Chapter 287

"Senior!" Seeing Xiao Yu crawled to the feet of Qian Chen and the others, kowtowing incessantly: "I beg for a stick of prayer incense to save my brother! Senior..."

"Seeing Xiao Yu!" The old Daoist couldn't bear it and stepped forward: "The big man can no longer be a human!"

"Prayer incense can't save him either. Let us brothers find a feng shui treasure land to bury him and cultivate as Earth Immortals instead! I know a little about Earth Immortal cultivation methods. Look, the generals and scholars buried here, can't they all maintain their sanity?"

"Senior, I also know the preciousness of prayer incense. We have lowly lives and nothing to trade for it, but I am willing to make three vows for this incense."

"Get up! Child." Grandpa Guo sighed, reached out to help Seeing Xiao Yu up, and looked at Qian Chen in a dilemma.

He was able to extend his life for a few years, and even walk to this place, all thanks to Qian Chen's protection. Only he owed Qian Chen, and Qian Chen did not owe him, so even though he felt compassion, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

"You practice the incense path?" Qian Chen turned his head slightly and asked in a calm tone.

Seeing Xiao Yu was slightly stunned and bowed: "What I practice is indeed the path of human incense, borrowing the bodies of yin spirits to manifest holiness. I do not cultivate longevity or nature and life; it is a method of the lower nine streams."

"Then you should also know how heavy the promise of three vows is." Qian Chen sighed: "Prayer incense is not worth such a request from you. Has anyone ever told you that a Daoist should be a bit more selfish?"

Seeing Xiao Yu was a bit bewildered.

"Selfless people cannot cultivate the Great Dao. Look at him..." Qian Chen pointed at the goat-bearded old Daoist: "You should know where your bottom line for giving is! To make such a rash request for a stick of incense, paying three vows that could destroy everything you have, is too self-deprecating!"

"If you want to cultivate the Dao, the first priority is to value yourself. Those who give too much to others can hardly seek the Great Dao."

"But I am just a lowly person! I have no affinity with the Great Dao..."

"Has anyone ever said your etiquette is too heavy?" Qian Chen asked again.

At this moment, Seeing Xiao Yu remembered Yan Jiming, who had received his grand salute and specifically appeared to decline it. Clearly, he was worlds apart from him, holding the power of life and death in his hands, yet he could treat a lowly rogue cultivator, who was like an ant to him, with equality.

"Those who kowtow to everyone they see are slaves. Slaves cannot cultivate the Dao. Your posture is also a result of what you were exposed to in your youth. This Central Lands Great Jin always has a bad habit of turning everyone outside the aristocratic families into slaves. That's why they promote so many rituals and rules. Now, stand up..."

Seeing Xiao Yu climbed up in a daze.

Qian Chen asked sternly: "Even if the Great Dao is hard to seek, is it not worth more than a stick of incense?"

Seeing Xiao Yu was speechless. Qian Chen said calmly: "You may find it hard to accept for a moment, after all, you've been poisoned by aristocratic rituals for so many years..." Beside him, Grandpa Guo, the overseas rogue cultivator holding an axe, and others smiled and nodded. Ma Laohei showed a cold sneer, while the Tao family group beside them remained silent, even looking a bit embarrassed.

Grandpa Guo also smiled: "Rogue cultivators can be crude and stupid, but if they lose their backbone, they are nothing."

"Then they become the dogs of the aristocratic families!" the overseas rogue cultivator sneered viciously.

Qian Chen said calmly: "Let me weigh your 'self-importance'."

"Come, ask me to act!" Qian Chen said lightly.

Seeing Xiao Yu's body trembled slightly, wanting to straighten his spine. The little ghost on his back squeaked, revealing extreme fear, jealousy, and cruelty. It exerted all its strength, pressing down on Seeing Xiao Yu's shoulders. In an instant, his back felt ten times heavier, wanting to bend his waist.

