The sudden change in his mind gave the recently arrived Jiang Man a profound understanding of what was meant by "karmic retribution."
But why would someone who exacted a price just for going through a wedding ceremony with him be tricked and captured by the Old Yellow Ox?
'Does that mean the Old Yellow Ox is no simple creature either?'
Furthermore, the ultimatum to achieve "Introducing Qi into the Body" within three days worried him even more.
If he failed, these three days of lucidity would likely be his last.
Jiang Man carefully examined the Fate Chart in his mind, confirming a cruel fact: he possessed the Fate Chart, but none of the corresponding Talent.
Just as he was about to pull back his focus, he suddenly saw another light begin to coalesce.
Immediately after, a book so enormous it nearly occupied his entire sea of consciousness slowly materialized.
A mysterious and profound light bloomed from the book.
The four words upon it then entered his mind—Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.
The moment the book appeared, it resonated with the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart.
Immediately, the book's pages began to flip rapidly.
It finally stopped on the ninth page.
On the previously blank page, lines of text appeared.
[Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart: A racial legacy from the Ancient Times, condensed by countless powerful experts in harmony with the world's great array and in accordance with the trajectory of the Great Dao. It later became a generational curse. Those who possess this Fate Chart live short lives, and none meet a good end. It cannot be removed or sealed, but it can be unlocked layer by layer to obtain its inheritance and bring great renown to one's wife's clan.]
[By recording the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart, you have obtained a wisp of Cultivation Purple Qi (Obtainable).]
'Celestial Mirror Hundred Books?' Jiang Man was astonished. 'To think such a thing actually exists.'
'Can it record anything?'
He subconsciously touched his sour, stinking clothes and tried to activate the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.
Sure enough, the book's pages began to turn, stopping on the final page.
Words then appeared.
[Not worth mentioning.]
The words then vanished.
Jiang Man: "..."
Next, he focused on his own hand and once again activated the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.
The book's pages turned again, once more stopping on the final page.
Words appeared once more.
[Does not record ants.]
Jiang Man: "..."
'I feel offended.'
With that, Jiang Man turned his attention to the Cultivation Purple Qi.
'I don't know what it is, but I can extract it.'
'It must be something good.'
Just as he was about to extract it, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching.
The Old Yellow Ox had appeared at his side, and its cutting remark followed, "Your wife's gone."
Jiang Man glanced over and saw the Old Yellow Ox looking at him with an expression of melancholy and frustrated disappointment.
"Don't look at me. It's not like I have a wife to give you. All the power I had was just enough for you to get married that one time," the Old Yellow Ox said.
"Well..." Jiang Man said, a bit awkwardly. "Something unusual happened."
In his memories, the Old Yellow Ox was extremely docile.
Even though it was an Evil God, if it had wanted to harm him, it wouldn't have waited until now.
So, he decided to drop the act of playing dumb, mostly because he had questions he needed to ask.
Hearing this, the Old Yellow Ox froze, stunned. "You're not simple-minded anymore?"
It then muttered something about the wedding ceremony's shock having "cured" him.
Jiang Man paid this no mind. Instead, he told the ox about the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart and the fact that the Fairy was seeking revenge against it.
He decided not to mention the strange book for the time being.
Upon hearing this, the Old Yellow Ox was perplexed. "How could this so-called Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart possibly appear?"
It then looked at Jiang Man with some sympathy and said, "Introduce Qi into your body in three days? I'm afraid you won't be living long."
"Is three days that difficult?" Jiang Man asked.
The Old Yellow Ox was blunt. "It's not hard. With enough Talent and sufficient resources, one can achieve Introducing Qi into the Body in half a day. If those Celestial Prides are willing to expend even more resources, it's not impossible to do it in three breaths.
"But you haven't been able to do it in two years. You tell me, is that difficult or not?
"Taking a huge step back, even if your Talent were outstanding, you'd still be doomed to a bitter end without any resources."
Jiang Man had left his village at sixteen to come to the Cyan Cloud Pavilion.
The Cyan Cloud Pavilion was in Luoyun City.
It was one of the Three Floors and Six Pavilions responsible for selecting disciples for the Wuyun Sect.
The Three Floors and Six Pavilions were subordinate to the Yunqian Bureau.
Jiang Man was silent for a moment, then said, "I want to try."
"You want me to teach you?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.
"Can you teach me?" Jiang Man asked, looking at it.
"I might dare to teach you, but would you dare to learn?" the Old Yellow Ox said, its face serious. "Immortal Dao Techniques are uniformly distributed and revised by the Immortal Sects. They even contain a unique aura for identity verification. To prevent what happened three hundred years ago from recurring, the Immortal Sects' control is much stricter than you imagine.
