Immortality from Taming Elephant-Chapter 337 - 175: Nine Layers of Qi Refining, Nine Secret Realms, Ascension to Heaven, Nine Sacred Bodies
"Junior, it was through a serendipitous moment that I unlocked my Spirit Palace, and every time I circulate the Innate Qi, I feel as though I’m being watched by great terror, thus I have yet to dare practice the Qi Refining skills."
Xin Nanyan nodded, then continued.
"Let me tell you about the cultivation of Qi Refiners, which is divided into Nine Heavens, forming nine great Secret Realms: Spirit Palace, True Vein, Star Xuan, Burial Realm, Divine Palace, Heaven Stepping, Fire Raising, Cocoon Robe, and Reverse Dao.
When I was in Hongze, I traveled everywhere, discovering that some sages only cultivated a single Secret Realm, yet could rival the Six Secret Qi Refiners. After years of contemplation, I kept pondering the future of the Purple Dipper’s descendants. Would you be willing to... only cultivate the Spirit Palace?"
Xu Guang listened quietly, with previous vigilance towards Xin Nanyan unconsciously dissipating.
He pondered for a long time, looking at Xin Nanyan’s slightly eager expression, then nodded.
Accepting inheritance is one thing; as for whether to cultivate or not, that’s another matter.
"Junior... is willing."
Xin Nanyan’s face broke into a smile.
"Step forward... I’ll teach you..."
Xu Guang focused his mind and stood still for two whole hours. Suddenly, a withered figure appeared within the rock wall.
Yes, through the rough rock, a shadow was cast, outlining a clear silhouette, with bones visible, not much better than a skeleton.
The hair was longer than the body, trailing behind his emaciated frame. He assumed a strange posture before collapsing backward.
Xu Guang was shocked; the figure through the wall was not the actual body, yet he felt a realm of Dao. At the same time, a very short incantation was transmitted into his heart, extremely obscure and profound.
The withered shadow within the rock wall had long vanished, leaving only a coarse and uneven surface. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Xu Guang retreated dozens of feet, quietly contemplating this strange posture, and then earnestly meditated and practiced.
In merely a moment, Xu Guang’s heart and spirit were completely captivated; it was an incredibly terrifying cultivation method named by Xin Nanyan as "Ascension to Heaven."
It is the exclusive cultivation of the Spirit Palace, allowing it to transform repeatedly, with Innate Qi also growing stronger through the transformation of the Spirit Palace.
Xu Guang was excited, vaguely feeling that once he got started with Ascension to Heaven, the cultivation of Qi Refiners might become feasible for him.
Xin Nanyan looked at Xu Guang and added.
"This is my insight from the ancient sages’ tomes, what ultimate heights it can reach, I do not know, however... should you reach Hongze, you can hold my token and receive the Purple Dipper inheritance."
He was very weak, his strength needed to resist the curse of the Ancient God, and he could not waste extra energy.
The Purple Dipper Technique was here, but Xu Guang could not cultivate it; teaching him Ascension to Heaven would allow him, once beyond Hongze, to find opportunities to obtain the Purple Dipper Technique.
Xu Guang respectfully clasped his fists, solemnly expressing gratitude with Daoist ceremony.
"Thank you, Senior, for the gift of magic!"
"Another five miles inward, you will obtain what you sought by entering the valley this time."
With those words from Xin Nanyan, the luster on the jade pendant gradually faded, and his figure disappeared with it.
Xu Guang stood still.
The place was vast and empty, with nothing around, silent and still, leaving him standing there alone.
Reflecting on Xin Nanyan’s memories, one must admit that the Purple Dipper played a magnificent role within.
Without the Purple Dipper, this place would have succumbed to two thousand years of darkness, where everyone would worship killing, delighting the Ancient God with slaughter and bloodshed...
If he were born into such a world this lifetime, he dared not imagine it.
Following Xin Nanyan’s direction, Xu Guang finally halted beneath a verdant tree.
This is... the Bodhi Tree.
An ancient Divine Wood that had grown for countless years, almost transforming into a spirit form.
Seeing this, Xu Guang understood why Zhong Baihua had said entering here would cause an explosion of inspiration.
An invisible ripple unfurled, blossoming on the Bodhi Tree as Xu Guang approached.
A single Bodhi Fruit gently fell, instinctively caught by Xu Guang in his hand.
No breath, no need to breathe, no thought, emptying everything.
The most natural, the most relaxed.
As if... returning to the origin of life.
Xu Guang felt a warm embrace, forgetting all conflicts and concerns.
