With its business concluded and no reason to stay, Huang Yu took its leave.
But it was in a pleasant mood, for the immortal master had treated it kindly and was willing to hear it out. That was a tremendous step forward.
Huang Yu understood all the more clearly why "the Dao must not be lightly imparted." With this connection established, more visits in the future would bring opportunities.
Watching its departing figure, Yuan Bai was visibly reluctant to part.
Over their time together, it and Huang Yu had become friends.
Its first friend in its life.
It felt good.
Then it thought again: Banyan Tree Slope was not far from Yellow Wind Graveyard. Paying a visit would be easy enough.
So it returned to the foot of the slope.
"Eek, eek, eek!"
The monkeys immediately came up to welcome it, gesturing with hands and feet as they described what had happened.
Beasts had their own language, and Yuan Bai soon learned that a terrifying ghost had appeared on Banyan Tree Slope.
It guessed that the visitor might have been the thousand-year-old female ghost from Secluded Nether Cave, who was said to be extremely formidable, appearing and disappearing like a phantom.
But however formidable she was, daring to trouble the immortal master was tantamount to courting death.
The immortal master was still perfectly fine, which was proof enough of who had won and who had lost.
The immortal master's strength truly is unfathomable!
Yuan Bai could not help marveling inwardly. Then it summoned the little monkey Yuan Shier. Upon learning that the immortal master had given it a name too, Yuan Bai felt conflicted, with a faint sense that its treasure had been snatched away.
As the monkey king, it was domineering by nature and ruled its subjects strictly. Before leaving, it had therefore drawn a circle on the ground, forbidding the other mountain monkeys from going up to approach Chen Jin.
Who would have thought such a huge breach would occur this time? It felt as though its home had been raided, leaving a sour taste in its heart.
Still, Yuan Bai did not punish Yuan Shier. It patted the little monkey's head and let the matter rest.
Things were different now. Its visit to Black Wind Mountain had brought considerable changes to Yuan Bai's aspirations:
The world really could be so vast!
It hoped to follow Chen Jin out into the world, to see it and venture through it...
The moon rose above the pine tips, then climbed to the middle of the sky.
Chen Jin had long since seated himself in the canopy and begun his cultivation practice.
As his cultivation unfolded and deepened, knowledge of the cultivation realms surged forth.
He thus learned that there were twelve realms of cultivation in all.
This number had not been chosen arbitrarily; there was considerable significance behind it.
For twelve represented "the great number of Heaven." A year had twelve months, for instance, and a day had twelve two-hour periods, and so on.
Of the twelve cultivation realms, the first three-"Skin Tempering," "Bone Forging," and "Entering Jin"-were called the "Three Mortal Passes."
The warriors and martial artists of the jianghu were essentially all within the Three Mortal Passes.
The fourth realm was "Aperture Opening." Once the apertures were opened, one could draw Qi into the body.
At this realm, one could be called a cultivator.
For there were many kinds of Qi between heaven and earth, such as the refined Qi of food and water, innate primordial Qi, and those of the four seasons, five elements, six attributes, and so on.
The different kinds of Qi varied in quality, from superior to inferior.
Thus, the methods for cultivating different grades of Qi determined one's starting point.
Great Daoist sects, divine sects and demonic schools, unorthodox paths and miscellaneous traditions...
The three teachings and nine schools, a tangled assortment.
After achieving success in Qi refinement, one would break through to the fifth realm, "Embryonic Breathing," sustaining oneself on internal Qi, holding firm and guarding the One.
Here was where the problem arose.
Chen Jin had returned to life in a borrowed corpse, yet could perform embryonic breathing with the mere body of a white zombie. It was truly inconceivable.
Not only could he perform embryonic breathing, but he could also condense True Qi.
True Qi, one had to understand, was a product of the eighth realm.
It simply threw everything into disarray.
The likeliest possibility was that this shell had come with it, along with those memories of the soul.
So I'm a reincarnated mighty figure, and the original owner really was a sword immortal?
