Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 351 Taiyin Refines Corpses, Taiyang Burns Palaces (5K words presented, please support with monthly tickets, they're about to expire~)

Cheng Xinzhan returned to his cave dwelling.

As soon as he returned, Kong Jufu, who lived next door, rushed over and asked the hall master why he had been kept behind alone.

Cheng Xinzhan told the truth about claiming the body.

Upon hearing this, Kong Jufu was very envious and praised,

"Boss Lai, I've known for a long time that you're no ordinary person, but you've always been suppressed by Master Ying and Old Immortal. Now that you've caught General Tang's eye, you're on a meteoric rise! Even the Hall Master is taking such good care of you, personally leading you to choose a corpse. This not only allows you to select a good corpse first, but it's also a lucky omen for you to be the first to go!"

Cheng Xinzhan listened and then asked,

"When are you going to claim the body?"

Kong Jufu then replied,

"It's almost the end of the month. There will be another group of people entering our Funiu Guard in the latter part of this month. Once everyone is here, we'll have a chance to enter the tomb of the corpse at Faqiu Hall together."

"but."

Kong Jufu scratched his head.
"I'm not planning to go. Boss Lai, you know I've already emptied my savings just to support myself. There's no point in taking more money."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, and then said,
"The sect leader told me that at the latest next month, we will be sent to fight in the Black Abyss Sea or the Golden Soup Sea. As surrendered generals, we need to be even braver in battle to be respected. Once the war starts, there will definitely be little time left. So I plan to try to form a Golden Core during this period. When the time comes, I will fight as a third-realm general, which will make it easier to gain merit and be respected."

"If you don't plan to wait to enter the Corpse House to choose a corpse, then I suggest you take this opportunity to go into seclusion and form your core. Moreover, if you enter the Third Realm first, you can choose the Yin Corpses of the Third Realm first."

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Xinzhan told Kong Jufu about the rules for claiming the corpse in the four courtyards of the house.

Kong Jufu nodded repeatedly as he listened, and said,
"Thank you for your guidance, Boss Lai. I'll head back to my cave to cultivate my core. I've been on Fire Dragon Island for over ten days now, and I've been thinking about this matter a lot. I'm almost done with the preparations, and all that's left is to give it my all!"

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, casting an encouraging glance.

"Then we'll meet again when we reach the Golden Core stage!"

"See you at the Golden Core Realm!"

Kong Jufu walked away with his head held high and chest out.

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Cheng Xinzhan smiled, then set up a barrier at the entrance that was of Lai Youde's caliber, and took out the "Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cloth" as the real barrier to prevent spying and intrusion.

Then he released the two corpses.

He first looked at the Divine Firmament Dharma Body. Although he was a great cultivator of the fourth realm in life, his senior's body certainly could not be used to nourish a corpse. However, it was not appropriate to notify the Divine Firmament Sect to come and receive the body at this time. He would rather wait until this matter was settled and then deliver it to them himself.

So, Cheng Xinzhan took out several pieces of fine wood from the illusory realm and carved them into a coffin. In addition, there was some cloud cloth left over from the last time he refined the Dharma cloth, so he used the cloud cloth as a pad, put the Dharma body inside, and then put the whole coffin back into the body bag.

Then, he looked at the blue-faced ghost.

This giant crab, lying on the ground, was as tall as a person, with a back spanning eighteen feet. Its two claws resembled giant scissors, giving it a ferocious appearance. Moreover, the patterns on its dark blue carapace naturally formed a ghost face, which is the origin of its name.

There are three ghost faces, two demons and one spirit in this world, all of whom can ward off the ghosts of the underworld.

The first is the ghost-faced crab in the water, called the Green Ghost Face, which can ward off water ghosts; the second is the ghost-faced spider in the deep mountains on land, called the Flower Ghost Face, which can ward off earth ghosts; and the third is the ghost-faced peach, a wood spirit, called the Wood Ghost Face, which can ward off wood ghosts.

