The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 108 Accumulating Strength for Future Success
Looking at the radiant "+" after "Boundless Ocean Divine Skill", Wang Wen pondered for a moment and decided to put it aside and improve his Yin Spirit realm first.

He had never used the Mountain God's Token to enhance this self-derived martial art, and he didn't know how this enhancement method worked.

If it were still like before, with the Mountain God's Decree extracting the essence of the cultivation technique and letting him directly consume it, that would be fine, as the merit points and mental energy consumed would be controllable.

However, if it's like deducing the "Boundless Ocean Divine Skill," where his divine sense is divided into countless parts and placed in a specific environment for him to comprehend on his own... then the merit points and mental energy consumed are all unknown.

Merit points are hard-earned, so of course we should save every bit we can.

Moreover, he was actually a little scared of the kind of illusion that he had just experienced when he deduced the "Boundless Great Ocean Divine Skill," where even the sense of time and space was almost eroded.

However, this problem is not difficult to solve.

The key to comprehending the cultivation method lies in comprehension, and the key to the differentiation of divine thoughts lies in the strength of the mind. Both of these can be enhanced by improving the Yin Spirit realm.

It should be understood that, in addition to its incredible power, the Yin Spirit is also a powerful central processing unit (CPU). Improving the Yin Spirit's realm is like enhancing the computing power of this central processing unit, allowing cultivators to perceive and comprehend the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth more intuitively, clearly, quickly, and efficiently.

Assuming that the difficulty of comprehending each level of the "Boundless Ocean Divine Skill" remains unchanged, that is, the amount of computation remains unchanged, then an eight-core central processing unit will obviously calculate the final correct result faster and easier than a dual-core or quad-core central processing unit.

Calculating the correct result more quickly can save merit points wasted by adding extra time.

He could calculate the correct result more easily, and his mind would no longer have to suffer the torment of a sense of temporal and spatial distortion and the illusion of everything.

This may also be the true meaning of the Taoist concept of "cultivating both body and mind"...

Wang Wen closed his eyes again and used his mind to press the "+" sign after the "Yin Shen" column. He clearly saw 600 Yin Virtue turn into flowing water.

He still clearly remembered that when he advanced from the Night Wanderer Realm to the Object Manipulation Realm, it only cost him 200 points of Yin Virtue. (Chapter 82 Ox and Horse Sacred Body)
That means it has tripled again!
Then, Wang Wen's pupils moved rapidly beneath his eyelids.

Although he didn't speak, you could vaguely hear that he was swearing very vulgarly...

Unlike using merit points to improve martial arts and magic, consuming merit points—whether it's to promote official rank, accumulate merit, or reward subordinates—is always as simple and straightforward as buying a pack of cigarettes at a convenience store: money for goods, no formalities involved.

The instant the 600 Yin Virtue turned into flowing water, Wang Wen felt a cool aura descend from the sky, surging into his Purple Mansion Divine Palace from the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head. Then, his divine sense automatically overflowed, rapidly engulfing the entire city of Yangzhou like a flood. Countless pieces of information, like a torrent of data, flowed back to his Yin Spirit along with these scattered divine senses, causing his mind to momentarily malfunction.

After he slowly digested this information and transformed it into his understanding of heaven and earth and all things, he realized that the Yin spirit in the Purple Mansion Divine Palace was no longer a projection-like illusory body, but a solid being as lifelike as a living person.

Looking again at the Mountain God's Decree, the realm after the Yin God section had changed from "Driving Objects" to "Concentrating the Mind," and the "+" sign after it was still radiant.

Concentrate your mind, and you will understand the divine; focus your spirit, and you will ascend to the clouds and descend to the deepest hell, becoming comparable to a Taoist geomancer!

