"Purple Moon, Black Dragon and White Tree scripture!" Xiao Wu stared wide eyed at this mysterious 'brother in all but blood' of hers

"Does brother Cheng possibly know the secret techniques that my clan has guarded for centuries???" She chuckled.

'Even then... Why did he say first scripture? Isn't it just a whole?'

Cheng Hao's smile grew even wider "Of course I do, and it is even an improved version! For now though, you and I will focus on the most important part for now. Do you know why Martial Ways are special?"

Xiao Wu nodded and answered automatically, as if it was something she had already said multiple times before.

"Martial Ways can not only gather its corresponding Qi strands from its surrounding, it can also aid cultivation, speed up enlightenment and, most importantly, appear in battle to fight as an asset for its master"

Cheng Hao whistled and clapped in admiration.

"You truly did study a lot" Xiao Wu blushed at Cheng Hao's remark and quietly accepted the praise that her brother was giving her.

"But you forgot one thing..."

Cheng Hao's whole countenance grew mysterious as he got closer to Xiao Wu, as if he was about to tell her an important secret.

"Martial Avatar and Martial Way Visualization!" Seeing Xiao Wu's confused expression Cheng Hao guessed.

'It probably hasn't been discovered yet in this continent... After all I did learn this from some caged guy in the Nine Heavens...'

Cheng Hao tried to keep it simple "Do you remember that weird tower that surrounded me before? Try remembering the pressure and your impression of it"

Xiao Wu looked into her memories. Yes. She remembered the ridiculous pressure that made it hard to breathe. She remembered the oppressive feeling the tower gave off, as if IT was the master of life and death and, with just a single thought, she could be blown away. She remembered it...

"From your expression, it seems you do. Good, it will be much more easier to explain this way! Now, one of the reasons in my previous explanation I said... No, no need to look into your notes, I will repeat myself for this once. Take new notes instead!" Cheng Hao waited for his sister to take out the utensils needed and resumed

"Why should we risk so much just to form a Pseudo-Core? Well, normally the fact that you get an understanding on how a true core formation works might already satisfy most people, but it would not be enough for geniuses like us! Ok, first! The Pseudo-Core will keep remaining there even after the real Core is formed, so it might as well act as a life saving treasure. Since it will keep accumulating impure energy and Qi expelled from your body and the real Core... Oh? Didn't notice? Check it out later! Now keep listening carefully!"

Cheng Hao cleared his voice and took a sip from a gourd full of wine.

"Aaaah! Where was I? Oh, since it will keep accumulating Impure Qi it won't hold as much power as the real deal, but the difference is that while the true Core must be kept safe at all costs, the Pseudo-Core can be Detonated! This will give you a huge boost in power temporarily!"

Cheng Hao's leaned back and looked upwards

"Think of it, months and years of accumulated power that burst out in a single moment! This now of course won't be as drastic as blowing up the real deal, at least it won't injure you permanently. Of course it will leave some internal injuries, but your life and most of your cultivation will be kept intact and you can just form another Pseudo-Core later... Unfortunately the body can't hold more than one Pseudo-Core and it gets harder to rebuild and it takes longer to regenerate each time"

A sip and the lecture resumed.

"Second! While the Core cannot, the Pseudo-Core can hold inside it objects made of Qi or other kinds of energies... Think of the Martial Way! It even needs it to be inside during a fight or else it would implode! So it is also a storage for impure energies, Martial Ways and who knows what else!"

"Third and the most important! We sacrifice our ability to use the true body of the Martial Way in battle until we reach the Advanced stage, where we can finally rely on true Cores, sure, but it still gives us even more benefits than a Martial Way alone can give you!!"

Although Xiao Wu previously didn't know a single thing about what Cheng Hao was explaining, she understood it all without any problem. That wasn't just because she was smart enough to do that, but because Cheng Hao was incredibly great at explaining things in a way other people would understand them easily.

Well, after all, you can only say you have learned something when you can explain it to other people, and Cheng Hao clearly knew a lot.

"A martial way outside the body cannot absorb energy as the strands are too dense and too packed to choose the right ones, so it becomes difficult for the treasure to pick them, thus making it automatically unable to collect any energy. Inside the body though, it's a different story... Think about it, I only kept it inside for a few minutes, and yet once its manifestation, its Avatar, came out it was already this overpowering! Of course mine is a bit of an exception, but I'm sure that right now if you, a total noob at controlling it, were to battle a weak cultivator of the Basic stage just by using the power of your Martial Way... There are very few chances you would suffer defeat!"

