"I could see it was old," Yoriichi replied quietly. "But cursed? How?"
Xiao Zhan turned his gaze back to Yoriichi, and the sheer horror etched into the Patriarch's face was unmistakable.
"Long before my time, decades and perhaps centuries ago, a few of our most brilliant Patriarchs tried to comprehend it," Xiao Zhan revealed, his voice trembling slightly. "They were Dou Wangs, even Dou Huang powerhouses. They studied those chaotic theories. And when they felt that they finally understood it... when they attempted to circulate their Dou Qi to synthesize the elements and unlock its secrets..."
Xiao Zhan paused, swallowing hard.
"They died. Shortly after taking that scroll into seclusion, they suffered catastrophic internal detonations. Their bodies could not contain the clashing energies. Those who were lucky enough to survive the initial backlash had their Dantians completely shattered, crippled for the rest of their short, agonizing lives."
The horrific reality hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
"This secret is exceptionally well-guarded," Xiao Zhan continued grimly. "It is passed down only from Patriarch to Patriarch. My father warned me repeatedly about this scroll on his deathbed. He told me that under no circumstances should I ever let ambition tempt me into opening it. It is forbidden to anyone in the clan."
Yoriichi was slightly astonished. The Transparent World had shown him the suicidal nature of the meridian pathways, but hearing the confirmed body count of past Clan Leaders added a grim, bloody weight to the black parchment sitting in his pocket. It was a literal death sentence for anyone without his specific physical constitution.
"Then..." Yoriichi asked, his brow furrowing, "why didn't you throw it away? Or burn it, so no one else could suffer?"
Xiao Zhan let out a humorless, bitter chuckle.
"Oh... we tried," Xiao Zhan said, shaking his head. "I tried to burn it myself when I first became Clan Leader. But it cannot burn. Normal flames, even my densest Da Dou Shi fire, wash over that parchment like water over a stone. The material it is written on is entirely impervious to heat. The script inside is incredibly hard to decipher, but if you do manage to force an understanding, it will be disastrous for you."
Xiao Zhan sighed, looking down at his hands. "Our clan kept it because, despite its cursed nature, it is something ancient that our greatest ancestor created. To destroy it—if we even could—would be a profound disrespect to our origins. We must respect the notion of our bloodline's history."
"So, to keep it well hidden from greedy eyes," Xiao Zhan explained, "my predecessors decided the safest place was the Pavilion itself. We disguised it as a broken thing, something useless and ordinary. By throwing it in a pile of garbage, no one ever bothers to take a second glance. And if a youth does happen to look at it, they immediately lose interest because it has no rank and no elemental aura. The possibility of anyone ever choosing to use it was considered null. No one has ever managed to comprehend this scroll... until you decided to be stubborn."
Yoriichi processed this new lore. The fact that the scroll was utterly indestructible to normal flames only confirmed his suspicion: the author was a god-tier entity, utilizing materials far beyond the comprehension of this border city.
"I understand all of this now," Yoriichi said, leaning forward slightly. "But Patriarch, you said it wasn't exactly a Qi Method. Then is it a Qi Method at all?"
Xiao Zhan hesitated. He looked around the empty courtyard, as if afraid the very walls were listening.
"I actually asked my father that same question before he passed," Xiao Zhan murmured. "And what he told me... it indicated something impossible."
Yoriichi's curiosity was fully piqued. The mysteries surrounding this world's magic system were slowly unraveling before him. "What is it?"
Xiao Zhan leaned his head slightly forward, closing the distance across the low table, speaking as if he were whispering a forbidden, ancient heresy. A small, almost self-deprecating smile touched the Patriarch's lips.
"That scroll..." Xiao Zhan whispered finally, "it doesn't just teach you a path to circulate Dou Qi. It tells you... how to create Dou Qi Methods."
Yoriichi was surprised, but Xiao Zhan wasn't finished. The Patriarch's eyes locked onto Yoriichi's, delivering the final, shattering blow to the youth's logic.
"...at the Dou Ling realm. Or perhaps, even below it."
Yoriichi was stunned.
For the first time since awakening in this new universe, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's crimson eyes physically widened in absolute, unfiltered shock.
In the Dou Qi Continent, creating a Qi Method was the exclusive, divine right of those standing at the absolute pinnacle of existence. A cultivator needed to understand the spatial laws of the universe, the microscopic flow of worldly energy, and the fundamental truths of life and death. Only a Dou Zun or a Dou Sheng possessed that level of cosmic wisdom.
To suggest that a mortal—a mere Dou Ling, or heavens forbid, a Dou Zhe—could synthesize the elements and forge their own Qi Method... it was not just impossible. It was a blatant, arrogant challenge to the Heavens and its foundational rules. It was a mortal trying to steal the pen from the hands of God to rewrite their own destiny.
Yoriichi maintained his stare on Xiao Zhan for several long seconds, his mind reeling. Slowly, he forced his rapid heartbeat to settle, utilizing his Breath of the Sun to actively calm his surging emotions, bringing his expression back to a state of stoic neutrality.
Xiao Zhan sat back, a small, victorious smile playing on his lips as he observed the youth's reaction.
'He understands now,' Xiao Zhan thought, feeling a massive weight lift from his shoulders. 'Seeing his eyes widen like that... he finally realizes the absolute insanity of this scroll. No cultivator with a working brain would choose a path that challenges the laws of the universe with zero possibility of success. I have saved him.'
The atmosphere on the veranda fell perfectly silent. The only sound was the wind rustling through the leaves of the great willow tree in the courtyard.
Yoriichi nodded his head slowly to himself. He was looking down at his own hands, his mind calculating, thinking, and finally, deciding. The ancestor who wrote this had the god-tier blueprint, but he lacked the biological engine to harmonize it. The patriarchs had failed because they were mortals trying to play god.
But Yoriichi was not a normal mortal. He was the originator. He was the Sun.
After a long stretch of silence, Yoriichi raised his head slightly. He looked Xiao Zhan directly in the eyes. The shock was entirely gone, replaced by a calm, absolute conviction that felt heavier than the mountains.
"Patriarch," Yoriichi stated, his voice completely level and devoid of any fear. "I know the stakes. I know the history. Zero chance for anyone else."
He reached into his robe, his hand resting over the spot where the black parchment sat against his chest.
"Still... I will take it. And I will try it."
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