Chapter 2

"Such a vast collection of books, one could never finish reading them in a lifetime."

Guchen Sha casually sat on the ground, flipping through a tattered book. Around him were grand halls, each filled with mountains of books.

This was the place where the "Tianfu Dian" was compiled, a grand collection of books from all over the world.

He was punished to organize the books for three days.

The emperor boasted of his cultural and military achievements: one was to expand the territory, which was military prowess; the other was to compile books, which was cultural governance.

In the fourth year of Tianfu, countless learned scholars were summoned to collect books from all over the world and compile the grand collection.

Over the past ten years, carts of books were brought from all over the country to the capital, filling vast palace rooms.

Of course, valuable martial arts classics and Daoist texts had already been selected and stored in the imperial secret archives. The remaining books were miscellaneous works from various schools of thought.

Since they were the leftovers, the books were poorly managed and gradually infested with insects.

Although he was punished to organize the books for three days, a few young eunuchs wandered around without paying much attention to him.

He casually read the book, which was an old notebook from the previous dynasty, introducing cultivation and martial arts.

"Cultivation is divided into the Mortal Realm and the Daoist Realm. The Mortal Realm has four stages: Initial Insight, Mastery, Profound Skill, and Supreme Perfection. Beyond that, one enters the Daoist Realm through martial arts, with thirty-six transformations.

For example, the first transformation, 'Qi Absorption and Grain Abstinence,' allows one to live without food, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.

The second transformation, 'Nine Oxen and Two Tigers,' grants the strength of nine oxen and two tigers.

The third transformation, 'Copper Skin and Iron Bones,' makes one impervious to blades.

The fourth transformation, 'Gold Swallowing and Stone Melting,' makes one's internal organs as powerful as a furnace, capable of melting gold and stone.

The fifth transformation, 'Hundred Apertures Gathering Spirit,' involves the hundred and eight secret acupoints in the human body. If one can cultivate to the point where spirit fills these apertures, the entire body will undergo a transformative change.

The sixth transformation, 'Qi Condensation into Gangqi,' involves the circulation of spirit within the body, gradually growing to its peak, and then bursting forth as Gangqi, capable of delivering a punch from a hundred paces away, shattering objects from a distance. Gangqi, also known as True Qi, is the essence of reality.

The seventh transformation, 'Levitation,' involves the further growth of True Qi, which surrounds the body, allowing one to stand in the air and fly for short distances.

The eighth transformation, 'Threefold True Fire,' involves the generation of inner fire from the True Qi, burning and refining the body from within.

The ninth transformation, 'Jade Body of Crystal,' involves the final refinement of the body, making it as clear as crystal, free from illness, and capable of living for three to five hundred years.

As one's cultivation deepens, various abilities are developed. The ancient sages recorded these changes, forming the thirty-six transformations.

At the highest level of the thirty-six transformations, one can achieve 'Limb Regeneration,' 'Blood Rebirth,' 'Immortality,' 'Spirit Projection,' 'Reincarnation,' 'Size Manipulation,' 'Creation from Void,' and 'Opening of a Heavenly Realm,' which are the true abilities of immortals..."

After reading the notebook, he closed it and whispered, "The transformations of the Daoist Realm are truly wondrous, but unfortunately, my current martial arts skills are mediocre, only at the Initial Insight stage. Well, these old sayings aren't very interesting."

He threw the notebook aside and continued searching for more books.

The thirty-six transformations of the Daoist Realm have been recorded throughout history, but few have achieved them.

He looked around, searching for books, and suddenly stumbled. With a loud crash, a pile of books fell, enveloping him in dust and blinding his eyes.

"When one is down on their luck, even drinking cold water can choke them."

He quickly sorted through the dusty books, suddenly feeling something unusual.

"What kind of material is this scroll? It's neither silk nor hemp, nor leather?"

He pulled out a yellowed scroll from the corner, with no title, riddled with small holes from insect damage. The text was tiny, like mosquitoes.

"What is a Son of Heaven? One who has mastered a particular field of knowledge can be called a 'zi,' like the ancient scholars. A Son of Heaven, however, is one who has mastered the Dao of Heaven, holding the power of heaven, speaking the law of heaven, creating and destroying with a thought, and sealing the gods. This is a Son of Heaven. Today's emperors, who establish their rule through intrigue and violence, governing mere mortals, and calling themselves Sons of Heaven, is truly laughable..."

