Chapter 567: Heavenly Venerable's Method

After another period of slumber, Luo Yixuan's consciousness once again awoke from the void.

Her eyelids fluttered slightly, then slowly opened.

She had expected the familiar darkness and stillness, but a dazzling ray of light pierced through the slits of her eyelids, falling upon her pupils.

The long-absent light was so blinding and painful that she couldn't help but close her eyes again.

At that moment, she finally sensed a difference from before and recalled the unusual vibrations that preceded this slumber.

Was she finally going to be possessed!? Luo Yixuan's heart suddenly sank. Each time she had taken the fruit, her cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds, directly breaking through bottlenecks in a short period. Once the physical transformation was complete, it would be the time for that old woman to possess her. For years, she had been like a puppet with her own consciousness, yet powerless to resist. The fear of death, of her consciousness vanishing, made her utterly unable to control her instinctive terror. At the brink of life, all the weakness and pretense within her were utterly shattered by the surging fear.

"Master, please hurry and save me..." she pleaded silently.

Footsteps, growing louder as they approached, reached her ears, and despair completely filled Luo Yixuan's heart.

Suddenly, a voice, one Luo Yixuan would never forget in her lifetime, sounded in her ear.

"Since you're awake, why are your eyes still closed? Is the sunlight too strong for you to open them?"

A warm hand gently pressed against her eyes, and a gentle spiritual energy formed an invisible barrier before her sight.

Once Luo Yixuan's eyes adjusted to the dazzling sunlight, she finally made out the silhouette and facial features of the person before her.

It was precisely the person she had yearned for day and night, the only one she could rely on in the endless darkness!

Tears streamed down her pale face; her lips trembled slightly, but she couldn't utter a sound. Granny Ming removed her hand from before Luo Yixuan's eyes, only to find that her little disciple's eyes had already opened, brimming with tears. Luo Yixuan's pale, snow-like lips trembled slightly. She stopped her tears, her eyes filled with the excitement and joy of reunion. Although her body still couldn't speak or move, only allowing for basic crying, this was the first time Luo Yixuan had cried with such overflowing joy in her life.

"Xuan'er, forgive your master for only coming to save you now!"

Granny Ming was somewhat at a loss; the last time she encountered a girl crying, it seemed to be Qing Nv. "Alright, alright, you're not a child anymore, why are you still crying..." She reached out and placed her hand on her disciple's head, gently stroking her cool yet smooth, dark hair back and forth, just as she used to comfort her tearful cousin, Wang Xinying, when they were little.

At that moment, Granny Ming also noticed that Luo Yixuan's physical condition seemed a bit off. The Yellow Springs Yin Qi completely filling her body made her dare not channel her Pure Yang energy into her to investigate.

"Xuan'er, why can't you move?"

Granny Ming glared menacingly at the Soul-Nourishing Wood where Chen Mobai resided; his silver-gray shadow immediately shrank back.

"You performed the Yellow Springs Rebirth Art on her!" Granny Ming accused. "Speak!"

Chen Mobai immediately spoke up to remind her, fearing that Granny Ming might lose her sanity in a fit of rage. "Holy Son, the two of us have formed a Dao Heart contract!"

Given the authoritative voice and the restrictions of the contract, Chen Mobai could only state what he knew.

Chen Mobai: "No, no, Holy Son..." "Reporting, Holy Son, it is like this: she consumed the Yellow Springs Sacred Fruit from my soul crystal, and has virtually become a complete Ghost Fetus Core. Her body is filled with Yellow Springs energy. It only awaits the final crystallization and qualitative change to dissolve the Ghost Core." "But this power is not something a mere early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like yourself can control. Thus, your divine consciousness was in turn trapped by the Yellow Springs energy within your Sea of Consciousness, which is why you cannot move."

"Oh? Is that truly the case? Elaborate!"

"By the way," Granny Ming asked, "how is this Yellow Springs Sacred Fruit so similar to the Immortality Tree Fruit?"

Chen Mobai: "Oh, Holy Son, didn't you know? This Yellow Springs Rebirth Art was created by the Heavenly Venerate." Granny Ming had already felt that the Yellow Springs Rebirth Art seemed to bear some resemblance to the Immortality Sect's methods, but at that time, her cultivation was too low, and she thought it was just her imagination.

Chen Mobai continued, "Therefore, the Heavenly Venerate severed a wisp of their divine consciousness and entered the Underworld to attempt the path of ghost cultivation, and the Yellow Springs Rebirth Art originated from this. However, at that time, only the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens within the sect were qualified to practice it, becoming the sacred embryos for the Heavenly Venerate's descent!"

"The Heavenly Venerate sought the method of integration from the Water Mother, who guided Them to enter extinction through life, and to grasp life and control death within the cycle of samsara, thus allowing Them to take the step of integration." "However, those common disciples of yours can also benefit from the Heavenly Venerate's blessing, transforming into ghost cultivators after death and, once again, chanting the name of the Heavenly Venerate of Immortality in the Underworld and Yellow Springs!"

Just as Chen Mobai felt relieved, Granny Ming thought of something else and asked, "Do ghost cultivators have unlimited lifespans?"

