cultivate are divided into Nine Stars Return to Origin, the Eight Arts of Qimen, alchemy, and the art of refining. The nine stars in Nine Stars Return to Origin refer to Tianpeng, Tianrui, Tianchong, Tianfu, Tianqin, Tianxin, Tianzhu, Tianren, and Tianying, which correspond to nine parts of the human body: the head, both hands, both feet, heart, lungs, spine, and dantian. These nine parts make up the human body. A person’s vital energy circulates through these areas, absorbing the essence of grains and the energy of heaven and earth, which allows life to flourish. The boundary between Shangyuan and Taibai is a dividing line for people. Once you reach the Taibai realm, you achieve what’s called fasting and becoming immortal—one can break free from food, absorb the energy of heaven and earth, and attain immortality.” William Harper explained in detail.

Henry Harper’s eyes widened. He had never heard any of this before. No wonder—as a ninth-generation outer disciple who hadn’t even set foot on the path of cultivation and had no master, naturally no one would tell him these things.

“The Hao clan requires every cultivator to reach the early Lower Xuan stage before age five, and the high Lower Xuan stage by age ten, before teaching them cultivation methods. This is because before reaching the Taibai realm, everyone’s life is limited. The further you go in cultivation, the harder it gets and the longer it takes. After reaching the Innate Realm, you can live over two hundred years, but very few manage to advance to the Taibai realm within two hundred years. If you reach the Taibai realm, you can become immortal and have enough time to cultivate slowly. As for those who don’t reach the Taibai realm, in the end, dust returns to dust, earth to earth. After a few hundred years, their corpses will decay like ordinary people’s and ultimately return to the world.”

“So that’s how it is.” Henry Harper nodded in realization. He was very curious—just where did William Harper learn all this?