"Ah, so this is the meaning of Son of Heaven!" Guchen Sha read a few lines from the unnamed scroll, finding it interesting. "A Son of Heaven is the embodiment of the Dao of Heaven, far beyond what a human emperor can compare to. A human emperor cannot be called a Son of Heaven. A 'zi' is one who has mastered a field of knowledge, and even the founder of a school of thought, like the founder of the Legalist school, called 'Fazi,' or the founder of the Confucian school, called 'Ruzi.' The founder of the Dao of Heaven is called 'Tianzi.' The greatest ability of a Son of Heaven is to seal the gods. Many true gods in ancient times were sealed by ancient Sons of Heaven and still receive offerings today."

As he thought, he continued reading.

"In ancient times, there was a 'Heavenly Seal,' a symbol of the essence of the Dao of Heaven, granting a chance for all beings to become Sons of Heaven. By obtaining the Heavenly Seal and communicating with heaven, one can gradually cultivate and understand the Dao of Heaven..."

Guchen Sha closed the tattered scroll, "I know about the Heavenly Seal. Whoever obtains it becomes the Son of Heaven. Later, the seal was lost, and the emperor used the imperial seal as a substitute. The four characters on the imperial seal, 'Heavenly Mandate,' are the same as those on the Heavenly Seal."

The emperor's opening words during the Heaven Worship ceremony were: "Your servant, [name], by the Heavenly Mandate, governs the land..."

However, since ancient times, the Heavenly Seal has disappeared, and successive emperors have not actually received the seal from heaven, relying instead on military might and intrigue to secure their rule.

The current emperor of the Da Yong Dynasty, Guta Xian, with the era name 'Tianfu,' means to find the Heavenly Seal to become the Son of Heaven in name and reality.

"I'll take this book back and read it." He dusted himself off, put the book in his pocket, and turned to return to his courtyard.

At fourteen, he could only live in a secluded courtyard next to the palace.

At fifteen, he would be able to establish his own household, marry, and receive a title and a fixed income, making life easier.

Of course, with his status, he could not expect to be ennobled as a Prince or Duke; being ennobled as a General of Merit would be good enough.

The imperial titles were divided into Prince, Duke, Marquis, Count, General of the State, General of the Empire, General of the Nation, and General of Merit.

Only particularly favored princes could be ennobled as Princes at birth, while ordinary princes were first ennobled with lower titles, which were not hereditary and gradually reduced over time.

His small courtyard was on the northern edge of the palace, with only a few rooms, empty and desolate, with no serving maids or eunuchs in sight.

He was not favored, and his monthly allowance was often deducted. He had no support from his mother's family, and no one would associate with him.

Unlike some princes whose families were wealthy and generous, cultivating power and influence in the palace.

The courtyard was also messy, with wild grass growing from the cracks in the stone slabs, swaying in the wind, and sparrows and other birds searching for seeds.

At night, foxes and badgers roamed, and snakes and insects crawled.

The northern part of the palace was sparsely populated, connected to forests and lakes, which were gloomy even during the day and filled with eerie shadows at night, making even the bravest guards uneasy.

Guchen Sha did not mind, finding it peaceful to hide here and avoid trouble.

As he entered the courtyard, a young eunuch approached, carrying a rooster that crowed loudly. Seeing him, the eunuch immediately bowed, "Nineteenth Prince, we have chicken today. The Imperial Kitchen bought many fresh vegetables today, and I managed to get us a rooster after much persuasion."

Guchen Sha could not feel happy, sighing, "Xiao Yizi, you have been loyal to me for so long, but I have not given you any benefits, and you are still bullied by others."

Xiao Yizi was the only eunuch willing to follow him, having done so for many years.

"Prince, please don't say that. I am just a worthless dog, but you treat me like a person. How can I not be loyal?" Xiao Yizi quickly knelt, "Prince, this courtyard is too desolate. Should we pull the weeds? It would be more comfortable to live in a tidy place."

"Common wisdom says, 'If one cannot clean one's own room, how can one clean the world?' I let this place remain desolate to make people think I am a failure, thus avoiding many troubles." Guchen Sha, skilled in the art of concealment, said, "Get up."

"I understand, Prince."

Xiao Yizi stood up, but suddenly his hand slipped, and the rooster flew at Guchen Sha.

Cluck, cluck, cluck!

The rooster's claws scratched his face fiercely.

In a panic, Guchen Sha blocked with his hand, and the claws tore a bloody chunk of flesh from his hand.

Swish!

