Chapter 1178: Shenshu in the Corpse

“Two cultivators at the mid-stage of Purple Mansion… this outcome is to be expected!” Li Que Wan sighed slightly, surveying the terrain. She extended her slender hand to make a calculation: “A destructive wind, reminiscent of the Fallen Star of Horn Wood, swept the sky, while malevolent qi, capable of slaying divine abilities, pervaded the earth. They have already balanced each other, affecting several regions. Without external interference, the turmoil in the sky will not settle for three hundred years, and the earthly malevolence will not dissipate for five hundred.”

Qi Lanyan’s divine ability was greater, but the Xun wind was merely one of the manifestations of his demise. High in the sky, it was susceptible to external interference and thus began to decline earlier. Conversely, the malevolent qi, nurtured deep within the earth, was much harder to deplete.

“Everything about this place is good… except that the geomantic energies are heavy and the ley lines are shallow. Without large mountains, it’s easy to attack and difficult to defend. If they cannot secure the White Sea as a barrier, they will surely be at others’ mercy. I only wonder… whose Dao lineage will ultimately benefit from such a prosperous treasure land.”

She withdrew her gaze and continued forward, crossing the surging river. The familiar great lake slowly appeared before her eyes, making her eyes well up with excitement. “It has been decades since I returned!”

Li Que Wan rode the wind all the way into the lake. On the shimmering surface, she could vaguely see figures of her own cultivators gathering spiritual energy. She felt both familiar and unfamiliar with everything around her, causing her heart to pound. She dared not reveal herself and descended towards the immortal mountain, which was covered in gardenias.

The True Man in the white-gold Daoist robe had just finished refining spiritual materials and was holding a jade slip in contemplation. He suddenly sensed the grand formation activate and immediately frowned, looking towards the mountain. However, on the small path, there were only gardenias fluttering like white snow, nothing else.

This startled Li Ximing. He quickly brought two fingers together, and the light of the six directions shone forth. However, he saw a clear light, like white snow, emerge first, then brightly melt away, revealing a woman.

The woman was dressed in plain robes, with a delicate, gentle smile. Her eyebrows arched elegantly, her eyes shimmered with emotion, and a touch of cinnabar adorned her forehead. Yet, her aura was ever-changing, capable of transforming sand into mercury, a brilliant divine ability.

Li Ximing's heart warmed, almost causing him to overturn his elixir furnace. His usually calm and composed face showed profound surprise. Seeing her tear-filled, excited eyes, he laughed and sighed, saying, “It’s our family’s Perfected Elixir divine ability!”

Li Que Wan pursed her lips and nodded, saying softly, “I haven’t failed True Man’s great kindness… I only regret that my breakthrough was slow and I couldn’t contribute fully to the great battle!”

Before Li Que Wan’s return, Li Ximing had been thinking about the Hengzhu Spirit Treasure and the Chu Yin Immortal Art, his mind full of various ideas. But seeing this junior standing gracefully before him, embodying divine transformations, all other thoughts vanished. His heart was filled with nothing but emotion. He gathered his sleeves and said, “Your ability to achieve divine power and return safely sets my mind at ease… it’s more effective than any Spirit Treasure or Immortal Art!”

The woman nodded vigorously, the redness in her eyes quickly receding, and said, “King Wei…”

Li Ximing knew the news had come from Guo Nanzhu. He pondered for a moment and said, “It’s not a problem for now!”

This greatly eased Li Que Wan’s anxiety, and her posture relaxed. Li Ximing extended two fingers, tapped the Three Hou Xuan Fire into the furnace, and hurried with her towards the island. Li Que Wan sighed, saying, “I just came from the sea. The Salt Lake has transformed into a vast plain, truly a marvel of heaven and earth’s creation, fit to be the foundation of a sect.”

Li Ximing, who had not left his abode, had not yet heard of this matter. He felt a slight emotion and sighed, “Chang Xi, during his lifetime, particularly suffered from the scarcity of the mountain gate and the Salt Lake. He spent years moving mountains and transporting ridges, investing countless efforts, yet still struggled to achieve true prominence. Pity… it’s pathetic that the foundation of the immortal sect he yearned for was established at the demise of Xuanyue!”