Cheng Hao lifted his left palm and a golden tower appeared on top of it "I can suppress its power so it might look like an innocent little glowing toy. But the moment I channel my energy into it..."

*Boom*

The Immortal Ascension Tower Avatar appeared surrounding Cheng Hao once again, the strong pressure reappearing. The gate on the first floor slowly opened and three pairs of arrogant eyes could be seen looking outside. They subconsciously pressured any living being that looked into those pupils and even though the attack wasn't aimed at her, Xiao Wu still had to squint her eyes when she tried to look at the six glowing golden lights.

With a *whoosh* the tower shrank back in Cheng Hao's palm and faded away when he turned his hand over.

"Our consciousness can't hold such a powerful energy like a Martial Way inside it before it reaches the Reverend Stage, even then it would take quite the toll on the body! I think you should remember having such a feeling when you were building your core... That is why our Pseudo-Cores are so important and such great gifts to us..."

Cheng Hao finally stopped talking and took another sip from the gourd. He already drank two bottles' worth of wine yet there was no sign of him being drunk in the way he behaved. Even the smell of alcohol was suppressed since he found out Xiao Wu didn't drink and didn't want to displease her.

"Now for the control part! To be able to create an avatar or at least an illusory manifestation of the Martial Way is quite the hard work. I'm a genius and you are not bad at all yourself, but I still think it is better to start from the basics. Extend your palm. Good. Now, picture your Martial Way on your hand. Don't picture it coming out of the Pseudo-Core, just it appearing on your hand. Try it!"

Xiao Wu extended her left hand and did as she was told. The purple moon appeared but, although she kept imagining the other two beings, the white tree and the black dragon, appearing above her palm, she couldn't do it at all. She lifted her head and threw a questioning glance at Cheng Hao. He simply smiled and gave a thumbs up, pointing at her other palm.

Her mind roared in disbelief 'Impossible!'

She looked at her right palm and, no doubt at all, the White Tree and Black Dragon were there!

On the other hand though, they had not appeared alongside the Purple Moon at all as if... They weren't of the same kind? Suddenly, she was enlightened! The Purple Moon, Black Dragon and White Tree wasn't actually a single scripture... Remembering her doubts from before she couldn't help but smile. It was not the Purple Moon, Black Dragon and White Tree Qi she was trying to gain enlightenment of... It was the Purple Moon AND Black Dragon and White Tree Qi!

She turned towards the smiling Cheng Hao. He truly looked happy... As if he had designed a difficult treasure hunt and somebody had actually held out until the end and found the treasure... He felt proud of having such a talented little sister!

"Good going there! The first time that I entered your consciousness and saw the two scenes blended together as one I admit I was a bit shocked myself but then it occurred to me... That your ancestor IS Xiao Lan after all, he wouldn't make such a mistake as unconsciously putting two Martial Ways as one!"

Cheng Hao pointed at her hands

"It was because he knew you had the power to control them! That's right, you have the talent of Split Cultivation, the power to divide your attention during cultivation to cultivate different kinds of Qi and thus using two kinds of Qi in battle as well! The person I chose to be my sister should at the very least have This much talent shouldn't she?"

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment then a malicious smile appeared on her face "Brother, brother... Could you possibly jealous of your sister's talent?"

Cheng Hao also chuckled and then with a casual wave of his hands, a total of fifteen Immortal Ascension Towers had actually appeared hovering around him.

Xiao Wu's previous laughter was blocked off and she couldn't help but stare in stupor at the scene before her. Although it was only one kind of Qi, to create so many illusory Martial Ways wasn't something she could do right now!

"This is what you must be able to do. I will now teach you the scripture for the Black Dragon and White Tree... As for the most difficult and challenging Purple Moon... You will have to the same I did back there by the end of the month! If fifteen is too much, then go one or even more lower, though if it is lower than ten I will consider it a failure, for the number nine is a number that I despise, and anything below that would be too easy!"

Cheng Hao smiled "Consider it a test for your patience!" His smile turned cold and his eyes were even colder "And revenge for underestimating your big brother..."

Xiao Wu shivered.