Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 367 The white dove flies at night, its feathers fall and its naked body is revealed

Cheng Xinzhan followed the servant who was leading the way to a house located halfway up the mountain.

The skinny Taoist's idea was exactly what he wanted. These demons were fighting like dogs, the fiercer the fight, the better, and the more people on both sides died, the better. He could offer some suggestions and stir things up, but he didn't need to engage in a fierce battle on the spot.

Moreover, at this moment, Cheng Xinzhan had no other thoughts but was more concerned about what was happening in his heart. Now that he had arrived at Bijia Mountain in the center of the island, the intensity of his emotions was ten times greater than when he first arrived on the island!
If this continues unchecked, Cheng Xinzhan will not be at ease; he must get to the bottom of this.

After resting until evening, Cheng Xinzhan stepped out of the courtyard. At this moment, the blue light on the island of Yin was even more conspicuous, and everything appeared gloomy and eerie under the blue light and water.

Now that he had the token of the Earthly Yin Island and the identity of the Star-Picking Hall strategist personally bestowed upon him by the Thin Taoist, he had far fewer concerns in his heart, so he swaggered towards the west coast of the island.

Before long, he flew over the protective array along the edge of the mountain, passed through the ghostly mist, and landed on the roundabout not far away.

Here, the view is no longer obscured by the gloomy, yellowish-black mist, but instead, a magnificent moonlit night view of the sea unfolds before you. The moon, as large as a cartwheel, hangs high in the sky, its bright, cold light pouring down onto the waves, shattering into a pool of flowing silver.

As the view suddenly opened up, the sound of the tide reached his ears, like a soft murmur, soothing his mind and body. The rich moisture was inhaled with each breath, refreshing his spirit. This also helped to alleviate some of the restlessness in Cheng Xinzhan's heart.

He looked around and saw that it was just like Fire Dragon Island. On clear moonlit nights, there were always many people sitting around the island, facing west.

Cheng Xinzhan also turned his gaze to the west, where the moonlight seemed exceptionally bright, illuminating the outline of that area clearly. Those with better eyesight could even see the shapes of the mountains and buildings by the moonlight.

That was the Divine Continent.

Amidst the dark shadows of the shore, several places shone brightly: Mount Putuo, Amitabha Temple, Yinlong Mountain Nunnery, Dengci Temple, and others, forming a continuous stretch along the coast of Kuaiji, their Buddhist light shining eternally, truly a Buddhist kingdom by the sea.

Cheng Xinzhan found a secluded spot nearby, sat cross-legged, and faced the sea.

Waiting for the wind to come.

Sunlight and wind cannot penetrate the island of Diyin; to observe the wind, one must come from outside the island. If there is wind tonight, then one should find an answer.

The patriarch said in "Bird Divination," "Frequent use will exhaust the spirit, and when the spirit is exhausted, it will not respond." Moreover, divination has many limitations: divining about high realms will shorten one's lifespan; divining about oneself will shorten one's lifespan; divining about the dead will shorten one's lifespan; divining about injustice will shorten one's lifespan; divining about infants will shorten one's lifespan; divining about disbelief will shorten one's lifespan; divining about secrets will shorten one's lifespan; divining about one's lifespan will shorten one's lifespan; consecutive divining will shorten one's lifespan; excessive divining will shorten one's lifespan; reckless divining will shorten one's lifespan...

Therefore, Cheng Xinzhan rarely used the wind bird divination technique after learning it.

He had divined the timing of events once and the fate of friends twice, one of which was for his master, a high-level divination that shortened his lifespan. Tonight, he was to divine his own fate, which would also shorten his lifespan, but he wouldn't feel at ease if he didn't.

Around 9 PM, the wind picked up.

Without hesitation, Cheng Xinzhan used his magic, his eyes filled with questions, and looked up.

Then he saw a white dove vaguely appear in the wind. The dove's feathers were incomplete, revealing decaying bones, and its eyes were cloudy and lifeless, as if it were a ghost. Strangely, both of the dove's wings were broken, and it was swaying in the wind, seemingly unable to control its own destiny.

The shadow of the dove was fleeting.

Cheng Xinzhan's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart skipped a beat.

A white dove soars at night, its fallen feathers revealing its bones, signifying the suffering of its ancestors, their displacement from their ancestral graves, and their restless remains! The corpse dove, with both wings broken, flutters in the wind, representing the powerlessness of the dead, at the mercy of others!