After carefully contemplating the situation, Wang Wen pressed the plus sign after "Concentrate" again. Instantly, 1800 points of Yin Virtue transformed into a stream of cold yet slightly warm energy that shot down from the sky, entering his Purple Mansion Divine Palace through the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head. His divine sense, which had just been amplified several times, expanded rapidly once more. In the blink of an eye, Wang Wen saw Liu Family Village outside the East Water Gate. He had passed through that place once before when he and Xu Ergou went to wipe out Qin Laoba of the Beggar Clan. It was about four or five miles away from Yangzhou City...

At the same time, he also clearly sensed that warm liquid was being produced within his Yin Spirit, flowing like blood within it. This flow gave him a sensation he had never experienced before, somewhat like breathing and somewhat like a heartbeat.

A short while later, the Yin Spirit's ascension was complete, and the realm behind the Yin Spirit's barrier, as ordered by the Mountain God, had become: Day Wanderer!

During the day, the spirits of the underworld are like living people, patrolling the heavens and wandering beyond the sky, traveling to the North Sea in the morning and Cangwu in the evening!

The primordial spirit's daytime patrols and wanderings beyond the heavens are also hallmarks of the Xuanmen Celestial Master realm.

During this period, although the primordial spirits of the Master of Humanity and the Master of Earth can also leave their bodies, after leaving their bodies, they are afraid of the scorching sun, the wind and frost, water and fire, and the cries of fierce birds and wild beasts. They are only slightly stronger than the weakest Yin spirits and are not even as good as ordinary fierce ghosts.

In the eyes of most Xuanmen cultivators, this cannot be called astral projection; at most, it can only be considered astral separation...

As Wang Wen carefully experienced the feeling of the Sunrise Realm, he felt an unprecedented sense of ease, as if he had suddenly unloaded a heavy burden and could easily leap to the ninth heaven and reach out to pluck the stars.

He was greatly intrigued and attempted to project his spirit into his body. He saw a dark golden phantom calmly step out of his body, grow rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, solidify into a majestic deity, twelve feet tall, wearing a golden silk hat, a robe with black and yellow sleeves and a cloud-guarding pattern, a golden belt with imperial flowers around his waist, and golden silk cloud-walking shoes... Its appearance was exactly the same as the Huangshan God statue on the Bright Summit Temple!
This is the true divine form of the Huangshan God.

It is also Wang Wenzhen's real body.

Black Erniu, the guardian dog in the corner, stared at the two masters in the courtyard. As if he had discovered some truth, he quickly covered his mouth with his hoof, his eyes bulging like two eggs.

In his Yin Spirit state, Wang Wen, in a playful mood, paced back and forth in the courtyard twice, then tentatively cast a dust-removing spell to slowly sweep away the dust in the courtyard, experiencing the smooth control of magic power in his Yin Spirit state...

After a while, he walked back to the body with satisfaction, and released his divine sense to carefully scan the powerful body inch by inch. He mentally guided the divine sense scan to quickly construct a 3D scan map, from the lesions accumulated from the body's past bad habits and the hidden injuries left by many life-and-death battles, to the tiny damage to the capillaries under the skin and the content of various wastes accumulated in the blood, all as clear as the veins of a leaf, at a glance.

He nodded slightly to himself, saying, 'Hmm, uneven shoulders, legs of different lengths, multiple hidden injuries to the ribs, minor damage to the stomach lining, slightly elevated uric acid, kidneys... not weak!'

After a while, his spirit stepped into his physical body and returned to the Purple Palace Divine Palace in a soft golden light so dim that it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

When he opened his eyes again, the eastern sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

He turned and went into the house, took out the old, unprocessed tonics he had brought back from Huangshan, and began to eat them raw without batting an eye.

After swallowing two or three large pieces of Solomon's Seal, each as thick as a thigh, he quickly felt his heart racing, his body burning with heat, and his mind becoming agitated...

He calmly walked to the bedside, sat cross-legged, focused his mind, and began to circulate the "Boundless Ocean Divine Skill" for the first time.

Before long, the clear sound of flowing water could be heard in the bedroom, interspersed with occasional crackling sounds of bones.

