Hongjun's Second Lecture, Secret of Cutting Off the Three Corpses

The development of a great divine power cannot be accomplished in a single day.

Bei Ming immersed himself in it, his divided spirit calculating and deducing without rest.

Time flew by.

Between the first and second lectures, the one Yuan Meeting of time left by Hongjun was but a drop in the ocean amidst the endless years of the Primordial Wilderness.

As the time limit drew near, various innate gods emerged from seclusion one after another, once again gathering toward Purple Cloud Palace.

Within the Great Void Palace.

Bei Ming slowly opened his eyes. He had formed a preliminary concept for "Two Forms Evolve Kun Peng," but to realize it, he would need to further his cultivation.

With a thought, Bei Ming disappeared from the hall and reappeared beyond the Changbai Mountain Range.

He then transformed into a streak of escape light, riding the wind, soaring beyond the heavens.

His figure flashed through the nine skies, and wherever he passed, ripples spread across the void.

By the time Bei Ming arrived at Purple Cloud Palace, many great powers had already gathered outside the main hall.

All heroes had arrived, their auras intertwining.

Bei Ming turned his gaze and scanned the crowd.

Seeing that his acquaintances Nüwa and Fuxi had not yet arrived, he found a corner, closed his eyes to regulate his breath, and waited silently.

Before long, Fuxi and Nüwa also arrived.

The two came to Bei Ming's side. After the three exchanged pleasantries, they quietly awaited the opening of Purple Cloud Palace.

This time, no one arrived at the last moment. Everyone reached the palace before the gate opened.

Haotian and Yaochi appeared once again.

The two wore solemn expressions but said little. They merely cupped one fist in salute, then raised their hands and formed seals.

As the seals flowed, the void roared, and the gate of Purple Cloud Palace slowly opened. Ten thousand rays of rosy light burst forth, and auspicious qi soared into the sky.

Without the seat dispute of the first time, the cultivators entered the hall this time with extreme politeness.

The six great powers in the front row sat on prayer mats in order.

The remaining innate gods sat on the ground in the back, maintaining a solemn silence.

Silence filled the hall.

When everyone had taken their seats, dao light gathered above the cloud bed, and Hongjun's figure appeared once more.

Everyone bowed together and said:

"Junior pays homage to Saint Hongjun."

"No need for courtesy," Hongjun said expressionlessly, his dao sound ethereal. "This is the second lecture, a discourse on the Dao of Quasi-Saint.

Above Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, one is a Quasi-Saint. I have created a unique method of cutting off the three corpses, available for you all to break through your shackles.

The three corpses are neither form nor substance; they are the three poisons stagnating in the primordial spirit of a cultivator.

First, the corpse of good thoughts; second, the corpse of evil thoughts; third, the corpse of obsession.

The good are arrogant, the evil are indulgent, the obsessed are trapped. The three entangle the dao embryo, like clouds covering the bright moon, like dust covering a clear mirror.

When all three corpses are cut, the dao heart becomes clear and bright, unstained by dust.

Yet cutting the corpses is not about severing emotions and extinguishing nature; it is about transcending the shackles of good, evil, and obsession.

Be good but not drowning in good, be evil but not falling into evil, be obsessed but not trapped by obsession.

Like the sun and moon shining upon all things without dwelling in them, like rivers flowing endlessly without stagnating in form."

As Hongjun spoke, strange phenomena abounded in Purple Cloud Palace.

Above the void, countless golden lotuses appeared, their petals crystal clear, exhaling rosy light, trembling gently with Hongjun's dao sound.

"The method of cutting corpses is not to break the dao with force, but to merge with the dao through method.

Those who forcibly cut two corpses but remain trapped by obsession do so because they do not know that the corpse of obsession values 'sincerity' above all.

One must face one's true heart, glimpsing the true self amidst the battle between heaven and man.

Whether watching the galaxy collapse without the dao heart trembling, or experiencing the boundless mortal world without the spirit platform being stained, only then does one realize that cutting obsession is actually proving the true self.

You all should remember: when all three corpses are cut, you do not become emotionless wood and stone, but attain the great free heart, where all things pass through the heart without leaving a trace.

..."

The dao sound echoed for three thousand years.

