Chapter 722
“Transcending the mundane and cleansing the spirit is the key to reshaping one’s spiritual roots.”
“Those with inferior spiritual roots who enter this pool may obtain superior ones.”
This news spread far and wide, reaching both the heavens and the earth, echoing through the celestial realms and into the ears of figures like Yuanshi Ni Chang.
In the guest courtyard, Yuanshi Ni Chang was momentarily stunned.
She was certainly not lacking in experience.
As a true immortal, she had attained enlightenment in the previous epoch, witnessing the rise and fall of the revered Tianhe, and had encountered countless people and treasures, geniuses and marvels.
Yet, the notion of changing one’s spiritual roots still astonished and even made her doubt.
The exploration of the essence of spiritual roots was not merely the ambition of the Jiushan Sect.
For several epochs in the Xuanwei Realm, countless sects and powerful beings had shown interest in this matter, expending immeasurable resources and effort.
But no one had succeeded.
How many exalted immortal sects there were!
How many formidable beings!
In this regard, they had all wasted their time, ultimately meeting with failure.
Yet now, the Jiushan Sect, a sect that had risen in less than twenty years, had actually developed a method to change spiritual roots.
She could imagine that this one Transcendence Pool would be enough to elevate the young Jiushan Sect to a holy land in the eyes of Xuanwei cultivators.
A place they would flock to, breaking their necks to join.
She was right.
In the customary terminology of Xuanwei, what was referred to as superior spiritual roots meant dual roots or better.
Inferior spiritual roots were essentially three or four roots.
As for five roots, research in the retirement home indicated that they did not actually exist; what were called five roots in the Xuanwei Realm were actually evenly distributed four roots.
Superior spiritual roots were exceedingly rare in the population.
Most people possessed inferior spiritual roots.
Compared to those with superior roots, their cultivation speed was merely one-tenth or even one-hundredth of the latter.
Even in the Jiushan Realm, which did not discriminate against inferior spiritual roots, their cultivation was still more arduous, their progress slower, and the time and resources consumed were a hundred times that of the former.
Looking at the Transcendence Pool, the owners of inferior spiritual roots—whether they were disciples of the Jiushan Sect, residents of Letu Island, or countless mortals—now had two similar flames igniting in their eyes, a flame called:
Hope.
The power of incense surrounding the Yang Shen visibly expanded.
Ten thousand rays of dawn shot forth, enveloping the Yang Shen and the divine chariot.
In the radiant light, the Yang Shen, the golden crow, and the divine chariot appeared as if encased in a seven-colored crystal orb.
In just a few breaths, the power of incense from the Jiushan Realm multiplied several times!
The population of the Jiushan Realm did not increase in an instant, nor did the cultivation of the Jiushan disciples surge.
Yet, the devotion of many towards Zheng Fa soared the moment they beheld the Transcendence Pool.
These were the disciples and mortals with inferior spiritual roots.
They constituted the vast majority of the Jiushan Realm’s population, and the surge in faith brought forth a power of incense that even surprised Zheng Fa.
The Yang Shen gazed around, observing the almost tangible power of incense, and with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the Sun and Moon Bell into the radiant light.
Yuanshi Ni Chang, gaining insight, pointed to the disciples of Yaochi and said, “Zheng Fa is about to achieve corpse transformation. You all practice the divine path; pay close attention and learn.”
Unaware of the true nature of the Yang Shen, she naturally assumed that the figure in the divine chariot was Zheng Fa.
However, she was well-versed in the methods of the cave heavens and understood that such a dense power of incense could elevate the treasures of the cave heavens to new heights.
The green-clad female disciple beside her was taken aback and retorted, “Yuan Jun, can we really learn from Zheng Fa, who went from… from Yang Shen to corpse transformation in just eight years?”
Yuanshi Ni Chang opened her mouth but found herself unable to refute.
When she had first arrived in the Jiushan Realm, she had asked Zheng Fa how long he had practiced the methods of the cave heavens.
At that time, Zheng Fa had said it was seven years and four months.
She had lingered in the Jiushan Realm, but at most, Zheng Fa had only practiced for just over eight years…
…
Zheng Fa and his Yang Shen had no interest in the discussions of her and her disciples.
Advancing in the methods of the cave heavens presented a unique challenge:
A divine path cultivator must maintain their true nature amidst the desires of all beings, refining the treasures of the cave heavens.
Refining artifacts was a technical endeavor that required complete focus.
Let alone refining a treasure like the Sun and Moon Bell.
At this moment, all of Zheng Fa’s energy was devoted to controlling his Yang Shen, striving for perfection without a single mistake.
He had no idea how other divine path cultivators managed; he felt as if he were playing a game on hard mode, pouring all his heart and soul into controlling a rather unruly character, wrapping the Sun and Moon Bell with the power of incense bit by bit.
He had never felt so intensely focused before.
