Corpse Immortal?
Yang He looked surprised, but inwardly, he was weighing Grandmaster Taiyi's intentions.
One had to know that in Investiture of the Gods, mortals were like ants. Though immortal opportunities seemed to be everywhere, and immortal abodes appeared to have been established all over the land.
The problem was that the Investiture itself was a game of chess...
Once one entered the game, life and death would no longer be one's own to control. Still, Yang He had no reason to refuse. After all, it was the Daoist boy entering the game. What did that have to do with me?
"Master, what is a Corpse Immortal?"
Grandmaster Taiyi explained with a smile, "A Corpse Immortal is one whose flesh has decayed, yet whose soul neither dies nor perishes. Cultivation brings immense benefits, though attaining immortality and the Dao becomes somewhat more difficult."
Yang He sensed that Grandmaster Taiyi's words were vague.
A Corpse Immortal probably came with both advantages and drawbacks. Could it be that he wanted him to be Nezha's lackey?
"Master, even if your disciple cannot attain immortality and the Dao, I am still a disciple of Qianyuan Mountain."
Grandmaster Taiyi nodded in satisfaction, then took a piece of earthy-yellow jade from his robes. With a casual wipe, he turned it into the shape of a seal.
"The Chan Sect uses jade as Dharma seals. As one of the Twelve Golden Immortals, I deliberately use Shoushan stone as the symbol of my disciples' identity."
"From now on, when you travel outside, you may present the Dharma seal to prove your identity."
Grandmaster Taiyi's third hand carved inscriptions into it, Yin energy spilling forth. Yet when he began to carve the name, he suddenly stopped.
Yang He's mouth twitched. Before Grandmaster Taiyi could speak, he hurriedly reminded him, "Yang He."
"Your disciple is named Yang He."
"He means completeness, yet you're a cripple. Heh heh heh."
The Dharma seal was finally complete. Its upper half was carved with more than a dozen interwoven arms, while its lower half read, 'Golden Light Cave, Second-Generation Disciple, Yang He.'
"Qianyuan Mountain is my cultivation ground, while Golden Light Cave is where the True Disciples reside."
Yang He accepted the Dharma seal. Without needing refinement, it merged into his Numinous Palace.
Qianyuan Mountain Pháp Ấn A high-grade Yin artifact refined by Grandmaster Taiyi from Shoushan stone. It represented the identity of Yang He, a second-generation disciple of Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain.
With that, Yang He finally had powerful backing: his senior brother Nezha, his master Grandmaster Taiyi, and his grandmaster Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning...
Wait.
A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to Yang He as he recalled the Thousand Mile Ghost Corpse in the Second Layer of Hell.
Could Old Master Bigan, floating in midair, be connected to the Ghost Sealing Roll?
If he entered the Ghost Sealing Roll as well, would it affect the Main World? After all, no matter what role he played, it bore Yang He's name.
"I can't possibly see my own character in the Main World..."
Yang He forcefully suppressed his stray thoughts. Thinking too much was meaningless. Both worlds were fraught with danger, and seizing the chance to attain immortality and the Dao was the proper course.
"Master, does becoming a Corpse Immortal require learning introductory divine abilities and spells?"
"No rush. You earned this opportunity yourself. Once your senior brother Nezha regains consciousness, we will consider the matter of the Corpse Immortal."
Grandmaster Taiyi hooked another Child Ghost from the water and casually tossed it to Yang He.
Yang He was just about to reach out when Grandmaster Taiyi said, "Use your Dharma Body's arms. Do not let your physical body touch evil things again."
Yin energy condensed into a ghostly hand. The instant it seized the Child Ghost, bones began to crack without end.
After struggling for several breaths, the Child Ghost withered away.
Because the Three Mountains Goddess had fused into it, the ghostly hand was half-illusory and half-solid, yet the blood vessels within were incredibly lifelike, making it seem rather strange.
Grandmaster Taiyi examined it for a moment. "I gave you the Dharma Body merely as a precaution. I didn't expect you to comprehend a divine ability on your own."
"Master, isn't my Dharma Body somewhat mismatched?"
Grandmaster Taiyi clicked his tongue in amazement. "More than mismatched. Our Qianyuan Mountain's Three-Headed, Six-Armed Dharma Body fuses with the body and soul, but your Dharma Body exists independently outside you."
