Chapter 9: Qingshe Dispels Doubts and Shows Great Favor; Realizing One is in a Small World

"Looking at it this way, among the five immortals—Heavenly, Earthly, Divine, Human, and Ghost—the Heavenly Immortal must be the most noble, and the others cannot reach the Great Dao?"

"More or less. But in truth, the starting point of these Five Immortal Ways is the same, and if one can cultivate to the end, the destination is also the same," Qingshe Niangniang replied.

"According to the great being who created the Earth Immortal Dao, the Five Immortal Ways may seem to have distinctions of high and low, noble and base, but that is merely because the scenery along the way and the supernatural powers acquired are different. If a practitioner is a heaven-sent talent, what kind of path cannot lead to the Great Dao?"

After saying this, Qingshe Niangniang changed the subject, seemingly questioning: "However, for ordinary beings like us, these words are simply too lofty."

"The Immortal Dao realms after the Primordial Spirit, from low to high, are divided into Loose Immortal, Origin Immortal, True Immortal, and so on. Yes, these Five Immortal Ways do indeed lead to the same destination to a certain extent.

The Yang Spirit refined by the Ghost Immortal at the end of their cultivation, the Pure Yang Precious Body achieved by the Human Immortal, and the Pure Yang True Immortal attained by the Heavenly and Earthly Immortals are indeed existences of the same level. But after the True Immortal, there is the Golden Immortal with endless lifespan, and there are realms even above the Golden Immortal. How difficult is it for practitioners of the Ghost Immortal Path, Human Immortal Path, or even the Divine Immortal Path to advance further? Aside from those fools among our Demon Clan who crave temporary physical strength, how many cultivators would abandon the broad Great Dao to walk a narrow, winding path?"

Hearing this, Fang Longye even noticed Qingshe Niangniang secretly glancing at him.

"Regardless of the path, Niangniang previously mentioned the 'Yin Spirit leaving the body' after achieving the Yin Spirit. I have been cultivating until now and have always had a doubt: I don't know how many times I have swallowed and spat out my Golden Elixir, yet I have never seen any communion with the heavens and earth."

Hearing Fang Longye's question, Qingshe Niangniang giggled, "How can that count as a Yin Spirit leaving the body? The Golden Elixir of our Demon Clan is different from the semi-illusory, semi-real Golden Elixir of the Human Clan's Elixir Formation Stage; it doesn't require any technique at all. It forms instinctively in the dark, just like an organ growing within our bodies."

"Although you swallow and spit it out during cultivation, what is the difference between your Yin Spirit Embryo being inside your 'organ' Golden Elixir and being inside your own body? Otherwise, how could you still control your body when the Golden Elixir leaves it?"

"A true Yin Spirit leaving the body only counts when it leaves the Golden Elixir; you will understand once you achieve the Yin Spirit."

"It is not that I do not have specific cultivation techniques beyond the Primordial Spirit."

"However, I must wait until you have heard my answers to your previous doubts and made your choice before deciding whether to impart them," Qingshe stopped laughing, her expression turning serious.

Fang Longye came back to his senses, his heart trembling.

"Were you feeling anxious because I hold you in such high regard?"

"This..." Fang Longye heard these words, fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth, stood up, and bowed deeply.

"Niangniang, Longye is but a creature of enlightenment. Even if my Bloodline has changed somewhat and my intelligence has become clear, in the end, I am still someone with limited potential and an uncertain future. How could I deserve such high regard from you, a Demon Immortal?"

"The small demons below fight to the death for a few spirit herbs or minor spells. I ask myself, the kindness Niangniang has shown me far exceeds what I deserve, hence I am filled with trepidation."

"Indeed, being of Dragon Clan descent, once the intelligence is clear, it is completely different from the previous dullness." Qingshe did not get angry; on the contrary, a hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.

Qingshe Niangniang stood up and waved her hand. Fang Longye's vision blurred, and when he reacted, he was already out of the Cave Abode. He stood in the vast sky, with a thick cloud several yards wide beneath his feet.

Looking out, the demon mountains and treacherous waters no longer seemed so fierce or jarring; instead, they possessed a unique, magnificent beauty. The peaks gathered like a crowd, the waves raged like anger, and the beautiful landscape lay beneath his feet, stirring a sense of heroic ambition.

"Is this magnificent landscape beautiful?" A clear, resonant voice sounded in his ear.

Fang Longye could not help but turn to look at Qingshe Niangniang, who was riding the clouds.

He saw that she was no longer in her human-body-snake-tail form, but had completely transformed into a human, without a trace of demon form.

