The Cycle of Reincarnation in the Four-Courtyard House: A Journey Through the Heavens

In front of the statue lay an old futon, its color a dull yellow but intact, clearly indicating that someone had once sat here in meditation.

"Kowtowing a thousand times, to serve me at my command!"

Li Xiao looked at the inscription at the foot of the jade statue and smiled silently.

He tore open the futon and found two scrolls inside.

Open the first scroll, and you'll see four large characters at the beginning—"Northern Darkness Divine Skill".

Li Xiao continued to unroll the scroll, and saw that it not only recorded the key points of the technique, but also drew a meridian diagram.

The scroll opens with a famous line from Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering": "North of the desolate land lies the Dark Sea, also known as the Heavenly Pool," highlighting that the first essential aspect of this skill is "accumulating internal strength."

This technique allows one to absorb the internal energy of others through specific acupoints, transforming it into the Yin-Yang balanced Northern Darkness True Qi.

When the Northern Darkness True Qi is masculine, it is as scorching as a furnace; when it is feminine, it is colder than ice. It is compatible with all martial arts, immune to poisons, and possesses immense power in both defense and counterattack.

Beside the diagram was a warning: "Anyone who has practiced internal martial arts must completely forget their previous learning and concentrate on practicing the new skill. If there is any confusion or disorder, the two skills will clash, and one will immediately go mad and vomit blood."

This was no problem for Li Xiao, as he had never practiced any internal energy cultivation.

Li Xiao frowned more and more as he looked at it. This divine skill was indeed miraculous, but he couldn't quite grasp some of the Taoist principles within it.

"The techniques of the Free and Unfettered Sect are basically all incorporating the essence of Taoism. Without understanding Taoist scriptures, wanting to learn divine skills is simply a pipe dream!"

Li Xiao muttered to himself, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"I'll just go directly to Leigu Mountain to find Wuyazi. That old man is Xiaoyaozi's personal disciple, and these manuals were originally left here by him. If I can get him to take me as his disciple, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Thinking of this, Li Xiao's lips curled into a happy smile once again.

Li Xiao opened another scroll, and unsurprisingly, it was the manual for "Lingbo Weibu" (a martial arts technique).

This technique is a peerless lightness skill created by Xiaoyaozi based on the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching.

This lightness skill is exceptionally exquisite and requires the Northern Darkness Divine Skill as its foundation.

According to the above annotations, Li Xiao learned that this peerless lightness skill, which became famous in later generations, required moving according to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) positions. Each time one moved, it was equivalent to circulating internal energy once, and internal strength would naturally increase. It was truly an extremely miraculous skill.

The annotation next to the diagram reads: "This footwork is a shortcut to internal cultivation through dynamic exercises. By stepping through all sixty-four hexagrams, internal energy will circulate naturally. The more proficient one becomes, the lighter and more agile one's body will be. Even if surrounded by powerful enemies, one can escape with ease."

Li Xiao, who read the original novel of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," learned that Duan Yu became invincible in the unpredictable world of martial arts after mastering this skill and its lightness and footwork.

Duan Yu never hurts anyone when he fights, but no matter who his opponent is, they cannot hurt him, which shows how wonderful this skill is.

Li Xiao held two pieces of silk in his hands, feeling his palms burning and his heart pounding with excitement.

He was well aware of the significance of these two ultimate skills. The Northern Darkness Divine Skill could absorb all the internal energy in the world, making it a veritable "shortcut to martial arts." Once he mastered this divine skill, increasing his internal energy would be a piece of cake.

The Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) is an unparalleled method for survival and escape. The two complement each other and form the foundation for the Xiaoyao Sect's dominance in the martial arts world.

Li Xiao put the two scrolls directly into the space supermarket, then looked up at the jade statue in front of him, and was extremely impressed by Wu Yazi's carving skills. He then waved his hand and put the jade statue away as well.

After he climbed back up the cliff, he suddenly heard a loud bellow like that of a bull.

Li Xiao's expression froze for a moment, then he seemed to realize something: "This is a Manggu Toad!"

He immediately ran toward the source of the sound and saw a creature that looked like a toad, no more than two inches long, with a body as red as blood and eyes that shone with golden light.

With its mouth open, the thin skin under its neck vibrates, producing a "jiangang" sound like a cow's bellow.

At this moment, the toad is fighting a centipede that is more than a foot long, and next to it lies the corpse of a weasel.

"Isn't that the lightning weasel that Zhong Ling was holding? It looks like it was killed by the Manggu Toad."

In the distance, a figure dressed in a blue robe was lying on the ground; it must be Duan Yu.

At this moment, the centipede seemed to be no match for the Manggu Toad. With a flick of its tail, it crawled directly towards Duan Yu, and the Manggu Toad quickly followed.

"not good!"

A Glock 17 pistol suddenly appeared in Li Xiao's hand, and he pulled the trigger at the Manggu Toad.

"Bang!"

After a gunshot, the giant toad's head was blown off, and it lay on the ground silently.

The gunshot startled the large centipede in front of them. It seemed frightened and turned to crawl down the cliff next to it.

Li Xiao stepped forward and with a wave of his hand, he put the corpse of the Manggu Toad into his spatial storage. He knew that this thing was extremely poisonous and did not know how to use it, so he could only put it away for now.

In order to preserve the corpse of the Manggu Toad, he deliberately paused the flow of time in a small area.

Li Xiao walked up to Duan Yu and noticed a wound on his thigh. Duan Yu did not seem to be unconscious, but rather paralyzed by the poison.

As a special agent, Li Xiao naturally knew a thing or two about dealing with toxins. He squatted down, took out a scalpel and some medicine, and performed a minor surgery on Duan Yu.

A small amount of dark blood flowed from the wound. Only after the blood turned crimson did Li Xiao take out sterile gauze and treat the wound.

Finally, Li Xiao took out a vial of antidote serum and injected it into Duan Yu, thus completing the task.

A few minutes later, Duan Yu's body finally moved, and he quickly regained consciousness.

"Thank you so much, Brother Li, for saving my life!"

Duan Yu stood up and bowed deeply to Li Xiao.

"Brother Duan, you're too kind!"

"How did you end up here?"

Duan Yu sighed and said, "Brother Li, you don't know this, but I just wanted to go and talk to those two gangs to stop fighting. Who knew they wouldn't appreciate it at all and almost injured me."

"Later, in order to save me, Miss Zhongling released the lightning weasel, which bit Sikong Xuan, a member of the Shennong Gang, and several other gang members."

"This is a huge disaster. The Shennong Gang arrested both me and Miss Zhong and demanded the antidote from Miss Zhong."

"Miss Zhong said she didn't have the antidote. Only her father, Zhong Wanchou, could concoct the Lightning Sable's poison."

"So the Shennong Gang members gave me a poison called 'Seven-Day Intestinal Severing Powder,' which they used, and they also took Miss Zhong hostage, forcing me to go to Wanjie Valley to find Valley Master Zhong for the antidote before they would release us."

"When I walked to the back mountain of the Wuliang Sword Sect, I was bitten by Miss Zhong's Lightning Sable. The sable's venom made me paralyzed and unable to move."

"If it weren't for Brother Li's timely appearance, I would probably be facing a near-death experience today!"

As Duan Yu spoke, gratitude towards Li Xiao welled up on his face once again.