"Interesting, truly interesting!"
Yang He gave an awkward laugh, then voluntarily explained, "Your disciple obtained an Inner Elixir Art in his early years. When I encountered danger before, I refined the Dharma Body through the Inner Elixir Art, which led to this."
"An Inner Elixir Art? No wonder. Still, it is mainly because your constitution is unusual."
"Heh heh."
Grandmaster Taiyi closed his eyes and asked, "What Inner Elixir Art? Tell me how it is cultivated."
The Daoist traditions of the two worlds were largely similar. Yang He did not hold anything back, but after only a few sentences, Grandmaster Taiyi shook his head to indicate that he understood.
"It is an unorthodox path passed down by Kunlun rogue immortals. Heh heh, disciple, the fact that you did not refine yourself to death means you possess tremendous fortune."
Grandmaster Taiyi tapped Yang He's brow, and a complete Inner Elixir Art poured into his mind.
"I encountered the Inner Elixir Art in my early years. It is not a particularly profound method, but it is suitable for balancing and cultivating two types of divine abilities at once."
"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this method."
Yang He would most likely have no use for the Inner Elixir Art. He had already refined the Force Ghost in the Lore World, so bringing it back to the Main World presumably would not cause any major problems.
The only thing he feared was the drawback of the Force Ghost, the trouble involving its revival.
Ghostly Path of Power (Aberrant) Once mastered, the Force Ghost becomes an extra arm. Those born aberrant must regularly block the blood vessels and meridians in their third arm; those who become aberrant later must sever the arm and refine it anew every hundred days.
Yang He could already sense the abnormality of the Force Ghost within his body. As time passed, it was gradually becoming uncontrollable.
The natural-born aberrants mentioned in the information were likely those born with extra limbs.
Yang He's ghostly hand had emerged only after he later accommodated the Force Ghost. He needed to sever it and refine it anew every hundred days. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.
"Master, are those born with extra arms and legs the ones suited for the Three-Headed, Six-Armed Dharma Body?"
"I nearly forgot about that."
Grandmaster Taiyi chuckled. "Disciple, you cultivated the Dharma Body after birth, so you must refine it anew every hundred days. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise, the divine ability can easily lead you astray, and there will be no hope of attaining the Great Dao."
Yang He hurriedly agreed. At the same time, he realized that Evil Ghost revival was unique to the Main World.
That made sense. Yin energy in the Lore World was incredibly dense, and there were no Eighteen Layers of Hell. Evil Ghost revival truly was equivalent to cultivation deviation.
"Come, come, disciple. I will teach you the Grafting Method for cultivating your Dharma Body."
Grandmaster Taiyi's lips moved slightly, but a profound method flooded into Yang He's mind. Including the annotations, its contents were ten times more complex than the Qi Refining Method.
The Weak Ghost stage of the Pupil Ghost required the growth of nine Yin Meridians.
The Force Ghost used all kinds of ghosts to complete the ghostly hand.
The Three Mountains Goddess had become blood vessels, which meant the first step was complete. Next, he needed to fill it with flesh, form bones, create meridians, and wrap it in skin.
After sorting through the method, Yang He immediately sat cross-legged and began processing the Three Mountains Goddess.
The Three Mountains Goddess retained lingering consciousness. He had to repeatedly scour her with Yin energy until the blood vessels within the ghostly hand became entirely natural.
Yang He gradually entered a state of perfect concentration, and before long, his fifth Yin Meridian was about to emerge.
He did not know when he would return to the Main World, but that did not stop him from immersing himself in bitter cultivation. The Yin energy concentration in Qing Lake rivaled that of the Yamen's back courtyard.
Two days later, another bloodshot vein successfully appeared in the white of the Pupil Ghost's eye.
Yang He silently continued refining Qi when Grandmaster Taiyi abruptly spoke and interrupted him.
"Disciple, it is time to lay the foundation for your Corpse Immortal fortune. Heh heh heh. If you don't believe me, look—the coffin can barely hold it down anymore."
Yang He opened his eyes. A vortex had formed on the water's surface where the coffin rested.
Countless eyeballs rose and sank within the vortex.
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