Three Fleeting Years, a Spirit Split in Three, and Departure from Qianling Mountain (Double-Length Chapter)

Three leisurely years passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three years, business in the underworld flourished. With Green-Eyed Ghost's help, Ao Ding successfully refined seven hell Dharma Artifacts using karmic merit and spiritual thought. Besides the original five, there were the Great Mystery Nine-Cold Ice-Soul Sword of Iceberg Hell and the Silent Spirit Nine Extinctions Echo Chime of Echo Hell.

On the final day of his vigil-the twenty-seventh month-Ao Ding slowly ate the Jade True Golden Bud and gently closed his eyes.

After taking it for three years, Ao Ding had been nourished by the immortal blossom's spiritual power and had begun to show faint signs of a Celestial Person's bearing.

As he recited the "Great Golden Light Spell," a thousand golden rays suddenly rose from his skin, and the crown of his head shone like a blazing sun.

Then golden light descended through his crown, entered his Niwan Palace, passed down the many-storied tower of his throat, and traveled through every limb and bone before finally gathering in his Dantian.

Rumble-

In an instant, the True Heaven Golden Gang within Ao Ding was refined and sublimated, entering the Profound Gang Upper Realm.

"Three years of cultivation, and I've finally reached this step."

He opened his eyes. Golden light illuminated the room, and flower shadows drifted.

Ao Ding slowly exhaled a breath, white and three inches long: a strand of immortal qi refined through three years of consuming golden buds.

With a gentle puff, the immortal qi shot out like a bolt of silk, smashed straight through the door, and cleaved a fissure fifty zhang long into the ground.

"Excellent, excellent-this breath of immortal qi can almost rival a Divine Ability." He pointed a finger, and the "House-Building Technique" repaired the damage.

Divine Abilities were the pinnacle of spellcraft.

According to Sun Chen, many cultivators devoted themselves to cultivating Dao methods without paying attention to spells. Once they achieved success in their methods, they possessed the power of Divine Abilities, capable of moving mountains, overturning seas, and reversing yin and yang.

Ao Ding liked magical arts and excelled at studying spells, but he had never particularly insisted on acquiring Divine Abilities. Still, gaining a hidden lifesaving measure through three years of consuming flower buds was naturally a good thing.

He lightly tapped the Primordial Truth Mirror over his left eye. Mirror light rippled as Ao Ding examined his current condition inwardly.

A youth stood amid a sea of clouds, golden light rising ceaselessly within him and the phantom of a golden bud drifting behind him: the Profound Gang Upper Realm. A jade wheel behind his head manifested seven hells. Seven spiritual-thought Dharma Artifacts-a sword, chime, hook, millstone, cauldron, pestle, and saber-lay within the wheel, having already reached the Mysterious Gang Ultimate Realm.

For three years, Ao Ding had experienced the suffering of a million wolf ghosts every day and had long since broken into the Ultimate Realm. He had remained there only to break through to the Jade Tower Realm in a more perfect state.

In the Mystic Gang Realm, the qi seed sensed the tides of primordial qi between heaven and earth, tempering true Gang magical power.

In the Jade Tower Realm, one meditated upon heaven and earth with Divine Sense to glimpse the jade palace and golden towers belonging to oneself.

That palace existed both high above the nine heavens and within the cultivator's body and soul.

This step could eliminate ninety percent of Mysterious Gang cultivators.

Countless cultivators regarded the Jade Tower Realm's "Heavenly Gate in a Single Thought" as the second great hurdle after "Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment." Many suspected that the Six Sects might possess some secret breakthrough technique for this stage.

But when Ao Ding asked about a "secret technique for breaking through the Heavenly Gate," Sun Chen smacked him hard on the head and scolded him with a laugh. "What secret technique? What's so mysterious about it? What do you think the 'jade palace and golden towers' are for? They're there for you to contemplate your true nature and let your true nature move in!

