Chapter 64: My Spirit and Flesh Are No Longer Separated?

To avoid being seen leaving the dilapidated mansion, the demonic cultivator departed before dawn, hastily vacating the ruined residence Feng Xue had once rented; though his Yin Corpse Body feared no cold, he still feigned a shivering posture, hugging tightly the thin, aged garment, sliding slowly along the warm walls of the alley.

Demonic cultivators never had an easy life in any era, yet there were always some cultivators who took the demonic path for various reasons—some righteous, some dark.

Under such circumstances, every demonic cultivator who survived the orthodox sects' purges developed a cautious, careful, and adaptable nature; even though this demonic cultivator had once been a Grand Master, he still maintained his meticulous, timid conduct, disguising himself as a destitute beggar.

He wore thin, tattered clothes, shuffling past mansion after mansion that looked plainly valuable, begging from every person he encountered.

This was not merely disguise—it was also an opportunity to select prey.

Demonic cultivators rely on others' primordial energy as their cultivation sustenance, inevitably accumulating evil karma; yet this was not without remedy, for karma and evil deeds were, at their core, merely a surveillance mechanism imposed by 【Human Dao Spirit】 upon human moral intuition manifested through votive power; thus, during times of great chaos and moral collapse, demonic cultivators could act most recklessly.

In times of peace, the method to reduce one's blood煞 and evil karma was naturally to target those despised by all.

Even if killing a wicked person still incurred karmic retribution, it simultaneously granted Merit, which counteracted calamities; in fact, many bandits in the mortal world who slew tyrants and aided the poor were, in truth, demonic cultivators in disguise.

This served two purposes: gaining Merit through "acting on Heaven's behalf," a deed sanctioned by Human Dao, to erode blood煞 and evil karma, and effectively lowering the orthodox sects' scrutiny.

After all, if a good person died, both the authorities and orthodox cultivators would investigate thoroughly, and the people would demand justice; but if a notorious tyrant died, even if the authorities still investigated, their subordinates might not risk their lives, and xuan cultivators would guard their reputations jealously—even the common folk might secretly sabotage the investigation, protecting the hero who rid them of evil, and the wanted posters might be altered by countless hands until no one could recognize the original.

The people's support also influenced Human Dao, lessening the backlash from the evil act of "cultivating with human lives."

And this small trick raised a new problem—

That demonic cultivators themselves could rarely unite, for in every demonic cultivator's eyes, their peers were not only rivals for cultivation resources, but also high-quality experience packs offering abundant Merit and primordial energy.

Many demonic cultivators even suspected that the method of killing wicked men to cultivate might have been deliberately spread by some orthodox xuan cultivator to incite infighting among demonic cultivators!

…

"Though I've changed mansions and attire, this mortal world still looks the same damn way!"

Under the cold glares of the servants, the demonic cultivator muttered inwardly, yet continuously used the Spirit-Viewing Technique—not out of eagerness to kill and cultivate, but merely from years of habit.

Trudging slowly, stopping and starting, the sky finally brightened fully, and his target lay just ahead.

"I can still faintly sense the aura—was that spirit eating nonstop from last night until dawn? Slurp… What kind of extravagant master is this? So lavish?"

Sensing the lingering aura of primordial energy drained by the spirit, the demonic cultivator—whose soul-nature had already transformed into "spirit"—felt a surge of craving, yet reason restrained his instinct; he continued walking unhurriedly past mansion after mansion, but kept watchful eyes on the residence emitting that "aroma."

"Oh, standing still at dawn? A guard of this mansion? But his clothing fabric is unusual… and those artifacts—he's got over a dozen?!"

Noticing the young man standing in the courtyard, the demonic cultivator muttered inwardly, but upon closer inspection, realized something was off: though the youth was robust and full of vigor, he lacked the surging blood-qi sensation; such a cultivator, barely even second-rate, could never be granted so many artifacts even as a guard.