These three are all extraordinary beings. In ancient times, they were recruited by the underworld and used as ghost-catching officials, and they almost never appeared in the mortal world. Only during the Yuan and Ming dynasties could they occasionally be glimpsed, but even then, they were extremely rare.

Cheng Xinzhan felt that he was really lucky to have found such a strange creature in the corpse house. Especially since the timing of its appearance was just right—he was in the process of leading the establishment of a righteous Yin Clan sect.

Although all that was in front of him was a corpse.

However, as long as the physical body is intact and the corpse is properly nurtured, the corpse cultivator will most likely inherit the innate talents and supernatural abilities from their previous life.

There are two types of corpse-raising techniques in Meiji Mountain: the "Primordial Spirit Embryo Corpse-Raising Technique" and the "Mysterious Netherworld Consciousness Corpse-Raising Technique".

Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and each has its own conditions.

The prerequisite for performing the "Mysterious Netherworld Corpse Nourishing Technique" is that the deceased still retains some of their will from their previous life. As for the reason why the will from their previous life cannot be removed, it may be due to the deceased's own voluntary action or involuntary action.

The latter is voluntary, similar to having too much resentment and being unwilling to reincarnate, deliberately clinging to the body and refusing to leave; Wu Qingbo belongs to this category. Another possibility is that they are determined to become Yin Clan corpse cultivators. The cultivators have made various preparations in life, so they do not leave after death, attempting to possess a corpse for rebirth.

As for the passive form, it involves someone using evil magic to trap the soul inside the body, and then torturing it in various ways, causing the corpse to accumulate resentment and evil energy, making it more prone to turning into a zombie.

The "Mysterious Netherworld Corpse-Nourishing Technique" cultivates Yin Corpses with faster and more developed intelligence, allowing them to approach or reach their former level of enlightenment in a shorter period. However, this method steals the life force of heaven and earth, offering a false path to immortality, and carries significant karmic consequences. During their cultivation, Yin Corpses must endure nine tribulations and overcome three calamities; failure to pass even one of these tribulations will result in death and the dissipation of their spiritual essence, with no chance of redemption.

The "Primordial Spirit Embryo Corpse Nourishing Technique" is applicable to Yin Corpses whose will has completely dissipated in life, leaving only a clean corpse. The true spirit newly nurtured has no relation to the one in life; such a Yin Corpse is equivalent to a new life and will not be subject to the wrath of heaven and earth.

Undoubtedly, the Green-Faced Ghost is a suitable candidate for this method. Cheng Xinzhan intends to use the "Five Elements Spirit Nurturing Technique" recorded in this method to cultivate the true spirit of the demon corpse. Many years ago, he used this method when raising the Hercules Beetle.

Cheng Xinzhan began taking things out of the virtual world.

First was a miniature, three-legged jade cauldron with a lid. A few years ago, when welcoming the Dragon King, the Sanqing Mountain had considered the "Five Lakes Celebrating Together" ceremony, so they refined the Five Lakes Profound Origin Heavy Water for the five cauldrons. Although they did not choose this ceremony in the end and only used the water from Poyang Lake, the other four cauldrons were given to Cheng Xinzhan.

Now, what he has brought out is the water of Dongting Lake. Among the five lakes, Dongting Lake belongs to the element of water and is associated with Yin, representing nourishment and growth. Therefore, this cauldron of water is full of the essence of water and is extremely heavy. The Green-Faced Ghost is a water demon, also belonging to the element of water and associated with Yin, making this water cauldron the perfect choice as the main artifact for the altar.

Cheng Xinzhan placed the small cauldron in front of his knees, directly facing the head of the blue-faced ghost, which was also at the Kan position of the demon corpse.

Then he summoned the Poison Devouring Cauldron, placed it in the position of the demon corpse, and released a wisp of purple fire true evil into the Poison Devouring Cauldron, which turned into a raging flame.

Then, he released a wisp of "Dutian Liuji Sha". This sha has a wonderful use: whatever earth elemental essence it has devoured, it can be transformed into the same earth elemental essence without any difference.

