Ox Demon Great Strength Fist

Chapter 12: Ox Demon Great Strength Fist

"What answer are you seeking?" Hearing Hong Yi's four-line poem, Bai Ziyue shuddered, savoring the words as he felt an endless sense of heroic spirit. Gulping down three mouthfuls in a row, Hong Yi still felt unsatisfied. He felt that the more he drank, the warmer his body became, as if he were light enough to fly, yet his mind grew clearer and clearer, without a hint of intoxication.

"Hong Yi, do you wish to practice martial arts?" Bai Ziyue looked at Hong Yi, then at the Martial Classic on the table. "This Martial Classic has many sections deleted, and most of what is recorded inside is crude. Your skin and flesh are slack, your tendons are weak, and you possess no martial strength. You are effectively a blank slate with no foundation; it would be very difficult to develop powerful martial strength in a short time."

Hong Yi understood. "But must those who cultivate immortality also practice martial arts?"

In the Great Gan Dynasty army, five men make a "Wu," with the officer called a "Wuzhang." One hundred men make a "Du," with the officer called a "Dutou." Five hundred men make a "Ying," with the officer called a "Zhihuishi." One thousand men make a "Jun," with the officer called a "General." Ten thousand men make a "Tong," with the officer called a "Tongling."

Seeing Bai Ziyue's wild and unrestrained demeanor, yet noting how his physical form remained perfectly composed, Hong Yi recalled the supernatural powers he had just witnessed and could not help but feel a secret sense of envy.

"Practicing martial arts begins with training the flesh, tendons, and skin membranes. In the Great Gan Martial Hall, those who have trained to the level of skin membranes are classified as Martial Scholars. They are considered students of the imperial examinations and can easily serve as a Dutou officer in the army," Bai Ziyue said, seemingly very familiar with the military system.

As he spoke, Bai Ziyue handed the wine gourd to Hong Yi.

"So that is how it is."

"Cultivating only the spirit without the body, I fear one still cannot transcend!" Bai Ziyue shook his head.

The Great Gan Dynasty has a strict system for grading martial strength: Martial Student, Martial Disciple, Martial Scholar, Martial Master, Innate Martial Master, Grandmaster, and Martial Saint. Although divided in great detail, even the experts in the army rarely exceed the level of Martial Scholar or Martial Master. Those who reach the Innate realm—where the internal organs are strengthened and stamina is long-lasting—are extremely rare, let alone Grandmasters and Martial Saints.

Hong Yi felt a sense of relief. Just the fact that Bai Ziyue had appeared, displayed his supernatural powers, and frightened away those vicious fox-hunting spirits was enough. He had heard these three names before in the Caotang Notes of Li Yan, which recorded: "The Great Zen Temple possesses three sutras: Past, Present, and Future. They are like a scholar's pursuit of establishing virtue, merit, and words. Alas, I have never seen them personally. Alas, alas."

"A long sword crosses the nine wilds, a high crown brushes the dark firmament. Walking alone in a sage-bright world, the four seas call me a hero? Good, good, good... The four seas call me a hero; in this world, who is a hero?" Hearing these three names, Hong Yi's eyelids twitched.

After Hong Yi finished drinking, Bai Ziyue took his large gourd and drank repeatedly. With every gulp, he recited a line of poetry, as if using the verses as a side dish for his wine.

"Call me Ziyue. 'Master Bai' is too formal. Just based on the poem you gifted me, you are a kindred spirit to me, Bai Ziyue." Bai Ziyue took another drink, a slight flush appearing on his face, though the divine light in his eyes remained as warm as jade. "Demon Immortals are the same as Ghost Immortals. Any non-human being who cultivates a Yin Spirit, seizes a body, and is reborn is a Ghost Immortal. I spent sixty years of bitter cultivation in the mountains to become a Ghost Immortal, then reincarnated into a fetus. I am fifteen now. I wonder how old Brother Yi is?"

"One step at a time, I suppose." Hong Yi smiled.

"Master Bai is known as one of the eight great Demon Immortals of the world? May I ask what a Demon Immortal is?" Hong Yi asked.

"Don't ask me; I don't know either. My soul has only reached the Ghost Immortal level, having yet to experience the Thunder Tribulation, and my martial arts have only reached the Martial Saint realm of marrow-cleansing and blood-changing, not yet becoming a Human Immortal. I came to Yujing this time to seek an answer." Bai Ziyue said.

"I have been reading the Martial Classic these days and wish to practice, but I lack guidance. 'Among three people walking, there must be a teacher for me.' Since I have met Ziyue today, I must ask for your instruction." Hong Yi said to Bai Ziyue.

"No wonder! Scholars are expected to study archery to strengthen their physique; that is the logic behind it. Only by cultivating both spirit and body can one transcend," Hong Yi said.

