Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 384 False Form Substitutes for Aperture, Three Lights Primordial Spirit (Seeking votes at the beginning of the month~)

Fire Dragon Island.

Crimson clouds blazed like fire, the rising sun shone like cinnabar, and the sea and sky turned orange-red. A Taoist priest rode a dragon out of the clouds, capturing purple hues and feasting on the rosy dawn.

"We cultivators should be like this."

Zhu Mingyue said dreamily.

Old Hou smiled upon hearing this. "Yes, that's what everyone thinks, but don't say it to their faces. How are people supposed to respond to that? Should they flatter you for having the bearing of a 'Master Guangfa'?" Old Hou felt that his escort skills were not up to par and he couldn't bring himself to say such a thing.

Fortunately, the path from Dragon Spine to Fire Dragon Island was wide. Even though many people came to see this scene, they stood far apart and were not around. Immortal Lin was also staring blankly at the fire dragon, so no one heard him and he did not become a laughingstock.

Once the two had come to their senses, Old Hou began his competent explanation.
"Since establishing the Zhenyi Sect, Master Guangfa has been cultivating on Fire Dragon Island. He usually cultivates in seclusion amidst the fiery clouds and rarely shows himself. All affairs on the island are managed by the two vice-leaders, Wu and He. Only at sunrise each day will Master Guangfa ride a dragon out of the clouds, gather purple energy, and make a fleeting appearance. This is how the scenic view of 'Fire Dragon Holding Elixir' came to be."

"Fire Dragon Island is divided into inner and outer islands. We are currently on the outer island, where we can move around freely and buy local specialties. The inner island is the training ground of the True Meaning Sect, and entry is not permitted without an invitation. Please take note."

Along the way, Lin Mingxu and Zhu Mingyue were quite satisfied with Lao Hou. Now, after paying the fee, they bowed and expressed their gratitude.
"Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist Hou. Please make yourself at home. We'll take a stroll around the island. We'll meet again sometime."

Old Hou accepted the payment with a beaming smile and returned the gesture.

"See you again someday. If you two have friends visiting in the future, please recommend Lao Hou from Niuweitang for tours and seafood!"

The two nodded with smiles.

"It's natural."

They then parted ways.

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.

At this moment, the focus of all the cultivators on the island, the protagonist of "Fire Dragon Holding the Elixir," Cheng Xinzhan, sat upright on the dragon's forehead, absorbing purple energy. However, he did not retain all the purple energy he absorbed in his body to refine his primordial spirit; a portion of it was condensed into Primordial Purple Dew and applied to his eyes on the dragon's head.

Wu Lao went to extremes. Back then, the people of Tianqiao Mountain raised corpses using only their ancestral secret method of severing spirits to prevent the corpse slaves from developing sentience. But after Wu Lao obtained the dragon corpse, he not only used the severing spirit method to kill the remaining thoughts on the corpse, but also gouged out the dragon's eyes.

Intelligence is the essence of one's vital energy, the command of one's mind, and the sign of one's spirit.

The Crimson Corpse not only pulled out the Dragon Pearl, causing the body and core to separate, but it also gouged out the Dragon Corpse's eyes, a truly devastating and ruthless act.

Therefore, when Cheng Xinzhan wanted to reawaken the dragon corpse's intelligence, it was extremely difficult.

In response to this situation, he came up with two solutions.

The first step is to clean the hole in the longan.

Wu Lao was ruthless, using some unknown magical artifact. The hole left after gouging out the dragon's eye was constantly oozing filth and pus, and had even developed a malignant tumor. Such a hole couldn't be filled even with a dragon's eye, so the first step was to clean it.

Cheng Xinzhan's idea was to use the Primordial Purple Qi. Purple Qi belongs to Lesser Yang, which signifies light and sweeps away evil spirits. It brings vitality without being overpowering, making it the perfect tool to remove the evil spirits from the eye sockets of the dragon corpse.

However, the purple aura was gentle, and cleaning and removing the groin and evil spirits was a slow and painstaking process. It took Cheng Xinzhan a year and a half to finally get it clean.

The second step is to add the finishing touches.

Cheng Xinzhan, on the other hand, was quite familiar with the situation and had already prepared everything, as it involved Meijiyama's old profession.

