Chapter 288: The Corpse Buddha's Great Hall

Xiao Yu, the Big Guy, and the Old Daoist knelt side by side, facing Qian Chen. Qian Chen sat with his back to the Great Heroic Treasure Hall and the lotus flower; the lotus pedestal in the hall, which had originally held a Buddha statue, was now completely empty.

Xiao Yu curiously examined the lotus pedestal—the bronze Buddha from outside the hall had clearly been sitting here originally, but for some reason, it had moved outside.

"Stop looking! I borrowed this great hall from the Corpse Buddha so we could rest our feet for a while."

Xiao Yu shrank his head back, thinking to himself: This senior is truly a ruthless character!

Whether it was earlier on the bronze ancient lamp tomb passage, where he wiped out over a dozen Core Formation old monsters from the great families with a single word, calculating and scattering the hearts of the Xin, Lei, and Jin families, or using God-Praying Incense to clear the way, making this field of white bone corpses seem like a smooth path, Qian Chen always appeared to have vast and boundless divine abilities.

Now, even being able to borrow the Corpse Buddha's Great Heroic Treasure Hall was truly somewhat mysterious.

Qian Chen picked and chose from his Universe Bag, selecting dozens of spirit herbs. In front of Xiao Yu, he ground, processed, and dried them. Although Xiao Yu only half-understood what he was seeing, he knew this was a rare opportunity, so he widened his eyes, memorizing every move Qian Chen made.

He casually took out a five-inch-tall sandalwood Buddha statue that had been worshipped for a hundred years, which he had taken when he swept through the temples of Chang'an.

Using a scraper, Qian Chen meticulously rubbed incense powder from the bottom of the Buddha statue, while saying to Xiao Yu: "Ordinary incense powder of middle or lower rank uses the medicinal properties; making incense is like refining medicine, following the same principles of monarch, minister, assistant, and guide. But the true mystery of supreme-grade heavenly incense lies in the application of wish-power."

"This ox-head sandalwood carving is of the Medicine Master Buddha. Therefore, its wish-power is as clear as glaze. Using this glaze-like fire of wish-power can purify distracting thoughts and cleanse the body and mind; it is excellent material for refining Spirit-Awakening Incense and Heart-Cleansing Incense. Burning this incense can wash away the filth from the soul, body, mind, and true qi; it is also a method for Foundation Establishment and cultivation."

Having said this, Qian Chen mixed the ground incense powder with the dozens of spirit herbs.

Using an incense seal, he pressed a pattern into a lotus-shaped bronze square crane hand-burner—it was a 'seal' character for heart-cleansing and blessing—filled it with the incense powder, and lit it with a spark of yang fire.

Amidst the curling incense smoke, a trace of glaze-like light flowed. As the few of them inhaled, that glaze-like light penetrated the inside and outside of their bodies.

Instantly, wisps of turbid qi were carried away by the incense, and their hearts became like clear pools. Not to mention the miscellaneous qi that Xiao Yu and the Old Daoist had inhaled over the years being swept away, even the corpse qi on the Big Guy dissipated significantly, and his stiff skin gained a trace of softness.

As the incense drifted to Guo Lao and the others, even Guo Lao couldn't help but put down his pipe and use a breathing technique to circulate the wisps of incense through his lungs three times, replacing the aging qi as he exhaled.

Guo Lao shook his head and smiled: "I'm showing off my meager skills! This little heritage of my Cloud-Swallowing Sect really doesn't count for much! Immortals swallow clouds and spit mist, divine beings inhale incense smoke; this incense path and smoke path—the true way is indeed not something we loose cultivators can touch!"

Qian Chen casually used that sandalwood carving to prepare several types of incense powder, and further taught Xiao Yu how to observe the color of wish-power with spirit eyes, distinguish the root of its intent, categorize wish-power into types like confusion, evil, malice, poison, obsession, joy, pleasure, and love, and then how to use corresponding spirit herbs to blend them.

Qian Chen did not have much in the way of proper resources regarding wish-power, such as Heavenly Silver, spirit herbs cultivated in divine domains, or spirit objects created by wish-power; it was far less than the Zhengyi Sect, which controlled the divine path and had rolling wish-power every year, with Heavenly Silver alone having a surplus of over ten thousand taels.

However, when he cleared the Chang'an divine path and cut down mountains and broke temples, he had captured and accumulated quite a lot, such as divine Buddha statues, sacrificial ritual vessels, and even magic treasures wrapped in long-worshipped wish-power.

