Demon Sword Immortal

She saved the governor's daughter and can even speak to the governor!

"I don't think Liu Mengqing would overlook this point," Bai Xiang said, pouring cold water on her enthusiasm.

"During the chaos at the First Middle School, I made many friends, but I also offended the Green Fang Sword Path."

"Don't you think about how the Wind Riding Sword Dao obtained such valuable things as the visualization diagram and the sword forging method?"

"You mean... Liu Mengqing is backed by the Green Fang Sword Sect?"

This time, Bai Zhuqing's expression truly changed.

"It's troublesome."

The girl, fiddling with her hair, paced back and forth in front of Bai Xiang.

The Azure Fang Sword Path is the strongest force in the Crimson Dragon region. It not only has a main dojo and branch dojos, but also a number of corporations and foundations, making it an absolute behemoth.

Only Watchman and others can keep them in check, but this only prevents them from directly launching retaliation. As long as all procedures are in accordance with regulations and approved by the Kendo Association, Watchman has no control over such acts of supporting "agents."

The Great Yu Sword Dao Association! This is a force with a very high status, but it is often overlooked!

On weekdays, they are responsible for notarizing various sword fights, certifying dojos, and issuing rewards and punishments.

And most importantly! It is the organizer of the grand test—the National Martial Arts Tournament! Like the Inspectorate, it is also directly connected to the will of the Emperor!

“It should be right.” Bai Zhuqing analyzed, “Over the years, there have been quite a few people who have tried to get the land for the Taoist temple, but they have all been driven back by Grandpa and Second Aunt using various means.”

"The Wind Riding Sword Path, which has the deepest grudge against us and poses the greatest threat, has come looking for trouble at this particular time of year. They must have learned about Aunt's achievements from the Green Fang Clan... They're desperate!"

Isn't it?

Putting himself in her shoes, Bai Zhuqing could guess what Chengfeng Sword Dao was thinking.

The reason Liu Mengqing hasn't come is that she's waiting for the Bai family's connections to be exhausted.

The Bai family was facing a shortage of successors in the third generation, and they couldn't find anyone who entered the Dao before adulthood. This place gave her hope.

But what if she suddenly finds out what Bai Xiang did at No. 1 Middle School?

The Bai family might use this opportunity to climb the social ladder and gain a connection with the governor, while Fang Xiaochun might have already arrived in Chilong!

Wait? How could she possibly wait any longer?

Are we waiting for Fang Xiaochun to make a grand visit to Shenming Dojo, and for him to use this as an opportunity to gild Shenming Dojo?

This explains why Liu Mengqing was so crazy.

That crazy woman even brought up a martial arts competition, which shows she's desperate and doesn't care about anything for revenge!

"The best approach is definitely to stall."

Bai nodded.

"But Grandpa didn't want to."

"It's a bit troublesome."

Hearing her say that, Bai Zhuqing became even more distressed and anxious.

Are we going to gamble that Liu Mengqing's application form hasn't been stamped yet, and then sneak off to the Kendo Association tonight to steal it back?

Bai wanted to observe her silently to make sure she was truly concerned.

They're not even looking at me anymore, doesn't that say something?

Actually, there's something Bai Xiang didn't mention: Bai Shengju's willful behavior this time might also be related to her rise to power.

If he hadn't entered the Dao and hadn't met Tao Shuohua and Fang Wenya, Bai Shengju would definitely have tried every means to avoid the sword duel.

Even if she were to enter the Dao, if she were to act too naively in her interactions with others, instead of being as mature as she is now, Bai Shengju might not be able to put his mind at ease.

But she has them all.

This may be the real reason why Bai Shengju chose to confront his inner conflict.

"I might have a way."

After a pause, Bai wanted to speak frankly.

It can't be hidden.

This method requires Bai Zhuqing's assistance.

"What method?" Bai Zhuqing asked with delight.

"That book, the Chaoyuan Huaqi Jing."

Bai thought to himself.

Judging from the title and Master Hua'an's attitude, it should be a scripture about the cultivation of the five internal organs.

During the day, she was attacked by the woman in the red dress with a demonic sword. The woman did not expect her to release her divine soul to shake off the demonic energy, and she lost her composure and was "instantly killed".

Bai Xiang deduced from this that if her soul could truly interfere with external things, then perhaps she could also see the inner world of others.

