Forge your destiny into a sword, slash your soul and ascend to immortality

Chapter 149 The Hundred Veins Corpse Mountain at the Top of the Tower Summons Ghosts
Jing Qian was so engrossed in his studies that he was almost unable to extricate himself.

He carefully studied the "Great Canon of Ehuang," as if he were standing from the perspective and position of "Ehuang Shangdi" to re-understand and appreciate this world.

The differences in gender, cultivation level, status, and age allowed Jing Qian to fully appreciate the grand vision and will of a completely new cultivator from the world of the book.

He can gain new insights from various perspectives.

This is an incredibly joyful and blissful experience.

Just then, a young woman in a crimson-purple palace dress walked in from outside the door.

She glanced at Jing Qian standing in front of the bookshelf, but didn't disturb him. Instead, she turned around and walked to the other side.

Opposite to the bookshelf on the side of the "Ehuang Grand Canon", there is another bookshelf on the seventeenth floor.

The number of jade slips stacked on top of it is far greater than that of the "Ehuang Grand Canon".

The reason why the bookshelf on this side is stored together with the "Great Canon of Ehuang" is because the information piled up in the jade slips on it is closely related to the main text of the canon.

For most readers who enter the seventeenth floor, the left and right sides are meant to be read together for mutual verification.

The girl walked confidently to the bookshelf, took down a jade slip, and immediately began to read it carefully.

The crimson robes worn by the young girl within this "mountain of books" also signify a considerably high level of authority.

Although it can't compare to the golden robe that Jing Qian wore, allowing him to read freely throughout the entire hall, it can still select any book within the three library pavilions and read it at will.

The purple robe worn by the girl indicated that one of the designated book pavilions was the seventeenth floor.

She held the jade slip and immersed herself in it with her spiritual sense, studying it very carefully. However, the knowledge within was obscure and difficult to understand, and after only a short while, she became drowsy and had a splitting headache.

She turned around and looked at Jing Qian, who was calm and composed across from her. For a moment, she found it hard to accept, and her heart was slightly stirred.

"Are they just putting on an act?"

"Can anyone actually understand the original version of the 'Great Canon of Ehuang'?"

"I get a headache just looking at the selection questions. If I were to look at the original text of the Grand Ceremony, I'm afraid my mind would be overwhelmed."

"If I had the skills on the other side, I could guarantee a passing grade in the selection process."

The girl forced herself to continue reading, only to find that her jade slip contained an endless, terrifying sea of ​​questions:
"Any act that violates the laws of nature will inevitably incur the backlash of Heaven. Of the following eight options—Heaven, Earth, Profound Yellow, Universe, and Primordial Chaos—which one or more situations will trigger the Empress's Heavenly Rules and cause her to suffer the torment of being burned by [Karmic Fire]?"

"What are the taboos of raising the Crimson Flame Golden Lion Beast? Please choose one or more of the following eight options."

"What kind of trigram changes occur in the core of the [Eight Trigrams Locking Spirit Array] after it is nourished by the Kui Water Yuan Qi?"

……

It turns out that within the vast system of the [Wuji Celestial Dynasty], the promotion and selection of [Spirit Officials] form a strict and self-contained system.

In addition to accumulating worldly merits, increasing cultivation, and honing qualifications for promotion, low-ranking [Spirit Officials] can also shorten their trial period and ascend to the top in one step through the Empress's selection process for official appointments.

Even the descendants of high-ranking [Spirit Officials], despite having the patronage of [Spirit Official] positions, may still need to go through a selection process to truly receive a pardon and obtain the corresponding title.

It can be said that this selection process is a necessary step for anyone who intends to work within the [Wuji Celestial Empire] system.

The selected questions all come from the vast and profound knowledge contained in the "Ehuang Great Canon".

Using this as a framework, a vast number of tricky and bizarre questions can be easily devised. Even if the participants in the selection are all mid-to-low-level [Spirit Officials] with cultivation, the pass rate is extremely low.

The young woman stood opposite the main document of the ceremony, carefully studying the relevant knowledge derived from the selection and appointment of officials, including past and mock exam questions for civil service examinations.

After millions of years of accumulation, the number of these authentic questions even exceeds the original text of the "Ehuang Dadian," forming an extremely terrifying and massive question bank.