He casually dismantled them in front of the three, grinding those Buddha statues into incense powder, and even picked up several white bone magic treasures used for living sacrifices—all spoils from the Black Witch Sect demon lords he had killed. He either purified, processed, or simply refined the wish-power wrapped around them—which consisted of blood, resentment, poison, and obsession—into evil-path Mourning Incense or Heavenly Calamity Incense.

With his every gesture, the style with which he refined various heavenly incenses made Xiao Yu feel as though he were making rapid progress, even though he could only understand one-hundredth of the incense path being displayed.

Casually intercepting a wisp of ghost qi from the little ghost on Xiao Yu's back whose soul had scattered, Qian Chen wrapped it around a pair of old divination blocks. Instantly, ghost fire burned, extracting a wisp of complex thought-power from it. Using this wish-power, he combined several spices and finally produced a dark red incense paste.

Xiao Yu's inner spirit saw it clearly.

Qian Chen used only his own heart's intent as fire to refine various wish-powers; this was the key to the incense path.

If one did not deeply cultivate heart's intent—like high monks of the Buddha Sect, witch priests, or those like Xiao Yu who had a spirit in their hearts—it was fundamentally impossible to refine wish-power. Naturally, one could not grasp the essence of the Heavenly Incense Path.

When Qian Chen rolled the incense paste into stick incense, he refined it with his own heart's intent. Finally, the twenty finished incense sticks were uniform and delicate in quality, carrying a trace of extremely pure wish-power.

"This is Questioning-God Incense!"

Qian Chen inserted three sticks of incense into the hand-burner in front of him and waved his sleeve to light them with heart-fire. As the incense smoke slowly rose, it lifted a cloud-like bank of smoke between Qian Chen and the three, the cloud pool as flat as a bright mirror.

"Use this incense to question the gods, and ghosts and gods will answer for you."

Xiao Yu bowed deeply to Qian Chen, performing a half-master's rite. Qian Chen only said indifferently: "What have you learned?"

"A single pillar of heavenly incense communicates with ghosts and gods, all relying on the effort of the heart's intent!" Xiao Yu pondered for a moment before answering while sitting upright.

"Not bad, you've learned thirty percent!" Qian Chen nodded slightly.

Only thirty percent? The Big Guy scratched his head; could he say he hadn't seen anything at all? The Old Daoist had indeed seen a few of the methods, but in the end, he was not a practitioner of the incense path and could not peek into the core secret of the Heavenly Incense Path—the method of refining wish-power.

Qian Chen waved his sleeve to brush away the incense smoke in front of him. The cloud-like smoke rolled, changing in a myriad of ways, and he asked: "How much do you know about the wonders of the feng shui here?"

Xiao Yu hurriedly replied: "Reminded by a senior who cultivated here, the feng shui of this place should converge in six locations: the Two Forms Transformation at the Yin-Yang Pool; the wish-power pilgrimage at the Golden Mountain Lotus Pond; the dragon vein's vitality at the Dragonfly-Touching-Water, transformed into the Cicada-Shedding Strange Cave; there is also a tree growing on the Dragon Pearl, converging life and death qi, turning death into life—the Dragon-Becoming Tree; and the Pointing-Soldiers Desolate Tomb where earth qi is transformed into military malevolence, guarded by gods in the five directions..."

The smoke in front of Qian Chen calmed down. In the undulating smoke, a lotus flower in the west cast a golden edge under the reflection of the oil lamp beside him, situated on a piece of smoke with higher terrain; in the east, two yin-yang fish chased each other like the Taiji; in the south, a cicada was molting on a leaf; in the northwest, a Dragon-Bone Tree hung with human skin; in the north, a pool of water was as crimson as blood—it was unknown whether this was a change in the light reflecting on the smoke or a reflection of the feng shui qi...

In the middle of the clouds and smoke, the qi of military weapons transformed into knives, spears, swords, and halberds, like an armory, and in the four directions, there were even shadows of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

The three little ones watched, heart-struck. They recognized the locations of the Yin-Yang Pool, the Bone Lotus Temple, and the Pointing-Soldiers Desolate Tomb, but as for the other three strange caves, besides being able to see the forest where the many great families and loose cultivators had encountered the corpse group and fought a great battle, which was vaguely the location of the Cicada-Shedding Strange Cave...

