Light Field Plants the Dao

"He's become even more diligent than before!" Yuan Tian Gang thought.

On the River of Oblivion Bridge, the Worried Old Man stood in line behind the numerous Ghost Souls. His face was full of sorrow, and he seemed even more troubled than before.

After who knew how long, it was finally his turn.

When Meng Po saw him, her hand trembled again despite herself.

"Granny, strain ten bowls of tea. Make the brew strong."

The Worried Old Man's brows were knitted with worry. "I want the first brew. None of the second or third brews."

Meng Po couldn't help asking, "Didn't the envoy come yesterday? Why are you here again today? And where's the envoy's umbrella?"

The Worried Old Man sighed, avoiding the matter of the Green Paper Umbrella. "You watered down the tea last time, so it failed to do anything to him. This time is different. Ten bowls of first-brew tea will reinforce the seal."

Meng Po was so furious that she laughed. "My tea has no such distinction between first, second, and third brews. Its medicinal power is all the same! My tea is also called Soul-Bewildering Soup. Once you drink it, it washes away all memories from your soul, makes you forget everything that came before, and plunges you into the mystery of the womb. You become even more of a baby than a baby! There's absolutely no reason anyone who drinks the tea could still remember anything!"

The Worried Old Man said, "Saying that is useless. He drank your tea, yet became more energetic, even a little excited."

Meng Po's fury blazed. "Impossible! If I can't bewitch his soul, then I'll let you smash my golden signboard!"

"Ten bowls of tea. Make the brew strong."

Meng Po gritted her teeth and glared at him. After a while, she could only say helplessly, "Ten bowls of tea? Are you feeding an elephant? Even if I bring ten bowls of tea before him, he still has to drink them. Also, you took my teacups last time. Where are my bowls?"

The Worried Old Man lined up ten teacups in the air. "Ten bowls. I have a way to make him drink them."

Meng Po had no choice but to pour the tea. "If you truly can't seal him away, what does the envoy plan to do?"

The Worried Old Man fell silent for a moment. "Then we can only report it. The target has escaped. We'll ask our superiors to pass judgment."

Meng Po shuddered and said nothing more.

After a while, the Worried Old Man slowly walked off the River of Oblivion Bridge and entered the boundless darkness.

Mount Wu Wang, Qin Yan Cave, within the Ni Wan Palace.

Great Bell was in a foul mood. Originally, its own tolling should have shaken Xu Ying's soul out of his body while leaving his body where it was. But now, when the bell tolled, Xu Ying's body was shaken away while Xu Ying's soul remained where it was.

The reason for this situation was that someone had eaten too many Myriad Spirit Pills. His undying Primordial Spirit filled his soul, making it incomparably robust!

Xu Ying looked down at his hands. Milky-white light shone from his palms. His bones were like jade and his skin like ice, nothing like a body of flesh and blood!

He looked toward his body. It glowed brilliantly, with inch-long rays of light radiating outward from within!

"Am I my own soul?"

Xu Ying suddenly felt a burning sensation on his left shoulder. When he turned to look, he saw a ball of flame on his left shoulder, quietly radiating a dim light.

He looked toward his right shoulder. There was another ball of flame there!

He raised his head, only to see another ball of flame floating above his head. This one burned even more vigorously!

Great Bronze Bell said, "These are the three balls of Yang Fire in the human body. When refined into one, they become Samadhi True Fire, supremely hard and supremely yang, capable of burning all things."

"But..."

Xu Ying pointed toward the bull demons. "Why are their Yang Fires different from mine?"

The bull demons trembled as they looked at his soul. They huddled together as if they were extremely afraid of him.

Xu Ying could even see the souls inside the bull demons.

They had souls too, and their souls were roughly the same size as their bodies, but they utterly lacked his radiance!

They also had three balls of Yang Fire. Though they seemed quite vigorous, they swayed at the slightest breeze, as if they might go out at any moment. They were completely unlike his three stable balls of Yang Fire, which the wind couldn't move!

Great Bronze Bell said, "So that's how it is. No wonder these bull demons submitted to you. Your soul is too powerful. When they use the Soul Striking Whip on you, you don't feel pain—the Soul Striking Whip does! If you use the Soul Striking Whip on someone else, its power can probably be unleashed three or four times over! Your attainments in the soul have probably already surpassed those of the City God's Judge and are nearing the level of a Ghost King! These bull demons most likely took you for a Ghost King, which is why they pledged themselves to you!"

"Ghost King?"

Xu Ying was stunned. Then wouldn't that make him Xu the Great Ghost King? But shouldn't he be Xu the Great Demon King?