The biggest difference between the old and modern methods is that a single book contains training methods, fighting methods, and health preservation methods.

If the *Chaoyuan Huaqi Jing* is also like this, then perhaps she could try to restore Bai Shengju's five internal organs.

"what……"

Bai Zhuqing was somewhat discouraged because she didn't believe that a mere scripture could be of any help.

Even Sister Xiang'er might not be able to master it, yet she's thinking of using it to save Grandpa?

However, it was still a way out, and with a "nothing to lose" mentality, Bai Zhuqing agreed to stay up all night to study the scripture with Bai Xiang.

She was genuinely worried about Bai Shengju.

Normally, if she had this opportunity, she would definitely be distracted. Every few seconds she would want to look at Bai Xiang or find a chance to strike up a conversation with her.

That night, the two studied the scriptures until dawn. Bai Zhuqing was so focused on copying on the paper and writing down her own translations that she didn't even glance at Bai Xiang once.

Bai Xiang was very satisfied with her current state.

That's fine.

It would be even better if it remained like this.

"Aunt, I'm not optimistic."

After finishing another paragraph, Bai Zhuqing shook her head and sighed.

"How to say."

Bai, wanting to learn more about the scriptures, immediately approached.

"Look here."

Bai Zhuqing pointed to the part that had been translated.

"Our current method of nourishing the spirit is to nourish the skin first, then the flesh, then the five internal organs, and finally the bones, to cleanse the marrow and change the blood."

"This is already incredibly difficult. Many disciples of the Great Sword Path simply cannot replenish their blood. Once they finish cultivating their bones, they go off to forge swords."

"But look at this tattered book."

"It actually said that practicing separately is a heretical method?"

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Annotations for Three Generations (Please read and add to your favorites!)

Bai Xiang carefully examined the translated sentences and discovered that Bai Zhuqing was not just talking nonsense.

This book, "Chaoyuan Huaqi Jing," is roughly divided into three parts.

The first part is the author's statement.

There are three authors in total, in chronological order: Monk Yuanjue, Daoist Qu, and Zen Master Wenluo.

Both Monk Yuanjue and Monk Qudaoren were ancient figures, and some of their annotations are missing. Therefore, we should primarily rely on the annotations of Zen Master Wenluo, supplemented by those of these two. Over 80% of the content in this work consists of Zen Master Wenluo's own insights, as well as reinterpretations of previous commentaries.

Among them, Monk Yuanjue claimed to be the author of the scriptures. He wrote that he was inspired by the Taoist "Five Dragons Method" and attempted to combine the Buddhist Vajra and the Taoist Five Elements to take a path that focuses on the "true self" and can "cultivate both internal and external aspects" to reach the level of a true immortal.

The so-called Five Dragons Method refers to the concept of an ancient school of thought in Taoism.

This concept holds that the five internal organs are equivalent to the five vital energies, and the five vital energies are equivalent to the five dragons. The five dragons must be contained within the 'heart,' and one must use one's 'spirit' to control the heart dragon. In this way, some miraculous effects can be achieved.

The monk Yuanjue also recalled an example: In ancient times, there was an unnamed mountain, and on that mountain was an unnamed Taoist temple. A group of Taoists lived and managed the temple. One of them learned the "Five Dragons Heart Method" from his master and practiced it diligently every day.

However, war broke out in the secular world, and all his fellow disciples went down the mountain. He was left alone in the temple, spending his days farming, fetching water, or practicing asceticism, completely unaware of the years spent in the mountains.

Then someone else came to the Taoist temple and was astonished when they saw his appearance, exclaiming, "Is this Patriarch Guanyun?"

Then he brought out a portrait of a Taoist priest and showed it to the priest. Even the priest himself was surprised that it looked exactly like the one he had seen in the mirror before, still the same young man.

When asked why, the visitor exclaimed in horror, "This painting was left by my grandfather. He said that we, his descendants, must find this 'Guanyun Temple' and bring his body to be laid to rest."

"When my grandfather left this painting, he only said that the patriarch was his junior brother... But now many years have passed since my grandfather said that. Looking at the patriarch's face in the painting, there is no difference. May I ask if the patriarch has already attained immortality?"

The Taoist was stunned after hearing this. Combining the details the other party mentioned, he did some calculations and realized that more than two hundred years had passed since his master and his fellow disciples went down the mountain!

