Chapter 72

Amidst the roaring flames, the Daoist magic was mysterious and profound. With a flip of his hand, Uncle Jiu poured the ink into the blood bowl. He pressed the Bagua, shook it from side to side, and then up and down, before tossing it into the air. At the same time, he quickly moved the inkwell, forming a hand seal with both hands, and caught the falling blood bowl. The blackish-red liquid slowly flowed into the groove of the inkwell.

Seeing that the line in the inkwell was almost saturated, Jiang Chen hurriedly asked, "Senior Brother, should we snap the line onto the coffin?"

"Exactly." Uncle Jiu picked up the inkwell and said, "I have already cast a spell. This ink line can temporarily seal the body of Old Master Ren." As he spoke, he handed the inkwell to Qiu Sheng, "You and Wen Cai, snap the line. Remember, every part must be covered!"

"Yes, Master." Although somewhat envious of Uncle Jiu's favor towards Jiang Chen, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai did not dare to oppose their master. They obediently snapped the line, while Jiang Chen watched with great interest.

Uncle Jiu slowly walked to the spirit tablet, lit three long incense sticks, and began to educate his disciples, "People can be good or bad, and corpses can be zombies or dead bodies..."

"People are not only divided into good and bad, but also into men and women!" Unexpectedly, Wen Cai interrupted Uncle Jiu's words, which earned him a fierce glare from his master.

"How dare you interrupt when your master is speaking?!" Uncle Jiu wished he could slap this stupid disciple to death. Seeing him obediently working, he continued, "Old Master Ren's body is about to turn into a zombie!"

Compared to Wen Cai, Qiu Sheng was much more perceptive. He seized the opportunity to ask, "Master, how does a body turn into a zombie?" Wen Cai followed up, "Yeah, how does a person become a bad person?"

Uncle Jiu responded with a light hum, "A person becomes bad because they are not ambitious. A body turns into a zombie because it retains a breath of life."

"An extra breath?" Qiu Sheng asked while snapping the line, "What does that mean?"

"When a person dies, if they were angry, frustrated, or depressed, a breath of life remains in their throat. If this breath does not dissipate, the soul does not leave the body, making it difficult for the body to decompose. If it is buried in a yin place for a long time and under specific conditions, it can turn into a zombie!"

Uncle Jiu spoke solemnly, his words heavy with a sense of foreboding, "Compared to ordinary ghosts, zombies are fierce and extraordinary. The most terrifying thing is that when a zombie first awakens, it will first bite its closest relatives."

"Ah?" Wen Cai couldn't help but exclaim, "Isn't Ting Ting in danger then?"

Uncle Jiu gave him a sideways glance and asked, "What do you think?"

"It must be, then." Wen Cai's face was full of bitterness, as if he had swallowed a bitter melon. No, he himself was now a bitter melon.

"So you two should hurry up and snap the line," Jiang Chen said with a smile. "Otherwise, if the zombie comes out, Miss Ting Ting will be in danger."

"Definitely, definitely." Wen Cai nodded hurriedly, urging Qiu Sheng to snap the line. Concerned for his beloved's safety, he immediately discarded any thoughts of slacking off.

Seeing the two working diligently, Uncle Jiu nodded in approval, "That's how you should do things. Being serious always reduces mistakes. It's getting late, so after you finish snapping the line, go to sleep." He then turned to Jiang Chen, "Junior Brother, follow me."

"Sure." Jiang Chen responded and followed Uncle Jiu out of the hall to his room. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, reminding him of a similar scene from his previous life, where his master Yip Man had also done something like this. He knew exactly what Uncle Jiu was about to do.

Sure enough, once inside the room, Uncle Jiu immediately opened the cabinet by the bed, took out a tightly locked black lacquer box, unlocked it, and opened the lid. Inside were two books, one new and one old. He took out the new one and handed it to Jiang Chen, saying, "Junior Brother, I see that your aura is stable. If nothing goes wrong, you will be able to form your immortal root tonight. This is a new manual of the Maoshan Daoist magic that I have specially prepared for you. Once you successfully form your immortal root, with your solid foundation, you should be able to quickly understand and practice it."

"This..." Jiang Chen knew the value of this manual, which was worth more than gold to a cultivator. He was stunned for a moment before taking the manual, "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

"Between us, we are both teacher and friend. There's no need for thanks," Uncle Jiu said with a smile. "To be honest, your two junior brothers, Qiu Sheng might achieve some success in the future, but as for Wen Cai, it's hard to say. This manual is a true transmission of Maoshan, and I cannot let it be lost in my hands."

Jiang Chen gave a bitter laugh and responded, "Senior Brother, rest assured. Now that I have received the manual, I will ensure that the Maoshan Daoist magic does not lose its lineage in my hands."

"Good." Uncle Jiu nodded. "I am actually very glad to see you, as you give me hope for the continuation of our sect. Go and practice. Cultivation is like rowing against the current; you cannot slack off."

"Yes, Senior Brother." Jiang Chen respectfully responded and left Uncle Jiu's room, feeling the earnest and expectant gaze of his master.

That night, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on his bed, took a few Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pills he had carefully refined, and entered a deep meditative state to begin forming his immortal root.

Condensing the scattered magical power within his body into an immortal root is the first step in cultivation and the most critical one. Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai had already taken this step, but their aptitudes were far from commendable. Qiu Sheng was a bit better, having formed his immortal root with twenty-four strands of magical power. Wen Cai, on the other hand, was much worse, managing only twelve strands, barely qualifying him for entry.

Due to their limited aptitudes, despite years of cultivation, their Daoist magic was quite limited. With Jiang Chen's foundation, once he formed his immortal root and entered the realm of cultivation, he would immediately surpass them. This was the reason Uncle Jiu had high hopes for him.

With deep breathing, the air flowed, and the scattered magical power within his body, driven by his Daoist techniques, gathered like a river flowing into the sea, converging at the spiritual platform between his eyebrows.

External cultivation strengthens the body and blood, martial arts cultivate strength, and ancient martial arts cultivate qi, which gathers in the dantian and converges in the qi sea. However, Daoist magic is different. Cultivation and practice of magic involve the magical power rising to the top of the head, harmonizing with the soul, and residing in the spiritual platform.

The spiritual platform, also known as the sea of consciousness, is where the soul resides, commanding the body and controlling the magical power. Planting the spiritual root in the spiritual platform connects the body and soul, allowing the soul to control the body and harness the magical power. Therefore, the soul is particularly important for cultivators.

For ordinary people, the strength of the soul has its limits, but Jiang Chen had undergone multiple enhancements and had practiced diligently for ten years in his previous life. Unconsciously, his soul had grown much stronger. Crossing through the cycle of rebirth, he had also been strengthened by the power of time and space, far surpassing ordinary people. Cultivation and practice of magic were naturally much easier for him.

Strands of magical power gathered, like water flowing into a channel, quickly forming a vortex in the sea of consciousness. At the center of the vortex, where 365 strands of magical power converged, a small purple light point emerged, faintly flickering with lightning and radiating a brilliant light.

Jiang Chen entered a deep meditative state, focusing on the spiritual platform. In the sea of consciousness, his soul manifested, following the flow of the magical power vortex, gradually infusing the small purple light point at the center. Immediately, the purple light point became even more radiant, and the surrounding magical power in the vortex was absorbed.

As a large amount of magical power was absorbed, the magical power vortex gradually dissipated, replaced by a brilliant purple spiritual seed. Jiang Chen's soul emerged from it, and the spiritual seed burst open, transforming into 365 light points, distributed throughout the spiritual platform like a miniature starry sky...