"Your three balls of Yang Fire are so pure because they were tempered with Pure Yang Strange Fire, which is why the wind can't move them. But your Yang Fire is so vigorous not because of Pure Yang Strange Fire. It's because you ate too many Myriad Spirit Pills!"

Great Bronze Bell sneered. "Your soul is almost becoming solid, turning into a soul composed of undying Primordial Spirit. Compared with your physical body, your Three Souls and Seven Spirits are extremely weak. These three balls of Yang Fire must burn your vitality on one hand and your vital essence on the other. Vitality comes from the physical body, while vital essence comes from the divine soul. In other words, these three balls of Yang Fire are lighting you up like a candle! You must cultivate soul refinement and body refinement as soon as possible. Otherwise, your own three flames will burn you to ashes!"

Xu Ying's heart jolted, and he immediately realized how serious the situation was.

Without the cultivation of a Ghost King, yet possessing a soul at the level of a Ghost King—this was by no means a good thing!

It was like earning only two copper coins a day while having to spend four. With expenses exceeding income, he would soon become a pauper.

Great Bronze Bell urged him, "You've just entered the Gate Knocking Stage. The Tail Gate Mystic Pass has opened, opening the gateway to Qi refinement and the grand road to the Heaven-Connecting River. This realm connects life and death and understands yin and yang. You use the waters of the Heavenly River to regulate your internal organs and strengthen your body. At the same time, you open the Heavenly Mountains within your body, bravely climb them, and advance toward the next realm. The so-called connection of life and death and understanding of yin and yang means that you can now adjust and cultivate your soul."

Its toll shook Xu Ying's soul back into his body. With painstaking care, it said, "Do you think I urge you to cultivate only so I can steal your qi and blood? That's not entirely true. My purpose is to make you diligent in cultivation, raise your cultivation, and become self-reliant sooner. Only then can I steal more qi and blood!"

After earnestly lecturing him, it said, "Go to sleep early. You still have to cultivate first thing tomorrow morning."

Xu Ying took out a Myriad Spirit Pill and tossed it to Yuan Qi. "I saved one for you."

Yuan Qi was surprised and delighted, yet somewhat afraid as well. He whispered, "Master Zhong, if I eat this Myriad Spirit Pill, will I burn my soul like A Ying?"

Great Bronze Bell said, "No. After you take it, your soul should become even stronger than these bull demons'."

Yuan Qi hurriedly swallowed the spirit pill.

Xu Ying was tired after a full day as well. He ate some wild game to fill his stomach, then soon fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, several bull demons transformed into yellow cattle and lay prostrate on the ground of the Ni Wan Palace, dozing. Suddenly, the mountain wall behind the palace split open, and a White Bone Skeleton walked out from within.

The moment the bull demons saw the skeleton, they fainted and lost consciousness.

The White Bone Skeleton silently floated up, entered the Ni Wan Palace, and arrived at Xu Ying's residence.

Great Bronze Bell was suspended above Xu Ying at that moment. Sensing something amiss, it was just about to toll and wake Xu Ying when it suddenly became dazed and muddled, its divine consciousness thrown into chaos as it fell unconscious.

Great Bronze Bell fell from above, nearly smashing into Xu Ying, but the White Bone Skeleton gently raised a hand, and Great Bronze Bell floated off to the side.

The White Bone Skeleton leaned forward, extending a withered finger toward Xu Ying's brow. At that moment, a ball of Strange Fire surged out from between Xu Ying's brows. The flames flared brilliantly and swept toward the White Bone Skeleton, filling the entire room with firelight!

"Qing Bi, you intend to oppose me too?" The White Bone Skeleton was startled and transformed into a streak of green smoke that dispersed.

The Pure Yang Strange Fire abruptly withdrew. The firelight filling the room vanished, and that flame shrank back into Xu Ying's body and disappeared without a trace.

Great Bronze Bell clanged as it fell to the ground, suddenly waking up. Somewhat bewildered, it said, "Strange, how did I fall asleep? Wasn't I suspended above A Ying to protect his soul and suppress the Three Yang True Fire in his body?"

It worried that Xu Ying's True Fire was too vigorous and would cause his soul and physical body to age prematurely. Thus, even while Xu Ying slept, it continued suppressing the three balls of Yang Fire on his shoulders.

Xu Ying was also awakened by the noise. Seeing that nothing had happened, he went back to sleep.

The next day, before dawn, Great Bronze Bell began booming, shaking Xu Ying until stars swam before his eyes. This Great Bronze Bell was even more diligent than he was. One moment, it flew to his room and tolled several times; the next, it flew to Yuan Qi's room and clanged back and forth, noisily urging them to do their morning lesson.

Even the bull demons were awakened by it. They yawned sleepily, their eyes bleary.

