Chapter 69: Purple Qi Comes from the East, Refining the Spirit and Washing the Body

Xiaopangdun did not yet know that his cheerful nature was about to be cultivated by Xu Jia into that of a "decisive and ruthless" senior brother.

He only looked curiously at that flag, about a foot tall, with a triangular black banner embroidered with a pattern of five little ghosts dancing.

Xu Jia reminded him: "This flag is made by soaking the hair of the dead in secret corpse oil, then using hair-embroidery techniques to stitch the Five Skandha Yin Demon. These Five Skandha Yin Demon must be refined using the five human poisons—Greed, Anger, Ignorance, Arrogance, and Doubt—along with external five poisons. This Evil Sect method is inherently vicious; they don't know how to refine the five human poisons, only that the human brain is where the spirit resides, so they directly use human brain juice, add the venom of the five poisons, and the resulting Five Skandha Yin Demon Flag is top-tier viciousness, good at sucking out human brain juice and spirits, driving people mad!"

Xiaopangdun was startled: "Why is it so disgusting? Brother Xu, the Magic Tools you taught me to refine, like masks, drums, and whips, are all imbued with my own thoughts. How come these kinds of Magic Tools are all made using other people's things? Can one control them oneself?"

Xu Jia shook his head: "This is a crooked path, harming others without benefiting oneself. These Yin Demon might backfire at any time; they follow whoever is strongest and might defect in the middle of a battle."

"The Yin Demon inside were terrified by the soldiers of the Mountain of Knives Hell and dare not show their faces. I remember the Secret Sect Tibetan Buddhism seems to have a fundamental method for subduing the Five Skandha Yin Demon, which requires these Five Skandha Yin Demon to possess the body, first cultivating as a Demon King, then converting from the Demon King to Buddhism, achieving a method of subduing through great courage and great wisdom, eventually cultivating into the Wisdom King himself."

Xu Jia recalled for a moment, but ultimately shook his head; this method was not suitable for Xiaopangdun, only for those with profound Dharma.

Therefore, he also applied a spiritual Talisman to seal it, thinking it might come in handy one day.

Xu Jia was interested in the Five Skandha Yin Demon; it could help one cultivate the "Pure Wonderful Dharma" and simulate the illusion of Demon Examination, but it was also too easy to lead people into Demonic Obstacle. If there were a way to control the Five Skandha Yin Demon, it could help one cultivate "concentration."

In Taoism, there is the saying of "Subduing the Heart Ape" and "Fixing the Intent Horse."

Buddhism also has the concept of "Breaking the Six Thieves, Removing the Three Poisons."

If they do not go through trials, everyone is full of confidence, claiming to have no flaws. Even if pointed out by others, many are just ashamed and angry, refusing to admit it, remaining unconvinced, and walking down the wrong path to the end, unwilling to turn back.

These are all "obstacles."

The Five Skandha Yin Demon can "reveal obstacles," and then one can proceed to break them.

Currently, Xu Jia cannot directly use the Five Skandha Yin Demon for cultivation; he must first refine his heart-generals and have the protection of a Primordial Spirit.

As for this flag made by disgusting refining methods, it is just a carrier; Xu Jia can burn it with fire at any time.

Among the crooked paths, there is a "Five Ghosts Possession Great Method," which has an unclear and indescribable relationship with the Five Skandha Yin Demon.

Xu Jia then opened the third box. This box had a Talisman seal, and Xu Jia was very careful, first chanting the incantation several times, and then having Luejue Shen stand guard on the side.

But after opening it, nothing happened. Inside were Xu Jia's previous life's Jade Scepter, the hanging rope of the Condolence Guest, and a small brass pagoda with "Mother-Child Longevity" written on it. It had a lotus pattern as the pagoda base and depicted a child covered by a glazed bell, with a hundred ghosts trying to lift it but failing.

This is exactly the story of the "Five Hundred Ghost Mother-Child" from Buddhist tales.

