The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

It's not far, just south of the valley, and is built as a natural cave, so the environment is inevitably a bit dark. However, the environment inside the cave is very clean, with no animal droppings or other debris, and it's not damp at all, but rather very dry, giving people a comfortable feeling.

Bookshelves stood in the cave, filled with all kinds of bound books. The number was enormous, easily estimated to be over a thousand, which was richer than the collections of ordinary noble families. This showed how profound the Pure Fox Clan's resources were.

More importantly, the books here are mostly from the ruined sacred site of Dachan Temple, so in addition to the usual classics, histories, philosophical works, and collections of Buddhist scriptures, the most numerous are Buddhist scriptures!

Of course, some secret martial arts manuals from the Great Zen Temple were also mixed in, but they were placed in a rather messy location, making it impossible for anyone to find them immediately.

However, the two fundamental books, the Martial Arts Classic and the Daoist Classic, were placed in the most conspicuous position in the library cave—right in the center of the bookshelf facing the cave entrance. Given the thickness of the bindings, anyone who was interested could easily spot them.

Ishihara Akira did not immediately appear to take the two annotated scriptures, which contained the fundamental visualization methods of major Zen temples, such as the Amitabha Sutra.

After all, Hong Yi and Tu Lao are still around, and they have plenty of time. There's no need to risk exposing themselves by snatching the book.

They could have waited until Hong Yi left before stealing it, or even copied the contents, kept the copy, and taken the original back to destroy it, and then obtained the Amitabha Sutra from it.

Immediately, Shi Yuanzhang quieted down and watched as Tu Lao led Hong Yi through the library cave, familiarizing him with its environment, explaining the origins of the books, and outlining his request.

……

Three days later, Ishihara Akira used Taoist and martial arts scriptures he had obtained from elsewhere, along with illusion magic, to replace the martial arts scripture containing the Amitabha Sutra of the past and the Taoist scripture with annotations from Hong Yi's hands.

Of course, there are also annotations inside.

After all, with his current level of skill, he doesn't need to use his hands to write. He can control the pen tip with his mind to operate in multiple directions. So even copying the entire martial arts or Taoist scriptures wouldn't take much time, let alone copying the annotations inside.

It was done in less than an hour.

Afterwards, Ishihara Akira made another copy of the martial arts and Taoist scriptures with annotations and returned them to Qin Mengyao so she could continue studying and reading them. He then personally burned the original martial arts scripture. From the ashes left after the scripture was burned, he found a golden silk scripture containing the contents of the Amitabha Sutra. He then began to cultivate the Amitabha Sutra together with Qin Mengyao, who had developed a strong interest in cultivation in this world, through dual cultivation...

Then, Ishihara Akane returned to the library cave of the Pure Fox Clan in the secluded valley, disguised as a ghost. Unbeknownst to Hong Yi, he searched through the cave's books, finding useful scriptures, reading them, and recording them to increase his knowledge. It wasn't until the Xishan Fox Hunting Incident—the event in which Hong Yi obtained the Bull Demon Mighty Fist—that Ishihara Akane once again concealed himself, allowing Hong Yi to step forward to rescue the fox. He then met Bai Ziyue, who truly intimidated the noble youths of Yujing City, and obtained the Bull Demon Mighty Fist that Ishihara Akane coveted from him.

Then, that same night, while Hong Yi was sleeping and resting, they sneaked into the stone chamber where he was, and using both hands in conjunction with the Yuan Shen suppression technique, they stole the Bull Demon Mighty Fist from Hong Yi's mind.

Without lingering in the secluded valley, he returned directly to the inn and passed on the Bull Demon Mighty Fist to Qin Mengyao.

"How strange." In the inn, Qin Mengyao muttered after digesting the Bull Demon Fist that Shi Yuanzhang had transmitted to her mind.

"It is a bit strange, but when it comes to the foundation building of martial arts, there is no technique more perfect than the Bull Demon Mighty Fist. So as long as you are willing to put in the effort, with your talent, I believe you will definitely be able to become a Martial Master within a year. At that time, I will try to get you a breathing technique to help you break through to the Innate Realm. In this way, your strength will definitely make great progress!"