"So Ziyue is over fifteen; I am also exactly fifteen. I read in the Daoist Classic that demons and ghosts forcibly seize human bodies and destroy their souls. Yet Ziyue reincarnated into a fetus to grow; you are indeed a righteous Demon Immortal," Hong Yi said.

Clearly, this wine was extraordinary.

"However, Ziyue is also a great expert in martial arts, having reached the realm of a Martial Saint. If I want to practice martial arts, I must seek his guidance." Hong Yi thought to himself.

"What a wild and unrestrained youth, possessing supernatural powers and such ease. Truly magnificent."

"Cultivating only the spirit without the body is the first sickness of cultivation. Cultivating only the soul without the physical form, one cannot cross the bitter sea to the other shore." Bai Ziyue said, "A person's divine intent is the soul, and a person's physical form is the body. One must cultivate both spirit and body; otherwise, empty talk of reason without training the physique will never succeed."

As for the Human Immortal, he had never even heard of it.

"Great sages use history books as a side dish for wine. Today, your poem, Hong Yi, can also serve as a side dish. It has been a long time since I felt this refreshed."

He had read the Martial Classic and the Daoist Classic over the past two days, so he knew that cultivating the martial path led to becoming a Human Immortal, and cultivating the soul to the point of possessing and seizing bodies was called a Ghost Immortal. After forming a Yang Spirit, one could be called a Divine Immortal. As for Demon Immortals, he had never heard of them.

Hearing Bai Ziyue speak so bluntly and candidly, with a sense that "there is nothing that cannot be said to others," Hong Yi felt an extra layer of closeness toward him.

"It is rumored that the Great Zen Temple possessed three volumes of books: one is the Past Amitabha Sutra, one is the Present Tathagata Sutra, and one is the Future Non-Birth Sutra. They are supreme methods for transcendence. The Past Amitabha Sutra is the supreme secret for cultivating the soul, the Present Tathagata Sutra is the supreme fist technique for achieving the Human Immortal realm, and as for the Future Non-Birth Sutra, I do not know. However, it is rumored that to truly transcend, one must contemplate all three volumes together. The Great Zen Temple was destroyed, and the whereabouts of the three volumes are unknown; they might be hidden in the Imperial Library. I came to Yujing this time to find these three books."

But this single stroke provided no information.

"Hmm?" Hong Yi asked, puzzled.

Likewise, those who practice immortal arts can also have their souls leave their bodies after their physical forms decay and seize the bodies of others.

"In the world, when it comes to martial arts for training the flesh, tendons, and skin, none surpass the Great Zen Temple's 'Ox Demon Great Strength Method' and 'Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist.' Once these two sets of fists are practiced, the tendons, bones, skin, and flesh become strong, and the external arts are perfected—that is the Martial Master level. As for entering the Innate realm, that requires various breathing techniques for training the internal organs, of which there are many types. I will teach you the Ox Demon Great Strength Method first."

"What song is this?" Hong Yi asked.

"Walking alone in a sage-bright world, the four seas call me a hero..."

"The Past Amitabha Sutra, the Present Tathagata Sutra, and the Future Non-Birth Sutra?"

Everything was strictly hierarchical, far exceeding the imperial court, with martial strength and military merit determining one's position. This mysterious young man, one of the eight great Demon Immortals of the world, stood up and laughed three times: "Drink, drink! Just for this poem of yours, you have touched my heart. We can truly be called kindred spirits meeting at the ends of the earth."

"It is not that I am righteous, but that forcibly occupying a body and destroying a human soul wears down one's own soul; it is a lose-lose situation. Moreover, the bodies of adults are already formed and cannot be molded, so one cannot reach the pinnacle of the martial path. A fetus, however, is a mass of flesh and blood, without soul or spirit, and is perfectly pure. Only after birth do thoughts gradually arise and consciousness form, making one a human," Bai Ziyue said.

"A 'Wine God Song' I composed." Bai Ziyue laughed again.

If Bai Ziyue had not appeared today, the fox den would have been in dire straits. Bai Ziyue drank more than ten mouthfuls, appearing slightly intoxicated, and began to sing loudly: "Drink our wine... it clears the breath and stops the cough... drink our wine... and you won't have to kowtow when you see the Emperor..."

So it was that any animal with spiritual intelligence could have its soul leave its body, gradually cultivate into a Ghost Immortal, possess and seize bodies, and even reincarnate into a human form, or forcibly seize a human body, destroy the human soul, and occupy the shell.

"He is worthy of being called a Demon Immortal, yet he speaks without the evasiveness of humans. If he were a mere mortal, how could he speak so openly about coming to Yujing to find secret scrolls in the Imperial Library?"