Profound Yin Body Refining

Naturally, Hu Mang knew nothing of the grudges beyond Demon-Subduing City.

He could not even tell north from south or east from west in this world.

The only reason he knew where he was at all was that old Chen Sheng had once mentioned it in passing.

The continent he was on was called the Central Continent.

What concerned him most now was, first, getting back and, second, completing his foundation.

Everything else was less important.

It was with this mindset that he was willing to share the Cultivation Method Secret Manuals he had seized with everyone present.

As it turned out, sharing really did earn him goodwill.

Even Xu Qing, who had joined them as something of a captive, had relaxed.

After all, even his unasked-for master, whose whereabouts were unknown, had never taught him the Five Turbidities Great Method, only the basic means of Refining Essence into Qi.

And now, there were more than a dozen such cultivation methods.

They included not only the ones Zhang Ping and the others cultivated themselves, but also those they had taken from Routou.

From cultivation methods to all kinds of Law Techniques, there was something of everything.

And unexpectedly, the bearded Zhang Ping was actually a sword cultivator.

The method he cultivated was called the Grand Primordial Sword Instruction, though it too was only a fragment, allowing cultivation only as far as the Flower of Essence among the three flowers. It also contained almost no sword techniques or Divine Abilities, only a single sword stance, the Demon-Subduing Sword Stance.

Even so, Zhou Yu treated it like a treasure, studying it over and over with his younger sister Zhou Tong and trying to learn it so he could teach it to their youngest sister.

As for old Zhou Sheng, he sipped his morning wine while leafing through a small black booklet made of a special material.

The booklet had come from Min Yao, but it was not the cultivation method she practiced. It had come from Demon-Subduing City itself, and she had even learned her Ghost Makeup from it.

Min Yao's little black booklet, the bearded Zhang Ping's demon-subduing copper coin sword, He Chang's "thunder official's seal," and the Turbid Sha Old Man's prison-warden chains-Xu Qing's master had owned them-were all treasures of Demon-Subduing City.

They were the so-called legacy of the divine dynasty.

Strictly speaking, the "immortal spear Shattering Thunder" in Hu Mang's possession was one of them too, no less impressive than the "official's seal" or the "chains."

But Hu Mang had actually taken a shortcut to obtain it.

He had used the "unknown fragment's" ability to absorb lightning to forcibly pull it free.

As for the usual procedure—he did not know how it worked either, but it was most likely connected to the "Thunder Net" here.

It might even have something to do with the "thunder official."

Otherwise, He Chang could not have backed off so quickly earlier.

He might have misunderstood something.

And that was the value of sharing.

Although Hu Mang could not read the writing of this world, the group's explanations and discussions had at least given him a complete understanding of the cultivation methods.

Then he instinctively felt a sense of regret.

The cultivation methods here were clearly more advanced than those of ancient Heavenly Gate.

But these Rogue Cultivators' cultivation methods were either fragments or had no further stages.

So after looking through them all, it seemed they really were of little use except as "food" for his unasked-for father.

Perhaps this world surpassed Heavenly Gate in high-level cultivation methods, but when it came to having a complete system, Heavenly Gate seemed to have the edge.

Of course, Hu Mang had only encountered Rogue Cultivators so far, and still lacked sufficient information about this world's first-rate powers.

He had also noticed that this world's cultivation system differed somewhat from Heavenly Gate's, so without being sure, he did not quite dare to be the first to taste the soup.

He was afraid it would poison him to death.

Though he did not dare to delve into cultivation methods lightly, he was very interested in Law Techniques and Divine Abilities.

When he was overseas, he had noticed that, perhaps because Heavenly Gate regulated them too strictly, ordinary people rarely had access to Law Techniques and Divine Abilities used in combat, unlike the relevant authorities.

He picked and chose among the manuals.

Two Law Techniques caught his eye.

One came from that "Great Mudra expert": the Lin Character Instruction, Bing Character Instruction, and Jie Character Instruction from the Chan Sect Lesser Vehicle Divine Ability, "Nine-Character Great Hand Seal."

The other had come from You Lin'er's Storage Bag. Its origins were unknown, and it was called the Profound Yin Body Refining Technique.

Both methods far surpassed the other cultivation methods in power and level.

But old Chen Sheng glanced at them and promptly poured a basin of cold water over his enthusiasm.

"You can try practicing this Nine-Character Great Hand Seal, if you really are from the Chan sect and have dealt with the three poisons."

"I never said I was a monk."

The old man was experienced and knowledgeable, and had most likely realized long ago that Hu Mang was not a Buddhist disciple. He had simply kept quiet to save his own life.

Now that it was out in the open, Hu Mang had nothing to hide. Instead, he pressed on:

"What does it mean to deal with the three poisons?"

"Observe the precepts, accumulate blessings, and purify karma. Once the three poisons are gone, you can step onto the path of cultivation and practice Buddhist Divine Abilities."

"Generally speaking, only Buddhist temples can purify the three poisons. The larger the temple, the better the results and the more thoroughly the poisons are drawn out."

"Completely finishing the 'purification of karma' is roughly equivalent to the Daoist Three Flowers Gather at the Crown."

"Then, conversely, if you don't stay at a temple, you can't remove the three poisons or cultivate Buddhist Divine Abilities?"

"Exactly. There's a reason monks are dripping with wealth these days," Old Chen said with a sigh.

"There's no other way?" Hu Mang asked.

"There is." Unexpectedly, old Chen really did offer one.