Seeing Xiao Yu was pressed so hard his bones were trembling, but Qian Chen, Grandpa Guo, and even the goat-bearded old Daoist were watching calmly, with no intention of intervening.

Seeing Xiao Yu subconsciously wanted to bend his waist.

When his master taught him, he had to kowtow to his master, kowtow to his ancestors, kowtow to wandering ghosts, and kowtow to all the gods and Buddhas in the sky; kowtow to invite little ghosts, kowtow to offer his own body, invite yin spirits to possess him, kowtow to high officials, and kowtow to anyone with even a little status.

"Except for Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, and Teachers, no one deserves such a grand salute!" Seeing Xiao Yu muttered in a low voice.

When Yan Jiming said this, his expression was solemn, looking straight into his eyes.

At that time, these words were just wind in his ears; he didn't know when they had taken root in his heart...

"In my opinion, for a true Daoist, even the word 'Sovereign' is too much of a stretch; it is undeserved!" Qian Chen's voice entered his ears.

Seeing Xiao Yu endured the crazy trampling of the little ghost on his back, straightened his waist, stared at Qian Chen, and said solemnly, word by word: "Please, Senior, act to help me!"

"Good, I will help you!" Qian Chen said: "Remember, when you asked me to act, you didn't kneel. This is the preciousness of your knees. If you beg gods and Buddhas, or even beg those ghosts and yin spirits, or bow to aristocratic nobles, that would be belittling the grace of my action."

Grandpa Guo also smoked and said in a low voice: "Practicing the incense path, the biggest taboo is begging gods and Buddhas. There has never been any heavenly incense, earthly incense, or human incense. The supreme incense path seeks oneself, and even seeks not oneself, but to see one's nature, know one's inner beliefs, and cultivate the god in one's own heart."

"The middle incense path cultivates incense fire, letting others beg oneself; it cultivates the god in other people's hearts."

"The lower incense path begs gods, Buddhas, and yin spirits, begging for everything." Grandpa Guo raised his pipe and said: "The supreme incense path is hard to find, the middle path confuses oneself, and the lower path is self-belittling. A lifetime of hard work, half a life of seeking the Dao, is it all to benefit that kind of trash on your back?"

"Those who beg gods and Buddhas and cultivate the divine path, I dare not comment. After all, if they manage to achieve longevity, they will have everything they seek in the end. Those who achieve longevity have it all. I am just a lowly rogue cultivator, my lifespan limit is no more than a few hundred years, how can I comment on them?"

"But the one on your back is just a little ghost. You have to offer a ghost, use human body medicine to raise it, and use incense fire to invite it to act before you can manifest magic power. It's hard to seek the Great Dao, not because your Foundation Establishment is opportunistic, but because..."

"Being self-belittling, how can one seek the Dao?" Qian Chen said.

Qian Chen took out a stick of prayer incense and handed it to Seeing Xiao Yu. Seeing Xiao Yu took the incense stick with trembling hands. The little ghost on his back was incomparably docile at this moment, staring greedily at the incense fire. Seeing Xiao Yu ignited the incense with his life-fire. In the curling incense smoke, the little ghost on his back suddenly transformed into a ferocious ghost king, transformed into a Wisdom King Bodhisattva, with divine power and angry eyes, possessing infinite supernatural powers with every move.

In the dark, a magnificent voice asked him: "What is your wish?"

Seeing Xiao Yu wanted to ask it to save his brother, wanted to ignite this incense, offer it to the little ghost on his back, let it cultivate into a ghost king, achieve the Divine Blessing Realm mentioned in the classics left by his master, possess Core Formation magic power, and be on par with Core Formation old monsters.

At this moment, the prayer incense in his hand seemed to truly have such power.

Of course it did... Qian Chen was very calm in his heart. He didn't take scraps this time, but genuine supreme-grade prayer incense. Once this incense appeared, gods and Buddhas responded. What echoed around Seeing Xiao Yu was not an illusion.

It was the true prayers of various gods and Buddhas.