In fact, if a young girl could read the original text of the "Ehuang Great Canon" thoroughly, she wouldn't need to waste too much time on this real question.

In reality, this is precisely where the difficulty and threshold of the selection process lie.

Don't be fooled by how Jing Qian lingered before "The Great Canon of Ehuang," becoming more and more engrossed and enjoying the reading experience.

In essence, he relied on the extremely unique enlightened destiny of the [Worldly Understanding] and the miraculous second-grade spiritual energy of the [Three Lives Reincarnation Eye].

Even within the Wuji Celestial Dynasty, geniuses who can freely read the original version of the "Ehuang Great Canon" are extremely rare.

The original copy of the 100,000 volumes of the Grand Compendium contains a vast amount of information in each corresponding jade slip.

If an ordinary cultivator does not possess the supernatural ability to process information, and rashly opens the original copy of a grand encyclopedia, their own sea of ​​consciousness will be overwhelmed by the violent flow of information within.

Therefore, everyone knows that the path to heaven lies in the "mountain of books," but from climbing the mountain to finding books and then reading them, each step has a high threshold.

In this process, powerful and influential families undoubtedly gained a huge first-mover advantage.

This is also a disguised strategy of class monopoly.

The girl, dressed in purple robes and studying the selection questions, would naturally have an advantage over 99% of her competitors in the selection process.

However, there is still a huge gap between her ability to read the original text of the Great Codex directly and Jingqian's ability to do so.

Jing Qian was completely unaware of this; he simply regarded reading the "Great Canon of Ehuang" as an essential part of his self-cultivation.

Not only the "Great Canon of Ehuang," he has made up his mind to take root in this "mountain of books," to read as many books as possible, to read good books, and to improve his own foundation and knowledge.

Currently, after reading the "Geography" section, he has also finished reading the "History".

The historians of the Wuji Celestial Dynasty have a complete lineage, and the recording of historical documents is done by all means and is extremely tedious.

The Empress's daily records alone consist of more than two hundred jade slips.

The historical record of the entire ceremony begins with the ascension of [Goddess Ego] to the fourth rank of [Star-Picking], a great power who established her own divine kingdom, and continues through her promotions to the rank of First-Rank Empress.

During this process, her divine kingdom evolved from a small court in the Mountain Realm to the Boundless Heavenly Dynasty that spanned the northern sky.

This vast history spanning millions of years employs a narrative approach that combines chronological and biographical styles, leaving no memorable event, war, or figure unrecorded.

It is filled with countless joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, happiness and sadness.

Among them, Jing Qian's favorite part was the biographical accounts of the 2,724 "Great Spirit Officials" of the Celestial Dynasty.

Historians who wrote the annals of officials of the second rank or above, specifically the "Great Spirit Officials," were all masters of their craft, well-versed in the formulas of light novels.

Featuring various "Great Spirit Officials" as the main characters, the novel vividly and movingly depicts the arduous cultivation journeys of these great cultivators.

Jing Qian was so engrossed in watching it that he couldn't stop!

After spending a month reading the history book, he had a very thorough understanding of the Wuji Celestial Empire.

From organizational structure, interest relationships, and power divisions to cultural traditions, value orientations, and development strategies.

It can be said that although he has never been to the Wuji Celestial Empire in person, he already understands the Celestial Empire better than most people in the entire empire.

Jing Qian couldn't help but have high expectations for this realm.

He will visit the Ehuang Heavenly Capital of the Wuji Heavenly Dynasty sooner or later.

He slowly pulled his thoughts away from "The Great Ceremony of Ehuang" and prepared to move on to the next chapter to continue reading, but he was surprised to find that a girl in a purple dress was standing not far from him.

When the girl saw that he had woken up, she bowed and gestured with her eyes.

Jing Qian immediately realized what was happening and said:
"Feel sorry."

He then put down the jade slip in his hand and moved aside the bookshelf in front of him that was piled with the History of the People's Republic of China.

I'm blocking someone's way!
The girl was clearly well-mannered. After bowing to Jing Qian, she stepped forward and picked up a jade slip.

However, unlike Jing Qian, she was not as at ease, able to freely open the jade slip and read the information within.