The pricking pain made Cheng Xinzhan involuntarily close his eyes, and tears of blood flowed from the inner corners of his eyes.

"puff--"

His blood rushed to his head, and a metallic taste rose in his throat. Cheng Xinzhan opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

This single glance encompassed both himself and the dead.

Cheng Xinzhan took a short breath to regulate his breathing and improve his blood circulation. When he opened his eyes again, the bloodshot eyes had disappeared. He then flicked out a spark, burning away the bloodstains on the ground.

He breathed a sigh of relief; he understood, he finally understood the source of his impulsive decision.

This island of corpses contains the remains of my ancestors!

My sudden impulse was not due to any Fire Dragon Treasure, Yang Fire Spirit Flame, Pleiades Relics, or Heavenly Warnings. It had nothing to do with anything related to cultivation; it was simply because of my own bloodline.

Cheng Xinzhan really didn't expect this.

He considered himself to be meticulous, and in his many years of cultivation, few things had been completely unexpected, but today's incident was undoubtedly one of them.

He understood that this was related to his subconscious avoidance deep within himself.

I was adopted by my parents. My ancestors did not have the surname Cheng, but Zhu, which was the imperial surname of the current dynasty.

Inside the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum, Cheng Xinzhan heard firsthand from the Corpse Immortal Jin Mingzi that he was a descendant of the founding Crown Prince Yiwen. However, upon first entering the Immortal Mountain, the "Ten Thousand Years of History," which he had read countless times, taught him a lesson—excessive entanglement with secular dynasties easily leads to grave karmic consequences!

Throughout history, there have indeed been people who have transcended the ordinary and ascended to heaven in such a great cause and effect. However, Cheng Xinzhan saw that many more people were entangled in the chaos of the mortal world, thus their path to immortality was cut off, and they turned into withered bones.

Therefore, ever since he began his cultivation, especially after returning from the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum, Cheng Xinzhan had been secretly warning himself never to get involved with the Zhu Ming royal family. He also focused solely on his cultivation and never thought about investigating the mystery of his orphaned origins.

It is precisely because of this that, due to his long-standing deliberate avoidance of his origins and lineage, he overlooked this highly probable reason when he had a sudden whim.

But now that the divination results are before him, he can no longer avoid them.

After accepting this result, he immediately thought of another thing—the Emperor Corpse who presided over the protective formation of the Earth Yin Island!
All the past events surfaced in his mind one by one. These memories that he had subconsciously avoided in the past were now all connected, and he felt that everything had been cleared up and the truth had come to light.

When the Three Corpses established their sect, they used the Xuanhuang Qi of the Earth's Lungs to protect the island and block many righteous masters. Master Chengchu once said that the Three Corpses belong to Gui Water, Ding Fire, and Yi Wood respectively. The Yin Corpses of the world are close to Earth, so they can control the Xuanhuang Qi of the Earth's Lungs, but they should not be able to contend with the Yuanjun Dharma Image. Therefore, it is judged that there is another Ji Earth Emperor Corpse on the island.

When I first entered the Meiji Mountain Corpse Tomb, my master said that the Emperor Corpse could command all the corpses in the world and was prone to causing chaos. Therefore, it was the responsibility of Meiji Mountain to collect and suppress the Emperor Corpse.

The Qingfu Huasheng Jing states that the imperial corpse is not formed when an emperor is buried in a dragon's lair and the orthodox dragon vein is in decline.

Furthermore, after I relayed Cheng Chu Zhenren's conclusion to my master, my master told me not to interfere and to let her handle it, and risked entering and leaving Di Yin Island twice. Until now, after landing on the island, I had a sudden urge to perform divination and concluded that the suffering of my ancestors was caused by the remains of the Zhu Ming royal family being scattered from their ancestral tombs and unable to find peace.

When all this information is put together, the result becomes obvious.

Emperor Jianwen!
The ancestral remains that inspired this sudden impulse were those of Emperor Jianwen, who was also the Ji Earth Emperor Corpse who helped the Three Corpses manipulate the Xuanhuang Qi of the Earth's Lungs to obstruct the righteous masters!
Imperial corpses are rare; they cannot be buried unless an emperor is buried in a dragon's lair and the main lineage of the orthodox lineage is in decline.