All kinds of evil gods, wild gods, demon gods, and righteous gods all came to pay attention.

Except for gods above the third rank who didn't covet this bit of incense fire, this wisp of immortal qi attracted countless ghosts and monsters.

Taking out the precious prayer incense was not because Seeing Xiao Yu's fate was remarkable, nor because this person was worth his enlightenment, but simply because he upheld his original heart and the philosophy of the Supreme Dao, and his disdain for begging gods and Buddhas.

The Supreme Dao created the Xuan Sect. Although Qian Chen had not seen it with his own eyes, he could feel the philosophy of valuing oneself in the immortal path and striving for self-improvement, which was also the principle Qian Chen upheld in both his original heart and demonic thoughts.

So, he was very happy to do such a thing.

Outside the main hall, the bronze Buddha and countless Bone Bhikkhus chanted scriptures. Inside the main hall, Qian Chen acted, questioning the self of a nameless junior... Seeing Xiao Yu held the incense stick, sincere and upright, performing the Xuan Sect's incense-burning ritual.

Burning incense not to beg gods and Buddhas, but only to see one's nature, question the Great Dao, and question oneself.

At this moment, the little ghost on Seeing Xiao Yu's back wailed, its eyes instantly turning blood-red, frantically backlashing against Seeing Xiao Yu. All his essence and energy went into the mouth of the little ghost on his back. Under the danger of the yin spirit backlash mentioned in the ancestor's legacy, Seeing Xiao Yu abandoned the ancestor's legacy and all the methods of finding blood-food and burning incense to appease it.

Just one kowtow to the nurturing of Heaven and Earth, two kowtows to see the Great Dao ahead...

Three kowtows to see one's nature and break all gods and Buddhas.

In the void, countless gods and Buddhas suddenly fell silent. Countless malicious gazes, countless vicious curses from evil gods, and countless contemptuous sneers from gods and Buddhas echoed in Seeing Xiao Yu's ears.

Qian Chen just said coldly: "Get out!"

These malicious gazes instantly scattered like birds and beasts.

A god appeared in Seeing Xiao Yu's heart—it was himself. The half-stick of prayer incense built a foundation for his god, enlightening the god in his heart. At this moment, he finally felt the magic power that originated from himself and was born from his heart.

The god in his heart rose with a sword. As Seeing Xiao Yu's expression turned cold, the little ghost on his back was instantly beheaded and vanished into smoke.

That feeling of being omnipotent and having every wish granted disappeared.

At this time, Seeing Xiao Yu, who had truly grasped himself and cultivated magic power, burst into tears. What is omnipotent is the illusory god. After seeing his nature, he knew what he was incapable of. Even with the prayer incense in front of him, and even driving the incense path with the god in his heart, he knew he couldn't save the big man.

Only by seeing one's nature can one know what one is incapable of.

Seeing Xiao Yu exerted all his strength and pointed at the center of the big man's corpse's brow: "If I am a god, I shall protect you from the sea of suffering!"

The vast wish-power that allowed him to break the yin spirit and rebuild his foundation quickly grew, and he used it to protect the big man's soul. The peculiar wish-power of the prayer incense opened a weak divine soil at the center of the big man's brow, protecting his soul and allowing him to wake up from the confusion of the corpse qi.

"Seeing Xiao Yu!" the big man said blankly.

"Big man!" Seeing Xiao Yu was very exhausted but still excited.

"Old Daoist!" the big man turned his head slightly.

The goat-bearded one nodded slightly, like a kind elder.

The Green Ox quietly came to Qian Chen's side at some point and whispered: "This stick of incense is not simple! It shouldn't have been refined by yourself, right! Supreme-grade prayer incense, I have only seen three sticks in my life, all of which are supreme treasures of the world. You were actually willing to use it on this kid?"

Qian Chen grabbed the Green Ox's board-horn and laughed: "Want it? Incense is elixir. In our Supreme Dao, what elixir can't we refine? Do we care about a mere stick of incense?"

