Xu Ying's spiritual sense floated above the Celestial River. He had no idea how great a shock the Light Field planting a Dao Seed had given the Great Bell. He had simply acted according to his nature, cultivating naturally, without deliberately trying to achieve such a result.
Planting a Dao Seed in the Light Field and incorporating it into his body had made his cultivation rise steadily.
He raised his head and gazed into the distance, seeing only the vast Celestial River winding through the mountains. The mountain shadows were indistinct, towering beyond reach, like immortal mountains and blessed lands!
The mountains in front were clear, but those farther back gradually blurred until they vanished from sight.
This was his first time entering the Gate Knocking Stage and his first time entering the Tail Gate Mystic Pass to examine the Realm of Serenity beyond it.
These layers of heavenly mountains resembled a human spine. Looking upward from below, one saw range upon range of peaks. Each layer of heavenly mountain was another heaven, shaped like half a lotus blossom. These heavenly mountain lotuses formed layer upon layer of heaven, corresponding to his spine.
The Celestial River passed through the center of each heaven. His spiritual sense was scoured by the river and was also constantly improving, its speed far surpassing before.
In the unseen depths, he comprehended countless principles. In the past, he had cultivated in a muddled, dazed state. Now, he felt as though he understood the transformations of yin and yang and could regulate his five viscera and six bowels!
He could now clearly sense his soul, sensing that it had all kinds of marvelous structures just like his physical body. This must be what was meant by communicating life and death.
Some understanding arose in his heart: "Only by ascending to Heaven step by step can one enter the next realm. The road to Heaven lies mainly in one's own accumulation. One must not advance recklessly."
There was only a limited amount of time for cultivation in the morning. When the sun climbed high, Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, the Great Bell, and several Ox Demons stopped absorbing qi in unspoken accord.
The few Ox Demons transformed into old oxen and went into the grassland to graze, slowly swishing their tails to drive away horseflies.
They had originally been Ox Demons, pure-blooded Ox Demon Kings. They had been conferred as ghosts and gods of the Yin Court, but once they returned to the Mortal Realm, they reverted to Ox Demons, making their habit of eating grass unavoidable.
The monsters at the foot of the mountain offered food to Great Demon King Xu Ying and Great Demon King Ox. Xu Ying and Yuan Qi ate breakfast, and once their bellies were full and warm, they began contemplating life.
Xu Ying felt his vitality surging, stronger than ever, but he still lacked a handy martial arts technique.
Both True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon and Dragon Snake Awakening Technique contained martial arts techniques. Their scriptures included methods for cultivating the Great Dao Manifestations of the Flood Dragon and the dragon snake, but they were clearly more suited to a Demon Cultivator like Yuan Qi.
Moreover, the Flood Dragon and dragon snake Great Dao Manifestations depicted in the scriptures were merely the authors' understanding of Great Dao Manifestations and were limited by that understanding. No matter how high one's comprehension was, it was impossible to surpass the person who had written the scriptures.
With nothing else to do, Xu Ying cultivated the martial arts techniques in these two arts, practicing the Eight Forms of the Barred Snake and the six forms of Dragon Snake Awakening Technique until they were as familiar as if they had been memorized backward and forward. Then he shook his head. "Their achievements are limited."
Seeing this, Yuan Qi was overjoyed. "So A Ying has his moments of frustration too! I, Great Demon King Ox, have mastered these two arts, and my cultivation and strength far surpass his!"
With his back to Yuan Qi, Xu Ying released his blood qi outside his body. Clouds and mist swirled behind him, forming a fog several mu in size. From within it, the enormous head of a white snake slowly emerged.
Yuan Qi stared, dumbstruck. The great snake had formidable horns and ridges and looked nothing like an ordinary serpent. It was a Flood Dragon. Its body was so huge that it could probably swallow an Elephant God in a single bite!
The Flood Dragon's body swimming out of the clouds and mist grew longer and longer. It slowly circled and danced around Xu Ying, wrapping around him again and again. It was so lifelike, as though it had swum straight out of the scripture!
Suddenly, Xu Ying spread the five fingers of one hand, his tiger's mouth resembling the Flood Dragon's jaws, and struck out. At once, the Flood Dragon behind him opened its blood-filled maw and shot forward with a howl. The ferocity of its might made the demons at the foot of the mountain tremble.
He swung his long arm, and the snake body, thick as a zhang, crushed through the air, whipping up gusts of wind in the valley.
Such power far surpassed Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist!
Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist lacked a Great Dao Manifestation. The Elephant King Divine Body possessed only an empty supernatural phenomenon, without anything to support it. But True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon contained a diagram of the Flood Dragon's Dao Manifestation, which could be observed and comprehended.
The Eight Forms of the Barred Snake Xu Ying displayed now had gained such power only after he comprehended the Flood Dragon's Dao Manifestation from that diagram.