"Especially with your own True Qi cultivation, I believe no one would doubt that you are a Blood Transformation Martial Saint," Ishihara Akira said expectantly.

"Then will I no longer be able to become a ghost immortal?" Qin Mengyao asked after thinking for a moment.

“It’s not absolute. If you can make your Yin Spirit leave your body before becoming a Primordial Martial Master, there is still a chance to achieve both at the same time. However, the process is quite difficult and requires a high level of comprehension from you. Unless absolutely necessary, I don’t recommend that you take both paths at the same time,” Ishihara Akira said seriously.

"What if I insist?" Qin Mengyao continued to ask.

“I won’t stop you, but I can’t guarantee what the final result will be,” Ishihara Akira said openly.

"Thank you," Qin Mengyao said, glancing at Ishihara Sho.

Chapter 430 Settling Down

He has already obtained the Bull Demon Mighty Fist, the Tiger Demon Bone-Refining Fist, and the Amitabha Sutra from the past. In addition, he has obtained some martial arts manuals belonging to this world from the Pure Fox Clan's library. All he needs to do now is to cultivate step by step, and then wait for the Awakening of Insects to arrive before he can officially undergo the tribulation of lightning and begin his cultivation of the Yang Spirit.

Therefore, inns were no longer suitable as places to stay—after all, there wasn't even a place to practice martial arts. So, after giving Qin Mengyao a few instructions, Shi Yuanzhang left the inn again, transforming into a thief and infiltrating various wealthy families. He would enrich himself while looking for opportunities to sneak into their studies to search for other books, whether useful or not.

It's important to understand that cultivating the Yang Spirit in this world requires a strong foundation. So, not only do you need various worldly experiences, but the amount of reading and the depth of understanding can also accelerate the achievement of the primordial spirit and help cultivators resist the damage of lightning tribulations.

Therefore, if you want to get through the Nine Tribulations of Lightning more quickly, you can't do without reading books.

However, the most important things right now are money and accommodation. In addition, the addresses of these wealthy families are fixed, so there is no need to rush to get everything settled in one night. We can always come back later after we have digested the other knowledge in our minds.

Therefore, after obtaining enough money, Shi Yuanzhang decisively stopped and returned to the inn. After resting with Qin Mengyao, he took the goods he had collected that night to the brokerage firm in Yujing City. He asked the brokers there to help him find a house in a good location with a nice surrounding environment, and bought it. He then officially moved in with Qin Mengyao.

"From today onwards, this will be our home in this world," Ishihara Akira said with a smile to Qin Mengyao.

"Is it just the two of us?" Qin Mengyao asked, looking around the house.

"Is that not allowed?" Ishihara Akira asked with a smile.

"Can you cook? Or are we going to order all our meals from restaurants from now on? Do we have enough money?" Qin Mengyao continued to ask.

“Isn’t there you I still have?” Ishihara Akira said with a smile.

"I need to practice my skills. Besides, my cooking skills aren't great, so please don't be too critical if I actually make it," Qin Mengyao replied.

“It’s alright, I can get used to it gradually. Besides, with your talent and comprehension, I believe you’ll soon grasp the knack and be able to cook well. Moreover, connecting with the earth more will allow you to better understand the Dao and increase your cultivation progress,” said Ishihara Akira.

"Alright then, I just hope you won't regret it later," Qin Mengyao agreed after thinking for a moment.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't regret it."

Thus, the two temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​hiring more servants and retreated into their own quiet lives.

Every morning, the two of them would get up together and practice the Bull Demon Mighty Fist in the yard.

Of course, it was mainly Qin Mengyao who practiced, and Ishihara Akira who watched.

After all, he currently lacks a physical body, so his cultivation is merely a matter of getting used to it, hoping to quickly master his new body upon returning to reality. Aside from that, Ishihara Akira focuses more on comprehending the martial arts system of the Yangshen world, such as how the power of qi and blood is used to activate martial arts techniques.

Around noon, the two stopped to rest temporarily, either going out for a quick meal or going directly to the market to buy some vegetables, meat, rice, and other necessities to stock up for future needs.