"The essence of the Jade Tower Realm is to let you see a 'True Person' ahead of time. Your soul must enter the nine heavens and, through your 'heavenly soul,' glimpse that True Person named 'Ao Ding.' Just as, back when I was in the Jade Tower Realm, I glimpsed a True Person named 'Sun Chen.' You must understand that true nature exists within all of us living beings; everyone has it. Before the True Person realm, your Great Dao True Nature merely sleeps within you-it isn't absent. In theory, every living being has the opportunity to become a True Person and awaken their genuine 'self.'

"The Jade Tower Realm lets you see your own 'true nature' ahead of time, so you can continually hone and temper it according to its root. That palace is a dwelling for your true nature, a True Person's Dao sanctuary where your true nature gradually undergoes its winged transformation into a True Person. Why do you think the 'Immortal Nest Nine Palaces Scripture' is considered an orthodox method? Because this method, which accords with building in earth and timber, reveals the principles of an innate Dao sanctuary."

With a True Person revealing cultivation's secrets and explaining its principles in the simplest, most direct terms, Ao Ding no longer felt any confusion about the Jade Tower Realm. He had long since planned how to advance into it.

There was only one opportunity in a lifetime to contemplate the true self in the Jade Palace. If he broke through using Northern Yin Dharma and observed his true nature ahead of time, he would have no second opportunity even when practicing the Golden Light Method. At the same time, that would establish Northern Yin Dharma as his leading method and the ghost Dao as his primary path.

Ao Ding had suppressed his "jade wheel advancement" for three years precisely to wait for an opportunity to bring Northern Yin Dharma and the Golden Light Method into the Jade Tower Realm simultaneously. The Golden Light Method would be his primary path to immortality, but he did not want to abandon Northern Yin's marvelous spirit-refining properties either.

He wanted to use the mysteries of attaining realization through both methods together to see that True Person named "Ao Ding."

Not merely to see the brows, eyes, or figure... but to truly invite an entire True Person into his Dao palace. Yet according to Sun Chen, "contemplating the true self in the Jade Palace" lasted only an instant. Someone who could view their entire "True Person," as though transforming into a newborn infant, was rare even among the Six Sects' True Disciples.

"There are still preparations to make. I can't gather everything on Qianling Mountain, so I'll have to arrange them after leaving."

Ao Ding lightly tapped the Primordial Truth Mirror. The world of cloud seas changed once more, and red, yellow, and blue shadows of light appeared.

The red shadow was first to condense into a human figure, holding a colorful banner high.

"Congratulations, original self! Congratulations! Your divine cultivation is complete! Through a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations, I alone reign supreme!"

"..."

Ao Ding remained silent, watching the little red figure clown around.

Perhaps it was because he had not formally joined the Guangfa Sect, or perhaps it was because Sun Chen belonged to another sect and had not passed on the complete method.

In any case, there might have been something wrong with the "Mystical Perfection Formula" he had taught Ao Ding. Over these three years of refinement and cultivation, the Primordial Truth Mirror had undergone some strange changes. Its spirit-offshoot had split into three, each more distinctive than the last.

The red-clad child looked exactly like Ao Ding at eight years old. He waved his colorful banner, shouting encouragement:

"Twenty-seven months are up! Let's go, let's go, down the mountain-hurry down and take a master! Once you become a True Disciple, let's see you punch and kick every one of your peers flat! Charge into the Heavenly Firmament Cloud Repository and sweep aside the crowd... Once your cultivation reaches its height, you'll be the next Guangfa Sect master! If he dares refuse, just-"

Before the red-clad child could finish, a yellow-clad child suddenly appeared beside him and kicked him away.

The yellow-clad child also looked like Ao Ding. He spoke with righteous conviction. "Senior Sun treated me very well. Although we've now kept vigil for twenty-seven months, given our bond, what harm would there be in staying another half year? We could temper our Mysterious Gang here. Besides, we are cultivators. Why spend all day fighting and killing, dwelling on dominating the world and reigning supreme?"