To wash his face, Xu Ying jumped into the water and took a bath. He swam all the way out of Qin Yan Cave, stretched lazily, put on his trousers and clothes, and began that day's cultivation. In the distance, several female demons shyly glanced over.

At that moment, the youth exuded a masculine scent that was quite alluring to the female demons.

Yet how could anything be more interesting than cultivation?

Yuan Qi and the bull demons left Qin Yan Cave as well and began a day of cultivation.

Yuan Qi was pondering the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique. He asked Xu Ying how to cultivate it. Xu Ying activated the Guiding Technique while deciphering the scripture and said, "The so-called awakening refers to the sudden stirring of spring thunder, the rise of yang qi, and the sprouting and flourishing of all things. This technique is a method for cultivating the pure Yang qi of dragons and snakes and transforming the physical body."

As he explained, he demonstrated the technique. Once he finished explaining, he had also completed one cycle of the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique.

Yuan Qi immediately gained tremendous insight. He understood most of the technique and was deeply impressed. "Though A Ying isn't as patient as the White-robed Nuo Immortal, he really is a good teacher. I understand everything as soon as he explains it."

Xu Ying then explained another volume, True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon. "True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon speaks of the Dao of changing size. It contains an extraordinary method of transformation and can be cultivated alongside the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique for comparison."

He continued explaining while cultivating. After completing one cycle, he had also explained the entire True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon. Explaining while cultivating allowed him to verify the two against each other and check whether he had misunderstood anything.

Great Bronze Bell was also breathing in and out nearby. Seeing Xu Ying explain the two techniques with words like pearls and jade, thoroughly comprehending them after only one look, it was startled.

"This kid seems to be more than just a Snake Catcher. How could an ordinary Snake Catcher explain an Qi Refiner technique so thoroughly after looking at it only once?"

The Dragon Snake Awakening Technique and True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon were more suitable for Yuan Qi, but both were Qi Refiner techniques. Qi Refiner techniques were far more obscure than Nuo Master techniques. Though they couldn't be called impossible to decipher, they absolutely couldn't be deciphered as effortlessly as Xu Ying had done.

"So I collided with a treasure?"

Great Bronze Bell felt a trace of excitement. "I really am favored by destiny. My luck is unbelievably good!"

After Xu Ying finished explaining, he suddenly sensed something. Another extremely profound passage of scripture suddenly surged into his mind.

It was the subsequent scripture of the Taiyi Guiding Technique, far more obscure than the Dragon Snake Awakening Technique and True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon. Yet he naturally understood the meaning of the scripture.

His thoughts stirred. Following the mental cultivation method of the Taiyi Guiding Technique, he mobilized the primordial qi within his body. His divine consciousness entered the Realm of Serenity, and the Realm of Serenity immediately filled with shifting winds and clouds, with white clouds transforming like gray dogs, as if the sun and moon were traversing the heavens and the vicissitudes of time were turning.

Outside, Yuan Qi and the bull demons all raised their heads and looked toward the sky.

A one-mu Light Field in the sky grew increasingly bright. Sunlight converged here like a storm and scattered across the Light Field. The seedlings within the Light Field seemed alive as they absorbed the sunlight and slowly grew.

It seemed slow, but in truth, the seedlings grew taller within only a few breaths.

Then the seedlings in the one-mu Light Field shot up ears and blossomed, soon growing heavy seeds.

"Master Zhong, have you ever seen this kind of cultivation method?" Yuan Qi asked in a daze.

Great Bronze Bell was also somewhat bewildered. "I haven't."

Before it finished speaking, the seedlings in the Light Field matured. One golden seed after another flew out like a rain of light, falling into Xu Ying's body!

Yuan Qi tried to intercept one of the golden seeds. When the seed entered his body, it immediately transformed into dense primordial qi and dispersed, its Yang qi rich and intense!

"They look like rice seeds, but they're pure Yang rice seeds!" he exclaimed.

"Rice seeds, rice seeds..."

Great Bronze Bell muttered several times before suddenly crying out, "I know! They're not rice seeds but Dao Seeds! Planting the Dao in a Light Field, growing lotuses in fire—this is a technique that points directly to the Great Dao! But, but..."

It was utterly bewildered. A technique that pointed directly to the Great Dao was something even its master had never obtained. How had Xu Ying, a Snake Catcher from some poor and remote backwater, acquired such a technique?

It had witnessed Xu Ying produce the Light Field and seedlings while cultivating. It had also witnessed the seedlings mature and transform into Dao Seeds that entered Xu Ying's body. But as for when Xu Ying had learned this strange technique, it knew absolutely nothing.

"At this rate of cultivation, my injuries should heal even faster!" Great Bronze Bell thought happily, tossing its earlier doubts to the back of its mind.

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