Chapter 89: 《yin Book》! 《xuan Dian》!
In the Nan District, the Tao Family Residence.
Inside a tranquil and elegant private room, wisps of smoke curled from the censer, diffusing a rich and clear fragrance.
After bathing, Hong Yuan’s long hair was casually let down, and he changed into a simple, loose-fitting robe, reclining leisurely on a large armchair, holding a book in his hands.
On a rosewood square table beside him lay a large stack of scrolls.
However, his attention was not on the book; his mind had already sunk into the blessed land space.
On a gray and white square shrouded in mist.
【Blessed Land Dao Master（Gray）——Stage Three Ascent: Hong Yuan（18）】
【Root Bone: 8/100】
【Comprehension: 8/100】
【Talent: Qi Flows Through the Hundred Skeletons, Clear Eyes and Penetrating the Profound】
Hong Yuan’s consciousness manifested into a form, looking at his latest information at a glance. The most significant change was that 【Stage One Ascent】 had become Stage Three.
He immediately strode towards the nine stone steps beneath the stone door, rapidly ascending three steps. Hong Yuan stood still, silently communicating with the stone door using his will.
After a long while, he sighed.
He had expected some anomaly or reward, but it seemed he had overthought it.
Continuing to climb, he was, as expected, repelled back onto the square. Hong Yuan patted his ‘robe,’ which was free of dust, lingered for a moment, and then left with a thought.
As for observing the illusory scenes that might appear in the depths of the mist, Hong Yuan had given up on the idea.
Except for the first time he observed an otherworldly illusion, which slightly increased his comprehension, Hong Yuan had tried many times since. Occasionally, when luck was good, he saw other blurry fragments, but they no longer aided his comprehension.
Just like when he first entered the blessed land space and his comprehension increased by two strands at once, over these past few months, after entering and exiting hundreds of times, there had been no impact whatsoever.
It seemed only the first time could touch the heart and increase comprehension.
Hong Yuan understood; it was like losing one’s virginity—only the first time was unforgettable.
Opening his eyes, Hong Yuan flipped through the thick book in his hand.
This book was titled 《Yin Book》, compiled hundreds of years ago, with the specific author long lost to time.
As it was not an official court publication, it had been repeatedly banned and destroyed by the central government, resulting in severe damage.
However, over hundreds of years, many later generations had usurped the names of their predecessors to add and supplement content, causing the 《Yin Book》 to be damaged even more and its content to become increasingly fantastical and bizarre.
Often, the previous page would be recounting major events of a certain year in the Yin Dynasty, and the next would describe demons devouring people and sword masters flying on their swords.
The Tao Family alone possessed nearly a hundred volumes of the 《Yin Book》, spanning over ten different versions, placed before Hong Yuan.
Fortunately, Hong Yuan possessed a photographic memory; otherwise, merely reading these books would have given him a terrible headache.
The pages rustled as Hong Yuan rapidly skimmed through the scrolls.
After about half an hour, Hong Yuan rubbed his glabella. Countless scattered pieces of information crisscrossed in his mind. He closed his eyes and quickly began to sort them out.
The multiple versions of the 《Yin Book》 had significant discrepancies, incorporating various official histories, unofficial records, and miscellaneous anecdotes, making the plot quite rich.
However, at a few critical junctures, there were always commonalities.
For instance, there were records concerning Yin Taizu.
The 《Yin Book》 described that over eight hundred years ago, the world was originally a chaos, lacking unified order. Various ‘evil gods,’ ‘outer paths,’ ‘spirits,’ and ‘fierce spirits’ filled the world…
Ignorant people revered these existences, establishing numerous depraved god and evil sacrifices, standing like tribes.
To appease the evil gods and outer paths, each ‘depraved sacrifice’ tribe attacked each other, plundering slaves and conducting large-scale blood sacrifices.
It was an extremely bloody and dark era, referred to in the 《Yin Book》 as the ‘Dark Tribulation Era’!