Ao Ding watched the two children, then let his gaze drift to the other side, where a Blue-Robed Boy sat quietly reading in a corner.

He too had Ao Ding's childhood appearance, but this child was very quiet and well-behaved.

Hmm... Ao Ding thought this child resembled him most and was what the "Mystical Perfection Formula" should have produced.

Soon, the Blue-Robed Boy finished working out a spell and walked over to Ao Ding.

"Original self, I've improved the 'Form-Concealment Technique.' I call it the 'Hidden Dragon Qi-Concealment Technique.' It can be used together with the 'Azure Jade Golden Dragon Banner.' Take a look and see whether it suits your needs."

If the red-clad child represented Ao Ding's instinctive desires and the yellow-clad child symbolized his morality and benevolence, then the Blue-Robed Boy was his absolutely rational side.

He was what remained when Ao Ding cast aside all seven emotions and six desires.

After handing the spell to Ao Ding, the child turned back to continue working on cultivation methods.

Ao Ding accepted the spell and leafed through it, muttering nonstop. "I was creating my own auxiliary Dharma Artifact. How did I end up with these three things? There should clearly have been one spirit-offshoot. How did it..."

The red-clad child pushed the yellow-clad child off him and protested indignantly to Ao Ding:

"Who are you calling a thing? You're a thing!"

"Mm, you're not a thing."

Answering the red-clad child absently, Ao Ding recalled the contents of the "Three Corpse Dao Method."

Severing the three corpses?

Surely not.

The three corpses are malignant worms within the three Dantians. Sever them, and you restore a pure immortal physique. I did try it on the Gengshen day the year before last, and the three of them did appear afterward. But my 'three-corpse-severing ritual' was perfectly proper. How could it have severed these three strange things?

"If you want to see whether we're the three corpse gods, it's simple-" The Blue-Robed Boy, who had buried his head in another immortal scripture, looked up and said calmly, "With the immortal qi of the Jade True Golden Bud and your True Heaven Golden Gang, you can attempt to refine the 'Glazed Immortal Body.' If you feel an obstruction, that means the corpse worms remain inside you and we aren't your three corpses. At least-not the three corpses of this world's method. If you can cultivate smoothly and perfect the Ultimate Realm, that means the three of us house your three Peng corpse gods."

Looking at the expressionless boy who looked exactly like himself, Ao Ding could not resist reaching out to tug the Blue-Robed Boy's cheeks.

I loved smiling so much as a child. When did I ever keep such a stiff face?

Come to think of it, things felt quite real in this cloud-sea world.

So soft, so fun, so nice to touch...

No wonder those female cultivators loved gathering around me when I was little.

Even as Ao Ding played with him, the Blue-Robed Boy remained completely expressionless.

Unlike the other two, he had little interest in etiquette or worldly affairs. The only things that motivated him were the pursuit of knowledge and the Dao.

He represented Ao Ding's devotion to the Dao, immortality, and eternal true nature.

"All right, original self, let Little Blue go." Considerate of his companion, the yellow-clad child came over to rescue him.

Naturally, he too was subjected to a thorough round of pinching and squeezing by Ao Ding.

Once he finished playing, Ao Ding grew serious. "There's indeed no hurry to leave the mountain. I can stay another half year to temper my True Qi. But I need to work out my 'path to the Heavenly Gate' beforehand. I must calculate precisely when I should break through."

The three children also grew serious and sat beside Ao Ding, joining forces to deduce cultivation methods and heavenly workings.

The three little children were manifestations of Ao Ding's spirit-offshoot within the Primordial Truth Mirror. Their thoughts were all expressions of his will, merely leaning toward morality, desire, and the superego respectively. Regardless, they were all offshoots of Ao Ding's spirit.

Through their combined efforts, Ao Ding discerned the timing for his breakthrough to the Ultimate Realm in the "Golden Light Method."