In contrast, his thoughts were pure and focused, his spiritual light full and radiant—he had clearly condensed a spiritual phantom; though still distant from Dao entry, to manifest such spiritual traits at such a young age was undeniably the mark of a Grand Master seed.

"And he carries a faint trace of rising primordial energy… Could he be the one feeding the spirit? Is he practicing both xuan and martial? Where does he get the energy?"

The more he thought, the more confused he became, even wondering if his century-long seclusion had caused him to miss some breakthrough in the xuan cultivator world; yet recalling the few xuan cultivators he'd met on the road, none matched this.

"Either it's some secret technique, or he's raised death-soldiers…" This thought arose, then was immediately dismissed by the demonic cultivator himself: if merely raising loyal death-soldiers for primordial energy could reduce evil karma, demonic cultivators wouldn't be in their current state.

Letting death-soldiers expend their spiritual power to forge artifacts was one thing, but to cultivate from them would inevitably stain one with evil karma; yet this youth radiated an aura of purity—he hadn't cultivated using others' energy, nor even taken pills, or he wouldn't look like this; though faint traces of blood煞 could be seen, they were nearly worn away by Merit—he clearly had slain some vile, wicked soul.

Even more astonishing was the spirit—it was the purest he'd ever seen, clearly consuming only the master's pure primordial energy, untouched by incense, let alone anyone else's energy; it was unmistakably pampered.

"Wait, does this spirit eat this well? Can one person's primordial energy not only sustain xuan and martial cultivation but also spare enough to feed a spirit? Do you have infinite lifespan?"

The more he thought, the more impossible it seemed, and his entire cultivation worldview felt challenged.

Suppressing his curiosity and restraining his steps, he visited the final mansion before finally reaching the target residence, and called out to the youth standing with closed eyes in the courtyard—his voice choked with suppressed emotion:

"Master, have mercy—give me a bite to eat!"

No sooner had the words left his lips than the demonic cultivator's spiritual sense stirred—he hadn't opened his eyes, yet the demonic cultivator's countless near-death instincts sensed a gaze sweeping over him; his heart jolted—

"Heaven's Eye Technique? Shenxiao Sect's lineage was severed long ago—could this be Lingbao Sect's Heavenly Eye? But Heavenly Eye leaves a visible mark on the brow—this clearly isn't it! Yet my Spirit-Flesh Separation technique… even in legend…"

As the demonic cultivator pondered, his confidence waned further—he noticed the youth's previously smooth breathing had abruptly paused, and even his coordinated blood-qi flow had momentarily stagnated.

Undoubtedly, he was deeply startled!

"Could he have seen through me? Impossible!"

Regarding the theory of the Five Phases and Yin-Yang Guard System from another world…

First, the protagonist can lock fate; ignore that for now, and understand the difference between theoretical guidance and actual function.

The Five Phases and Yin-Yang system as theoretical guidance is a method of classification and summarization; the Five Phases are not material water, fire, metal, wood, earth, but rather denote upward movement (fire), transformation (metal), downward movement (water), support (earth), and growth (wood)—though this is only a small part, with many finer details.

Why was this system so popular? Because it was fundamentally a summary of patterns. Think of it like mathematical symbols: +, −, ×, ÷, x, y, z—the validity of a formula depends on the meaning you assign to the symbols, not the symbols themselves.

Take traditional Chinese medicine: if a herb clears heat and detoxifies, reduces fever and cools the body, it is classified as water; then paired with a wood-class herb to aid recovery—not because water generates wood in some mystical sense, but because after a fever, the body is weakened, and restoring vitality requires herbs that replenish primordial energy.

In short, don't treat the Five Phases as mysticism (though some insist on mystical interpretations—that's a wrong path); its essence is taxonomy.

Like traffic rules forbidding non-motorized vehicles from highways. The definitions "non-motorized vehicle" and "highway" are like the Five Phases; the prohibition isn't because they're mystically incompatible, but because non-motorized vehicles are inherently dangerous on highways.

Therefore, merely referencing the theory requires no concern.

Feng Xue

Feng Xue

(End of Chapter)