For the former, the vast land of China is rich in resources, so finding a dragon's lair is not difficult at all—for example, the Earth Yin Island where he is now is the confluence of the Kuaiji earth vein and the East China Sea sea vein. Earth veins flowing into the sea are called drinking dragons, and sea veins flowing onto land are called sun-drying dragons. Therefore, this place is not just a simple dragon's lair, but also a rare place where two dragons compete for a pearl. It is absolutely qualified to nurture the imperial corpse.

Compared to the former, the latter is even rarer, with the decline of the orthodox lineage of the dragon veins—another meaning of this sentence is the destruction of the country and the extinction of the family line or the extinction of the lineage of the ruler!
To become an imperial corpse, an emperor must have been the monarch of a unified empire during his lifetime; small countries do not count. Since the First Emperor, there have been few monarchs who caused the downfall of their kingdoms, the extinction of their surnames, or the extinction of their lineages. As for emperors who disappeared without a trace after the fall of their kingdoms and the loss of their lineages, they are even fewer.

Unfortunately, there was one in the early Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Jianwen, who lost his throne and whose lineage ended in extinction, leading to the change of the legitimate heir, disappeared without a trace.

Who could have imagined that four hundred years after the Jingnan Rebellion, the body of Emperor Yongle, whom he had searched for his entire life without success, would appear on a demonic island overseas?!

Looking back now, as the master of Meiji Mountain, my master must have been fully aware of the missing imperial corpse. So, back then, my master must have guessed that the imperial corpse on Three Corpse Island was Emperor Jianwen, and he also knew my identity and background, which is why he didn't let me get involved in this matter.

Amidst the shock of the truth coming to light, Cheng Xinzhan was naturally furious.

Senior Jin Mingzi said that he was a descendant of Crown Prince Yiwen, and among Crown Prince Yiwen's children, only Emperor Jianwen and Prince Wu had descendants. Today, the mystery of the Emperor's corpse has been solved, so he is undoubtedly a direct descendant of Emperor Jianwen.

The remains of our ancestors are being manipulated by a demon!
What an utter disgrace!
The image of the wind bird already indicates that the ancestor died in turmoil and was in a state of being manipulated by others. This is enough to show that the ancestor did not naturally transform into a spirit and come here, but was intentionally captured and trapped on the island as the core of the island's protective formation!
This is intolerable!
The blood river within Cheng Xinzhan's heart surged ever more fiercely, his heart burning with fury and his chest brimming with rage. Yet, his face remained expressionless, as if he were still enjoying the sea breeze. He knew he was still within the Demon's Lair, and he knew that with his current level of cultivation, his anger could not burn down the Fifth Realm Dojo.

He breathed slowly, suppressing his anger, then got up and returned to the Demon Island. It was as if his trip off the island was merely to get some fresh air and see the night view of the Buddhist kingdom by the sea on the eastern coast of China.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Cheng Xinzhan was like a newcomer to the scene. After returning to Diyin Island, he wandered around the island for a while before returning to his residence on Yungai Mountain at dawn. After entering the house, he began to sit quietly and meditate.

Having traversed most of the Yin Island, he was now certain that his ancestors' remains lay beneath Mount Bijia in the center of the island, where the surge of the Blood River in the Heart Palace was most intense.

As for its exact location underground, one would have to burrow underground to find it. And within the Five Realms Dojo, burrowing underground is certainly not an easy task.

He possesses three primordial spirits and three bodies. Before entering the sea, he separated his Netherworld Primordial Spirit, which, riding the bamboo staff avatar, managed the affairs of the Langshan Ximing Sect. Two and a half months ago, his Shuangling Primordial Spirit, wielding the Mysterious Flawless Talisman, entered the Li Yuan Fire Cave on Fire Dragon Island with the assistance of Qing Bo. Then, he and Qing Bo, working together from the inside, sent the Fire Lotus avatar inside as well. Now, under the cover of the Mysterious Flawless Talisman and Qing Bo, his Shuangling Primordial Spirit, riding the Fire Lotus avatar, is refining techniques in the fire cave and participating in the construction of the future protective array for Fire Dragon Island.

Only the primordial spirit of Taiguang remained, guiding the physical body to the Yin Island.