The Green Ox sneered: "If you could refine incense of this quality, you would have long been a sect master, or a senior elder or supreme elder of the Daoist sect! Kid, even if you were a true disciple of the Tushita Palace, taking out such an incense stick would be a huge loss, right!"

It gestured to Seeing Xiao Yu and said: "Although this kid filled the hidden dangers in his Foundation Establishment, his character is too emotional and righteous; he is not a good material for cultivating the Dao. But he has a trace of the luck of the ancestors of the side-door. Could it be that the Supreme Dao wants to enlighten the side-door again and spread the Dao to the nine streams?"

"There are too many cultivators in the world who beg gods and Buddhas. Passing down a lineage that doesn't beg outside and enlightening a few people worth enlightening, isn't that a wonderful thing?" Qian Chen said easily: "Many things are not done with any ulterior motives, I just want to do them!"

"Magnanimous!" The Green Ox raised its horns, looked left and right, and whispered: "Do you have any more..."

"What?"

"That quality of incense?"

"What do you want to do, switch to the divine path?" Qian Chen supported his chin and looked at the Green Ox.

"I have already cultivated longevity, I don't covet the divine path. I just want to ask, beg the Ancestral God Azure Dragon, and ask if there is still that kind of..."

"That kind of what?"

"That kind of Daoist true disciple with potential, the kind that is very rare... a good material with the bearing of a Dao Lord." The ox blushed and whispered: "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, I wasn't very successful in the past either. Later, I followed the ancestor of the Tao family and was promoted by him, which is how I got to where I am today."

"So..."

"I'm not abandoning the Tao family, it's just that after so many years, the Tao family hasn't produced anyone with the potential to achieve Primordial Spirit... you know... so, wasn't the Ancestral God Azure Dragon the mount of the Supreme Dao Xie Xie Zushi in the past? So, I just want to..."

"Depend on a good master?"

"A mount! It's a decent status among our ox tribe. Is there any such good material, can you introduce one?"

Qian Chen stroked his chin and said: "Have you ever heard of the revival ancestor of the Louguan Dao?"

"Louguan Dao? Wasn't it destroyed?"

"Louguan Dao is the direct lineage of the Dao Xie Xie Zushi, how could it be destroyed? So... there must be a revival ancestor who descends with the mandate of heaven to revive Louguan, supported by countless immortals from Louguan in the heavenly realm, and assisted by fellow Daoists of the Supreme Dao. Have you heard that when Louguan Dao was destroyed, several Primordial Spirit True Immortals of the Supreme Dao worked together to calculate the five-hundred-year great luck of the world..."

"Could it be that the revival ancestor of Louguan Dao is going to take charge of the five-hundred-year catastrophe?" The Green Ox was excited.

Qian Chen nodded: "Wait a moment, I'll introduce you!"

"Good brother, when I climb to a high branch, I will never forget you! If there is anything in the future, just give an order!" The Green Ox stood up like a human, stretched out its hoof, and hooked shoulders with Qian Chen.

Seeing Xiao Yu awakened the big man's consciousness and was overjoyed, so he came with the big man and the old Daoist to thank Qian Chen.

Before he could finish, Qian Chen said: "Now you have only saved his soul. He built his foundation with death qi, and corpse qi has entered his bones. Even without this, he would sooner or later be eroded by corpse poison and turn into a zombie. This is a disaster left over from Foundation Establishment, and now it is beyond saving. His constitution, even I cannot reverse it!"

"The three of you, one grew up eating dead human flesh, and his constitution was quite strange when he was young; he was born as a good material for refining corpses. Later, he practiced Qi Refinement arts but built his foundation with death qi. Others, not to mention pure spirit qi, at least use quiet, soft, living, and spiritual good qi, but he built his foundation with death qi. With the death-face of a living person, after corpse qi entered his body, he is already a body of earth-stiffness."