She continued her cultivation in the afternoon until evening, when she stopped to go to the kitchen to start a fire and cook...

Naturally, the first meal wasn't so bad as to be inedible, but it certainly wasn't delicious either. It was either too salty or too bland, or the vegetables weren't even cooked properly. In short, it was barely edible and wouldn't kill you.

And thankfully, the food itself wasn't poisonous, otherwise...

I'm going to be busy.

Afterwards, they would read books, understand principles, and discuss the knowledge in the books until evening. Only then would they take out the Amitabha Sutra to practice, strengthen their primordial spirit, and obtain immortality. Only then would they engage in proper dual cultivation, comprehending the Dao of Heaven through techniques such as the War God's Manual, recalling the day's cultivation results and gains, and strengthening their foundation.

Then I sleep until dawn, repeating the same activities all day...

……

Although the process was monotonous, it did not mean that Qin Mengyao's cultivation speed was slow!

Not to mention her top-notch martial arts talent, which was also unparalleled in her original world, the origin of the martial arts provided by Ishihara Akira alone was incomparable to ordinary martial arts. In addition, there was the dual cultivation initiation, as well as Qin Mengyao's own True Qi system and her own cultivation level. Just digesting these would be enough to make Qin Mengyao's martial arts cultivation make great progress.

Sure enough, in just half a month, Qin Mengyao successfully completed the martial arts stage of the Yangshen World, which is the training of the flesh, by consuming her own true qi and receiving the infusion of Shi Yuanzhang. Her muscles became firmer, her reactions became faster, and she also made great progress in basic physical strength.

Furthermore, thanks to her martial arts skills, Qin Mengyao finally overcame her novice stage in cooking and became a qualified housewife...

Furthermore, thanks to Ishihara Akane's dual cultivation practice, and the mutual influence of the demonic seed from the Dao Heart Demon Seed Planting Technique and the immortal embryo obtained from the Cihang Sword Manual, the two also successfully entered the initial stage of cultivating the Amitabha Sutra.

The changes on Ishihara Sho's side weren't significant; it's just that his primordial spirit began to possess a sense of eternal solidity.

However, the effect was remarkable for Qin Mengyao. In just three days, with her celestial embryo as a foundation, she completed the most basic part of the Ghost Immortal Path, achieving the ability to separate her soul from her body, and then quickly reached the realm of night travel. Her progress was incredibly rapid.

However, this was still a bit too slow for Ishihara Sho, so in his spare time, he also pondered how Hong Yi in the original work quickly broke through his own realm—

There are only two possible outcomes: eating people and taking medicine!

There's not much to say about the latter; it's just like the ordinary cultivation system. You take various pills corresponding to different realms, quickly accumulate the necessary resources for each realm, and then, with a burst of energy or through battle, complete the transformation and enter a new realm of martial arts.

As for the former...

Just like its name suggests, it really does eat people.

Although Hong Yi viewed this as simply exploiting resources at the time, whether it was using the Yin-Yang Chaos Technique of the Peach God Path of the Divine Wind Kingdom to obliterate the souls and wills of ghost immortals or other ghost immortal cultivators, turning the Yin God into the purest spiritual energy, or using other methods to kill martial artists like Martial Saints and extract their flesh and blood essence to incorporate into one's own body, to Shi Yuanzhang, an outsider, it was not much different from cannibalism.

At most, Hong Yi's 'cooking' method is different from others.

Of course, this was nothing to Ishihara Sho, who had used the same method to devour Black Zetsu, Obito, and the Sage of Six Paths. If necessary, he would naturally not mind following Hong Yi's approach to quickly increase his own accumulation and foundation, and quickly complete the Ninefold Tribulation.

However, for Qin Mengyao, who has high moral standards, this is not quite the case. Therefore, if Qin Mengyao wants to improve her cultivation quickly, the supply of pills is absolutely essential.

So, where can we get the pills to help Qin Mengyao cultivate right now...?

Chapter 431 Nighttime Intrusion into Fangxian Path

After much thought, Ishihara Akira could only think of two Taoist organizations: Fangxiandao and Taishangdao.

