Chapter 428: Chapter 427: Tao Longevity Scripture
Over a hundred miles away from Muyun City, in a small town inn, Yang Fei and others squeezed into a bedroom to listen to Qi Hongshao narrate the story of how she stole the treasure from Giant Sword Manor.
"Duanmu Cheng placed great importance on this treasure of Giant Sword Manor. He had bribed several of Giant Sword Manor’s disciples in advance to learn the location of its storage, then he had me steal it," Qi Hongshao simply recounted the process.
Wang Lei was more curious about Qi Hongshao’s experience, and couldn’t help but ask, "Why would you risk your life for Duanmu Cheng?"
Qi Hongshao gave a faint smile, "I’m a thief, as long as the price is right, I can work for anyone, not just Duanmu Cheng."
Just as Wang Lei was about to inquire more about Qi Hongshao, Yang Fei interrupted, "Sister-in-law, what did you steal from Giant Sword Manor exactly?"
Qi Hongshao, seeing him calling her sister-in-law continuously, could not help but sneak a peek at Wang Lei, noticing his red-faced and embarrassed expression, decided not to correct Yang Fei’s improper way of addressing her and instead said, "An ancient manuscript."
"An ancient manuscript?" Yang Fei was startled and puzzled, "Something like a martial arts manual? Otherwise, why would Giant Sword Manor value it so much, with Duanmu Cheng even risking offending Giant Sword Manor to obtain it?"
After pausing for a moment, Qi Hongshao reached into her bosom and pulled out something wrapped in oiled cloth.
As she gently unfolded the oiled cloth, she said, "This should be from a Taoist text, noting some extremely profound matters. I glanced over it once but had no time to delve deeper; however, this thing is probably useless for cultivation, it’s too esoteric."
As she spoke, she had already opened up the oiled cloth.
All eyes turned to see, a yellowed, tattered thread-bound ancient book appearing before them.
"Tao Longevity Scripture?"
Xu Jian was the first to cry out in surprise, reading the five large characters on the cover of the book, and then couldn’t resist reaching out to pick up the book to flip through.
Qi Hongshao firmly placed a hand on the book, looking towards Xu Jian.
With his withered hand stalled midair, seeing Qi Hongshao’s gesture, Xu Jian laughed and withdrew his hand, saying, "Ha, the old man has lost his composure."
Both Yang Fei and Wang Lei understood that Xu Jian, nearing the end of his lifespan, cared most about the art of immortality, so they understood his earlier action.
Wang Lei even said to Qi Hongshao, "Senior Xu means no harm, don’t worry."
With that said, Qi Hongshao withdrew her hand and boldly said to Xu Jian, "It was inconsiderate of me, please feel free to peruse, Senior."
Xu Jian, itching with curiosity, said, "Then I won’t be polite."
As he spoke, he did not grab the book but instead turned the pages, the group gathering to read together.
The opening contained no substantial content and was difficult to understand, but Yang Fei could comprehend it at a glance.
It was because it had some similarities to the cultivation technique that Fatty Taoist had once imparted to him.
Quickly, he saw that the author of this book was referred to as ’Master Miao Jian,’ and the text repeatedly mentioned words related to the Taoist and their teachings.
"This must be a Taoist text," Wang Lei couldn’t help but say.
After the fall of the Taoist, various powers had scavenged quite a few Taoist texts, so it was not surprising that Qi Hongshao had stolen a Taoist secret manual from Giant Sword Manor.
"Eh?"
Suddenly, Xu Jian, who was meticulously reading the book, uttered an excited gasp.
"At the beginning of life, the soul is called ’Po,’ and upon birth, when the soul becomes ’Hun.’ If one’s essence is strong, then the soul and spirit are strong. That leads to being spirited and reaching divine clarity; even the common man or woman who dies strong, their soul and spirit can still cling to others, turning into malevolent entities."
Yang Fei was also delighted and exclaimed, "Isn’t this exactly the immortality technique that Mr. Xu has been seeking?"
Wang Lei also nodded, "Precisely, this belongs to the Body Seizing Technique."
Their spirits lifted, they focused intently and continued reading.
As expected, the book indeed recorded the Taoist Body Seizing Technique, and to achieve Body Seizing, one first needed to master the soul leaving the body. The practitioner needed an extremely strong spirit and soul that could leap out of the Sea of Consciousness and breach into someone else’s realm of consciousness.