At that moment, Cheng Xinzhan had a thought, and this small wisp of evil energy transformed into a pile of "Nine Agreements Exorcising Divine Sand," which fell on the demon corpse like rain. In no time, it buried the demon corpse, turning it into a mound.

The "Nine-Covenant Exorcising Divine Sand" was refined by the Five Poison Heavenly King. Cheng Xinzhan had to admit that this sand was indeed a top-grade magic weapon, belonging to the Yin Earth category, with the effects of dissolving bones and destroying forms, as well as gathering souls and exorcising ghosts. However, while the Five Poison Heavenly King used it for fighting and magical duels, Cheng Xinzhan felt that this item was more suitable for altar rituals and ceremonies.

Although the "Taiyin Divine Sand," refined from the rocks of the northern yin region of Mount Tai, also has the same effect, and is even better, being a sacred object in altar rituals and ceremonies, it is still Mount Tai, and one cannot take too much of its soil and rocks. Ordinary cultivators can sweep away some dust and collect some clouds without any problem, but if one takes too much, the Mount Tai Shrine and the Mount Tai Sword Sect will not tolerate it. After burying the demon corpse, Cheng Xinzhan took out the "Heavenly Clear Sound Golden Bell," one of the ritual implements for scripture masters. The bell can calm the mind and dispel restlessness; it is also yin in nature, and he held it in his left hand.

Finally, he summoned the "Donghua Qing Shu" magic sword, which actually made him slightly dissatisfied. For the spirit-nurturing array he was about to cast, a willow or cypress branch would be the best wood-attribute magic weapon, but he had just carefully searched the illusory realm and found that he didn't actually possess any such weapons. In such a hurry, he couldn't easily search for more, so he had to use the magic sword as a substitute. Fortunately, the sword was infused with two Yin-attribute wood-evil elements, which would be very suitable for activating the "Sick Tree Blossoms" evil spirit when used later.

At this point, Yin Water, Yin Fire, Yin Earth, Yin Metal, and Yin Wood are all complete, and he can perform the "Taiyin Five Elements Awakening Spirit Altar"—this is a technique he created based on the "Five Elements Spirit Nourishing Technique" in the "Primordial Spirit Embryo Nourishing Corpse Method" of Meiji Mountain, combined with the Taiyin Way and the Ghost Edict Altar Method. This is his first attempt at it, and he doesn't know how effective it will be.

Although this was his second time using the "Primordial Spirit Embryo" method to nurture a corpse, the difference in realm, Daoist techniques, and magical artifacts compared to the first time was like heaven and earth. Naturally, he wouldn't simply replicate the complex yet rudimentary setup from the first time. Moreover, he thought that this time, the nurturing time would also give him a pleasant surprise.

He sat back a little, removed the lid of the water cauldron, and moved it forward a bit to allow enough space for the magic sword. Then he began to shake the magic sword.

Wood is the command. Pointing to water, water surges; pointing to fire, fire roars; pointing to earth, earth loosens; pointing to metal, metal rings. The spiritual energy of the five elements flows and connects on the five magical artifacts, enveloping the demon corpse.

Cheng Xinzhan felt that the flow of the five elements' spiritual energy was relatively smooth, and there was no repulsion between the five elements' magical artifacts, so he began to formally perform the altar ritual.

He dipped the tip of his sword in water and wrote in the void.

He first wrote the Taiyin taboo, indicating that the altar was dedicated to the Taiyin deity. The Taiyin taboo emitted a bright yet soft white light, like a bright moon shining on the burial mound.

Immediately afterwards, he dipped his brush in water again and began to write, while simultaneously muttering to himself.
"The cycle of day and night, the end and the beginning. Life and death, death and life. The Moon commands: Turn!"

Just as he finished chanting the incantation, the character written on the magic sword was also completed. It was the character "转" (zhuǎn) in the water script, which was also the fourth character in the "Taiyin Magic Incantation".