Meiji Mountain's method of corpse liberation considers staff liberation as the highest level. The founder of Meiji Mountain, Zhan Biyun, created the staff liberation method, proposing that the spirit body undergoing corpse liberation must possess "heavenly apertures and earthly networks." These "heavenly apertures and earthly networks" are hollow like bamboo joints, serving as orifices, or porous like lotus roots, acting as meridians. The key is their ability to store and circulate qi.

The patriarch also created a method called "The Mysterious Record of Substituting False Form for True Aperture".

The wonder of this method lies in drawing talismans on the outside and then sealing them into the inner orifices, transforming them into vital acupoints for storing life energy. The talismanic orifices are no different from the acupoints of the physical body; they can be used to cultivate supernatural powers, store magical treasures, and even enshrine inner spirits. It is a mysterious and wondrous method that even immortals admire.

This method is inconceivable to outsiders. The method of splitting the spirit and transforming the body at Mount Meiji is unique in Mount Sanqing and even in the entire Taoist sect.

Although Cheng Xinzhan developed a bamboo body not long after he began cultivating, and his progress was not delayed even when his physical body was blocked by evil spirits, he often performed three tasks with three different incarnations, which was unimaginable to others.

If the method of splitting the soul and creating an avatar were truly that simple and widespread, then treasures that could refine a second primordial spirit and an external avatar wouldn't be so rare and sought after.

Because in the general impression of most cultivators, only by cultivating a second primordial spirit can one be unafraid of the sun, moon, wind, and thunder, and travel far away with the second primordial spirit; only by cultivating a second primordial spirit can one split one's body and thoughts to do things without affecting the strength of the original primordial spirit or damaging one's own lifespan.

The same applies to clones. Only by cultivating an external avatar can one use life-storage supernatural powers, release and retrieve magical treasures, cultivate techniques, and regulate one's breath, just like the original body. If one simply finds any body, then one can only control a puppet, able to move but unable to do much.

There is another situation that falls between these two: "body snatching," also known as "borrowing a corpse to return to life." This method involves manipulating the body with one's thoughts or primordial spirit. One can use the body's abilities but cannot use one's own thoughts or primordial spirit's supernatural powers, which has great limitations. However, if the body being inhabited is particularly good, even better than the original body, then many people are willing to participate.

For example, many people have their physical bodies destroyed and their primordial spirits escape during battles. If they don't have a treasure that can be used to create an external avatar, they can only hope to find a good body.

That said, after Cheng Xinzhan obtained the bamboo body and lotus, he cultivated all the way to the third realm of Core Formation. The acupoints within his transformed body were all drawn by himself using the "False Form Substitutes for True Acupoints and Combined Mysterious Talisman". At this time, it is appropriate to use this method to recreate the eyes of the dragon corpse.

Moreover, Cheng Xinzhan was not stingy with materials, using the morning glow as paper and "Crimson Clouds and Purple Qi" as ink, and the eye talismans he drew shone brightly. He thought that perhaps his two talismans would add an eye aperture supernatural power to this dragon corpse.

Of course, in the past year and a half, he did more than just clean the eyes of the dragon corpse and paint them; his own cultivation also made great progress.

First, the innate essence and true essence in the Crimson Palace, under the continuous refinement of the "Sun Burning Palace" method, has condensed into a seed the size of a jujube pit, which has been planted in the cloud bed, now only waiting for the immortal sprout to germinate.

Secondly, there's the Golden Core. Cheng Xinzhan underwent his Third Cleansing Core Tribulation in the early spring of the year Wuzi, and now it's the dead of winter in the year 470 of the Ming Dynasty—three years have already passed. In the year Wuzi, he harvested another batch of Pure Wind Qi, even more than the first time. If he uses it all to blow away the tribulation clouds, he will undergo his Fourth Cleansing Core Tribulation by next year at the latest.

However, Cheng Xinzhan is currently holding back, because the immortal bud has not yet sprouted, and prematurely triggering the pill tribulation would not bring much benefit, but might even damage the golden core. Therefore, for the past year and a half, he has been staying in the fire cloud, using the fire cloud to refine pills and enhance the metal element.

