Kneaded Clay Body and Flesh Bodhisattva Breath

"My benefactor must have come from a humble background outside the imperial court's jurisdiction, right? That's similar to my origins."

Upon hearing Zhou Yang's words, Cui He smiled bitterly, "The common people have their own hardships to endure, and the slaves have their own tribulations to overcome."

"Since you are outside the capital, it's normal that you don't know much about matters within the capital—if it weren't for my family's scholarly background, as a commoner, I'm afraid I would know very little about the affairs of the court as well."

"Family tradition?"

"It seems that even if Cui He is of humble origin, he is one of those who carries on the family tradition among the common people."

"That's why he has a good understanding of this Guan Village, such as the Revelation Ceremony, his own identity as Cui He in Guan Village, and his entanglements with other people in Guan Village." Zhou Yang thought to himself, but did not show it on his face. He just listened quietly to what Cui He had to say.

Cui He continued, "In the Great Zhao Dynasty, there are only two types of people."

"One is the high-ranking officials."

"The second type is the Guan Nu who serves the officials, offering them money, energy, blood and sweat, and even their own flesh and blood!"

"Among the Guan Nu, none can truly win freedom; everything they have is dependent on the officials!"

"And those officials, they were all greedy and tyrannical. They looked like human beings, but inside they were already devils."

"Most ghosts lack consciousness. If a person gets involved with a ghost, it's a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. But if a person is targeted by an official, it's a ten-out-of-ten chance of death!" This is because they have human consciousness and awareness, but have lost the empathy and compassion between people.

"When a person is harmed by a ghost, they can still use their understanding of ghosts to discover certain patterns in ghosts and break these patterns to escape. But when a person is in trouble with an official, even if you know how to avoid his patterns, he also has ways to make it impossible for you to avoid him. You will inevitably fall into his patterns and his trap!"

"An official, in reality, is an official among devils!"

As Cui He spoke, her face was filled with despair!

Cui Zhu, standing beside him, was stunned, tears welling up in her eyes.

Zhou Yang was utterly terrified!

He had thought that outside of Guan Village, although the world was cruel, people always had a chance to survive and continue their lives, and perhaps some areas were still under the rule of men.

Little did he know that the world today would be the complete end of the world for humanity!

The so-called continuation of the population, the so-called reproduction and growth, the so-called humane civilization—all have vanished in this world!

If a village is wiped out by a ghost, it means that hundreds of households have been completely wiped out.

After the wildfire, the spring breeze will never return.

Living people, as insignificant as weeds, cannot leave behind any seeds; they simply turn to ashes in the fire. Zhou Yang suddenly remembered the hand-drawn route map that Chang Dafeng had given to Ding Ling.

His route map was marked with "Ghost Lands" and "Obstruction Circle" everywhere, and "Human Lands" were surrounded by numerous Ghost Lands Obstruction Circle, making them very few.

That hand-drawn map simply depicts Chang Dafeng's observations and experiences within a hundred-mile radius.

But isn't it also another reflection of the state of the world?!

Zhou Yang felt an indescribable sense of sorrow and despair welling up in his heart. This emotion was even more difficult for him to resist than the fear he felt when facing the evil spirit Ghost Rhyme.

He desperately wanted to grasp something, constantly trying to rouse himself and calm his emotions, so he asked Cui He, "The common people are not under the jurisdiction of the court, so their lives must be better if they hide away, right?"

"People need to eat and drink, so they have to cultivate farmland and live by rivers. They have to follow the waterways to find villages inhabited by wild people. No matter how well they are hidden, they can always be found. These villages can hide from ghosts, but they can't hide from officials. When officials catch wild people, they will be more cruel to them than to the Guan Nu under their command," Cui He said dejectedly.

Zhou Yang then asked, "You also mentioned the Deliverance from Suffering Escort Agency earlier. Aren't those escorts often seen in places where evil spirits gather, rescuing the living and relieving suffering?"

"Compared to government officials, bodyguards are always someone that the living can rely on, right?"

"Yes, and there are also those who pull out the darts..." Cui Zhu, who had been hanging his head, raised his head at this moment. Tears welled up in his eyes, and suddenly they turned into two long streams of tears that flowed out of his eyes.

Cui Zhu burst into tears. "My grandfather and the others encountered those 'bane-pulling spies.' They said that those spies were like nails driven into places where evil spirits gathered, uniting the living together."

"To the living, they are heroes as majestic as Mount Tai... But the Bitter Dart Pullers haven't appeared for many years; only occasionally can we hear news of them from other places, saying they are still fighting..."

"The gathering place for escorts has been destroyed by the imperial court. There are not even one escort out of ten left!"

Cui He continued, "These officials in the imperial court are more terrifying than demons. What does it matter whether they were dead or alive when they obtained their Official Body?"

"No matter what, they are not on the side of humanity."

"However, judging from the way my family prepared this way for me to Revelation Ceremony, the first three steps of the Revelation Ceremony, which seem terrible and hopeless, may actually have room for maneuver."

"If you prepare in advance and get through the first three steps, you can avoid any major incidents."

"The difficult part is the final Seedling Sprouting and Seedling Drenching."

The first three steps—opening the person's abdomen, removing the internal organs, and then stuffing them with "official organs" unrelated to the human body—how could Cui He possibly get through all this without any serious harm?