Although Li Que Wan was unaware of this specific matter, she had understood much along the way. She remained silent and entered the dim hall. Li Ximing smiled and said, “Come, I will teach you the incantation.”

So he performed the magical gesture, connecting with heaven and earth. Li Que Wan respectfully circulated her energy, and suddenly light burst forth before her eyes. She felt an extremely rich, balanced, and harmonious spiritual energy surge towards her face, making her hair gently flutter and her eyes shine brightly. “Sun and moon shine together across heaven and earth!”

As a Perfected Elixir cultivator, Li Que Wan was exceptionally sensitive to spiritual auras. During her cultivation, she often had to control the balance of Yin and Yang, a familiarity that surpassed even the True Masters. She was immediately stunned by this profound sensation: “Perfect Yin-Yang balance…”

Li Ximing turned to look and found Li Que Wan excited, a slight blush even appearing on her face. She murmured while performing hand seals, “This is… absolute Yin-Yang balance…”

Li Ximing showed a hint of doubt as he saw Li Que Wan speak urgently: “My cultivation of the Perfected Elixir fundamentally involves regulating Yin and Yang, lead and mercury, water and fire, and male and female energies. I’ve also understood Yin-Yang balance… Often, when Perfected Elixir cultivators perform various secret arts, or even certain types of cultivation, they must begin by adjusting Yin and Yang. Only after Yin and Yang are balanced can one grasp the exact amounts of increasing Yin while decreasing Yang, or increasing water while decreasing fire, and so on, thereby simulating certain environments to achieve various transformations.”

“One could say that over seventy percent of the first step in Perfected Elixir transformations involves balancing Yin and Yang!”

“But no matter how one adjusts, it’s impossible to achieve the mythical absolute Yin-Yang balance found in this grotto-heaven!”

She knew that Yin and Yang were balanced in the grotto-heaven, but she had never imagined such an absolute equality that existed only in her imagination. She performed hand seals several times, then incredulously released them, murmuring softly, “This means… when regulating or casting spells within the grotto-heaven, simply drawing in a breath of spiritual energy allows one to skip the first step of physical transformation required outside. It’s even infinitely more precise than meticulously calibrated adjustments…”

Li Ximing, not adept in transformations, was a bit confused but felt it was a good thing. He became even more confident: “This way, the Chu Yin Art will be even more useful!”

So, he nodded with a smile, leading Li Que Wan, who was still immersed in shock, all the way down to the bottom of the pavilion—where King Wei sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating.

Li Que Wan’s gaze swept over the numerous scars on his body. She lowered her head with a touch of heartache and respectfully bowed, saying, “Your junior, Que Wan, has perfected the Divine Power, Hou Shenshu!”

The man sitting cross-legged on the jade platform had already opened his eyes. His dark pupils fixed on Li Que Wan, and a smile appeared on his face. Though it made the dark scars look ferocious, there was a unique warmth about him. “How is the divine ability?”

Li Que Wan respectfully replied, “Hou Shenshu embodies the Perfected Elixir’s path of nurturing, with its primary focus on longevity and the immortal Dao! Once the divine ability is achieved, both life and lifespan increase, granting longevity and extending life without any sign of impending death. As it is cultivated over the years, this divine ability internally nurtures and accepts, manifesting the profound mysteries of the Grand Dao, giving birth to a body of lead and mercury, known as a ‘Divine Corpse’.”

“A physical divine ability?” Li Ximing asked with a hint of doubt, but Li Que Wan shook her head, saying, “Not exactly. This lead-mercury body is nurtured within the divine ability and has its own life. Although my divine ability’s primary use is not in combat, it is still a very high-quality divine ability. The Divine Corpse can offer some assistance in battle, appearing suddenly through a spell after being hidden for a long time. It possesses the power to reveal divine opportunities and shake both inner and outer aspects. However, its true purpose lies after death.”