The former is one of the Taoist sects recognized by the Great Qian Dynasty. It is in charge of alchemy, gold refining, and medicine refining. Naturally, it has no shortage of elixirs and plenty of money. Moreover, its headquarters is not far from Yujing City, near the foot of Yulong Mountain outside the city. It is convenient to take a trip there and pick up some prescriptions and alchemy techniques to try to achieve self-sufficiency.

After all, although Shi Yuanzhang knew how to refine pills—he learned it from Zhang Sanfeng when he was discussing cultivating the five qi in his chest on Wudang Mountain—his skills were not as profound as those of the internal traditions of sects like Fangxiandao in the Yangshen world, which specialized in this kind of thing. Therefore, if he wanted to refine pills that could help Qin Mengyao cultivate, he would still need to learn them again.

The latter, namely the Supreme Dao, possesses the world-renowned Three Elements Elixir of Heaven, Earth, and Man!

Among them, the Human Essence Pill mainly nourishes the original essence, protects the blood, and replenishes deficiencies. It is the most suitable pill for martial arts practitioners who have not yet reached the Blood Exchange Realm Martial Saint stage.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Dao has very few successors, with only one or two in each generation. Moreover, the sect is hidden and difficult to find, so it is impossible to infiltrate the Supreme Dao to steal elixirs like the one used against the Fangxian Dao!

Besides, the person in charge of the Supreme Dao is the world-renowned Ghost Immortal, Meng Shenji. For Ishihara Akira to go there with his current cultivation level would be no different from suicide. So if he really wanted the Human Essence Pill, he should go to the Scattering Flower Pavilion instead.

Sanhualou is one of the most famous brothels in Yujing City. If it is not the top one, it is at least the one with the highest consumption level. The reason why people may have Yuan Dan there is not because Sanhualou is a property of Taishangdao, but because Su Mu, the current top courtesan of Sanhualou, is the current saintess of Taishangdao!

If we could establish a connection with her, it wouldn't be difficult to obtain the Human Essence Pill to accelerate Qin Mengyao's cultivation speed.

The Earth Origin Pill that follows is a pill for those at the Grandmaster level of Marrow Refining. Its effect is simple: it helps people undergo a complete transformation, making it easier or even more direct for them to enter the Blood Transformation Martial Saint realm.

Therefore, the difficulty of refining it and its rarity are self-evident. Basically, apart from the Supreme Dao releasing it voluntarily, even the imperial palace might not have a single such pill.

Most importantly, neither the Human Essence Pill nor the Earth Essence Pill contains any toxic substances, meaning there are no side effects. They can be taken continuously like candy, unlike the pills of the Fangxian Dao, which require stopping after a certain amount to digest the toxic substances in the body, otherwise drug resistance may develop, potentially affecting the body and cultivation.

As for the even higher-level Heavenly Origin Pill, it is a secret divine pill passed down in the Supreme Dao, also known as the Immortal Pill. It is for those who follow the path of Yang God Ghost Immortal. Ordinary people only need to take one pill to go directly from the state of immobilization to the threshold of the Possessed Ghost Immortal realm. It can be called a divine medicine for refining the spirit.

Naturally, its quantity is even smaller, with the number in existence possibly less than double digits. Moreover, it has always been personally kept by Meng Shenji, so unless Meng Shenji wants it, outsiders have no way to obtain the Tianyuan Pill from him and Taishangdao.

……

"Go to Fangxian Path first, then to Sanhua Tower!" Shi Yuanzhang secretly decided after thinking everything through.

However, that was something that happened at night. As for now, I'll naturally continue to accompany Qin Mengyao in her cultivation.

This continued until late at night.

After finishing his dual cultivation with Qin Mengyao again, Shi Yuanzhang sat up, got out of bed, and put on his clothes.

"Where are you going?" Qin Mengyao turned her head slightly and asked Ishihara Akira, who was already dressed and about to leave, with a lazy expression.

Having not gone out at night for almost half a month, Qin Mengyao was really not used to going out suddenly.

"Go to Fangxian Dao and see if you can get some pills to aid your cultivation," Shi Yuanzhang replied with a smile.

He was very frank and did not hide the purpose and goal of his trip.

"Should I come along?" Qin Mengyao asked, propping herself up.