Chapter 21: The prayer mat lends me a helping hand—the Realm of Breath!

With danger averted, the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin continued on their journey.

Everyone inside the bronze coffin felt a sense of survival after a catastrophe.

That terrifying aura of the demon made their souls tremble; if that Ancestor Crocodile had charged over, everyone would have died without a burial place.

Fortunately, this incredibly powerful figure had slain many divine crocodiles and ultimately triggered the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin, allowing them to resume their journey.

Inside the bronze coffin, a flicker of lamp light, a vajra pestle, and a bronze plaque emitted a glow, illuminating the darkness and reflecting the varied expressions of many men and women.

Some were still terrified, some were shaken, and others had already begun to harbor different thoughts.

After all, Fang Yu had obtained too many treasures, while they had obtained nothing at all.

"Do not worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality"—this is human nature.

Fang Yu, however, ignored them entirely. If anyone truly wanted to snatch these treasures, he would not mind sending them to meet Liu Liu Yunzhi.

He took out the prayer mat he had obtained from the Great Thunder Sound Temple and sat upon it.

Surrounded by countless bolts of lightning, Fang Yu began his cultivation.

He began to breathe.

Holding a breath in his mouth, letting it flow in and out continuously—this was a breathing cultivation method called "Sifting Qi," much like sifting rice or washing vegetables.

Great waves sift the sand; one sifts out the waste qi to exchange it for fresh qi.

To reach the sixth level of the physical body, the Realm of Breath, one must understand the method of Sifting Qi.

He practiced the Sifting Qi method on the prayer mat. Faintly, Zen sounds resonated, seemingly able to cleanse one's soul and wash one's physical body.

As the internal and external merged, Fang Yu’s breathing became even more peculiar, using his breath to drive his blood, his blood to drive his heart, and his heart to drive the strength of his entire body, all entering a state of Sifting Qi.

At this moment, there was the sound of tigers and leopards roaring within his blood.

Only after the great waves sift everything does the gold appear.

Everyone was astonished and uncertain, seemingly not expecting Fang Yu’s blood to be able to emit such a sound. Some flickered their eyes, but none dared to act rashly.

Fang Yu remained indifferent, sitting high upon the prayer mat, feeling the marvel of Sifting Qi. In the process of continuous sifting, his internal organs and muscles became much tighter and firmer once again, and the blood throughout his body grew increasingly powerful.

Suddenly, Fang Yu stood up, his gaze like lightning, causing everyone to feel a jolt of fear.

"Finally reached the sixth level of the physical body, the Realm of Breath."

Fang Yu was delighted. With the miraculous help of this prayer mat, he had reached the sixth level of the physical body in such a short time. This progress made him very happy.

The sixth level of the physical body, the Realm of Breath, uses the Sifting Qi method to internally refine the organs and flesh. Although strength does not increase immediately, as long as one consumes elixirs, strength will increase very quickly.

Fang Yu felt hunger, so he took out a Essence Pill and swallowed it to refine it.

His strength continued to increase.

"He actually carries elixirs with him!"

"Who exactly is he? How is he so mysterious?"

"Could he really be from an ancient family? He is too calm."

Except for Ye Fan, everyone who watched Fang Yu swallow the elixir and refine it to increase his strength felt it was inconceivable. This style was simply too out of place with modern society; it was hard not to be shocked.

A few women even wanted to lean in, hoping to beg for an elixir or to curry favor.

"Your name is Lin Jia? You are a friend of Ye Fan?"

After Fang Yu swallowed an Essence Pill, his gaze turned toward a beautiful woman in the group.

The woman was somewhat flattered and immediately said, "Yes, that is correct. Have you heard of me?"

"Just now I asked you to photograph that Yang Yang Taiji Bagua diagram. I wonder if you have photographed it?"

Fang Yu revealed a smile on his face and asked.

"I did. Here you go."

Lin Jia hurriedly sent the phone over.

Fang Yu’s gaze looked over. Sure enough, although the pixels were slightly blurry, the entire process of the Bagua's changes was all on that phone.

"Is this one Essence Pill enough to exchange for it?"

Fang Yu reached out again and took out an Essence Pill.

"Enough, enough."

Lin Jia immediately sent the phone over.

She was a smart person; she knew that if this existence really wanted to snatch it, she would have no room to resist at all. But now, to exchange it for an elixir was a benefit fallen from the sky.

She naturally would not refuse.

"This Essence Pill can increase your strength by over a hundred catties, and it can also reshape your physical structure, improve your complexion, and detoxify—those are its basic functions."

Fang Yu sent over an Essence Pill and obtained a mobile phone.

He looked at the Yang Yang Taiji Bagua diagram on the phone again, sitting on the prayer mat as if trying to realize something.

"You can also contemplate it. There are many Great Dao true words in this bronze coffin."