This fiery cloud was formed by drawing the essence of the underground fire cave and fusing it with earth energy and dragon energy. His third alchemical tribulation was a dragon tribulation, and he predicted that the fourth would be an earth tribulation. Therefore, he believed that using this fire to refine the pill would not only consolidate the dragon's might but also allow the golden pill to adapt to the earth element in advance. So he forcibly refined it for a year and a half.

Finally, there is the Divine Illumination Method.

The Nascent Soul stage has four steps: Immortal Sprout, Life Embryo, Embryo Formation, and Nascent Soul Formation. Cheng Xinzhan is someone who is accustomed to thinking three steps ahead for every step he takes. Now, the essence seed has taken root and is just waiting to sprout, so the first step is only a matter of time. Once the Immortal Sprout sprouts, the Golden Core will be ready to be refined again. At that time, the essence of the two will intertwine, and the Life Embryo will be formed.

Therefore, Cheng Xinzhan spent more than a year considering the third step: how to transform the embryo into a fetus. The "Song of Pregnancy" says: "Concentrate your mind, empty your nature, and the Purple Palace will open to the bright Yang. Divine light will illuminate the fetus, and after ten months of steady pregnancy, spiritual connection will be established."

It means that by focusing one's mind and then opening the Purple Palace (a sacred palace in the north) to let the divine light shine upon it, one can unite the essence, energy, and spirit, thereby transforming the embryo into a fetus.

In this step, focusing the spirit is key.

Cheng Xinzhan had personally witnessed the primordial spirit illumination emitted by the Innocent Child. The light emanating from the Innocent Child's primordial spirit was pure Yang light, like a golden waterfall cascading down to the central palace. At that time, he had wondered what kind of primordial spirit light he should use to illuminate himself when he opened the fourth realm of cultivation, and whether he should also choose pure Yang.
During that year and a half, he studied the problem in greater depth.

Unlike ordinary people, he retained his Yin Soul and refined his three souls into three primordial spirits. Therefore, the primordial spirits could not be infused in a step-by-step manner, but had to be chosen in accordance with his own nature.

He has always been a staunch believer and practitioner of the Yin-Yang principle, believing that Yin and Yang are mutually supportive, constantly changing, and infinitely divisible.

The concept of "yang deficiency and yin excess" dictates that the soul and spirit (魂魄) are yang, while the physical body is yin. Within the physical body, one can further categorize it by strength and softness: bones are yang, blood is yin. More specifically, one can categorize it by heart and kidneys: heart blood is yang, kidney blood is yin. The same applies to the soul and spirit. According to their innate nature, the soul is active and enjoys roaming, while the spirit is still and prefers to guard the body; naturally, the soul is yang and the spirit is yin. Cheng Xinzhan's cultivation of the *Chang Sheng Tai Yuan Xian Shen Mi Zhi* and *Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi* also follows this innate nature, cultivating the three souls into three yang spirits and refining the seven spirits into seven yin spirits.

But does the distinction between Yin and Yang end here?

Are all three primordial spirits at the extreme of the sun?

Cheng Xinzhan hadn't considered this question before, because he hadn't reached that point yet. But after carefully pondering it for the past year and a half, he realized that the answer was, of course, no. Even the moon has its phases of waxing and waning, and the sun has its periods of eclipse and decline; what in the world can truly be called the extreme of Yang?

Therefore, he thought that the nascent soul nurtured by pure yang light might not be completely in line with the yin-yang principle that he had long adhered to.

One must change, two must be correct, and three must be born.

Having three primordial spirits, one should theoretically possess endless transformations and endless cycles, so how could one be limited to only pure Yang? More precisely, it should be: the primordial spirit belongs to Yang, and can be pure Yang, but within Yang there is Yin and Yang, not just pure Yang.

This Yin-Yang concept was inspired by the "Essentials of Refining the Spirit and Returning to Truth in Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang". During this year and a half, he and Hua Yaosong communicated frequently and completed the first edition of this cultivation method created specifically for the Yin-Yang disciples of the Ximing Sect. Cheng Xinzhan himself also benefited greatly from it.

Furthermore, if there is anything that represents the number three, signifies Yang, can emit bright light, contains the changes of Yin and Yang, and exhausts the secrets of heaven and earth, then an obvious answer appears in Cheng Xinzhan's mind.