She wore green robes, her willow-leaf eyebrows arched like distant peaks, her sandalwood mouth parted like cherry lips; dangling emerald hairpins adorned her head, and golden lotuses flashed on her crimson skirt.

Her graceful, immortal bearing gave Fang Longye the illusion that she should have been a fairy from the Heavenly Realm, who had simply entered the wrong snake womb when descending to the mortal world.

"Beautiful..." Fang Longye murmured in reply. He did not know if he was talking about the landscape or something else.

"It is a pity that no matter how beautiful it is, it is only a Small World with a radius of tens of thousands of miles." "A Small World?" Fang Longye suddenly woke up, "Niangniang, didn't you mention Beiju Luzhou and Xiniu Hezhou?"

"It cannot be explained in a few words." Qingshe Niangniang shook her head and pointed to the center of her own brow. A clear light flashed and floated gently in front of Fang Longye.

Fang Longye used his Golden Finger, the 'Equivalent Balance', to probe it. Finding no harm, he triggered it with his divine sense, and the clear light dissipated as a vast amount of information flooded into his mind.

"So that's how it is..." Fang Longye sighed deeply.

This was indeed the Journey to the West World, but they were currently in a Small World within Beiju Luzhou of the Journey to the West World.

The Earth Immortal Realm had no borders and was vast and boundless. Within the four continents and four seas of the Earth Immortal Realm, great beings had opened up many worlds, Grotto-Heavens, Blessed Lands, and Secret Realms.

Often, Cave Abodes left behind by predecessors who had passed away, or fragments of time and space shattered by the battles of great beings, would gradually evolve over time into ruins, Secret Realms, or Cave Heaven Small Worlds. They became opportunities and fortunes in the eyes of countless latecomers! Although Beiju Luzhou was rampant with the Demon Clan and filled with strife and evil, it also contained many fragments of time and space left behind by the battles of ancient great beings, as well as various Cave Abodes and Secret Realms opened up for cultivation.

They were currently in one such evolved Small World.

Coming back to his senses, Fang Longye realized he had returned to the hall of the Cave Abode.

"I was originally a demon cultivator from Beiju Luzhou who accidentally entered this Small World and obtained some opportunities. However, it is not so easy to get out of this Small World; one must obtain a key 'Secret Key'."

"Under Hulu Mountain, more than five thousand miles away, a pair of demon cultivators are suppressed, and the key 'Secret Key' to leave this Small World is in the hands of those two demon immortals as a Dharma Treasure."

"But that pair of demon immortal companions are both in the True Immortal Realm, far higher in cultivation than I am."

"Therefore, the key to getting out lies there. For this reason, I even specifically acknowledged a fellow clansman among those two demon immortals as a sister, hoping to obtain the Dharma Treasure in her hands, but unfortunately, I did not succeed."

"Since soft methods don't work, naturally I can only resort to force. It's just that my strength is insufficient, so I can only choose to cultivate helpers."

"Therefore, you need not worry about my care for you. Basically, I will try to cultivate every demon that can step into the Elixir Formation Stage."

"You have received more gifts simply because your intelligence was able to escape the influence of the enlightenment spell, and your Dragon Clan Bloodline was able to advance, making you more likely to help me than other demon cultivators."

"Alright, I have said so much. You need to make a choice. Either choose to help me take down those two demon immortals and obtain the treasure in their hands, or choose to refuse."

"If you choose to refuse, I will not attack you, but you will have to explore the cultivation beyond the Primordial Spirit on your own."

"If you choose to help me, I will impart to you immortal scriptures and treasures that lead directly to the Immortal Realm, as well as more supernatural powers and techniques. I will also help you compensate for the defects caused by the influence of the enlightenment spell, and from now on, we shall address each other as fellow Daoists," Qingshe Niangniang said, looking at Fang Longye with burning eyes.

Fang Longye bowed solemnly and said: "Niangniang, in terms of sentiment, you have given me the grace of creation, and Longye is grateful for this and should naturally repay you with my life; in terms of righteousness, having learned of the vastness of the outside world, who could not yearn for it? In terms of benefit, with such thick kindness as immortal scriptures and supernatural powers, what reason does Longye have to refuse?"

His words were tactful, yet his attitude was crisp and decisive, ringing with the sound of metal and stone.

Just by hearing his voice, one could see his loyalty was unwavering and beyond doubt.

"Good!" Qingshe Niangniang clapped her hands and laughed.

Immediately, the two drafted a contract, with the Heavenly Dao as a witness, and swore an oath.

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(End of chapter)