All of us are one

Chapter 88 Cultivation Methods and Visualization Diagrams

Jiang Yanming followed Jiang Zhi through the inner hall. After leaving the more heavily guarded treasure vault, library, and armory, they arrived at the entrance to the courtyard complex centered around the garden.

"This is the residence of the Xuan Shui Hall's senior members, consisting of seventeen courtyards," Jiang Zhi explained. "According to my initial plan, this should be the residence of the hall masters of the Great River Alliance."

Jiang Yanming nodded slightly. His uncle's original intention in establishing the seventeen courtyards was undoubtedly to integrate the Great River Alliance; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of having the hall masters of the various branches live here.

"Of the seventeen courtyards, five are currently inhabited," Jiang Zhi explained. "They are all experts at the fourth level of the Condensing Qi realm, holding positions such as deputy hall master or protector of the Xuan Shui Hall."

The garden features artificial hills, flowing water, pavilions, and towers, dividing the entire garden into multiple areas that connect different courtyards.

Not long after.

Jiang Yanming arrived at a courtyard. The gate was open, and the faint sound of a woman's laughter could be heard from inside.

Jiang Yanming followed Jiang Zhi into the courtyard and looked around.

After walking for a while, Jiang Zhi, who was leading the way, suddenly asked, "It's very ordinary, isn't it?"

"Mm." Jiang Yanming nodded.

The courtyard is a two-section courtyard with an estimated dozen or so rooms. The interior decoration is quite simple, unlike the residence of someone of Jiang Zhi's high position and power.

"My wife and I are not pleasure-seeking people, so our residence is quite simply furnished," Jiang Zhi said softly. "Of course, the layout of these seventeen courtyards is basically the same. We live here to protect our family, so no one will care too much."

Jiang Yanming nodded to himself, realizing that settling his family in the main hall was indeed more reassuring than settling them in other places.

"Madam, Meng'er," Jiang Zhi called out.

"Father is back!" a surprised female voice rang out.

Before long, a long-haired girl in a blue dress came running towards them, but she stopped when she saw Jiang Yanming and looked around curiously.

"Meng'er, come here." Jiang Zhi said with a smile.

"Father." Upon hearing this, the girl in blue quickly came to Jiang Zhi's side.

"This is your cousin, Jiang Yanming," Jiang Zhi introduced, pulling the girl in blue along. "He is your uncle's only son and has just returned from the Four Kingdoms Alliance."

Upon hearing this, the girl in green bowed somewhat shyly to Jiang Yanming, saying, "Greetings, elder brother."

"Greetings, sister." Jiang Yanming smiled and returned the greeting.

"Ah Ming, you also have a married cousin who is a year younger than you," Jiang Zhi told him.

"Yes, I've heard of her." Jiang Yanming nodded. The younger sister who married into Qingfeng Temple in the Daxi River Basin is the eldest granddaughter-in-law of the current abbot of Qingfeng Temple.

"Meng'er, where is your mother?" Jiang Zhi asked.

"Mother is embroidering in the back," the girl in blue said coquettishly. "I was just playing with Little Peach Blossom, Father, please don't tell Mother."

"You're still so playful," Jiang Zhi said, shaking his head helplessly.

Jiang Yanming watched from the side. If he wasn't mistaken, this younger cousin was probably thirteen or fourteen years old, which was the age when she was playful and it was normal for her to like to play.

"Okay, I won't tell your mother." Jiang Zhi nodded and instructed, "Be careful, don't fall like before."

"Thank you, Father." The girl in blue nodded happily, then turned and ran off, leaving only her clear voice behind, "I'll be careful."

"My wife is the eldest daughter of the Lu family of Luhu Water Village," Jiang Zhi said, watching his daughter's retreating figure. "If nothing unexpected happens, Meng'er will marry into Luhu Water Village."

"You want to strengthen ties with Luhu Water Village through marriage?" Jiang Yanming frowned slightly.