The character "【转】" shimmered with the light of the moon under the illumination of the Taiyin taboo, and then disappeared into the burial mound under the guidance of Cheng Xinzhan's magic sword.

Furthermore, as he chanted the word "turn," he shook a bell with his left hand, producing a light and crisp sound.

"Ding--"

The sound of bells, incantations, and talismans—three powerful magical effects—simultaneously acted upon the demon corpse. The divine sand on the grave mound slipped down, as if the demon corpse inside had trembled slightly.

However, it was only a slight movement for a moment, and then there was no sound.

Cheng Xinzhan was not surprised. Although he was confident in his altar technique, he never thought he could succeed on the first try. In any case, this was a Golden Core demon corpse in the middle of the third tribulation. He was quite satisfied that it could develop intelligence within a month.

Then, every two hours, he would sprinkle water, ring a bell, and chant a spell.

Of course, during this time, Cheng Xinzhan wouldn't just do one thing. He divided his attention, maintaining the altar ritual while simultaneously practicing his internal cultivation.

Four years ago, Cheng Xinzhan passed the second tribulation of alchemy and began cultivating the "Secret Essentials of Taiqing Tianya Fetal Breathing - Flying Mercury Chapter". In these four years, he has done a lot, and at the same time, he has never stopped cultivating the internal alchemy.

During these four years, he used the "Hundred-Character Formula for Clarifying the Mind" and the "Four Formulas for Strengthening the Kidneys" from the secret manual to stop ejaculation, lock in yang, and transform essence into rosy clouds. Then, he combined the "Taiqing Flying Mercury Ascending to Immortality Diagram" with his own "Jade Liquid Refining Form" supernatural power, and the rosy clouds rose and soared to the palace.

Just a few days ago, Cheng Xinzhan had sent all of Zhenxia Feili into the Crimson Palace.

Therefore, upon introspection, he could see a strange and exquisitely beautiful scene within the pale crimson central aperture:

The entire central palace is like a transparent, exquisite glass sphere. Because it is illuminated by the adjacent crimson heart palace, this glass appears as a light crimson color.

At the bottom of this crimson glass sphere lies a cloud of five colors: red, white, yellow, black, and blue. It looks thick and fluffy, like a comfortable cloud bed. At the top of the glass sphere, a thin, water-like film floats, with ripples on it, resembling the surface of a lake or the growth rings of wood—this is the Wheel of Fate.

At this moment, lying on the cloud bed was a book with a yellow cover, the texture of which resembled the skin of Hetian jade. The cover bore four characters: "Kuo Di Guang Ji" (Comprehensive Records of the Land). Beneath the Wheel of Fate floated a silvery-white, shimmering radiance of spiritual light, exuding vast vitality and vigorous essence—this was Cheng Xinzhan's innate essence and true brilliance.

His next step was to condense his innate essence into a seed, plant it in the cloud bed, and wait for the birth of the immortal sprout. This was the final step in the first stage of Nascent Soul formation.

The difficulty of this step lies in the fact that kidney fluid is the essence of the entire body's vital energy. Refining acquired kidney fluid back to its innate state, condensing it into the true essence of innate vital energy, is another refinement. Subsequently, the essence rises and flows through the dozens of vital energy points between the kidney palace and the cervical palace, achieving a second sublimation of vital energy. Now, this entire expanse of vital energy and spiritual light must be further condensed into a single seed for a third refinement.

Furthermore, Wen Sukong did not pass on the methods used by her predecessors for this step. When Cheng Xinzhan sought the Dharma, she expressed this viewpoint.
"The teachings of Sanqing Mountain have been established for six thousand years. Our predecessors have traversed countless paths in the practice of Neidan (internal alchemy). By comparing and summarizing these paths, they have pointed out the correct direction for us, their successors."

"With the legacy of our predecessors, we certainly don't need to start from scratch and seek new directions. However, there is more than one path to the right direction. There are naturally methods left by our predecessors in the mountains that can teach you how to cultivate the seed, but these are paths that others have walked. Do you need to follow them step by step again?"

