Chapter 55: The Art of the Heavenly Gang, the Technique of the Earthly Fiends

“You jest, Master Duanmu. Mr. Lu is our honored guest, not some notorious criminal wanted by the Fire God Sect. How could we be accused of harboring him?”
“But as for that fugitive, Shi Yinjian, I confess I am quite curious about him myself.”
With a light touch, Guan Yingfan deflected Duanmu Yun’s accusation, steering the conversation toward Shi Yinjian instead.
He understood that for scions of great families like Duanmu Yun, the actual rights and wrongs mattered little; what mattered was saving face. The feud between the Murong and Lu Hun clans—surely the Duanmu clan had no desire to meddle recklessly in such affairs!
As expected, Duanmu Yun seemed momentarily uncertain, but Duanmu Qun, standing beside him, eagerly took up the new topic:
“Shi Yinjian’s cultivation method, the Hidden Stone Technique, is renowned for its subtlety.”
“Back then, that young fellow Shi Dali was rescued by him—”
“Were it not for that, he’d never have had the chance to stir up such turmoil in the Western Territories!”
Shi Dali was the Fire God Sect’s name for Shi Ying.
A year ago, after Shi Ying fell out with the sect, its leader—who claimed the title Fire God—took to calling himself the ‘Great Power God’, clearly a provocation.
As a result, the sect’s followers referred to Shi Ying as Shi Dali, a name imbued with scorn.
Duanmu Qun, as a member of the Fire God Sect, naturally knew not to slip in his address.
Smiling, Guan Yingfan echoed:
“Indeed, the Hidden Stone Technique is famed for its secrecy in the Western Territories.”
“It’s said this technique derives from a mysterious art. Shi Ying has already mastered it as well.”
Guan Yingfan had been secretly instructed by the Four Seas Trading Company to investigate the whereabouts of Shi Yinjian and Shi Ying, but so far, he had learned nothing.
As he pondered this, he glanced at the three still locked in confrontation, and spoke earnestly:
“Brother Duanmu, the Fire God Sect’s mission is urgent!”
“Let bygones be bygones—those old, trivial matters are not worth worrying about for now.”
“Let what’s past remain in the past!”
He sought to reconcile both sides.
“Haha! Well spoken, Master Guan!”
Though Duanmu Qun was Duanmu Yun’s elder, his status and potential did not match his younger kinsman’s. Yet, as the martial instructor assigned by the Duanmu clan, he had authority when clan matters arose.
At this moment, he made the decision for Duanmu Yun:
“Let the young men hash out their own disputes!”
“Master Guan, regarding Shi Yinjian, I must rely on you during this visit to Snow Eagle City!”

