Primordial Spirit Condensed into an Infant

Hu Mang only realized what the empty meditation he had just witnessed was when he reached the entrance of the Sutra Repository.

The so-called "emptiness meditation" is a practice of the monks of the Emptiness Realm; simply put, it is the Buddhist concept of sudden enlightenment.

However, no matter how much the Hu Mang practices Buddhism, it still follows the path of a monk in the Form Realm, the kind who stays in a temple. How could it suddenly attain enlightenment in the Emptiness Realm?

"Therefore, there must be a master who cultivates both Buddhism and Daoism within Spring Thunder Ridge. And those in the Azure Mysterious Realm who follow the path of dual cultivation of Buddhism and Daoism are all Buddhas of the Emptiness Realm. The meditation in the Purple Bamboo Forest just now must have been secretly guided by this master of dual cultivation. Combining this with the female voice just now, could this master be the Venerable Abbess Hengyue of our Dongyue Spring Thunder Ridge lineage?"

"That's very likely. Now I understand a bit better. It's definitely not from Old Daoist Ge."

"Since both Buddhism and Daoism can be practiced simultaneously, it's not surprising that I, a monk from the Form Realm, have comprehended the abilities of a monk from the Emptiness Realm. After all, monks from the Emptiness Realm and monks from the Form Realm are just from different schools and lineages. Didn't that fellow Jingtu transfer schools before?"

As he pondered this, Hu Mang walked into the Spring Thunder Ridge Sutra Repository.

Despite being called a scripture repository, it is actually just a small three-story bamboo building constructed entirely of purple bamboo, blending seamlessly with the surrounding purple bamboo forest. If you don't look closely, you might almost mistake it for a natural creation within the bamboo grove.

The roof of the bamboo house is covered with thick bamboo leaves and thatch, with slightly upturned eaves. Several strings of dried herbs and talismans hang from the eaves, swaying gently in the wind. There is no plaque at the door, only two ancient seal characters carved on the lintel: "Jingzang" (Scripture Collection). The characters have been blurred by wind and rain, exuding a sense of vicissitudes accumulated over the years.

The only thing that surprised him was that the "Cultivation Method Secret Manual" here were all made of purple bamboo slips.

Rows of bookshelves were neatly stacked with scrolls of bamboo slips. The color of the bamboo slips was exactly the same as that of the purple bamboo outside, presenting a deep purplish-brown color, and they gleamed with a warm luster under the light of the oil lamp.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that each scroll of bamboo slips consisted of a dozen or so slender bamboo strips strung together with cowhide rope. The surface of the bamboo strips was polished smooth as a mirror and covered with fine characters, the handwriting clear and neat, each stroke revealing the writer's skill.

"Handwritten Cultivation Method, a traditional method!"

"But then again, not only are there no guards, but there isn't even a protective formation? How can they be so generous?"

The Hu Mang wandered from the first floor to the third floor, and then back to the first floor, only to find that there really was no restriction.

As expected of a major sect, even their art style is different from other sects.

Hu Mang casually picked up a set of purple bamboo slips and found that it was a set of Divine Ability called "True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression". The introduction said that this method uses the power of the Pure Mystery Dao to anchor the source of the earth vein, calm the violent spiritual flow, purify the void and guard the Dao, and consolidate the foundation and protect the source.

It has a bit of a Daoist Cultivation Method feel to it.

However, it's a major sect of the Primordial Chaos School, which is said to have been taught by the Dao Ancestor. It's quite normal for them to have some Daoist influence.

Then Hu Mang took out a set of purple bamboo slips from the side—"The True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression Suppressing Meridians"—annotated by True Person Wanjun.

Ha?

The True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression - Annotated by the True Person Maiyuan

The True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression - Annotated by Qin Weisong

The True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression - Annotated by True Person Ningluan

The True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression - Annotated by the True Person Diji

Hu Mang found more than a dozen different annotated versions of the book "The True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression".

Moreover, "True Person Diji"—isn't that the Dharma name of our master, Master Old Daoist Ge? I never imagined that you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, would also be involved in this interpretation.

So, is this Lesser Liberation, Middle Liberation, or Greater Liberation?

No wonder they're all piled together; they must all be from the same Cultivation Method.

