Shen Haichan
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Hu Mang felt that the AI's tone had become a little more human.
"Old Xie, I heard you've been obsessed with fishing lately. How's your catch? You've had a great haul, haven't you?" Hu Mang asked deliberately.
Upon hearing this, Old Xie's tone became serious.
"The fishing trip failed to achieve its intended goals, mainly due to the following uncontrollable variables: First, abnormal fluctuations in atmospheric pressure suppressed the fish's appetite, which was beyond the scope of my bait recipe; second, although I precisely calculated the tides and wind direction, the underwater topography data had blind spots, and the fish chose alternative routes to detour; third, according to my visual estimation, a large fish briefly touched the hook tip ten minutes ago, but failed to lock in due to interface compatibility issues—this was an occasional malfunction at the Law Artifact level, rather than an operational error."
"In conclusion, this zero output was a normal error-tolerant behavior Non-Self technology; next time I will upgrade the equipment driver and optimize the Law Artifact configuration, at which time I will definitely achieve full-load output."
"..."
The Hu Mang smacked its lips, speechless.
"That's good, keep it up. There's something I'd like to ask you."
Then Hu Mang explained his doubts: the compatibility between the Flower of Essence and the Golden Core, and the choice between the Demonic Golden Core and the Buddhist Golden Core.
Old Xie across from me paused for a moment, then became "intelligent" again.
"Your question contains two sub-topics: first, the compatibility issue when the Flower of Essence and the Golden Core coexist in the Crimson Palace; second, the choice of path between the Demonic Golden Core and the Buddhist Golden Core. These two sub-topics actually point to the same underlying logic—the resource allocation priority of the Crimson Palace as the Spiritual Qi center. Therefore, I will answer them together."
"Although both the Flower of Essence and the Golden Core reside in the Crimson Palace, cultivating essence, qi, and spirit together, harmonizing these Three Flowers, is called the Three Flowers. When essence, qi, and spirit are cultivated in combination and the three elements are unified, it is called the Golden Core."
"According to you, the Golden Core seems to be of a higher status than the Three Flowers?" Hu Mang asked, puzzled.
"That's not the case. Cultivating essence, energy, and spirit together is called 'combined refinement,' and the substance resulting from the combined refinement of essence, energy, and spirit is called the Golden Core."
Hu Mang finally understood: one was a state, and the other was a product.
"So how do we address the compatibility issues between the two?"
"First Flower of Qi, then form the Core."
What's the underlying principle behind this?
"Your Divine Sense has already reached the Golden Core level, and you have also cultivated the Flower of Essence. The only thing you lack is the vaporization and evolution of True Qi within your body."
"If one forms the Golden Core first, the internal True Qi will be absorbed into it, leading to insufficient internal energy. As a result, the Flower of Qi will not be able to condense, and the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown will be out of the question."
"But if it's the other way around, when the essence, energy, and spirit are at their peak, then the quality of the condensed Golden Core will be even higher."
"This level of Golden Core will not only be unaffected by the True Qi of the Flower of Qi, but will instead become increasingly pure and perfect under the refinement of the Flower of Qi. The Golden Core will also, in turn, enhance the evolution of the Flower of Qi, giving you a 36.6% chance of comprehending the true meaning of 'Three Flowers Gather at the Crown' ahead of time."
"So that's how it is," Hu Mang understood.
"Based on the data retrieved from the Cultivation Method you gave me, demonic Cultivation Method and Buddhist Cultivation Method belong to two different extreme Cultivation Method. The former cultivates the mind and the Dao, while the latter vows to establish the Dao. They are inherently incompatible."
"The higher your cultivation level, the more difficult it will be to reconcile the Buddhist and demonic paths. Therefore, according to the cultivation path you have chosen, the problem is not whether to condense a Buddhist Golden Core or a demonic Golden Core, but to introduce a third variable to neutralize the two paths."
Hu Mang was taken aback.
He originally wanted to ask which of the Cultivation Method in the Azure Mysterious Realm was more suitable for being adapted into a Core Formation method, and which one had a higher chance of forming a Core.
But according to Old Xie, if he chooses one of them, his painstakingly crafted Buddha-Devil Transformation might be doomed.
"What is the third variable?"
"The Heavenly Gate method of forming the elixir at Tianmen."
Daoism, or Heavenly Gate Daoism?
Are Daoists from the Azure Mysterious Realm not acceptable?
"Based on the Cultivation Method I extracted from the 'Nine-Character Great Hand Seal of the Lesser Divine Ability of Zen,' this method contains the transformation between Buddhism and Daoism, and this transformation is part of a grand evolution; and according to the demonic Cultivation Method I deciphered, this data on transformation also comes from the 'Profound Yin True Scripture,' 'Profound Soul Demon-Refining Great Method,' 'Supreme Yin Soul-Slaying True Scripture,' and 'Nine Nether Corpse-Control Great Method.'"
"Among them, there is more conversion data for Buddhism and Daoism, while there is less conversion data for Demonism and Daoism. If we want to make Buddhism and Demonism compatible, the Cultivation Method parameters of the Core Formation Method need to be adjusted."
"Oh, oh, oh," Hu Mang said, looking completely bewildered.
You can calculate this? Why didn't I feel anything when I practiced it?
"Wait, I can understand that you use Daoist methods that are compatible with both Buddhist and demonic practices, but why specifically the Daoist methods of the Heavenly Gate? Is it because I don't have the Daoist techniques of the Azure Mysterious Realm, so your relevant data is insufficient?"
"That's not the case. According to the data I've obtained, the Azure Mysterious Realm you speak of is a high- Spiritual Qi cultivation world. Its cultivation methods emphasize reaching the heavens and comprehending the Dao, and are extremely domineering. If you were to use the Dao methods of this world to be compatible with Buddhism and demons, your physical body would absolutely not be able to withstand this level of evolution."
