Where is the Immortal Method?

Li Yan had no way of knowing that his exchange with Dong Fuyi, taking place within a spiritual space through consciousness alone, though it might seem lengthy to describe, had actually occurred in an extremely short span of time. If not for the considerable time Dong Fuyi had spent using his mana to sustain his life and heal his injuries, that exchange would likely have been completed within just a few dozen breaths. Just as he was reeling in astonishment over all these matters, he suddenly felt a release, and that thing like an eye vanished from his body.

Military Advisor Ji withdrew his divine sense, steadied his own mind, and said to Li Yan with a smile, "Disciple, you have completed the secret technique of meridian cleansing within our sect. You have now formally entered the first layer of the 'Wood Yin Skill.' Your performance has pleased me greatly. Go back and rest for now. After lunch, come find me, and I will naturally pass on to you the mental techniques and oral formulas for the first layer of the 'Wood Yin Skill.'" Having said this, he looked at Li Yan.

Hearing these words, Li Yan sat on the ground with a dazed expression, then a look of joy spread across his face. He pressed both hands against the ground, stood up, and bowed to Military Advisor Ji. "Thank you, Teacher!" A faint trace of gratitude flickered in his eyes. After bowing once more, he turned and walked briskly toward his stone hut.

Military Advisor Ji watched his retreating figure until it faded into the distance, then slowly withdrew his gaze. A complex look flashed through his eyes. He stood there for a short while longer before turning and heading back to his own room.

Li Yan turned and walked toward the stone hut. He keenly felt that same force staring at him from behind again, like needles pricking his back, until it vanished after a moment. But just as before, he kept a smile on his face and walked lightly into his stone hut.

Once inside, he casually closed the door, and his expression immediately darkened. He now knew that even this stone hut and its stone door could not block Military Advisor Ji's strand of divine sense. Still, after entering, he felt much more at ease, and he was certain that strand of divine sense had been withdrawn.

Looking at his clothes, still soaked through, and recalling the gentle voice and smile of Military Advisor Ji when he had first opened his eyes, his heart tightened. Then he sneered inwardly. "Really that concerned about me? You're just afraid this 'pig' of yours will die too soon, and that wouldn't be worth it, would it? Otherwise, why leave a weak person lying on the ground soaking wet for half an hour, and this close to deep autumn? Hmph! Or maybe you're afraid the fire poison inside me won't leave, so you keep pressing it down with cold water and chill. All that business about skipping the tedious rituals of joining the sect, making up the 'Wood Shadow Gate' background, and giving me a detailed introduction to the major martial arts sects and cultivation realm divisions—it was all just to make me believe you were an aloof hermit passing on a martial arts manual to me. Truly meticulous, even down to these daily little details, acting them out so convincingly. You could fool a man to his death without him ever knowing."

But no matter how perfect the deception, there would always be flaws. When he recalled the day he had formally become Military Advisor Ji's disciple, after kowtowing, Military Advisor Ji had immediately wanted to teach him the "Qi Guidance Art," which had caught him off guard. Even if he wasn't part of the martial world, he knew that even in a private school, a teacher would first explain the school's rules before starting lessons. How much more so for a sect? Upon entering, there was no mention of sect prohibitions or disciplinary rules. Instead, Military Advisor Ji had seemed impatient, as if he couldn't wait for Li Yan to learn it right away. Thinking back now, he realized that although Military Advisor Ji was full of clever schemes, he had still let a few clues slip. It was just that Li Yan was only now putting two and two together.

Looking again at his soaked clothes, he also caught a nauseating smell. Upon closer inspection, he saw dark, sticky patches faintly visible through the wet fabric. Puzzled, he undid his clothes and was stunned. His entire body was covered in a greasy, black, viscous substance, as if coated in a layer of black oil, now emitting a foul odor. He had no idea that this was because, having reached the first layer of the Qi Condensation Stage, spiritual energy had expelled impurities and waste from his body through his pores. After a moment's thought, he assumed it was some toxins that Dong Fuyi had helped flush out.

