Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 285, Chapter 294: The Divine Palace of the Four Nines, the Spiritual Appearance of the Mud Pill

There are two key steps for a martial artist to advance to the seventh realm.

First, they opened up the Niwan point and built the divine palace;
Secondly, the main deity enters the body, the primordial spirit merges with it, and a spiritual form is created.

Generally speaking, achieving spiritual enlightenment is a more perilous hurdle, determining whether one succeeds or fails.

While the process of opening the Niwan point and forging the Divine Palace is not particularly difficult, it has a crucial impact on a martial artist's future cultivation, determining whether it will be "good or bad."

As martial arts have developed to this point, there is now a relatively complete standard for forging a divine palace, which measures a martial artist's potential after reaching the Xuan Guan (mysterious gate).

The Daoist canon says that the number of days begins with one and ends with nine... Nine means the end, the ultimate point of all things.

The shrine, as the dwelling place of the spirit and the cradle of the primordial spirit, is divided into four levels based on the number "nine".

The lowest is the "One-Nine" Divine Palace, the middle ones are "Two-Nine" and "Three-Nine", and the highest is the "Four-Nine" Divine Palace.

The four levels of divine palaces also roughly determine how far a martial artist can go in the Profound Gate realm.

The seventh realm's entrance consists of three smaller realms: the multi-story building, the inner landscape, and the communion realm.

The Twelve-Story Tower is the foundation of the Entrance Gate, known as the "Twelve-Story Tower," but not everyone can cultivate to the Twelve-Story Tower.

The Nine Palaces can be built into a three-story building, and the Nine Palaces can be built into a six-story building.

However, below the sixth floor, at most an interior scene can be built, making it difficult to connect with heaven and earth.

Only the Three-Nine Divine Palace can reach the Nine-Story Tower and has the potential to become a Grandmaster of the Eighth Realm.
Furthermore, the Forty-Nine Divine Palace can reach the Twelve-Story Perfection and is expected to reach the Ninth Realm Earth Immortal.

Therefore, to use an analogy, the shrine within the mud ball is like the "breadth" of a building; once decided, it cannot be changed.

The Chonglou (重楼) represents "height." Although it can be cultivated later in life, the more solid the foundation, the higher it can be, and the easier it is to build.

For Li Cunxiao, these two things could be done at the same time, because after defeating Emperor Taizong of Qin, besides using it to cultivate his avatar, there was still a lot of Taiqing Xuanqi left.

At this moment, as the true forms of the Azure Dragon and the Bodhi Tree appeared, the True Essence, nourished by the Supreme Purity Mysterious Qi, became as clear as the blue sea, flowing into the Mysterious Pass along the twenty-four joints of the Heavenly Bone.

Finding the location of the Niwan point in the dark and ignorant sea of ​​consciousness has always been the first hurdle for martial artists to overcome when breaking through the Xuan Guan (a crucial barrier in martial arts).

But for Li Cunxiao, there was no need to search at all. The location of his Niwan point was as clear as the North Star in the sky.

The true essence surged forth, making a sound like the waves of a river, easily breaking through that barrier and flowing into the Niwan point.

At that moment, it was as if a cool breeze surged into the crown of his head, a familiar feeling, just like when he used the vajra in the past.

Even with his eyes closed, Li Cunxiao felt as if the whole world had changed.

The precious pearl formed from the Taiqing Xuanqi flowed into the Niwan Palace along with the river of true essence, and then a milky white aura continuously mixed into it, washing away the surrounding chaos with the river water.

As chaos faded, light gradually expanded within Niwan, outlining a hazy shape, like a hemispherical lid—this was the prototype of the "Divine Palace."

During this process, Li Cunxiao could clearly sense that his primordial spirit was growing stronger, and his perception of his surroundings was gradually becoming clearer.

It didn't take long for a nine-square grid, roughly in the shape of a "well", to be established in the space where the chaos had faded.

