The black mist entered his body, and Xiang Yuan suddenly grew drowsy. In a muddled and confused state, he arrived at a vast black sea.
This sea had not originally been black; it had been polluted black by an Outsider.
Weak and helpless, he stood isolated in a corner, watching from afar as the Three Heads Six Arms Demonic God made trouble. Heaven was vast and hazy, and Earth was vast and hazy. In his trance, that sliver of Lingguang belonging to him was about to scatter.
Buzzz, buzzz, buzzz!!
Beneath the black sea, a small Eight Trigrams mirror emerged.
A Divine artifact conceals its own radiance, and thus appears ordinary. At this moment, Divine Light bloomed, revealing its True Appearance.
It was shaped like a full moon, its mirror surface smooth as Autumn Water, while profound Runes were engraved on its back, As if containing the Laws of Heaven and Earth.
Layer upon layer of radiance gathered, casting black and white colors of light across the sky above the black sea. The Yin-Yang Fish eyes were at the center, surrounded by the Eight Trigrams symbols of Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui. Every Stroke and every line contained Infinite mysteries.
The moment this mirror appeared, righteous energy endured forever, capable of resisting all Evils. In an instant, it swept the black sea flat and dispelled the blackness, leaving everything Calm and peaceful. Divine Light also shone forth, reaching through Heaven and Earth, leaving the Three Heads Six Arms Demonic God nowhere to hide and no escape whatsoever.
“How... how could this thing be here?”
Under the illumination of the Divine Light, Old Demon Lingguang was wreathed in black mist from head to toe and was terrified to the point of death. He did not believe this was Old Daoist Que Xin’s Scheme, but with the facts before him, he had no choice but to believe it.
At the moment of Life and death, he fought with all his might, continuously Sacrificing and Unleashing multiple demonic Divine Abilities in the hope of opening a path out and completely escaping the Power of the treasured mirror.
The time it takes to drink a cup of tea later.
Old Demon Lingguang let out a long sigh. “Master, you did not misjudge him...”
After saying this, his Three Heads Six Arms Body turned to Powder, and golden specks of light fell bit by bit into the Sea of Consciousness, vanishing forever Between Heaven and Earth.
The treasured mirror seemed unwilling to stop. The Yin-Yang Twin Fish swam about, while the Eight Trigrams symbols opened one Void illusion after another, tracing other Worlds and severing every possibility of Old Demon Lingguang returning.
From then on, there was no Old Demon Lingguang, nor Lingguang National Preceptor, Lingguang Old Buddha, Lingguang Grandmaster, or Lingguang Young Hero throughout the All Heavens...
As for Xiang Yuan, he heard the sound of the mirror surface shattering, sneezed, and woke up.
He Touched his chest and took out the damaged Eight Trigrams Heart-Protecting Mirror. Recalling what had just happened, he found it unbelievable. “I was subjected to Body Seizure by the Yellow Springs Path Left Emissary. I almost died...”
“Wait a moment. How do I know who he is?”
Xiang Yuan’s head suddenly hurt, and fragmented Scenes surged forth in fits and starts, all of them related to Old Demon Lingguang.
His mind churned, and his memory surged like a tide.
Scenes of the past were like smoke and mist, swirling around his Heart, yet also like Surging river water, arriving in waves and pouring into his sea of mind.
There was childhood naivety, playing and brawling; there was youthful study, pursuing knowledge tirelessly; there was traveling through the Jianghu, taking pleasure in repaying kindness and settling grudges; there was Cultivation and comprehension, seeing through ultimate truths...
At first, he swept away evil and punished villains, upholding justice. Later, he fell into the demonic path, committing crimes too numerous to record. The evolution of his heart’s path was enough to make one sigh in regret.
There were joys and sorrows, gains and losses.
The Memory Fragments were tangled and chaotic, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, sometimes distant and sometimes near, sometimes Clear and sometimes blurred. They were difficult to sort through, intertwining into a Complicated and intricate Scroll painting.
When Old Demon Lingguang died, only one ten-thousandth of the Memory Fragments he left behind remained. Yet even that one ten-thousandth was too much for Xiang Yuan to bear. He did not dare browse them and hurriedly withdrew from this river of memories.
“So this is the Opportunity...”
Xiang Yuan Caressed the Eight Trigrams Heart-Protecting Mirror. He was excited, yet felt incredibly regretful at the same time. What a fine treasured mirror it had been—how had it ended up cracked?
Thinking of Old Daoist Que Xin, he could not help praising his Divine calculation. His Master had not been pretending to perform magic; he really had something.
He closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings. Standing at the edge of the river of memories, he lowered one foot to touch a little water. When he felt that his head did not hurt as much, he cautiously reached out and stirred the water.
There were too many of Old Demon Lingguang’s Memory Fragments for him to accept them all at once. He buried them deep in his heart, planning to search for them separately when needed.
Uh, using the keyword extraction method.
This time, he used keywords such as Cultivation Methods, Divine Abilities, and martial arts.
Hundreds of Memory Fragments rushed toward him. Most of the Cultivation Methods were Incomplete or unfathomably Profound, far beyond what he could Cultivate at his current level. After picking and choosing, only a few were suitable.