He actually cultivated alone in this Taoist temple in the green mountains for more than two hundred years!

Having witnessed this, the Taoist smiled and said to the visitor, "It turns out I have already passed the age of 100..."

Before he could finish speaking, he aged rapidly. His skin became wrinkled and cracked, his flesh and bones hardened and crumbled, and he turned into a pile of yellow earth right before the guests' eyes.

Although later practitioners of the 'Five Dragons Heart Method' never accomplished anything similar, and even the general outline of the 'Five Dragons Heart Method' itself is incomplete, Monk Yuanjue still firmly believes that this story is not just a legend.

He believed that the reason why later generations failed was not because there was a problem with the "Five Dragons Heart Method", but because there was a problem with their own "heart".

This concept is a bit convoluted, but simply put it is: if you do something with a pure and focused mind, then as long as you maintain the state of mind of the Five Dragons Method, you will definitely succeed.

But if you understand the principle and know that you can definitely succeed, you've broken through your limitations. No matter how hard you try to clear your mind, you'll never be able to do it again.

Isn't this even more metaphysical than the spiritual blessing of the Great Yu Sword Dao?

Seeing this, Bai Xiang finally understood why, despite the presence of Buddhism and Taoism, the swordsmanship still held sway over them.

Taoist practices are so mysterious that they would definitely be considered heretical in modern times.

Buddhist practices are even more bizarre—the monk Yuanjue attempted to combine the Five Dragons Method with the Vajra Method, which is purely for tempering the physical body.

He believed that "Guanyun Daoren" had the opportunity to attain immortality, but he turned into a handful of yellow earth. This was partly because his spiritual cultivation was insufficient, which led to the breakdown of his spiritual realm, and partly because his physical body was too weak.

If one possesses both spiritual attainment and a physical body, the possibility of "living for hundreds of years longer" can be preserved.

As for how he "extremely tempered his physical body".

The text describes how he used many methods, including secret techniques such as 'body tempering', 'elixirs', and 'body squeezing'.

"Weren't the ancient elixirs just heavy metal poison pills...?"

Bai Zhuqing's gaze had been following Bai Xiang, so she naturally noticed where Bai Xiang was looking and pouted as she muttered something to herself.

"And that 'squeezing in' technique, that's a Buddhist practice from over 1000 years ago... It involves melting mercury or gold and throwing the person in, no wonder he died so young..."

Is it really that abstract?

Bai Xiang hadn't expected this either.

As expected, it was dropped by a low-level henchman, so this secret technique is probably worthless.

It's likely that no one at Jinchan Temple could master it, or perhaps it was used as a bonus in a transaction, or maybe the demon himself was just curious and copied it down to carry with him.

Then it's definitely more reliable to find Tao Shuohua.

Bai Xiang had made up his mind, but he still continued reading.

The monk Yuanjue became possessed by a demon and recklessly abused his body, leading to his sudden death in his thirties. He left behind this nameless scripture.

Later, in the year 940 of the Heavenly Mandate, the book was officially named "The Classic of Chaoyuan Huaqi" when it was in Qu Daoren's possession.

Qu Daoren's real name was Huang Ye. In 938, the Great Yu Dynasty was once again engulfed in war. He chose to descend the mountain and by chance obtained this book.

In chaotic times, protective methods are scarce. After obtaining the book, he studied it carefully and believed that although the monk Yuanjue had gone astray, some of his ideas could still be learned from.

This Taoist Huangye was a talented man, whose choice of words and sentence structure was quite elegant, and who could readily quote various classical doctrines.

His theory can be summarized in one sentence: Buddhist body training is nonsense; we should maintain the Five Dragons Heart Method as the general principle and use sword techniques to hone our bodies.

It finally started to feel reliable here.

That's right... Whether it's Buddhism or Taoism, the fundamental principles of humanity don't have any external supernatural power. Clearly, the root of external supernatural power lies in the Demon Pool, which can only be utilized by the way of the sword. Yet, Monk Yuanjue insisted on bypassing the way of the sword and practicing blindly on his own. His death was truly not unjust.

Qu Daoren perfected the theory of the practice, believing that one should cultivate both internally and externally. The inner form should cultivate the Five Dragons Method, while the outer form should cultivate the Demon Pool Method. By combining the inner and outer forms, a unique "Qi" can be formed, which can protect one's path to longevity and make one invincible in defeating enemies.