Chapter 2, Heavenly Dream Divine Skill (Part 1)

I am unworthy of such praise. I have worked as a clerk at Jiuzhitang for a few years, have some knowledge of pharmacology, and can recognize a few characters. I do not dare to call myself a physician; I only know how to take a pulse.

After a long while without any response, he looked up to see everyone staring intently at the half-eaten roast chicken in his hand. A few children stood nearby with pitiful expressions, picking up the bones he had discarded and licking them. Li Fei shook his head and handed the chicken back to Fang Jin, saying, "It's not that I'm bullying you by taking your food. You scolded me earlier, and I didn't hold it against you. Eating half of your roast chicken is just compensation. You have no objections, right?"

Another person said resentfully: "What else can we do to survive! In this kind of weather, we can't even dig up wild vegetables, and we can't go into the city. We can only go to the nearby villages and towns to beg for food. There aren't too many people who have fled here yet, but there are still over a thousand. Those living outside the city are all poor. We go begging every day, and we have long scared the locals. Without some means, one cannot obtain food. Many weak individuals have already frozen or starved to death."

Is it that thoughts during the day lead to dreams at night, or has something supernatural occurred? The dream I just had was truly bizarre and incredibly vivid, as if it had actually happened.

He also did not know whether the memories he could not grasp were reliable. As he pondered, he suddenly felt a slight sting in his nose: his parents must be frantic because they couldn't find him. What would the teachers and classmates say when they learned the truth? Would they miss him or envy him for truly having crossed over? ... Perhaps, in that world, no one would genuinely care about his disappearance. His parents were just busy arguing every day.

On that day, while the petty person was selling wine in the shop, a Taoist, after getting drunk, spoke nonsensically, saying that we brothers harbored a great secret within us. If this riddle were solved, we could attain physical sanctity and shatter the void. After saying this, he transmitted to me a set of techniques called the Heavenly Dream Divine Skill, which involves drawing the celestial star's spiritual energy into the body, then penetrating the acupoints to condense the soul, cultivating a spiritual golden body that can fly through the heavens and evade the earth, indeed extraordinarily powerful. Yet, it remains unclear whether that old Taoist was deceiving me or if I was simply foolish, as I have not mastered it. Today, I pass it on to my brothers; through mutual spiritual resonance and interconnected energy, should any difficulty arise, a call will bring me to their side.

Looking around, the mountain god temple had fallen into disrepair over the years. The incomplete mountain god and two small demons on the altar, with their green faces and sharp fangs, appeared eerie and terrifying. In the dimming firelight, they seemed ready to leap down and choose a person to devour, causing his heart to race wildly.

In every world, there exists a truth: the law of the jungle, where the strong prey upon the weak, and the one with the strongest fist is the leader

Heavenly Dream Divine Skill, Spiritual Energy Entering the Aperture

Upon further reflection, I recalled the stories from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" that I read in my childhood, where the beautiful women from the books could step into reality. Nowadays, even time travel has become a reality, so it seems nothing extraordinary for characters to emerge from books. Li Fei, possessing exceptional courage and insight, quickly found a reason to calm his mind.

This little person does not know either

Fang Jin and the others felt their throats rumbling with hunger, their eyes nearly popping out like roasted chickens, each of them clenching their fists tightly. This chicken was stolen at great risk; the thief had been bitten by a dog and was still lying on the ground. However, due to Li Fei's earlier display of skill and his peculiar attire, no one dared to speak up.

Li Fei suddenly recalled some cultivation techniques in his mind. Prior to this, he had never practiced any martial arts, qigong, or Taoist methods, so it must have been Shi Qian who imparted them to him in a dream. These methods and related knowledge felt as if he had already memorized them, and he remembered them clearly

Speaking of hunger, Li Fei realized that he was already so hungry that his stomach was pressed against his back. He saw a plump chicken roasting in the fire, golden brown and exuding a rich aroma, with grease dripping off it. Without being polite, he took the whole chicken, tearing it apart, blowing on it, and stuffing it into his mouth.