But Yuanshi Ni Chang, watching the movements of the Yang Shen, widened her eyes.
The green-clad female disciple voiced her thoughts: “How can it be so stable, so effortless?”
Yuanshi Ni Chang silently nodded in agreement.
Having practiced the methods of the cave heavens herself, the memories of her own struggles in refining treasures were hard to bear.
It was known that Yaochi possessed secret treasures and methods that allowed her to maintain clarity of mind, temporarily escaping the sea of desires.
Yet she could not achieve the level of stability in utilizing the power of incense that Zheng Fa displayed, with almost no mistakes.
As she gazed at the increasingly radiant light of the Sun and Moon Bell, she remained silent for a long time before finally speaking:
“Forget it, just watch.”
…
The power of incense surged like an ocean, enveloping the ever-brighter Sun and Moon Bell.
The bell grew increasingly luminous until… it began to weather away.
The celestial bodies etched upon the bell were the first to peel away.
Then the bell itself slowly turned to ash.
In the end, where the Sun and Moon Bell had once been, only a clear light remained.
Meanwhile, Zheng Fa’s Yang Shen became more solid, vividly lifelike.
The two were a blend of the ethereal and the tangible, subtly merging into one.
The clear light, as if possessing intelligence, surged into Zheng Fa’s Yang Shen.
The Yang Shen radiated brilliantly, and as the light faded, his attire transformed dramatically:
He now wore a long robe with wide sleeves woven with golden threads, the hems embroidered with scenes of countless people in worship, and on his chest, celestial bodies were depicted, with twelve strings of jade beads cascading from a crown of dark jade.
The face of Zheng Fa within the crown was indistinct, yet it evoked an irresistible sense of reverence.
“He’s achieved corpse transformation…”
Yuanshi Ni Chang shook her head, feeling that Zheng Fa’s corpse transformation was astonishingly smooth.
Yet she also had an unsettling sense of inevitability.
As this thought crossed her mind, she was momentarily taken aback.
Yuanshi Ni Chang gazed at Zheng Fa’s Yang Shen.
She looked at the Transcendence Pool floating in the void.
Then she recalled the islands Zheng Fa had shown her earlier.
After a long pause, she felt a tremor in her heart; what was truly frightening was not Zheng Fa’s speed of cultivation.
What was terrifying was… she had begun to get used to Zheng Fa creating miracles from time to time, even feeling it was only natural.
Zheng Fa, however, was immersed in the understanding of the advancement of his Yang Shen.
The miracles in Yuanshi Ni Chang’s eyes were, for him, more like an experiment:
Only with the advancement of the Yang Shen could he truly comprehend what corpse transformation entailed, allowing him to perfect the “Huang Ting Jing.”
At this moment, as the Yang Shen successfully achieved corpse transformation, various insights flooded into his consciousness, all of which Zheng Fa grasped.
“Corpse transformation is the act of abandoning the physical body, condensing a new body with the Yang Shen, or rather… an immortal body.”
In the methods of the cave heavens, this concept underwent some changes:
In the methods of the cave heavens, cultivators actually used the treasures of the cave heavens as their physical bodies, which is why the Sun and Moon Bell would dissolve into nothingness.
In reality, the Sun and Moon Bell had completely merged into Zheng Fa’s Yang Shen, or rather, it could now be called the Tian Di Shen.
With a thought, Zheng Fa’s Tian Di Shen radiated golden light, and a small bell reappeared—it was the Sun and Moon Bell.
The surface of the bell still bore the celestial bodies.
Yet now it also depicted scenes of cities, streets, and the bustling human world.
In the past, Zheng Fa needed to rely on the Sun and Moon Bell to control the Jiushan Realm, but from this moment on, he was the Sun and Moon Bell; he was the Jiushan Realm.
The Sun and Moon Bell had become secondary.
He raised his head to gaze beyond the realm.
At this moment, those outside the realm could also see the Jiushan Realm.
No matter where one was in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, simply looking up would reveal a world resembling a celestial paradise floating amidst the clouds.
This world had heavenly palaces, clearly the abodes of immortals.
Below, there were hundreds of cities, with houses stacked closely together, countless people standing in the streets, gazing skyward.
Everyone experienced a moment of enlightenment:
This was the sect of the immortals, the Jiushan Sect.
This was the homeland of the sages, the Jiushan Realm.
They were familiar with the immortals of the Jiushan Sect, fond of the sages of the Jiushan Realm, and yearned for the Jiushan Realm.
Many children, dreaming of joining the Jiushan Sect, now stared wide-eyed at the Jiushan Realm, their eyes almost greedy, unwilling to miss even the slightest detail.
In the Jiushan Realm, the most prominent figure was Zheng Fa’s Tian Di Shen.
He too gazed skyward, as if waiting for something.
Zheng Fa was waiting for the heavenly tribulation of corpse transformation.
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