Chapter 6: Chapter Six: Attaining the Breath of the Womb

【Mahā Victory Secret Light Samādhi】

【Name】: Xu Zhi.

【Gong Fa】: Little Red Dragon Sword Sutra (Great Completion—One Kill Every Ten Steps); Green Bag Medical Sutra (Great Completion); Land God-Walking Technique (Medium Completion); Falling Evil Talisman (Entry Level); Crystal Flame Talisman (Entry Level); Water-Splitting Talisman (Entry Level); Ghost-Seizing Talisman (Entry Level); Blood Slaughter Talisman (—).

【Dao Practice】: Qi Refining Layer Six (Three Qi Soul-Illuminating Art).

"So Xiao Xiao Shixiong's Blood Slaughter Talisman hasn't even reached Small Completion; it isn't even at Entry Level. No wonder he lost so much blood that day."

Chen Heng looked at the characters on the golden book and silently examined them in his heart.

As the saying goes: Methods divide into three completions, while Immortals have five ranks.

These three completions are the differences between Small Completion, Medium Completion, and Great Completion.

It was only because Chen Heng wanted a finer division that he forcibly added an Entry Level realm before Small Completion.

Although this felt somewhat incongruous, since only he could see it, he simply let it be.

"This other person's mental image is actually no different from a True Person's. What level of treasure is the Golden Cicada exactly? A Daoist Treasure? Or has it already reached the legendary rank of an Immortal Weapon?"

"However, this Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie name is clearly a Buddhist concept?"

In Xu Capital's Nine Provinces and Four Seas, the Dao flourishes while Zen is slight.

Although it is heard that the Western Xi Su Zhou still retains the Buddhist lineage, there are only a handful of them, constantly suppressed by the number-one unorthodox sect, Lei Ting Prefecture, unable to lift their heads and suffering much humiliation, let alone being mentioned in the same breath as the Eight Profound Sects and the Modaoliu Sect who hold sway over Xu Capital.

If he wishes to explore the profound mysteries within the Golden Cicada and the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie, he is afraid he must wait until his divine abilities reach Great Completion, then journey into the vast skies beyond to seek traces of the great Buddhist teachings.

Chen Heng tossed the object in his hand into the air, and that page of the golden book hung once again above Xu Zhi's head.

Finding it somewhat amusing, he moved his mind slightly, causing the golden book to vanish from sight once more.

This was the second function of the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie.

Besides simulating his own mental image, it could also simulate the mental images of others in the outside world.

Furthermore, by borrowing the 【Mahā Victory Secret Light Samādhi】 within the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie, it could reflect one by one the Gong Fa and heart sutras cultivated by others, making them identical to their true bodies in the outside world.

If the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie successfully simulated a person's mental image, then no matter how much that person hid or how deep their scheming was,

before Chen Heng, they would have no secrets left and nowhere to hide...

And being able to simulate another's mental image meant that Chen Heng did not merely have to endure bitter cultivation; he could also engage in magical combat with the mental image to hone his skills.

In any case, no matter how miserably his own mental image died, it would not affect his true body; coupled with the rule of "one day in the present world equals ten days in the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie," it was equivalent to having someone feeding him moves day and night without stop.

Especially since this mental image would not grow tired, would not complain, and was neither dead nor extinguished.

This made it even more rare.

"However, after killing another's mental image, one can randomly obtain scattered Yuan Spirits, which record the various Gong Fa and heart sutras the other person has learned... Pity that Xiao Xiao Shixiong's mental image is of no use for this; even if a Yuan Spirit drops, it is useless."

The Little Red Dragon Sword Sutra and the Green Bag Medical Sutra—one was Xu Zhi's family inheritance, the other his personal realization—and Chen Heng had already obtained the original classics for both.

As for the Three Qi Soul-Illuminating Art in the Dao Practice column, that was the fundamental method of the Xuanzhen Sect.

Although the Three Qi Soul-Illuminating Art could be cultivated from Qi Refining all the way to Purple Palace, the True Qi it generated was merely "Ding Jin Zhen Qi," which was mid-grade among the third tier.

Though it ranked near the top among lower-tier True Qi, it was still lower-tier True Qi.

Moreover, this Gong Fa had no strict difficulties; any disciple of the Xuanzhen Sect who achieved the breath of the womb and Qi sensation could request instruction from the Elder Hall at any time, with absolutely no obstacles.

As for those entry-level talisman methods, there was no need to mention them; they were merely common goods.