There was a small grease stain on Shi Qian's mouth, which turned out to be a drop of oil that had dripped on him while he was eating roasted chicken. No wonder Shi Qian claimed he would treat him to roasted chicken. Although the mystery was solved, the hairs on Li Fei's back stood on end; he felt as if he had truly seen a ghost! Was it this book that had become a spirit, or was it the ghost of Shi Qian that had attached itself to the book?

He suddenly sat up, drenched in cold sweat. He noticed that the fire in the temple was dim, and the sound of snoring filled the air; it turned out he had just had a strange dream

No objections, no objections! Fang Jin dared not say much. A few people quickly divided the roasted chicken, which had more bones than meat. The children also received bones with a bit of skin and meat on them, laughing happily.

His memories have not diminished; he clearly remembers his childhood, friends, parents, and classmates. However, there is a gap regarding the period of his time travel, with only a faint and fragmented image remaining. It seems he was once in a secret room filled with many books. By the way, on the first page of "The Embroidered Picture of Water Margin," the four characters "Upholding Justice on Behalf of Heaven" appear to have talismans on both sides, but now the one on the right is missing

Li Fei was astonished. What on earth is going on? The heroes of Liangshan have been dead for nearly a thousand years; how could they possibly come back to life? Is the figure before him a human or a ghost?

Li Fei hurriedly picked up the book and searched for Shi Qian. Indeed, he found that Shi Qian was dressed just like the person in his dreams, with a similarly thin face, protruding eyes, and two whiskers like a mouse.

Li Fei carefully flipped through the book but could not discern any clues. Fang Zhi, noticing that Mai seemed distracted, leaned over to take a look but did not recognize anyone depicted in it

Shi Qian shook his head: "It is the first time a petty person has met a brother"

Li Fei was taken aback and hurriedly sat up. He saw that the man was less than 1.6 meters tall, with a thin, dark face, bulging eyes that sparkled, and two whiskers on his upper lip, giving him a somewhat lewd and sneaky appearance

He did not answer but instead asked: "Hearing your name... are you a doctor?"

A petty person has no real abilities, only engaging in activities such as scaling rooftops and stealing chickens or tomb raiding. If my brothers need me, they only need to call out "Earth Thief Star Shi Qian" using the method I have taught, and I will arrive immediately

However, Shi Qian did not appear to have the slightest hint of a sinister or ghostly demeanor; instead, he presented himself with a humble and courteous attitude, eager to ingratiate himself. Li Fei, being inherently bold, was not particularly afraid.

While he was in a daze, contemplating various matters, a beam of black light suddenly shot out from the book he was holding to his chest, and then it transformed into a figure dressed in black.

Li Fei looked at himself and indeed appeared quite ancient and peculiar. While everyone else, regardless of gender, had long hair, he was the only one with hair just an inch long. Others wore short jackets or long robes, while he was dressed in denim. Fortunately, among the refugees, he did not stand out too much; if he were to enter the city, he would likely attract more attention than a celebrity.

The uncle is truly modest, and the name is even better. By the way, do battles often occur nearby? Why have you ended up here?

The refugees in the temple have divided into several groups, each with its own leader. They unite against external enemies, yet become adversaries when it comes to competing for food. If they do not compete, they will starve. Given such an environment, it is indeed a situation beyond their control

Li Fei chatted with Fang Zhimai for a while and generally learned about the development situation and folk customs of the Great Jing Kingdom, which should be similar to the Song Dynasty period of his own world, but the geographical conditions were completely different. He asked Fang Jin for a half-tattered, foul-smelling cotton quilt, squeezed by the fire, and thought for a long time, yet he could not recall how he ended up in this world.

"Oh, who are you? Why do you look so familiar, like a character from a picture book..." Li Fei said, filled with suspicion.

Li Fei felt somewhat disappointed: "If you don't know this and can't do that, then what exactly can you do?"