These impurities clung to his skin, greasy and uncomfortable, making him feel utterly miserable. He had to deal with it quickly. So he opened the door again, still wearing a faint smile, went out to fetch some hot water, and gave himself a simple wash. Immediately, he felt refreshed and light-bodied.

After changing into clean clothes, he sat cross-legged on the wooden bed in the room, his eyes slightly closed, as if stabilizing the cultivation he had just completed.

Li Yan was not cultivating at this moment, of course. After settling into the cross-legged position, he regulated his breathing. Only now did he have the chance to sense the state of his body. His senses were now several times sharper than before, and he could also feel that his "internal energy" had thickened beyond measure. He now knew this should be mana. Back when he was practicing the "Qi Guidance Art," he had already felt light and agile, with sharper ears and eyes, but never before had he perceived the world with such unprecedented clarity. His body felt incredibly comfortable, as if every drop of blood was joyfully and eagerly racing through him.

He could not yet perform internal vision, relying only on sensation to gauge his physical condition. Suddenly, he recalled what Dong Fuyi had said: the fire poison was still inside him, and he must not continue cultivating the original "Wood Yin Skill"—or rather, it should be called the "Black Night Curtain Azure Skill"—as this would trigger the fire poison to flare up again.

With a thought, he cautiously began to circulate the mental technique of the "Black Night Curtain Azure Skill." Immediately, his face changed drastically. He had only intended to confirm whether the old man's words were true, partly out of youthful curiosity, wanting to see if he could drive his mana along the technique's path. But the moment he channeled his mana into the route prescribed by the technique, before it could even travel through his meridians, a surge of scorching heat erupted from one corner of his dantian, like a ferocious beast catching the scent of blood. It stirred violently, as if about to burst out of his body, scaring him into immediately dispersing the technique.

Even so, it took a long time for the churning mana in Li Yan's dantian to slowly settle, and the scorching heat in that corner gradually receded until he could no longer sense it. Only then did Li Yan let out a long breath. "So everything Dong Fuyi said was true. The fire poison in my body really is suppressed and coiled here. That means what he said about the 'Gui Water True Scripture' being in my Sea of Consciousness is also true. But how do I enter this Sea of Consciousness?" For a complete novice like him, with no one to teach him, this was utterly baffling.

"Could it be to circulate mana to the Baihui acupoint? No, that would use mana, and the only method I know to channel mana is the 'Black Night Curtain Azure Skill,' which would be suicide. Is it through meditation and visualization? Or some method to activate divine sense?"

After a moment, he shook his head and laughed bitterly at himself. "Since Dong Fuyi said the immortal method is left in the Sea of Consciousness, and knowing his current situation, it definitely can't be opened with mana. So why am I still thinking about it? Besides, he clearly said the Sea of Consciousness is a mental space formed by spiritual power. So it should be opened with thought or spiritual power. The Sea of Consciousness must be in the head, likely at the crown, forehead, or back of the head—a few major acupoints. That's all the area I can try."

With that, he stopped overthinking. He slowly exhaled, calmed his mind, and focused his will on visualizing the Baihui acupoint at the very top of his head. After a while, nothing happened. So he tried shifting his will to the Shenting acupoint at the front of his forehead. After some time, still no reaction. Undiscouraged, he moved his will from the front of his forehead down to between his brows, preparing to examine the Yintang acupoint there. But just as his will reached the middle of his forehead, before even reaching the Yintang acupoint, his vision blurred, and a dizzying array of images flashed rapidly before his eyes. After a moment, when the images stopped, he was stunned. He had returned to the same space where he had met Dong Fuyi before. Beneath his feet was still that black lake, the sky above still dark and heavy, the water still and waveless, silent—as if he had always been here. He was still floating above the lake's surface.

He immediately understood. Dong Fuyi had said before that this was his Sea of Consciousness. Where else could it be? Could he be special, with multiple Seas of Consciousness?

He looked around. Everything was gray and hazy, with nothing in sight. He could take in the whole space at a glance, let alone find any books or techniques.

Li Yan didn't think Dong Foyi would go to such trouble to save him just to deceive him. He knew he just hadn't found it yet. But there was truly nothing here. He thought about going farther to look. The moment he had this thought, his body shot forward, startling him so much that he wobbled in the air before stopping.