Hu Mang scratched his head; this was the first time he'd encountered such a situation.

"This is a real reading comprehension exercise, and it looks like there's no standard answer."

Hu Mang casually flipped through it and found that the "True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression" had versions of Thunder Method, versions of the sect's internal cultivation method, versions of unique insights, versions that incorporated other Cultivation Method, and even versions that combined Buddhism and Daoism. As for his master's version, it was the earth vein evolution version, which combined anchoring the source of the earth vein with the exploration of the earth cave, and was called the Qiankun Evolution of the Cave and the Source Vein Resonating Together.

Fortunately, in addition to the different textbook versions, each annotation includes a brief note by the Venerable Dongyue, also known as Abbess Hengyue, which introduces the difficulty level of cultivation in this version, the direction of the evolution of the Cultivation Method, and which type of Root Bone talent it favors.

For example, regarding Master Cheap's version, Abbess Hengyue bluntly added, "Easy to learn but difficult to master; technique is more important than method. Those who are not of average ability or exceptionally gifted should consider this carefully."

How did these two types of people come to be considered on the same level?

Hu Mang pondered for a moment and then understood, "Easy Learning" corresponds to those with ordinary aptitude, while "Difficult to Master" corresponds to those with extraordinary talent.

No, then Master, wouldn't no one learn your Cultivation Method?

Disciples of major sects are most likely to be ordinary people without talent. As for those with extraordinary talent, why wouldn't I learn from someone more reliable and powerful?

"It's a shame that these annotations only include those of the contemporary 'Venerable Dongyue.' If we added the annotations of Venerable Dongyue throughout history, one bookshelf probably wouldn't be enough to hold them all."

Hu Mang sighed.

Then, he obediently followed his senior brother's advice and sought out the "Five Sacred Mountains Bearing Gang Method", "Divine Light of Condensing Peaks", and "Immortal Scripture of Locking Rivers".

The Five Sacred Mountains Bearing Gang Method: A legacy of the High Antiquity Daoist school, it takes the true forms of the Five Sacred Mountains as its foundation, drawing the Gang Qi of the Five Sacred Mountains into the body. It does not use physical strength to lift the mountains, but rather uses the Qi of the Five Sacred Mountains to support and move the peaks. It combines the cultivation of talismans, breathing techniques, and divine control.

"Divine Light of Condensing Peaks": It belongs to the orthodox Daoist lineage, just like "Five Sacred Mountains Bearing Gang Method". It repairs broken mountains, connects broken mountain roots, and mends wounds in the earth veins. When cultivated to the Higher Vehicle, it can reshape the Mountain Body with the Divine Light of Earth Virtue.

"The Immortal Scripture of Locking Rivers": Originally High Antiquity celestial manual, it was mainly used to suppress mountain floods, lock the earth's veins, seal underground water abysses, and isolate rivers from malevolent forces. After many calamities, the jade manuals on water veins were lost, with only the lineage of Zhenshan remaining. Cultivator Wang Tianyang spent decades deducing and, referring to the Daoist scriptures on water systems and the spiritual principles of rivers, supplemented a set of methods for using water veins, which became the current version of "The Immortal Scripture of Locking Rivers".

Like the previous "True Instruction of Mysterious Origin Vein Suppression", these three Cultivation Method also have various annotated versions, especially "Five Sacred Mountains Bearing Gang Method", which has more than a hundred annotated versions, filling an entire bookshelf.

Hu Mang searched for most of the day before finally finding the version he wanted most— Wang Tianyang's version.

That's right, it's the same Wang Tianyang as in "The Immortal Scripture of Locking Rivers".

Although "The Divine Light of Condensing Peaks" is not Wang Tianyang's version, it is the version by Abbess Hengyue, who is the Venerable Dongyue in Spring Thunder Ridge.

The reason for choosing these two versions is not complicated. It's not because the Law Technique are more powerful—there are many more annotated versions that are more powerful—but because, according to the simplified annotations, both of these methods have a "solid foundation and cultivate both earth and wood elements."

Simply put, if you have both earth and wood Spirit Root, this is the right choice.

Then Hu Mang chose this one.

"Well, the Divine Ability and supernatural Cultivation Method of the Mysterious Peak Sect aren't really suited for fighting; they're more suited for beating up ashes."