He was being nurtured and was experiencing his own unique transformation from scratch.
Nourishment, growth.
At his weakest, yet experiencing the greatest moments.
Countless insights surfaced in his mind, each one seemingly the Alien Body he wanted.
Seven stars gathered, overshadowing the sky and sun.
The vast universe, faintly elusive.
...
As Xu Guang was immersed in insights, outside, Zhong Baihua rubbed the wrinkles on his cheek, looking distressed.
"Damn it, how deep did this kid go? Is his life not dear to him!?"
No one is selfless, he helped Xu Guang not just for Xu Guang’s so-called Holy Body Acupoints.
He had long used Divine Techniques to merge a bit of Divine Thought with the Soldier Fiend, attaching it to Xu Guang, so that once Xu Guang entered, he could catch some inspiration.
Only...
Xu Guang went in too deep.
Even just a trace of Divine Thought affected him, causing his originally less than ten years of lifespan to instantly shrink to only eight years!
Only eight years left to live...
Fortunately, this method was effective. Xu Guang delved deep enough, and the benefits it brought were sufficient. When he severed the Divine Thought, he had already perfectly recorded the acupoints he had previously missed.
His goal was considered accomplished.
He looked towards the distant mysterious gorge, feeling unease in his heart.
He didn’t know what Xu Guang had experienced, why he needed to go so deep. Did he really care nothing about his life?
...
People only feel pain when they have options.
What Xu Guang was currently experiencing was precisely this kind of pain. Nine paths of Alien Bodies that could be considered Sacred Bodies lay before him, and he needed to make a choice.
More difficult than the time Elephant Envoy faced a career advancement choice was the fact that he had no understanding of these nine Sacred Bodies, unable to weigh pros and cons to make a decision.
To his disappointment, even under the Bodhi Tree, the path to the Supreme Sacred Body did not appear.
This meant he had to choose one among the nine Sacred Bodies.
’Since... it’s hard to choose, then... choose them all!’
Xu Guang steeled his heart. Although he could feel the depletion of his lifespan here, it wasn’t severe.
Zhong Baihua remarked that he was young enough to sleep through a night in the valley.
But he felt he could sleep through three nights!
With ample time, he decided to choose them all!
He would remember all the acupoints entirely.
This was no simple task.
Each Sacred Body had its unique acupoint positions, sequence for opening, and Qi guiding concepts...
All differed.
Remembering them all would be a tremendous workload.
Xu Guang’s Divine Thought was consuming frantically, making him appear exhausted and dispirited.
He remembered everything obsessively, storing it carefully in his heart.
A long time passed.
As if an eternity had elapsed.
[Detected opportunity for job transition, would you like to transition to Narrator]
The information on the panel did not influence Xu Guang.
He was still greedily memorizing everything.
Nearly half a day passed.
Xu Guang opened his eyes, feeling light and transparent throughout his body.
The nine Sacred Bodies unique to him could appear in his mind with the slightest thought, ready for advancement anytime.
This trip had yielded great rewards.
Xu Guang was extremely satisfied with himself.
Moreover, besides breakthroughs in Martial Dao, he received Xin Nanyan’s teachings.
Once proficient in "Ascension to Heaven," his Qi Refining would continue to advance.
These things offered Xu Guang infinite delightful fantasy space.
Just as he intended to rise and use his Plant Master’s Skills to repay the Bodhi Tree that had granted him infinite enlightenment.
Looking up, the Bodhi Tree had vanished without a trace.
Everything felt like an illusion.
In this bizarre gorge, Xu Guang had grown accustomed to encountering anything unforeseen.
Wasn’t it just a tree disappearing? What’s so strange about that?
He knew his current strength wasn’t enough to traverse this unknown depth of gorge, and he didn’t plan to explore deeper.
He simply wanted to observe his surroundings.
At that moment.
His gaze fixed on a section of the purplish-red cliff.
It was a mirror-like cliff wall, quite common in this valley.
But reflected on the purple Jade Pendant.
Not only Xu Guang’s figure appeared, but also another tall and fierce figure with a single horn growing at the brow, six arms under the shoulders, wings on the back, with a body covered in fine scales.
Xu Guang felt a chill in his scalp, quickly dodging, then turned to look.
However, behind him was empty, nothing there.
Xu Guang activated Qi Observation, but saw nothing.
He couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
’Damn! Just after saying I wouldn’t be surprised, I get slapped in the face like this?’
Suddenly losing the mood to further observe, he just wanted to leave this terrifying and bizarre gorge quickly.
Rising, he dashed out like flying.