"His fate is too lowly, his luck is low, and his roots and bones have changed. It is difficult for him to seek the Great Dao in a living body. You should have seen that zombie captain with the White Tiger Golden Evil body and the Broken Army fate, right?"

Seeing Xiao Yu and the other two nodded quickly.

"So, if you want to seek the Dao, it is best to bury him in a feng shui treasure land, at least with the pattern of a prince, to nourish his fate. Nourish the thin soil of your own mass grave pattern to be thicker; perhaps he can be refined into a Yellow-Faced Evil Corpse. The three evil corpses left by that old fox, plus itself, just happen to make up five evil corpses with complete five elements."

"I will help him set up a feng shui formation to seize the creation of the four evil corpses. After thousands of years, he can cultivate into a Demonic Path Covering Evil Divine Corpse, or a Corpse Demon Drought Demon, or a Daoist Flying Zombie. Once he is born, he can cultivate a life-bound demonic body, equivalent to the Dao fruit of a Daoist Yin Spirit. The future is even greater."

Seeing Xiao Yu and the old Daoist widened their eyes, surprised that the big man had such an opportunity.

For them, Core Formation old monsters were already the peak of the world. Yin Spirit cultivators were more like a legend.

The big man said slowly: "Seeing Xiao Yu, wherever the old Daoist goes, I go!"

Seeing Xiao Yu looked at the big man, a trace of struggle appearing on his face, but he did not make the decision for the big man, choosing instead to respect his thoughts, and asked in a low voice: "Senior, is there any way to turn the big man back into a human body?"

"Yin-Moon Body Refining!" Qian Chen said calmly: "Refine the body to deathly silence, then be reborn, transform into immortal bones, and cultivate the art of the Great Dao!"

"The three of you, one has the death-face of a living person, born with corpse poison, and his form is already stiff. One invited a ghost to build his foundation, carrying a yin spirit, and although he has penetrating eyes and yin bones, his foundation is ruined. One was originally a supreme-grade Dao foundation, but unfortunately! It was stolen by others and became waste!"

Qian Chen pointed at them one by one and sighed: "In short, all of your fates are too lowly and your luck is weak."

"To have a glimmer of opportunity to seek the Great Dao, there is only the method of Yin-Moon Body Refining. This method is extremely dangerous and is known as the most sinister immortal-making art in the Daoist sect. However, it can transform your zombie body!" He pointed at the big man.

Qian Chen said to Seeing Xiao Yu:

"It can also rot your pair of yin-yang eyes and transform them into immortal-bone penetrating eyes."

Finally, he said to the old Daoist:

"You are the most pitiful, because of the filth within our Daoist sect, you were harmed by others. This technique can allow your Dao foundation to be reborn, and even go a step further, cultivate into a first-grade Dao foundation, and transform your roots and bones."

"Yin-Moon Body Refining, internally refines the physical body, externally transforms fate and luck, steals the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, lets the flesh turn into rotten bones, and borrows creation to be reborn. If you cultivate it yourselves, with your rotten lives, it would be hard to succeed in ten lifetimes."

"So, if you want to fight for this glimmer of opportunity, you must steal!"

"Steal the immortal path... In the depths of the demonic den, where the eight halls suppressing the Supreme Heavenly Demon are located, there is a glimmer of opportunity. That demon was dismembered and suppressed. In the hall of Unchanging Bones, where its skeleton is located, you can steal the creation of Yin-Moon Bone Refining and transform his zombie body." Qian Chen patted the big man's shoulder, like hitting rotten leather.

"The hall of Void Mirror Life is where the demon's eyes are located, where you can steal the creation to transform your yin-yang eyes."

"Finally, the hall of Five Viscera Prefecture contains the innate five-element qi, which can regenerate your Dao foundation!"

"But you must first steal the tomb of a predecessor who practiced the Yin-Moon Body Refining technique in this place, obtain this method from it, and only then will you know how to steal the heavenly secrets and change your fate against heaven..."