The Hu Mang muttered to itself.

However, he quickly abandoned this thought and instead walked to a bookshelf related to "cultivation realms," believing that he should find what he was looking for there.

As darkness fell, Chunwuzi quietly gazed at the distant mountain path and soon met his junior brother in the direction of the Purple Bamboo Forest.

"Junior brother is back."

"Senior brother," Hu Mang was taken aback. "Brother, you didn't wait until now, did you? Your enthusiasm is making me a little embarrassed. Are you taking care of your junior brother or a child?"

"Which three Law Technique abilities did you choose, Junior Brother?" Chunwuzi asked earnestly.

Hu Mang silently took out the three bamboo slips containing Cultivation Method. He had asked before and was told that the Mysterious Peak Sect's Cultivation Method Secret Manual could be lent out, as long as they were not passed on.

Chunwuzi glanced at them and nodded in satisfaction. "Junior Brother, you are quite steadfast. These three Cultivation Method are perfect for you right now. As for Senior Wang Tianyang, he was the previous True Person of our Mysterious Peak Sect."

Hu Mang was taken aback, then grunted and said, "Then, Senior Brother, I'll go back and study the Cultivation Method. I'll ask you again if I don't understand anything."

Chunwuzi looked at the other person with a puzzled expression, sensing that the other person seemed somewhat absent-minded.

"By the way, senior brother."

"What is it?"

"I want to learn alchemy."

"?"

You come to Spring Thunder Peak to learn alchemy? Didn't you come here to learn talisman making?

In the Seclusion Chamber

Hu Mang was sitting on the stone bed, his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees. In front of him was a scroll of "Essentials of Cultivation". The purple bamboo slips gleamed with a dark luster under the light of the ever-burning lamp, and the writing on them was clearly visible.

He had read the bamboo scroll three times from beginning to end, and with each reading, his doubts deepened.

"So that's how it is, I never expected it to be like this--" he murmured to himself, his gaze fixed on the last paragraph of text on the bamboo slip, his eyes filled with shock, realization, and a hint of incomprehension.

In the library, besides cultivation Cultivation Method Secret Manual, there are also many introductions and explanations about cultivation realms.

The Hu Mang easily found what it wanted.

For example, the concept of "Nascent Soul" (元婴) --

"Primordial Spirit into Infant, Shedding the Shell for Immortality"

"Once the Primordial Spirit is formed, the three tribulations will soon arrive. If one's strength is insufficient to withstand them, then one will condense the primordial essence into an infant, break through the boundary and ascend to a distant realm, temporarily leaving behind the mortal Loose Immortal and attaining the rank of a scattered immortal. If the tribulations do not dissipate, they will move to the upper realm, layer upon layer. One will abandon this mortal body, forever separated from the righteous path, and remain below the Three Palaces, no longer pursuing the career of the Purple Mansion Heavenly Immortal."

"When a cultivator's Primordial Spirit reaches its peak, they are required to remain in the mortal realm to undergo three tribulations of the forty-ninth heaven. If their Dao heart is not firm and their cultivation is insufficient to withstand the tribulation's power, they can take the essence of their spirit, energy, and soul to condense their Primordial Spirit into Nascent Soul nascent soul. They can then use the power of the nascent soul to break through the lower realm's barrier and ascend to the upper realm, becoming a wandering Loose Immortal. This method can temporarily avoid the mortal realm's heavenly tribulations, but it does not eliminate the tribulations. The three tribulations of the past are equivalent to the calamities of Loose Immortal, layer upon layer, and they will still need to overcome them one by one in the future. Moreover, abandoning the physical body and the Great Dao results in an innate deficiency in the foundation of the Dao, making it difficult to take the righteous path of ascension in broad daylight. Therefore, unorthodox cultivators often prefer this method, while righteous masters rarely choose it."

Hu Mang scanned all the content related to the "Nascent Soul" realm again, his expression growing increasingly strange with each reading.

"So, in the Azure Mysterious Realm, the Nascent Soul stage isn't a realm, but rather a means of ascension? No, a shortcut to ascension?"

"And this level after ascension seems to be even lower than that of the Corpse Liberation Immortal?"