But this level of power was still far from enough for Xu Ying.
The Eight Forms of the Barred Snake had not undergone a qualitative improvement over Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist. It could not be compared with the Zhou Family's Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Hidden Scenery Technique at all.
Yuan Qi was intensely envious. He hurriedly flipped through the scripture to see which stage Xu Ying had cultivated True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon to.
The Great Bell basked lazily in the sunlight and said, "Stop flipping. He's already cultivated it to the ninth stage. To cultivate it any further, he can only rely on comprehending a real Flood Dragon to increase its power."
Yuan Qi was horrified. The Great Bell meant that Xu Ying had already formed the Flood Dragon's Great Dao Manifestation. Everything in True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon that could be cultivated had already been cultivated to its peak.
To advance further, he would have to observe a real Flood Dragon and comprehend the true essence of the Flood Dragon's Great Dao Manifestation!
"But A Ying hasn't even cultivated it that many times. How did he cultivate this martial art to perfection?" he wondered, baffled.
The Great Bell said, "You don't need to lose heart. The place where you fall short of him is that he has a brain. But the place where you surpass him is no less remarkable: you're a real snake, while he isn't. As long as you cultivate True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon to the ninth stage, your power will definitely surpass his!"
Yuan Qi was greatly encouraged and immediately buckled down to cultivate.
The Great Bell glanced at his enormous body, which stretched over a dozen zhang, and thought, Stealing only A Ying's blood qi is ultimately a little slow. If I steal from that stinking snake too, it should be much faster. This snake is growing bigger and bigger. His blood qi must be astonishingly abundant!
On the other side, Xu Ying began circulating the martial arts techniques within Dragon Snake Awakening Technique once more. His body rose and fell, dragon and snake dancing with astonishing might. The dragon snake darted and flew with every move he made, sending sand and stones flying.
He circulated the six forms of Dragon Snake Awakening Technique, replacing the snake in this martial art with a Flood Dragon. The two martial arts fused into one, and their power became even greater!
However, when Xu Ying thought of Zhou Zheng's transformation technique, he could not help frowning. His improved six dragon-snake forms were still far inferior to the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Hidden Scenery Technique.
"White-robed Nuo Immortal Chen Mianzhu is clearly a Nu Master, so why does he possess a Qi Refiner's cultivation technique?"
Xu Ying was puzzled. The Five Viscera Immortal Mountains in the ruined temple's world had clearly borrowed from the Qi Refiner's Realm of Serenity. This showed that Chen Mianzhu had also dabbled in Qi Refiner cultivation techniques.
"And the Zhou Family and the Yin Court—why are they so fixated on me?"
Xu Ying was even more puzzled. To hunt him down, the Zhou Family and the Yin Court could be said to spare no expense. From the time Xu Ying slew the Jiang Family God until now, the Zhou Family experts and Yin Court divine beings who had died or been wounded over this matter probably numbered six or seven hundred!
"I'm just an ordinary person who couldn't be more ordinary. Is it worth so many experts dying and being wounded for me, to the Zhou Family and the Yin Court?"
Xu Ying paused at this thought, then gave a definite answer. "It is!"
"If it weren't worth it, they wouldn't keep dispatching troops and generals. This time, they've even sent a provincial governor and an assistant governor, determined to capture me. That means I must possess something valuable enough to move them! But where does my value lie?"
The boy thought about it. The only thing he could probably bring to the table was this body of "Demonic Arts."
"In other words, the Qi Refiner techniques on my body have caught their interest."
Xu Ying's gaze flickered as he said quietly, "The Yin Court and the Zhou Family want to obtain me because they value my comprehension of Qi Refiner cultivation techniques. But why would they be so interested in a cultivation system that has been eliminated? Could it be..."
His gaze flickered. Suddenly, he shouted, "Master Zhong! Master Zhong!"
The Great Bell hurriedly flew over. Xu Ying said, "Master Zhong, I'd like to test Master Zhong's accuracy. Can you shatter this stone?"
He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it with all his might.
The Great Bell flew up. Its bell tone shook the air, and the stone remained perfectly intact. Meanwhile, Yuan Qi, not far away, suddenly tumbled and rolled down the mountain. The great snake roared furiously, "Broken bell, you ambushed me again!"
The Great Bell looked embarrassed. "Ever since I was injured, my aim has been a little off. A Ying, did you call me just to throw a stone? Is there anything else?"
"No." Xu Ying hurriedly shook his head.
The Great Bell flew away.
Xu Ying thought, Master Zhong is unreliable. If I let it open my Ni Wan Secret Treasury and it misses its mark, striking off target...
He could not help shivering.
The main reason he had called the Great Bell over was to open his Ni Wan Secret Treasury and verify whether Qi Refiner cultivation techniques and Nu Master cultivation techniques complemented each other.
