Chapter 130: The Crucial Secret of Life Concealment (Seeking Votes at Month's Start)

"This is what you wanted."

Ancestor Ancestor Tongxuan handed over a jade slip.

Cheng Cheng Xinzhan took it and fixed his gaze upon it; four characters were inscribed on the jade slip:

《Nine Yang Eye Refining》.

"If you cultivate this method, yang qi will enter your eyes directly, aiding you in opening the Eye Aperture's Yang Hall. Furthermore, this technique records a pupil art called 'Nine Yang Form-Restoring Dan Pupil,' capable of piercing through illusions and exerting a suppressing effect against demonic creatures."

"Once you have opened the Yang Hall, the pupil art will naturally be mastered. When you are ready to draw Yang Gang into your body, come find me again."

"Opening the Yang Hall proceeds quickly; proceed slowly rather than hastily. Haste easily injures the eyes, and eye injuries are difficult to heal. You must be extremely careful."

Lacking a method to open the Yang Hall, Cheng Cheng Xinzhan had asked the Ancestor if he could also request the technique for opening it while seeking advice on refining apertures with vessels. He had not expected to unexpectedly receive a pupil art as well. After repeatedly expressing his gratitude, he departed fully satisfied.

Upon arriving at Wuyou Cave, the cat and dog pounced on him. These two Qi Refining cultivators had now developed considerable aptitude and remarkable spirituality. The third sister was no different from a ten-year-old child, while Brother was so wise and steady he was almost like an ordinary person.

His physical body remained seated in meditation, merely absorbing qi, yet the true sha within his flesh had long since dissolved, allowing him to walk normally again.

Just over ten days ago, on the day before Wen Daoist Sukong went out to undergo her tribulation, all the true sha clogging the hundred apertures of the Zhou Tian and the hundred meridians of this body had been transformed by Lei Ting into sha water and forced out of the body.

This happened half a year earlier than several of his masters had anticipated.

He had accumulated one jin and three liang of sha water.

When Wen Daoist Sukong learned this figure, she remained silent for a long time. She even believed that from now on, this disciple would never feel pain again, having already experienced the extreme.

One must understand that when a second-realm cultivator draws Gang and Sha into the body, under the suppression of lead and mercury, the amount never exceeds one liang at a time.

Yet the half-liang of Yangming Yuntang Gang in Cheng Cheng Xinzhan's hand could transform into clouds as vast as a mountain; if he wished, this one jin and three liang of sha water, once dissolved, could shroud the entire Mount Mount Mingzhi in miasma!

To contain the sha water, Wen Daoist Sukong had specially refined a lead bottle for her disciple.

She said that only when new Sha emerges can one see such a large quantity at once; in the future, as mining and trading proceed gradually, no more than one liang will ever be seen on the market.

With so much sha water accumulated now, Cheng Cheng Xinzhan could later trade it for Gang dew or other sha waters; even at an exchange rate of two-to-one or three-to-one, he could ensure worry-free progress through the second realm.

As for whether to accept the sect's spiritual Gang, that would depend on the nature of his future Jin Dan.

After dissolving the true sha, Cheng Cheng Xinzhan immediately entered his physical body to seek out his master, intending to return the bamboo staff, since it was a supreme treasure refined over several generations.

The twenty-third generation Ancestor of Mount Mount Mingzhi searched for bamboo seeds and planted them; the twenty-fourth generation Ancestor felled the bamboo to make the staff; it was not until the twenty-fifth generation, in Wen Daoist Sukong's hands, that they began using talismans to replace apertures. Three generations poured their heart's blood into it, yet none of them ever used it. The predecessors planted the trees so the successors could enjoy the shade; he just happened to stumble upon it.

However, at that time, Wen Daoist Sukong merely glanced at him, frowned, and said,

"Would I, your master, ever use a body that you have already used?"

Cheng Cheng Xinzhan felt extremely awkward then, unsure whether his master was using this opportunity to bestow the treasure upon him or was genuinely disgusted. He nearly fled in panic.

Nevertheless, regardless of the circumstances, this town-treasure of Mount Mount Mingzhi had ultimately passed into his hands, counting as a transmission across four generations.

The benefits of this bamboo body need no further elaboration; thus, in his daily routine, he still studied techniques with his bamboo body while cultivating qi with his physical body, advancing both simultaneously at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Now that the hundred apertures of his physical body were unsealed and the Metal Mansion opened, he had returned to the proper path. However, the hidden injuries caused by true sha rushing through the apertures still required slow nourishment by Water Thunder.

