Half-Step Immortal

With the explanation from his senior brother, Tathagata, Zhang Xuezhou understood some things about cultivation, but he still had many doubts.

"Master, can you cultivate 108,000 acupoints and transform those numerous subdivided acupoints back into acupoints that can be opened without needing to be connected?"

Zhang Xuezhou thought for a few seconds before asking about the situation involving him.

Without the guidance of his senior brother, Buddha, Zhang Xuezhou would have had almost no suitable reference material, and might have even had to return to the secret land of Western Kunlun to learn about it.

He would certainly not do something that takes a roundabout approach instead of something that is readily available.

He was even unwilling to face the capricious emperor and empress.

"You seem quite interested in the 108,000 acupoints," Brother Tathagata chuckled. "The situation you described does exist; it's the theoretical form of all acupoints converging into one. This form allows certain techniques to form a complete whole."

"How can it be a holistic approach?" Zhang Xuezhou asked, puzzled.

"For example, the Diamond Sutra, the Marrow Cleansing Sutra, the Prajna Sutra, the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra, the Surangama Sutra, and the Avatamsaka Sutra that I practice—these six sutras combined—allow my body to be perfectly unified, making my cultivation power stronger than when they were scattered," said Brother Tathagata. "The technique of the 108,000 acupoints is only similar to a Divine Ability power, but ultimately it is not Divine Ability power. However, when all the acupoints are unified, this technique, when combined, will exert the effect of Divine Ability!"

"So, you can have one more Divine Ability?" Zhang Xuezhou concluded.

"It's not just one more Divine Ability," Senior Brother Tathagata laughed. "If our Divine Ability powers upon reaching the seventh realm are also included in Gai Han's, then it will be a supernatural Divine Ability among Divine Ability powers, capable of being stacked to create top-tier power."

"I see!"

"For example, my physical body is like this. My Divine Ability are combined with the techniques of 108,000 acupoints, which makes my physical body virtually invincible," said Brother Tathagata. "If all the acupoints in my body were unified, it would be the strongest indestructible body, and I could maintain peak physical strength even hundreds of years later!"

"That's incredible!"

Zhang Xuezhou looked astonished.

The Buddha-brother before him was clearly the strongest physical body possessor he had ever seen, and there was even room for improvement in him, not lacking in the ultimate theoretical deduction.

"What happens if one's cultivation level is low, resulting in many acupoints not being fully opened, but a large portion of them being closed?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"How could such a thing be possible?" Brother Tathagata chuckled. "Such a situation doesn't exist in actual cultivation. Without reaching a perfect level, it's impossible to evolve the unification of all apertures, not even a part of it!"

"Perfect standard?"

After being explained to him by his senior brother, Buddha, Zhang Xuezhou finally understood the reason for his body's current form.

His skill in using Grain Avoidance techniques and other avoidance methods was truly perfect.

Thanks to the assistance of advanced medical care in the real world, Zhang Xuezhou's fasting practice can be described as having Grain Avoidance codes.

Moreover, his Divine Sense was far stronger than that of a normal cultivator. At the True Spirit Realm stage, it was close to Divine Sense of a cultivator in the Divine Ability Realm. For example, Ren Yisheng even performed Yang Soul Astral Projection ahead of time.

Under these circumstances, Zhang Xuezhou not only pushed the Grain Avoidance Technique to the maximum level of cultivation in the True Spirit Realm, but he also far exceeded the level of Grain Avoidance Technique that this realm could normally possess.

When he was baptized by the wave of Spiritual Qi, the cultivation he could promote through his Consciousness Creation Realm clearly reached a certain limit, or even broke through that limit, thus creating a situation of cultivation that was different from normal cultivation.

"The cult leader once mentioned that unifying all the orifices can lead to the power of a top-tier immortal. If you insist on that possibility, then I can only call this state 'half-step immortal'!"

Brother Tathagata initially rejected Zhang Xuezhou's proposal outright, but he quickly reflected on it and realized that even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he couldn't draw such a definitive conclusion.

This led Brother Tathagata to mention the concept of a half-step immortal.

"Simply put, if I possessed this state of unifying most of my acupoints, then I wouldn't just be one of the strongest in my current realm, I would be the strongest!"

The Buddha pointed to himself, and Zhang Qian couldn't help but sneer. He looked around, then found a large blue stone and kowtowed on it.

A dull thud rang out, and the bluestone was smashed into pieces.

This made Zhang Qian quickly suppress his laughter.

Some cultivators use unorthodox abilities to make themselves invulnerable to swords and blades, but none of these abilities involve the ability to smash one's head against a rock.

Let alone banging your head against it, even Zhang Qian would have a hard time cutting through a thick bluestone with a knife.

He was startled, realizing that this monk wasn't just bragging, but genuinely amazing, and that the monk's claim of being the strongest in the Sole Self Realm was likely true.

This also suggests that what the monk and the other young monk said wasn't a joke; terms like "raising poisonous insects," "Buddhist disciple," and "cult" might also be true.

"If all my orifices were unified, even just a part of them, this bluestone should crumble into dust, not become a lump," the Buddha explained. "This is the difference between dispersion and unification."

This represents a qualitative change!

"Your description is correct; it truly represents a different level of quality, akin to soft water transforming into hard metal!"

Brother Tathagata nodded.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but calculate how many days he could endure hunger.

His skill in Grain Avoidance techniques has likely undergone a qualitative change; fasting for three to seven days is clearly no longer a problem for him.

If he could calculate the current number of unobstructed acupoints on his body, and thus calculate the time he could Grain Avoidance under normal conditions, he would certainly need to extend the fasting time further if all his acupoints were connected.

"There's a reason why His Majesty looks down on the Grain Avoidance Technique!"

Zhang Xuezhou pondered his own abilities for a few seconds, then compared them with his senior brother Tathagata's ability to unify all the orifices.

He eventually concluded that he was probably the cultivator in the Consciousness Creation Realm who could endure hunger the most, and there was likely no other like him.

However, this ability is indeed too useless and difficult to use in direct confrontation.

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to give up, since he also needed to go hungry, and being able to endure hunger for a little longer wouldn't be entirely useless.

If he were tormented by the extraterrestrial demons again someday, causing the interval to double or even become longer, this would be a life-saving ability. Accordingly, Zhang Xuezhou did not feel that he was at a disadvantage in the face of his life.

He even wanted to push this skill to its limits.

"The same method you used to become a half-step immortal is how you will become a top-tier immortal. Once you understand one method, you understand all methods. Simply repeat what you've done before, and you'll surely unify all 108,000 orifices in your body!"

When Zhang Xuezhou inquired, Brother Rulai gave a thoughtful and earnest reply.

This didn't bother Zhang Xuezhou much.

If His Majesty doesn't move the formation of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains again, and doesn't ask him to come and help again, Zhang Xuezhou will find it difficult to seize another fortuitous opportunity.

The more significant problem is that Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation level is fixed. Even if the fortuitous opportunity repeats itself, he will not be able to push the avoidance techniques such as the Grain Avoidance Technique to their ultimate perfection, and therefore will not be able to achieve the unification of the 108,000 acupoints.

But the words of his senior brother, Zhang Xuezhou, had already cleared up Zhang Xuezhou's doubts and made him understand what he had actually gained in the Hunyuan Wuji Formation.

In the field of Grain Avoidance, he is currently a half-immortal. Based on his actual level of Grain Avoidance, even if cultivators who are two or three major realms above him also practice this technique, they would find it difficult to match his current level, let alone those who practice ordinary Grain Avoidance techniques.

This could even involve the level of other evasion techniques he possesses.