Human Body Secret Realm, Black Iron Profound Pass

His face flushed slightly as Xu Ying said, "I'll return it after I'm done reading. Haven't I finished it yet? Look how impatient you are, as if I'd steal your book."

This Black Bear was a demon from Mount Xiao, and they were old acquaintances.

Children from poor families grow up fast. Xu Ying was a snake catcher from Lingling, and he often ran all over the mountains and plains, searching for Strange Snakes. Having traveled many untrodden paths, he inevitably encountered demons.

Although he was an honest child, he had been practicing the Taiyi Guiding Technique since he was young. His Blood Essence was vigorous, and ordinary demons were no match for him. Thus, Xu Ying "became friends through fighting" with many demons in the Lingling Mountains.

Because he had cultivated the Taiyi Guiding Technique for many years and reached the peak of his cultivation with nowhere else to go, he extorted scriptures from these demons to study, hoping to find the path forward.

The snake demon Yuan Qi was one of the victims.

"Are we really not going to eat him?" Yuan Qi glanced at the Black Bear, licked his lips, and whispered, "I'm a bit hungry."

Xiong Qianli glared, "Xu, you really intend to eat me!"

Xu Ying tried to placate him, "Qianli, you know me. I'm kind-hearted and don't eat demons. If I wanted to eat you, I would have done so years ago." As he spoke, his stomach rumbled loudly.

Xiong Qianli was startled and shrank further into the corner, even more afraid to come out.

Xu Ying rummaged through the cave. The Great Bell followed him, clanging noisily as it bumped into things. Fortunately, it was a stormy day, preventing anyone from climbing the mountain; otherwise, the noise would have surely attracted pursuers.

He searched for a long time. The cave only contained some pots and pans, old books, and some sweet potatoes and yams. There was no other food.

Xu Ying glanced at Xiong Qianli in the corner. The Black Bear shivered and cried out, "Don't look at me. I don't eat people! You said last time not to harm anyone, and I've even given up eating chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs. There's no meat here! Look at the fields outside the cave; these sweet potatoes and yams are all from my crops!"

Xu Ying scratched his head and said, "I can still eat some wild game usually. Oh well, I'm not someone who can't enjoy a meal without meat. Eating some sweet potatoes and yams won't kill me."

He took some sweet potatoes and yams and roasted them in the fire. After a while, a fragrant aroma filled the air.

The Black Bear was also hungry and cautiously crept closer, begging for a few.

Seeing his pathetic state, the snake demon Yuan Qi became annoyed and exclaimed, "This is your cave, and you grew these sweet potatoes and yams. They aren't his. Why are you so timid?"

The Black Bear wiped away tears and choked out, "You haven't been beaten by him..."

Yuan Qi couldn't help but shed tears, "Brother, it seems you've had the same experience as me."

Xu Ying put down the roasted sweet potato and said displeasedly, "Qianli, I thought we were friends. I didn't expect you to speak like this!"

The Black Bear meekly sat beside Yuan Qi and whispered, "He even picked up a rock, squeezed juice out of it, and said if I didn't give him scriptures, he'd squeeze juice out of my head and make me drink it!"

Xu Ying heard this and, with a dark expression, said nothing, silently eating his sweet potato. He thought, He clearly said he was willing to be friends, yet he's badmouthing me behind my back! Hmph!

The snake demon Yuan Qi secretly glanced at Xu Ying and whispered, "When he threatened me into handing over scriptures, he also squeezed juice out of a rock, making it look so gruesome!"

Xiong Qianli lowered his voice and said, "His villainous ways are worse than ours demons' refinement!"

The snake demon Yuan Qi nodded repeatedly and said, "Brother, what books do you usually read?"

Xiong Qianli was both surprised and delighted, "You like reading too?"

The two demons felt a sense of kindred spirits and had much to discuss, but unfortunately, Xu Ying's presence was an obstacle.

Xu Ying finished brewing the medicine, dividing it into external and internal applications, and treated Yuan Qi's wounds. The snake demon coiled its tail around the large pot and gulped down the medicinal soup.

Xu Ying then treated himself. His internal injuries were not severe, but his external wounds were considerable and required prompt treatment.

After applying the medicine, Xu Ying looked outside. Although it was dark, the sun had not yet set.

"Yuan Qi, the Great Bell taught me the method of internal observation, which can heal internal injuries of the five organs and also enhance cultivation by transforming the Qi of the five organs into primal Qi. I will teach it to you."