The more Xu Jian read, the more excited he became; he had never imagined that he would achieve his goal so quickly.
"Mr. Xu, if you cannot remember this magic technique, you can take a pen and paper and copy it down," Yang Fei reminded.
As he spoke, he also glanced at Qi Hongshao, "Sister-in-law shouldn’t mind, right?"
Qi Hongshao was secretly alarmed and couldn’t help but glance at Xu Jian, thinking to herself, could this man have reached the high level of soul projection and harbor thoughts of Body Seizing and Rebirth?
She replied to Yang Fei, though, "To the vast majority of cultivators, this text is akin to a book from heaven, completely useless. If you like it, you are free to copy it."
Xu Jian shook his head, "No need, I can remember it with just one look."
Yang Fei and Wang Lei silently nodded.
All of them were experts who had reached the Innate Realm in their cultivation, and their memory was far beyond ordinary people. They could truly be said to never forget anything they read, especially for someone like Xu Jian, for whom this matter was related to the possibility of extending his life; he would certainly remember it.
The room quieted down.
The few of them were seriously observing this Taoist classic, but soon they were all frowning.
Although it detailed the Body Seizing Technique, putting it into practice was exceedingly difficult.
It required not only that the practitioner have an extremely strong soul but also that the person being seized had cultivated their Sea of Consciousness.
Once the Sea of Consciousness was cultivated, that person would also be a powerful Cultivator, which made seizing control over that person’s Sea of Consciousness too difficult.
The book mentioned that the Body Seizing and Rebirth Technique was extremely vicious and harmful to the harmony of heaven, thus fraught with extreme peril and difficulty in achieving success.
Later, the book also recorded many other Immortality Techniques, with a wide variety.
It even mentioned Cultivating Ghost Dao.
It went so far as to mention the Corpse Refining Technique, which ostensibly grants Physical Immortality.
And Body Seizing and Rebirth was for Soul Eternity.
Finally, the book recorded the orthodox path to immortality in the Taoist way: Cultivation.
It also delineated several Cultivation Realms.
Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, Unification, Mahayana, Tribulation Crossing.
According to these Cultivation Realms, one just needs to achieve complete Tribulation Crossing to successfully attain the true fruit, enjoying true Immortality and the same lifespan as heaven and earth.
Xu Jian’s face turned somewhat unsightly, no longer showing his previous excitement. He muttered to himself, "If this is the case, with my current Realm, attempting Body Seizing is almost like foolishly indulging in vain fantasies?"
Qi Hongshao nodded, "The Immortality Technique through Body Seizing is no secret to our Hidden Sect World, but there has never been anyone known in the Hidden Sect World to have achieved immortality through Body Seizing."
Her words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Xu Jian’s head.
Wang Lei said, "It’s true that the Hidden Sect World does not have any beings who are truly immortal, but the records in various families’ classics all mention the notion of Immortality. Perhaps it is due to the records being too ancient, or perhaps the current Cultivation environment is too poor to allow it. Hence, not to mention Immortality, even the genuine Golden Core Realm mentioned in these stages hasn’t been heard of in the Hidden Sect World for a long time."
Qi Hongshao agreed, "The Hidden Sect World is a place for Cultivation, where personal power can reach a terrifyingly high level, but even that level has limits. This supposed Immortality is but a fantasy after all."
"Cough cough..." Yang Fei coughed a few times.
Qi Hongshao, however, was nonchalant. She looked at Xu Jian and calmly said, "I’m just speaking the truth, Senior, please don’t take offense."
Xu Jian laughed bitterly and nodded, "Miss Qi is straightforward, I’m aware of that. And what you said is right, this so-called Immortality is nothing more than the reluctance of some old people to die, just wishing to live just a few more days, giving rise to all kinds of fanciful thoughts."
Although he said this, he still flipped the book back to the section about the Body Seizing and Rebirth Technique, watching it again to confirm, before finally closing the book and sliding it towards Qi Hongshao.
Qi Hongshao wrapped the book carefully with oilcloth and said, "Duanmu Cheng’s Cultivation talent is average, but he greedily seeks riches and glory, so he should be very interested in this Immortality Technique. He must have heard that it was in Giant Sword Manor, which is why he sent me to steal it."
Wang Lei looked at her and asked, "What did he promise you in return?"