Chapter 61

Seeing Zhu Guangfa and his daughter leave, Shen Siyuan could not wait and summoned the Ten Thousand Souls Banner once more.

A wisp of merit ascended the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Golden light, like a golden flood dragon, darted and rolled across the banner's surface, repairing the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The originally deep purple flag now revealed threads of golden light, appearing even more magnificent and extraordinary.

Merit is like a multi-purpose oil; it can transform into anything desired, achieving any desired effect.

Therefore, Shen Siyuan did not use the remaining wisp of merit to continue repairing the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, nor to condense magic power, but instead used it to temper his flesh.

He made this choice because this realm of heaven and earth no longer possesses spiritual energy; even with magic power, it would be like duckweed without roots, making no progress whatsoever unless vast amounts of merit were converted into magic power, like an bottomless pit.

Using merit to temper the flesh is like consuming a potent tonic, with absolutely no side effects; using it to lay a foundation for his weak body is the most suitable option for him right now.

Combined with his own training, he could achieve minor mastery of the Great Luo Han Eighteen Phases Cultivation Technique in a short time; this is far more cost-effective than condensing magic power, after all, the external path still has a road to the heavens, while the internal path has long been severed.

As the wisp of merit reinforced his body, Shen Siyuan did not feel refreshed; instead, his whole body itched, his joints ached severely, his muscles spasmed, he cried out in pain, fell to the ground, tears and snot mingled, as if suffering from epilepsy.

The bone-piercing agony was as if someone were sawing his body open with a saw, then smashing all his bones with a hammer.

Shen Siyuan knew clearly that this was actually a growth pain; just as teenagers and children experience pain in some joints during physical development, caused by high activity levels and rapid bone growth.

Shen Siyuan's bones and muscles had long been set, but now the shackles were broken, a surge of vitality erupted within him, beginning to regrow, and this process was compressed into an extremely short time, which is why Shen Siyuan felt such unbearable pain.

Precisely because he understood, he gritted his teeth against the pain and assumed the first posture of the Great Luo Han Eighteen Phases.

Each of the Eighteen Phases of the Great Luo Han does not have just one movement, but six movements.

These six movements respectively represent the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, that is, the six senses of the Buddhist school.

Therefore, the Great Luo Han Eighteen Phases comprise a total of one hundred and eight movements.

Originally, just the first posture of the first phase made Shen Siyuan sweat like rain; now, he not only completed it easily but directly completed all six movements of the first phase.

It was not until the third movement of the second phase that he got stuck and felt a wave of hunger in his abdomen.

This was already a huge improvement; a few days ago, just the first posture would consume a tremendous amount, burning his abdomen like fire, and forcing it further would cause severe depletion of his body, even costing his life.

Yet now, just a single wisp of merit allowed him to directly cross the first phase and reach the second layer of the second phase.

As Shen Siyuan concluded the cultivation, all pain vanished; he only felt his entire body clear and open, stretching his arms and clenching his fists, his whole body filled with vigorous energy.

Looking down and touching his abdomen, where his belly had previously been round and uniform, eight abdominal muscles now appeared; pressing lightly with his hand, he felt they were hard as iron.

Unexpectedly, the first phase had such an effect; Shen Siyuan could not help but feel joy in his heart.

If he mastered all eighteen phases, in modern society, he would absolutely count as a little superman.

However, this requires vast amounts of merit; although one wisp of merit brought him to the second layer of the second phase, calculating thus, mastering the eighteen phases seems to require not much merit.

But one cannot calculate it that way; the later phases of the eighteen are harder, so the merit required will certainly be greater.

He opened the refrigerator, found some high-energy food, replenished his body's energy, and only then did that hunger disappear.

Seeing his whole body soaked in sweat, he took some clean clothes and went into the bathroom.

Water sprayed down from the showerhead, flowing over his head, across his cheeks, and down along his shoulder blades.

Suddenly, Shen Siyuan clenched his fist; his whole body tensed violently, and the water immediately, as if struck by sound waves, turned into droplets, shooting out in all directions.

"So good..."

Shen Siyuan extended his arm, sighing in his heart; this is a true man.

However, he suddenly thought of the two wisps of merit from tonight.

One was obtained by helping Du Xiuzhi fulfill her wish; he could understand that.

The other, merely by promising Zhu Tingting to help her mother re-enter the cycle of rebirth, could also yield merit.

It must be known that this matter had not yet happened; it was merely a verbal promise.

This reminded him of the mythological legends where Jieyin and Zhunti made the Western Forty-Eight Great Vows to prove the Dao and become sages.

Could he, then, follow the pattern and ask the Heavenly Dao for credit?

Thinking of this, Shen Siyuan's heart began to thump wildly.

He turned off the shower, stood in the bathroom, naked as he was, and said solemnly: "If I prove the Supreme Dao, I shall certainly restart the cycle of rebirth, allowing all sentient beings to have an end to good and evil... pitying the world, saving all beings..."

Then—

Shen Siyuan felt he was a huge idiot, a huge idiot standing naked, swinging a giant pendulum; even he felt embarrassed, his toes almost digging out two mu of land.

Thinking about it, it seemed impossible; if making a Great Vow could make one a god or a sage.

Then from ancient times to the present, who knows how many sages this world could have produced.

Proving the Dao and becoming a sage through this method is not something anyone can do; to ask for credit, one must also have the qualification to ask for credit.

And since Shen Siyuan could gain a certain amount of merit through his promise to Zhu Tingting, that indicated he did have some qualification, but the qualification was limited.

It is like a bank's credit limit; there is a certain quota, but the quota is small; borrowing a large sum is definitely impossible, but a small loan should be no problem.

Moreover, the reason for this loan must be practical, the goal clear, not empty or grandiose, only then can one "borrow" merit.

Having understood this point, Shen Siyuan hurriedly turned on the shower to continue his unfinished great work.

As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw Watching Dou Dou riding a gust of yin wind, rushing in through the window.

"Not good, not good..."

"What's not good? Why the panic?" Shen Siyuan said, somewhat speechless.

"Sweet Potato Brother, I saw a strange old grandpa."

"Is there anyone stranger than you?"

Watching Dou Dou: →_→

"Alright, don't look at me sideways with your little eyes; speak up, what exactly happened?" Shen Siyuan picked up a towel to wipe his hair.

"I saw an old grandpa holding a feather duster; he was chasing me from behind, scaring me into running away..."

"A feather duster?" Shen Siyuan was very surprised upon hearing this.

"What feather duster?"

"It's the kind with lots of feathers. I saw it at my grandmother's house. Grandpa said it was used when I was little to spank Uncle's bottom. I asked Grandpa to try spanking me, and he gave me a whack—it hurt so much..."

Dou Dou chattered away a whole bunch.

"So you're saying an old man, holding a feather duster, chasing you to spank your bottom?" Shen Siyuan looked utterly flustered.

Yet inwardly he pondered, could Dou Dou have encountered another rare person capable of seeing ghosts?