Xu Ying sat by the bonfire, condensing his consciousness into divine sense. He opened the Gate of Opening and explained the method of opening the Realm of Serenity. "If you open the Realm of Serenity within your body, you will be able to see your five organs. Your heart and lungs will be like mountains hanging upside down. The five organs have five Qi, emitting divine light of five colors. Combining this with Great Sun Body Tempering, you will be able to see it. If you gather the five Qi, you can achieve Five Qi Towards Origin and cultivate primal Qi. Once you reach this stage, your power will increase by leaps and bounds, and becoming a Demon King will not be difficult."

The snake demon Yuan Qi listened intently. The Black Bear, Xiong Qianli, also sat by the bonfire, listening to the lecture, looking somewhat bewildered.

After Xu Ying finished speaking, he let them cultivate while he once again performed internal observation, his divine sense entering the Realm of Serenity within his body.

Yuan Qi was a Strange Snake. Originally, his strength was comparable to Xu Ying's. He was captured only after fighting Xu Ying for three days and three nights, proving his innate talent was extraordinary. After Xu Ying explained it once, he gained many insights and soon entered a meditative state, his eyes focused inward.

The Black Bear was not as quick-witted and could only sit by the bonfire and ponder slowly.

Xu Ying sat by the bonfire, focusing his mind on Taiyi. His eyes were half-open, and beneath his eyelids, divine light flickered, resembling yellow buds.

Before him, the White Jade Gate reappeared. He pushed the door open and entered the Realm of Serenity within his body once more.

The last time he entered the Realm of Serenity, he stayed for too short a period. This time, the heavy rain had blocked the pursuers, giving him ample time to explore this inner world.

Even though it was his second time entering the Realm of Serenity, the sense of awe from his first visit had not diminished at all!

Xu Ying floated in the air, looking around. The vibrant, impossible colors within the Realm of Serenity deeply captivated him.

The primal Qi in the air flowed like a river, traversing the vast expanse like a rainbow, with the high-hanging heart and lungs like mountains, suspended upside down. The five Qi cascaded like a waterfall, gathering into primal energy.

The primal Qi steamed, transforming into rain when encountering lightning, or coalescing into a blazing sun, traversing mountains and rivers, illuminating the five organs.

Xu Ying felt refreshed and at ease. His divine sense followed the flow of primal Qi, roaming the heavens and earth, using the primal Qi to heal his internal injuries.

He saw streaks of lightning within the clouds, so clear and dazzling that he could even discern every detail of the lightning, filled with power and sharpness!

The Great Bell said I was only focused on Qi Gathering and didn't know about internal observation and contemplation. Now I've learned internal observation, but what is contemplation? Xu Ying thought.

To save his life, the Great Bell had used its last reserves of power to fight against the City God and Zhou Yihang. It was now in deep slumber, and Xu Ying couldn't contact it. He had no way of knowing what contemplation was.

Xu Ying roamed the Realm of Serenity for a long time. Suddenly, by the light emitted from the lightning tempering his body, he noticed many dark areas within him that he had never noticed before!

What is that place?

With the flashes of lightning, he vaguely saw towering mountain ranges in the darkness, undulating like giant dragons, their origin unknown. As he followed the mountain range with the lightning's glow, he saw that the mountains seemed to descend from the sky!

Xu Ying was filled with uncertainty. Suddenly, he saw a surging, roaring river of water coming from the sky, as if it were about to inundate the mountains!

Beside that mountain range, there seemed to be a celestial river hanging upside down!

The lightning flashed and disappeared in an instant, and the giant mountain range and the surging river vanished back into the darkness.

Xu Ying steadied himself. Lightning flared up again within his body. Amidst the flashes and thunder, he vaguely saw a colossal gate between the mountain range and the great river in the darkness, spanning heaven and earth, separating the mountains from the celestial river!

That gate, in the lightning, had a luster like black iron!

After the thunder passed, the gate with its black iron luster also disappeared into the darkness.

"That gate…"

Xu Ying's heart trembled violently. His divine sense flew out, attempting to approach it for a closer look. Unexpectedly, just as it reached the edge of the darkness, his "vision" suddenly blurred, and his divine sense showed signs of collapsing.

He hesitated, then pressed forward. His divine sense flickered indistinctly, and then suddenly it shattered and disintegrated.

Xu Ying awoke from his internal observation. Just as he was about to get up, the world spun violently, and with a thud, he fell to the ground, unconscious.

During this period of unconsciousness, Xu Ying felt as if his head was splitting open in his dreams, his mind muddled. All sorts of nightmares occurred, one after another. The nightmares were bizarre and terrifying, like inner demons invading.