……

Huang Xingde felt that his unfilial son had really grown up and changed a lot.

In the past, Wang Erhu was either causing trouble outside or indulging in debauchery at the Lichun Courtyard. It was perfectly normal for him to be absent from his room for three to five days or even ten days to half a month.

Now, Wang Erhu is just like a young lady from a respectable family who hasn't married yet. He stays inside the house all day and night, practicing martial arts in that small courtyard...

What horrified him even more was that this guy was now speaking more and more politely. Not only did he stop using foul language, but he even started to call him godfather in a proper and respectful manner!
Is this really Wang Erhu, whom he raised himself?

He didn't quite understand it.

But he was deeply shocked. Worried, one day when this guy came to find him for lunch, he casually mentioned that a new brothel had opened near Gujiaqiao, and the opening ceremony was quite grand.

Knowing his unfilial son as he did, he knew that the bastard would immediately drop his chopsticks upon hearing such news, send people to reserve seats in advance, and perhaps even gather more men to compete with the city's young masters for attention that night...

But this time, the unfilial son sitting opposite him simply continued eating quietly, as if he hadn't heard a word he said.

He didn't say much at the time, but immediately sent someone to the Capital Astronomical Bureau to summon Xu Ergou back. He repeatedly asked him whether Wang Erhu had injured his manhood in the battle of Huangshan. Only after Xu Ergou responded with a bewildered yet extremely firm "absolutely not" did he suppress his doubts and turn to consider other possibilities.

It may be embarrassing to admit, but if Xu Ergou hadn't told him that Wang Wen had been accepted as a disciple by the Maoshan sect leader, Hunkun Zhenren, and given the Buddhist name 'Hunshi', he would have invited several groups of monks and Taoists to examine Wang Wen and see if he was possessed by a ghost.

Another half month has passed in a blur, and winter is just around the corner.

For more than a month, Wang Wen shut out all the noise from the outside world and took some time to reflect and calm down.

He not only spent 4000 merit points to upgrade the "Taiyi Jiuku Hushen Miaojing" to the fourth level, which matches the Yin Shen realm, but also spent 116100 merit points, along with a large amount of tonics and hot food, to push the "Dahai Wuliang Shengong" to the eighth level.

With this extravagant expenditure, he has finally figured out the rules of the various schools of martial arts techniques: the increase doubles every three levels. In other words, from level one to level three, the increase is only doubled per level; from level three to level six, the increase is tripled per level; and from level six to level nine, the increase is quadrupled per level...

Taking the "Boundless Ocean Divine Skill" as an example, it only takes 100 merit points to advance from the first to the second level, and only 200 merit points to advance from the second to the third level. However, it takes 600 merit points to advance from the third to the fourth level... By the time you advance from the seventh to the eighth level, it has already reached the terrifying number of 86400. Wang Wen kept gasping for breath!

All of this has to do with "The Boundless Great Ocean Divine Skill" – it started from a low point and had a small user base.

It's important to know that advancing from the first to the second level of the "Taiyi Jiuku Hushen Miaojing" requires a full 500 merit points.

Based on the patterns he had observed, Wang Wen had roughly calculated the upgrade path for the "Taiyi Salvation and Protection Scripture". The final result was that it would take 1,728,000 merit points to upgrade this scripture from the eighth to the ninth level.

In other words, he would need to fight at least seven major battles of the level of the Huangshan Grand Battle to gain enough to advance this wondrous scripture from the eighth to the ninth level.

After arriving at this number, he decisively abandoned further thought and immediately focused his attention on the "Lightning Thunder Fist".

With a foundation in martial arts and thunder magic, he mastered the basics of this martial arts-integrated technique in just two or three days, and then obtained a thunder refining technique with a starting price of 80 points.

When he looked at the three guardian deities on the mountain god's decree, he felt that his life was so bitter, so very bitter...