"Furthermore, according to my algorithm, the Buddhas, Daoists, and demons in this realm seem to have a higher level of causal entanglement. If one gets involved, Cultivation Method may be interfered with by a higher level of power."
Is it that serious!?
Hu Mang was taken aback.
Can the Cultivation Method of the Azure Mysterious Realm be manipulated by powerful figures?!
"However, the methods of Heavenly Gate Daoism evolved in the low Spiritual Qi environment of the Five Dynasties, and are extremely pure and gentle. The internal Inner Alchemy methods I remember pursue the dual cultivation of body and mind, progressing step by step, and are the gentlest. Only by using Inner Alchemy to blend the gentle with the strong can one achieve perfect practice and avoid being entangled in karma."
What is your memory of the methods of Inner Alchemy?
"I have a good friend named Shen Haichan. He has a method called 'The Awakening to Reality: Elixir Chapters.' I have adapted this method into a method for forming the elixir, Inner Alchemy Golden Core to condense the golden elixir, and then using the Golden Core and demon. If this method is successful, the three religions will be integrated, forming a school of its own, surpassing all cultivation methods of the five dynasties!!"
Old Xie became more and more excited as he spoke.
And your friend?
"Xie Xianyu!!!"
Hu Mang suddenly roared.
The voice on the other end stopped abruptly.
It seemed that Mama Hu was still muttering on the other end, "Why are you shouting so loudly? You startled me."
A moment later, Old Xie's usual AI-generated tone rang out.
"Hello, this is Old Xie. How can I help you?"
Damn, I shouldn't have shouted it.
He still hasn't quite mastered the Seeking a Verbal Bestowal.
Why did they call them back?
Hu Mang was speechless.
This rehabilitation therapy is really effective; it even helped Xie Xianyu regain his memories.
"Then I'll leave my method of unifying the three religions to you."
"OK."
"By the way, why is there such a big difference between the cultivation systems of Heavenly Gate and Azure Mysterious Realm?"
Insufficient information to make a judgment.
"Okay, then you can continue with your work. I'm hanging up."
After hanging up the phone, Hu Mang breathed a long sigh of relief, smelling the salty sea breeze.
Once again, I felt the absurdity of history.
The last time I had this feeling was when I found out my mother was a time-traveling fox spirit.
He was extremely familiar with Shen Haichan, whom Old Xie had mentioned.
Shen Haichan is the Old Daoist Shen that Mama Hu mentioned, and also the person Hu Mang was digging up graves on Java Island.
In fact, the old Daoist priest was even more famous in history than Xie Xianyu.
The ancestor of Inner Alchemy!
That was a Daoist master who pioneered the path of Inner Alchemy.
However, considering the low Spiritual Qi environment in ancient times, this powerful figure's influence is somewhat diminished.
But what truly made him famous was not his achievements in spiritual practice.
It's because one of the five ancient dynasties—Yu, Chen, Liang, Shen, and Yu—had the surname Shen.
According to the custom of the ancients, once a person becomes powerful, they will always worship an even more powerful ancestor to prove why they are so powerful, because it is the mandate of heaven!
The founding emperor of the Shen Dynasty looked back and found out that there was a famous Daoist priest in the Liang Dynasty who was also surnamed Shen and was the founder of the Inner Alchemy system. "I have now achieved worldly success and only need to live forever. Great! You are the one!"
Thus, Shen Haichan became the ancestor of the Shen Household family dynasty and a true Daoist patriarch.
However, according to his mother's memory, this Old Daoist Shen practiced the internal alchemy Dao of Inner Alchemy, which emphasized the perfection of essence and qi and the preservation of primordial yang. Moreover, in the low Spiritual Qi environment of ancient times, in order to pursue the Golden Core realm, he dared not waste a single bit of essence and qi, so he remained unmarried throughout his life and was commonly known as a virgin.
This virgin Daoist priest later branched out in the next dynasty, the Shen Dynasty, becoming the source of the Shen Household bloodline. When Hu Mang learned of this, he felt that this unofficial history was indeed extraordinary.
The key point is that people in ancient times even took the lead in fabricating unofficial histories.
That's hopeless.
According to his mother's account, although the old Daoist was also exceptionally talented, he was more likely to lose than win against Xie Xianyu in Swordsmanship or debate. The only thing worth mentioning was that he created the Inner Alchemy method.
So whenever I'm losing a fight, I use this as a shield.
"So is this why Xie Xianyu regained his memories? Has he finally found a way to completely defeat his old friend?"
"On another note, this old Daoist priest was essentially made an ancestor by the Shen Household family's royal family, enshrined in the ancestral temple and the imperial mausoleum. He must have a deep connection with the dragon Dragon Vein, right? Could he be on the Ghost Lord's resurrection list?"
"It would be quite interesting if two friends from ancient times could meet again in modern times."
"Then I'll keep his ashes. If I ever see him again, I'll hand them to him personally."
After a long day of reverie and enjoying the breeze, Hu Mang felt much more relaxed.
Of course, the most important thing is that the method for forming the elixir has finally been solved.
Now all that's needed is to prepare the materials for Core Formation.
That's not right!
Hu Mang suddenly realized what was happening.
Old Xie talked to me for a long time, but it seemed he didn't tell me how to condense the Flower of Qi.
He only managed to condense the Flower of Essence after refining the fourth level of the "Profound Yin True Scripture" and activating the Unraveled Rope Devil Meridian.
But didn't Old Xie say before that the Buddhist and Cultivation Method of the Azure Mysterious Realm are inherently domineering? If we continue practicing them before forming the core, what will happen if the Dao of Inner Alchemy can't maintain its balance?