"Luhu Water Village is adjacent to my Great Jiang Alliance. If we are not friends, we are enemies. It is better to form a marriage alliance to make friends than to become enemies." Jiang Zhi turned to look at Jiang Yanming. "If you form a marriage alliance with the three major families of Jiangnan, then Meng'er does not need to form a marriage alliance with Luhu Water Village. She can find a husband to continue the family line of my lineage."

Jiang Yanming narrowed his eyes slightly; he couldn't promise anything at the moment.

If he were to marry into one of the three great families of Jiangnan, it would be good to let his cousin, who calls him brother, freely choose her husband.

"Go see your aunt," Jiang Zhi said as he stepped forward. "Then I'll take you to observe the Xuan Shui meditation method."

Jiang Yanming followed after hearing this.

soon.

The two arrived at the back room and saw a woman in white sitting by the window, embroidering. She had a beautiful face and a gentle temperament.

"My husband."

The woman in white noticed someone entering, turned around, saw the two people, immediately put down her embroidery, and stood up to greet them.

"Madam, this is my elder brother's only son, Jiang Yanming, the young leader of the Great River Alliance," Jiang Zhi introduced.

The woman in white smiled as she carefully examined her nephew, whom she had never seen before.

"Greetings, Madam Jiang." Jiang Yanming bowed respectfully.

The woman in white's smile froze, and she looked at her husband with some nervousness and doubt in her eyes.

"Ah Ming and I are having a disagreement," Jiang Zhi said calmly. "You don't need to pay attention to it. He didn't call me uncle."

The woman in white relaxed upon hearing this. She had thought she had done something wrong and was not being recognized by the young leader of the Great River Alliance.

"Madam, have someone prepare a private room for Ah Ming. Just have some simple dishes for dinner." Jiang Zhi said, then turned and left.

Jiang Yanming bowed to the woman in white and then followed Jiang Zhi.

"What's going on between the uncle and nephew..." The woman in white was both amused and exasperated.

She naturally wouldn't listen to her husband and just make do with whatever dishes were prepared for dinner. After all, it was her nephew's first time coming back, and as his aunt, she had to have someone prepare something special for him.

……

Jiang Zhi led Jiang Yanming out of the backyard and went straight to the door of a side room on the west side of the front yard.

Crunch!

As Jiang Yanming watched Jiang Zhi take out the key and open the door, an absurd thought arose in his mind: Could it be that the Xuan Shui Guandi method of the Great River Alliance is placed here?

Jiang Zhi entered the room, took out a flint, and lit several oil lamps in the room. After the room was bright, he closed and locked the door.

"Any martial artist who has condensed their Qi and Blood knows that a complete visualization method consists of a visualization diagram and a cultivation method," Jiang Zhi explained. "To prevent the visualization method from being leaked, the visualization diagram and the cultivation method are usually stored separately, and our Great Jiang Alliance is no exception."

"Is what's stored here a cultivation method or a visualization diagram?" Jiang Yanming asked.

"A visualization diagram," Jiang Zhi replied. "The so-called visualization method naturally focuses on visualization, and the visualization diagram is the core!"

"Since the visualization diagram is so important, is it safe to keep it here?" Jiang Yanming wondered.

"Of course it's safe. Everyone in Xuan Shui Hall knows that the Xuan Shui Visualization Method is stored in the treasure vault," Jiang Zhi said calmly.

"The Mysterious Water Visualization Method is stored in the treasure vault, so what's stored here?" Jiang Yanming asked, puzzled.

"It's also a visualization diagram of the Xuan Shui visualization method." Jiang Zhi opened the hidden compartment through the mechanism and took out a wooden box about the length of an arm. "The difference is that this visualization diagram was left behind by your father before he went to the Four Kingdoms Alliance. The artistic conception is different from that in the treasure vault."

"First, observe this visualization image, and then observe the one in the treasure trove. It would be best if you could grasp the artistic conception of this visualization image."

After saying that, Jiang Zhi opened the wooden box, took out the scroll wrapped in silk, and handed it to Jiang Yanming.