Finally, he simply stopped upgrading even the Lightning Thunder Fist, and instead, through the Qinghe Gang, he acquired seven or eight popular folk spear techniques and movement skills, recorded them into the Mountain God Token, and then maxed them all out. He felt incredibly refreshed and wealthy!
After enduring the torment of the three great masters, improving these ordinary techniques feels like the joy of browsing a two-dollar store after being numbed by luxury goods.

The only pity is that the Qinghe Gang couldn't help him find a way to train his body.

This is partly because external martial arts techniques are extremely rare in the martial arts world.

This is also because the time frame is still short, and the Qinghe Gang's reach has not yet been established with the canal transport channels.

However, Wang Wen wasn't in a hurry. With his current overall combat strength, aside from an invincible and unbeatable figure like the gray-clad swordsman...

As for the others, whether it's Zhang Tianshi from Longhu Mountain or Fang La from the Ming Cult, he could only be no match for them. It would be equally impossible for them to kill him, Wang Wen!
With this confidence, he was much more composed when facing the current unpredictable situation.

The first day of the eleventh lunar month is the Beginning of Winter.

On this day, Wang Wen unusually went out early in the morning to personally buy a sheep from the market and personally cooked a whole sheep feast for Huang Xingde to nourish his body.

Around noon, the father and son sat on opposite sides of the side hall. Just as they were picking up a few slices of tender mutton and dipping them into the boiling copper pot, Xu Ergou, dressed in a black official uniform, rushed in like a whirlwind, brandishing his official knife: "Grandpa, Big Brother, good news!"

"It's Er Gou..."

Huang Xingde, with one hand simmering mutton in the hot pot, waved to Xu Ergou with a friendly smile, "You've come at just the right time! Come and sit down!"

Wang Wen glanced at him and said indifferently, "No manners, get out and start over!"

"Hey!"

Xu Ergou suppressed his joy and left the hall with his head bowed.

A moment later, Shen Lei, Huang Xingde's newly appointed close attendant, suppressed a smile and tiptoed into the side hall, clasping his hands in greeting: "Reporting to the master, Xu Ergou requests an audience!"

Huang Xingde suppressed his smile and nodded slightly, saying, "Please invite him in."

"Yes!"

Shen Lei left the side hall, and Xu Ergou, who had unfastened his waist knife, bowed and walked into the side hall with a sheepish look on his face, clasping his hands and saying, "Ergou greets the master."

Huang Xingde waved his hand and pointed to the empty seat next to him: "Come sit down."

Xu Ergou: "Hey!"

Wang Wen didn't say anything, but simply picked up an empty bowl on the table, added sesame paste, coriander, sesame oil and other seasonings, stirred it well and pushed it in front of Xu Ergou: "Try my cooking."

Xu Ergou looked at the table full of mutton cooked in various ways—pan-fried, steamed, boiled, and stewed—in shock, then looked at Wang Wen: "Brother, did you make this?"

Huang Xingde laughed again, "Even the sheep was slaughtered by your eldest brother himself... Come and have a taste!"

Xu Ergou readily agreed and picked up a piece of steamed mutton with rice flour, putting it into his mouth. Before he could even taste it, he praised it repeatedly.

Wang Wen ignored him and focused on the delicious food in front of him... The sheep was dead, he couldn't let it die with its eyes open.

After four or five pounds of freshly sliced ​​mutton had been swallowed by the three men, Wang Wencai asked softly, "What happy occasion made you forget yourself?"

Xu Ergou couldn't wait to put down his chopsticks and excitedly began to speak, his words coming out as fast as firecrackers: "Big brother, the reform of the Imperial Observatory has been approved! From this day forward, the Imperial Observatory will be renamed the Demon Suppression Bureau, obeying only the Emperor's orders, on par with the Six Ministries, guarding the land, protecting the country, and bringing peace and prosperity to the people!"

Wang Wen subconsciously raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, 'The time has come!'

(End of this chapter)