When he gradually regained consciousness, he couldn't remember a single dream.

Xu Ying slowly opened his eyes, feeling an unbearable pain in his head, as if an axe had chopped into the left side of his skull and was still stuck there, unremoved.

His vision gradually cleared, revealing the faces of the Snake Demon Yuan Qi and Xiong Qianli. The two great demons looked at him with concern. Seeing him wake up, the two demons breathed a sigh of relief.

"You suddenly collapsed, you scared us to death!" the Snake Demon Yuan Qi exclaimed.

Seeing Xu Ying's confusion, he quickly explained, "While you were unconscious, Qianli and I had a great conversation and swore brotherhood. I'm the older brother."

"I'm the younger brother!" Xiong Qianli said excitedly. "It's the first time we've discovered we have so much in common. If we didn't swear brotherhood, we'd have to get married!"

That night, the bear demon and the snake demon talked about Xu Ying endlessly.

Xu Ying shook his head and patted it hard, but the headache persisted. The two great demons looked at him with concern, but their eyes held a hint of anticipation, as if afraid he would explode his own head if he used too much force.

After a while, Xu Ying felt a little better. He spaced out for a moment and said in a hoarse voice, "I think I saw the profound pass from the Qi Gathering Stage to the next realm in the Realm of Serenity just now."

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi froze slightly, and the bear demon Xiong Qianli's body also trembled violently.

The two demons exchanged a glance. Yuan Qi's voice trembled, "A Ying, what did you say?"

Xu Ying thought for a moment, confirming he hadn't seen incorrectly. He said, "I've been cultivating the Taiyi Guiding Technique, and I've long felt that I've reached the peak. My Blood Essence is surging towards a breakthrough, but there's no pass to break through, no path to follow. But just now, when I observed myself internally, I saw that profound pass. It was a dark gate, hidden in the darkness! I have a feeling that as soon as I break through that profound pass, a new world will open up!"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi was inexplicably excited and said tremblingly, "You really saw that profound pass? Is there really a path beyond the profound pass?"

Xiong Qianli could no longer suppress his excitement, staring at him with wide eyes, awaiting his answer.

Xu Ying nodded heavily, "There is definitely a path!"

Yuan Qi stood there dumbfounded, then suddenly burst into tears, muttering, "There really is a path, there really is a path… Hahaha! That's great, there really is a path! A Ying, you are a great hero to our Demon Race!"

He was overjoyed and inexplicably excited, cheering endlessly.

Xiong Qianli was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. He hugged the snake demon and jumped around, laughing continuously.

The cultivation of the Demon Race could only reach the Qi Gathering Stage, at most becoming a Demon King, and then they could not advance further. Basically, great demons who reached the peak of the Qi Gathering Stage would feel their Blood Essence surging towards a breakthrough, but there was no pass to break through, and they could not enter the next realm at all!

If Xu Ying could truly find the gate to the next realm, it would undoubtedly be earth-shattering good news for the Demon Race!

"The Demon Race will rise!" Xiong Qianli said excitedly, clenching his fist and raising it high.

"Overthrow the tyranny of humans!" the Snake Demon Yuan Qi exclaimed ecstatically.

The two demons exchanged a glance and said in unison, "The Divine Land belongs to humans, but it will eventually belong to us demons!"

Xu Ying sat up, not joining the two demons' revelry. He murmured, "But don't you find it strange? So far, neither of you has managed to cultivate internal observation, nor entered the Realm of Serenity. Yet I, a human, have achieved it first. Does this mean that the demonic cultivation techniques might not actually be demonic cultivation techniques?"

He recalled what the Great Bell had said about demonic techniques being Qi Refiner techniques. He said, "I think demonic techniques might not be demonic techniques. Perhaps they are human cultivation techniques, techniques cultivated by human Qi Refiners. But for some reason, they were lost…"

"Why must they be human Qi Refiners? Why can't they be demon Qi Refiners?"

The bear demon Xiong Qianli threw an arm around his shoulder and said excitedly, "Brother Qi and I discussed it all night and reached an important conclusion: you must be a demon who looks like a human! A humanoid variant among demons!"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi slithered over from the other side, slinging an arm around his shoulder, and chuckled, "A Ying, you'll reveal your true form one day!"

----The epidemic in Suzhou has been going on for four months. After being confined for so long, Old Zhu suspects his mind is not quite right, his mental state seems abnormal, and he's had an urge to escape Suzhou for the past few days. However, he can't get out, and the city is locked down again. His wife went out to buy groceries, and the shelves were already empty, with only instant noodles with pickled vegetables still available.