Fang Yu’s gaze looked toward Ye Fan, who was holding a lamp not far away. ===== CHAPTER 35 =====

Ye Fan nodded and listened intently. Inside his body, something began to grow warm.

"Did you all hear anything?"

Ye Fan suddenly asked.

Everyone shook their heads, and even Fang Yu shook his head. On the prayer mat, he still heard nothing.

At this moment, Ye Fan went toward the small coffin inside the coffin, stroking the coffin-within-a-coffin. This small coffin was covered in copper-green rust and carved with many ancient ancestors and gods, exuding an aura that was both primitive and vicissitudinous.

"Brother Fang Yu, I seem to have heard something."

Ye Fan stood still before the coffin-within-a-coffin, seemingly hearing some profound and mysterious words, but neither Fang Yu nor anyone else heard them.

After listening to the end, Ye Fan revealed a thoughtful expression, then came before Fang Yu.

"Brother Fang Yu, this time I obtained a treasure. Brother Fang Yu can also try listening; perhaps you can help me solve my confusion."

As Ye Fan spoke, he took out a Bodhi seed and delivered it into Fang Yu’s hand.

"Oh, Ye Fan, I accept your favor."

Fang Yu naturally knew of the Bodhi seed, but he did not want to have too much entanglement with Ye Fan’s affairs and objects. After all, he had already gained some benefits by taking a free ride on the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin this time. If he were too arrogant, he might attract a hand descending from the sky.

But now that Ye Fan had sent the Bodhi seed over, he would not refuse to listen to the Great Dao principles of the coffin-within-a-coffin.

Those Great Dao principles came from the Perfect World, from the Huang Heavenly Emperor. If he could remember them, they might be useful in the future.

Of course, according to the cultivation methods of the Eternal World, before the fifth level of the Supernatural Secret Realm, the Human Realm, one only needs to cultivate one Great Dao supernatural power; hearing other Great Dao true words is of no use.

But Fang Yu still listened.

"The Way of Heaven: diminish the excessive to supplement the insufficient."

The Great Dao true words began with a famous sentence from Daoist classics, and what followed were profound ancient scriptures never heard before; even after hearing them, he did not understand their meaning.

The sound was vast and mysterious, seemingly crossing time and space from the distant past, finally sounding like a great bell—this was the Great Dao Heavenly Sound, like an abyss or an ocean, profound and vast. Every word that resonated was like the sea collapsing and the abyss cracking, echoing between heaven and earth.

It seemed like ancient Zen chanting, and it also seemed like the prayers of gods. It sounded profound and mysterious, making one’s thoughts surge, not knowing where one was.

Finally, Fang Yu woke up.

He seemed to have listened, yet he also seemed not to have listened.

"I don't understand it. I must wait for a higher realm."

Fang Yu sent the Bodhi seed back.

The mysterious divine sound was only a hundred words long, engraved in his heart, but he could not comprehend it.

"Brother Fang Yu cannot comprehend it either?"

Ye Fan took the Bodhi seed, feeling curious.

"Some principles must be understood only when one's realm is profound. If the realm is too low, even if you hear them, you cannot comprehend them."

Fang Yu shook his head.

Just at this moment, in the void, there seemed to be the sound of morose drums and sorrowful bells, as if there were endless sounds of mourning, with tens of thousands of people bowing and praying for someone's funeral.

In this instant, everyone seemed to see a scene: an supreme existence ruling the world, traversing heaven and earth, followed by an unprecedentedly grand funeral.

No one knew what this represented, but it made them terrified.

Fortunately, this funeral and the sorrowful sounds came quickly and left quickly, and finally, the bronze coffin returned to peace.

Everyone settled their minds again, only for someone to see something flickering on the bronze engravings.

It was a vast starry sky. The coffin walls had not changed, but some stars were flickering, as if real, brilliant stars were dotted in the vast night sky.

Someone noticed the Big Dipper; the seven ancient stars were shining brightly, attracting attention.

Others noticed the Ziwei star. This star is known as the Emperor Star. In past years, there have always been stories of the Ziwei Emperor Star descending to earth to achieve great deeds. The most widely known is Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu. Legend has it that Liu Xiu was the reincarnation of the Ziwei Emperor Star, and the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai were the twenty-eight constellations under his command, beating Wang Mang until he had no temper.

"Look quickly, there seems to be a star map."

"We seem to be heading toward the Ziwei star." [40] "No, it's not the Ziwei star, but the Big Dipper. Are we going to the Big Dipper star?"

“No, it is not the Crape Myrtle star, but the Big Dipper. Are we heading to the Big Dipper star?”

Many men and women looked at the star map, screaming continuously. In the end, they discovered they were moving in the direction of the Big Dipper.

At the same time, everyone felt the giant bronze coffin shake violently, as if the heavens were shaking and the earth was moving.

"We seem to have reached the destination..."

"Could it really be the Big Dipper star?"

"We have finally arrived!" ===== CHAPTER 36 =====