Chen Mobai: "Although ghost cultivators indeed have endless lifespans, over ninety-four percent of them cannot awaken their past life memories. Even those with latent wisdom must live in constant fear, deeply afraid of being carelessly devoured by higher-ranked ghost cultivators." "Moreover, ghost cultivators lose the possibility of reincarnation. Once devoured by another ghost cultivator, their souls are scattered, and they completely vanish. They can only endlessly fight and devour each other until the very end, to make their boundless existence meaningful."

"That's also why, after the Yellow Springs Path appeared, all of us were eager to escape from the Underworld. Because while we third-rank ghost cultivators are powerful in the Eastern Barrens, in the Underworld, we constantly fear being discovered and devoured by fourth-rank Ghost Kings."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai finally breathed a sigh of relief. Granny Ming then thought of this question: Chen Mobai's previous life, after the Immortality Sect disappeared, was at least ten thousand years ago, and yet he awoke his own memories after becoming a ghost cultivator. Undoubtedly, he had essentially prolonged an existence that should have ended. "If every cultivator of the Immortality Sect who reached the end of their lifespan and passed away was transformed into a ghost cultivator, then the Underworld and Yellow Springs should have long been the Immortality Sect's domain!" Chen Mobai also thought, "Why do I feel like the Great Dao Tree is still a bit problematic!" "No wonder," he thought, "although there are ghost cultivation methods in the Heavenly River Realm, cultivators are generally unwilling to develop and learn in that direction." Even if human cultivators die, they still have the chance for reincarnation; perhaps in a future life, they might achieve great cultivation and transcend the sea of suffering. But ghost cultivators, however, lose that opportunity. Similarly, the eternal life of a zombie should follow the same principle.

Chen Mobai's words also made Granny Ming understand the difficulties of ghost cultivation. After understanding this point, Granny Ming felt it was better to maintain a human body for cultivation. That's what the Immortal Sect propagates every day.

For her disciple's sake, Granny Ming had no choice but to intimidate and threaten Chen Mobai. "There are no perfect or flawless cultivation techniques or secret arts in the world. The Yellow Springs Rebirth Art must have a way to be reversed. You had better think carefully, because although I cannot kill you, making you experience the Pure Yang Fire again would be no problem."

Granny Ming, realizing this, could only let out a cold snort, clenching the Soul-Nourishing Wood in her palm, and began pressing for solutions. "Speak!"

Chen Mobai: "Holy Son, there are indeed three methods, but..."

"Say it!" Granny Ming commanded.

Chen Mobai: "First, in Kongsang Valley of Dongyi, there is a spiritual plant called 'Pure Bamboo,' which contains natural cleansing energy and can suppress the transformation of the Ghost Fetus Core." "If I recall correctly, when Yin Qingmei was establishing her foundation, the gift I gave her was a Pure Bamboo. It's unknown how many years have passed; how has the one you nurtured fared?"

Granny Ming thought for a moment and found that the demonic cultivation method was surprisingly the best. "Hmph!" she snorted. "This method is only a temporary solution." As for the other two fundamental cures, the Three-Light Divine Water was simply unimaginable; it was a supreme spiritual item that even the Holy Lands of the Eastern Lands sought. "There's also the Three-Light Divine Water from the Xingtian Dao Sect of Dongyue. That's a fundamental, yet challenging, cure. The Holy Son could use the True Fiend-Refining Fire to dissolve her physical body, which has already transformed into a Ghost Fetus Core, and then let her recall her original body, reshaping it with the Three-Light Divine Water. However, this requires her own divine consciousness to be strong enough to control the efficacy of the Three-Light Divine Water."

Chen Mobai continued, "Finally, there is a 'Netherworld Scripture' within the demonic sects, which describes how to cultivate Yellow Springs energy while in a human body. If she can obtain this and switch to the demonic path, with the foundation laid by your three Yellow Springs Sacred Fruits, her future achievements will be limitless; at the very least, she could cultivate to the peak of Core Formation."

Although Granny Ming had a decent relationship with Yu Shuji, and possessed the third-rank internal elixir he desired, such an item was coveted even by him and simply couldn't fall into the Eastern Barrens. Having grown up in the Immortal Sect, Granny Ming had no inherent bias against orthodox or demonic paths. Used right, it's righteous; used wrong, it's evil! Hadn't the Hunyuan Essence Art of the ancient Ruyi Sect become a great environmental technique within the Immortal Sect for processing various waste materials? Granny Ming had already made a decision in a few words. "Do you have the Underworld Scripture?"

Chen Mobai immediately shook his head. Just as Granny Ming frowned, preparing to go back and think of another way, he offered another clue.

Chen Mobai: "Tu Daohua, who lives in seclusion in Yunmeng Marsh, is a demonic cultivator of the ghost path. He told me about the Underworld Scripture when I communicated with him. If the Holy Son truly wants the Underworld Scripture, you can go find him." "I looked for him ten years ago. He's a cautious person and frequently changes locations, so I don't know if he's still on the original island."

"You know where he lives in seclusion, right?"

"On the surface, Chen Mobai said so, but inwardly, he felt that the Divine Wood Sect's luck couldn't be that good; besides the Holy Son, there couldn't be a second genius capable of cultivating to the Core Formation realm."

"It seemed this Holy Son was also someone with flexible principles. Who knew how long her Dao Heart oath with him would last?" Granny Ming thought.

"Alright, I've set up a protective measure for your eyes," Granny Ming said.

"Alright, Granny Ming will make a trip to Yunmeng Marsh after visiting the Five Elements Sect from Ming Country," she decided.