Chapter 75 of 100

Chapter 75

14 min read3,624 words

The third thing Shen Lian did was to go to the Taiwei Pavilion and look up common information about the cultivation world on the first floor.

There are countless cultivation sects in the world, but the number of sects that have produced Immortal True Humans is not many.

And the number of immortal sects that still have Immortal True Humans guarding them is even fewer. These sects are all considered orthodox Daoist sects.

Despite the storms over ten thousand years, only four major Daoist sects have remained standing, and Qingxuan is one of them.

Buddhist cultivation differs from Daoism. The monasteries are scattered like stars, and the barriers between sects are much smaller than those in Daoism, but there are still distinctions, with a total of eight schools.

The first is the Sanlun School, also known as the Faxing School. The second is the Yogācāra School, also known as the Faxiang School, Cien School, or Weishi School. The third is the Tiantai School. The fourth is the Xianshou School, also known as the Huayan School. The fifth is the Chan School. The sixth is the Pure Land School. The seventh is the Vinaya School. The eighth is the Esoteric School, also known as the Mantra School.

These are simply referred to as the 'Xing, Xiang, Tiantai, Xianshou, Chan, Jingtu, Vinaya, and Esoteric' eight major schools.

Buddhism opens the door of convenience and leads to the path of truth, but due to the varying levels of wisdom and virtue of the recipients, as well as their different backgrounds and environments, or their different understandings and emphases on Buddhist practice, these schools have emerged.

Many great figures have come from the eight major schools, and one high-ranking monk even wrote a poem that reveals the essence of the eight schools. The poem goes:

"Esoteric is rich, Chan is poor, Pure Land is convenient; Weishi endures, Jiaxiang is empty.

Traditional Huayan cultivates the body, Tiantai organizes the principles."

All eight major schools of Buddhism ultimately achieve the 'Arhat Fruit,' which is similar to the Immortal True Humans of Daoism.

Immortal True Humans are further divided into Earth Immortals, Human Immortals, Divine Immortals, and Ghost Immortals. After breaking through the Illusion, all the techniques of the Qingxuan sect result in Earth Immortals.

Human, Divine, and Ghost Immortals are not orthodox and do not come from the nine realms of cultivation. Shen Lian did not find detailed information about these in the first floor of the Taiwei Pavilion.

Because after cultivation, one's memory is not weak, the information on the first floor of the Taiwei Pavilion is not lent out. Even ordinary disciples can remember most of the information about the cultivation world in one or two days, or even learn it from casual conversations with their seniors.

Apart from Buddhism and Daoism, there are also the Nine Paths of Demons and the Five Teachings of Evil, which have produced many extraordinary figures.

Of course, the first floor also contains some Daoist techniques and sword arts, but Shen Lian did not study them in detail. After all, it is easy to memorize these things, but to fully understand and apply them in practice requires a lot of effort, as his primary task is to collect Yin Jade in the Yuhé.

Although the sect leader did not specify the punishment for not completing the task of thirty pieces of Yin Jade within a month, Shen Lian did not want to risk the consequences.

The Yuhé of Qingxuan is located behind the Zifu Peak, adjacent to the main peak Taibai. Its source and ultimate destination are unknown. Shen Lian already knew that the white-clad figure he saw that day was a Soul Summoner from the Nine Netherworlds. As long as he leaves the area near the Yuhé before sunset, he will not encounter any trouble.

The Nine Netherworlds is an extremely mysterious world. Even the information Shen Lian found only contained a few words, and there was no clear mention of whether there is a cycle of rebirth.

On the other hand, the Yuhé is filled with Yin energy. By chance, Yin Jade can form at the bottom of the river.

Yin Jade can be used to make jade talismans, which, when worn, have the effect of calming the mind. During internal qi cultivation, having such a jade talisman can greatly reduce the risk of going astray.

However, refining such jade talismans requires at least the power of a Return-to-Dan cultivator, making them rare. After all, Return-to-Dan cultivators are not laborers and have no leisure to spend much effort making talismans for juniors.

Moreover, collecting Yin Jade from the Yuhé is a difficult task, which Shen Lian is now experiencing firsthand.

The last time he touched the water of the Yuhé, it caused his soul immense pain.

The Yin Jade is at the bottom of the river, and even his sandalwood sword cannot reach it.

Of course, Shen Lian would not do it this way. Instead, he racked his brain to find other clever methods, as he already understood the sect leader's intention.

Shen Lian stripped off his clothes and dived into the Yuhé. The water of the Yuhé seeped into his flesh and blood, continuously eroding his soul power.

While Shen Lian could use his strong mental power to block the physical pain, there was no way to resist the intense pain affecting his soul, which he had to endure.

Although he was in great pain when he dived into the river, he still used his immense willpower to activate the "Supreme Clarity Lingbao Natural Lock Heart and Calm Spirit True Explanation." His soul power, like his internal qi, circulated through his meridians and acupoints, absorbing the essence and primordial qi of his body to replenish the soul power eroded by the Yuhé water.

Despite this, Shen Lian's soul became weaker, but his connection to his body became stronger.

The more difficult part was that he had to focus on finding the Yin Jade at the bottom of the river.

The pain in his soul did not diminish as his connection to his body grew stronger.

If his soul did not absorb internal qi and the essence of his flesh and blood, he would be severely injured and unable to last in the Yuhé for a moment.

Finally, he managed to grab a piece of Yin Jade, and Shen Lian was almost at his limit. He struggled to make it back to the shore.

The Yuhé is so dense that even a feather would sink, so once in the river, one would not float or be carried away by the current.

This reduced Shen Lian's troubles significantly.

Of course, no living being would willingly develop swimming skills in the Yuhé.

The water of the Yuhé cannot be blocked even by a body covered in protective qi. Shen Lian suspected that even a Return-to-Dan cultivator with a strong soul would suffer if they entered the Yuhé.

After returning to shore, his internal qi was almost depleted, but fortunately, the primordial qi in Qingxuan, even in the weakest areas, is much denser than in the secular world.

Shen Lian activated the Xuanji Technique, and primordial qi flowed into his body.

With his eight meridians already unblocked, the Xuanji Technique activated many acupoints in his body, forming a network that efficiently refined the primordial qi.

After unblocking the meridians, the so-called "acupoint movement" is not just any acupoint but the "Xuanguan Acupoint," also known as the "Life and Death Acupoint."

The Daoist scriptures say, "When one acupoint is understood, all acupoints are understood; when the work is complete, one becomes a Buddha or an Immortal," referring to the Xuanguan Acupoint.

This is the second most difficult challenge in the nine realms of cultivation, after "Return-to-Dan" and "Breaking through Illusion."

The difficulty of unblocking the Life and Death Acupoint is twice that of unblocking the Ren and Du meridians in the meridian realm.

The Life and Death Acupoint is difficult to unblock because it exists between existence and non-existence, with no fixed position.

Some people might unblock it in their feet, while others might unblock it in their arms, with no discernible pattern.

Of course, there is a brute-force method: continuously unblocking various acupoints in the body. The more acupoints unblocked, the more likely the Life and Death Acupoint will appear. This is based on the experience of predecessors.

The Xuanji Technique involves hundreds of acupoints, giving it a significant advantage in unblocking the Life and Death Acupoint.

Each time Shen Lian went to the Yuhé, he needed three hours to recover his qi and had to return to the Qingliang Peak's lower courtyard before sunset.

Lu Shouyi had just received the orthodox method and had no time to pay attention to Shen Lian, nor did he know the pain Shen Lian endured daily.

---