"This is the 'One Nine' Divine Palace? With the help of the Taiqing Profound Qi, it's quite easy."

Li Cunxiao was slightly surprised.

According to what he had read in the notes of many predecessors, opening up a divine palace was not difficult, but it was very mentally taxing.

For ordinary martial artists, the entire process often takes one or even several days, during which they must constantly replenish their vital energy with elixirs in order to successfully forge the prototype of the 'One-Nine' Divine Palace.

But for him, the whole process was as simple as eating and drinking.

The only thing that was consumed was the milky white pearl floating in the True Essence River, which was obviously smaller than before.

"The Taiqing Xuanqi is truly an extraordinary creation. No wonder Guo Zhao was stuck at the bottleneck for many years, but was able to break through in one day."

"Unfortunately, the Qin Dynasty has lost the hearts of the people. Even with the Taiqing Palace, it cannot find trustworthy talents and cannot cultivate true strongmen."

After a brief moment of reflection, Li Cunxiao, having witnessed the power of the Taiqing Xuanqi, decided to multitask.

While continuing to expand on the basis of the original "19" Divine Palace, they also began to transfer the main body of the Taoist sect.

On the canopy of the Bodhi tree, a lotus root figurine with complete hands, feet, and facial features opens its arms.

A blue dragon coiled around it. Blue and red mercury beads spewed from the dragon's mouth and poured into the lotus root figurine. In no time, the blue lotus flower above its head began to bloom.

Until the blue lotus fully blooms, a powerful attraction suddenly emanates from the holes of the golden lotus seedpod inside.

Without hesitation, Li Cunxiao's true form of the Azure Dragon meandered upwards, splitting into seven star deities: Horned Wood Dragon, Neck Golden Dragon, Root Earth Badger, Tail Fire Tiger, Winnowing Basket Water Leopard, Room Sun Rabbit, and Heart Moon Fox, which filled the lotus seeds within.

In that instant, a feeling of emptiness briefly surged up, but quickly vanished without a trace.

"It must be that the original body has been transferred into the avatar, and my physical body is not used to it for a short time."

"However, the Seven Treasures Lotus is rooted in my dantian and has become one with me, so it will not cause any real damage."

Li Cunxiao closed his eyes and looked inward. He saw that the roots and stems of the golden lotus and the blue lotus were like colorful meridians, running in all directions, blending together seamlessly.

At the same time, since the Buddha and Taoist deities have both resided in the lotus incarnation, the two are connected by the supreme treasure, the Seven Treasures Lotus.

Once he had adapted to the change and summoned his true form again, Li Cunxiao was surprised to find that the enormous azure dragon had already coiled around the crown of the Bodhi tree, its tail and roots quietly connecting.

They are distinct yet closely connected. The Azure Dragon Mercury Pearl of the Wood element and the Flame Pearl of the Fire element, two different types of true essence, subtly converge and merge.

Correspondingly, the seven orifices of the main body became empty again due to the departure of the demon, making room for the arrival of the Confucian master.

Within the Niwan Palace, the waves still surged, and the Taiqing Xuanqi, driven by the true essence, washed away the chaos.

The "One-Nine" Divine Palace from before has now doubled in size, with the three "wells" arranged like the character "品" (pin), thus reaching the standard of the "Three-Nine" Divine Palace.

At this point, even with the help of the Taiqing Xuanqi, the expansion of the Divine Palace has clearly slowed down.

"This is only one true form. I still have the Buddhist and Confucian schools to start. I can't let the Taiqing Xuanqi be consumed too much."

Li Cunxiao made a decisive move. The azure dragon on the Bodhi tree let out a long roar, transformed into a stream of light, passed through the spine and the jade pillow from the tailbone, and crashed into the Niwan point.

boom!
It was as if a giant in chaos had wielded a massive axe, separating the clear from the turbid.

Even though he was sitting calmly on the ground, Li Cunxiao felt as if the entire world was trembling and rumbling.

