For several days in a row, it wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that the two finally emerged from their room. Xue Nu had finally caught on, feeling a bit sour about it. So many opportunities, and she hadn't succeeded even once—yet as soon as her uncle-master returned, she'd claimed her master. As expected, Master's favorite is Uncle-Master after all. I'm just the bonus.
"By the way, Master and the senior brothers consulted the ancient texts and uncovered the secret of Tian Ding," Xiao Meng said, watching Li Haimo as he combed her hair.
"What secret?" Li Haimo was genuinely curious. It was called a divine sword, yet it had broken, and it was essentially a volume of the Daoist Scripture.
"Tian Ding was one of the personal swords of Zi Xin, the last human king of the Shang Dynasty," Xiao Meng explained.
"A human king's sword?" Li Haimo was somewhat surprised, though it made sense. Otherwise, how could it be called a divine sword? Even Tian Wen didn't qualify for that title. Only a human king's sword would earn such a name.
"According to the Daoist records, Human King Zi Xin wasn't born with divine strength—it was acquired through later cultivation, unlike what the Confucian texts claim," Xiao Meng continued.
"Acquired through cultivation?" Li Haimo nodded. Not everyone was like Qin King Ying Dang, born with immense strength, and even that wasn't boundless, or he wouldn't have been crushed to death by the Nine Cauldrons. Even Xiang Yu's godlike power came from innate great strength combined with later training.
"The Daoist texts record that Human King Zi Xin had three personal swords: one was the divine sword Tian Ding, which he used to make his name as a youth; another was the emperor's sword Zi Wei, exclusive to the human king; and the third has no record, not even a name. It only mentions that Human King Zi Xin possessed three swords," Xiao Meng said.
"It's likely the Confucians are concealing something—or perhaps the Zhou Dynasty deliberately hid it. The Confucians alone couldn't pull off such a cover-up," Li Haimo pondered for a moment before replying.
"Based on Master's speculation, during the Shang Dynasty, the Daoist Scripture was something everyone could cultivate. Human King Zi Xin was among the elite practitioners. The divine sword Tian Ding represents the cultivation method for divine strength and serves as the comprehensive outline of the Dao of Force in heaven and earth," Xiao Meng went on.
Li Haimo nodded. Before the Shang Dynasty, the Hundred Schools hadn't truly formed yet, so all schools stemmed from the Dao, and everyone cultivated the Daoist Scripture. Only after the schools diverged did the various philosophers interpret the Daoist Scripture through their own lenses, leading to the distinct cultivation methods of each school. So what happened at the end of Shang and the beginning of Zhou that made the Daoist Scripture uncultivable, requiring the Hundred Schools to interpret and separate it for practice?
"King Wen of Zhou and Lü Shang!" Li Haimo thought of those two.
History claimed that King Wen derived the Zhou Yi from it. In other words, King Wen altered the Daoist Scripture, excising the cultivation methods and transforming a world where everyone could cultivate like dragons into something else. The reason Li Haimo could cultivate was that the Daoist school's collection included not just the Zhou-era remnants but also pre-Zhou fragments—the most original parts.
As for Lü Shang, the founding strategist of Zhou, what role had he played? The Huang Shi Heavenly Book first appeared in his hands, hailed as a heavenly tome, yet Chu Nangong called it a military manual. So either Chu Nangong lied, or Lü Shang tore out the cultivation sections, leaving only the military strategies. Li Haimo leaned toward the latter. Otherwise, how to explain why, after passing through so many hands, no one surpassed Lü Shang?
"So the Daoist Scripture is missing the sections on cultivation methods. The divine sword Tian Ding is the Daoist Scripture's method for cultivating the Dao of Force," Li Haimo concluded.
"That's Master's guess," Xiao Meng confirmed.
"The Daoists have the Heaven-Earth-Man Three Talents Sword Formation, and Human King Zi Xin had three swords: the heavenly sword Zi Wei Emperor's Sword, the earthly sword divine Tian Ding. It's only missing the human sword. Similarly, the Daoists have the Heaven-Overturning Seal, the Earth-Covering Seal, and the Human King Seal—but the Human King Seal is absent," Li Haimo connected the dots.
The Daoist Scripture expounds on the Dao of heaven and interprets the natural myriad things of earth, but it lacks the human element. That's why the Hundred Schools emerged—to fill in the human part. This couldn't be an oversight in the Daoist Scripture; someone—or some force—had deliberately excised the human aspects from it.
And they'd destroyed everything related to humans. That's why there's no record of Zi Xin's third human sword, why Tian Ding is broken, and why the Zi Wei Emperor's Sword is lost. The Daoist Three Seals are also missing the Human King Seal.
The Zhou emperors called themselves Sons of Heaven rather than human kings—so what was the Zhou Dynasty hiding? Was it the Zhou heavenly sons' choice, or was another force demanding it? If the latter, this world was far more dangerous than it seemed.
"So the Daoist Scripture is missing the human element!" Xiao Meng grasped the key point too. As the foremost of all scriptures, the world's myriad texts were interpretations of the Daoist Scripture, supplementing the human part and giving rise to the Hundred Schools' cultivation methods. The reason cultivating the Daoist Scripture drove people mad or foolish was that the surviving version wasn't meant for human cultivation. So did that mean her senior brother's success was because he... wasn't human?