“After death?” Li Ximing listened in awe, but the woman smiled and said, “If I naturally pass away without external interference, the Divine Corpse will rise from my remains, continuing its life as if I were alive. It will live for one hundred and twenty-eight years. For each additional divine ability I possess, it will gain another twenty years of lifespan. Thus, it is called ‘avoiding death and extending life’!”

These words even moved Li Zhouwei slightly, and he said hoarsely, “No wonder it’s called the path of longevity and preservation of life. This way, you will have a lifespan of at least six hundred and twenty-eight years, and potentially up to seven hundred and eight years!”

This is more than two hundred years longer than the normal lifespan of a Purple Mansion cultivator!

Li Que Wan hesitated and nodded, then continued, “The divine ability describes a natural sitting transformation, but esteemed elders, do you recall a spell I once received from the Golden Book, called ‘Scattered White Falling Feathers’? If this spell is cultivated to great mastery, even if one is harmed by others, as long as a sliver of life can escape, or if one can evade briefly while the opponent is distracted, the Divine Corpse can still manifest, allowing for survival!”

This escape technique undoubtedly greatly expanded the utility of Hou Shenshu, causing both True Men to nod in unison, showing admiration. Li Que Wan then smiled and said, “In my humble opinion, with ‘Scattered White Falling Feathers’ complementing Hou Shenshu, even if one is defeated, it’s sufficient to evade ninety-nine percent of cultivators in the world. Unless facing supreme figures from Luoxia or the Underworld, one can always escape with their life!”

Li Ximing nodded with a smile at these words, but King Wei’s eyes deepened, and he did not respond. Li Que Wan continued, “Secondly, it’s the mystical ability to transform into profound light and forcefully seize the essence of elixirs and artifacts. If one consumes elixirs, as long as they are not from a Dao lineage conflicting with the Perfected Elixir, they can still derive some benefit. The same applies to spiritual artifacts!”

She opened her fair palm, revealing the two-finger-wide mysterious moon symbol, and said seriously, “The Nine Hills Dao Lineage, upon hearing of King Wei’s injury, specifically brought out the Taiyin Spirit Treasure used to suppress destiny within their lineage, instructing me to bring it back. Originally, a Taiyin cultivator should have been asked to act, but now with Hou Shenshu, no one else’s assistance is needed!”

“Taiyin Spirit Treasure!” Li Ximing’s gaze fell directly on the jade ring in her hand, greatly astonished. Li Zhouwei, however, was even more moved by her divine ability, and his tone quickened: “Seizing the essence of elixirs and artifacts? If one uses spiritual artifacts from other Dao lineages, what percentage of their power can be gained?”

His words struck directly at the heart of the matter, and Li Que Wan immediately replied earnestly, “Conflicting Dao lineages are out of the question. For more distant ones, at least seventy percent of their power can be gained. For slightly closer ones, like water, fire, and metal within the Two Extremes and Five Virtues, it starts at eighty percent. For the closest, such as the Three Witches and Two Blessings, it’s ninety percent from the start! As Hou Shenshu reaches perfection, an additional ten percent can be added to these, surpassing another stage in purple cultivation. Once the divine ability is complete, all spiritual artifacts, except those from conflicting Dao lineages, will perform as if they were from one’s own Dao lineage!”

Li Ximing’s eyes sparkled. In his early years, he too had made do with spiritual artifacts from other Dao lineages, understanding that when such incompatible artifacts fell into one’s hands, if their quality was even slightly inferior, they were almost equivalent to a mere spiritual embryo. “Then… you can take all the unsuitable spiritual artifacts at home and use them effectively!”

Li Que Wan nodded with a smile and replied, “However, Yin and Yang energies are excluded from this. While not considered distant, they can only reach a maximum of ninety percent, and for Taiyin and Taiyang specifically, it caps at eighty percent.”

Li Ximing frowned and said, “Earlier, you said that the Perfected Elixir fundamentally involves Yin and Yang, water and fire, lead and mercury, and male and female energies. How is it that Yin and Yang are not closely related now?”

A hint of helplessness flashed across the woman’s brows as she said, “The Perfected Elixir views Yin and Yang as it views the sun and moon. Although it draws light and utilizes their profound mysteries, it dares not claim kinship, nor does it dare presume to wield their power!”