Before, in this Sea of Consciousness, he had tried to move his body but couldn't take a single step or shift at all. Now, with just a thought, he was flying forward on his own. How could that not startle him? After the shock, he slowly steadied his mind and again directed his will forward. He floated forward once more, gradually picking up speed. This discovery delighted him, and soon he was flying around playfully, his movements becoming more and more practiced, darting left and right, up and down, having a grand time.

After a long while, Li Yan hovered in the air, slowly calming his excitement. "Flying is wonderful—fast and free, no need to follow winding paths. But this is all an illusion. If only I could really fly," he thought, feeling a pang of reluctance. He loved this feeling, this sense of freedom.

From the dawn of humanity, people had longed to soar freely through the skies like birds. It was humanity's dream, but only a dream. Then his eyes slowly lit up. Immortals—immortals could fly. Yes, once one became an immortal, not just flying, but ascending to the heavens and descending into the earth would be effortless. At this moment, he burned with an intense desire to cultivate immortality. But if Dong Fuyi knew this, he would surely curse him out. Earlier, when he had told Li Yan that cultivation could grant immortality, Li Yan hadn't wanted to cultivate at all, only wanting to go home and live as a mortal. Now he wanted to cultivate, but only because he had accidentally discovered the joy of flying. What a ridiculous reason.

Li Yan stood still for a moment, then set aside these thoughts. The most urgent task now was to find the immortal technique books in this space.

After half a cup of tea, he stopped. This space wasn't very vast—about five or six hundred zhang in size, like a hemisphere. Apart from a small lake at the circular center, everything else was gray and hazy. The ground was a bluish gray, and the sky was overcast. When he flew to the edges, there seemed to be an invisible force that he couldn't approach no matter what. He wandered around like this, occasionally landing, tapping here and there, searching. Time passed, and he found nothing.

Li Yan stood on the ground, the open space before him unobstructed. He could see the gray sky in the distance. He cupped his chin with one hand. "I've covered every inch of this several-hundred-zhang area, checked every suspicious spot, and there's nothing. So where are the immortal technique books?"

After a moment, he suddenly slapped his forehead and muttered, "Idiot." The only obvious feature in this space was the small lake at the center. Had he fallen for the "dark under the lamp" fallacy? With that thought, he rose and flew swiftly toward the center.

In no time, he was above the central lake. Looking down, the lake was calm and waveless, the black water like an abyss. Beneath the surface, it seemed like a dark chasm. "Do I have to go into the lake? If so, this old man really has a twisted sense of humor, making me play some treasure hunt game." Helpless, he descended toward the lake, hoping it wasn't too deep and that he wouldn't have to play some game of holding his breath and diving through winding caves.

But when he reached the water's surface, his expression froze again. He couldn't enter the lake at all. The water was like a smooth, black mirror. He could only stand on its surface, unable to sink even a fraction.

Li Yan was at his wit's end, feeling utterly frustrated. This was the one place that seemed most likely to hold the books, and yet he couldn't get into the lake. Was he just supposed to stare at this mirror-like surface? "Mirror-like surface"—a flash of inspiration struck Li Yan. He looked down at the lake again, but there was nothing. The pitch-black water now mirrored his own dark expression.

After standing there a moment longer, he suddenly soared into the air. When he was above the small lake, he narrowed his eyes and concentrated his spiritual power, probing the lake's surface below. The moment his spiritual power touched the surface, the dark, mirror-like water burst into a dazzling golden light, densely covered with countless characters. Li Yan's heart leaped with joy. But before he could make out the characters, his weak spiritual power collapsed, and the golden words vanished without a trace. Hovering in the air, Li Yan let out a long breath. He had finally found it.

He steadied himself, gathered his spiritual power again, and probed the lake's surface. Once more, dense golden characters appeared before his eyes. Near the rightmost edge of the lake, four gleaming golden characters read: "Gui Water True Scripture." Directly to their left, rows of smaller characters were neatly arranged vertically. Knowing his spiritual power was too weak, he didn't dare delay and immediately began reading intently. This concerned both his life and the matter of flying he cared so much about—he couldn't afford any carelessness.