Chapter Fourteen: Variables?

  Recalling the experiences of the past few days, Ling Muyun couldn't help but secretly feel lucky. If it weren't for the fact that Buddhism was declining at this time, with war disasters following one after another, and the Shaolin Temple struggling to maintain itself, coupled with the fact that the Shaolin Temple had been closed off from the world in recent years, making it the most disconnected from Jianghu, their emphasis on their own martial arts classics would not be as strong as in other eras. In this case, Ling Muyun's trip to Shaolin might have ended in vain.

  After entering the Shaolin Temple, Ling Muyun only then knew how difficult it was to enter the Scripture Library. More than a dozen days ago, he met with the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple under the guidance of the reception monk and proposed that he wanted to enter the Scripture Library to copy Buddhist scriptures, but the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple almost shook his head in refusal without even thinking about it, despite his repeated pleas, the Abbot would not agree no matter what.

  Later, other monks in the temple helped to persuade the abbot to allow Ling Mu Yun to enter the scripture hall to select and copy Buddhist scriptures, but with certain restrictions.

  Firstly, Ling Muyun's copying behavior must be carried out in the Scripture Storage Pavilion and he is absolutely not allowed to take any scriptures out of the pavilion. Secondly, his activity area is limited to the first floor of the Scripture Storage Pavilion where Buddhist scriptures are stored, and he is absolutely not allowed to set foot on the second or third floors where martial arts scriptures are stored. Thirdly, all his actions must be under the supervision of the supervising monks in the Scripture Storage Pavilion, and he is absolutely not allowed to leave their sight while copying scriptures.

  Ling Muyun only obtained the permission of the abbot of Shaolin Temple after agreeing to this series of conditions, and then entered the Scripture Pavilion. It wasn't until later when he inquired with the supervising monks inside the Scripture Pavilion that Ling Muyun learned why entering the pavilion was so difficult for him.

  This matter can be traced back to the Northern Song Dynasty recorded in "The Legend of the Eight Immortals". At that time, Shaolin Temple was not strict enough in its supervision and guarding of the scripture repository, resulting in a series of extremely serious martial arts secret leakage incidents. Three people, namely the Indian monk Poluoxing, the Khitan Xiaoyuanshan, and the Xianbei imperial descendant Murongbo, successively stole Shaolin Temple's martial arts secrets from the scripture repository.

  Since the leakage of this serious martial arts secret, Shaolin Temple has learned a lesson and not only strengthened the guard of the scripture library but also set extremely strict management rules. From now on, no one except the monks in the temple is allowed to enter the scripture library. If Ling Mu Yun hadn't chosen the right time when Shaolin Temple was struggling to maintain its incense fire, the abbot would never have made an exception for him to enter the scripture library, even if he had offered more incense money.

  After learning the truth, Ling Muyun couldn't help but feel secretly relieved. Although he also donated half of the money from selling his property as incense money to Shaolin Temple, Ling Muyun didn't mind it at all. Others like Tang Monk and his disciples went to the Western Heaven to fetch scriptures and were asked for human relations, while he came to Shaolin Temple to read the Nine Yang True Classic, a rare martial arts secret book, so contributing some incense money was also reasonable.

  Ling Muyun began his plan to steal the scriptures after entering the Scripture Pavilion. In order not to arouse the suspicion of the Shaolin monks, Ling Muyun did not go to move the "Nine Yang True Classic" in the "Lengjia Jing" at first, but instead copied a "Jingang Jing" and a "Fahua Jing" as cover.

  Later, seeing no one suspected, he took out the "Lengyan Scripture" from Damo's handwriting and copied it. In order to avoid being checked by the monks of Shaolin Temple, he did not dare to copy the "Nine Yang True Classic" hidden in the original "Lengyan Scripture", but instead relied on his strong memory to memorize the "Nine Yang True Classic". Then he copied another "Mahaparinirvana Sutra" as a cover-up, and only then bid farewell to the abbot of Shaolin Temple and left the mountain.

  Ling Muyun sat cross-legged on the bed, calming his mind and clearing his spirit. He began to circulate the inner energy method recorded in the Nine Yang True Classic. The key principles of the Nine Yang True Classic flowed quietly through his heart: "He is strong because he is strong, a clear wind sweeps over the mountain ridge. He is arrogant because he is arrogant, a bright moon shines on the great river. He is cruel and I am kind, with one mouthful of true energy..."

  It was the first time that Ling Muyun had practiced the Jiu Yang Shen Gong, although he had already memorized the true scripture in his heart when he was at the Shaolin Temple. However, out of caution, he did not dare to try practicing it at the Shaolin Temple, fearing that it would arouse suspicion among the people there. Although the Shaolin Temple is currently facing a difficult situation, after all, it is a thousand-year-old ancient temple, where tigers and dragons lie hidden, and one moment of carelessness could reveal flaws. Therefore, it was not until he had escaped from the Songshan territory that Ling Muyun dared to truly practice the Jiu Yang Shen Gong.