Zhou Yang was puzzled and looked at Cui He, waiting for him to continue explaining.

Then he said, "The ghosts of Guan Village wear human skin and still retain human consciousness to some extent, but they are constantly influenced by the ghosts beneath the skin. In their temperament, they all have some of the ghost's sinister and cruel aspects."

"But precisely because they are influenced by ghosts, their minds are sometimes not so sharp. I've heard that some capable people have even entered the Human-Skin Guan Village, and can often put the Guan Village in a 'dilemma, at a loss' state. When the Guan Village are bewildered, that's when the living can use their methods."

At this point, Cui He secretly glanced at Zhou Yang. This benefactor was indeed the capable person he had described.

Zhou Yang frowned and said, "This kind of thing is actually not difficult to do."

He argued with the Zhou Family several times, and each time he achieved good results.

He wasn't particularly eloquent, nor did he possess much quick wit; he was just an ordinary person. Since he could do it, there's no reason why others couldn't.

"That's not how it is..." Cui He shook her head repeatedly, "A capable person like you treats things that ordinary people like us can't do as commonplace."

Cui Zhu also said, "When my elder brother asked me for money to play around, I was so scared that I trembled all over and couldn't even speak a complete sentence to him, let alone argue with him."

"Can I really use words to force it into a corner? I'm afraid it might go berserk and eat me on the spot!"

"Just seeing them every day and exchanging routine greetings is exhausting and leaves me overwhelmed with anxiety, not to mention having to deal with their sudden probing and interrogations..."

The reason for the situation described by Cui Zhu was entirely due to the fact that the two of them had very low levels of Mindfulness.

Zhou Yang shook his head inwardly, but said aloud, "Facing a ghost, one cannot help but feel terrified, as if facing a life-or-death situation."

"But with each hurdle we Mindfulness, our mindfulness will improve slightly."

"From what I hear of your words—do you not even know the practice of Mindfulness?"

"Mindfulness?" Cui Zhu was taken aback.

Cui He sighed, "My benefactor knows about Mindfulness practice, but doesn't he know that every step forward in Mindfulness requires facing a life-or-death crisis?"

"Especially in the later stages of spiritual practice, one must repeatedly experience life and death before one can barely accumulate a wisp of Mindfulness... Few people can maintain Mindfulness mindfulness in their practice for a long time."

"Those who have experienced life and death for a long time, after a few days of peace, will develop a greater fear of the threshold of life and death. This fear is even greater than that of those who have never experienced life and death and are experiencing it for the first time!"

"Every hurdle is difficult to overcome... If I can't get past even one hurdle, then all is lost, and everything is utterly bleak."

"Therefore, this method, though seemingly without any threshold—anyone who musters the courage can cultivate Mindfulness —in reality, the thresholds are all inside the door, and each step is higher and more difficult to overcome than the last."

Zhou Yang had no objection to Cui He's words.

Although Mindfulness practice is arduous, once Upright Heart is cultivated, it can bind evil spirits.

Although the road ahead may be bumpy, it is always bright.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yang smiled and said, "After Mindfulness comes ' Upright Heart '."

"Once you reach the level of Upright Heart, you can bind ghosts. Presumably, at that time, humans will have the power to contend with ghosts." "Yes, I've heard that after Upright Heart, there is another level called ' Golden-Nature Will.' Even if a person at that level dies physically, some of their beliefs will not perish and can remain in the world for a long time, influencing ghosts." Cui He nodded. "However, not to mention Golden-Nature Will and Mindfulness, even the accumulation of Mindfulness is full of difficulties and obstacles for ordinary people."

"I've only accumulated four strands of Mindfulness so far..."

"In contrast, those who plot to gain Official Body do so by following family traditions. During the Revelation Ceremony, they either use visual deception or strange methods. Some people can even directly graft fake internal organs onto their own bodies."

"Thus, the first three steps of the Revelation Ceremony are completed using these various methods."

Zhou Yang's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

He learned from Cui He about the next step in Upright Heart's progress—"Golden-Nature Will"!

Physical body perishes, but faith endures!

This is the Golden-Nature Will!

The road ahead may be long, but at least it's not a dead end.

So what if it takes a little longer?

The road ahead is long and arduous, but I will persevere in my pursuit!

At this point, Cui He finally revealed the key reason why he felt the first three steps of the Revelation Ceremony were not difficult to pass—those of them who had voluntarily entered the Guan Village all possessed certain methods. These methods could deceive the Guan Village present at the Revelation Ceremony, allowing them to pass the first three steps without incident!

"My benefactor, my family has a tradition of being a coroner. Later, my ancestors sculpted clay figures in various places. Based on these two skills, I developed a breathing method called ' Kneaded Clay Body and Flesh Bodhisattva Breath. This method allows me to borrow the Ghost Rhyme after I plug my nostrils and navel with a lump of clay, and then stick it to my nose and navel."

"This way, I can be isolated from human presence, making me look like a ghost."

"I used the first application of this method last night."

"Secondly, I first create a clay body on my own body to cover my physical body. I then use my Supernatural Ripple to control this clay bodhisattva body, making it look exactly like my real body. In this way, if a ghost comes to cut off my head and take out my internal organs, it will only take the head and internal organs of the clay figure."

"Using this method, I should be able to get through the Revelation Ceremony."