"In my opinion, one should start in a correct, steady, and solid manner. Therefore, there is no problem in proceeding step by step before reaching the fourth realm and enjoying the legacy of predecessors. Even the methods for opening the fourth realm, including the methods of stopping semen and locking yang, can be used directly without any issues."

"However, having reached the stage of cultivating immortal buds, you have already walked a long and far path of cultivation that your predecessors have trod. Next, you should forge your own path."

"The direction summarized by our predecessors is still here. Immortal Sprout, Life Embryo, Embryo Formation, and Nascent Soul Formation are the five realms of Dao integration. However, you can now decide for yourself how to walk the specific path, especially with your aptitude."

"Just as you said, your path of 'rising to the palace amidst the clouds' didn't completely follow the 'Taiqing Flying Mercury Ascension to Immortality Chart,' did it? Instead, it combined it with the 'Jade Liquid Refining Form' supernatural power that you comprehended yourself. I believe that this is the right way. As long as the direction is right, it's more beautiful to walk your own path and see other scenery you haven't seen before. In this process, you can also become more determined in your path."

"Of course, after you've walked your own path and seen different scenery, you can choose to record your journey and leave it for future generations. Some people still need step-by-step guidance when they reach certain places, so you can also let them see the scenery that you have created."

Cheng Xinzhan remembered his master's words deeply and agreed with them wholeheartedly.

As for the matter of condensing the seed, it wasn't particularly difficult for him. He only needed to spend some time thinking about it, and once he understood that the essence of condensing the seed lay in its purity, he quickly devised a method.

He called it "Heart Fire Burning the Palace".

The inspiration came from his contemplation of what to choose for the second palace after he had completed the Fire Palace in the first realm. At that time, he thought of the "golden lotus planted in fire" mentioned in the Golden Elixir Essentials, and thus chose to open the Golden Palace. Since the heart fire can refine the lung metal, it can naturally also temper the true radiance in the Crimson Palace. Moreover, the heart palace is adjacent to the central palace, and the light of the heart palace can dye the central palace crimson, so guiding the fire of the heart palace to blow on the true radiance of the Crimson Palace should also be an easy and effortless task.

Furthermore, during his second realm, following "Jade Liquid Refining the Body," he also comprehended a divine ability called "Heart and Kidney Refining the Body." The essence of this divine ability lies in the mutual refining and purification of the fire of the heart and the water of the kidneys.

It was precisely because of this supernatural power that Cheng Xinzhan's kidney essence was originally extremely pure, so the process of returning to his innate true essence did not waste too much time. Now, still because of this supernatural power, Zhenxia, ​​which was originally transformed from kidney essence, was already familiar with the tempering of heart fire, and continuing the fire tempering would not cause any backlash.

This is also the mystery of the Life Treasury Realm. If one cultivates the Life Treasury Realm well, it can provide convenience for cultivation in later realms.

Cheng Xinzhan was initially enlightened by the "Thunder Chariot Fire Flag Transporting Technique," realizing the powerful effect of multiple acupoints working together. As a result, he had already comprehended several supernatural abilities that involved the combined action of multiple acupoints when he reached the second realm, such as "Jade Liquid Refining Form" and "Heart and Kidney Refining Body." Now, since the Crimson Palace True Clouds requires the essence of the Heart Palace Fire and has "Heart and Kidney Refining Body" as a reference, he comprehended a new supernatural ability without much effort, which is "Heart Fire Burning Palace."

In other words, his method of seed condensation does not require him to concentrate on meditation. Once the supernatural power is achieved, the inner landscape spirit of his mind will naturally do this for him.

Just like now:

The Pleiades star official sat peacefully in the Great Bright Palace, facing west. The golden fire of the sun surged out of the Bright Palace, out of the heart, and then into the nearby Crimson Palace, scorching the true clouds.

Inside the Crimson Palace, Zhenxia was bathed in the Yang Fire, her golden and silver hues intertwined, making her divine radiance even more dazzling.

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(End of this chapter)