The three luminaries are the sun, moon, and stars.

The three luminaries are the source of light, dispelling the darkness of eternal night; they represent the yang aspect. The three luminaries hang high in the sky, situated amidst pure air, and compared to the earth and turbidity, they represent the yang aspect. The three luminaries rise and set, the stars shift and the constellations move, constantly changing; this is also the yang aspect. At the same time, this aligns with the soul's active and wandering nature.

Further subdivided, the sun represents the sun, the moon the moon, and the stars the stars, with the yang aspect containing the transformations of yin and yang. Moreover, the Shuangling Yuanshen governs clarity and wisdom, corresponding to the yang energy; the Youjing Yuanshen governs the physical body and desires, corresponding to the yin energy; and the Taiguang Yuanshen guards the elixir and strengthens the life force, corresponding to the taihe energy.

This is truly a perfect match—a divine union!

Furthermore, in this way, one's three primordial spirits perfectly align with the Yin-Yang Dao that one pursues, and the three celestial lights emanating from the three primordial spirits illuminate the embryo, forming a unique fetus that conforms to one's own path!

Once this idea was established, he naturally thought of the ceremony when he was the chief officiant welcoming the Dragon King. He had presided over the ceremony of the Three Lights in One Sky. The sect specially bestowed upon him the "Weak Water Washing Star Gang" and the "Midnight Moonlight Gang", and the Dragon King himself had also given him a "Red Cloud Purple Qi Gang". These three Heavenly Gangs corresponded perfectly to the three lights of the sun, moon and stars.

It is a case of ripe melons falling from their vines, and water flowing naturally into a channel.

After determining the Divine Illumination Method, Cheng Xinzhan guided his three primordial spirits to consume the three celestial beams, comprehending their essence and nourishing their divine brilliance. In addition, whenever the three celestial lights shone brightly, he would release his primordial spirits to directly absorb their essence, and to this day, he has achieved some success.

Before long, the sun turned from crimson to white, blazing and dazzling. Cheng Xinzhan then stopped collecting images and rode the dragon back into the clouds. He also sensed that his two disciples had come to the island.

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.

"May I ask if you are Daoist Masters Lin and Zhu?"

On the outer island, two women approached Lin Mingxu and Zhu Mingyue.

Upon hearing this, the two men took a look and saw that the two women each had their own unique charm. One wore a white dress, with fair and delicate skin, a small cherry-like mouth, and a slender waist; the other wore a blue dress, with a beautiful face, a dignified appearance, and a full and voluptuous figure.

"Who are you two?"

Lin Mingxu asked.

The woman in the blue dress smiled and answered.

"Reporting to the Daoist Master, we are Fu Miao and Bai Zhenzhen, attendants of Zhenhe Palace. The Sect Leader ordered us to welcome you both into the palace for an audience."

Lin Mingxu and Zhu Mingyue exchanged a glance and said in unison,

"Thank you."

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.

Zhenhe Palace is located in the center of Fire Dragon Island, and it is also the central palace of the "Three Elements Nine Palaces Seven Stars Grand Array". The basic structure of this grand array set by the Red Corpse is already good enough, so Cheng Xinzhan did not make any major changes. He only changed the runes on the walls of the Nine Wells. This place used to be the residence of the Red Corpse, but it has now been converted into the Taoist Palace of the True Meaning Sect.

"Please come in, two Taoist priests."

In front of Zhenhe Palace, Fu Miao and Bai Zhenzhen stopped and extended their arms to invite Lin and Zhu inside.

The two nodded their thanks and stepped inside.

Inside the hall was an incense table, behind which hung a huge apricot-yellow banner bearing the two large characters "Yin Yang". In front of the incense table were some prayer cushions, and in the very center sat a young Taoist priest.

Upon seeing this, the two bowed and paid their respects.
"Disciple Mingxu/Mingyue greets Master."

Cheng Xinzhan smiled and raised her hand, a surge of magical power lifting the two of them up, and said,

"It's been a hard journey."

The two repeatedly said they dared not accept such an offer. Then, Zhu Mingyue took out a long, rectangular jade box from the cave and presented it with both hands.

"Master, the letter and token entrusted by Master Hong of Fuxia Lake are all inside. Please take a look."

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(End of this chapter)