This should correspond to the subduing tool for refining the "Nine Sons Mother Sha," holding the young child of the Ghost Mother inside, using the child to command the mother. Xu Jia observed with his Dharma eyes, and indeed there was an infant soul inside, pure and flawless, like a ginseng doll.

Besides these three that Xu Jia already knew, there were some strange spell-casting materials.

Xu Jia picked up the Jade Scepter; this was his own life-bound object and was also needed for refining heart-generals. The Jade Scepter has a lofty significance in Taoism. Among the various treasures of Maoshan, there is a Jade Scepter. A Daoist holding a Jade Scepter to sacrifice to the gods of heaven or earth can often receive blessings. One can also write Talismans on the Jade Scepter, which can be wiped off when not in use, and it can also contact superiors and subordinates, serving as a communication tool for gods.

After sealing the Jade Scepter with a spiritual Talisman and carrying it with him, Xu Jia smashed open the "Mother-Child Longevity Pagoda" and released the infant soul inside. The other ghost children in the Fox Immortal Hall wailed and welcomed this tenth brother.

In folk legends and myths, there are the "Ten Brothers." If one is unfamiliar with the "Ten Brothers," then everyone is certainly no stranger to the "Gourd Brothers" adapted from the "Ten Brothers."

Ten is the number of perfection; entering this altar can be considered their good fortune.

As for the wooden rope of the Condolence Guest, this fellow had worked hard managing the Feng Shui in the Xu family; even if there was no merit, there was hard work. Since it was harmed by the evil Daoist, Xu Jia thought for a moment and decided to take it into the Fox Immortal Hall to become a "Stele Immortal," also known as a "Qingfeng Immortal." In the future, all the lonely ghosts and wild spirits in Qingtian Xiang could appoint him as their spokesperson.

This was easy to handle; Xu Jia had already killed the evil Daoist, and the hanging rope that controlled the Condolence Guest had fallen into Xu Jia's hands. If it didn't agree, he would just perform a ritual to dissolve the Sha and be done with it.

As for the other items, they had no Cause and Effect connection with him and were evil objects, so Xu Jia decided to burn them together with the evil Daoist's Yin Demon Primordial Spirit and the box at noon tomorrow.

As the sky grew brighter, Xu Jia began to lead Xiaopangdun and a nest of foxes to inhale the Purple Qi of the Morning Sun, stand in the Six Harmonies Stake, and practice the Eight Brocades. Squinting his eyes at the sun, Xu Jia's divine intent suddenly arrived, and he was struck by a flash of inspiration. A strand of purple Qi entered his eyes directly, his eyes contained light, and it went into his spirit; his spirit made a swallowing motion.

Swallowing the saliva and letting it enter the abdomen, warmth rose, and the coldness vanished. The "Yin Spirit" Xu Jia had cultivated in his previous life actually began to "melt," merging with his physical body, reaching the state of "washing the body with the spirit."

Xu Jia's Nature Cultivation was previously far higher than his "Life Merit" because of his previous life's accumulation and having served as a minor official in Dongkong Qingling Gong for over fifty years. Now, the transformation of the "Essence, Qi, and Spirit" Three Primes meant the excess "Spirit" not only did not seize the body's Essence Qi but instead began to nourish it in return.

This process proceeded slowly and was not achieved overnight, but it was indeed happening.

The spirit and the physical body were further merging.

This made Xu Jia clearly understand what "Tribulation Cultivation" meant.

It turned out that every time one passed a Calamity, it acted as a "ladder of assistance" for cultivation.

In the dim and distant void, Xu Jia realized this feeling. The memories of the original body stored in the five internal organs were now opened to Xu Jia, giving him a sense of intimacy, no longer feeling alienated from this world, and the Cause and Effect with his parents became even heavier.

Xu Jia bathed in the sunlight, leaving Hu Jinhua, Niu Congcong, and the others stunned: "Has Master Xu attained Sudden Enlightenment?"

But this was not Sudden Enlightenment; it was step-by-step verification, cultivation through every Calamity. It was down-to-earth, not a castle in the air, just his previous life's accumulation beginning to formally transform.

(End of chapter)