"It really is a glazed immortal physique? Using fasting spiritual substances and True Heaven Golden Gang to transform me into an immortal physique? Once the immortal physique is achieved, that's the Golden Light Method's Ultimate Realm?"

That Glazed Immortal Body was also very easy to cultivate. Among the Dao methods Sun Chen had left him was a "Five Qi Returning to the Origin Formula." Ao Ding only needed to nourish his five organs with True Heaven Golden Gang and use immortal qi to nurture the scarlet-fire cinnabar-origin heart spirit, azure-wood dragon-smoke liver spirit, white-metal radiant-splendor lung spirit, black-water dark-mystery kidney spirit, and yellow-earth constant-presence spleen spirit. Through the revolving power of the five elements, he could fuse immortal qi throughout his body and truly possess an immortal physique.

Like Luo Qiushui's "Cloud-Su Immortal Physique," it was a superior cultivation constitution.

The yellow-clad child said softly, "This is a good thing. Your left eye has always hindered you. Only the nourishment from fasting spiritual substances these past three years has kept it from continuing to burden you by forcibly drawing off your true Gang. If you can transform into an immortal physique and attain the Dao through it, you can gain further control over your left eye."

Ao Ding sank into thought.

The three children exchanged glances without interrupting him.

Although all three were manifestations of Ao Ding's thinking, ultimately they were only spirit-offshoots housed in a Dharma Artifact.

Nothing more than three artificial intelligences with different personalities in a piece of software.

The one who truly made the decisions was still Ao Ding himself.

Only after a long while did Ao Ding raise his head.

"Since the time for my breakthrough is approaching, the three of you must now work together to find the most suitable opportunity for me. Carefully refine the 'Five Qi Returning to the Origin Formula' and incorporate it into my 'Golden Light Method' to produce the most perfect cultivation method for me."

The three children all nodded in agreement.

Ao Ding's consciousness slowly withdrew from the cloud-sea world, and he strolled leisurely to the Bronze Gate.

Another delivery.

Seeing how little remained of Oil Cauldron Hell, Ao Ding felt thoroughly cheerful.

"I don't have much stock left-the eatery may have to close after a while."

"That's fine. Scarlet Soup Manor has other business ventures now, so we can keep going. As for the eatery-we'll discuss it when there's another opportunity."

Although business had boomed again after the seasonings were updated, Green-Eyed Ghost did not care how much money he could earn.

Like Ao Ding, Green-Eyed Ghost regarded the eatery merely as a tool.

"Red-Horn might be a little unwilling, though-no matter. Once there's no business, he'll give up on it naturally. By the way, for some reason, fox ghosts have been prowling around the Mountain Villa-as though they're searching for something. I may need to focus on guarding against them and won't have time to come personally. When that happens, I'll have Red-Horned Ghost contact you."

"Fox ghosts?"

Ao Ding was puzzled.

"Mm, they seem to be looking for someone-but it doesn't matter. I'll send them packing later."

Ao Ding pondered.

A nine-tailed fox demon seemed to have died in that Immortal Tomb back then.

Surely it couldn't be such a coincidence?

Had her relatives come looking for her?

After some thought, Ao Ding said with a smile, "Fox meat has a strong musk-but it should be edible after some processing? Still-their pelts are glossy. They could be made into heavy fox-fur coats. You could capture a few alive, and I'll give it a try."

"Oh-now that you mention it, that's true. You can make fox-fur coats too? I'll capture them later, and you can help make one for me. That could be a business as well."

"How would I know how to do that? Do you have any tailors under you? Let them handle it."

"Recruiting 'craft ghosts' in the wastelands is such a nuisance. And I don't want to go over to the Nether River-"

Green-Eyed Ghost complained, "Ghost souls that come down from the mortal world through proper channels are all taken away by the Northern Yin Ghost Kingdom. Once they reincarnate, their remaining spiritual dregs are tossed into the Nether River. After countless years of refinement in its waters, they give rise to 'ghost monsters' unique to the underworld, which can selectively retain some skills from their former selves."