Every advantage carries a disadvantage. Cheng Cheng Xinzhan first opened the Fire Mansion, then the Thunder Dwelling, and subsequently the Metal Mansion, gaining an edge in offensive combat. Yet the Earth, Water, and Wood Mansions, which govern nourishment and vitality, remained unopened. Currently, he relied entirely on the vitality of Lei Ting; otherwise, the speed of his physical body's recovery would be much faster than it is now.

Now, Cheng Cheng Xinzhan planned to open the Eye Aperture, yet neither the Eye Aperture of his bamboo body nor that of his physical body had been opened.

The apertures of the bamboo body numbered only three dwellings and five mansions: throat, nose, ears, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

These were all refined into the bamboo body by Wen Daoist Sukong using talismans to replace apertures.

In the future, if the bamboo body was to gain additional apertures, Cheng Cheng Xinzhan must first open the corresponding apertures in his physical body, comprehend the innate fa-yi (law intent) and acquired functions of the aperture, achieve thorough understanding, then draw a talisman to simulate the aperture, borrowing the false to seek the true, before refining it into the bamboo body.

Once the bamboo body possessed a hundred apertures and smooth-flowing hundred meridians, should Cheng Cheng Xinzhan be willing to abandon his physical body, he could then inhabit the bamboo body with his Primordial Spirit and ascend as a spiritual entity.

Even if unwilling to discard his physical body, should he later encounter an opportunity to refine a second Primordial Spirit and inhabit the bamboo body, this body would become the finest possible external incarnation. If he advanced further to achieve a second immortal body...

Cheng Cheng Xinzhan shook his head; for now, he should not indulge in excessive speculation but walk the path steadily with both feet on the ground. The immediate priority remained continuing to open apertures, connecting the internal and external heavens and earth, for all matters and all techniques begin with Qi Refining.

A certain sage of the Internal Elixir Dao once said: "Qi Refining is originally a single realm; alas, its depth is profound and its heights difficult to comprehend, so it was forcibly divided into the two realms of Qi Refining and Life Concealment."

In fact, at the inception of the Internal Elixir Dao, mortal cultivation comprised only four realms: Qi Refining, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Dao Integration.

Qi Refining means refining essence to transform it into qi, communicating between the internal and external heavens and earth, borrowing spiritual energy from heaven and earth to nourish the flesh and blood of the physical body, opening the hundred apertures of the heavens, then refining essence and removing impurities within those hundred apertures, extracting the qi of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang from the physical body, thereby achieving the first step toward immortality.

Golden Core means refining qi to transform it into spirit, merging the qi of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements into a Golden Core, thereby giving birth to divine nature; from this point onward, "My fate is determined by me, not by heaven."

Nascent Soul means refining spirit to return to void, achieving the state of a red infant, returning the Dao to its pre-heaven condition.

Dao Integration means refining void to merge with the Dao, achieving unity between internal and external.

However, under this division of realms within the Internal Elixir Dao, the first realm was truly arduous to endure. No one knew how many years it would take to open the hundred apertures. For a novice just beginning cultivation, merely trying to understand the divine intent and functions of the hundred apertures was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Under such circumstances, it was better to cultivate another path.

Facing such a precarious situation for the lineage right from its founding, fortunately, heaven's will operated in mysterious ways. At that time, a large group of Internal Elixir Dao sages emerged, reorganizing the first realm by splitting it into two: Qi Refining and Life Concealment. They further listed clearly and explained thoroughly the innate divine nature and acquired functions of several major important apertures. Only thus was the lineage preserved, allowing the Internal Elixir Dao to become the current mainstream and foremost Great Dao, forming the present cultivation genealogy of the Internal Elixir Dao.

After the realms were redivided, it became very clear: at the very beginning of cultivation, at the absolute minimum, the five major apertures of heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys must be opened. As the saying goes, "The five viscera store essence and qi without discharging; thus they are full but not solid." This is the foundation for comprehending the Five Elements.

Draw the spiritual qi of the Five Elements into the viscera, then refine the essence qi of the Five Elements from within them. When the essence qi of the Five Elements rotates in circulation, one can open the Jianggong, gathering all the essence and blood of the body into a single aperture, thereby extending one's lifespan. At this stage, even if hands and feet are severed or the chest and abdomen pierced and torn, as long as the Jianggong remains intact, life can be saved.

After opening the five mansions, one will certainly have entered the door of Five Elements techniques; this is also the beginning of the art of longevity.

As for the three dwellings, it is best to open them, as they are used to comprehend natural celestial phenomena. Though existing beyond the Five Elements, they are closely connected to them. However, if one truly lacks the time and energy, one may first open the Jianggong and enter the second realm.