But if that were so, how could the people of the Yan Household have turned him into a zombie?
That did not make sense either.
What a headache.
Possessing True Qi certainly did not mean Chen Jin currently had the strength of the eighth realm. That was not how it worked.
After all, that little bit of True Qi was quite meager. For now, it chiefly served as a last-resort measure, not something he would use lightly.
So far, he had used True Qi only twice in total: once to seize the sword, and once to cleave the sword.
Every use had to be treasured. He had to make it last.
He suddenly realized that this little bit of True Qi within him seemed to have been deliberately left behind to save his life at a critical moment.
Whatever the case, having such a trump card was ultimately a good thing.
In any event, Chen Jin's current condition was highly unusual. It was difficult to classify him by any specific, detailed realm. Any final judgment would have to wait until he had shed his corpse skin.
And with the Dragon-Tiger Inner Treasury Mysterious Scripture in his grasp, he had begun with the essence Qi of the sun and moon as his seed. The quality of this Qi seed could be called uniquely blessed by heaven, among the very best.
After finishing that night's cultivation practice, Chen Jin did not hurry down. He sat there, quietly waiting for the morning sun to rise in the east.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and sensed a ball of fire beginning to burn on the eastern horizon.
Soon, myriad rays pierced the clouds and began spilling over the earth.
Purple qi came from the east.
With practiced ease, Chen Jin visualized the blazing sun burning like fire, then gathered a strand-not to ingest, but to apply to the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman between his brows.
The corpse talisman had Yin Baleful Intent as its network of lines, engraved into his flesh. Upon encountering the burning fire, it immediately reacted violently.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The winding, coiling talismanic inscriptions seemed to come alive, heaving and writhing like startled little insects, all trying to burrow deeper.
They even tried to burrow into Chen Jin's brain.
At this critical moment, Chen Jin held his mind firm and remained resolutely unmoving, leaving no opening whatsoever.
The morning sun broke through every veil of cloud and mist, leaping into view and blazing with light.
At that moment, the fire burned fiercely, neither flinching nor dodging.
Crack!
With nowhere to hide, the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman lay exposed to the sunlight. It lost all ability to struggle and was burned to ashes in an instant.
He reached up and rubbed it, as though rubbing grime from his skin, and it fell away in a shower.
At the same time, Chen Jin felt as though he had broken free of some shackle. A lightness spread between his brows, his mind clear and refreshed. He opened his mouth and recited, "Today I break the shackles on my body; one day I shall roam free!"
He laughed heartily, his spirits soaring.
At the foot of the slope, Yuan Bai had heard from Yuan Shier about Chen Jin going fishing. It rose early that morning, wondering whether Chen Jin liked eating fish.
Since the immortal master wanted fish, it ought to serve him as an attendant under his tutelage.
It knew there were plenty of fish in the river. Though the wind and waves were strong and catching them would be difficult, would that not make its sincerity all the more evident?
Yuan Bai had no suitable tools and did not know how to fish, so it thought of visiting Yellow Wind Graveyard to borrow an iron fork from Huang Yu.
Huang Yu had abundant supplies and ought to have one. If it was willing, Yuan Bai could also invite it over to spear fish by the river together.
In truth, Yuan Bai itself had long wanted a taste of fresh fish.
Just then, it suddenly heard the immortal master's voice from the old banyan tree.
Laughter!
Come to think of it, Yuan Bai did not seem to have ever heard Chen Jin laugh like that. It found it very unusual. Unable to contain its curiosity, it immediately ran up the slope and climbed the tree to the canopy.
There it saw Chen Jin standing with his hands behind his back, a rising sun ascending in the east behind him, its light making him seem like an immortal descended to the world.
For a moment, Yuan Bai could not help staring in a daze.
Chen Jin looked over and suddenly said, "Yuan Bai, come. I shall teach you the method for refining the Heng Bone."
Blessed with a flash of understanding, the monkey king immediately prostrated itself and kowtowed, unable to contain its joy.