Upon hearing Li Miao's words, An Ziyang immediately turned his gaze to the wall Li Miao had been observing.
"Martial Dao Zen Sect, Jia Yi Divine Skill."
"To use its sharpness, one must first blunt its edge... This is!?
"The method of Jia Yi Divine Skill!"
Li Miao nodded: "That's right. And it's the most authentic original version."
"You can memorize it and try practicing it later. Some of the people under me are ruthless, some are malicious, some are stubborn; their temperaments are all a bit extreme, practicing this would be suicidal for them."
"Only you are someone who knows how to persevere and also how to let go. Perhaps you can achieve something noteworthy."
An Ziyang was pleasantly surprised and quickly bowed to Li Miao in thanks.
"Master, you—"
"Alright, alright, shut up. I don't have time to listen to your lotus opera."
Li Miao raised his hand to stop him.
"I'm from Shuntian Prefecture, and hearing your Beijing street rogue's patter gives me a headache. Your An Family is in Quanzhou, where did you learn that Beijing accent?"
"Master, my father and I are originally from Beijing; we later traveled the jianghu and settled in Quanzhou..."
"Alright, alright, you go ahead and learn, I'll look around."
Li Miao let An Ziyang go study "Jia Yi Divine Skill" while he walked to a row of bookshelves, scanned them, pulled out a book with the most damaged spine, and opened it to examine.
This was a notebook with two different handwritings.
One was wild and unrestrained, the other delicate and graceful.
Li Miao flipped through a few pages, then looked up at the original Jia Yi Divine Skill on the stone wall, then looked down and flipped a few more pages of the notebook, comparing them again.
"The Gu worms that can absorb realms, Jia Yi Divine Skill."
"The root was here all along."
Li Miao pulled out a few more notebooks, compared the handwriting and tone, and roughly identified the identities of the two handwriting owners.
Then, Li Miao put down the notebooks, walked to Yang Lixuan's corpse, and scrutinized it.
Killing someone, then repairing the corpse and sealing it in wax in his own lair. Ji Tianrui, this person, whether he hated him or loved him, was certainly a bit unhinged.
Li Miao had no intention of probing the thoughts of the dead, so he raised his hand into a claw and directly dug into Yang Lixuan's chest.
He fumbled inside for a moment, then withdrew his hand.
In his palm, he held Yang Lixuan's withered heart.
On this heart, there were densely packed growths of flesh and some blackened tentacles, exactly like Zuo Lishan's heart.
After Li Miao finished examining it, he casually threw the heart onto the ground.
He had pretty much figured out what Ji Tianrui wanted to tell him.
Fifty or sixty years ago, the Miao King's Gu worms escaped from the tomb and parasitized the first Miao King. At the same time, Yang Lixuan also came to Miao Xinjiang.
His goal should also have been to explore the path beyond the Celestial Human Realm.
Like Yun Zelin, after he perfected his path in the Celestial Human Realm, he also found that he could not advance further. So he decided to take a deviant path up the mountain.
The target Yang Lixuan chose was Witchcraft.
After he met the Miao King, they hit it off immediately and jointly researched the combination of martial arts and Witchcraft here. The two sets of notes in the notebook belonged to Yang Lixuan and the first Miao King.
In short, a few years later, the two achieved two results.
One was Gu Soldiers.
The second was a Gu worm that combined Jia Yi Divine Skill and Witchcraft, capable of absorbing and storing Celestial Human Realm power.
The Miao King did not know martial arts, and Miao Xinjiang was isolated from the Central Plains Martial World. How could the Miao people have inherited Jia Yi Divine Skill?
Because this Jia Yi Divine Skill was originally a Ming Cult collection, brought to Miao Xinjiang by Yang Lixuan.
Yang Lixuan should have tried, like Yun Zelin, to implant Gu worms into other Celestial Humans and then transplant them into himself, attempting to break through the realm of three paths merging into one. This heart was clear evidence.
But clearly, he did not succeed, or he was not satisfied with this "improper" realm.
Therefore, after combining the two results, they created a final "product."
