Chapter 386 386: The Birth of the Breathing Method

On this day, Penglai Fairy Island, which was shrouded year-round in mist and drifting immortal energy, suddenly gathered a golden light ten thousand feet high.

The Jiejiao disciples on the island noticed it immediately.

"Eh, isn't that the Merit Golden Light!"

"Hmm... which senior or junior disciple is causing such a stir?"

"Looking at where the golden light is falling, it seems to be the cultivation place of Little Junior Brother Qingyi."

"There's no 'seems' about it; that's Senior Brother Qingyi's grotto-dwelling! Because it's so close to Biyou Palace, only Senior Brother Qingyi would build his home there."

"If that's the case, why don't we go to Senior Brother's grotto together? First to witness the sight, and second to offer our congratulations."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, then together they rode their clouds toward Qingyi's grotto.

Across the vast Penglai Fairy Island and the various surrounding isles, members of Jiejiao could be seen every now and then, either riding clouds or stepping on Dharma Treasures that turned into streaks of light, all flying toward Qingyi's home.

Of course, among these many Jiejiao members, their goal wasn't just to celebrate Qingyi's success.

They wanted to know how on earth Qingyi had obtained the Merit Golden Light!

If Qingyi's method could be replicated, that would be wonderful.

The reality was that something like the Merit Golden Light had immense utility.

In the world of the Great Desolation, the Merit Golden Light was a powerful body-protecting talisman, as well as a miraculous object that could assist a person's cultivation.

Why was the Merit Golden Light called a protective talisman?

Because for those under the protection of Merit and Providence, killing them would bring about a terrible curse!

Merit was granted by the Heavenly Dao of the Great Desolation. Imagine if you killed someone specifically protected by the world itself—how could you possibly survive under these heavens?

Natural disasters, human calamities, and a constant string of bad luck... the Heavenly Dao only needs to give you a tiny bit of trouble and you're finished!

Even so, what if you still insisted on killing someone protected by Merit?

Then you'd better have enough Merit and Providence of your own to withstand the backlash. Otherwise, you'd become the unluckiest soul in the Great Desolation.

You'd offend people for no reason, your own cultivation speed would become much slower than others, and even comprehending the Great Dao would become several times more complicated.

This was why many powerful figures would never recklessly kill someone protected by Merit and Providence.

The truth was, the risk simply wasn't worth the reward.

Besides its protective function, the Merit Golden Light had another incredible use: increasing one's own luck, advancing cultivation, or even directly raising one's realm using the Merit itself.

For example, the Eldest Senior Brother of the Renjiao sect—Great Mage Xuandu—would in the future use the providence obtained from the human race to raise his cultivation from Daluo Golden Immortal to the early stage of a Quasi-Saint.

In fact, never mind the living beings of the Great Desolation; even the high-and-mighty Saints had to constantly scheme for this Merit Golden Light.

Tell me, with something this good, how could the Jiejiao disciples not feel envious?

...

Currently, inside Qingyi's grotto, nearly a hundred Jiejiao disciples who moved quickly had already arrived.

Naturally, Qingyi's small building couldn't hold that many people, so the disciples and Qingyi were all sitting on the ground outside the house.

As time passed, more and more people arrived. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the streaks of light in the sky above Penglai Fairy Island finally ceased.

By now, over five hundred Jiejiao disciples had gathered outside Qingyi's home.

Qingyi greeted several senior brothers and the main official disciples in turn, then finally spoke up.

"Senior and junior brothers and sisters, I already know why you've come. To be honest, the arrival of the Merit Golden Light today was also beyond my expectations."

"As fellow members of Jiejiao, I won't lie to you all. The source of this Merit Golden Light comes from a specific method I've been researching for thousands of years."

"I have named this method the Breathing Method! As for why its birth caused the Heavenly Dao to lower the Merit Golden Light, that I do not know."

After saying this, Qingyi fell silent and spoke no more.

As for what the actual facts were, he certainly wasn't going to tell everyone plainly, even if these people were ostensibly his fellow disciples.

Don't forget, Jiejiao had a vast number of disciples, and they were famous for having a mixed bag of character and quality...

Actually, Qingyi wasn't lying to them. The reason the Heavenly Dao lowered the Merit Golden Light today was indeed because of the Breathing Method he created.

But the effects of this Breathing Method—if made public—would likely cause massive waves throughout the Great Desolation!

It had taken him thousands of years: Breathing Method 8.0, the Great Desolation modified version.

This Breathing Method served a dual purpose: cultivating both the soul and the body simultaneously.

Not only could it significantly increase the user's speed in absorbing spiritual energy, but while running the Breathing Method, one would also merge and resonate with the Great Dao, entering a state where it was much easier to comprehend the Dao.

Even when fighting others, the power of spells cast in this state would be far greater than under normal conditions.

Compared to the first benefit of increased absorption, the second benefit was where the true terror lay!

One had to know that once a cultivator reaches the Golden Immortal level, the biggest hurdle to advancing is the comprehension of laws and the Great Dao.

But Breathing Method 8.0 could help a cultivator enter that state of Dao-merging comprehension at any moment.

This kind of "enlightenment" state was something ordinary people encountered only by chance—usually just a fleeting flash of inspiration.

An epiphany... truly only lasts a moment.

Besides the high-ranking Saints, who else could maintain such a state whenever they wished? One can imagine how terrifying such a method was.

If it were to truly spread, any cultivator would be tempted—except for the high-and-mighty Saints who had already entrusted their true spirits to the Heavenly Dao.

In truth, Qingyi had miscalculated on one point.

Even a Saint, when faced with this heaven-defying Breathing Method 8.0, would feel a strong desire for it.

They might not need it themselves, but their disciples, their grand-disciples, and the people close to them—who wouldn't need it?

With a method this heaven-defying, it would be strange if the Heavenly Dao didn't grant Merit...

Reflecting on why the Heavenly Dao actively lowered the Merit Golden Light, Qingyi fell into deep thought.

The last time he obtained Merit was also because of a cultivation method.

However, that time was because of the Chaos Blue Underworld Sword Scripture—in other words, a scripture that created a cultivation path called the Sword Dao for the living beings of the Great Desolation.

So... the Heavenly Dao also hopes for the creatures of this world to become stronger?

Then, should I also look for an opportunity to spread these methods?

But the moment this thought appeared, Qingyi immediately snuffed it out.

Forget it. There's no need to do that for a bit of Merit...

To be honest, Qingyi didn't view Merit as being as vital as most people did.

A protective talisman?

He already had one. Behind Taoist Qingyi stood one of the most powerful backers in the Great Desolation; how many villains would actually dare touch him?

Accelerating cultivation speed?

Also unnecessary; he already had the help of the Breathing Method.

Raising cultivation directly?

If Merit were used for that, he needed it even less.

There was no helping it; using Merit to directly boost cultivation had its drawbacks.

First, the foundation wouldn't be solid; second, it would be difficult to break through subsequent realms; and third...

Qingyi had heard that within any level of cultivators, the weakest group was usually the Merit Immortals.

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