She was on high alert, using all her mental energy to try and resist the information surge from the jade slip.

But when the overwhelming information rushed in, the girl felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her face immediately flushed red, and she swayed as if she had drunk fake wine.

However, she still managed to hold onto the last shred of clarity, trying to find the information she wanted from this vast flow of information.

But in the end, she still failed!

Despite being at the [Spirit Subduing] realm with a solid foundation, this young girl is far inferior to Jing Qian.

Having failed to read the original text of "The Great Canon of Ehuang," her question remained unanswered, and she had to find another way.

She glanced at Jing Qian, who was engrossed in reading again, and then stood beside him, waiting silently.

She couldn't even read a complete jade book normally, but in Jing Qian's hands, it was completely digested in less than half an hour.

Jing Qian remained standing, preparing to change to the next jade book, when the girl beside him suddenly spoke:
"Greetings, young master. I am Anran, a young lady of the An family. I apologize for disturbing you."

If someone mentioned a woman from the An family before he had studied history, Jingqian would have had no idea what she was talking about.

At this moment, however, he had already thoroughly read the Annals of the Great Spirit Official. Upon hearing the name of the An family woman, he immediately knew that she was a direct descendant of An Jian, the Minister of Revenue appointed by Heaven.

An Jian attained enlightenment 5,700 years ago. He was a commoner who rose through the ranks from the rule of the Celestial Dynasty to a high position.

He has now been granted the title of First-Rank Minister of State, and his cultivation level is among the best of the Second-Rank Great Powers. In addition, he controls the economic lifeline of the entire Wuji Heavenly Dynasty, making him one of the most powerful high-ranking officials in the dynasty.

It can be considered a successful example of the talent selection and training system of the "Wuji Celestial Dynasty".

As the eldest daughter of the An family, this woman naturally belonged to one of the top aristocratic families in the [Wuji Heavenly Dynasty].

Jing Qian then answered:
"What advice does the noble lady An have for you?"

An Ran bowed again and said:
“Young master, I am also preparing for the next round of official selection. My grandfather specially hired a tutor from the academy to teach me for my studies.”

"My tutor is strict at home, and the homework he assigns is really difficult. I have been lingering in this mountain of books for a long time, but there are still two questions I haven't found the answers to."

"I see that you are studying the original text of the Great Codex with great ease. I wonder if you could help me with a few questions?"

"I am willing to pay a gold coin for each question."

After saying that, she took out a special gold token with the question written on it.

The currency system of the Wuji Celestial Dynasty is unique, ranging from white jade to gold jade. Each jade coin is equivalent to a [Life Fire] of the same color.

The two gold and jade pieces are quite valuable.

However, Jing Qian didn't care. He casually took the golden token from the other party and scanned it with his divine sense, and saw many questions recorded on it.

These questions are specifically designed for this part of the history, and each one is tricky and challenging.

If you can't memorize the entire "Ehuang Canon", it will be no easy task to get a high score.

Fortunately, he had just finished reading the history book, so he was almost certain to get the answers right when he did the questions.

He raised his hand, filled in the correct answers on the gold token, corrected the three questions Anran had answered incorrectly, and then sent the gold token back.

An Ran accepted the gold token, examined it carefully, and then her eyes lit up. She said:
"Thank you for your help, young master. May I ask your name?"

"Once I leave the Mountain of Books, I will deliver the reward to the young master's residence in the tower."

Jing Qian waved his hand and said:
"It was no trouble at all, Your Excellency."

He neither wanted money nor told the other party his name, but instead focused his attention on the jade book in his hand and ignored the other party.

Seeing that the other party was very aloof and ignored her, An Ran pursed her lips, gave a slight bow, and then turned and left the library.

Having completed her mission, and having been greatly affected by the impact of the original text of the Grand Ceremony, her spiritual consciousness and mental energy were also greatly depleted. Therefore, she left the [Book Mountain] and returned to her boudoir.

She unleashed a burst of magic, summoning a robust old woman who spoke:
"Granny, take this gold token to the teacher and have him grade me."

"Also, I just met a young master on the seventeenth floor of the [Book Mountain]. He was wearing a golden robe and could read the original copy of the 'Great Canon of Ehuang'. Could you please go to the steward and ask him to help me find out which family he belongs to?"