Until Yin Taizu, who received the mandate of heaven, appeared on the scene. After countless bloody battles, with more and more followers gathering around him, he finally pacified the depraved gods and evil sacrifices of the ‘Dark Tribulation Era.’
Subsequently, he established the Great Yin Dynasty on the ruins, abolished blood sacrifices, established laws, unified the written script, and built imperial roads…
Yin Taizu’s merits were world-shattering, unprecedented, and unmatched. Thus, later generations often referred to him as the ‘Sage Emperor.’
A hundred years after the Great Yin was stabilized, it entered an era of extreme prosperity. However, beneath the prosperity, hidden currents were surging; the old cults of depraved sacrifices, having hibernated for a century, were growing restless.
The emperor at that time then established an organization called the ‘Xuanqiong Mirror’!
Its responsibilities, besides supervising officials, were to suppress evil gods and outer paths throughout the land, and all cults of depraved sacrifices.
The first leader of the ‘Xuanqiong Mirror’ was a woman named ‘Xi.’ Her surname is unknown, and later generations rumored she was a celestial being descended to earth, hence she was known as ‘Heavenly Maiden Xi.’
While Heavenly Maiden Xi’s other achievements are not mentioned, her most famous accomplishment was collecting all sorcery in the land and compiling it into a book called 《Xuan Dian》. It is said that upon its completion, blood rained from the heavens and ghosts wept. It encompassed everything, containing all the great secrets of this heaven, earth, universe, and everything within.
Hong Yuan remained noncommittal about whether this description was exaggerated.
He only knew that what was ‘known to people’ was likely limited to noble and powerful families. The Qingxu Academy also possessed over a thousand scrolls, yet Hong Yuan had never heard of the 《Yin Book》, 《Xuan Dian》, or the Xuanqiong Mirror!
Overall, although the Great Yin experienced various setbacks in its first two hundred years, its overall spirit was still vigorous and full of vitality.
Until approximately six hundred years ago, a divinely born individual emerged. This person possessed innate divine power, feared no weapons, harbored great ambition, and accumulated ten years of effort, cultivating three thousand iron guards.
He then used these three thousand iron guards to attack cities and conquer strongholds, snowballing his influence. He vied for control of the empire, eventually breaching the imperial capital and setting the two-hundred-year-old capital ablaze. Countless nobles and commoners perished, and hundreds of thousands of scrolls were plundered and burned.
The 《Xuan Dian》 was also among them, with most of it destroyed and a small portion scattered among the populace.
The 《Yin Book》 referred to this event as the ‘Sky Calamity,’ and that divinely born individual as the ‘Dragon Emperor.’
The book records that this Dragon Emperor not only possessed extraordinary talent but was also the origin of the world’s force martial arts. Before the Dragon Emperor, there was no concept of ‘Qi and Blood Condensing Force.’
It was the Dragon Emperor who pioneered this path. It was precisely because those three thousand iron guards practiced the Force Method taught by the Dragon Emperor that they were able to be invincible and conquer all within a short period, nearly causing the Great Yin to collapse.
The Dragon Emperor dominated for nearly twenty years before suddenly dying. The remaining forces of the Great Yin regrouped and re-established a new capital on the old land. The three thousand iron guards dispersed, spreading the Force Method throughout the land.
Although the Great Yin did not perish, having endured this ordeal felt like it had wounded its very bones, blood, spirit, and energy. It no longer possessed its former vigorous spirit, and subsequently, a succession of bizarre emperors emerged.
Thus, after one decline, came a second, a third, a fourth, fifth, sixth decline…
Fortunately, after each period of decline, there was a surge of auspicious fortune, and another heroic ruler would emerge to restore the land, allowing the Great Yin to somehow endure for eight hundred years.
After reading this, Hong Yuan was speechless. If it were the dynasties of his previous life, facing a state of local separatism like this, he would have blurted out “it’s doomed,” but for the Great Yin, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Because compared to the many periods of decline the Great Yin had experienced throughout history, the current situation was merely a bit of a storm.
He put down the 《Yin Book》 and picked up another book.
《Records of Disasters》!