He drew a dagger from his sleeve and slashed the rooster's neck with the "Sweeping a Thousand Armies" technique.

His martial arts were mediocre, but he had practiced hard and had the strength to bind a chicken.

The rooster's neck was cut, and blood splattered on him.

"Forgive me, forgive me!" Xiao Yizi was terrified.

"It's fine, get up. Cook the rooster, and I'll go back to my room to bandage my wound and change my clothes."

His clothes were covered in chicken blood, making him look terrible.

Back in his room, he took off his clothes, and the book fell to the ground, bloodstains on it, with a faint light flashing.

Guchen Sha bent down to pick it up.

As soon as his hand touched the book, it burst into green flames, burning the book to ashes and revealing a green scroll. The scroll was neither metal nor iron, nor silk nor hemp, with four characters that seemed to be flying birds.

"Are these ancient bird-shaped characters?" Guchen Sha recognized them as the most mysterious ancient script, where birds could fly and communicate with heaven.

The characters in the shape of birds symbolized the will of heaven.

"Heavenly Mandate! This is the Heavenly Seal!"

He stuttered, unable to believe his eyes.

For the scroll bore the four characters "Heavenly Mandate."

He never imagined that the object sought after by generations of emperors was hidden in a tattered book.

With this seal, one could cultivate and become a Son of Heaven.

Without it, no matter how great one's power or territory, one was still just an emperor, not a Son of Heaven.

An emperor is an emperor, and a Son of Heaven is a Son of Heaven.

An emperor can only command mortals, while a Son of Heaven, with the seal, can seal the gods!

Sealing the gods.

Only those sealed by the Son of Heaven with the seal are true gods; all others are false gods.

Even now, one of the ten great achievements of Emperor Tianfu, "Abolishing Idolatry and Sealing the Gods," involved only the cleansing of false gods and demons, not the sealing of true gods, as he did not have the Heavenly Seal.

The true power of the Son of Heaven is not in governing mortals but in sealing the gods.

Otherwise, how could one be called a Son of Heaven?

Guchen Sha put the seal away, his initial excitement subsiding, and he sighed deeply, "The state's divine treasure, given to those with virtue, may not necessarily require the Heavenly Seal."

As he put it away, a shadow of the rooster appeared on the seal, flowing into it.

Buzz, buzz... After absorbing the rooster's shadow, the seal emitted a mysterious warm current, entering Guchen Sha's body.

He could not help but groan, feeling the strength of a rooster added to his body.

"Is the ancient historical record true? Did ancient emperors kill living creatures, dripping their blood on the seal to offer sacrifices to heaven, thus gaining the strength of those creatures?" He suddenly understood.

When he killed the rooster, its blood stained the tattered book, and the rooster also scratched him, mixing their blood. This formed a small sacrifice.

This was equivalent to Guchen Sha offering a sacrifice to heaven, naturally receiving a gift from heaven.

The Heavenly Seal was thus activated.

Guchen Sha, as a prince, had accompanied the emperor in many Heaven Worship ceremonies but had never seen any supernatural phenomena or gifts from heaven, due to the lack of the Heavenly Seal.

Without the seal, no one could communicate with heaven.

Having obtained the legendary Heavenly Seal, Guchen Sha had no intention of becoming an emperor. With his current strength, attempting to seize the throne would be suicide.

Moreover, he had no interest in the imperial throne, being in a survival stage.

Guchen Sha, being a prince, had feigned madness and foolishness over the years but secretly read and practiced martial arts. His martial arts were limited by resources, but he had read extensively.

"As a prince, I should have received the necessary elixirs and supplements for cultivation, but they were all withheld. My martial arts are only at the Initial Insight stage. With this Heavenly Seal, I can emulate ancient Sons of Heaven, killing fierce beasts and offering sacrifices to heaven, praying for the well-being of the people, and cultivating divine powers. However, I cannot perform sacrifices in the palace, as it would be considered witchcraft, and I would be executed. I must go to the Southern Mountains to hunt."

The palace strictly prohibited witchcraft.

Guchen Sha could not afford to be caught.

He had no intention of presenting the Heavenly Seal to the emperor.

If he did, it would cause a sensation, and he would be ennobled as a Prince, but what good would that do? Without strength, a prince could be stripped of his title and executed at any time.

He might even be accused of hiding a divine treasure and plotting against the throne.

"I must use the Heavenly Seal to cultivate to the Daoist Realm and gain strength before I can avoid being a pawn."

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