Ghost souls and ghost monsters: a single word's difference, yet worlds apart.

Ghost souls were the foundation of living beings' passage through the Three Realms, spiritual seeds truly recognized by the traditions of immortals, gods, buddhas, ghosts, and others. Ghost monsters, however, were merely a kind of monster produced by the underworld, initially muddleheaded and without thought. As they devoured their fellows, they gradually recovered some memories of their former selves. But those former selves' souls had already reincarnated; ghost monsters were nothing more than dregs and fragments of memory.

"I haven't gone to Northern Yin to seek investiture as a king yet, so I have no right to select ghosts from the Nether River. Even if I did... finding craft ghosts would still be difficult."

Strength ghosts, craft ghosts, and spirit ghosts were the three most sought-after types of ghost monsters in the Nether River.

Strength ghosts could be trained into ghost troops. As they evolved, they could also become giant-spirit ghosts, mighty ghosts, flame ghosts, and other ghost monsters specializing in combat.

Craft ghosts were ghosts that had awakened the skills of their former selves: farming, cooking, weaving, forging...

Spirit ghosts possessed special talents, such as Divine Abilities like thousand-mile sight or wind-borne hearing. Their former selves had mostly been cultivators, making them the rarest.

"Forget it, we're only chatting. We can discuss it if we get a chance to catch some fox ghosts. Fox ghosts are best at escaping and very difficult to catch-quite a few ghost kings like using fox ghosts as quarry in their hunting games. Hah-those ghost kings never do any proper work..."

Mm, here he goes again.

Ao Ding listened silently as his business partner complained about Northern Yin's ghost kings.

He had some conjectures.

Judging by this great ghost's cultivation, he should actually have been an orthodox great ghost of Northern Yin's lineage. He had simply disdained certain ghost kings' conduct and broken away.

Mm, in that respect, he was much like Senior Sun.

After chatting for a while, Green-Eyed Ghost went off to attend to proper business.

Ao Ding walked leisurely back, passing through Oil Cauldron Hell.

He was very pleased to see the nearly vanished "hell."

Fresh air and clean ground-who would have imagined that this place had maintained the conditions of a ghost domain for three years?

"In less than half a year, this 'ghost domain' will be completely purified."

Ao Ding returned in satisfaction and continued his daily cultivation.

Just like that, another half year passed. Ao Ding's true Gang grew ever more abundant, and he also grew into a handsome seventeen-year-old youth.

Inside the stone house, Ao Ding was taking inventory in preparation for leaving.

"I'll take all the cultivation manuals and scriptures in the house-"

Ao Ding brought out a small wooden casket and gently drew in the books scattered around the house. More than a thousand Daoist books all flew into it.

The casket was a Dharma Artifact Sun Chen had left him.

There was also a little purple-gold pouch at Ao Ding's waist, another Dharma Artifact. It held half the wealth Sun Chen had left him-cultivation spiritual substances worth a million pattra leaves.

Of course, more important were the several Dharma Artifacts and Dharma Treasures.

The Azure Jade Golden Dragon Banner, a Dharma Treasure that had survived three tribulations and could refine itself.

The Purple-Gold Cosmos Bag, a distinctive spatial Dharma Artifact that had survived the Spirit-Nurturing tribulation.

The Vast Spirit Wooden Casket, likewise a spatial Dharma Artifact that had survived the Spirit-Nurturing tribulation, which Ao Ding used to store books.

There were also a pair of Subduing Dragon Coiling Tiger Yin-Yang Precious Swords and a Five-Thunder Heavenly Heart Dharma Seal.

But these were not Ao Ding's real wealth.

What the million wolf ghosts had contributed made up the bulk of it.

Just imagine: even without any processing, selling each wolf ghost corpse for ten pattra leaves would bring in ten million. All the more so when Ao Ding and Green-Eyed Ghost sold them as dishes enhanced with immortal deliverance spells-a rarity in the underworld.