  The Nine Suns Divine Skill is indeed worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the Nine Yin True Classic, which is known as the ultimate martial arts manual. The number nine represents the extreme numbers of heaven and earth, while yang represents one of the two principles, representing one aspect of the natural world. The Nine Suns True Classic is named after the nine yang, implying that it has reached the profound mysteries of the heavenly yang, and its extraordinary martial skills can be imagined.

  Along the Jiu Yang Shen Gong's Qigong route, Ling Mu Yun transported his true Qi, and he felt warm all over his body, just like soaking in a hot spring. A thick and rich true Qi was produced with each flow of his thoughts, although it was still far less than the Jiu Yin true Qi he had cultivated before due to its new birth. However, in terms of quality, it was not inferior at all, and it did not blend with the Jiu Yin true Qi, instead, it took a different path, gathering into a warm current that flowed through his meridians.

  As the newly born Jiu Yang True Qi circulated and flowed through Ling Mu Yun's meridians, the acupoints along the way frequently swelled and throbbed. He only felt a mighty power filling his four limbs and hundred bones, as if he wanted to dance with joy and release it all out. Unbeknownst to him, he had become enchanted by it, his mind clear and bright, entering the rarely attained state of "forgetting oneself and the world" in internal cultivation.

  "Hmm..."

  It wasn't until much later that Ling Muyun finally emerged from the wonderful state of unity with the universe, and he slowly got up after withdrawing his energy. After withdrawing his energy, Ling Muyun only felt refreshed and invigorated, just like he had just woken up from a good sleep. His internal energy was surging, and the true energy inside his body had increased significantly, increasing by nearly 20% compared to before.

  Ling Muyun couldn't help but feel overjoyed, as he had been practicing the inner strength technique of the Nine Yin True Classics' Easy Tendon and Bone Strengthening Chapter for more than half a year. His internal strength already had some foundation, allowing him to rank among the second or third tier in the Jianghu. Yet, after only one practice session of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, his internal energy increased by another 20%, equivalent to over a month's worth of hard work. How could he not be thrilled? Although this was partly due to the remarkable effect of the first practice and the extraordinary state of being completely absorbed in the exercise, it was enough to make Ling Muyun have high expectations for the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

  At this moment, Ling Muyun only felt a surge in his head, and suddenly a stream of information poured into his mind. Having had several experiences before, Ling Muyun was not unfamiliar with this feeling, knowing that the game system he carried was transmitting information to him again. He closed his eyes, thinking hard, digesting and absorbing the new information that had just flooded in.

  A moment later, Ling Muyun reopened his eyes, and a hint of surprise flashed in them.

  The information that flooded his mind was a reminder and warning from the system. To put it simply, because Ling Muyun used copying scriptures as an excuse to deceive Shaolin and obtain the Nine Suns Scripture, which he then cultivated, the Nine Suns Divine Technique, which should have appeared only after dozens of years, emerged ahead of time, causing a certain variable in the operation of the Heavenly Way in the secondary plane of the Shooting Eagle World. This may have had some impact on the fate trajectory of those who were destined to be affected in the secondary plane world. Due to this change possibly affecting the mission that Ling Muyun was carrying out, an exception was made and he was given a warning.

  It's also because Ling Muyun played a bit too big, if he didn't bring out the Jiu Yang True Classic, which is comparable to the world's first extraordinary skill, the Nine Yin True Classic, ahead of time, it wouldn't have caused such a huge impact. For example, before that, he relied on his understanding of the original work and studied the half of the Nine Yin True Classic recorded in the Chong Yang Relic, which didn't trigger any unexpected impact, because although the Chong Yang Relic also appeared ahead of time due to Ling Muyun, the Nine Yin True Classic recorded on it had already appeared decades ago, so it was not enough to affect the operation of the Heavenly Way.

  After learning the details, Ling Muyun was both astonished and flustered. His understanding of the original plot had been his greatest reliance and advantage in dominating the second-rate martial arts world. The system's warning was tantamount to telling him that this reliance might disappear, which was like a disabled person who was used to relying on crutches suddenly having them taken away - how could he not be flustered?

  "The destined one? Since this is the world of Shooting Hoops, the destined one must be Guo Jing. After all, he is the original protagonist of this world, with incredibly deep good fortune. Apart from him, probably no one else can bear the title of destined one."

  However, Ling Muyun had been a human for two lifetimes after all, and his mental quality was still pretty good. He quickly calmed down and thought to himself: "I originally wanted to find a place to quietly cultivate for two years before going to look for him again, but now it seems that's not possible. What if he's affected by the changes in variables and gets killed off by someone, or what if he changes his path and doesn't go to Zhongdu? How am I supposed to participate in the plot and complete my task then? Can't just search all over the world for the Five Absolutes!"

  "It seems I can only work hard and go to the Mongolian grasslands for a trip. At least I have to ensure that Guo Jing, that foolish kid, doesn't get killed, and then wait for him to return to Central Plains before following him together. This should be the safest approach, after all, it's not like just because I obtained the Nine Yang Manual ahead of time, the entire heavenly mechanism would change!"

  Ling Muyun made up his mind to change his original plan of continuing to practice in seclusion, and instead decided to head to the Mo Bei Grasslands as soon as he had mastered the Nine Yang Divine Technique, so that he could get involved in the plot early on and avoid any unforeseen twists.