"Yes, Miss Sun!"

The old woman turned and left Anran's room. Anran walked to a huge French window, comfortably lay down on a recliner, and gazed out the window, lost in thought.

Looking outwards following her gaze, one could see that her boudoir was located more than a thousand feet above the ground, situated atop a towering pagoda.

This place is the absolute core of the [Wuji Heavenly Dynasty] and the heartland of [Tianjing Star].

The entire terrain of the Celestial Empire is composed of nine stars arranged in a row around the [Tianjing Star], forming a total of ten large stars.

This tower is the ancestral home of the An family, and is known as the Yingtian Tower, a structure built only by the most powerful families in the Celestial Empire. It can draw upon the vital energy of the Celestial Empire and has countless wondrous uses.

Surrounding the Anshi Tower are many other tall towers, each backed by a top-tier family that produced a Grand Spirit Official and established its own annals.

In China, these top families are also known as the "Top Hundred Families".

Any one of these Hundred Clans possesses strength and foundation no less than that of the Ying Clan.

The An family, the Minister of Revenue, was an even more powerful family at the peak of its strength and influence.

Jing Qian is truly outstanding, like an awl placed in a bag. He only came to the "Book Mountain" once, but he has already become involved with one of the Hundred Schools of Thought.

However, he was completely unaware of this and was simply reading quietly.

As he absorbed more and more knowledge, his consciousness and mind seemed to undergo another kind of refinement.

His entire demeanor became increasingly refined and composed, and even his "sage-like appearance" became more condensed.

More importantly, the [Sumeru Great Dao Stele] actually reacted to the vast amount of knowledge he had absorbed.

He could clearly sense that as long as he obtained enough knowledge, he could trigger another evolution of the [Sumeru Great Dao Stele].

This made him incredibly excited!
Now, his Destiny Tablet has evolved twice. Whether it was the first time reforging his Destiny and enhancing his Fate, or the second time refining and advancing his title through the three title positions, both have had a decisive impact on his strength system.

If he evolves again, even greater divine abilities should appear, which will undoubtedly be of great benefit to his cultivation.

After March, Jingqian successfully read through the "Great Canon of Ehuang," and felt as if he had been reborn, with boundless power emerging from the depths of his heart.

When he returned to the mortal world, he was surprised to find that his divine sense had been greatly tempered in the process, increasing by more than 50%.

This had a fairly direct impact on him!

With a wave of his hand, the [Sumeru Immortal Sword Embryo] transformed into a beam of sword light, already thirty feet away from him.

While it cannot compare to the perfectly fused [Yin Yin Immortal Sword Embryo], it has still made significant progress.

The path to heaven lies within books; the true path to enlightenment lies within books!
For the first time, he realized that reading was also an extremely effective way to cultivate oneself!

He stood up, stretched his muscles from sitting for so long, and looked at his new apprentice, Sheng Yu, who was also reading.

After acquiring sufficient knowledge, Jing Qian had a wonderful experience of seeing the god in his heart.

When he looks at many things, he can easily see through their essence.

This is not the perspective gained through the divine power of the "Three Lives Eye," but rather an understanding and insight derived from the most fundamental logic.

In this wondrous world where power resides within oneself, learning can still change one's destiny.

In Jing Qian's eyes, the spiritual practice he had done for Sheng Yu was completely exposed. He was using the methods of the [Yanfu Dao] lineage of exorcising ghosts to re-refine [Yanmo Luo].

This celestial demon, possessing a [Heavenly Mandate], is transforming from a [Spiritual Ability] into a [Birth-Giving Ghost].

Once he successfully refines it, [Flame Demon Luo] will become his [destiny], and he will completely devour it from the outside in, from the surface to the core.

A third-grade [Spiritual Ability] transformed into a [Heavenly Mandate] level [Destiny Ghost], not only retaining its strength without any loss, but also experiencing a qualitative leap in its cultivation foundation!

Not long after, the flames of [Burning Heaven] ignited on Sheng Yu's body, and a [Human Emperor's Fengshan Image] inexplicably appeared.

Childbirth speaks out:
"I beg my master to help me attain enlightenment!"