The first Cultivation Method was the Three Yin Life and Death Book, originating from the Southern Border Yellow Springs Path, a Top-tier Force Under Heaven and one of the Eight Great Fiends.
The Three Yin Life and Death Book was the Divine Skill inherited by the Yellow Springs Path Left Emissary. Only one person in each generation could Cultivate it. It could serve as a Martial Artist’s fundamental cultivation techniques. Once mastered, its wielder would be like the Yama Divine Lord who seemed to hold Life and death in his grasp, possessing immense Divine Abilities.
Because it was Incomplete, this Divine Skill came to an abrupt halt at the Innate Realm, with the subsequent Method for circulating energy missing.
Even so, the Three Yin Life and Death Book was still extremely precious to Xiang Yuan Presently. It was only missing the later sections; the matters of the future could be dealt with in the future. For now, he had to establish himself in the present.
This was a Divine Skill that countless people could not obtain even by Kneeling and begging for it!
Xiang Yuan looked at this Cultivation Method smugly. It could be Cultivated at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and included one palm technique and one light-body Footwork.
Blood Transformation Divine Palm.
Thirteen Transformations of Yin Wind and Ghost Mist.
The second Cultivation Method was the Formless Seal Method, originating from the Northern Qi Benxin Dao. It was the sect’s inherited Secret Technique, possessing Infinite profundity and limitless Profound mechanisms. It seized the Creation of Heaven and Earth and pointed directly toward the Immortal Path.
Old Demon Lingguang had a deep memory of this Cultivation Method, so it had been preserved completely, without the slightest omission.
The Formless Seal Method could serve as a Martial Artist’s fundamental cultivation techniques, focusing on assistance and possessing no offensive Power of its own. Xiang Yuan was at a loss for words and did not know how to describe it, so he called it an Upgraded version formed by Merging bodies of the Tendon Transformation Scripture and the Lesser Formless Skill.
The Cultivation Method had no Cultivation Realm requirements; it could be Cultivated at any Realm. It strengthened the primordial spirit internally, strengthened Divine Power externally, performed Marrow Cleansing and Bone Reshaping, and Reversed Meridians and Altered Acupoints. It was a Top-notch Divine Skill Under Heaven.
The general outline of the Formless Seal Method was divided into two sections: Candle Yin Forging Spirit and Myriad Forms Body Tempering. Together, they formed Life and Soul Dual Cultivation.
Candle Yin Forging Spirit strengthened the Nascent Soul, while Myriad Forms Body Tempering emphasized that “the Body Without Form, qi without appearance.” Formlessness meant all forms, and having no appearance meant all appearances.
With a Body Without Form, the meridians could be altered at will, the Acupoints could shift and change, and the qi channels could continue endlessly, allowing one to evade death and prolong life.
After Cultivating Formless True Qi, one could transform it into all manner of manifested forms, simulate all kinds of True Qi, and Control all kinds of Cultivation Methods. This was qi without appearance.
Those who mastered Myriad Forms Body Tempering possessed control over the finer details of True Qi and the Physical Body far beyond that of others at the same level. As long as they had corresponding manuals for reference, they could alter their True Qi and simulate special properties, thereby achieving an effect indistinguishable from the real thing.
With Ordinary attempts at imitating the real thing, the Simulation effect was naturally inferior to the original. If the original had ten points, the Simulation would only have eight—perhaps not even six.
The heaven-defying aspect of the Formless Seal Method was that it could raise the Rank of a Cultivation Method. Where an Ordinary Simulation achieved eight points, it could achieve ten, or even twelve.
As for the remaining Memory Fragments, because they were Incomplete, only a few Moves could be used: the Ordinary Thousand Jin Drop of the Jianghu, the Heavenly Saber Sect’s Move Lone Star Chasing Moon, the Blood Sea Path’s Move Eternal Killing Intent, the Peerless Palace’s Body Refining Method Blazing Fire Forges True Gold, the Shaolin Flower-Receiving Finger, and other Incomplete Ultimate Skill Moves.
Old Demon Lingguang truly was a treasure vault. Who knew how many Gold Coins he had dropped?
For a moment, Xiang Yuan no longer lacked Cultivation Methods. He Hurriedly ran to the corner, sat cross-legged behind the altar table, first thanking his honored Master, then thanking the Master of this place, Dao De Tianzun. Only then did he begin Cultivating the Formless Seal Method.
The Void is formless; All Living Beings possess myriad forms.
Everything with form is, at its origin, formless.
The form of formlessness contains every form.
Formlessness is the body; myriad forms imprint upon me.
Outside, the rain fell without end. Inside, Xiang Yuan gained his first glimpse into the Formless Seal Method’s gateway, strengthening the Nascent Soul internally, strengthening Divine Power externally, performing Marrow Cleansing and Bone Reshaping, and Reversing Meridians and Altering Acupoints...
He raised his qi through the Ren Meridian. The Shenque Acupoint that had troubled him for so long opened.
Only his head hurt a little. At times it was as if needles were stabbing him; at times it was as if he were being scorched. He wanted nothing more than to draw his saber and split his Nascent Soul into three.