After hearing what Boss Zhao had said, Indra was quite surprised, but he soon accepted it.
His arrival had changed far too much.
The Three One Sect still existed, and Zuo Ruotong had even descended the mountain to join the war of resistance.
Still, although the small details had changed, the overall course of events probably had not.
He needed to secure the benefits he wanted from this altered situation.
As Indra sorted out his thoughts, Zuo Ruotong, now briefed on the situation, nodded slightly.
"The leader of the Tang Sect is a man of noble character, and his disciples are all heroes. Naturally, our Three One Sect is willing to lend a hand."
Si Chong immediately agreed. "Last time, the four families joined forces with several major sects to ambush the ninja leader from Mount Hiei. Our Three One Sect took part too, killing plenty of those invaders.
"Although we managed to photograph that ninja leader's face, he still escaped.
"To think the Tang Sect killed him afterward. We already had a share in that achievement, so our Three One Sect is duty-bound to help!"
"Martial uncle is right!"
Si Chong was fired up, and Wu Chengzhen repeatedly voiced her agreement.
Si Chong then instructed a disciple to take Boss Zhao to a guest room for the time being. They still had things to discuss.
In front of an outsider, Si Chong had managed to restrain himself somewhat. Now, he could no longer hold back his tears.
After a round of greetings, Si Chong and Cheng Zhen turned to Indra in shock.
"Senior brother, are you saying little Indra is the reincarnation of an immortal?!"
Because of the memories carried within his chakra, Indra saw the two more as his elders.
Having them stare at him like that made him uncomfortable all over.
He immediately shook his head. "I'm not."
Zuo Ruotong turned a deaf ear to Indra's denial.
You can shatter mountains with a casual gesture and travel a thousand miles in a breath, yet you're telling me you're not an immortal?
Zuo Ruotong certainly did not believe him.
Hearing how firmly Zuo Ruotong insisted, Si Chong and Cheng Zhen also looked at Indra, half convinced and half doubtful.
They were more than willing to believe him, but Zuo Ruotong's claims were simply too outlandish.
"Hearing is one thing, seeing is another. Martial nephew, since my senior brother says so, why don't you heal my injury?"
Si Chong unfastened his robe and slipped his right arm out.
On that well-defined, muscular arm was a scar as wide as the mouth of a bowl.
Zuo Ruotong's brows knitted tightly, and he asked quietly, "Junior brother, what happened?"
"I got caught by an attack while we were ambushing that ninja leader. Before the poison could spread, I cut away that piece of flesh to save my life." Si Chong smiled, feigning ease.
But Cheng Zhen, standing beside him, lowered his head and explained, "Martial uncle was injured because I acted too rashly. It was all my fault."
"Heh, let's leave the past in the past. Let's see what little Indra can do."
Si Chong casually held out his arm, already preparing some comforting words in case it did not work.
While he was speaking, Indra used the Snake Talisman to turn the Horse Talisman invisible, held it in his palm, and gently pressed it against Si Chong's shoulder.
The Horse Talisman's magic instantly spread out, enveloping Si Chong's entire body.
The missing flesh on his arm was restored in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, although Si Chong had never made any major mistakes while practicing Reverse Birth Triple Layer, he still had some minor hidden injuries. The Horse Talisman's magic treated them as "external influences" and removed every last one.
Feeling completely renewed, Si Chong sensed true qi surging through his body.
As he directed it with his thoughts, the tiny bottlenecks that had once hindered his cultivation suddenly became clear and unobstructed.
The threshold of Reverse Birth Triple Layer, which had always eluded him, opened before him at that moment.
"Immortal arts!" Si Chong's eyes widened, and the words escaped his mouth.
Cheng Zhen was equally stunned, staring blankly at everything before him.
He truly had not expected everything his master said to be true!
Si Chong's face flushed red, and he was so excited that his words became jumbled. "It's actually true... Our Three One Sect really has a reincarnated immortal... What a blessing for our sect!"
Cheng Zhen gasped in wonder and could not help asking, "J-junior brother, how on earth did you do that?!"
"It's an innate ability. It just comes naturally." Jo brushed the question aside with a vague answer. There was no way he would reveal the existence of the talismans.
Cheng Zhen did not press him further. Like Si Chong, however, he now looked at Indra with a measure of awe.
Zuo Ruotong then said solemnly, "You must never reveal anything about Indra. Si Chong, use the development of a new pill as a pretext to gather the disciples who were crippled while practicing Reverse Birth Triple Layer."
At that, Zuo Ruotong turned a gentle gaze toward Indra. "Afterward, I'll ask you to lend a hand and use your divine ability to heal them."
Knowing Indra did not want to expose himself, Zuo Ruotong accommodated his wishes.
After hearing this, Si Chong and Cheng Zhen immediately went to carry out Zuo Ruotong's instructions.
Before long, the sect was buzzing with excitement.
Disciples who had been crippled or left unable to cultivate after practicing Reverse Birth Triple Layer were supported by the Three One Sect if they stayed at its mountain headquarters, and they also handled work within the sect.
Those who did not stay either left on their own or were given jobs down the mountain by the Three One Sect.
Gathering them all back together would be no easy task.
Back in his room to rest, Indra gripped the Sheep Talisman.
Once his soul left his body, he felt extraordinarily alert and energized.
Looking down at his own body, Indra murmured, "I suppose this counts as a pseudo-yang spirit."
The Dao of alchemy had five stages. The fourth, refining spirit and returning to emptiness, brought essence, qi, and spirit together in the upper dantian, achieving the gathering of the three flowers at the crown and ultimately manifesting a "yang spirit."
Upon reaching this stage, the primordial spirit could leave the body and roam heaven and earth. By refining form through true emptiness, one could also cultivate a qi body that took shape when gathered and became qi when dispersed.
The perfected state of Reverse Birth Triple Layer bore traces of refining spirit and returning to emptiness.
"Once the entire physical body becomes qi, only a formed [yang spirit] can gather that qi back into shape."
Upon grasping this, Indra's soul reached out and lightly touched his physical body.
His soul guided the flow of chakra within his flesh, and his body instantly transformed into a rising cloud of white qi.
Wrapped within the qi cloud, the twelve talismans circled Indra's soul as his physical body was reconstructed bit by bit.
With his earlier groundwork already laid, Indra succeeded on his first attempt, rebuilding his entire body.
Reverse Birth Triple Layer—achieved!
"Phew..." Jo let out a long breath and sighed. "Cheating feels great!"
Once Reverse Birth Triple Layer transformed the entire body into qi, the physical body lost its support. How could it possibly be reconstructed?
Only a perfected soul capable of projecting a yang spirit could truly enter the third layer.
Thus, at its core, Reverse Birth Triple Layer was a method that prioritized cultivation of spiritual nature over cultivation of physical life.
"If this weren't a low-powered martial world, even if this method couldn't lead all the way to heaven, projecting a yang spirit and possessing someone else would still make eternal life possible!"
"Right now, I'm relying on the Sheep Talisman to reach the pseudo-yang spirit stage and using that to practice Reverse Birth Triple Layer. That's basically skipping straight to the later steps."
Jo felt as though he were jumping straight onto a high-level account to play top-tier matches. Once he got the hang of it, he could switch to a low-level account and crush beginners.
Cultivating this way helped strengthen his soul. Given enough time, he would be able to project a yang spirit even without relying on the Sheep Talisman.
When that happened, advancing from Reverse Rebirth Second Layer to the third would come naturally. He had effectively boarded already—all that remained was to buy the ticket!
Before you continue