As he spoke, Duanmu Qun laughed heartily, as if he had never been involved in the previous altercation.
“You’re too gracious, Master Duanmu!”
“Maintaining the stability of Snow Eagle City is the Four Seas Trading Company's duty—”
“This matter has been on my mind for some time. Should the need arise, I will personally see to it!”
Laughing as well, Guan Yingfan gave instructions to the staff:
“Prepare the finest banquet for me—”
“Tonight, I shall drink with all my friends here, and we shall not leave until we are thoroughly intoxicated!”
Turning to Lu Sheng, he said:
“Brother Lu Hun, you’ve just come down from the snowy mountains; I imagine you could use a bath.”
“At the very least, you ought to wash away that disguise—”
“I refuse to believe such handsome features could look so ordinary!”
With laughter, Guan Yingfan half-pulled, half-pushed Lu Sheng out, directing someone to lead him to the bathhouse, before returning to entertain the Fire God Sect’s retinue.
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“A truly adept merchant!”
In the bathhouse, Lu Sheng considered Guan Yingfan’s actions, then reflected on the matter of the sixth-grade snow lotus. He had already formulated his plan for dealing with this man.
“And the Fire God Sect’s people, they require careful scheming as well!”
Since he had been drawn into this situation and could not extricate himself for the time being, Lu Sheng was not averse to playing along—
After all, the more people involved, the easier his escape would be. With his current strength, unless he encountered martial masters or grandmasters, he need not be overly cautious.
“And that Divine Elephant Power Technique—perhaps it holds the key to mastering the Great Strength Art!”
The Great Strength Art was one of the three Heavenly Gang Arts and three Earth Fiend Techniques most easily cultivated for the body, attached to the first stage of the Nine-Nine Profound Arts. At present, it was the only technique he had yet to begin.
“The three Heavenly Gang Arts—Transformation of the Embryo, Size at Will—I mastered them when I forged the Innate Wishful Dao Body.”
“Extracting primordial yang, controlling the innate yang qi within the body, might be difficult for others, but for me, having fully mastered the first layer of the Three Treasures Wishful Art and controlling essence, qi, and spirit, it was an easy entry.”
“As for the three Earth Fiend Techniques—”
“The Guiding Technique is specialized for the Nine-Nine Profound Arts, aiding the cultivation of the body alongside various methods. When I retrained the Hun Yuan Technique, I became quite proficient.”
“The Consumption Technique I fused, through merit, with the Golden Mouth Jade Teeth Art, the gluttonous divine power of the Golden Thorn Dragon, and the whale-swallowing technique of the Dragon Whale Beast, creating a single devouring divine art.”
“Only the Great Strength Art, though seemingly straightforward, has eluded me thus far.”
“If I can obtain the Divine Elephant Power Technique, perhaps I can integrate it—”

“—and finally master this art!”
The Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend techniques were all attached to the Nine-Nine Profound Arts, each possessing wondrous uses.
Yet, due to the differences between worlds, Lu Sheng had to meld them with the laws and principles of this realm to unleash their full power.
Now, for the sake of the Great Strength Art, he set his sights on the Divine Elephant Power Technique!
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After cleansing and bathing, and changing into new clothes, Lu Sheng gazed at his exceedingly ordinary face in the bathhouse’s bronze mirror, somewhat helpless:
“My ancestors were too handsome—no one would believe it if I made myself so plain!”
“Never mind, I’ll revert to my original appearance, just age myself a bit.”
Thinking this, Lu Sheng rubbed his face, and immediately, the plain visage in the bronze mirror became strikingly handsome.
Now appearing in his mid-thirties, his physique robust from martial cultivation, his handsomeness was enriched by a mature and valiant aura—he looked most extraordinary!
“Thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with an innate spiritual body—”
“I’ll set it so that I never underwent an innate qi refinement at birth, hence reaching only the middle stage of martial mastery.”
“This seems reasonable enough—and might help in my search for the sixth-grade snow lotus!”
Admiring his heroic appearance, Lu Sheng thought to himself.
Transformation of the Embryo, metamorphosing into the Innate Wishful Dao Body—his body not only possessed unobstructed meridians and awakened divine apertures, but his flesh and soul were perfectly pure, qualifying as an innate spiritual body.
Moreover, the Spirit Communication Technique, one of the most commonly used mystical arts, was not lacking in the Lu clan’s legacy in Bingzhou.
During his two years inside the Dragon Whale Beast, Lu Sheng had already mastered this art.
Now, disguising himself as an innate spiritual body posed no challenge whatsoever.
“Spiritual body, meridian body, aperture body—three of the five innate bodies, I already possess.”
“And the Wishful Dao Body, with its shape-shifting properties, can be considered an innate divine power—”
“So, I may claim to possess the divine body as well!”
“The last is the yuan body, the ability to manipulate the world’s yuan qi—once I reach martial master and attain the unity of heaven and man, it will naturally be within my grasp.”
“Thus, these five innate bodies—I can easily disguise myself as most, without fear of exposure!”
With these thoughts, Lu Sheng checked himself thoroughly once more, then, with a confident smile, made his way to the banquet hall!