Now, with his current cultivation level, and using transformation techniques combined with the newly refined "Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cloth," deceiving the Four Realms wouldn't be a problem. Now, in the Five Realms training grounds, as long as he doesn't attract Gu Chen's excessive attention, he won't be exposed. However, trying to use this to search for corpses underground on this island is clearly unrealistic.

I need to create a new, specialized method for burrowing and stealth. Regardless of speed or attack power, the most important thing is to be able to conceal my presence and ensure absolute safety.

Where should we begin?
As for escape techniques, I have learned the Five Elements Earth Escape, Void Technique, Fire Sword Escape, and Heavenly Light Rainbow Technique.

Related to the Earthly Branches, the inclusive and harmonious nature of "Huangji Zhengwu Sha," the earth-transforming nature of "Dutian Liuji Sha," the earth-penetrating and wind-blown nature of "Baisheng Wuchang Sha," and the hidden and dormant nature of "Zhelong Yinxian Sha" all seem to be useful. In addition to these true Sha that are compatible with the Earth, there is also the art of feigning death and holding one's breath in the Corpse-Dissolving Path.

Thinking about it carefully, all of these are useful, but none of them seem to be enough to hide the investigation of the Five Realms. It seems that there is still a trigger to connect them all and integrate them into one.

Cheng Xinzhan frowned slightly. He subconsciously felt that he should be able to find such a catalyst on himself, but he just couldn't think of one for the moment.

To burrow underground and move stealthily.

To burrow underground and move stealthily.

Cheng Xinzhan kept repeating these two words, feeling as if the window paper was right in front of him, ready to be broken with a single poke.

But no matter how hard he tried to think and chase that faint glimmer of inspiration, he just couldn't break through that thin layer of window paper.

It felt like only a blink of an eye, but another day had passed. Cheng Xinzhan knew that if things continued like this, she would easily get stuck in a rut and needed to clear her head.

So he put aside the matter of creating the Dharma and turned to introspection, looking at the inner world.

Located on Bijia Mountain, the blood river in his heart was surging fiercely, rushing like a dragon. As the saying goes, pulling one hair affects the whole body. During this period, the heart had been gushing out the sun's Bing fire to pour into the Crimson Palace to temper the innate essence and true brilliance. Now, affected by the surge of blood in his heart, even the Bing fire seemed more ferocious than usual.

Looking at the Heart Palace at this moment, it appears as if a red dragon is soaring through a sea of ​​fire, a truly magnificent sight.

Previously, Cheng Xinzhan was unaware of the reason for the surge of his blood energy, so he did not forcibly suppress it, fearing he might miss something. Now that he knows the reason, he is even less likely to suppress it, lest he lose his connection with the ancestral remains.

The prolonged turmoil in his heart and blood is certainly detrimental to his mental state, but fortunately, Cheng Xinzhan had recently undergone the tempering of his body by dragon lightning, and had also focused on tempering his mental state containing dragon blood, so he should be fine for the time being. Once the location of his ancestor's remains is confirmed, he can calm this tremor.

Then, his gaze followed the inner fire to the Crimson Palace. At this moment, the innate essence and true essence that was originally as sparse and hazy as clouds and mist had become like a silkworm cocoon, emitting a crystal-clear light. It was more than ten times smaller than it was at the beginning, and it was getting closer and closer to condensing into an innate essence seed.

Then, he looked at the Destiny Wheel on the Innate Essence and True Essence, and saw the price he had paid for using Bird Divination last night—eight years of his lifespan had been lost. At the same time, two of his three primordial spirits left his body and scattered to various places, which also caused his lifespan to deplete faster than usual.

However, Cheng Xinzhan, upon seeing this, didn't feel much. After so many years of cultivation, he had learned to make his own judgments and understood some things:

Lifespan is ultimately just a number; what matters most is whether you do enough meaningful things before your lifespan ends. For example, protecting your friends or recovering the remains of your ancestors—you shouldn't worry about the cost of such deeds. Another example is the Three Gods dividing their duties into three tasks: teaching, exorcising demons, and punishing evil. Compared to your lifespan ending quickly, this is entirely worthwhile.

Take the cicada, for example. A year of singing is more valuable than seventeen years of countless songs underground.

—Wait, a cicada?
Just as this sentence flashed through Cheng Xinzhan's mind, he suddenly paused, realizing something.

蝉？
A seventeen-year cicada?

He smiled knowingly; the window paper had been torn.

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(End of this chapter)