All cultivators were immersed in it. Some wore solemn expressions, some furrowed their brows, some showed sudden understanding in their eyes—all were shaken by the profundity of the "method of cutting the three corpses."

As the lecture neared its end, Hongjun reminded in a calm voice:

"The items for cutting the three corpses should be chosen from innate materials. You all need to deliberate carefully. The higher the grade of the item used to host a corpse, the stronger that corpse will be.

In your choice, those that align with your own law, share the same origin, or contain the same law can be prioritized, as they are helpful for the subsequent unity of the three corpses."

Looking across the Hong Huang, spiritual treasures of the same origin are far too few.

The vast majority come from the relics of Pangu and other Chaos Gods.

Among them, the various spiritual treasures derived from the Thirty-Six Grade Chaos Green Lotus are both of the same origin and possess extraordinary power, making them a top choice.

But finding those sharing the same law is much easier.

In the Hong Huang, the number of Innate Spiritual Treasures is not small, and each one contains a law.

Collecting three spiritual treasures that embody the same law is still relatively manageable.

Some powerful figures with the means can even pursue higher grades of spiritual treasures and their compatibility with the laws they themselves comprehend.

Bei Ming sat quietly on his prayer mat. Through the sorting of Hongjun's Master Class, he finally understood exactly what this method of Cutting off the Three Corpses was all about.

Normally, breaking through to Golden Immortal of the Origin should be based on the comprehension of laws.

Back then, Zu Long and the others relied on the blessing of their clan's luck to aid their understanding of the laws.

As for remnants of Chaos Gods like Hongjun, they were even more exceptional.

Their foundations and origins were far beyond what ordinary Hong Huang cultivators could compare to.

Even without the massive luck of a clan backing them, the combat strength of these Some Old Ancestors could basically match, or even surpass, the patriarchs of the Three Innate Clans.

Now it seemed that the method of Cutting off the Three Corpses passed down by Hongjun was, in essence, a way for cultivators to align themselves more closely with the Heavenly Dao, using the support of the Heavenly Dao's power to further comprehend the laws.

After slashing a corpse, a cultivator could obtain a "numerical value" equivalent to a Golden Immortal of the Origin at the same stage, but their true understanding of the law had not reached that level.

They would still need to continuously comprehend and fill in the gaps.

Simply put, they had only raised their level, but hadn't invested the skill points.

However, with the blessing of the Heavenly Dao, this process was easier than relying purely on one's own comprehension.

As a result, Quasi-Saints often could not match Golden Immortals of the Origin of the same level for a very long time.

Only through continuous accumulation, deep cultivation of the law, and reaching the extreme could they gradually close the gap.

In the end, combat strength came down to the depth of mastery over laws, supplemented by divine abilities and spiritual treasures, to determine victory or defeat.

For cultivators who had reached the Golden Immortal realm and above, everything they cultivated essentially returned to "laws."

Cutting off the Three Corpses was merely a "shortcut" opened along the path of cultivation.

Using this kind of official cheat might not get your account banned, but there was still a gap compared to pure cultivators.

Hongjun, who became a saint through Cutting off the Three Corpses, was defeated in the chaos by Yang Mei, a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin.

However, the gap between these two was already significant. Even if Hongjun had been a proper Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, the outcome against Yang Mei would likely have been the same.

Back when they were both Chaos Gods, Yang Mei's strength was firmly among the top ranks—"Top 5, vying for top 3"—with the bearing to overpower all heroes.

Where Hongjun ranked was anyone's guess.

Even after entering the Hong Huang, Hongjun won the Demonic Dao War and became the Spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao, Yang Mei still attained the Dao before him.

By relying on Cutting off the Three Corpses, Hongjun could barely catch up to Yang Mei's "numerical value," but the gap in their comprehension of the laws was ultimately impossible to bridge.

At this moment, in the Purple Cloud Palace, Dao Rhyme lingered, and the clouds and light were heavy.

Laozi and Bei Ming had already broken through to the peak of the Golden Immortal realm during the last lecture, and now they were on the verge of slashing their corpses.

Bei Ming's mind settled, and a thought arose.

This method of Cutting off the Three Corpses had another great use—it might solve a trouble he had to face.