With that thought, Xiao Meng looked at Li Haimo with eyes full of doubt and disbelief. This was a person, but according to the Daoist Scripture's logic, he couldn't be.
Li Haimo caught on too. Strictly speaking, people in this world shouldn't be able to cultivate the Daoist Scripture because it lacked the human component. His ability stemmed from not truly belonging to this world. Though he lived here, he'd always been an observer watching its changes—he'd never been part of it, never integrated. The Daoists' pursuit of transcendence was essentially aiming for his state: detaching to cultivate the Daoist Scripture.
"Don't overthink it. Don't you know whether I'm human or not?" Li Haimo knew what she was pondering but couldn't explain. Tell her he came from another world? From thousands of years in the future? He'd probably be labeled abnormal before he finished.
Xiao Meng nodded. Everyone had secrets; if he wasn't saying, the time wasn't right. She had secrets she hadn't shared with him either.
And so, Li Haimo finally recalled something vitally, crucially, enormously important: how had his cultivation come about in the first place?
"By the way, after you all deplete your true qi, how do you replenish it?" Li Haimo hesitated before asking.
"You circulate your heart method, and naturally, you draw primal qi from heaven and earth, converting it to match your method's essence!" Xiao Meng replied. It was basic knowledge every cultivator knew.
Then Xiao Meng froze, staring at Li Haimo as realization hit. The Daoist Scripture lacked the human part, so naturally, it missed the heart methods and techniques for cultivation. How had Li Haimo gained his cultivation?
"You don't have a cultivation recovery heart method or technique? You can't actively draw primal qi from heaven and earth to replenish?" Xiao Meng asked hesitantly, her voice tight with concern.
Li Haimo nodded. He didn't even know how his cultivation had appeared—it just suddenly existed. After harmonizing with the Dao, it had filled his body, never depleting. But after fighting Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn, his true qi had been exhausted, and that was it—because he had no idea how to gather qi or draw from heaven and earth's primal qi. His body replenished instinctively, but very slowly. Even now, it had recovered less than ten percent.
"So right now... you have no cultivation?" Xiao Meng asked again for confirmation.
Li Haimo nodded awkwardly. That was the case. Heaven-man unity allowed mobilizing heaven and earth's power, but it required one's own cultivation to guide it. With none left, he couldn't mobilize a thing.
Xiao Meng was at a loss for words. Even Dao harmony couldn't save him—what now? His prior cultivation must have accumulated naturally in his body, and once used up, it could only recover on its own.
"Xuan Jian, come in for a moment," Xiao Meng called to the meditating Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn, avoiding Dong Jun in case she had ways to transmit messages. Word of Wuchen Zi's lost cultivation couldn't spread.
Xue Nu tried to follow, but Xiao Meng stopped her with a glance, instructing her to watch Dong Jun and keep her away.
Dong Jun understood—they were hiding something from her—so she didn't pry. As a captive, one needed good conduct: don't annoy them, or you might turn a survivable situation fatal. Xiao Meng and Xue Nu might not kill, but Wuchen Zi and Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn didn't seem merciful.
In the room, Xiao Meng set up a barrier this time to prevent eavesdropping.
"That's the situation," Li Haimo explained his predicament.
Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn was stunned too. The Daoist Scripture lacked cultivation methods—yet how had he succeeded? Were Daoists this unconventional now? Achieving success without methods, even entering the Dao.
Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn thought his own dual Dao entry and half-dead state were wild enough. But this guy topped it: no methods, yet he'd cultivated anyway—and defeated himself in the process.
"So, Sect Leader, you can't actively cultivate?" Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn was stumped.
"Why not try circulating a Daoist cultivation heart method and see?" Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn suggested after thoughtful silence.
Daoist methods were harmonious, so no risk of conflict. And they shared roots with the Daoist Scripture, so it might work.
"I'll try." Li Haimo used his scant cultivation to circulate the Chong Xu Heart Method for one full cycle, then opened his eyes with a bitter smile. The cultivation dissipated bit by bit as it flowed through his meridians, unable to follow the method.
"No good—the cultivation just scatters during circulation," Li Haimo said.
The three exchanged glances, brainstorming ideas. They even tried direct infusion, but it was rejected—whether from Xiao Meng or Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn.
"How did your cultivation come about before?" Hēi Bái Xuán Jiǎn asked curiously.
"I don't know—it just appeared suddenly, and that was it," Li Haimo admitted truthfully. It had emerged out of nowhere, then vanished. Even after Dao harmony let him sense it, he still didn't know its source.
"Aren't you curious what they're doing in there, keeping it from you?" In the courtyard, Dong Jun asked Xue Nu.
"Not curious. If I'm meant to know, they'll tell me. If not, curiosity won't help—and they're hiding it from you, anyway," Xue Nu replied.
Dong Jun was surprised. So Xue Nu wasn't as clueless as she seemed. Then why the act?
"You know all this—why pretend to be so silly and naive?" Dong Jun asked.
Xue Nu glanced at her. "Women who are too smart aren't wanted. Women who can't act cute aren't cherished. Besides, thinking too much is exhausting. Being a bit silly gets you pampered and loved—without the fatigue."
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