Subduing the White Tiger

Lin Zhiying stared at the ghost ship for a long time before finally putting the photo down.

The reason their squad stayed behind was not only as a necessary deterrent force, but also to investigate a series of strange events that occurred during the suppression of the Turbid Dragon.

"So, the speculation above is that it's an internal power struggle among the Holy Sons?" Lin Zhiying closed her eyes and pondered for a moment before asking.

"That's right. The above account is roughly about the several holy sons of the demonic path engaging in a private battle. One of the holy sons discovered the actions of this Mirage Holy Son and deliberately set up this scheme. Even the possession of a part of the dragon Dragon Vein was just a side effect. The real goal was to get this fourth holy son into our hands, and then use him as a tool to kill him and completely eliminate his faction's power."

"According to our friends in the Immortal Dynasty, this could even be due to a battle between the Emptiness Kalpa Immortal and the Destruction Kalpa Immortal."

"All the demonic holy sons belong to the sect of the Destruction Kalpa Immortal, but this fourth holy son is secretly colluding with the forces of the Emptiness Kalpa Immortal."

"So, it's an internal purge?"

"It's highly likely. Otherwise, no matter how much the Holy Sons fight, it wouldn't have come to this. In any case, we are now the greatest enemy of the demonic path."

"Colonel Ao, what's your opinion?" Lin Zhiying nodded, then suddenly looked at another "team member."

Ao Tianhai has now officially joined the Heavenly Gate Navy as a colonel, but everyone knows that this colonel position is only temporary.

Based on his contributions to the Dragon Vein, once the other party successfully merges with the Dragon Vein, he will at least be a major general.

The reason I'm following them now is simply to familiarize myself with Heavenly Gate's military operations. Once I'm familiar with them, I will become Heavenly Gate's military representative stationed in the East Sea Archipelago.

Ao Tianhai thought for a moment and offered another perspective, "Among the Yin-Yang Dragon Veins, the Yin Dragon Vein is actually more difficult to control than the Yang Dragon Vein. And among the Yin Dragon Vein, the Ghost Dragon Vein Dragon Vein, or the other party's aptitude is very special, even more special than mine."

"I don't know about those four from the Immortal Dynasty, but based on my many years of experience dealing with the demonic path in the East Sea, there shouldn't be any figures that powerful within the demonic path."

"Could it be the group of people who raised Private Dragon back then? These people might have some special techniques," one team member speculated.

Lin Zhiying thought for a moment and then shook her head.

"So many years have passed, and these people have long since used up their Private Dragon. After all, Dragon Vein are not trees without roots; they need a powerful force as their foundation. As for the current Celestial Person, it would be more accurate to say they are raising Dragon Calamity rather than Private Dragon. They are dismantling Dragon Vein and transferring Dragon Vein power into themselves through those Outer Dao and immoral methods of torture."

"I've fought that 'Sea Yaksha.' Although he also used demonic methods, he was upright and honorable, clearly not like those cyber cultivators."

"The Ghost Dragon Vein? It seems that the Underworld Bureau is in charge of this. The Dragon-Slaying Department doesn't have much information on this." A military formation master said.

"Why is it like this? Aren't all the information and cases related to the Dragon Vein supposed to be handed over to the Dragon-Slaying Department for reporting?" Ao Tianhai couldn't help but ask.

He had just joined Heavenly Gate and didn't really understand the intricacies of the system.

Lin Zhiying didn't know how to explain, so after hesitating for a moment, she told some of the truth out of consideration for the other party's special contributions.

"As the only one of the Ten Lords to be a first-generation member, Ghost Lord knows many secrets of the New Heavenly Gate from its inception. Because he is the only surviving first-generation elder, he has a certain privilege among the Ten Lords."

Ao Tianhai nodded as if he understood, but it was unclear whether he had grasped the meaning.

"Since we need to investigate this person, could we ask the people of the Underworld Bureau for help? Aren't they good at handling these kinds of things?" the military formation master said again.

"This--"

Lin Zhiying was taken aback; this was a line of thought she had never considered.

This isn't the first or second time that joint operations between departments have taken place within Heavenly Gate.

The Dragon-Slaying Department is an exception; it is strictly forbidden to have special contact with them.

At least at her level, it's not allowed.

The Underworld Bureau is quite an exception, but it's not that contact is forbidden; rather, even those within the underworld don't know who the people in the Underworld Bureau are or what they're doing.

Its main theme is mystery.

"Captain, I remember you had a mission once, which involved working with the Underworld Bureau. Was it archaeology or tomb raiding?"

"It seems there is such a thing. It's said that a ten-thousand-year-old ghost king emerged from that tomb, killing several experts involved, and even the captain almost got caught in it."

Lin Zhiying didn't want to talk much about the secret mission, but she did know a high-ranking Underworld Bureau in the underworld, and he had even saved her life, so she owed him a favor.

However, a while ago, that Eighth Master Hui suddenly called and asked her to help take care of a junior who came from overseas, I think his surname is Hu.

That's not the point. The point is that, according to the other party, that Little Hu seems to be a consultant for the Underworld Bureau personally trained by this Eighth Master.

Lin Zhiying's eyes lit up; she had found the right person!

Meanwhile, Hu Mang was making a final push to heal his hidden injuries.

