The book recorded the story of a Buddha who had attained the Dao.
Two thousand years ago, a Buddhist disciple with an exceptional spiritual affinity appeared at Leiyin Temple. His name was Huien.
Huien was brilliant and extraordinarily perceptive. He could grasp the mysteries of any Buddhist teaching in a very short time, but his behavior was strange.
Ordinary Buddhist disciples sought to comprehend the Great Dao through Buddhist teachings and thereby attain Buddhahood. Huien, however, chose a different path.
He used Buddhist teachings to temper his body, striving to attain the Dao through the flesh.
This method was worlds apart from the cultivation method practiced by Buddhist disciples, so they naturally resisted him.
The abbot of Leiyin Temple at the time was furious. He regarded Huien as an outcast of Buddhism and cast him into the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, condemning him to spend his life among ten thousand demons.
Huien had been the clear choice to become Leiyin Temple's next abbot, but now he was among ten thousand demons—no different from falling straight from heaven into hell.
But Huien remained unmoved. He persisted in seeking Dao Attainment through his body, sitting in the Demon Suppressing Pagoda for eighty years.
Eighty years later, a Peerless Demon Lord crossed into the region and stood atop the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, intending to break its seal and release the demons imprisoned within the pagoda.
Though Leiyin Temple had deep reserves of power, not one of its many Buddhas could match the Peerless Demon Lord.
The Peerless Demon Lord was on the verge of success. If he prevailed, the Eight Nations of Canglan would be plunged into catastrophe, reduced to a living hell.
At that moment, golden light burst from the Demon Suppressing Pagoda. Huien had finally attained the Dao and cultivated the Indestructible Golden Body.
He burst out of the pagoda and fought the Peerless Demon Lord.
No matter how formidable the Peerless Demon Lord's demonic power was, he couldn't break through Huien's Indestructible Golden Body.
They fought for nine days and nine nights. In the end, the Peerless Demon Lord's demonic power ran dry. Huien captured him and sealed him beneath the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
Huien made his name in that battle, saving the Eight Nations of Canglan from a terrible calamity.
Afterward, the abbot of Leiyin Temple was overcome with shame. He resigned and entered the Demon Suppressing Pagoda of his own accord, where he subdued the demons.
Once Huien became abbot, he advanced further and further along the path of the Golden Body, ultimately attaining Buddhahood.
[You witnessed Huien's life. You were deeply focused and activated Heaven-Defying Comprehension.]
[With your Heaven-Defying Comprehension, you comprehended the Indestructible Golden Body.]
This time, it was the Indestructible Golden Body! Ye Jing completely lost his composure, nearly crying out.
It wasn't that Ye Jing lacked self-control. It was that the Indestructible Golden Body he'd comprehended this time was worth far more than the previous two.
Fortunately, this place was rather secluded, and no one noticed his loss of composure.
Ye Jing quickly composed himself, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the changes brought about by the system.
Images of Huien battling the Peerless Demon Lord appeared in his mind. Their fight had shaken heaven and earth, plunging the world into darkness.
As a spectator, Ye Jing watched this peerless battle. He could grasp the mysteries in every move Huien made.
Gradually, Ye Jing began cultivating as well.
There were no years in the mountains, and a thousand years passed in the world. Immersed in cultivation, Ye Jing felt no passage of time. Before he knew it, the entire afternoon had gone by.
Ye Jing slowly opened his eyes and sensed the changes within his body, his eyes brimming with delight.
Anyone observant enough would have noticed a faint golden glow radiating from Ye Jing.
I've already cultivated the Indestructible Golden Body! Does that mean I'm invincible among those of my level now?
Of the Three Thousand Great Daos, Sword Dao had the greatest killing power; among the countless arts, the Indestructible Golden Body reigned supreme.
But both had their drawbacks.
Sword Cultivators possessed formidable killing power, but their defenses were extremely weak. Once an enemy got close, they could easily be defeated.
The Indestructible Golden Body's defenses were indeed unrivaled beneath heaven. It was said that when Huien had cultivated it to its utmost limit, even the God of Heaven and Earth couldn't harm him in the slightest.
But the Indestructible Golden Body had an equally obvious flaw: its offensive power was lacking. If an opponent wanted to flee, there was no way to stop them.
Over the centuries, Dali had produced many exceptionally gifted figures who tried to combine these two great arts within themselves, but every one of them had failed.
Sword cultivation and the Indestructible Golden Body were each enough to make a person a leading figure of their age if cultivated to their peak. Only Ye Jing, with his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, could master these two heaven-defying skills in such a short time. This showed just how powerful the system was.
"Boundless merit—truly a great Buddha." After writing these eight words of commentary, Ye Jing closed the history book, straightened the books on the desk, and left the Hanlin Academy.
After leaving the Hanlin Academy, Ye Jing went to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to find the ingredients needed to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
Ye Jing had completed the first of the Three Innate Steps—Body Refining—just that morning. He'd originally planned to spend a few more days on it to build a solid foundation.
But by sheer coincidence, he had learned the Indestructible Golden Body, and his Body Refining cultivation had already reached perfection. There was no need to strengthen his foundation further.
Along the way, the autumn wind sighed through the streets. The people were fearful and dared not speak to one another, meeting only with their eyes. The whole Imperial Capital was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere.
Night Watch Envoys were everywhere, holding portraits of Yao Qingyin and comparing them against passersby. Some even kicked down the doors of ordinary people's homes without a second thought.
They went in empty-handed and left carrying chickens and ducks. No matter how desperately the people knelt and wailed, the Night Watch Envoys remained unmoved.
The same scene played out again and again before one poverty-stricken household after another.
Ye Jing stood at a distance, watching coldly. His heart ached, but there was nothing he could do.
Everyone said the current Emperor Li was incompetent and that Dali under his rule had left the people in dire straits.
Ye Jing hadn't felt it so deeply before, but seeing it with his own eyes now, he understood why Hu Jie was so furious with Dali and Emperor Li.
In broad daylight, the Night Watch Division dared to rob the people of their possessions. Who knew what horrifying things went on in the dark corners no one could see?
Perhaps this world was due for a change. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing!
At the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Ye Jing bought all the ingredients needed to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill and then headed home.
After dinner, he had Qiuyue fill the bathtub with hot water. He shut the door and waited until Qiuyue was asleep before retrieving the ingredients from under his bed, ready to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
He summoned his Innate Fire and carefully roasted the ingredients in the proper order.
Though both were second-grade pills, refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill was much harder than refining the Foundation Building Liquid. Its many complicated steps were exceptionally intricate.
The Marrow Cleansing Pill could easily be called one of the three most difficult second-grade pills to refine.
An ordinary second-grade alchemist might spend their entire life without successfully refining even one.
But for Ye Jing, who had now become a master of alchemy, the Marrow Cleansing Pill was no different from the Foundation Building Liquid.
Relying on his peak flame-control skills, Ye Jing needed only the time it took to burn three incense sticks to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
Looking at the pill in his hand, clear and lustrous as jade, Ye Jing didn't hesitate for a moment. He swallowed it, sat cross-legged, and began refining its medicinal power.
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