"If any anomaly is discovered, they can brand you as one of the Evil Demons and Outsiders.
"Even if you were to accidentally obtain an Ancient Technique, you'd have to reconsider cultivating it. After you do, the moment you appear within an Immortal Sect's jurisdiction, you will certainly be discovered.
"If you're lucky, you'll be captured alive. If you're not, they'll 'eliminate a demon to protect the Dao' by killing you."
Jiang Man had heard a little about the so-called incident from three hundred years ago. Legend had it that more than three hundred years ago, a battle between peerless experts not only shattered mountains and rivers but also drained all the nutrients from the soil and a great deal of the world's Spiritual Qi.
For the next two hundred years, all crops failed, and the land was filled with the bodies of the starved.
Even Cultivators could not escape the calamity; Spirit Medicines and Spirit Trees no longer grew.
That is, until a hundred years ago, when the Four Major Immortal Sects joined forces to launch a new cultivation system, establishing all sorts of cultivation grounds, guiding people in their Cultivation, and sending envoys into villages to provide instruction.
Afterward, Cultivation was no longer restricted by Talent; everyone could cultivate. In this way, people could use Spiritual Qi to irrigate the barren lands and grow just enough food, allowing the remnants of humanity to eke out a meager existence.
This practice has continued to the present day.
And where Jiang Man was now was precisely within the jurisdiction of the Immortal Sects—specifically, the territory governed by the Wuyun Sect, one of the three major affiliated sects.
He had not, however, expected the control over Cultivation Skills to be so severe.
"So that rumor about three hundred years ago is true?" Jiang Man asked curiously.
"Half true, half false," the Old Yellow Ox answered offhandedly. After considering for a moment, it continued, "If you want to learn something, you could learn the Cyan Cloud Pavilion's *Simple Qi Refining Skill*."
As it spoke, it glanced toward the corner of the table.
Jiang Man saw that there was indeed a book wedged under the corner of the table.
'When I was a simpleton, I really was capable of anything, wasn't I?'
Pulling out the book, Jiang Man began to look it over as he asked, "Senior, who is that Fairy? Where is she from? And could she really appear at any moment?"
The Old Yellow Ox gazed at Jiang Man with its large, bell-like eyes. "We'll talk after you survive this three-day trial of life and death," it said.
Introducing Qi into the Body in three days was a task as difficult as ascending to the heavens for an ordinary person.
Even a heaven-gifted prodigy would need resources and a solid foundation.
To go from nothing to something.
There was too much to learn.
Jiang Man gave the Qi Refining Skill a quick glance and realized that even a *Simple Qi Refining Skill* would take a certain amount of time to master.
Especially since the Qi Refining Skill had nine layers.
There was no telling how long it would take to master it completely.
Then, Jiang Man thought of the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.
He immediately looked within his sea of consciousness, and sure enough, he saw the book again.
He immediately opened it to the ninth page.
He could indeed extract a wisp of Cultivation Purple Qi.
'If I extract this, will it count as having Introduced Qi into the Body?'
"Is Introducing Qi into the Body in three days really that hard?" Jiang Man asked, looking at the Old Yellow Ox.
The ox looked at Jiang Man and said, "Well, that depends on whether you're an Unparalleled Celestial Pride."
"What if I am?" Jiang Man said.
Hearing this, the Old Yellow Ox simply looked at Jiang Man and smiled without saying a word.
"Under the Immortal Sects' rule, there are countless geniuses. Why can't there be one more?" Jiang Man said again.
The Old Yellow Ox just kept looking at him, remaining silent.
The meaning was self-evident. 'Stop dreaming.'
Seeing this, Jiang Man didn't dwell on it.
Instead, he opened the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books and, without a shred of hesitation, chose to extract the Cultivation Purple Qi.
A wisp of light then descended from the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.
In the blink of an eye, it merged into his meridians, flowed down through them, and coiled within his Dantian.
An aura of Spiritual Qi emanated from him.
From the inside out.
This was the sign of Introducing Qi into the Body.
Seeing this, the Old Yellow Ox stood frozen in place.
Its eyes bulged even more, like bronze bells, and it even began to doubt its own sight.
'He achieved Introducing Qi into the Body in an instant?'
'Did I miss some crucial action?'
An absurd thought suddenly occurred to it: 'Could he actually be an Unparalleled Celestial Pride?'
Just then, Jiang Man's voice suddenly cut in, "Senior, can I touch you for a second?"