The money he had earned... When Ao Ding first heard that his net worth had reached the tens of millions, he had struggled to take it in.

I've only just stepped onto the path of cultivation and haven't even properly taken a master yet. How did I become so rich?

At this point, Ao Ding's resentment toward the wolf ghosts vanished completely.

What mortal enemies? What sworn foes?

We're beloved friends and family!

At that thought, Ao Ding remembered the pot of Fragrant Meat Stew he had deliberately kept.

It contained the vicious wolves that had bitten him back then and ended up in the Seven Spirits Sect.

He had specially saved that pot, waiting to taste it himself someday.

Of course, this fortune of tens of millions was not yet entirely in Ao Ding's hands. Green-Eyed Ghost held most of the assets and was helping him purchase all kinds of heavenly materials, earthly treasures, cultivation manuals, and scriptures. The manuals and scriptures stored in the Vast Spirit Wooden Casket were no longer all gifts from Sun Chen; a little under half had been collected from the underworld. According to Green-Eyed Ghost, gathering those manuals and scriptures alone had cost no less than three million pattra leaves.

After packing everything away, Ao Ding took out a sheet of gold paper and carefully placed it at the very bottom of the Purple-Gold Pouch.

Bearing the curses of a million wolf ghosts and brimming with boundless vicious, baleful energy, the sheet of gold paper engraved with the recipe for "Fragrant Meat Stew" was more venomous than even demonic artifacts.

"I'll take it along for now-in case those remnants of the Nethermoon Wolf Court in the mortal world fail to recognize what's good for them..."

After a moment's thought, Ao Ding shook his head.

Surely it wouldn't come to that?

Even the Wolf King was dead. How much could the remnants possibly be capable of?

Tucking the recipe into the very bottom of the Purple-Gold Pouch, Ao Ding slipped his wooden staff into his belt and strolled leisurely to the entrance of the Immortal Tomb.

He retrieved the Qianling Mountain-Calming Pearl hidden by the entrance, bowed three times to the Immortal Tomb, then made his way step by step down Qianling Mountain, where he had cultivated for three years.

Three years had passed, and he felt both a measure of sadness and a measure of excitement for the future.

Inside the Primordial Truth Mirror, the red-robed child was even more excited than Ao Ding, constantly muttering about all the things to do after leaving the mountain, until the child annoyed the Blue-Robed Boy, who had been deriving cultivation methods all this time, and was hurriedly led away by the yellow-robed child.

At the Bronze Gate, he bid farewell to the Green-Eyed Ghost.

"You're leaving?"

"I've made some modest progress in my cultivation, so I plan to go down the mountain and look around. I probably won't be able to talk with you for a while..."

"Not necessarily."

There was silence on the other side at first, then a jade bracelet slowly floated out through the Bronze Gate.

The jade bracelet bore an exceedingly eerie design of a green pupil.

"This is my Dharma Artifact. Take it with you on your travels. In the future, you can find a Spirit Acupoint and trace out a formation to speak with me across realms-if necessary, should you truly encounter an opponent you cannot stand against, you can try asking me for help."

Over the past three years, the Green-Eyed Ghost had watched Ao Ding refine one Yinde Dharma Artifact after another.

That initial impression had gradually changed as well.

Leaving aside where all that wolf meat came from... apart from cooking wolf ghosts, this mortal cultivator's everyday conduct was quite decent. With his help, I really did save many hungry ghosts, allowing quite a few ghosts and monsters to develop "Spirit Consciousness" and retain their sanity. For that alone, the Mountain Villa's eight hundred ghosts owed him a debt.

"All right-"

Ao Ding casually slipped it onto his wrist, waved goodbye to the Bronze Gate, then turned and walked out of Qianling Mountain.

Whoosh-

An autumn breeze blew past, its chill sweeping through his black hair. The youth looked up at the white sun in the sky and smiled faintly.

Three years had passed. It was time to begin a new journey.