Jing Qian had long seen through the situation and clearly understood the opponent's cultivation. He directly unleashed the full power of the [Yin Yin Immortal Sword Embryo], completely shattering the opponent's magical power.

Immediately afterward, the self-destruction of the lifespan destiny within the sea of ​​consciousness caused the user's life essence power to drop to the White Tooth level.

His magical power instantly dropped by 70-80%, and his cultivation level also dropped back to the ninth rank of [Destiny Fixation].

He has completely abandoned his previous cultivation and intends to rebuild his cultivation foundation according to the "Yambhava Cave Netherworld Reincarnation Dao Book".

He's quite decisive!
Judging from his ninth-grade cultivation level, he possesses two [Heavenly Mandates] and a third-grade [Destiny Ghost], already showing some signs of becoming a Dao Child.

Sheng Yu let out a long breath, withdrew from his cultivation, stood up, and said:
"Thank you for your help, Master. I can leave seclusion for now."

Jing Qian nodded, took Sheng Yu and bid farewell to Snake Lord, and then disappeared in a flash.

Snake Lord once again reversed the [Ghost Yuan Palace] and came before the White Snake Granny, saying:
"The new sect leader is definitely promising. My dear, what do you think? Should I completely implant the [Life Stove] into him as well?"

But the white snake had a different opinion and spoke up:
"Let's talk about it after he gets past the [Yanfu] hurdle."

"I noticed that none of the previous sect leaders offered him any guidance. It's best if neither of us gets too involved in this matter."

"[Yanfu Dao] is no longer what it was back in Zhongshentian. It's just a rotten pit now. It's best for us to get out of here as soon as possible."

Snake Lord sighed and said nothing more.

……

On a deserted island, Luo Tian used a true dragon offspring as the main ingredient and prepared a grand feast using sixteen secret cooking methods passed down by the Kitchen God Restaurant, including roasting, baking, pan-frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, sautéing, steaming, boiling, stewing, braising, simmering, simmering, braising, stir-frying, marinating, and smoking.

Moreover, it has long been kept fresh and fragrant, waiting for the two fellow Daoists for a long time.

Having returned from the core of vitality, the two, lacking both money and the ability to have children, were finally able to enjoy themselves to the fullest.

Even though Yinghao was born into royalty, he did not receive the same treatment as the chefs at the [Kitchen God Restaurant].

All three of them suddenly had a great appetite and ate until they were stuffed.

The corpse of a true dragon, rich in vital energy and magical power, would be a great tonic for the three youths!

Jing Qian's magical power increased by several dozen more times.

He then spoke again:
"Regarding childbirth, your next step should be to relearn the [Reincarnation of the Emperor Seal] and complete the cultivation of spiritual destiny."

"You should come with me first."

"Old Luo, there are still four true dragon corpses left. You can deal with them slowly."

"I need to go to the Sea of ​​Wrongful Souls to take care of something first."

"Go to Hunzhou and wait for me for a few days."

"After we finish our business, let's go and explore [Fear Continent]."

"We're getting a bit tired of seafood, let's go get some mountain produce to try."

"Alright, Daozi, I'll follow your arrangements."

After tidying up the chairs and benches in his mobile kitchen, Lao Luo rode a streak of light and slowly headed towards [Hunzhou].

Jing Qian then pulled Ying Hao up and vanished from the deserted island in a flash.

When they reappeared, they were directly above the Sea of ​​Vengeful Souls, one of the ten most dangerous places in the Yingfu Pagoda Realm.

Jing Qian was quite familiar with this ominous place. When his cultivation was low, he had traveled here many times to harvest ghosts and accumulate life ghosts for the [Hell Scroll].

He had a deep relationship with the two siblings, the "Impermanent Ghost Emperor" and the "Eternal Ghost Mother," in this lake.

After the last transaction where [Wuchang Temple] was used as a bargaining chip, they are now generally considered friends rather than enemies.

This [Sea of ​​Wrongful Souls] is essentially the transformation of the [Yellow Springs Palace], the core asset of the [Yanfu Dao] exorcism lineage.

This extremely powerful first-grade [Spiritual Ability] is of equal rank to the [Yanfu Palace] buried deep within the [Spiritual Brightness Sea], and to the [Ghost Origin Palace] where Snake Lord resides; both are core members of their respective sects.