This profound dominance made Li Ximing click his tongue in wonder. However, this did not diminish the great power of Hou Shenshu, and Li Ximing still couldn’t help but sigh, “The path of the Perfected Elixir truly lives up to its name as the Grand Dao of physical transformation, no wonder it dares to call itself the Primordial Embryo of Pure Virtue!”

Li Que Wan then shifted the topic, saying, “These two aspects are the most wondrous. The others, such as nourishing the various organs and refining gold and mercury, are also great Daos, but their application in physical transformation is difficult to explain. Besides these, there’s another moderately wondrous ability for directing birds and controlling beasts…”

When Li Que Wan first broke through to Foundation Establishment, she had mentioned these wonders. Now, as each one manifested as a divine ability, they were more astonishing than the last. Li Ximing became even more interested and asked, “What kind of method is it?”

The woman laughed and said, “Actually, it’s nothing extraordinary. It has some ability to tame demonic beasts, but it’s neither here nor there. Foundation Establishment cultivators disdain it, and Purple Mansion cultivators cannot effectively use it. There’s also the ability to absorb the spiritual essence of demonic creatures. With just a flick of a finger or a word, a bit of a creature’s spiritual essence can be stripped away, and with Hou Shenshu’s reflection, it can be returned without harming the creature’s life, though the path of the divine ability is narrow.”

Spiritual essence, it is said, is unique to demonic creatures. It is reflected during the Six Wheels stage, deeply hidden within the soul, and is itself an incomplete life-force. When a creature achieves divine ability, this essence is internally gathered and solidified.

If a demonic creature’s spiritual essence is stripped away and cannot be recovered, it loses a part of its life-force and usually cannot achieve divine ability. Unless it is like the dragon lineage, which naturally develops powerful divine abilities upon maturity, in which case there is no significant harm.

Of course, in the current era, no one dares to seize the spiritual essence of a dragon-child. However, powerful spirit beasts like the Three-Eyed Shining Mountain Beast, the Profound Empty Golden-Winged Bat, and the Sandalwood Cloud Vicious Fire Rat, which possess abundant life-force, still have the ability to achieve divine abilities. These creatures were called ‘spirit beasts’ by ancient cultivators precisely because there was a possibility of controlling them even after they achieved divine abilities.

Even so, the spiritual essence of these spirit beasts can only be taken before they achieve divine ability and internalize their essence. Moreover, once the spiritual essence is returned and a portion of their life-force merges with their divine ability, their power greatly increases, and no one can then strip it away.

Li Que Wan’s divine ability seemed quite useful, but it was actually somewhat awkward. Most demonic creatures that can truly achieve divine abilities are these high-born spirit beasts. Even if ordinary demonic creatures were given the chance to achieve divine abilities… there’s a high probability that resources would be wasted in a bottomless pit, not to mention the significant time issue. Demonic creatures cannot cultivate secret arts; if their bloodline is ordinary, they can only rely on time to slowly increase their cultivation…

“Even our family’s Black Viper Guest Elder… when its life-force was being matched, a lot of Taiyin moonlight was invested to enhance its vitality. Yet, it has no confidence in crossing the Purple Mansion threshold, let alone knowing when that might happen!”

Therefore, when Li Que Wan mentioned this, she was quite disappointed. However, Li Ximing found it refreshing and began to ponder: “It is indeed a moderately wondrous ability… If my family had vast amounts of Taiyin spiritual resources, it wouldn’t be an issue to invest in a few demonic creatures to attempt the Purple Mansion. However, there’s still a time problem…”

“Furthermore… the Xuanheng Edict Elixir, which seizes life and controls spirits, also targets demonic beasts. Hengzhu belongs to the Three Witches and Two Blessings. Why worry about it not being useful?”

Hearing this, Li Ximing could no longer contain himself. He took out a purple jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Li Que Wan, solemnly saying, “This copy of the ‘Explaining Profoundness and Bestowing Splendor, Expelling Darkness Art’ is a supreme secret art of transformation. Read it quickly!”