The Azure Dragon's true form rushed into Niwan, shattering and reversing the surrounding chaos, revealing the fourth "well".

The Four-Nine Divine Palaces are arranged in pairs like a grid, and brilliant light bursts forth, surging into the body of the Azure Dragon—that is the power of his primordial spirit.

The fusion of spiritual forms has begun!

Dragon Boat Secret Realm, Qianyang Palace.

silence.

The four palaces were silent; even the faint roars of the demons and humans that once filled the air could not be heard at all.

This is thanks to Wen Zhongzi.

Upon learning that Li Cunxiao was about to break through the barrier, the former disregarded the test of fighting against someone of the same level and decisively swept through the entire area outside Qianyang Palace, leaving no corner untouched.

Now, there is no human demon left to be found in the entire secret realm. Except for—tap, tap, tap.

Footsteps approached from afar, echoing across the square outside the Qianyang Hall.

The footsteps were very rhythmic, as if each step had been calculated, neither too fast nor too slow, but relaxed and at ease.

Finally, it stopped in front of the Qianyang Palace.

He wore a flat-topped turban, a white robe with black trim, and dark blue flat-toed shoes.

An aged face, a silver beard, and a smile at the corners of his mouth.

If Li Cunxiao were here, he would surely be able to see that Wen Zhongzi's face had become more and more withered compared to when he first met him, but his eyes were brighter than ever before, as if two stars were embedded in his eye sockets.

His intense gaze was fixed on the Qianyang Palace, whose doors were wide open.

Unlike its usual calm demeanor, the spirit dragon, Crimson Dragon, wandered about and murmured, emitting a faint glow, as if it were about to outline some shape in the sky above Qianyang Palace.

Inside the dragon throne, the stone egg remained motionless, seemingly completely unaware of the abnormality in the outside world.

"Yang Ying, the two of us are finally going to die today."

Wen Zhongzi spoke in a calm and even tone, but the words he uttered were chilling.

As he spoke, his right hand moved in the air, pressing down and raising, and lines of white-glowing text were arranged from right to left to form an article.

"When I first started practicing martial arts and entered the Dao, I also thought about how I would spend this long time if I could one day enter the realm of Earth Immortal and live for three hundred years."

"But life is unpredictable. In order to unite the three religions, I had to abandon a direct path to heaven and instead embark on a pioneering journey, forging a path that no one had ever succeeded at before."

"In the end, he was forced to stop at the Grandmaster level and lived as a half-human, half-demon for more than six hundred years in this desolate place."

"It's so boring."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Zhongzi's right hand also stopped.

The dense text in the air resembled a long corridor, stretching from where he stood all the way to the sky above the Qianyang Palace.

There, the radiance outlined a portal, drawing out the head of the crimson dragon from the Qianyang Palace.

First the head, then the neck, then the dragon claws, and finally the entire dragon body left Qianyang Palace and coiled around the gate of light.

During this process, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the red dragon's golden eyes seemed to glance in the direction of the old man in the scholar's robe.

The secret realm began to tremble, starting subtly and gradually becoming more pronounced;

The door began to open, gradually revealing the figure of a young man behind it, from a hazy state to a clear view.

On his handsome face, the illusory image of the Azure Dragon became increasingly solid.
Three feet behind his head, the magnificent Palace of the Four Nines, arranged in the shape of the Chinese character "田", is resplendent in gold!
Through this portal, one can almost see the world behind it, where various spiritual energies flow into one's limbs and bones like a whirlpool funnel, with the Azure Dragon as a bridge.

The meridians that run through the whole body are like rivers that flow in all directions, connecting and connecting the microcosm of the human body with the macrocosm of the outside world!
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

Wen Zhongzi watched this scene and let out a hearty laugh. His gaze towards the Qianyang Palace was now filled with resolute determination and relief.
"Li Cunxiao is about to condense his spiritual form, Yang Ying. Once he takes control of the dragon boat, you will have no chance of survival!"