Although the Great Bell was unreliable, this thought had not been dispelled. Instead, it had grown increasingly intense.
"Relying on Heaven and Earth is inferior to relying on oneself. Since Master Zhong is unreliable, I'll open my Ni Wan Secret Treasury myself!"
Xu Ying's gaze flickered. He entered the Realm of Serenity, his spiritual sense rising all the way to the sword qi within the Realm of Serenity. From far away, it looked like nothing more than a strand of sword qi floating in the sky. But once he reached it, he discovered that it was actually as long as a rainbow, stretching an astonishing distance.
This was the Great Dao Manifestation of swordsmanship Xu Ying had comprehended!
Xu Ying carried this sword qi upward. He passed through the five viscera, flew over the Twelve-Story Pagoda, crossed the Jade Pool, passed the Divine Bridge, and traveled by the sun and moon, finally arriving at the ocean formed by the chaotic qi in his mind.
He floated before that chaotic round egg—the chaotic Ni Wan—and slowly gathered his qi and focused his mind.
At that moment, he hesitated. "Once I open the Ni Wan, this Secret Treasury will never be able to close again. If the two cultivation systems can't coexist, I'm afraid they'll seriously hinder my future cultivation progress!"
Once this step was taken, there could be no regrets!
Xu Ying hesitated. He thought of how he was merely a Snake Catcher who had never known where his next meal would come from, hunted by both the Mortal Realm and the Yin Court, with nowhere to shelter even in the Heavenly Dao World. He might lose his life at any moment. Did he really need to have so many reservations?
He threw back his head and laughed, his heroic spirit surging. He summoned all his strength to drive the swordsmanship Dao Manifestation toward the chaotic Ni Wan!
The sword struck the chaotic Ni Wan dead-on. It entered the sphere, and he suddenly felt resistance. But the sword qi surged, growing stronger against strength, breaking through every obstacle. Like a rainbow piercing the sky, it bored straight through the chaotic Ni Wan!
The Sea of Chaos transformed at once. The sword qi, accompanied by a Cave Heaven, poured into the sea, churning the chaotic qi. Vast vitality surged from the Cave Heaven and flowed into Xu Ying's limbs and bones.
Xu Ying immediately felt streams of cool qi flowing through his body. This was the vitality of his physical body, awakened by him!
His Ni Wan Secret Treasury had been opened!
Xu Ying laughed aloud, his mind open and his spirit refreshed.
In the distance, several old oxen were grazing in the fields. Once they grew tired, they lay down crookedly, swishing their tails as they chewed their cud. At their leisure, they watched Yuan Qi and the Great Bell brawling.
"Broken bell, you ambushed me! Is that something a proper bell should do?"
"I told you, it was an accident!"
"You're stealing my blood qi too. Don't think I didn't notice!"
"I haven't even stolen your blood qi, and you're slandering me! I'll beat you to death, you stinking snake!"
"Spare me!"
Strangely enough, after the Cave Heaven had been opened, Xu Ying felt that it was like one of his limbs. He could sense all kinds of things from it and could even command it as easily as his own arm, moving the Cave Heaven from place to place.
"If someone else had helped me open the Ni Wan Secret Treasury, I'm afraid I couldn't control the Cave Heaven so freely!"
Xu Ying felt somewhat fortunate. If he had let the Great Bell help, this Cave Heaven of his might no longer have been under his control.
Suddenly, he thought of something and wondered, "The ancient book in the stone chamber of the Ni Wan Palace said that one had to have someone else help open the Secret Treasury. If someone else helped, wouldn't that mean one's Ni Wan Cave Heaven would be controlled by that other person?"
He thought it over from every angle, but something still seemed wrong.
"Still, it makes sense for a Nu Master to have someone else help open the Secret Treasury. Before opening the Secret Treasury, a Nu Master is just an ordinary person. Naturally, they can't open it independently like I did and must have another expert help them."
Xu Ying saw Yuan Qi battered by the Great Bell until his head was covered in lumps. Yuan Qi swam to Qin Yan Cave to use the cave's mysterious energy to heal his injuries. Suddenly, a thought flashed through Xu Ying's mind. He stood there stunned, motionless for a long while.
"That's right! That's right!"
He suddenly cried out, "I followed the energy of Qin Yan Cave and used Dragon Seeking Positioning to find my Ni Wan Secret Treasury. That shows that the mysterious energy of Qin Yan Cave merely awakened the vitality of my Ni Wan Secret Treasury. But why can Qin Yan Cave's mysterious energy also heal Yuan Qi? Could it be..."
His heart pounded wildly. Could it be that the Six Secrets of the Human Body were not unique to humans, and that the Demon Race also possessed six great Secret Treasuries within their bodies?
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