It turns out that the light of the sun, moon, and stars contains high-dimensional energy—spiritual qi. The principle of the Heavenly Dream Divine Skill is to absorb energy from the stars, inject it into the spiritual orifices, and then channel the spiritual qi into the corresponding acupoints, thereby strengthening the physical constitution

It had been decades since there was any war. Three to five hundred miles northeast lies the border stronghold of Suoyun City, which has been guarded by the Xue family, the Duke of the State, for generations. The current Duke, Xue Meng, is known as the 'North Pillar,' with military strategy and martial prowess unmatched in the world, keeping the Heiliang Kingdom at bay for decades. Unexpectedly, last month, Xue Meng suddenly passed away. Upon learning this news, the Heiliang Kingdom immediately raised its troops to invade, forcing us, the common people living between the two nations, to flee for our lives. To prevent spies from the Heiliang Kingdom from infiltrating, all border cities have been placed under martial law, prohibiting refugees from entering the cities.

Li Fei was both astonished and delighted. What did "spiritual energy entering the orifice, spiritual body of golden form" mean, if not the golden characters he had seen when touching the talisman? It turned out the secret lay with Shi Qian! ... Just as he was about to inquire about the cultivation method, a tremendous thunderbolt suddenly struck from the sky, with a resounding "boom" landing directly on his head

Li Fei silently cursed his bad luck; there hadn't been a war for decades, and yet he arrived just in time for one. What kind of terrible luck was this! Remembering the corpses he had seen by the roadside, he asked, "So how do you live here?"

Li Fei continued to study the illustrations in the book by the firelight while eating. No matter how he manipulated the symbol, there was no response. The pages and cover contained no hidden layers, and the paper was ordinary. Examining it under the firelight revealed nothing special within the paper; even when he dampened the pages with snowmelt, there were no unusual signs.

The person performed a bow and said: "I am a humble man, surnamed Shi and named Qian, from Gaotang Prefecture. I am known as the 'Drummer's Flea.' I do not know how long it has been since anyone invited me to enjoy roasted chicken with books. Today, I am particularly grateful for your brotherly kindness and have come to express my thanks"

May I ask what method it is

Suddenly recalling the moment of touching the rune, he remembered seeing golden characters flashing before his eyes, such as "Spirit Qi Entering the Aperture, Washing Tendons and Breaking Marrow, Celestial Stars Entering the Body, Ascending to the White Sun". Clearly, this was some form of cultivation technique. Who does not harbor dreams of martial immortals or celestial heroes? What those who wish to transcend truly desire is to acquire extraordinary skills, to soar through the skies and traverse the world. Now, this fortune seemed to be beckoning to him, yet the book contained only images and names, with no other words. How could such nonsensical phrases be used for cultivation?

Young hero, may I ask where you are from and why you are dressed in such an unusual manner

Shi Qian stroked his shiny beard: "This little man is also unaware; he only remembers gathering with brothers Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu at Liangshan, arranging the seating, and then he felt dazed and confused until today when he ate the roasted chicken from his brothers, finally coming to his senses"

Can you take me home

Li Fei's eyes lit up; Shi Qian was indeed the foremost thief of Liangshan, as well as one of the rare thieves in the world, and his utility was undoubtedly significant

Li Fei was truly hungry, and he pretended not to see Fang Jin and the others' angry expressions. The more he acted with impunity, the less the crowd dared to act and seize from him. They sometimes bullied weaker refugees, but when faced with someone more ferocious, they wilted.

Are you, are you someone who jumped out of a book? How could you be inside it?

When did I ever invite you to have roasted chicken... Do you know how I got here

This is somewhat similar to the Daoist principle of "drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body for one's own use," but the starlight spiritual energy is a high-purity, high-density innate energy, far more refined than the true qi cultivated by Daoist practices. It can bring about a complete transformation of the physical body, and its realm and cultivation speed are far beyond what Daoist techniques can achieve