Chen Heng secretly felt regret in his heart; if he could simulate the mental image of a scion from a great Immortal Sect clan, he would not still be worrying about a Qi Refining method.

But he had never even heard of such figures, let alone seen one with his own eyes.

"However, although my Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie's simulation of mental images is miraculous, it is not omnipotent; it can only invite cultivators of the same realm into the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie and cannot recklessly imprint everyone within the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie... The reason I succeeded in simulating Xiao Xiao Shixiong's mental image was first because he had no guard against me, and second because he shed countless drops of blood while teaching me to draw the Blood Slaughter Talisman... Without either of these two factors, such luck would have been impossible."

Chen Heng shook his head as he recalled this now.

A few days ago, because the Earth Abyss was full of demons and ghosts, Xu Zhi had eagerly come specifically to teach him how to draw the Blood Slaughter Talisman.

The blood qi of the human body is extremely yang and rigid; some newly born demons and ghosts, when eating humans, must first find a way to defile this blood and qi before they can feast to their heart's content.

And the Blood Slaughter Talisman made from blood was even stronger.

Once it struck, weaker demons and ghosts would immediately turn to ash and smoke, their souls scattered and spirits dispersed.

However, Xu Zhi did not understand talisman creation; he hadn't even reached Entry Level with the Blood Slaughter Talisman, yet he lost a lot of blood for nothing, until Chen Heng finally could not bear to watch and hurriedly stopped him.

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong, I hope you are well."

Chen Heng looked at the expressionless Daoist, cupped his hands, and said, "I wonder if your injuries have largely healed?"

The Daoist gave no response, his expression remaining wooden and hollow, like a clay or wood statue.

Chen Heng knew this mental image possessed no emotions and did not mind, smiling slightly as he waved his sleeve and said:

"Please go ahead, Xiao Xiao Shixiong; once I comprehend the breath of the womb, I will meet you again."

Xu Zhi, following this motion, gradually faded into the void, like a water stain under sunlight becoming faint and disappearing.

Chen Heng raised his hand to press against his temple; those long fingers, which had played the zither since childhood, with jade-like knuckles, tapped lightly, clean and graceful, like a strange and wonderful ink painting.

"With this object in hand, more than half of the 'Method, Partner, Land, and Wealth' are already secured; the opportunity to attain the Dao will soon appear."

Within the Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie.

First, it can adjust the flow of time, being undying and unextinguished; second, it can imprint the mental images of others, and after killing them, obtain the Gong Fa and divine abilities they cultivated.

Such a strange treasure is something not even ancient classics would dare to record.

"Death and life are feared, yet the spirit is self-obtained; heaven and earth are one finger, ten thousand things are one horse; having forgotten both the tracks and that which makes the tracks, one is thus vast, taking change as one's body, with nothing blocked—this is the appearance of initially entering Right Contemplation."

He chanted the essential formula of the Life-Death Breath of the Womb in a low voice.

Chen Heng lifted the long sword resting across his knees to the front of his neck; the sword had been purchased recently, and although it was ordinary iron, it was quite sharp.

After gazing at it for a moment, Chen Heng decisively slashed.

Puchi—

A crimson thin line, constantly expanding, appeared at his throat.

Blood surged like a gushing spring.

……

……

On the other side.

High above the clouds, ten thousand zhang up, the Azure Sky Palace now echoed with strains of zither music, light and pleasing to the ear, like pearls falling upon a clouded board or flowing water striking a deep pool, blended with flutes and konghou harps, layer upon layer, the lingering notes curling gracefully in the air.

"Auntie, it has been quite some time since we last met, hasn't it? Thirty years? That you would travel from Shangyu to Xiao Ganshan truly leaves me overwhelmed with honor."

Upon a cloud couch shaped like a black crane, the young male-looking sect master of Xuanzhen Sect lounged lazily in a spread-legged sit, while two beautiful maidens clad in sheer gauze stood attending at his sides, holding large silver trays and occasionally offering him spirit food and melons.

"Little Xiao Jian, you are being so distant, speaking so coldly to your own auntie!"

The beautiful woman who replied giggled softly; her ripe, plump figure shifted in feigned reproach, making her magnificent rainbow-feather robe seem to ripple with jagged waves of gold.

"Have you forgotten that when you were young, I was the one in Shangyu who doted on you the most?"

The beauty licked the corner of her lips, her cardamom-colored fingernails lightly tracing the surface before Brother Yuan: "If only Fuchan Fuchan Laozu had not forbidden it, I nearly cultivated dual cultivation with you..."