Which was Ji Tianrui.
Previously in Qi-Lu, the Gu worms in Zuo Lishan and Lan Lechuan were all sustenance left by Ji Tianrui to store realms, waiting to be used when she needed them.
And Ji Tianrui's situation was even more tragic than theirs.
He was born as Yang Lixuan's reserve food.
Inheriting Yang Lixuan's bloodline, and a body deliberately cultivated by the former Miao King, he was naturally perfectly compatible with Yang Lixuan.
This also meant that any realm Ji Tianrui cultivated could be seamlessly transferred to Yang Lixuan in the future, without the "improper" situation that Yun Zelin experienced.
Therefore, Ji Tianrui had to kill Yang Lixuan.
Because if Yang Lixuan didn't die, he would.
And after Yang Lixuan's death, Ji Tianrui took over the Ming Cult, naturally colluding with the former Miao King, which led to the Ming Cult rebellion fifteen years ago.
Fifteen years ago, the former Miao King and Ji Tianrui died. The current Miao King gave birth to Ji Tianrui with someone unknown. Ji Tianrui obtained the Ming Cult martial arts inheritance left by Yang Lixuan in Miao Xinjiang and replaced Ji Tianrui as the Master of the Ming Cult.
Until today.
At this point, all questions before Ji Tianrui's appearance had been answered.
Although it was still unclear why Ji Tianrui led Li Miao to uncover the truth of that year, judging by her intentions, she clearly wanted to tell Li Miao everything.
And the remaining questions, Li Miao estimated, would only be answered after meeting Ji Tianrui.
At this time, An Ziyang had also memorized the Jia Yi Divine Skill. After confirming in his mind that he had remembered it firmly, he turned to look at Li Miao.
"Master, I'm done."
"I'm almost done too."
Li Miao nodded.
So the two jumped out of the cave, returned to the pupal chamber, and found Yongjie.
By now, Yongjie had recovered his consciousness. Although his face was pale and his hands and feet were bruised, he was able to stand and walk.
"Two benefactors, thank you very much for this time."
Yongjie bowed deeply, giving a sincere salute to the two.
An Ziyang merely tried to decline, but Li Miao accepted Yongjie's salute without ceremony.
After some discussion, the three returned and found the Grand Shamans of the Twelve Sect Branches.
Li Miao and Yongjie watched from here, while An Ziyang returned to the surface via the secret passage, bringing back the forces of several major sects guarding outside the village.
Li Miao handed the people of the Twelve Sect Branches over to Lao Qifeng to handle, then picked a few Grand Shamans, knocked them out, and carried them. The three then turned and left.
On the surface, the three stood in the mountain forest, looking at each other.
"Master, what should we do next?"
After obtaining the Jia Yi Divine Skill, An Ziyang had correctly positioned himself as a subordinate and began to proactively ask Li Miao about his next plans.
Yongjie saluted Li Miao.
"Benefactor, I am too injured, and I have to suppress the Gu worms, and I also need to return to Shaolin to check on Ling'er's condition. I'm afraid I cannot go to Shuntian Prefecture to seek revenge on the Ming Cult."
"Master, you go ahead. I'll bring a few Ming Cult leaders to you later, that's all. Living people are more important than dead ones, no need to worry."
So Yongjie bid farewell and turned to leave, returning to Shaolin.
Li Miao looked at An Ziyang.
"You, go to Shuntian Prefecture and get to know some people. Take these Grand Shamans to Shuntian Prefecture, and also keep these notebooks of the Miao King. When you get to the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), tell them my name and hand over the people and things to my adopted daughter."
An Ziyang nodded in agreement, then asked Li Miao.
"Master, aren't you going to Shuntian Prefecture? Aren't the Ming Cult villains about to cause trouble in Shuntian Prefecture?"
Li Miao, however, smiled grimly.
"I don't have the habit of starting a fight only after reaching the destination."
"You go to Shuntian Prefecture first. I'll follow the official road and see if I can intercept the Ming Cult people halfway."
"Kill as many as you can. We can't let all of them enter Shuntian Prefecture."