The second realm is called Life Concealment; interpreting the words literally, it means comprehending the truth of life and exploring the treasures of the physical body.

The mysteries of the hundred apertures of the heavens can be deeply explored in this realm.

This realm has an eye-catching title called "Divine Abilities." By opening apertures and understanding their profound meanings, one can cultivate corresponding divine abilities.

Examples include Thousand-Mile Vision, Favorable-Wind Hearing, Stomach Cauldron and Gallbladder Sac, Divine Kingdom in the Palm, and countless others.

The more apertures one opens, the more beneficial it is for subsequent cultivation and for combat and protecting the Dao. However, the time delayed also increases; it entirely depends on personal choice.

One might ask whether it is possible to return later to open apertures after reaching the third or fourth realms. It is possible, but if one lacks the time and energy even in the second realm, then in the third realm one will be busy refining the core, and in the fourth realm busy nurturing the infant, making it even more impossible to look back.

For those truly unwilling to waste time, it suffices to open the apertures on the two meridians—one yin and one yang—that connect the Huangting with the external heavens and earth. Then, by drawing yin and yang Gang and Sha from the outside world into the body, guiding them through the opened apertures to converge in the Huangting, which is the dantian, allowing yin and yang to complement each other and the dragon and tiger to meet, one can form a Golden Core and enter the third realm.

Currently, judging from the arrangements of the various masters and following Cheng Cheng Xinzhan's own inner intentions, he will certainly spend a long time tempering himself in the first and second realms; naturally, the more apertures of the heavens he opens, the better.

Having thoroughly studied the《Zhou Tian Hundred Apertures Internal Landscape Sutra》and recently begun contacting refining techniques, he naturally thought: If apertures can serve as palaces to nurture the spirit and as containers to store qi, why could they not also be regarded as furnaces for refining vessels?

Taking the repair of "Taodu" as an opportunity, he decided to test his idea.

"Taodu" was a sword of yang fire. Yet in the acquired world, while the Five Elements are easy to obtain, Yin and Yang are hard to seek. Since "Taodu" possessed the nature of yang fire, it should naturally advance further toward pure yang. If the focus remained solely on fire, it would fall into an inferior category; yang can control fire, but fire cannot encompass yang. Moreover, the material of "Taodu" was excellent, containing both iron fallen from heaven and ancient yang wood; it should not be confined merely to being a flying sword.

Possessing both a bamboo body and a physical body, and cultivating the《Secret Edict of Longevity Fetal Origin Manifesting Spirit》, such a rare foundation must be utilized to the utmost. He could have the internal landscape spirit engrave talismans and perform fa-refining, while simultaneously separating a portion of his soul to perform spirit-refining, making it both a fa-sword and a flying sword—a sword of pure yang.

The reason the current cultivation world distinguishes so clearly between flying swords, fa-swords, and body swords ultimately boils down to two points: first, precious materials are scarce, making it difficult to simultaneously satisfy swiftness and agility, affinity with laws and spiritual sentience, and sharpness and toughness; second, the sword master's energy is limited, making it impossible to simultaneously manage spirit-refining, fa-refining, and blood-refining, along with the cultivation paths hidden behind these three refinements.

But coincidentally, both the precious sword "Taodu" and its master Cheng Cheng Xinzhan could achieve these two points!

In the future, gradually refining "Taodu" into a sword of pure yang, combining the advantages of a flying sword with the spirituality of a fa-sword, would inevitably be an extremely lengthy process.

Since he intended to refine a sword of pure yang, he naturally needed a furnace of pure yang and fire of pure yang.

Among the human body's apertures, those that can serve as yin-yang furnaces include the pair of eyes, the heart and kidneys, and the gallbladder and stomach. However, for Cheng Cheng Xinzhan, the heart and kidneys governed water and fire, while the gallbladder aperture had already become the seat of the Thunder General's headquarters. What remained were the pair of eyes, which were inherently the most suitable yin-yang halls.

The Daoist Canon states: "The essence of heaven originates from the sun and moon; the essence of humanity is stored in the eyes." It also says: "The essence qi of the five viscera and six bowels all ascends to the eyes to become their spirit."

The two eyes are naturally the sun and moon of the small internal landscape heaven within the human body, perfectly matching yin and yang, and being the essence of the viscera and bowels, they subtly align with yang controlling yin and governing the Five Elements.

Within the internal landscape of the human body, left is yang and right is yin; therefore, the left eye is the Yang Hall and the right eye is the Yin Hall.

As for the yang fire within the furnace, naturally, yang Gang is the foremost choice. Drawing yang Gang into the eyes now also prepares for forming the Golden Core during the second realm later.