The Dragon-Becoming Tree and the Weeping-Blood Pool were both behind the White Bone Temple. They had not yet seen them!

But at this moment, they were already manifested in this wisp of smoke...

The Old Daoist's hands trembled slightly. He was proficient in the way of yin-yang feng shui, so he could see the mystery of Qian Chen lighting the Questioning-God Incense to manifest the feng shui situation of this terrain through the smoke. Those wisps of constantly changing smoke, which seemed unremarkable, had actually exhausted the changes in the earth qi of this place.

Using the Heavenly Incense Path to question the gods of the four directions, and borrowing the qi of the incense smoke to manifest the feng shui of a place.

Such methods were unheard of by the Old Daoist; he could be called a grandmaster of the way of Qi-Watching.

Actually, it was not strange. The Supreme Dao lineage was all proficient in alchemy, but there were levels within the Supreme Dao. Strictly speaking, among the three true-transmission lineages, only the Doushuai Palace was an expert in alchemy, inheriting the Supreme Yin-Yang Fan and the fundamental classic, the Supreme Alchemical Scripture.

And the Supreme Alchemical Scripture in Qian Chen's hands was recorded on the Supreme Dao's Dust Pearl.

It originated from the Supreme Dao Ancestor and was not a heritage of the Louguan Gate.

The true external path that the Louguan Gate was proficient in was the art of Qi-Watching. In the past, before the Dao Venerable Wen Shi joined the Supreme Gate, he relied on his skill in Qi-Watching to find the Supreme Dao Ancestor who came riding an ox, and could be called the number one person in Qi-Watching. Any Yin-Yang School, Five Elements School, or heterodox path practicing feng shui had to look up to him.

Who could watch qi for the Dao Ancestor?

Its fundamental classic, "Innate Yin Yin Ziqi," and the sect-suppressing divine ability, "Yin Yin Ziqi Comes from the East," were both methods of Qi Refinement, but the fragments Qian Chen obtained were not as complete as the "Supreme Alchemical Scripture."

Therefore, strictly speaking, Qi-Watching—observing the sun, moon, stars, feng shui, qi and luck, temporal changes, seeking the 'gang' and refining malevolence, and other yin-yang arts—was the true external-path peerless learning inherited by the Louguan Gate from its founder.

Showing a little bit of it at this moment shocked the Old Daoist, who came from a family of yin-yang practitioners, to no end.

"Not bad, the Scholar, the Ghost King, the Butcher, the General, the Bronze Monk, and the Wood Daoist are the six Earth Immortals of this place."

Qian Chen said: "Their burial grounds are all strange feng shui caves, with the ability to defy heaven and change fate. But this demon cave is located in the earth's aperture, converging the earth qi of the surrounding eight commanderies, totaling one hundred and twenty thousand li. One zhang of land here is equal to one li of earth qi from the outside world! Therefore, the layout of the White Bone Corpse Land is a place where nine dragons converge, capable of nurturing nine strange caves and one place of immortal creation."

"It's just that the demon cave is not yet mature enough, so only six strange feng shui caves have matured! Burying six Earth Immortals..."

"But a month ago, the Lei Hai opened, the earth's aperture shifted, and it catalyzed the maturation of another feng shui treasure land." Qian Chen said.

Xiao Yu suddenly realized: "Is that the tomb we are going to enter this time?"

"That's right. Before you came, I used the God-Praying Incense to ask that Bronze Monk a lot. Combining it with my own learned art of Qi-Watching, I deduced that before that tomb matured, it was already spotted by someone who wanted to use the change in the Lei Hai—hearing that thunderous roar of the Xianyu Jiuxiao in the earth's aperture—to transform into an Earth Immortal."

"This person is deeply cultivating the way of Taiyin Refining Form, but their strength is not enough to compete with the six Earth Immortals for creation, so they settled for the next best thing."

"Is an Earth Immortal buried in that strange feng shui cave?" Xiao Yu said in horror.

"Why, are you afraid?" Qian Chen laughed.

Xiao Yu said with a bitter face: "Of course I'm afraid! Teacher, in front of an Earth Immortal, aren't the three of us like ants?"

"If that senior is as reasonable as Senior Yan, that's fine, but if they are as hot-tempered as the General..." Thinking of the Green-Eyed Old Fox who was arrayed by the General and executed by the gods of the four directions, the three of them couldn't help but shiver. The Big Guy's burly body was scared into looking like a four-hundred-jin child.