I must say, the Sea Eye Spirit Liquid, which costs ten million per bottle, is really effective, and it's all-natural and pollution-free, which aligns perfectly with Heavenly Gate's recent philosophy.

At this moment, he pushed the Golden Nature Perfection to its limit, and the star map imprinted in his body lit up again. This time, he lit up the acupoints corresponding to the five internal organs.

Five points of light—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—lit up in his perception one after another, like five stars of different colors, slowly rotating in his chest and abdomen.

Instead of immediately using the medicine to attack the stagnant blood, he first guided the Qi into his body, synchronizing the rhythm of his five internal organs with his breathing. Then, through the resonance of the star chart, he guided the power of his five internal organs to perceive the accumulated stagnant blood.

This process is extremely slow and extremely meticulous.

Like an experienced craftsman, the Hu Mang used the finest carving knife to peel away the impurities attached to the surface of the internal organs bit by bit.

During this process, the medicinal power was like a warm and delicate silver needle, Hu Mang used very sparingly.

The five internal organs are extremely delicate, so one must be very careful when repairing them.

In order to overcome the final physical obstacle, Hu Mang hadn't left his house for three days, and even missed a trade fair because of it.

And now, all that hard work has finally paid off.

When the last drop of stagnant blood was expelled from his body, his entire skin was covered with countless blood spots and streaks of all sizes, which looked quite horrifying. But those were all the stagnant blood and impurities that had been expelled; not a single drop was fresh blood.

He looked down at his body, which was covered in bloodstains, nodded in satisfaction, and then picked up the water that had been prepared next to him and rinsed himself from head to toe.

The clean water rinsed away the bloodstains and impurities, revealing the refreshed skin underneath.

Her complexion was much rosier than before, with a subtle healthy glow, making her look several years younger.

"Finally done! That was really tough."

As the Hu Mang's body felt lighter, its mind also felt much lighter.

After nearly ten days of recuperation, the essence in the demonic veins has been replenished.

So Hu Mang can be considered to have returned to his peak.

Using the mirror in the room, the Hu Mang looked himself up and down, muttering to himself.

"She really has gotten even younger."

"Does the Golden Nature Perfection also have a built-in effect of making one appear younger? So, the ancient Daoist practice of reversing aging wasn't just a myth?"

This matter is also recorded in the "Awakening to Reality: Elixir Chapters": When a man cultivates to the point of not leaking semen, it is called "Subduing the White Tiger"; when a woman cultivates to the point of not leaking menstrual blood, it is called "Slaying the Red Dragon".

"Slaying the Red Dragon, Subduing the White Tiger..."

Hu Mang's heart stirred, and he suddenly entered a state of enlightenment.

He seemed to have vaguely grasped the key to condensing a wisp of "Flower of Qi".

The key to this is related to the "Flower of Essence".

Although the Three Flowers are said to be the Three Flowers of essence, energy, and spirit, in the Daoist teachings of Heavenly Gate, the relationship between essence and energy is far closer than that between "spirit".

"Following the natural order leads to mortal life, defying it leads to immortality; it's all just a matter of reversing the order."

This is a direct quote from Pill Classic text.

Old Xie provided further explanation on this point.

"Those who follow the natural order, with the arising of a single thought, their primordial energy sinks downwards, and their primordial essence transforms into tangible things acquired later in life. Men experience leakage of the white tiger (sexual energy), and women experience the rushing of the red dragon (sexual energy). Their Essence Blood are depleted daily, and their bodies gradually age."

"Those who ascend to immortality through reversal Dantian with the fire of their heart, reversing the flow of qi, preventing the essence of desire from being released into lust or flowing down into the physical body. Instead, it rises along the coccyx to the spine, passes through the jade pillow, and enters the niwan point, where it is refined by the true spirit in the brain. The turbid essence then transforms into pure and ethereal qi, which disperses into the four limbs and the entire body."

This was originally a closely guarded secret of Inner Alchemy.

But so many years have passed, it's already quite remarkable that it has been passed down at all.

The meaning of these two sentences flowed into his consciousness like a spring.

A sudden inspiration struck Hu Mang.

"Essence is the foundation of Qi, and Qi is the pivot of essence; flowing with the current, one is born as a human; flowing against the current, one becomes an immortal!"

Hu Mang sat down cross-legged, and the star map within his body lit up again. This time, however, he illuminated all the acupoints related to the Ren and Du meridians.

Starting from the perineum, the energy travels upwards along the coccyx, passing through the Mingmen point, the Jiaji point, the Dazhui point, and the Yuzhen point, all the way to the Baihui point on the top of the head; then it descends from the Baihui point, passing through the Yintang point, the Tanzhong point, and the Shenque point, returning to the perineum; a complete circulation path is clearly outlined in his perception, like a circular track encircling the central axis of his body.

A wisp of innate essence was guided out from the "Flower of Essence" and began to circulate in the opposite direction along this route.

When that vital energy passed through his coccyx, he felt a slight warmth at his tailbone, as if a pool of warm water was gathering there.

When the heat passed through the Mingmen point, the sensation became more pronounced, as if a small flame was flickering in the lumbar region.

As you pass through the spine, the heat begins to scald, as if magma is flowing through your back.

As I passed the Dazhui point, the scalding heat suddenly spread out.

Then, this wisp of innate essence completely dissipated and disappeared into the limbs and bones.

However, Hu Mang was not surprised but rather delighted.