"There is also the path of cultivation followed by Emptiness Realm monks. If your comprehension is sufficient, you can open the gate to the Emptiness Realm."

"Only, the Emptiness Realm monks' method is not to 'counter the three poisons,' but to 'illuminate the mind and see one's true nature.' There is what they call 'seeing through,' 'stilling the mind,' and 'illuminating the mind.' I've heard that some experts of the righteous path who cultivate both Buddhism and Daoism follow this route, but it makes such great demands on one's disposition that ordinary people cannot reach it."

Old Chen looked at the other cultivation manual in Hu Mang's hand and poured another basin of cold water over him.

"This cultivation method is even less suitable. I can tell at a glance that this Profound Yin Body Refining Technique is a Devil Cultivation Method."

At those words, even though the others had been absorbed in studying the cultivation methods, they could not help turning to look at the two of them.

In Heavenly Gate, the devil path had long been equated with fools and idiots.

But in this world, not only was the devil path far from weak, it was a power at the very pinnacle of the world—the sort that could stop a child from crying.

"Is this cultivation method powerful?" Xu Qing looked tempted.

Not only him, but even Zhou Yu's eyes flickered.

Clearly, for Rogue Cultivators, the type of cultivation method did not matter. What mattered most was whether it was powerful and had prospects for further development.

Chen Sheng scoffed. "Powerful? Of course it is. This Profound Yin Body Refining Technique draws in Profound Yin Black Sha, one of the seventy-six kinds of Sha Qi in the world, to scour the skin and membranes, sinews and bones, and internal organs. Once mastered, the body can clash head-on with flying swords and artifacts without a protective magical treasure, and it need not even fear ordinary heavenly lightning or earthly fire. If cultivated to its peak, one can further master the Mysterious Yin Rebirth Technique, which lets one shed the physical shell at a moment of life or death and preserve one's life."

"And I also know that this method is merely an introductory cultivation method of the devil path. Beyond it are powerful methods such as Profound Yin Devil Qi and Profound Yin Corpse Refining. At the very peak, one can even draw on the Qi of the Nine Netherworlds and Yellow Springs to condense the three flowers and five Qi. It is a supreme method for entering the Dao through the devil path."

"Have a look at it yourselves."

Seeing the covetous looks in the other two men's eyes, Hu Mang simply tossed the manual over.

"Now that you've finished with the benefits, what are the drawbacks?"

Chen Sheng sneered.

"It kills people. Nine out of ten who practice this devil-path method die."

"First, you visualize the Mysterious Yin Devil Moon of the three yins. Without the talent for it, you simply can't steady your Divine Sense. Instead, the Yin Sha between heaven and earth will seize the opening and overwhelm your mental defenses. You'll go mad on the spot, or suffer Qi Deviation and be unable to preserve even your physical shell."

"Even if you're lucky enough to succeed at the visualization, the real torment has only just begun. This is a ruthless path devoted purely to body refining, as hard as climbing to heaven. The moment the Profound Yin Devil Qi enters your body, ninety percent of your meridians will freeze over in an instant, leaving you in agony worse than death. One careless mistake and you'll turn into a lump of ice and die right there."

"That's why this method must be practiced alongside Profound Yin Corpse Refining. Only through the path of corpse refining can thirty or forty percent of the Sha Qi in this Profound Yin Devil Qi be dispelled. A living corpse is best, because it can reduce the Sha Qi by seventy or eighty percent. Then the Profound Yin Black Sha can enter the yin meridians of the human body for cultivation. Once the three yins are formed, the three flowers will gather."

"Even so, one must endure the violent pain and impact when the Profound Yin Qi enters the body."

"The copy in your hand is most likely handwritten. It has no corpse-refining method, no method for forming the three yin flowers, and no elder has bestowed a three-yin living corpse upon you. Tell me, can you cultivate this method successfully?"

After old Chen had said his piece, both Xu Qing and Zhou Yu looked disappointed.

Leaving aside the fact that "living corpses" offended the harmony of heaven, Rogue Cultivators probably did not care much about that. They would probably make one after taking a darker turn.

But the death rate for cultivating this method really was enough to make people shrink back.

Hu Mang was somewhat disappointed too. Perhaps the level he had come into contact with was still a little low, but there was not even one reliable cultivation method.

"So, this Cat Garden is reliable, right?"

Hu Mang spoke out of the blue.

"Absolutely reliable!" Old Chen looked supremely confident. "I won't say I know seventy or eighty percent of the demon-subduing grounds and devil-suppressing places in this city, but I know a good fifty or sixty percent."

"Besides, there are only a few kinds of divine officials in Demon-Subduing City: the thunder officials of the Thunder God's Shrine system, the jailers and Prison-Subduing Officials of the underground prison, the heavenly soldiers who sweep through the city, and the Devil-Slaying Bladesman of the Devil-Purifying Bureau. Those are the four strongest kinds."

"You have a 'heavenly soldier's spear.' If you also obtain the inheritance of the Cat Garden, you'll have no choice but to become a 'divine dynasty heavenly soldier,' whether you want to or not."

"...That would be excellent."

"But let's be clear: if there are any extra Ding Fire Cats, you must save one for me. This old man's precious granddaughter needs one to protect herself."

Chen Sheng chuckled as he spoke.

Ever since he had learned that Hu Mang was easy to talk to, the old man had grown more and more presumptuous.

"If possible, I'd like to try my luck at a fortuitous opportunity too," Zhou Yu could not help saying.

Even Xu Qing looked tempted.

Hu Mang shook his head.

"First, let's see tomorrow whether you're good or evil."