Qian Chen shook his head and said: "Rest assured, I won't let you go to your deaths. I don't know what that person's temper is like, but they definitely won't be able to spare a hand. It's only been four months since the Xianyu Jiuxiao Thunder Roar; if their transformation fails, they will definitely be severely injured. How would they have time to pay attention to you?"

"If they succeed in the transformation, they will be in the midst of refining their form and will be even less inclined to pay attention to you."

"So, you won't have any major trouble going there."

Xiao Yu, the Big Guy, and the Old Daoist looked at each other and bowed in unison: "Thank you, Teacher, for your guidance."

Xiao Yu raised his head and asked in a low voice: "Teacher, is there any taboo or mystery in the place where that senior is buried?"

"Of course there is!"

Qian Chen brushed the smoke, and in the southeast, the smoke manifested into a three-legged golden toad, puffing its neck to inhale and exhale qi.

"That newly formed strange cave is the Toad-Fishing Land. Vitality sprouts from beneath the nine earths; it requires using one's own corpse as bait to fish it up. If the golden toad takes the bait, it is a first-class strange cave; if the vitality has not yet sprouted and the golden toad is lurking, no matter how you look at it, it is a place of great evil and death."

"Therefore, before the golden toad's spiritual machine wakes from the depths of the nine earths, this place is shrouded in Yu Yu Jiuyou Demon Qi, and being buried in the cave will surely lead to great evil. Entering the cave to explore the tomb is ten deaths and no life."

"That person's plan is to use the Yu Yu Jiuyou Demon Qi of the great evil land to transform into a Drought Demon corpse through Taiyin Refining Form, while carrying the spirit object that the golden toad's spiritual machine likes most. Then, as the Lei Hai opens and the Xianyu Jiuxiao thunder roars, it will startle the golden toad's spiritual machine, causing it to notice the Drought Demon and leap up from the depths to swallow it in one bite."

"This person will then use the Xianyu Jiuxiao Thunder Roar to recover their sanity, refine their demon form within the Qi Jinchan Strange Cave, and transform into an Earth Immortal."

……………

Qian Chen pointed out the key points one by one and let the three go down to prepare.

At this time, the coffin bearers who went to collect the corpses also returned to the White Bone Temple, carrying the coffins of the Green-Eyed Old Fox and the three malevolent corpses. That bronze coffin was like a small room, very spacious; even if a few more people were put in, it wouldn't be crowded.

The three came to where the coffin bearers were.

The Old Daoist exclaimed: "I once heard that there is a Toad Land in the world—a thousand li of flat land, with one toad suddenly appearing, swallowing all the earth qi of the thousand li; it is a place for princes and nobles. I never expected there to be a Qi Jinchan Strange Cave, hidden beneath the nine earths, waiting for the Xianyu Jiuxiao Thunder Roar to emerge."

"The deeper the earth qi, the stronger its qi. Such vitality sprouting from beneath the nine earths truly has the effect of defying heaven and changing fate. It's no wonder it can transform an Earth Immortal."

Xiao Yu took up the conversation: "Teacher enlightened us and revealed a glimmer of life; he truly has great kindness and virtue toward us."

The Big Guy said in a low voice: "We, must remember it!"

The three stood in a triangle, front and back, left and right. Xiao Yu suddenly reached out and spread his hand in the middle of the three. The Old Daoist smiled and placed his hand on top, and the Big Guy scratched the back of his head and placed his hand on top as well.

Xiao Yu said: "I have been ignorant and muddled all my life, without great ambition; my greatest wish was just to survive! I was deceived by my master when I was young and practiced the external path, but having the opportunity to meet you and receive Teacher's enlightenment is already a stroke of good fortune. This time, I will fight for the Great Dao and am determined to seek the Dao; even if I die, I will have no regrets."

The Big Guy said: "Wherever Xiao Yu goes, I go! Whatever the Old Daoist does, I do!"

The Old Daoist smiled: "I was proud in my youth and was harmed by treacherous people. Half my life was frivolous, half my life was down and out; it was only when I was old that I made two true Daoist friends! Looking back on the past, my heart is still not at peace. Having received Teacher's enlightenment, I am willing to mend my heavenly foundation, seek the Great Dao, and also cultivate that longevity, so I can laugh loudly in front of my enemy's grave!"

"The three of us are sworn Daoist friends, and we shall support each other and seek the Great Dao together!" the three said in unison.