=9+Book_Bar

He happened to possess a strand of yang Gang bestowed by a sword immortal: "Yangming Yuntang Gang." As for the lead and mercury used to suppress the yang Gang, he could simply melt down the lead bottle intended to contain the "Yangming Yuntang Gang."

Now everything was ready; all that remained was to open the Yang Hall.

————

Early morning the next day.

Cheng Cheng Xinzhan guided his physical body to the mountain peak, facing east, awaiting sunrise.

At the beginning of the Mao hour, the sky brightened slightly. He relaxed his body, closed his right eye, and fixed his left eye on the brightening horizon.

Slowly, a dot of cinnabar red appeared.

He immediately began circulating the method of《Nine Yang Eye Refining》, pressing the Jingming acupoint of his left eye with the tip of his right index finger using the fa-yi of the Fire element. Upon feeling warmth, he alternated circulating qi with the two character-mantras "Xu" and "He," performing six exhalations per inhalation, each cycle repeated nine times, while simultaneously gazing at the cinnabar red dot.

His left pupil rotated, tracing a talismanic pattern recorded in《Nine Yang Eye Refining》within the eye socket; as the pattern manifested, its divine intent naturally emerged.

Thus, amidst the boundless yang qi radiating from the cinnabar sun, a wisp of yang qi entered his left eye, tinting his left pupil with a trace of cinnabar color, though it was invisible unless observed closely.

He ceased cultivation only when the morning sun shifted from cinnabar red to golden.

After the morning sun turned golden, the yang qi became too vigorous; introducing it into the eye aperture at such a time would easily injure the eyes.

Today was the thirtieth of the seventh month, the last day of this month, and also his rare day of leisure.

Seeing Cheng Cheng Xinzhan working hard, Instructor Jiang Jiang Weishan had permitted him to rest on the last day of each month.

Whenever he rested, Cheng Cheng Xinzhan would always go to the same place.

Songluhu.

————

Lu Chi could now not only play《High Mountains》; as a dragon species capable of sleeping for a hundred years in a single slumber, she had even learned to calculate months and days.

Today was the end of the month; he would surely come.

Lu Chi had long prepared, exposing a pair of wet eyes above the lake surface, gazing in the direction of Mount Mount Mingzhi.

This person arrived unusually early today.

Seeing the clouds approach, Lu Chi immediately spat out her dharma conch and began to play it, pretending to be casual.

Cheng Cheng Xinzhan, still in mid-air, could not help but smile. This green dragon always began blowing her conch only when he arrived, yet tried to appear as though she had been practicing all along.

Thinking this in his heart, the moment he landed, he immediately began clapping his hands.

"Unexpected, truly unexpected! Fellow Daoist has even learned to play such a difficult piece as《When Will the Bright Moon Appear》."

"Gulp!"

Hearing this, Lu Chi opened her mouth to laugh, failing to hold the dharma conch in her mouth, and it dropped into the lake.

She hurriedly lowered her head and picked the dharma conch up again with her mouth.

This was a habit she simply could not break; she could not help laughing.

Seeing this, a smile also floated across Cheng Cheng Xinzhan's face.

He couldn't help but smile in front of her.

As Cheng Cheng Xinzhan drew nearer, Green Chi felt something was amiss, or rather, the feeling she had previously sensed had returned.

She looked at Cheng Cheng Xinzhan with suspicion.

This Green Chi was too lazy; she had not yet refined her horizontal bone, so their daily conversations mostly involved Cheng Cheng Xinzhan guessing her intentions.

Now, seeing her gaze circling over his body, he thought for a moment, guessed the source of her confusion, and realized that after refining his eye aperture earlier, he had not switched back to his bamboo body but came directly here. He presumed this was his first time walking within the sect in his flesh and blood body since his true deadly energy had pierced his acupoints, so he spoke to explain:

"My body was previously unwell, so I adopted another vessel to walk in. Now, my body has fully recovered, and I have switched back."

As he spoke, he pulled open his clothes to expose his chest.

Seeing this, Green Chi hurriedly closed her eyes.

"Look!"

Cheng Cheng Xinzhan said.

Green Chi slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes suddenly widened; how could chi scales be growing on that person's chest? Eh, it seemed to be the very piece she had gifted him.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for gifting the scale. When I encountered enemies outside the sect, it was entirely due to your scale shielding my chest that my life was saved. Later, when my body was injured, this scale took root in my flesh and blood; thus, I am unable to return it to you."

Seeking monthly tickets at the start of the month~

Comments and messages are welcome~

(End of chapter)