When the [Yanfu Dao] was robbed, it was taken away by the [Wuchang Ghost Emperor] and used it to attain enlightenment, advancing to the second-rank [Ghost Emperor] level. It then created a ghost domain here, forming this [Sea of ​​Wrongful Souls].

For the two newly recruited disciples of the [Exorcism] lineage, who lacked both money and the ability to give birth, the [Sea of ​​Vengeful Souls] was an ideal place for cultivation.

At this moment, Jing Qian is already a [Spirit Subduing] cultivator, and his [Saint True Body] has been activated, making his strength and status completely different.

He returned to the Sea of ​​Vengeful Souls, but not as secretly as before; instead, he came openly to visit the Impermanent Ghost Emperor.

As soon as they appeared, a black jade carriage, pulled by a ghost dragon, drove towards them from the Sea of ​​Wronged Souls below.

The two children, fearless, boarded the carriage and headed towards the depths of the Sea of ​​Vengeful Spirits.

As for Jing Qian, he was powerful enough and was the current leader of the Yanfu Sect, so he was both highly skilled and daring.

As for Ying Hao, he was extremely confident in his Ying clan bloodline and believed that his background was extremely powerful, so he was not worried at all that anyone would try to harm him within the Ying Futu Realm.

The two ventured deeper and arrived directly before the [Palace of the Underworld].

Stepping inside, the [Impermanent Ghost Emperor] was already waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing the two arrive, he spoke first:
"Without money to lead the sect, what purpose do you have in passing on the true teachings?"

Jing Qian bowed and began to speak:
"Greetings, Senior Ghost Emperor. We two need some suitable ghosts in the Sea of ​​Vengeful Souls to enrich our cultivation foundation. We ask for your support."

Strictly speaking, the [Wuchang Ghost Emperor] can definitely be considered a senior figure in the [Yamfu Dao] lineage of exorcism.

In terms of status, he is above the true disciples, second only to [Yan Fuzi].

He had anticipated the requests made by the two younger people.

Then the [Impermanent Ghost Emperor] continued:

"It is not easy for my [Exorcism] lineage to produce a [Yanfuzi]. The previous generation had the [Death-Prescription] lineage, and before that, the [Blind] lineage had the [Meat Feast] lineage."

"It's about time for our [Exorcism] lineage to take its turn."

"It is only reasonable for Daozi to make this request."

"However, since my [Sea of ​​Vengeful Souls] is already independent, even if the Dao Child is right in front of us, we can't be too oppressive."

"My sister just ransacked the Sea of ​​Vengeful Spirits. There are currently less than 100,000 evil spirits of rank 7 or above. I can only give you 30% at most. Please don't go too far."

Jing Qian laughed heartily and said:
"Senior Ghost Emperor, you are very generous. I don't need that much!"

After saying that, he took Yinghao's leave.

The two successors of the [Exorcism] technique split up, with Yinghao going to find a place to refine the spiritual energy of the [Revolving Emperor Seal].

Jing Qian then teleported to the very core of the Sea of ​​Wrongful Souls.

He summoned the spiritual power of the Reincarnation Wheel and the destiny of the Hell Scroll together.

Then, the two powers combined, and they actually summoned the [Mountain of Corpses] deity.

As soon as this strange phenomenon appeared, the evil spirits within the Sea of ​​Wronged Souls instantly went berserk and charged straight towards the Mountain of Corpses.

Ke Jingqian used the [Reincarnation Disc] to emit a beam of clear light, which firmly enveloped the [Mountain of Corpses].

The densely packed ghosts could only lie on the clear light, unable to enter.

Jing Qian stepped onto the [Mountain of Corpses] and glanced at the many ghosts besides Qing Guang.

With a wave of his hand, he captured a seventh-rank evil spirit and threw it onto the [Mountain of Corpses].

The bizarre combination of the evil spirit and the "mountain of corpses" has resulted in this great demon miraculously manifesting a unique physical body!
This body is neither alive nor dead, similar in nature to a zombie, yet it is remarkably lifelike, indistinguishable from a normal living person.

More importantly, the evil spirit, empowered by this physical body, actually regained its former intelligence and became a handsome cultivator!

(End of this chapter)