"United we live, divided we die!"

After speaking, the three looked at each other and smiled, and together they swung their hands down heavily.

The Big Guy stepped forward and communicated with the coffin bearers in corpse language, while Xiao Yu refined three incense sticks and inserted them at the head of the bronze coffin.

"The White Bone Corpse Land is extremely terrifying. Although it is past the hour of the rat, it is still a time when corpse groups emerge and demon objects are in turmoil. To go to the Toad-Fishing Land, you can only pass through the coffin bearers. The Big Guy is a corpse spotted by the White Bone Corpse Land; having him communicate with the coffin bearers will allow them to carry you to a feng shui treasure land where the five elements are complete."

"That feng shui treasure land is not far from the Toad-Fishing Land. Using the corpse oil of those three malevolent corpses to refine Malevolent Corpse Incense will allow you to avoid poisonous corpses and demon objects. The Old Daoist will determine the feng shui and locate the cave, and the Big Guy will dig the thief's hole; the rest depends on yourselves!" Recalling Qian Chen's final instructions, Xiao Yu's expression became increasingly firm.

The four coffin bearers stared at the Big Guy and nodded slowly.

The Big Guy turned back to greet them. Xiao Yu and the Old Daoist worked together to lift the coffin lid. Inside, a Green-Eyed Fox corpse and three malevolent corpses with green, black, and red faces lay side by side. Seeing the two, the red-faced malevolent corpse even grinned.

Xiao Yu's back felt cold, but he still bit the bullet and lay inside.

On the left was a one-person-tall fox corpse covered in white hair, with only two green, ghostly eyeballs. Further away, there were three malevolent corpses with no aura at all. Xiao Yu sighed deeply, feeling that when a person lives long enough, everything is truly normal.

At this time, his neck felt cold. He turned his head slightly and saw the black-faced malevolent corpse had moved to his right side at some point, blowing air at his neck. The Old Daoist also followed him down, expressionlessly flipping the black-faced malevolent corpse over and piling it on top of the white-haired fox corpse. Finally, the Big Guy also got into the coffin, lying on the far right, preparing to close the coffin lid.

"Wait!"

Xiao Yu suddenly raised his hand to stop them. He got up and inserted an incense stick next to each of the four corpses' heads, saying: "Don't make trouble on the way... stay safe, stay safe!"

"Is that making trouble?" the Old Daoist laughed: "That's craving your yang qi!"

"Despicable!" Xiao Yu said: "I'll give you a stick of incense, don't crave my yang qi anymore. This little one's kidney water is insufficient, and my original yang has long been empty... if you want to suck, suck the Old Daoist next to me; he has kept his virgin body for sixty years! His yang qi is the most abundant!"

The Big Guy said sternly: "My body is also good, but I only want to seek a beautiful wife for a ghost marriage; don't crave me."

The Old Daoist said angrily: "Fart, when I was young, I don't know how many romantic and happy times I had; I haven't been a virgin for a long time! Even though I'm old, I'm still as firm as a pillar, but how can it be as delicious as your young original yang? Gentlemen, don't believe him!"

The three laughed for a while, and as the coffin lid slammed shut, the coffin fell into silence.

In the darkness, Xiao Yu said: "Which brother is blowing cold air at me again?"

He held an incense stick and brought it to his neck, using the faint incense fire to look... only to see that white-haired fox corpse looking at him with hooked eyes.

Xiao Yu fell silent. He secretly put away the incense fire and said to the Old Daoist beside him: "Shouldn't that old fox from the Xin family have had his soul scattered?"

In the Old Daoist's spot, however, lay a red-faced malevolent corpse, which was already leaning toward his mouth and nose. Xiao Yu saw it clearly by the incense fire, so he obediently shut his mouth, held his breath, and closed his eyes.

In the darkness, the Big Guy muttered: "Is it the young lady coming for the ghost marriage?"

"It's me!" the Old Daoist said: "Big Guy, you only care about eating soft rice; you have no ambition. Let me tell you, a man still has to rely on himself. When I was young, I don't know how many soft rice meals were sent to me, but I refused to eat them."

"There was a peerless immortal lady who took a fancy to me and said she wanted to mend my Dao foundation, but I didn't even pay attention to her..."

"Big Guy... don't grab my hand!"

"I didn't!"

"This malevolent corpse has crawled onto me! You get down..."

"Thump!"

………………