The Qianyang Palace was silent for a moment, then an overwhelming aura of malevolent energy burst forth like a flood, and the Thousand-Hand Guanyin demon statue instantly tore apart the roof of the Qianyang Palace, heading straight for the gate on the horizon.

However, the malevolent current of energy was only halfway through when it was blocked by a text that shimmered with white light, like a wall formed by a book.

"Wang Tong, get out of my way!"

The surging, turbid tide crashed against the invisible Great Wall, making it teeter on the brink of collapse.

Wen Zhongzi remained calm and composed, ascending step by step into the air.

The Confucian Master, the Buddhist deity, and the Taoist Emperor—three divine figures unfolded from behind, their three distinct powers merging into one under his precise control, stabilizing the compressed and deformed "wall of books."

"His Majesty was a man of great talent and ambition in his lifetime, but unfortunately he has fallen into demonic ways for six hundred years and is now terminally ill and beyond cure."

"Rather than returning to the world and wreaking havoc on the people, why not simply die? That way, you can entrust Li Cunxiao to help you be buried in the mausoleum, at least preserving some dignity."

"Your Majesty? How dare you address me like that?"

Yang Ying stared at the increasingly dazzling Azure Dragon spirit within the portal, her expression twisted in a ferocious grimace:
"You defy the emperor and commit insubordination. How are you any different from traitors like Yuwen Jian and Sima Fufeng?!"

"If you still consider yourself a subject of the Great Zhou, then you should join forces with me now to kill that inexperienced ant and reclaim the spiritual treasure!"

"The treacherous Li family has stolen the imperial edict, and now the world is in turmoil. This is the time for the Great Zhou to be restored!"

"If I only have some time to recover to my former glory, what's wrong with conquering the world again like my Great Zhou Emperor Wen?"

"At that time, you will be the Imperial Advisor, the Prime Minister, a renowned minister who revitalized the dynasty, and your name will be remembered for eternity. What's wrong with that?"

The words were heated, and the Thousand-Hand Guanyin Demon Statue's attacks became increasingly fierce, causing the Great Wall surrounding the Crimson Dragon and the Gate of Light to tremble incessantly.

Wen Zhongzi simply shook his head upon hearing this.

"If Your Majesty is a restorer who can rebuild the world, then the Great Zhou Dynasty would not have perished in the first place."

"If I were a pillar capable of saving the day, there wouldn't have been so much suffering and so much public resentment."

"Dynastic changes are ordained by Heaven. Your Majesty and I are already dead. Why should we bring more war and suffering to this turbulent world?"

Yang Ying finally lost her temper.

"If this world is not mine, what do I care about the lives and deaths of the people!"

"There are countless living beings, and everyone is like an ant in a sea of ​​suffering. Are you the only one who cares about all living beings?"

"Do you think you're a saint? A god?"

Wen Zhongzi laughed again.

"I'm just straight."

"A straight man without father or ruler!!!"

"Your Majesty, it's time to set off."

After saying this, the three venerable figures of the Confucian King, the Taoist Emperor, and the Buddhist Sangharama all burst into flames.

The dazzling light resembled three great suns, and the originally illusory Great Wall instantly solidified into reality, making Yang Ying's roar even more frantic.

In contrast, a thick fog rose from the midday sun, resembling dense clouds or ashes scattered from a burning torch.

Greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt—the deepest malice in the world—condense into a pitch-black shadow. This shadow represents the darkness within Wen Zhongzi's humanity and is the root of his demonic possession.

"What straight people? They're all demons. How much cleaner are you than me?"

Yang Ying sneered, but the smile didn't last long, because behind the gate surrounded by red dragons, the young man who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed suddenly opened them.

As the five fingers of its right hand spread open, the Azure Dragon spirit opened its mouth wide and inhaled forcefully:
Whether it was Wen Zhongzi or Yang Ying, their dark, malevolent aura, like an inverted Milky Way, swept towards Li Cunxiao!

"Vajra, deduce!"

(End of this chapter)